Everyone told me how fast babies change in the first year, and I knew they were right… but in the back of my mind just didn’t realize how quickly time really is going to fly.

At one month old she:

And page one featuring Daddy on [...]]]> Week 2 was our first full week home.  I’m a little impressed we took as many photos as we did, because you just don’t understand “sleep deprived” until you have a newborn.  But what a magical week it was.  Here’s the two-page spread for week 2:

And page one featuring Daddy on diaper duty:

There was lots of getting to know one another this week.

She thought we were pretty neat from the start though I think.  After all, we fed her all the time, swooped her up the second she cried, and of course made some pretty goofy faces.  Actually the goofy faces probably made her question what she had gotten into.   But now she thinks they are hilarious.

As I go back in these early weeks where I didn’t necessarily take notes I’m revisiting Facebook posts and including them here and there as added detail.

There are lots of ways to do screen shots, but my favorite is a program called Snagit.  It’s an initial cost but I love it and use it constantly.  It’s also what I use to record my video tutorials on the computer and works great.  Highly recommended.

Week 3 the camera gloves were off dudes… I could not stop taking pictures of our pumpkin!

She was just fascinating, cute, and beautiful, and since I time nursing sessions on my phone (you betcha there’s an app for that), I was constantly snapping away.

This second week was also when I pulled out my actual camera to take some first portraits.  She already looks so tiny to me in these compared to how big she’s gotten!  Her birth weight was around 6lbs, and she’s now a whopping 12 1/2.   I’ve already packed away her tiny newborn clothes with a sniffle.

Today marks the end of my maternity leave.  12 weeks that have just been the most magical with both Alan and I home to care for her.  He will be a stay at home daddy while I head back out into the rat race.  It’s what will work best for us right now, and though it will be so hard to leave her tomorrow morning, I’ll do so knowing she’ll be safe and sound with a loving Daddy who will sing and dance and continue to make those goofy faces for her all day.

If you are the praying type I’d appreciate a small one for our little family as we make this transition, or if not even some good thoughts out in the universe would be so kind.

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you have a lovely week sweet friends.  XOXO

Fellow Android users rejoice… we now have Instagram!

Yayyyyyyy!!! *Kermit the Frog arm flail*

It’s about time and I’ve been loving playing around with it so far.  Find me at craftycafe_jess if you’re on it too.  I’m loving the filters and the ease of posting pics on Twitter and Facebook.  Darling A [...]]]>

Fellow Android users rejoice… we now have Instagram!

Yayyyyyyy!!! *Kermit the Frog arm flail*

It’s about time and I’ve been loving playing around with it so far.  Find me at craftycafe_jess if you’re on it too.  I’m loving the filters and the ease of posting pics on Twitter and Facebook.  Darling A is wondering why I am so smitten with ‘yet another photo app’ and sweet little M has a phone in her face taking a picture every 5 seconds, but it’s certainly a fun new toy.  However there are still other photo apps on Android that I love and in honor of them I thought I’d repost this article today.   Hope all is well with you and yours, and I’ll be around with some crafty stuffs soon.

Android Photo Apps:  Article originally run on Craft Critique May 11, 2011

I’ll admit it, I have an unnatural attachment to my phone. However, I am not an iPhone user. At the mercy of my husband who is the tech guru of the household, we became an Android family, and while I once rolled my eyes at those that had their very lives tied to their smart phones, I became a quick convert once I got my hands on my current Android Samsung Epic.

Yes it is a great phone, but like the iPhone, what makes Android so much darn fun is the Marketplace full of apps (short for Applications in case you are in the dark like I was not so very long ago). There are apps for everything, and after I’d found several games to waste time during my train commute (like tools to balance my budget, and ways to find a new restaurant), as a scrapbooker I naturally began to seek out camera apps. I had long envied those super cool shots that iPhone users were able to get right out of their phone. It was like they had a mini Photoshop (which is also an app by the way) right at their fingertips. But which apps would allow me to do this on my Android phone? I was thrilled to find several! Below are three that I would recommend. All are found in the Android Market:

Cost: Free

FxCamera is an app that does exactly what it says, instantly applies certain effects to your shot. There are a total of six different effects to choose from including:

ToyCam (provides a light leaky colorized effect):

Polandroid (my favorite of the options, includes a Polaroid type frame):

Fisheye (gives the effect of a fish eye lens):

SymmetriCam (creates a mirror image effect of your photos, not necessarily my favorite but could be neat).

Warhol (think Andy Warhol art from your photos):

Normal (normal yes, but also has color filters, sepia option, posterize, and more).

This is a simple to use app that has some basic functionality to give your photos that little extra something. Many of the effects also have options to configure them further, such as adding a faded or aged effect. My favorite of these options is by far the Polandroid, and I use it again and again.

Pros:

• A very decent app for free.
• Easy options to navigate and use.

Cons:

• There are ads since it is a free app, but they are unobtrusive and only in the selection screen.
• I only use one or two of the effects regularly, and they are similar to effects in another app I have and prefer (see below) so I rarely use this app anymore.

Retro Camera

Cost: Free or $2.99 for the “Plus” version.

Inspired by Lomo and Holga type photography, the Retro Camera app is very fun to use, and turns your phone into one of five vintage cameras (*Update: they now have a sixth which I haven’t played with much). What I love about this app is not only the pictures it takes, but also just the look of the app itself. Each camera is artfully illustrated from the moment you navigate through to select one, to actually taking the photo itself. Choices include:

The Barbl (Creates a square, grungy bordered, low saturation shot):

Little Orange Box (Creates a very grungy shot, highly processed shot, and has a black and white option):

Xolaroid 2000 (Another “Polaroid” type, similar to the effect of that on the FxCamera app but with a black and white option also):

The Pinhole (Provides a shot with a full bleed “35 mm” effect, with low saturation):

The Fudgecan (A square shot with a “burnt” border and low saturation):

As you can see, all of the options provide the slightly faded, grungy look that we love about vintage photos. While I don’t use this one all the time, I do really love the ‘artsty’ effects it brings to photos that are very unique to the app. The only difference between the free and paid version of this app are the advertisements. As of the date of this article, both versions provide the same effects, though the developers are currently taking suggestions on their Facebook page for their next “camera” to add to the group.

Pros:

• The free version is a bargain indeed.
• Very fun to use and to play with. One photo could take on many, many different looks with just this one app. (Though you’d have to take the photo several times rather than just edit it, see more on that below)

Cons:

• Ads for the free version are more “in your face” and never really go away. But, they stay at the bottom of the screen and don’t interfere with your photo fun.
• The photos this app take may be a little too “stylized” for some.

Vignette

Cost: $4.00, but a free demo version is available.

I highly recommend this camera app for Android. If you only ever wanted to have to deal with one, even with a small cost associated, it is by far my favorite. With over 60 effects, frames, and styles, it provides countless opportunities to play with and edit your photos right from your phone. Here’s a collection of some of favorite shots with this app:

There are far too many options to list (there are eight categories such as “Vintage”, “Lens Effect”, and “Colour Highlight” that have several further sub-options to choose from). However my favorite feature is that I can take a photo using any effect, but apply a different effect (or another, or another) until I achieve the look I want, just like I would do with actions in Photoshop (a series of edits meant to achieve a specific look, but with the act of just one click rather than several adjustments). On other apps, the style you choose to shoot the photo in is the one you are stuck with.

Not only does this app have a plethora of effects from which to choose (from normal to highly stylized), it also includes support for the front facing camera (for those of us who like to take those self portraits for Facebook which again, I’ll admit to that), a self timer, and even a digital zoom. For a $4.00 app, I’ve replaced my $200 point-and-shoot. Why take photos on a regular camera which I then have to download into Photoshop and edit when I can do it in one easy step on my phone? I am also able to further customize the app by saving certain favorite features I like together, such as “Action Movie” (vivid reds against a blue-green tone) together with an “Instant Transfer” frame. Just another two of the many options.


Pros:

• So many options to choose from, I consider the $4.00 price tag a big bargain.
• Includes additional features such as support for the front facing camera if your phone has one, self timer, and digital zoom.

Cons:

• It can be a little slow to load due to the number of options available, but this isn’t a huge deterrent for me to make it my go to app when taking a photo.
• The number of options could be overwhelming, but I just find them fun!

There are of course many, many other camera app options both free and at a small cost out there to choose from. I’d love to hear if you have an Android phone and have another favorite and why, or if you use any of those above what your favorite feature is.

Visit the original article to see what others had to say, and happy snapping!

Instantly,

I was not kidding when I said it was going to take some serious commitment to get it cleaned off again…

Yes I let it get that bad crafty friends…

And that’s probably 98% of [...]]]> Hello there.  Good news!  I’ve found my desk / craft area.  I knew it was in this mess somewhere.

I was not kidding when I said it was going to take some serious commitment to get it cleaned off again…

Yes I let it get that bad crafty friends…

And that’s probably 98% of the reason I haven’t done anything in months, preggo or no… how could I possibly find inspiration when I treated my little corner like a dumping ground?  I mean really what the heck all did I think I needed to put there that I would get to later?

The good news is it is now clean, organized, spiffy, PURGED.  Going through the mess made me realize not only was my work area muddled, my entire creative life was getting there too, and as a result I was overwhelmed enough to stop doing anything.

I love everything creative and I want to do it all.  But I had way to many projects in mind that I wanted to do ‘someday’.  Lots of those ideas got the boot during the clean out.  If the inspiration comes back to do them then that’s fine and dandy with one rule… one project at a time.  Note to self – I do NOT have the studio nor the time to do it all at once.  Some got packed away neatly for when that time comes, some just got kicked to the curb (most of that stuff was of the “I know I could use that for something someday” persuasion… no more “someday”, only “I’m going to use that for this” from now on).

And AND!  Not only did I get my space cleared off and organized…. check this out…

Shut. The. Front. Door.  you say!

I’ve decided to do Project Life this year and that’s a glimpse at week 3.  I’m loving it,  I mean honestly what better year to do it than our first year as a family.  I’ve got some catching up to do and am starting from the week of Maddie’s birth going forward rather than January 1st, but I’m having a blast doing it so far.  It’s easy, fun, and quick (and the most I’ve ‘scrapped’ in months).   So cheers to that!  Will be sharing those first few weeks soon.

I hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend.  We’re enjoying a lovely visit from Grandma and lots and lots of sunshine.  Gosh spring cleaning feels good.

Have a great week, and see you soon!

Less Mess = A Happy,

]]> http://www.the-craftycafe.com/just-chit-chat/was-i-kidding/feed 5 http://www.the-craftycafe.com/craft-critique/craft-supply-organizers-what-to-look-for?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=craft-supply-organizers-what-to-look-for http://www.the-craftycafe.com/craft-critique/craft-supply-organizers-what-to-look-for#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:35:51 +0000 Jess http://www.the-craftycafe.com/?p=2879 Hi there friends!   I mentioned a few posts ago that I planned to re-run some of the articles I wrote for Craft Critique here on my personal blog.  Here is the first of which that I hope if you haven’t yet read you’ll enjoy and find useful.  As I dive into reorganizing my own craft [...]]]> Hi there friends!   I mentioned a few posts ago that I planned to re-run some of the articles I wrote for Craft Critique here on my personal blog.  Here is the first of which that I hope if you haven’t yet read you’ll enjoy and find useful.  As I dive into reorganizing my own craft space this week I thought this would be a good one to start with.   I hope to be back sometime this week with photos of my own reorganized space, and then shortly after… dare I say it…. a project or two???

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but we’ll daydream about it.

Craft Supply Organizers – What to Look For

Original Article ran February 25, 2011

Recently, fellow reporter Taylor Usry wrote a great article on organizing your craft supplies. It is that time isn’t it? With Spring right around the corner, it’s time to declare war on any clutter in our craft areas. Both to start the Spring Cleaning off right, and of course to make way for all the new stuff we choose to get our hot little hands on.

Luckily, the craft industry isn’t a fool when it comes to knowing we not only love our supplies, but also love ways to keep them neat and tidy. There are a multitude of organization items geared specifically toward pretty much anything we as crafters own. From stamps and ink, to ribbon and beads, to paper and punches, if you own it someone will sell you something to put it in. In fact there are so many options, it can sometimes make your head spin while trying to decide just exactly what will work best for you. And then before you know it you need an organizer for all your organizers!

So what should you look for when shopping for a supply organizer? Here is a list of five things to have in mind to keep you both centered and sane while you make a creative space fit just for your needs.

1. How much space do I have to devote to storage?
Look at your crafting area (or room if you are so lucky) and decide first where organizers and storage could go.

• Look Up: Do you have shelves already or can you install some on the wall? Are they nice and deep or narrow?

• Look Down: Are there places you could have a free-standing unit? Like under your work table or in a closet?

• Look Around: Do you have ample counter space? Or just a tiny work area that is often cluttered with your latest project?

I have square shelves and a large L-shaped desk. I never use the entire desk surface as I tend to keep my projects consolidated, so I knew I could utilize my desktop space for storage too. This carousel by Making Memories was then something I knew would work well for me.

Craft Critique’s review of the desktop carousel will help convince you. It does take up a lot of surface area, however it was space I could spare, and it’s been wonderful for having items right at my fingertips. (UPDATE / TIP:  Check out Overstock.com for these and more craft caddy organizers on the cheap.  At last check they had great options!)

2. What one thing do I tend to own the most of?
Do you have so many flowers you could rival the royal gardens? Do you desire every bit of ribbon you see? Or do you have so many ink pads the police come calling when they run out at the station for fingerprinting? Whatever your addiction, that is what deserves its own specialized organizer or location. There’s nothing worse that digging through other items just to find your favorites.

In my case, I tend to collect pens. I have all sorts. Therefore they have their own drawer where nothing else is allowed, and where I can spread them out liberally for the picking.

3. Will I use it if I can’t see it? (or forget I have it?)
Are you more likely to use something from your stash if it’s staring you in the face? Or do you have a mental inventory of what you have on hand and know exactly which pieces you would like to work with?

I need to see as many of my supplies as possible or I’ll neglect them. I am horrible at neatly putting something away, only to find it months later, and then not be as in love with it as I was before (I admit it, I like the newness of the trends). So, I knew I needed something that would display what I had or I’d never get to it (or just keep buying new). The solution to this for me was the Clip it Up by Simply Renee.

It’s been perfect for keeping me using what I have, and fit my need for counter top items. I also have see through drawers to remind me I do not need any more beads, ink pads, etc. You can read reviews of the Clip it Up on Craft Critique here and here, and also a recent review of the upper extension piece here.

4. Is it functional for what I create with?
Meaning, is it a good fit for what I like to keep on hand? Or am I just wanting it because it makes for a pretty view?

I have been tempted by many an organizer simply because it looked pretty on the wall when filled with certain products. You’ve seen the pictures too, where a perfectly organized wall unit or shelf is filled with embellishments all in the same color and they are placed just so. That’s not a realistic and working craft room, that’s a photo shoot. If you have the room to enjoy such a thing I say have at it, but if not, remember the difference when you shop.

And finally,

5. Can I re-purpose something I already own, or purchase something less expensive?
While there are a multitude of products to choose from for craft organization, this elite description does come with a price tag. There are many times when with a little thinking outside the box, you can create or find something not specifically meant for craft supplies, but that will do just dandy. So ask yourself:

• Have I checked the hardware of thrift store for something similar?

• Do they have something in the office supply store that would work?

• If I just washed out this spaghetti sauce jar and peeled off the label would anyone besides me ever know it wasn’t meant for buttons?

For example, I used a clear over the door shoe holder just like this one for many of my supplies. It was less than $10.00, and is perfect for my punches and stamps.

I’ve also found many options at thrift stores. An old paper towel holder becomes a ribbon spool, or an outdated spice rack a place for bits and baubles. There is also a bonus of getting to re-purpose thrift store items. Raise your hand if you like to alter things too!

So, whether you are reorganizing what you already have, or purchasing new, keep the above five questions in mind when you go. It will keep your organization process as it should be, simple and stress free.

You can also find lots more ideas and reviews on organizational products on Craft Critique.  Some examples:

Organizing Done Cheaply

Librarian’s Guide to Organizing Scrapbook Paper

ACDSee for Organizing Digital Supplies

An Organization Blog Carnival (and Part 2)

ScrapOnizer Toolbox

Ribbon Ring

Photo Storage Boxes

Scrapbook Organization: A Manifesto

Ikea for Craft Storage

Visit the original article  to see what other crafters had to say too. Happy Organizing and have a great week!

(Disclosure)

When she is still such a tiny thing…

Early in the morning after she’s eaten and is just taking in all the newness of the world.

When she can’t see farther than from my arms to my face so we have to nuzzle close to get to know one another…

When it’s still a [...]]]>

When she is still such a tiny thing…

Early in the morning after she’s eaten and is just taking in all the newness of the world.

When she can’t see farther than from my arms to my face so we have to nuzzle close to get to know one another…

When it’s still a little wrinkly old man face and yet the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen…

When I can smooth down the soft feathers of her hair without any squirms…

And  I can smother it with as many kisses as I want without a “stop it mom”.

It’s already changed and seems to change more and more every day.

Photos are so important to me,  now more than ever.  A little moment in time that brings back a vivid memory to keep and cherish.  Even though it’s before she can smile as a reaction and before I know she can really focus on me, I know she knows she safe, and loved, and ours.

Gosh I love this face.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend friends. Take lots and lots of pictures.

I’m submitting this photos as part of the I Heart Faces Beautiful Black & White Challenge.  Their challenges and tutorials are wonderful for inspiring you to take great pictures and I plan to start participating whenever I can.  Check out the other entries here, and let me know if you submit one too so I can come see!

Actually normally we reserve Michael for a wild Tuesday night but she’s [...]]]> Hello there friends, how’s your weekend?  Happy Sunday.  Everyday is Sunday round these parts lately… sweat pants, naps (when possible), eating whatever is quick and in the fridge, and Alan dancing with the baby to the Pandora Michael Jackson station in the nursery.

Actually normally we reserve Michael for a wild Tuesday night but she’s feeling plucky today.

I’m inching towards those baby steps I mentioned in the last post.  A super lovely friend today advised she’s sending me a bunch of happy scrappy goodies, and I’m bound and determined to have my work space cleared off and ready for the inspiration I know they’ll stir up.  There’s nothing like new supplies to get the mojo going!

Not to mention I have eleventy-billion pictures of our new cutie that I’m dying to play with.

I haven’t scrapped in ages, but I was slightly crafty during my pregnancy when it came to the nursery.   We went with a woodland friends type theme though it didn’t turn out too “themey” which I am very happy with.  Here’s a view into the room from our hallway:

The rocking chair was a garage sale find (best garage sale find ever) and has an adorable ‘cow jumped over the moon pattern’.  The ottoman rocks too and it’s just sooooo comfortable.  So glad we found it.  The blanket on the back was crocheted by a family member, we love it too.

The tree decal is from Wow Wall on Etsy.  Unfortunately I can’t get their shop to come up to link, I hope they are still around as I love it!  We customized the colors to our liking and it was a cinch to put up.

The color inspiration came from our fabric choices. I made the curtains, comforter, crib skirt, and also altered the lamp using these patterns.

All fabric is from Babybedding.com.  You can also buy everything pre-made at this site, however it is pricey and I knew I wanted to DIY as much as possible.  I thought about creating tutorials for these projects but ultimately just did them.  Honestly it’s just sewing in a straight line for the curtains etc, and the lamp is all about Mod Podge.  I’m sure I’ll do similar projects in the future and will get tutorials together for those.

Closer shot of the comforter and crib skirt:

While I find all those pre-made baby bedding sets unbelievably cute, I just couldn’t justify the price tag.  For one, they all come with bumpers, which we have chosen not to use due to safety concerns.  I know I know, we all survived, but better safe than sorry in my mind.  Crib bumpers have even been outlawed for sale in the city of Chicago.  (And no we wouldn’t allow the big bee in there while she sleeps either… she’s not in her crib yet still in a bassinet in our room).

The water colors on the wall are just absolutely adorable and fit in perfectly with our theme.  I wanted to include foxes for sure, and these drawings by Oh Hello Dear on Etsy were just perfect.

She has the cutest shop, you must go check it out.

We went on a wing and a prayer with an online furniture order from JC Penny, and happily are not disappointed on what we got for the price.  In fact I would be happy with what we got for a higher price.  It’s not solid wood that will last forever but we are a-ok with that.  And I’m a-ok with supporting JCP too since they have stood by Ellen.  Good for them.

The lamp is just a plain jane version from Target to which I Mod Podged some fabric to the shade.  It’s super easy to do, just start with a paper template you make first to guide your fabric cutting, and then use regular ole’ paper Mod Podge to adhere.  I used bias tape around the edges to make it look ‘professional’.

Another Etsy artist gracing our nursery walls is MikieP.  I bought this print in 2009 and it didn’t find a home until now.  Just so happens to fit perfectly in our forest themed nursery.  I simply love his work and my comic guy husband does too.  Definitely need to do some more shopping there soon.

Finally, every woodland themed nursery needs some fawns, and I had been holding onto these finds for a while as well.

Once she outgrows them they are going back in Mama’s crafty space.

But that won’t be for awhile…

Thanks for stopping by today to see my new favorite room in the house!  We are loving being a family.  I hope all is well with you and to see you again soon.  For now, I’m off to work on those creative baby steps.  Step 1 – clear off that workspace!  Stay tuned (and send a search party if I’m not out in a week… tell them to bring Swiffer dusters… lots of them).

Sleepily but happily,

Introducing Madeleine.

Isn’t she just lovely?

Born January 27th, one day after her due date.  Right on time just like her Virgo mommy had hoped.

All 3 of us have had a whirlwind month since but are doing just fine.  Here I am [...]]]> Hello there friends.  Long time no see!  And here is why…

Introducing Madeleine.

Isn’t she just lovely?

Born January 27th, one day after her due date.  Right on time just like her Virgo mommy had hoped.

All 3 of us have had a whirlwind month since but are doing just fine.  Here I am at 40 weeks exactly just before we left for a doc appointment.  I thought I’d have Alan snap a picture since it was my last day of work before maternity leave and I didn’t imagine I’d feel much like hair or makeup for the foreseeable future… so the photo op was now or never.

Little did we know we wouldn’t be returning home that afternoon.  We were sent straight to the hospital for a little bit of an alarming blood pressure reading.  And by 6pm we were told we were not leaving without a baby.  All I could think was “why didn’t we grab the stinkin suit case just in case!”… but Alan was a hero and ran home and back to get it before any major events took place.  I was induced around 8pm, and we had her in our arms in less than 15 hours.  The induction drugs and process were not fun… but she got here safe and quickly, so I really couldn’t ask for more.

All of us (Daddy too) are doing fine.  I won’t lie, this is hard work.  Definitely harder than I imagined.  Breastfeeding takes serious dedication, and whatever sleep deprivation I thought I was preparing for by having to get up 12 times a night to use the bathroom when I was pregnant is nothing compared to what we are experiencing.

But it’s all so worth it.

I’m not quite sure what is in store for The Crafty Cafe.  I’m struggling a little to find my way back to “me”, but it’s not really about me any more is it?  And I know that’s why.  As she turns one month old today and I have a good amount of maternity time off work left, I’m surely hoping to find a good balance between the new life we have and my crafty / bloggy life that defined me for a good while.  I’m pretty certain that I’ll continue to blog, probably with a few changes, as I reevaluate some things.  Alan is insistent that I scrapbook already and I’ll feel so much better, and he’s probably right… it’s just about taking those first few steps and making the time.

So for now it’s literally about baby steps back into a creative routine, and I’m so glad to have you there to share them with.

I hope all is well with you and to catch up and take some of those baby steps soon.  Until then thank you as always for stopping by, and see you again soon.

Love,

(aka “Mommy”)

Hello there friends, happy October!  Wait, what’s that?  The month is pretty much over?

Add time-warping as a symptom of pregnancy.  Because I swear yesterday it was only August something.

Even though time is flying we are (all 3 of us) doing very well, and thought I’d pop on with a check in and [...]]]>

Hello there friends, happy October!  Wait, what’s that?  The month is pretty much over?

Add time-warping as a symptom of pregnancy.  Because I swear yesterday it was only August something.

Even though time is flying we are (all 3 of us) doing very well, and thought I’d pop on with a check in and some updates.

- Big news first to those I’m not friends with on Facebook… it’s a girl!    We are thrilled.  Alan is nervous, but I’m convinced he’ll be the most excellent daddy on the planet.  I mean a daddy that dances and sings?  C’mon, perfect.  I also happen to know he’s one of the best lullaby crooners around.

- Speaking of Facebook, thank you so much to those of you that have sent me friend requests, I realize I put that button in the side bar to do so, and then haven’t accepted any in awhile.  I’ve decided that my personal page on Facebook will remain just for those I actually know, most especially with the baby on the way.  I may start a Crafty Cafe page in the future but we’ll see.  For now though thank you, I do consider all my readers important to me and friends, and hope we can keep in touch here.  Thanks for understanding.   (You can always follow me on Twitter too, I’ll be tweeting more soon!)

- This little girl kicks up a storm for cake…. she is mine.

- The nursery is coming along wonderfully and I’ll post pics soon.  Alan has painted it a sweet buttered corn yellow (have I ever mentioned all my rooms must have paint colors named after food?  It’s seriously an obsession), and the furniture is ordered, due to arrive in late November.  I’ve sewn the curtains (yes I did something crafty!) and next will be working on a lamp, crib skirt, etc.  Will share it all of course.

- I am officially on leave from Craft Critique.  This is the first time in a loooong time I don’t have any outside obligations and it feels pretty good.  Don’t get me wrong I love working for them, but it really does add a weekend or two back to me that is now much needed.  They have been nothing but supportive and sweet, and really rock to work for.  Did you know they are always looking for great reporters?  Go check it out and apply, if you work hard and do a great job, you’ll have all sorts of wonderful opportunities.  I’m going to begin re-running what I’ve written for them over the past two years here so I have all my work in one place, so look for some oldies but goodies coming soon too.

- This little girl also kicks up a storm for chocolate, ice cream, and does a jig for creme brulee with strawberries.  She is definitely mine.

- No weird cravings to report.  I do have food aversions though, come near me with even a whiff of fried and chicken and you’ll be sorry.  Also I can’t seem to get  enough of plain unsweetened iced tea.  No fried chicken and unsweetened tea has Alan worried his southern isn’t going to come through in this child.  (I tell him not to worry, but secretly hope she hates sweet tea as much as I do so what’s in our fridge stays 2 to 1 in my favor)

-And finally I do have other crafty projects in my head I want to get done before the little one arrives.  I’ve been told by many to do whatever projects need to be done now, as they will not get done after she gets here.  My nesting instinct is starting to kick it into high gear and I imagine lots of those projects will get done soon.  If anything other than being healthy and happy, I want her to have the impression from the start that we make things ’round these parts.  The effort and time is worth the reward.

Hope all is well with you and you enjoy the Autumn season.  I hope you are having lots of cider, pumpkin carving, and indulge just as much as you want to as the weather turns cooler and we can wear those bulky sweaters to cover up that extra slice of pie.

However as the pic above illustrates, I’ll be sticking out my bump this season as far as it will go to show it off,  so pass that pie my way.  

See you again soon, and thanks for stopping by. XOXO