What Ana Does

Gosh, it's been awhile since I've listed out all the things I'm totally digging these days. Yikes! Since I'm home full-time, the list is slightly different (no audiobooks, as I'm not commuting more than an hour each day), but it's still me. In my continuing quest to tap-into the creative parts of my brain that have been on lockdown for so long, I've been experimenting with  doodle drawing and lettering . I've never been good at drawing but the doodles are simple line drawings  that make it simple to eye. I may even get out the watercolor! At night I've been reading the Clarice Bean chapter book series by Lauren Child to the girls. We all love it. Clarice has a similar voice as Junie B. and Violet Mackeral, that's childish and funny (in a good way) but she's also got good advice to share. We're having fun discussing the plot points and what might happen next. And having a chapter book waiting for me at bedtime makes the routine go...

While we were in New York City on Monday, we hit two of the fabulous holiday markets; Bryant Park and Union Square. Of course the girls found EVERYTHING they've EVER WANTED EVER and asked for everything. And, of course, we said no about 200 times. And we asked for cards from some of the shops we liked, in case we changed our minds after we got home. For those not able to get to New York City this holiday season, here's our favorites: No Chewing Allowed  - insanely-good truffles. We got a few boxes for teacher holiday gifts. One box *might not make it* to the holidays. ;) Hazel's Village - adorable handmade dollies with matching outfits. Leah loved the little green frog. Pop Chart Lab - an art shop that sells creative and hip charts, such as the Charted Sandwich or a cool diagram of Broadway costumes. Whoops! - a colorful and lovely macaron shop. We tasted the dark chocolate, strawberry milkshake, pumpkin and raspberry. Yum! Three Blue Birds - I had seen thes...

I love browsing Etsy to find new and fun items (who doesn't!?) ... and adding them to my favorites list for future consideration. Then, when I'm feeling weak and in need of retail therapy, I have a little cache of goodies to look at. Here's from my latest browse ... 1. I love this  adorable fat quarter  with the bikes in the park. The colors are a little different and would make a delightful quilt! Future Bike Quilt?  2. I'm a big fan of music quotes in art. I have a few on my walls already, and I'm always on the look out for more. This Bruce Springsteen quote would memorialize Leah and Alice's first concert experience brilliantly. Bruce Springsteen Quote!   3. I love these bright and cheery hoop earrings ! They've been in my Cart forever -- just waiting for that day I have a good excuse to buy them. Beaded Hoops. This shop is Full of Cheerful Jewlery 4. This shop is full of cut-out paper art. What a medium! I really like the color com...

I have banned the use of Pinterest during work hours. Most of the time, I have no trouble doing this as my job keeps me very busy. But there are odd moments of the day I feel my mind heading in that direction ... and my fingers almost always want to follow. Pinterest is seriously the best thing going on the internet. All my crafty ideas and fun, wacko quotes, my wanderlust and my bathroom remodel ideas; They all stem from all the cool/neat/beautiful things I find and pin . My Work Computer, With Pinterst -- Big No No I could get sucked in for hours in the pinning vortex. And I do. Just not during work hours. Relates posts: What am I crafting? See those posts here

The owl wings are done! And I'm more than just a little proud of the work I did on this. Hooray! Leah is an Owl!! Hoot! Hoot!  Here's the breakdown: It took about two weeks (in the evenings, while watching TV) to cut out the "feathers." Most of the fabric is upholstery that I got at Loomcraft. Some was scrap I had left over from other projects -- like the red corduroy. The yellow-y fabric is from a set of napkins Mom found for me a few years ago.  Because I used upholstery fabric, the wings are heavy. So I tacked them to the orange shirt she is wearing.  I also used ribbons to tie the wings to her wrists -- so she can fly! And, more importantly, hold on to her trick-or-treat loot bag.  I could have used the brown base-fabric and fashioned a smock or vest to sew the wings to, but decided against it. Too much work and not much return.  The best time-saving advice from the instructions I used was to sew bias tape around the borders for a quick, clean l...

I've given myself to this weekend to finish the owl wings for Leah's costume. So here they are, feathers are sewn down and bias tape ready to be zipped through the machine. Sunday Night's Progress One problem: Uh oh ... That's Not Enough Thread! That's not going to get it done. Sigh   

Lovely Art! Still shopping for my new house tonight, so I wandered over to Etsy.com, which is just the best place pick up great things -- especially original art. I've found a lot of neat things on that site over the past few years. Here's an example of a print I'm looking at. Colorful, funky and cool. YAY! And only about $20 unframed! I also got the idea to use the photos we took in Europe last year. Snapfish will blow up any photo into poster size or even a large canvas. I could have them printed in black and white and they could be gorgeous decorating a wall. Fun to toss around ideas. I've got a fun Pinterest board started here .