Hoighty Toighty Henny

What's up with the baby books that are high and mighty, hoighty toighty while also proclaiming the sky is falling? They promise to tell you all you've never heard before about life after baby, and it's usually something that sucks with a smidge optimism: 

Breastfeeding can make you bleed, but it's super rewarding.  

Sex will never feel the same, but you will get your libido back. 

You can get pregnant while you're breastfeeding...of course it will be from that mediocre sex.

You know what Book, you can suck it.  

Life after childbirth is not exactly as Henny Penny would have you believe.  Your nipples will bleed - and you will clench your teeth and get through it.  Sex will take some time and practice, but it will be awesome again.  And, well, you might get pregnant sooner than you think, but at least you're banging.  

Here's a little something that I really never knew before having a baby.  And it's awesome.  

Babies get toe jam.  In between those teeny-tiny toes.  

And, it's really cute.

Little pumpkin can't do much for herself, but her toes sure can clench every last fuzzy in her pj footsies.  

And here's something else.  Yes, your life changes, but then it's the new normal and in a few months, you will feel like yourself again.  Put that in your book, Ms. Penny.

Can't Stop Crafting

I saw decoupaged letters posted on this craft blog and since I'm in both a newlywed and a craft stage, I had to make some for husband and myself (well, more myself than anyone really). Buuuut, they didn't turn out so hot. So, I changed up my materials and made some for a friend of mine who recently got engaged.  Much better.

Here's what I started with - cardboard letters from Paper Source (3.95ea), a beautiful piece of gift wrap also from Paper Source (4.95ea), Mod Podge, and a sponge brush. I thought I could ratchet up the creativity by using the ribbon and paint, but it didn't happen.

I didn't love the 'M', so I finished off the pointy corners just by creating a corner with some card stock and taping it to the top of the 'M'. Here's what that looked like:

Then I cut the beautiful paper into strips and started attaching it with the Modge Podge.  Big mistake.  It looked like 'M' for Mummy.  

So, I started ripping the paper into scraps and gluing it that way. It actually okay in this picture, but in real life, still quite ugly.

So, I ditched the fancy expensive paper with the beautiful silver glittery swirls and ripped up two sheets of wedding scrapbook paper (about 50c ea at Michaels). Then I attached that with the Mod Podge to the letters for my girlfriend. I don't know if it was the bold colors of this paper or the texture, but it turned out So. Much. Better.

I finished the black with ripped scraps of black construction paper because I ran out of the wedding scrapbook paper and Michaels is located on the most annoying road in the whole state...

Neither the 'C' nor the 'P' stood on its own, so I hot glued them to a thick black cardboard I had lying around - I think it was an insert in a scrapbook I bought one time. Crafters never throw anything away. Here's a close up:

Take aways from the decoupage letter project:

~Always make crafts for yourself first so you can screw up freely.

~This project works best with scrapbook paper (but not card stock) 

~Don't take 'before' pictures of materials (like paint and ribbon) that you have no idea how to incorporate into the craft.

Guest Book Art

Sure I love my new husband, but I also love my latest craft. So that's what I'm blogging about today. Guest book art - an idea I got from Etsy, but made myself for much less coin.

Before the wedding, I used a stamper to pre-cut a hundred little hearts - super easy. Then I made a little sign explaining for my guests that these hearts were actually the guest book. My brother and sister-in-law set them up at the reception site before the wedding. It looked like this:

And when people signed, it still looked awesome:

Now, ten months after the wedding, I finally got around to making the art.

First, I googled the lyrics to our song, 'Hey Mama' by Mat Kearney, copied and pasted it into a Pages document and changed it into a pretty font (I used Apple Chancery). Next, I printed the lyrics and stamped out a few hearts with that.

Then I organized the hearts in a shadow box I got at a local craft store and stuck them with a short straight pin. Oh, and I stamped a teal heart and wrote our wedding date on it. Here's the final product:

And a close up:

So much better than a guest book that would gather dust on my shelves.

Something Kinda Special

"I think he stood me up."

It was supposed to be our second date. Proud of myself for arriving five minutes early, I did a once through of the front of the restaurant and the bar area. Thirty five minutes later, I was still lurking around waiting for him.

"Really?" my girlfriend whispered back, "I thought you had a good first date."

"We did."

"Well call him."

"I texted him. He didn't answer."

"Call him."

"Ok." I hung up with my girlfriend and dialed his number. I got his voicemail and left a message.  Four minutes later, I had a text. 'I'm here.'

I looked up.  No you're not, I thought. I went back in the restaurant. Nothing. I texted, 'I don't see you. I'll be in Barnes and Noble.'

I perused the books with one eye on the front of the restaurant. Out he came with a sheepish grin, "What are you doing?"

"Wha?" We giggled about poor communication and phone service. He led me into the restaurant - way into the restaurant - to a table in the back in a shadow (ok, the shadow part is creative license).

We sat down and a woman at the table next to ours was so relieved. She leaned over and said, "Oh, honey, I'm so glad you showed up.  He has been waiting for you forever. And he is such a nice young man." I'm pretty sure the teenagers she was with were cringing, but I appreciated her assessment.

That night he had me laughing until I cried. I knew he, like Mary J. Blige, was something kinda special.

I just wish we could tell that nice lady how it all turned out.

From the Beginning...

I didn't know our first date would be the beginning of the end for the Dauntless Dater. But if I did, I'd have happily bid her adieu.

It was a brunch date.  October 17th, 2010 if you ask me.  In the fall a couple years ago if you ask him.  Just before I parked, I saw him waiting on this bench outside of a neighborhood cafe.

He was so handsome, my heart skipped a beat.

I knew he had a personality from his emails.  When I offered to meet him halfway between our homes, he refused, saying he'd make the trip to me using his compass and maps.  He was a smart ass and I liked it.  In person, he was confident with a side of silly.  Guarded for sure, but fun.  His hug at the end of the date told me all I needed to know.  It was a full-body, sincere, steal-the-breath-from-your-lungs kind of hug.

Less sappy coming soon.