This is a project that has been intended for months now, but I just recently finished.  When I say recent, I mean within the past couple weeks.  It’s still sitting on the floor, waiting to be hung up, but it’s finished nonetheless. 

I really just bought him for his gorgeous frame.

I removed D’Artagnan.  This was no easy task.  He was held in place by at least 50 nails that were about 2 inches apart all the way around the back of the frame.  Once I removed him and the nails, I painted the frame white. 

Next, I attached a sheet of cork board to a piece of foam board, covered it with burlap, decorated it with some awesome Martha Stewart Ribbon, and nailed the entire piece to the back of the frame. 

I’m SO happy with the outcome.  I love mostly the frame that I paid an amazing $6 for and the pocket I improvised on the front of the inspiration board.  I can’t wait to hang it up!!

I adopted this idea from Lisa Congdon.  Since I work in an office, this works out for me.  It’s a nice creative release in the middle of such a drab world (the floors, the walls of pod and my desk are all grey).  I do at least one doodle a day at work  and then I’ll post them at the end of the week.  It’s been fun having a little daily project.  The doodle in the top right hand corner was a reflection of my feelings for that day.  The “Consider It Done” is my company’s motto.  It is the cause of much anguish for me.  We never say “no” to anything, even if it’s impossible to obtain.  **sigh**  (hence the sigh in the bottom right hand corner).  That’s all I can do anymore… Just take a deep breath and look forward to getting home to my studio at 5 o’clock.  Yay for weekends!

 I had to post this picture of my little boy, Atari.  This is his Halloween costume for this year.  He looks so adorable, but under this sweet exterior lies a little monster.  He’s the most loyal and protective dog, but he is incredibly intolerant of other animals and small children.  For now, he’s living with my parents.  I miss him, but I see him regularly.  And I must say, he has quite an extensive wardrobe for a dog.  Being as small as he is, there’s just too much for me to choose from, so I get it all.  This is my favorite piece that he has:

He always makes the same crazy face in pictures because he is absolutely terrified of the camera.  As soon as I pull it out he hides the first place he can find.  Since I got him from Animal Friends, I’m not sure if maybe he had a previous bad experience with a camera?!?  Some things will always remain a mystery I suppose…

**Both the costume and the jacket are from Target.

I have a few ideas rolling around in my head to get myself to post more often.  I’m a big fan of traditions and routines.  (I lack routine, but tradtions are a huge part of my life.)  I figure if I put a few traditions into place that I do either daily or weekly, I’ll keep myself for more accountable for posting.  The more I post, the more I produce, so it’s a win-win for everyone.  Hopefully, I’ll get that all started tomorrow or tonight. 

Today I’ve made a list of all the books I need to get.  All of them are from Chronicle Books.  I’ve read so many awesome reviews on them that I just can’t wait any longer!

The List:

Craft Inc. - Meg Mateo Ilasco

Softies: Simple Instructions for 25 Plush Pals - Therese Lasky

Lotta Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing

Urgent 2nd Class - Nick Bantock

Tonight I plan on going to Barnes & Noble to see if they have any of these.  With any luck, they will.

Tomorrow I’m dragging my mom wedding dress shopping with me.  I am very excited about this and I hope that I find what I want tomorrow and don’t have to extend the dress shopping to 2 days.  Also, tomorrow, Tom and I are meeting with the Chaplin to begin the process.  It finally feels like things are coming together!  My biggest dilema in the whole wedding planning thing is the centerpieces.  I have NO idea what to do for centerpieces.  Ideas are welcome! If we were having a spring wedding, I’d use one of these ideas:

However, our wedding is in February so I need something warmer looking, less gardenish.  I’m leaning mostly towards all shades of purple.  So until tomorrow…

I really am the world’s worst blogger. I’ve been busy! This weekend, my mom, my aunt Laurie and I went all over the city looking for bakers and florists that would serve the Air Force Base. You’d think people would be a little more willing to help out a soldier… I was actually quite surprised at the number of vendors that refused to deliver there. We finally settled on Chris Puhlman Flowers and The Ultimate Pastry Shop. As soon as I met the cake baker at The Ultimate Pastry Shop I knew it was the right fit. He was quirky and up-beat and everything I asked for, he said he could do, and gave me suggestions to make it one step better.

I’m finally posting about the Shaker Woods Festival that I went to a few weeks ago. It was so much fun. Here is a picture of the festival and a few pictures of things I fell in love with and couldn’t pass up.

 I’ve had so many projects going on that I don’t know what to post first. I’ve promised myself to start posting at least one project a week. I started a new stuffie last week. It’s a cat, his name is Percy. (Or whatever he is named by the person that receives him.)

My family was in last weekend and all of them decided they want stuffies for Christmas. (flattering of course But I have so much work to do now!! I’m setting a goal of May to have an Etsy shop up. The wedding is in February so that will give me 3 months after to get things flowing.      

The pin cushion and the bird on the spool to the right were created by The Sparrow’s Nest of Ohio.  Unfortunately, they do not have a website.