NEW FEATURES??

One of the wonderful things about nap time is the quiet time I get. Sometimes I bring a project to work on (that doesn't require lugging a bunch of stuff over) or a book to read. Occasionally I'll end up with nothing to do and while I'm kicking myself for not having something around, I end up checking out how creative other people are. I've had a list going of a few that I've been enjoying and just added them to my addiction of blogs.

There's so many things I see that other people have done that re-inspire me in a variety of ways. A few of them I've actually started doing . . . and hopefully can get it in gear enough to blog on as well!

Here's a few things I'm really into:
-- 52 Lists: by Hula Seventy (also seen on other blogs), like me she's a list-maker, and for 2010 is making a new list every week, on random things. .. like "Clothes I Loved Wearing As A Kid". Don't know that I'll keep up with this one weekly, but when I'm clever enough to come up with something that's list-worthy I'll try work something out

-- 5 Senses Friday: by Curious Girl and Abby, is really just what it implies . . . see, hear, smell, taste, feel . . . Have done a few 5 THINGS posts, but I like this better.

-- Interviews: Have seen on all kinds of blogs, right now I'm thinking it would be fun to have the kids I watch interview me. We'll see on this one. . .

-- Inspired by: Have posted a quote for this one already! Is really just a general topic for anything that I think just "clicks" with me. Blog posts from my favorite reads, a song, a photo, an anything.

Stay tuned!

INSPIRED BY . . . .

DOGWOOD BLOSSOMS

Have I mentioned I love Martha Stewart?

My mom recently sent me Martha's Encyclopedia of Crafts and it is awesome. It makes me wish I had a great, big, open studio that I could have room for so many different kinds of projects. Just about every page in this book has something I'd like to try (or have previously tried but had poor directions and lack of focus!).

So Martha's Encyclopedia is obviously set up from A to Z. And as I'm mentioning this I think I need to go Julie/Julia style on my blog and go through Martha's book A to Z with my own twist?

"B" has several projects and techniques, one of which is beaded flowers. I've been making and selling my bobby pins, but have been wanting to come up with some more stuff that people would be interested in. Also something that isn't crazy time intensive. Checking out Martha's beaded flowers made me think of how neat they would be in a wedding, as well as a keepsake for those involved. I was really drawn to the Dogwood Blossoms and decided to give one a try.

While working on the petals I decided that my first attempt to put them together would be on a {scd} bobby pin with a button center. Petals done, assembly started and I'm a little lost at what I should do with the ends of my wire. I threaded them through the button holes and thought I could wrap the ends around my bobby pin, but that added too much bulk and didn't look the greatest. Chad then suggested that I just twist the wire ends together after pulling it through the button holes and making it stamen. Why didn't I think of that to begin with and save myself 20 minutes of unnecessary twisting and wrapping? Having a second set of eyes and a practical mind is wonderful. Thanks Chad!

The end result is perfect! The stamen wire ends add another fun touch and the backside of the flower lays very flat, making it easy to attach to a bobby pin. Wearing my test run today to see how it holds up. Maybe we'll see a fun flower line of bobby pins available from {scd} soon!

BOOKS INTO MOVIES

I need to get to the library for something to read. In the meanwhile . . .

I don't really think that when books are made into movies they turn out super great. Dear John is the most recent book to film and I'm debating seeing the movie - mostly because I like looking at Channing Tatum. Lots of Nicholas Sparks' other books have done this, but I think the Notebook is the only one that was okay. A Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, Message in a Bottle are the others - all very average.

When the Harry Potter movies came out, I refused watching them. Those books were great and I already had my own images in mind for Hogwarts and all. I only got through the first 4 books and now that they've played the movies on tv I've watched them. I like them. Maybe because the special effects get better with each one?

I've read a lot of Jodi Picoult's books, but not My Sister's Keeper. I think I've decided I might just watch that movie and skip the book. Waiting for The Time Traveler's Wife to come out on dvd (maybe it is already?). After reading the book I'm interested to see how everything gets put together in the movie.

The one thing I dislike is when the movie shifts the timeline of the book. Events in the book are brushed right over or squished together or completely changed. I think that Into the Wild is one of the most guilty. The end of the movie suggests something different than the book. Hated it.

I love the Twilight books. The first movie was awful. The second movie was better. The last two better be great.

I realize that concepts for movies need to come from somewhere. And there's many many movies that I've seen and enjoyed that have been based on books I haven't read. I'll enjoy this ignorance.

OH FEBRUARY!

I got nothing accomplished in January . . .

And just as things have finally slowed down, we've decided to move! While I should have been working on all my do-to projects while Chad was gone, I instead goofed around a lot online and checked all the rental sites for what's available. Didn't really expect to find anything great, but I did! It's cheaper, it's bigger, it's in town (not that we're really out of town) and it has an awesome bathroom with a separate tub : )

We get to move in on March 1st, which is a Monday. Hoping that maybe they'll be moved out sooner so we can have the weekend to get stuff hauled over and the old place cleaned up. It'll be here so soon!

My one goal is to finish a bumper blanket I've been working on for nearly a year. It is my unfinished project challenge for my quilt group and they're supposed to be done in a week. We pledged our projects back in October. The second one I thought I'd be doing while Chad was gone did not get touched at all. So, this week, I will finish turning this crib bumper into a cute little blanket and then I can pack up my craft room . . and not feel as guilty for not finishing any other projects. Hopefully I'll see things with new eyes in the new space.

There's actually a second goal, but Chad will help with this one. We found a headboard/footboard/bed frame on Craigslist awhile back for $10. I enlisted my brother to help sand part of it while he was here over Christmas. We need to finish sanding and get it painted so it can be set up right away in the new place. This also might go for the coffee tables that I've got spray paint for (with a cool hammered finish).

The February header above is a little teaser for another project, but it may have to wait . . . to be continued with that one!

PLAYLIST: DANCE IT OUT

I love cranking up the music while I clean. I've still been a little stuck on the Regina Spektor Channel on Pandora, but had more energy than that when I cleaned tonight. Here's what I jammed to (they're not in any order). It's kinda been a standby playlist for getting any extra energy out. It's also really fun to dance around with no one here.

1. Carry Out - Timbaland
2. Give It Up To Me - Shakira
3. Good Girls Go Bad - Cobra Starship
4. Uprising - Muse
5. Bad Romance - Lady GaGa
6. Tik Tok - Kei$sha
7. Run This Town - JayZ
8. Whatcha Say - Jason DeRulo
9. Hot Mess - Cobra Starship
10. Wait Your Turn - Rihanna

BUSY AND CONFUSED

So ready for this month to be done with . . .

I thought things were supposed to slow down after Thanksgiving and Christmas? Not the case this year. Chad's gone for most of the month for work and in the past I'm left with all kinds of really quiet time, that normally drive me a little crazy, but right now I'm craving a little.

I had all these things to get done while he's away, things like painting headboards and nightstands, days of sewing, things that take awhile to do and things that I like to do from start to finish (so I actually finish them!). And lots of little fun things keep coming up. I've enjoyed doing them, but it saps my energy to start into a long project late in the afternoon.

I'm anxious for a lot of things too. It's hard to be patient. Plus being alone for a month has messed with my sense of time. It is Sunday right?

This all sounds a bit vague. Here's what the month has planned.

-- Went back to work on the 4th. Love spending time with the kids again. Have been watching an extra kid since then as well, and I'm not sure if it will be for another 1 or two weeks. I like definite plans, so not having a for sure thing gets to me some.

-- Lots of dinners with my grandparents and other friends. Very thankful these people know how lonely I can get and that I can spend time with them.

-- Wedding events happen in Bozeman in January. **I am not engaged**. I sometimes work for After 5 and Weddings (used to work there full time, still maintain their website). It's been awhile since working there, so it's fun to dress up a little for work and to see the new styles and businesses here. Hard not to look at things and keep myself from imagining my own big day.

-- I'm very fortunate to have a great hair stylist and when I call to schedule an appointment I don't have to wait too long. Some people thing it's a lot of money to spend on getting your hair done, but there's not many things I do that "waste" money. She's less expensive than many other places in town. I also wait longer (most people go in every 8 weeks for color) to get mine done. This time it was more out of the need for a haircut (it's been since July? for a cut, Sept for color?). In my eagerness to cut off all the scraggly ends I asked for more to be cut off than I was ready for. 6 inches gone. It's great, I love it, but I shoulda eased into a shorter length and just done 3? I'm still experimenting on how to style it. I'd like to skip ahead 2 months here and have it a little longer and know what I like to do with it.

-- Went to my quilt group. It was my turn for snacks. I really wanted to make something yummy, but time escaped me. Luckily 2 people bring snacks, so we agreed that she'd handle the treat and I'd bring drinks. The speaker this month was from a local shop, which is typical. She talked to us about thread. I had no clue there was so much to know! I've always looked for whatever color I need and never what it's made of (cotton, polyester, wool, etc). Besides that there's all kinds of different thicknesses. I still have no clue. We have one month left for our challenge projects. Back in October, we brought projects that we pledged to be completed by the meeting in February. I brought two. One is a crib bumper that I cut apart to make a little kids quilt (it's something someone asked me to do, and I've had it for awhile). The other is a quilt my mom was making me for my high school graduation in 2003. She sent it to me at the end of the summer, all in pieces. I just need to sew them all together. This is supposed to be one of the things I get done with all my quiet time.

-- Had a good friend, Kelly, visit over the weekend from Alaska. It was fun to see her and I wish I had more free time while she was here (I had to babysitting Saturday morning). For Christmas, Chad and another friend bought myself and his wife a day at the spa. It was kind of a pain to get the appointments schedule as they only have one Saturday a month where they have someone to do facials. We had afternoon appointments and Kelly was able to get in for a massage too. It was so nice to relax in their little wait room and just melt into the massage table. Afterward, I was scheduled for a facial, which was heaven. I don't know what exactly hit me, but after my appointment I got sick, still at the spa. It was embarrassing. Came home and was sick more. Started to feel better. Went out with Kelly and some of her other friends, but left early since whatever what wrong with me started to come back.

-- After Kelly left today I started to rearrange my craft room a bit. And my bedroom. But I have no focus, so moved the bedroom back as it was and got most of the craft stuff more organized. Felt like it's been awhile for a post, so here I am, typing away, hoping that if I "talk" about my . . . I don't know what to even call it . . . that I'd feel less whatever it is.

-- I may have mentioned this before. I decided to try and expand the stores my bobby pins are at. I asked friends and family about places they might recommend sending a sample to. 16 businesses. Some funky gift shops/boutiques, others day spas/salons. I typed up a nice little letter and mailed them out Tuesday. Hoping to have some of them interested and having a hard time being patient on this. Decided that I need to give the mail time to arrive and managers time to hopefully contact me. I'll give it a week and start making phone calls to see what they're all thinking.

So . . . dear January . . . please slow down just a tad and allow me some time to really get things done, I really do enjoy the quiet.

5 THINGS

I'm gonna get right to it . . .

- the Game of Things: A very fun game that we played on New Year's Eve. The group got to be so big that we had to eventually play as couples. The "reader" draws a topic, such as "things you shouldn't teach a pet to do" and everyone writes an answer on a piece of paper. The reader reads the responses aloud and people take turns guessing who answered what. Once your answer has been matched correctly with you, you're not allowed to guess anymore. The last person standing to figure it all out gets points. Do what you'd like with the points, we turned it into a drinking game and the winner each round got to select #-of-their-correct-guesses people to drink more of whatever they're drinking. It turned a little adult, especially with prompts like "things a gentleman shouldn't do". Play it and have lots of fun.

- Reading: I just finished Blame, by Michelle Huneven. It's about a woman who wakes up to being arrested after a black out while driving and killing 2 people. I enjoyed the first part of the book better than the ending, but there's some great developments at the end of the book that make you think. About to start Change of Heart, by Jodi Picoult.

- Random But Very Cool: Round Robin Press . . . they make plant-able greeting cards. Came across this while reading another blog. Looked them up and they are sold here in Bozeman at Perspectives. Will check them out on my next shopping trip downtown.

- New Restaurant: Audrey's Pizza Oven . . . going there tonight. Will let you know how it is. Was an old pizza joint here years ago and when the previous owner closed up she sold her recipes to this guy. He had an accident before getting things reopened and after who knows what it took to get back to getting things going, he's completed his dream. I hope it's yummy.

- Relax: Right now my favorite products are from Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy line. Lavender Chamomile. I've had the shower gel and sugar scrub for awhile. I got some lotion for Christmas. I then was so excited to have so much of it that I went to the after Christmas sales and got room spray and home fragrance oil. It's the best. There's lots of things that I think smell too strong, but this is really the best. And even better is that I got a new bathrobe too. I hate that it's so cold out, but I love taking a long, hot shower and being very girly with all the stuff I use, then getting all wrapped up and cozy, getting into bed with a good book and SleepyTime Tea. The best.

"Stare. It is way to educate your eyes and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long." - Walker Evans

SARAH CHRISTINE DESIGN : ONLINE

www.sarahchristinedesign.com
So very excited to have a "professional" website. I need to find a better camera to take pictures of the bobby pins, but I couldn't wait to get it up and running. I'm hoping to expand on the locations that I sell at, there's about 15 prospective places I've got on my list, from the wonderful suggestions of many family and friends! We'll see how that goes and maybe come up with some more fun things to make and sell : )

MITTEN MANIA

As I previously mentioned, there's a project I've been working on that I'm a little obsessed with. A wonderful lady that goes to the same quilt group I attend shared her own mitten project (she brought like 15 to the meeting to show off!). Shortly after that we had a "sew in" day, which is to come work on a yearly group charity quilt or something of your own or to see someone else demo a technique. Right before Thanksgiving she brought extra mitten patterns to sew in day.

They are made of "old" wool sweaters. Once they're washed, they shrink, fusing the fibers together, making it better for cutting apart and sewing . . . and the end result of keeping your hands warm! The insides are lined with fleece.

With the long Thanksgiving weekend, I packed my sewing things to bring along to Great Falls with Mission: Make Lots of Mittens all planned. I checked out the second hand stores for their sweater selection, but didn't find many that were cheap as I wanted them to be. Another quilter suggested checking out the many thrift shops in Great Falls. I think I kinda cleaned them out. Of the 3 I visited, I ended up with about 20 sweaters! I wasn't able to make many that weekend as they need to be washed and dried. I got around to that right when we got back to Bozeman.

Over a week, I'd come home and work a bit on them. One night I spent cutting things apart and matching up the tops to the upper and lower palms and wrist bands. Another night I spent cutting out the fleece linings. A couple nights of sewing the outer shell and linings together. And finally adding the wristbands and having many nice sets of mittens!

The first round of mitten making was just in time for Christmas. I made 12 pairs to begin with and gave away as gifts. Unfortunately in all my crazy cutting and sewing I neglected to take pictures. I've got lots of sweaters left to make more though : )

So, round two begins . . . this time also smaller mittens for kids with the left over pieces that are big enough. I'm still in the matching things together stage and have got them all over the guest bedroom. What am I going to do with all my mittens? No idea really, but I think I'm in mitten love . . .

2010

Happy 2010, it came so quickly!! At the last minute, we decided to not do the bar thing this year and had a small get together at our place. It was lots of fun, we played a new game, "10 Things", ate lots of snacks and drank a little too much champagne. Thanks to everyone that stopped by : )

New Year Resolutions? Not really. Things I've been meaning to do and hope to get a start on beginning Monday while Chad is gone for work most of the month? Plenty!

-- Get back into the Curves routine. 30 minutes. It's not tough stuff, just not always what I want to do on my way home from work.

-- Craft closet is a minor disaster, this will get tackled as well while Chad is gone

-- Quilt Guild Challenge. Back in October we had to bring in unfinished projects that we pledged to get completed by the Feb. meeting. Nearly done with my first project, need to get the second one going!

-- Make bread. I've got my wonderful KitchenAid mixer and have only make cookies and other sweets. Have wanted to make bread and when the urge to do it strikes, it always requires a trip to the store. . . and then I get lazy.

-- Go through my closet and get rid of stuff I don't wear, reorganize so I can find what I do want to wear.

-- Catch up on many old projects I want to share here!

There's probably a lot more, but those are what's in my head now. I've been itching to rearrange my bedroom as well. Chad caught me sitting on the bed today just looking at everything. No good plans for the bedroom yet, I'll have to wait until he leaves to start moving stuff around.

2 more days. My place will become a complete disaster in my efforts to make it less so. I love it.

DUTCH APPLE MINI TARTS

Ingredients
(crust)
1 package (15 ounces) refrigerated pie crusts

(for the filling)
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, sliced and chopped (3 cups)

(topping)
3 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

**NOTE: this is the recipe as I found it from Pampered Chef, however I've only used 1/3 to 1/2 of the filling mix, so when I make it now I only cut up 1 or 2 apples, or grab another package of pie crust and make double the amount.

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. On lightly floured surface, unroll one pie crust. Cut 12 circles from dough. Press into a mini-muffin pan. Repeat with remaining pie crust.

2. For apple filling, whisk cream cheese until smooth. Whisk in sugar until fluffy. Mix in egg until well blended. Stir in flour and cinnamon until smooth. Peel and slice apples. Chop into small pieces. Stir into cream cheese mixture.

3. Fill prepared muffin cups with apple mixture, filling over top of pastry. For topping, combine 3 tablespoons flour and 3 tablespoons brown sugar. Cut in butter until forms coarse crumbs. Spoon over apple filling.

4. Bake in preheated oven 18-20 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 24.

**NOTE: Pampered Chef makes lots of products that makes preparing this very easy. I love my mini-tart shaper for putting the cut dough circles into the pan, so easy. If you are interested in any other Pampered Chef products, I know a great consultant - Jena - and you can shop with her online!

5 THINGS

While at the airport last night to pick up my brother, my boyfriend saw this older woman 10 feet away, sporting a red ball cap and he says that she looks familiar, in the she's a movie star kinda way. I said she kind of looks like Glenn Close, but no way would that really be her in Bozeman, MT. Someone else we knew there came over and suggested the same thing. Taking another look, the cap she's got on is from Damages, a tv show she's currently on, however I've never seen it. Turns out she and/or her sister own the Leaf and Bean coffee shop here, along with Poor Richards (bookstore). Crazy. I'm obviously very unaware when it comes to picking out celebs. . . once in Vegas, LeBron James (plus his crew) were walking right in front of us at the Caesar's shopping meca. No clue. The same trip to Vegas also included almost being run over by Apollo Anton Ono (speed skater/Dancing With the Stars) in his attempt to escape from some crazy fans.

So, my brother is here for a week to spend Christmas with me and our grandparents. It is nice to have him here. I'm looking forward to a very mellow Christmas Eve/Christmas morning as any other family making it won't be here until dinner on Christmas. I've got lots of knitting projects to curl up on the couch with. My mom taught me over the summer while they stopped by Montana. Since then I get really anxious to finish a project and end up starting new ones that I'm excited about. I need to find a neat basket-like thing to keep everything together by the couch. Haven't had much luck yet, but I'll find it. . . or make it.

I find a lot of things online that either inspire me to create something on my own, to copy/modify their projects, want to buy, etc. Most of the time those things don't go much farther than just thinking about them. I want to share some of that stuff. .. in hopes of kicking myself into action and because I hope you will enjoy them too! I can't think of a very good post name for when I post my 5 THINGS, maybe it should just be that simple. . . if anyone has an ideas, you are invited to post a comment!

- Heather Bailey Sewing Patterns: Henrietta Turtle . . . the cutest pincushion EVER! Must buy the pattern or kit soon to make one or I don't know how I will go on!

- CB2: Clothespin Chopsticks . . . I already have a set of chopsticks that I like, but these are awesome and have several people in mind that these would make wonderful gifts for.

- Gallatin Quilt Guild: These ladies pretty much rock. I've joined a few months back and attend monthly meetings. People bring stuff for show and tell, and I get way reinspired to finish things that are half done or to try a new product. There was a bring your stuff and sew day before Thanksgiving, where a member demo'd a particular pattern she'd brought for a show and tell. I went on a wool sweater hunt to make some of my own *more to come, many are Christmas presents and I can't ruin the surprise*. Kind have been a maniac about this project. . . if anyone has old sweaters (at least 70% wool) and would like to get rid of them, let me know, I want them!

- Pandora: Regina Spektor Channel . . . is what I've been listening to for the last two weeks when I get a chance to sit down at the sewing machine. I feel great listening to it and time just flies.

- Reading: Jodi Picoult and Emily Giffen . . . both great writers. Have been reading their books almost cover to cover for the last few weeks.

"Stare. It is way to educate your eyes and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long." - Walker Evans

CUSTOM ORDER --> tote bag

First "custom order" bag! I have a similar bag (mine has a flap that goes over the front) that lots of people admire. One gal liked mine so much she asked me to make one for her. She told me the colors she likes, wanted it open on the top and with lots of pockets! The "front" side has 2 small pockets, the "back" has one big pocket (great for slipping in a magazine!) The inside of the bag is lined with many different sized pockets for pens, keys, and more. I love mine, I hope she's enjoying her new bag just as much!

SCD @ RE:FRESH

It's been about a week, but I'd like to officially announce that my bobby pins are being sold at another location in Sitka, Alaska. They can be found at Re:fresh Salon located at 101 Lake St #A (below the Westmark Hotel). Got them in there at the last minute for Christmas. Hope to get some more things up there in the future.