a little goes a long way

Here is what $40 worth of craft supplies looks like:


Craft sticky dots, new ink pad (which I don't like), Martha Stewart flower bits, Martha Stewart stamps, acrylic stamp block, and new cards.



I've been wanting an alphabet stamp set for a long time, and I picked this one up at the new MS section at Michael's, thinking I could use my 40% off coupon. Boo on Michael's for not allowing coupons for MS goodies!!! I would buy so much of it. I considered the purchase for a solid quarter of an hour before deciding that I am worth it, and bought the stamp set and goodies to make cards.



I made four. That is not a very efficient means of making cards, as the average cost is a whopping $10. However, I made said cards while watching Casino Royale, so Daniel Craig made up for it.

towels so cute, i could eat them!

How cute are these towels? Kmart! Clearance! There is a pear one, too, but it was in the sink while this photo was being taken. Silly pears. I picked them up so I can take them to work in lieu of paper towels or paper napkins.

Pros: reusable, large enough to clean up my messes, freaking adorable.

Cons: weird looks from other lunchers in the breakroom. I think I'll take my chances.

No time for crafting

But that doesn't stop me from working in my backyard garden(s)! I'd like to say that I grew each and every one of these flowers from scratch, but that is just not true. The delphinium, coreopsis, pincushion flower and dianthus are all from 1# potted plants from Lowe's. They weren't even in the ground yet when I cut them for this Mother's Day bouquet. The roses are all mine, though! I planted three last year on the side of my house and they are growing like gangbusters. Expect more shots as the summer continues.



and my new secret for transporting flowers to/fro my mother's house? An oatmeal container!!! Vases never seem to stand upright in my cupholder or on the floor, so I tucked it inside an oatmeal container (emptied, of course!). It sits on the floor without tipping over. Brilliant!

way behind

I'm only on project #7 of LJ's 50 projects in 2007 goal. Number seven. Yeeesh! On the upside, I've been starting a lot of projects and working on several intermittently. A scarf for my dad, knit during my one-hour bus commute daily, my living room paint job, my bathroom wallpaper stripping/paint job, and constant organizational projects in my house, just to name a few. And the biggest of all: my garden. This kind of takes over during the summer months and precludes any actual fun crafting projects. Unfortunately, nothing is growing yet. Grr.

So here is lucky number seven, a card for my mom. I used little foam pop-up dots and some random scrap paper. She's going to Peru on vacation for 12 days, so this card is supposed to look like Peru. That's Macchu Picchu in front of the mountains :)

bristow-aversary!

One year ago today I adopted a dog from the Humane Society of Indianapolis. At the time, I thought he was just a big (giant) lug of an adult dog who liked to play ball and be petted. How wrong was I! Instead, I am the proud pup-parent of a medium sized still-a-puppy-dog who spends every waking minute patrolling my property, whilst shedding his body weight (all 76 pounds of it) in dog hair every minute. On the upside, my home will never, ever be invaded by cats, squirrels or leaves because he is there to protect us! Happy one-year Bristow-aversary!

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they're really just onions

My garden is in full swing. I started seeds around March 20th, but thanks to crazy Indiana weather, couldn't plant them until last weekend.



I had marginal success- they grew quickly but most fizzled out before I could get them in the ground. I had good success with the pepper seeds I planted- we'll see how they fare. I also started tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, and herbs. I also direct sowed two types of beans and peas, and more of all of the above. I planted a ton of random flower seeds- Zinnias (Cut 'n Come Again, Pinwheel Mix, Purple), Cosmos (asst), Sunflowers (asst mix), Jasione, Gaillardia, Black Eyed Susan, lavender, and also a ton from my mom's house that she hadn't marked. We shall see!

Finally, the bulbs I planted last fall are beginning to bloom. I'm a bit of an allium freak and found some on clearance at Meijer- most went by my front steps covering up the fading daffodils. Some Globemasters by my mailbox have yet to bloom. I read on GardenWeb that they self sow rapidly, and I am very much looking forward to a garden full of alliums!

two months?!?!?!

Has it been that long? I am such a slacker. I often compose posts in my head, complete with pictures and links, but I guess I haven't been transcribing them and posting. Oops. I must say I've been a craft slacker lately, but that may be because I got a new, real, full-time job, in addition to my part-time coffee serving job. So with two jobs, travel for work, weddings, and the like, I have little time to craft. Plus, we are headed into garden season, and I spend most of my evenings outdoors.

I wanted to have a photo of my loverly Amy Butler In Stitches A-long Clutch, but alas, it was not meant to be. I started it at the end of March and was flying through the last bit on March 31, just in time to meet Finny/Donk's deadline. Then I realized that I am a crappy sewer and my purse was hideous. It is still sitting on my dresser, unfinished, because I was too crushed to start over.

On the upside, my Alliums are blooming (haven't taken a pic yet oops), my garden is planted, and now it's just a waiting game until I have lots of freshly cut flowers this summer!

I'll leave you with a pic of my dog (left) and my mom's (right) at the Mutt Strut last weekend.