-image-And I Don’t Play One On TV

January 30, 2011 | I'm an Idiot,TV/movie addiction

I, my friends, am not a psychic. After watching every single episode of Medium (7 years over 2 networks — way to screw that up, NBC), when Mr. Squirrel and I sat down to watch our Tivo’d episode, we had NO FRIGGIN idea it was the last show. ever.

So when the plotline (and I won’t spoil anything) pointed to something undesirable happening to Joe, the patriarch of the DuBois family, I was all “OH THEY’D BETTER NOT TAKE JOE OFF THE SHOW” with such fierceness that it woke my husband from his tv-watching stupor to question why such a reaction. I blurted out my (what I thought was OBVIOUS) love for Joe. He’s the best tv husband Of All Time, take THAT Mike Brady!

Soon after the initial signs of impending doom for my Joe (ok, shit, I’m spoiling and soiling myself), the tears were pouring, the husband was mocking and well, all felt crafts had to be put aside so I could properly mourn a loss or two on the show and then for myself, because HOLY BATBALLS MISS CLEO, I had no stinkin’ clue! None! NONE that this would be the last show. I needed some prep here; at least I’m getting some closure. Wah.

Seriously. I’m so sad. It was one of the few shows that my husband and I looked forward to watching together (which leaves 30 Rock, Psych, The Office, Community and The Closer, which is on hiatus and actually bothers Mr. Squirrel because he cannot fathom why Fritz is with Brenda Lee — oh but look, it’s almost over with, too. Great. At least I’m prepared. Let’s begin healing now.).

Who’s your ideal tv husband? Might I find a new one to comfort me in my time of mourning?

-image-Meet My Nate Berkus

January 28, 2011 | the homestead

Oprah has Nate.

I have Kara!

I’m not sure when I transitioned from reading only mommy blogs to primarily craft and home decor blogs, but it’s happened. I guess I’m at a different place in my life nowadays. Don’t get me wrong, I still need support from other awesome moms and follow some of the mommy bloggers that I became friends with during my two pregnancies–I just also caught a major case of the crafting/fixing up my kid-wrecked home-itis.

My favorite home decor/design/DYI blogs is Kara’s. She’s upbeat, clearly loves what she does, and has a gift for explaining why she’s doing what she’s doing to people unfamiliar with design rules.

Anyway, I thought I’d share her blog with you and see, too, what you think of her advice for our micro-entryway.

-image-Overheard at HS HQ

January 27, 2011 | the homestead

Jojo to himself:  ugh. Bad idea jeans!

*****

Jojo (from bathroom):  MOMMMMM! YOU NEED TO COME IN HERE!

Me (running into bathroom):  NUGGETTTT! You do not use mommy’s make-up case as toilet paper!

SERIOUSLY.

*****

Jojo:  You’re fired!

Nugget:  YOU FIRED!

Me:  Awesome.

*****

Nugget: Mommy best mommy in whole wide world. I love you ALL much. Best mommy ever.

Yes, that last comment makes all the other stress melt away. I heart my boys!

-image-Resolution: Failed. Flowers: Felted.

January 19, 2011 | "project!"

Oh. Em. Geeee people. I can’t stop making felt flowers:

I’ve been to a certain craft store three times since my resolution to NOT enter any craft store until all previous crafts have been completed.

*head shakes*
**shame spiral**

-image-Stop Me Before I Craft Again

January 9, 2011 | "project!"

I need an ankle bracelet that sounds an alarm whenever I go into a craft store or crafting aisle.

My name is Stacy, and I’m a craftaholic. And not like a good crafter, like some people who pull together junk or really inexpensive items from a craft store and then make their homes look like the inside of a really expensive gift store.

Oh no, I’m terrible. But I have so much fun trying to craft. And it’s not so much about winning, people, but having fun along the way. Or at least that’s what I tell myself while crafting and also my five year old when he tantrums during Candy Land.

I should probably start with my sewing projects, but I don’t think I have any pictures of the dress I made (yes, an entire dress. I simply could not have done it without my sewing friend/instructor. It wouldn’t BE done. It would be a big, shameful heap of incompletion stuffed in the back of the guest room dresser drawer.).

I don’t have a picture of me in the dress, but here’s the fabric:

Before that, she helped me sew a curtain for our bathroom window. It’s fabulous — just imagine it. There. See? Good. And I sewed these travel blankets for my boys:

Please, make her stop. Please?

Last weekend, after spending over 2 hours trying to figure out why the machine was spitting out wads of gnarled thread on the underside of my fabric, I sewed a curtain for my new laundry room from a large tablecloth I scored at HomeGoods:

One day this Fall, Jojo asked for a Gingerbread Doll. I had sheets of felt (foreshadowing, people) hanging around, so we made the front side one color and the backside another color. I very poorly sewed the beasts together, threw in some fluff and then, because I didn’t think about sewing buttons on ahead of time, used my hot glue gun to tack on some buttons. How horrifying are these? Way! Yet, the boys truly loved them for a solid 7 minutes.

Please note:  these felt gingerbread men were not baked (as they are shown on foil) — that was just to prevent hot glue from messin’ up my dining room table.

A couple of weeks after the introduction of our treasured Gingerbread Men, Jojo requested a stuffed dinosaur from Mr. Squirrel while I was asleep one Sunday morning (the glorious day of my sleeping in-ingness)…and I could hear futzing around and general confusion a floor beneath me, but I was really quite happily horizontal, so I let Mr. Squirrel struggle with the 1980 Kenmore sewing machine. It needed to be thread, which, to someone who hasn’t threaded a machine AND refuses to read instructions manuals, is pretty impossible to figure out.

After I had some coffee, I let him off the hook by showing him how to thread the machine and get the project underway… and here is the completed T-Rex:

I know– keep looking. It’s the profile.

Of a T-Rex.

Allegedly.

I took a break from sewing for a bit (mainly because the machine started making wonky sounds) and started in on some other fun projects…

The kids and I made birdseed ornaments for (some of) their friends and Jojo’s nursery school teacher. I say “some of their friends” because many of the ornaments broke because I’m impatient. I will definitely try these again because they’re perfect for the kids to help with.

We saved these classy birdfeeders for our backyard (using recyclables because Jojo is allll about saving junk for “projects” — like his frosting-covered spork from yesterday’s birthday party):

In the midst of one of my guilt trips for not driving 13 hours (one way!) to my hometown for Christmas, I sent these magnets for my parents’ fridge to let them know that we missed them and wanted to be there (although I think I told my mom that every. day. in. December…but still, the guilt!).

This project also helped me use up a minuscule fraction of scrapbooking paper that somehow I’ve accumulated although I don’t scrapbook. I believe I only have 1,354 pages left!

Right before Thanksgiving, I decided to make kid-specific coloring/activity books. Jojo had pages upon pages of Thanksgiving and Fall themed mazes and coloring pages featuring dinosaurs. Nugget’s, on the other hand, featured Team Umizoomi Thanksgiving printables and friendlier looking dinosaurs than his brother’s. They loved them!

I then quickly made seven more towards Christmas with Christmas and winter-themed printables and activity pages and threw in some awesome sticker sheets. I don’t know what came over me or why I chose to make seven. Two went to my boys, three to cousins, two to traitors who moved away and one to another friend. And that makes 8. I guess I made 8. Seriously.

The following may be my favorite — the glittery letter! I made a couple of these for Christmas gifts (in red or green) and am making our favorite babysitter one in a beautiful purple after she gushed over this one on our mantle:

Currently, I’m obsessed with making felt flower pins. I pin the big ass red one to my teal hat and it adds some sass to my outfit. Because I need more sass.

While winding down the felt flower pins, I’m thinking ahead of Valentine’s Day and want to use my existing felt and scrapbook paper supplies to make cards for the kids in Jojo’s class. And of course finish the projects I promised myself I would finish before starting any more crafting projects.

-image-I’ll be Honest. This is a Filler Post.

January 8, 2011 | Showcase of Brilliant Ideas

I’m collecting pictures from my recent Craftapalooza (otherwise known as Avoiding Stuff That Really Needs to Get Done Around the House-a-Thon), but I have to find/take pictures of some of the sewing projects…so in the mean time, here’s some cute pics of the boys playing outside:

We have around 10 inches right now — light, fluffy — totally incompatible with snowman building or snowball throwing, which is just fine with me. I’ve learned a few things over the past couple of years, and here’s my plan of attack when faced with having to play outside in the snow:

1. Dress for Snow Immersion. Who was I ever fooling just wearing jeans with boots? No. Save myself some shivering by pulling on my snow pants each and every venture outdoors for “playing” or “shoveling” so I can let the boys dictate when it’s time to come inside. Then I look like the Fun Mom instead of the complaining mom. This also allows for my second and final step…

2. Sit down and let the fun come to you. I’ll be honest — I weigh more now than I’ve ever weighed (except when pregnant), so this is probably not my healthiest option, but chasing kids in the snow is a lot of work, especially when you’re sporting tundra-stomping boots and full ski gear. I like to crawl instead and then the boys come and attack me, which I can face a lot better on all fours (yes, go ahead…), I can either take the brunt of the attack or collapse and let them fly over me, resulting in squeals from them and a tiny break for myself (wherein I lie on the ground like a big, bloated beached snow whale). Awesomeness.

Hopefully I can point and shoot and download tomorrow so you can get your jealous on with my craps, I mean, crafts.

-image-This Year Goes to Eleven.

January 1, 2011 | holidays

Can it get better than this?

2011 will tell.

All the best from us here at Hollow Squirrel to you!

*****
I usually don’t “do” resolutions because I always always, without fail, fail at keeping up with them. But this year, let’s show some cajones and throw some resolutions out there:

1. I will somehow get this blogger’s husband (and alleged HollowSquirrel reader) to leave a comment. Oh yes, I did!

That was kind of lightweight, I realize… no doubt my beloved SJ will pester Said Husband until he wimpers and strikes a comment. RIGHT? Good. I can pretty much cross this one off my list and DONE! SUCCESS!

2. I will not finish all outstanding projects and not purchase any new crafting materials until the following projects are complete:
* honeymoon scrapbook — pictures in, notations not… so I think I’ll just be scribbling “Hawaii” and “lush foliage” under most pictures since my memory has crapped the bed in the 7 year gap (except for the 11 Mile Trail o’ Tears death hike that Mr. Squirrel forced upon me…that’s all still pretty darn clear in my memory) (yep, still bitter).
* Christmas ball wreath — that was suppose to be for my aunt circa Christmas 2008…oops!
* MY CHILDREN’s BABY BOOKS (commence shame spiral) (must log off and inhale ice cream while staring off into space).
* Alter 2 pillowcases, make curtain for kitchen door and four curtains for basement windows. Ugh.

3. Stop with the resolutions already. DONE! SUCCESS!

I know you’re going to rock 2011 like you did back in 1984 (remember? Yeah, me neither, but I’m sure we were kick ass). Happy 2011!