Lost mojo, Favorite Things

If you find my mojo can you send it back? I'm guessing it is wherever sleep has gone.  I have had the worst time sleeping for the past week. It's getting so frustrating. I'm going to make a real effort to get back in the craft room tomorrow.  I think I was/am stressed with all construction stuff going on.  It's just very disruptive to our daily schedule, and I am pretty Type A so that just doesn't work for me.

In the meantime I'd thought I'd share a few things I am currently loving with you:

1. Yankee Candle Lavender Vanilla

I try to burn this a little while before bed, they say that lavender is calming so I figured it can't hurt!

2. Johnson's Melt Away Stress Lotion (Lavender and Chamomile)

Are you noticing a theme here? I put this on before bed too.

3. Burt's Bees Mama Bee Leg and Foot Creme

This is peppermint and rosemary scented. It's amazing. After running around after G all day, and working out it's a nice treat to put this on! Makes my feet and legs all cool and tingly.

4. Celestial Seasoning's Peppermint Tea

When I was younger I used to make fun of my mom because she would always be drinking tea. She would seriously have like 8 cups a day.  Now I am a tea nut, must be genetic!  I love this tea with a little honey and milk.  It reminds me of my Baczi.

5. Essie Topless and Barefoot Nail Polish

Typically in the Winter I wear dark purples and reds, but now that Spring is on it's way I'm going lighter. It's a really lovely nude shade.

6. The Long, Long Trailer

This is one of my all time favorites.  As you may or may not know,  I absolutely love Lucille Ball.  This DVD is hard to come by, and I'll never forget that somehow husband got it for me for our very first Christmas together.  Every time I'm in a funk I pop it in and it cheers me up!

7. Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Relief Cream

I get SUPER dry skin during the Winter, and I have tried just about every cream, lotion, moisturizer, there is out there. This is the ONLY one that works for me and I love it.  My face also likes to pretend I'm still 16 and break out when I use certain products, and it doesn't with this which is always a plus.

Well, for now I am off to apply all my lotions, light candles, and drink tea.  I'd say I'm watching the movie, but I'll actually be watching Modern Family.

Night friends!

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Simple Hello, Lawnscaping Challenge!

Hi friends!

Today was lovely, the husband was off today so we did lots of fun stuff. Unfortunately, I had a dentist appointment first thing, I'll never figure out why I keep scheduling them so early!

It's hard to believe that on Friday it was 70 degrees, and now it's snowing again! I am very ready for Spring. All of this snow is giving me cabin fever!

I have a simple little card for you today, hope you enjoy!  I am entering this into the current Lawnscaping Challenge. All about paper piecing...one of my FAVORITE techniques!

Supplies:

Paper: White, Hawaiian Shores cardstock (PTI), It's Official patterned paper (PTI)

Stamps: Just My Type and Sew Lovely (Lawn Fawn)

Ink: Versafine Black

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Sunny Days

Today it was sunny and 70 degrees. We spent most of the day outside. Here's a little card to celebrate. Sadly, it's back to 40 tomorrow.

 

Supplies

Paper: Kraft, Stamper's Select White, Summer Sunrise, Distressed Dots (PTI)

Stamps: Fly Free, Bannerific (Lawn Fawn), Fillable Frames 8 (PTI)

Ink: Tumbled Glass distress ink, versafine black

Fun Stuff: Rhinestones, Hawaiian Shores Ribbon (PTI)

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Is it over yet?

Hello blog friends, how I miss you all.

We have been spending the last few days at my mom's to escape the sounds of demolition. I am happy to report that demolition and water proofing are done.  Can we talk about how much of a mess it made?  I guess all of the dust from jack hammering concrete floated up through our ducts and vents and I have a lovely layer on EVERYTHING.  I cleaned like a mad woman yesterday after they left, and did again today.  There is still dust everywhere I look and it is driving me insane.  I'm also in a panic because I'm sure it can't be good breathing this in. My irrational mind has thoughts of asbestos and mold running rampant.

Here is a quick picture I managed to snap at the end of today. This is the last of the crap from the basement.  So, imagine this x 10, and that's how much has been hauled away.  The next step is to let the newly poured concrete cure for about 2 weeks before work can progress.  Thank God I have 2 weeks to recover. I am hoping construction isn't as bad as demolition.

Now that we can get back to our regularly scheduled lives for the time being I am hoping to be back with a card for you tomorrow!

The good news is I've been so warn out from all the hustle and bustle that I have been sleeping like a baby.

So for now, I am off to workout and watch tv.  Good night!

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Tuesday Tuesday

Well our basement is currently being ripped to shreds as I sit here in the kitchen, with my jacket on, drinking coffee. (Jacket on because it's like 35 degrees out and they have to keep the door open). It actually sounds like the house could collapse at any moment, and you know the funny thing? G is napping right through it!

What I don't like is that I had to lock the cats in our bedroom.  God help me if they pee on anything. Sometimes when they get mad they do, so I tried not to irritate them this morning.

Fred, thinking he's a baby

Babs, trying to be sneaky

I just placed my order over at Papertrey Ink for their February release.  I'm so happy with the things I got, even if I did spend more than anticipated.  I have lots of good ideas running through my head.  I made a mental plan in my head to buy stuff every other month, in an effort to save some money.  Something about knowing I have a craft room coming makes me feel like I need to buy things to fill it up! That's logical, right?? So this month I splurged on a lot of Hero Arts, some Lawn Fawn, and PTI.  I'll take a picture of some of my goodies later and post it.

For now, here is a card I put together last night. Not sure how I feel about it. I do love how the dress turned out though.

Off to put some shoes on because my feet are freezing!

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And so it begins...

Construction, or should I say demolition, on the basement begins tomorrow. YIKES.

For like 8 weeks I will not be able to lounge around in my pjs til noon, walk around half clothed, or take a nap.  I'm sure our schedules will be thrown off, but I must remind myself it is for the greater good! Thankfully the weather is supposed to be warming up, so I'm hoping we can get outside while they're are tearing things apart (I'm sure it will be loud).

So Joy shared a card she submitted for publication that did not get picked up...so I will too.  It was my second go at the submitting to a publication call, and my second time not getting picked up. I was a little disappointed, but I will not give up!  It just means I have to craft more, and buy more stuff right??? (Kidding! Well sort of...)

For now we are off to make Valentine's for Daddy before he gets home from work. We have about an hour...why do I procrastinate?

Supplies:
Paper: Kraft, Summer Sunrise, Pure Poppy, Stampers Select White (PTI)
Ink: Versamark Versafine Black, Wild Honey and Antique Linen Distress Inks
Stamps: Little Bitty Bird and Miniscrapbooking Series (PTI), Bannerific(Lawn Fawn)
Die: Spiral Notebook Page (PTI)
Fun stuff: Buttons (PTI), Heart Brads (Making Memories)

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Twitter...

Despite saying I would NEVER get a Twitter account I did.  A lot of companies/people I like have twitter, and so I jumped on the bandwagon.

What I do like is that everytime I have one of my random thoughts I can just put it out there without having to jump on here and come up with a whole blog post.

Would you like to be subjected to my random thoughts daily? Then I suggest you follow me on Twitter.



I believe you can click that lovely box and it will take you there, but if you prefer to search from Twitter.com just look for neatandtangled.

Here is what is sad....I am so Twitter illiterate I am seriously having issues figuring it out.  I feel old. I know I'm not, but I really feel behind the times with this one.

Do you have Twitter? If yes, let me know and I'll follow you too.

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Weekend Fun

Last night I had about 15 lovely  girlfriends over for a little girls night in.  Much wine and food was consumed, and a good time was had by all. I'm pretty lucky to have a great group of friends. Tonight the hubby and I are going out to dinner for an early Valentine's Day date.  I'm excited, think we're doing Mexican.

My mom is going through a bit of a rough time, so I thought I'd make her a card. I hope she doesn't see this (believe it or not she found my blog!) before I give it to her.  If you could just keep her in your thoughts (and me too! Never easy seeing your mom struggle).

Off to get some lunch! 

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Make it Monday on a Thursday

First of all, look at what mama bought this week:

I finally broke down and got it.  A 40% off coupon to Michael's helped make my decision easier. Can someone tell me why it took me more than 5 minutes to get the tape in there? I had some serious struggles.

Last night was the first time I had a chance to sit down and actually stamp in a few days.

Something I have done is started using a little sketch book.  So many times during the day I get an idea for a card, and by the time I sit down to make something it has left my mind.  This little doodle pad was the best thing I could have done. It has really allowed me to spend more time thinking about designs and coming with with colors and ideas.  It also makes it a little easier when I sit down to craft.  I have a list of ideas, color combos, techniques, etc. I want to try. Sometimes when I sit down I just stare at all my stuff and wonder where to start, I lack the mojo. It is especially helpful when trying to brainstorm for challenges. I'd share my sketches, but imagine something a 3 year old would draw.

So, over at PTI they started Make it Mondays, so this is my entry for the first week!  I didn't think  I would like the red and aqua combo at first, but I wanted to get out of my comfort zone (ie. kraft with anything) and try something new.

Hope you all have a great day. I love Thursdays. It means homemade pizze, chai tea and lots of t.v. with the hubby.

Supplies
Paper: Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist, Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Versafine Black, Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Versamark
Stamps: Just My Type and Jesse's ABC's(Lawn Fawn), Mega Mixed Messages (PTI), Little Bitty Birds (PTI)
Fun Stuff: Button and Twine (PTI), Signature Series: Cupcake (PTI)

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Step 1

So, last week we had a few different contractors come to take a look at our basement (hence my lack of posting) and give us some estimates.  My poor husband just about had a nervous breakdown after it was all over.  It was amazing how contradictory they were. For example:

1. One told us we had a serious mold problem and needed to remediate IMMEDIATELY or we would all die vs. a little mold, not serious

2. $35k to finish the basement (waterproof, drywall, flooring, etc) entirely vs. $20k JUST to waterproof

3. Permits vs. no permits
*While we can do all the work without permits I'll sleep much better at night knowing everything was inspected and done to code, plus if we ever sell the house we won't run into any problems*

4. Yes we can make the structural changes we want vs. no it's not possible

It was quite frustrating not to know what was really true. It's a hard thing trusting people to come into your home and do serious work.  I did research ahead of time and found recommended contractors from the Better Business Bureau website, which is the best place to start if you have no idea where to start.  I read lots of customer reviews, and picked the top 3 companies.  We had them all come out last week, and while all seemed incredibly knowledgeable I'll tell you how we ended up deciding on a company...

Our gut feeling. Some of you may think this is strange, but that's really what it came down to. We narrowed it down to two.  The company we decided to go with left us with a really great impression.  Not only did they have excellent reviews, but they were very thorough with their estimate, and they were the ONLY company to invite us to visit current job sites that they are working on and to ones they have completed.  This was really a big plus. Clearly they are confident enough in their work that they WANT us to come and see it.  I didn't like the #2 company on our list. The person who did the estimate was super salesy which was annoying, and when he was explaining how we have water problems in our basement he talked to me like I was brainless.  Little did he know that my degree is in Biology and I took enough Ecology classes to teach him a thing our two about groundwater, run-off, and acidic soil.  I think as soon as I told him I stayed at home he labeled me as a sucker.  Too bad I graduated Summa Cum Laude from college and have a little thing called common sense.  He really tried to push us around and scare us into using his company which was a big turn off. Not to mention they called my husband the next day and harassed him which was a big no no.

Needless to say, we are really excited to get things moving, and should get started sometime in March. Craft room here I come!

I'd like to thank Judith for the links yesterday...I checked them out and drooled a lot.  I also checked out Bethany's site today and fell in love with her organization for her sewing nook.

 I think I'm going to start a dream board for my room. You know, cut out pictures, colors, inspiration to keep me on track and organize my thoughts.

Please feel free to share any other links, or pictures of your own crafting spaces!

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Craft room video share. Yikes!

So as promised here it is. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Sorry I didn't post it yesterday but somehow I managed to forget it was the Superbowl. We had some family over for a little party. It was quite lovely.

The video is in two parts...the first one is me just rambling and the second is the actual room.  Feel free to skip the first video.  I recorded the first on my Mac and the second with my digital camera which explains why it's poor quality and I get cut off at the end.

Apologies for the terrible lighting but it's super overcast today. I also know that I look like a teenager and I hate my voice. Go easy on me...it's been a rough day!

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I'm Alive!

Hello Friends!

Sorry I've been M.I.A for the past few days, I feel terrible about it!  I did put together a video tour of my craft room, and will post tomorrow.

I just wanted to quickly post my favorite PTI project from the past year for the contest over at Nichole's blog. It was a lot harder to choose than I originally thought, but here was my number one...

 It was actually a tag I had made for the November blog hop. I don't know why, but I feel warm and cozy just looking at this! I love love love the Warm Happiness and Warm Happiness Too sets.  In fact, I think I need to break them out again!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

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Ice Day

Hubby has off again today. This time it was because of the ice, not snow.

Husband home = Time to craft

So, I wanted to do a card for the PDCC Challenge, but it turned into this. The challenge was to have a splash of purple with black and white. I liked the purple with kraft, so that's what I did.  I might try to do another card later today.

Supplies

Paper: Kraft, Stamper's Select White (PTI)

Stamps: YOF: Marigolds (PTI)

Ink: Versamark, Walnut Stain, Antique Linen, Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord

Other: Clear embossing powder, Pearls (Queen & Co.), Jute Button Twine (PTI)

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