Special Day!

Happy Birthday to my sweet little girl!

You bring such happiness to my life! 

Happy Birthday, sweetheart

I love you!

-mom

Sunday loves

We recently rented Disney's Princess and the Frog. 

It was so good!  It made me remember how much a love a good frog prince!  Here's a few that make me smile!

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Have a great Sunday! 

-DeAndra

This made my day!

This is so flippin awesome!!!  Janel drew these portraits of me and my girls.  Aren't they fabulous???

I was going to wait and post them when I had them all framed and fancy, but I couldn't!  Yay Janel!

Amigurumi Loves

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I have been wanting to make an amigurami for a while now and have looked at pattern after pattern but can't seem to get started.  I'm a little intimidated, I guess!  They look super hard, but according to the patterns, they're for advanced beginners.  That would be me!  Has anyone tried them?  I'd love some advice! 

Here are some of the one's that I've been looking at

These are all from Amy Gaines

and these

from Irene Strange

Plus, if you go to her website Reeneegurumi, there are a couple of free downloads

Percy the elephant and Roosting Birds and My Tiny Bunny

They are all so cute!

Have a great day!

-DeAndra

Lots going on

I'm super busy right now!  That's good,  right!  I seem to stay busy, though.  I just keep adding new things to my growing list of ideas!  I can honestly say that I'm never bored! 

1.  I'm taking Indie Biz class right now

2.  I'm having my first trunk show and I'm making jewelry like crazy to prepare for that.

3.  I'm trying to get my website finished for Pink Checkers Design.  The "About Me" page is really holding me up.  I'm having a hard time getting the words out! 

4.  I have to get ready for my almost 6 year old's birthday.  She L-O-V-E-S to make up stories and draw, so I'm putting together an art and writing kit for her.  Of course, it has to be one-of-a-kind!  I'm sure I'll be working on it until the day of her birthday!

5.  Girl Scout cookie sales are finally over!!!!  I need to finish up all the paperwork for that and get it turned in.  Being the Cookie Mom wasn't that bad.  I just know the troop leader and I need to reward ourselves with a couple of pedicures!

6.  Easter is right around the corner and Easter baskets need to get put together. 

7.  Taxes need to be done. 

8.  Loose ends here, there, and everywhere that need to be tied up!!!

 

Oh, and if that wasn't enough, I found out about this class this morning

Tell Your Story:  Online Art Journal Class

Signups start on April 1st. 

It looks like a lot of fun!

Well, I'd better get going and work on some of my list!  Have a great day!

-DeAndra

Silhouette D.I.Y

Awhile back, while skimming OhDeeDoh, I came across a tutorial for this:

Silhouettes in Under 30 Minutes by Emily over at Three Boys and a Little Lady 

I've seen tutorials in the past using Photoshop, but I've never wanted to sit down and try to figure it out.  I'll leave the geeky computer stuff to my sister! 

But this one uses:

paint and cardstock! 

Now that's something I can handle!

Start with a good profile pic and cut it out

Cover it in black paint.  

Glue them down on your paper. 

Frame it up and you're done!

This is super fast and cheap, but it looks GREAT!  That's what I like! 

Have a great day!

DeAndra

Razzle Dazzle

Wow!  I'm am sooo off my blogging schedule!  I promise I'll try to do better next week!  It seems like a have a blue-million things to do right now!  I've got a 6 year old's birthday to get ready for, spring cleaning, Girl Scouts, and t-ball.  Plus, I'm getting ready to sell Pink Checkers Design in a brick and mortar shop and I'm trying to get all that together!  Time management has never been my strong suit! 

So, here's a little something fun to hold you over until I get back to normal!

We're taking the girls and nephew to see this bunch of yahoos on Saturday.  If you've never seen Yo Gabba Gabba, watch this video. 

You either love them or you hate them!  We love them, so off to Cincinnati we will go!

Have a great weekend!

DeAndra

Happy Mail and Birthday Mail!

Yesterday was a good mail day. 

I got this from my aunt for my birthday!  I love, love, love nesting dolls!  It's nice when someone actually pays attention to what you say and gets you something you LOVE!!!  Thanks, Becky!

Then, I got a card from my Happy Mail partner.  I'm so glad I joined this because it truly made me happy to get this card in the mail!  My partner, Lehua, has an awesome blog called Heart On My Sleeve.  She's super cute! 

Well, I'm still working on my new website for Pink Checkers Design.  Hopefully, it will be done in the next couple of days.

Have a great Sunday!

DeAndra

Another year younger!

Yesterday was my 32nd birthday.  I hate to say I'm 32.  It sounds old.  I don't feel old, so I guess that's all that matters!  Right?

My husband did such a great job designing my cake.  He gave the baker one of my daughter's drawings to put on it.  I just love it!

He was very proud of himself!

Sorry for not posting a lot lately.  I've been busy stamping jewelry for Pink Checkers Design.  That's a good thing, though! 

I'm working on some fun, upcoming posts, too!

Well, I have a hole burning in my pocket with birthday money!  I'm going to do a little shopping today!

Have a great day!

DeAndra

Party Time!

Today's the blog party over at Punk Projects! 

I'm so excited to be a part of this, along with some other awesome bloggers.  Thanks, Katie!

Yesterday was a beautiful day here.  We got to go out and take a walk, ride bikes, and chat with neighbors.  It made me realize that I have NOTHING to wear for spring!  I think I'll go out for a little retail therapy today.  I went back through my Style School Style File to get some ideas and here is what I found

All of this came from Old Navy.  I don't know if these white legs are ready for skirts yet, though!

My birthday is tomorrow.  I'm working on my 32 before 32 list.  I'll post it tomorrow!  I've got some good stuff on there!

Have a great day!

-DeAndra

Today's productivity=0

I have not been creatively productive at all today.  I've done a few random things, but nothing exciting.  I'm still working on my Indie Biz portfolio.  It's coming along, slowly.  Class started yesterday!  Eeek!

I feel like I need to do something, but I don't know what.  I'm just not inspired today. 

I got these paperdolls for my daughter for Christmas. 

It's all the Red Velvet girls.  They're so stinkin' cute!  I haven't let her play with them yet because I keep meaning to put contact paper over them to make them a little sturdier.  I love them so much and I know they will get torn if I don't reinforce them with something.  So there, that is my project for today.  I need to get busy, then.  I'm sure she will want to go outside and play today when she gets home from school. 

It's beautiful here.  Perfect for taking a walk and riding a bike! 

Have a great day! 

DeAndra

MIA

Hi everyone!  I may be MIA for a couple of days.  I have to get ready for this:

Class starts on Monday, so I have to get prepared!  Jill, Leigh Ann, and Elsie are teaching this class and I'm so ready to take Pink Checkers Design to the next level!

Plus, the weather is supposed to be super nice here.  I have some spring cleaning to do!

Have a great weekend!

DeAndra

A Very Important Date!

I'm so excited for the new Alice in Wonderland to come out!  I NEED to see this movie and I NEED to go this weekend.  Let's just call it an un-birthday present to me!  I mean my birthday is next Wednesday, but I can't wait that long.

Last spring we took our daughter to DisneyWorld for her 5th birthday. It had been 15 years since I had been there and all I can remember is wanting to see some of the characters and the only one I saw was Chip and Dale. Bummer. It was kind of ironic that the first characters we saw when we entered the Magic Kingdom was Chip and Dale! BUT, as soon as we saw them, we were walking to the teacups and here comes ALICE! She had just gotten off the teacups!

If Chip and Dale hadn't slowed us down, we could have been on the teacups with her! Grrr! I forget I'm 31 and turn into a kid and scream "Aliiiiiice"!!!! I was so flippin' excited to see her! She is my fav!

Doesn't she write pretty?

Here's some super sweet Alice in Wonderland things I've come across:
I own this domino pendant from The Odd Bird

You can get one here.  I love what Tara does with her dominos.  She's very talented!

I also have a similar set of Alice in Wonderland cards from Stephanie Fizer

found here.

Her illustrations are amazing!

How fun is this?

These pins are calling me!

Are you joking?  I think there are only 100 sets of these.  I'm sure they'll sell out soon :(

and I feel like I need to wear this necklace EVERYday!

It's from Untamed Menagerie.  Penny and Nikki are a mother-daughter team and they create some very impressive pieces!

Are there any real life Cheshire cats in your life?  I'm come across a few!  :)

I have a ton of house cleaning today.  Have a great day!

DeAndra

Finally Easter class signups!

I wandered up on this class that's getting ready to start. 

It looks like a lot of fun!

These girls are from Sweden and are teaching a Swedish version right now.

The English version starts on March 20th and has 7 different projects and the cost is only $14!

"HOP" over to Stina's blog to enter for a chance at a free spot!

I need to get my @#$% together!

I have really been slacking on my Etsy shop, Pink Checkers Design. 

Christmas was just a whirlwind of orders and I took a little break after the holidays and I just haven't gotten back in the groove.  I've had some orders here and there, but I have such BIG plans for my business!  I just don't know where to start, I guess.  

Here's my goals for 2010:

*sell in a brick and mortar shop (any suggestions? I have no clue where to start.)

*hold at least one trunk show

*learn some new techniques

*attend a few craft shows

That's not much, right? 

In other news, my sister just got her 20th follower at iheartsmiles 

She is giving away a free Blog Makeover!!!!  Go here to enter

Have a great day!

DeAndra