This Took Me All Day

...and a WHOLE roll of vinyl!! And yes I read the directions. A couple of times. My fault or the #$^!@*@ Silhouette machine's? Hmmm

Btw, anyone know how to load the vinyl on the first try? That'd be a real time saver.

But the sign is cool, huh?

What WAS on my workdesk Wednesday

Ok. So I know it's not Wednesday but I was working on Wednesday and it was not at the computer.

The four of you who actually read this blog might remember that a couple of Wednesdays ago there was wood on my workdesk. Er. My floor. I had planned on doing a tree on the nursery wall but after trolling around some of my favorite home-y blogs, I went with a giraffe silhouette instead.

Speaking of Silhouette, I still have not used mine. The machine. Not the giraffe.

But I did finally complete this project. Here is Mr. Giraffe in all his glory. Obviously I cheated and used a projector. I am told that this is technically not cheating and that the pros do it all the time. Works for me. It's a time saver!

He needed a few more coats of paint and he's all done. I actually think I might paint him once more for good measure. I used a brush for the first couple of coats and I think I'd have been better off if I'd used a mini roller for that second coat.

The pain in the #$% part of being me is that once I'm done with something like this it makes me want to do something else. And that makes me want to do something else. It's a vicious cycle. I mean, there's never actually a 'I'm finished' moment and while it's exhausting, I wouldn't have it any other way.

***EDIT: YOU CAN DO THIS TOO! Here's the giraffe silhouette I used below. Click on it to bring it up and then print it out or right click and save it to your usb drive. Take it to your local office supply store and have them print it on a transparency. You can rent an overhead projector from most office supply stores or maybe even your local library. Maybe you have a friend at a local school that'll hook you up!***

When you were little.....African Orphanage Fundraiser

When I was little I had a mom and a dad. A house. More food than I needed. A dog. More toys than I could count. My biggest worry was whether or not there was a Barbie I didn't own. I saw a doctor more often than I probably wanted to. Someone loved me. A bunch of someones.

What did you have when you were little? If you had any of these things, you had more than 2.5 million African children last year. 2.5 million. In 2010, that's approximately how many children who had none of the above. In one year alone.

There are orphaned children everywhere. And if you can help any of them, I hope you will. Today you can help the children of El Olam Orphanage in Ethiopia, one of the world's poorest countries. And I hope you will.

Kim, over at The Change Me Crew Blog is a missionary on a mission - To help the children of the El Olam Orphanage. She's hosting a fundraiser on her blog where every single penny will go directly to the aid of these children. For your donation you are entered to win any prize of your choice!

And there are some pretty darn good prizes! One of them is a $50 gift certificate from me to be used in my Etsy shop, Peach Street Boutique. And as if that's not awesome enough, Ree Drummond, as in, you know, The Pioneer Woman!, is giving away two of of her top selling books....and she's signing them. Personally. To the winner. Which has me wondering whether I can enter too. hmmm.

Anyway, there are a ton of great prizes over there! All for a great cause. Trust me on this one and head over there now! If you can't donate now, then I thank you just for reading this far. If you can, don't assume someone else will.

"Sometimes I'd like to ask God why He allows poverty, famine, and injustice in the world when He could do something about it... but I'm afraid He might ask me the same question."

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do..."

I want, I want, I GOT

It's been one of those kinds of weekends. There's so much to do and there's not enough coffee in this world to help me get it done. The good news is I bought myself a present.

It arrived 3 days ago. I have managed to take it out of the box.

In order to do anything with it, I would have to read the directions. I suck at reading directions. I mean, I really hate reading directions and this is just one of those times I simply have to.

It would have also helped if I had paid attention when ordering.

I might have realized that they would be sending me a $10 "download" card and NOT a $10 shop credit to use as I pleased.

Because it would have been handy to have some of that iron-on transfer stuff for this project. I waited to order it thinking I'd just use my $10 store credit to purchase it. Dork. I wound up having to paint it on. With my actual hands. The hard way.

And in case you're wondering why I bought the darn thing in the first place, aside from the fact that I tried unsuccessfully to win it like 35 times, it's an essential tool. Says so right there on the box.

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday (WOYWW)

Can you call it your work "desk" if it is, indeed, on the floor? Perhaps.

Can you call it "work" if you will, in fact, never make a dime?
Possibly. I mean there is work involved even if I am not staying on task and doing my "job". You know, that stuff you get paid for doing.

Well, let's hope so at least, because I may or may not have already violated the "desk" portion of WOYWW.

Magazines get me into trouble. Not just because I spend entirely too much money on obtaining them. Also, not just because they pile up all over since I fail to read them in a timely manner. And certainly not just because they have from scratch cinnamon roll recipes on the inside and I do not need to eat cinnamon rolls. Or cakes. Or Cookies. Ever. No really. EVER.

But mostly because I do not need help coming up with project ideas. I have too many of my own and never enough time to do them all. However, that does not stop me from discovering new ones in aforementioned magazines and attempting them. All.

And then there's the whole problem of the project costing more to make than it would just to buy. But you (meaning I) still want to make it anyway. Like this cupcake stand. I am totally making that.

I used to just get your average "home" and "recipe" magazines. Then I ran into the problem of wanting things I could not afford. Unfortunately, that did not stop me from wanting them. Being the innovator that I am, I decide, well, if I can't afford to buy it, perhaps I can make it. Because, you know, I don't have enough to do already. Let's make a coffee table.

That's when I discovered these magazines. Not just the ones that made me want something that I could not have but the ones that showed me how to make that which I wanted but could not afford. And they also coerce me into making that which I did not even know I wanted. But I digress.

I distinctly remember the day I told my husband, 'Let's make a coffee table out of wooden pallets". He looked at me the way he always does when I have another of my crazy ideas (like doing my hair in dreads - which I swear, when it gets longer, I will do). Maybe if I ignore her, she will forget and move on to something less....crazy.

But then there's this. Isn't it a beaut? I really love it when I'm right.

And then this. We picked it up at a junk shop. It had that wood like veneer in a (I'm as good as wood, behold my wood-like grain) brown.

He says to me, 'J, I don't think this is going to work'. Psssh. He should know by now I consider that a challenge.

Here are the bar stools we picked up at a garage sale for $10. Ever the skeptic (what is it with the guys in my house?) he tells me they aren't going to look good. When will he learn? Sorry I don't have a before pic of these. You'll just have to believe me when I tell you they were ugly. But you wouldn't believe that now, right? Right.

But he humors me. This is my Valentine's present. A drill. And my own tool set. Yes. For Valentine's Day. Because if you live with a man you know you can never find the tools because they are not where they are suppose to be. If you have your own set you don't have to mumble curse words under your breath so your kids won't hear while you're searching for the measuring tape. Hammer. Drill. Level.

I do like the hammer that I had before more than I like the one that came with this kit. The new one is too big and heavy. Mine I hijacked from the Lowe's Build and Grow program. It is made for little hands. Maybe not my little hands, but it's perfect so I'm keeping it.

Today, we (meaning me) are making a tree out of MDF to hang on the wall in my son's nursery. So far, my husband has not questioned this project. Perhaps he has learned his lesson?

That's my "Work" "Desk" Wednesday. And then some.

**You can play, too. Click WOYWW for info.

Oh Schmidt!

My One World One Heart prize from my BFF Amy arrived today.

I couldn't wait to tear into the package and pull out my Schmidt.

After I tore through what seemed like 3 rolls of packing tape, I was finally there! The mother load. No. Wait. Another package. Okay so I tear again and....

Ahhhh Schmidt!

I can't paint. People who can amaze me. It's the shading. I just can't do it.

I love him. He's the Schmidt.

Monday, Bloody Monday

You know, bloody. As in it's Monday and I have too bloody much to do. And I didn't get enough bloody sleep last night. Or, my child is growing up too bloody fast. That kind of bloody.

Of course, it's also bloody, as in my child has a loose tooth.

These days I'm getting entirely too many questions on the whole Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny issues and frankly it's a little heartbreaking. I mean, of course there's a Santa Claus. And a Tooth Fairy.

Well today the Tooth Fairy had had enough. She easily made a believer out of a way-too-bloody-skeptical-for-his-age (in my opinion) little boy. Conveniently she knew he had a loose tooth whose departure was imminent. And then look what showed up in our mailbox!

It even showed up with personalized tags and everything.

We spent the remainder of the day writing apology letters to the Tooth Fairy for lack of faith and tugging on that loose tooth.

Now, we just have to get the bloody thing to come out.

"Today You Are You, That is Truer Than True.

There is no one alive who is You'er than You.” Dr. Seuss

March 2, 1904 - The day Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Giesel, was born. At my house, we think Dr. Seuss is awesomer than awesome. And, Oh! the places he went!

Of course a celebration was in order. So we made a cake.

It couldn't be just any cake, it had to be a cake as big as a lake. Or as tall as a house. Or as long as a snake.

It should have big candy buttons, pink swirly icing and lots of glitter too. The edible kind you silly goob!

And according to Pop,

It just wouldn't be complete without a glop.

A big pink glop. Right on top.

My little chef and I had lots of fun creating this crazy cake. I think we used some of everything in the kitchen!

And he felt that it needed more and more decorating so he eventually wound up decorating the cake stand with glitter and icing too.

I think Dr. Seuss would be proud!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

*You can find the recipe we used for Dr. Seuss' cake, The Best Chocolate Cake EVER with Buttercream frosting, HERE.