Friday, July 29, 2011

Robin's Egg Blue

Yesterday I bought a can of robin's egg blue spray paint and today...I went nuts! Here are some of the things I found to paint:

 Three old picture frames

 My desk chair


 A little birdhouse for Mom

And here's what they look like now! 





I filled the two little frames with some black and white pictures and they look great!


This one is my favorite! It's a picture of my cousins, my grandma, and me in Okoboji last summer.

I better be careful...everything I own is going to be painted this color soon!

grace and peace,
Mair

Thursday, July 28, 2011

DIY Ruffle Pillow

Hey everyone! Remember me?

I've been very busy working this summer and selling my crafted wares at the Farmer's Market in Plattsmouth (Saturday from 9-12 in the Pamida parking lot)

Here's a throw pillow that I made out of some spare brown canvas that I had originally planned to recover my butterfly chair with. Since the butterfly chair went out of style after middle school...I figured I better use the fabric for something!

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be! I measured two rectangles for the front and back and then cut several one inch strips (longer than the height of the rectangles) for the ruffles. I sewed the ruffles on first, then sewed the two sides together, and finished it off by stuffing it! Here it is:



 I love the way it looks on my bed!


 Especially sitting with Mr. Rainbow Trout


I wasn't sure, but I think I like the way the canvas ruffles are fraying...

Give it a try (and come to the Farmer's Market!)

grace and peace,
Mair

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Queen Anne's Lace

Our recent trip to Iowa for the 4th of July got me looking at pictures of Queen Anne's Lace. This flower grows wild EVERYWHERE in Iowa and I think it's beautiful. In fact, it's one of my new favorites!

Here are some pictures I found:



 This is an envelope seal made from a dried blossom and contact paper!
Embroidered Cuff





 

Embroidered pillow case

Enjoy your weekend!

grace and peace,
Mair

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

A Girl Who Reads

Since my parents went to bed at 10, my brother is in Iowa, and my sister in Lincoln....I have had nothing to do but stumble and watch Tangled.

While stumbling, I stumbled upon the following essay? (I'm not sure what to call it)...but it describes me perfectly. It's called "Date a Girl Who Reads" and I'm not sure who the author is.

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow. 



She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book. Buy her another cup of coffee. Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.



It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by golly, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does. She has to give it a shot somehow. Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world. Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two. Why be frightened of everything that you are not? 
Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilightseries. 



If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are. 



You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots. Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads. Or better yet, date a girl who writes.



...It's a little on the cheesy side, yes, but then so am I. Aren't ALL girls who read a little cheesy? Yes, yes they are.

Have a wonderful evening...I'm going to go charge my Kindle!

grace and peace,
Mair 

Friday, July 1, 2011

It's Almost Here!!!

















hope to see you all there!

grace and peace,
Mair

Catching Up

I love summer time...as most people probably do.  Knowing that I don't have anything "due" is such a great feeling. This summer has been especially busy...I have been working everyday and when I'm not at work, I'm making things good for the flea market (which is SUNDAY at YOUNG'S PARK in MURRAY, NE from 7 until DUSK and you ALL should come.)

Between crafting and working I have had a BLAST hanging out with people, playing Blitz, drinking sweet tea, and getting free pie on Wednesday nights.....

BLESSING #1: friends to do things with!

Here are some pictures of summer stuff...

A storm rolling in over the flooded corn field...God's creation is amazing!!!!


We made crab rangoon one night. Here Drew is using his Magneto powers and Tim is stabbing me in the head with a knife.

 I turned 21 and enjoyed a nice evening with my parents, Tim, and Aaron playing Blitz and watching Tangled! (Titus 2:12)


I got a feather with my good friend Bri!

I made this table runner by sewing doilies together! I was going to sell it at the flea market...buuuuut I think my mom liked it a little too much! 

BLESSING #2: My aunt had open heart surgery on Wednesday and she is recovering well. Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!!!

BLESSING #3: Brian got back from Haiti...he has amazing stories and pictures...and God was definitely glorified through the work he did down there. 

I hope your summers are as blessed as mine

grace and peace,
Mair