Peek at My Week: Dec. 2-8

Each week, these peeks help me keep up with just what I've been up to, and give you a little look at how I've filled the days too. 

Let me start by saying that I was able to participate in #CarveDecember each day. That in itself is pretty special considering how busy I (and most of us) am this time of the year. 

Speaking of being busy, I spent some of Sunday in front of the sewing machine working on a few gifts. I don't want to ruin any surprises, so here's a glimpse that doesn't give too much away. I love using this Fray Check stuff on exposed edges to keep the fabric from coming apart.

From the kitchen, Pat spotted these leaves stuck to the chair in the backyard. The contrast was amazing and had to be captured (and shared!)

Walking Zoe around the property on Monday, I noticed that the camellias have begun to bloom. My stepfather thinks it's weird that they bloom in the winter and has called them "Those crazy winter flowers." I think it's nice to have that pop of color even in the cold months.

Also on Monday, I was reminded that it had been two years since we brought home this puppy-baby. Awwww!!

I was itching to make some jewelry on Tuesday so I pulled out scrap tin and worked away making a few neat wire and tin bangles.

After work, Pat set out to get a little bit more of the deck done. He was able to install two of the railings with the cattle panel. I love the farm-like simplicity of it.

Since the Japanese Maple was quickly shedding its leaves, I decided to preserve a few of them in my art journal on Wednesday. I coated them with mod podge as they were stuck on the page, and the color is somewhat holding up. 

Zoe gave me a bit of a giggle when I found her sunning her belly. Isn't that the cutest?

Thursday and Friday were a flurry of activity. Thursday was spent at my mom's, and Friday was spent cleaning, shopping, and running errands. 

Saturday was also pretty busy.

But, I eked in a quick art journal page before leaving the house.

I first went to the Christmas Concert two of my nieces were in. You can just barely see one of them in this picture, but throughout the concert, both of them were so far in the back, it was hard to spot them. After the concert was a Christmas Party with some of the ladies (and their husbands) from my Mardi Gras organization. 

It was a busy week, and this one is likely to be similar, but before things get too out of control, let me share some of the inspirations I found through the week.

• Flamingo Toes always has so many fabulous embroidery projects. These Fabric and Felt Snow Globe Ornaments are just one of them.
• For a super quick project, you could make a Wire Angel Pendant from Jewelry Making Journal. 
• This Laser-cut guessing game that celebrates accomplished women is so stinkin' awesome!
• Etsy has shared their 2019 Trend Predictions. 
• A Twisted Wire Art Suncatcher is the perfect way to use up some of that bead soup. 
• Loving both buttons and embroidery, this simple DIY Reindeer Embroidered Ornament totally caught my eye. 
• Upcycling old magazines into Christmas decorations like Jennifer Perkins did with these Kitschy Folded Magazine Christmas Trees is right up my alley too!

Now it's back to all the lists. Here's hoping the holidays aren't making you too batty and that you have a little time to create! Have a fabulous week!

Peek at My Week: Oct. 21 - 27

I never quite know where each week will take me, and these little peeks have been such a fantastic way to journal. I hope you don't mind.

Sunday was all about getting stuff done. I edited pictures and readied blog posts.

Trying to get rid of some over-ripe bananas, I made a yummy banana bread.

While I was busy inside, Pat finished up the floor of our back deck.

To celebrate his work on the deck, we went out for coffee. Even Zoe got a puppuccino. You'll have to head to Instagram to see the video of her enjoying it. 

After taking care of some of the household errands and delivering a pair of earrings on Monday, I began stocking my bead box by sorting through the items in my inspiration jar. 

It wasn't long before I had picked out the main pieces for each of the sections of the box. 

I took a break to re-charge by walking the trails in our backyard. I'm always stricken by the beauty of this oak tree with the sparse magnolia growing near its trunk. 

On Tuesday, I went to my mom's and we celebrated my birthday with my favorite dessert!

As I continued to work on stocking my bead box on Wednesday, buttons were pulled out!

After I did some personal birthday shopping, we had dinner with friends to celebrate. We ended the night at the new Little Whiskey Christmas Club in downtown Fairhope. It's a fun little place all year round!

My bead cabinet saw some serious action as I finished filling up the bead box at long last. 

Look at that beautifully stocked bead box!

Friday saw the start of a new project that I'll likely reveal in the next few days.

We watched an epic high school football game on TV as Tua's brother played against Bear Bryant's great-grandson. If you're not into Alabama Football, none of that probably made any sense. Ha! And, our friend made this amazing ratatouille as part of dinner during the game.  It was almost too pretty to eat.

Wanting to get away from the house for a bit, especially since we were at a stopping point on the deck, we headed to Elberta, AL on Saturday for their German Sausage Festival. It was a beautiful day, and the festival was packed. 

As we were leaving the festival, I spotted this tree with these amazing flowers. I have no idea what it is, but the shape of these in their large clusters is so interesting. 

For a little more inspiration and beauty, let me share what I found interesting online this week.

• Household Items Repurposed for Halloween Decor
• For some reason, this week was full of mushroom crafts that I found so lovely:
• Felt and Fabric Mushroom from Studio Paars
• Fabric and Bead Toadstools at Make & Fable
• Baked Cotton Mushrooms from A Crafty Mix
• These entry wall hooks made from a die-cut machine are simple and beautiful.
• Making a Jeweled Fall Crown with rhinestones and wire never looked so easy!
• I always love the upcycles from Sadie Seasongoods, and these Serger Thread Cone Candy Corn decorations are no exception. 
• The Pumpkin Placecard Holders in this post are great, but it's really her technique for altering the Dollar Tree pumpkins that gets my attention. 
• Lifehacker recommends using the Five More Minutes rule when you're feeling stuck. I think it's a great idea. 
• Divya at Jewels of Sayuri has a fabulous tutorial for making Skull and Tassel Earrings. 
• At Brit + Co, learn to make a Woven Necklace.

I think that's probably plenty enough inspiration for us all! Here's hoping your week is full of all kinds of amazing!

Peek at My Week: September 23-29

I started the week with very few creative goals but allowed myself to get absorbed in a couple of challenges and to take time to appreciate nature. By the end of the week, I was bursting with inspiration. There's definitely something to the whole "being creative breeds creativity" thing. 

Of course, we didn't start the week with a whole lot of inspiration as we continued to work on replacing the old deck.

 On Sunday, the first new board was screwed down! Pat had to replace some of the structural boards that go under the deck, but fortunately, the bulk of them were in good condition.

Though it is (was) September, it's still blazing hot here. So, we took a dip in the pool too cool off after working on the deck, and I spotted this treasure floating on top of the water.

I thought it was a dragonfly wing at first, but Pat's pretty confident it's a cicada wing. It does feel thicker and sturdier than most dragonfly wings. I've got it stashed away for now.

On Monday, I began gathering supplies for Sarajo's Honey Do List Challenge. 

But, realizing that I needed filigree beads, I took a trip to the store.

Alas, I didn't find the filigree beads I was searching for, but the two craft stores and two thrift stores I visited yielded plenty of other supplies!

While grocery shopping on Tuesday, the pumpkins at my local farm market caught my attention. 

I'm always amazed at the wide variety of pumpkins and gourds that Allegri Farm Market carries this time of the year. The fairytale pumpkins (farthest to the left) really are magical. 

Though I was at my mom's on Wednesday, I didn't let that stop me from getting a little work done. 

Her patio is always a great place to get some photography done in natural light. However, I was rushing to get the photos taken before the heat and rain set in.

While stopped at a gas station later in the day with my niece, I had an enlightening experience that really made my day. I shared it the next day on Twitter.

Thursday seemed to drag and weigh me down as it rained all day.

There was also the weight of the Ford/Kavanaugh testimonies. So many feels.

On Friday, I realized that I still needed to make some Fairy Art for the Art Elements Challenge. 

I busted my butt for several hours making my Fairy Necklace and Altered Paintbrush Fairy and ended up with a desk full of yummy supplies. 

I was relieved at the end of the day that dinner had arrived on the doorstep.

We decided to try Hello Fresh this week. I still had to cook the meal, but was excited it was going to be something new!

Saturday meant we were working on the deck replacement again. Of course, that was only AFTER we caught the early Bama game!

Actually, Pat worked on the deck replacement. My job, in general, has been to haul away the old boards. The rusty, protruding nails in all of the boards made my clumsy self so super nervous. But, I prevailed and got all the boards in the dumpster without incident. Whew!

Once again, we followed hard work with a dip in the pool. We're still surprised that it's the end of September and the first full week of Fall, and we can still get in the water. Admittedly, I'm not dunking my head, just getting in enough to cool off a little. 

Again, I found treasures in the water. These half-eaten acorns were scattered along the floor of the pool. I was fascinated by the squirrel's teeth marks still visible in them.

That was the bulk of our week. Let me share a little more inspiration that I found over the course of the week:

• I've been quite taken with embroidery and embroidery hoop projects lately. I think that's a sign that I ought to pull out my needles, floss, and hoops soon. Here's a great Harry Potter LeviOsa Pattern from Flamingo Toes, and this one's a general Fall Leaf Embroidery Art from Positively Splendid. Cute, huh?
• I've mentioned it several times before, but pumpkins have been seriously on my radar too. These upcycled Glass Globe Pumpkins at Homeward Found are really something! 
• Lia Griffith shared these super simple DIY Leather Keychains. I think they would make great gifts!
• I can NOT stop looking at these Sculptural Assemblages from Thomas Deininger. Watch the videos and gifs, go to his site, follow him! I'm gobsmacked at how freaking awesome his work is. 

That's all I've got for now. I'm up to my eyelids in ideas and trying to figure out where to begin.

Here's wishing you an amazing week ahead.

Happy October!!

Peek at My Week: September 9 - 15

Welcome to my weekly post in which I do a round-up of some of what my week encompassed as well as a list of links (at the end of the post) that I found inspiring and/or informative. 

This was Week Two of our vacation and was intended to be the less fun part of it as we knew we had some work to get done on the house. But first, we had to pack up and head home from our camping trip at Blackwater River State Park.

 You know, right after we put our toes in the river one last time.

Once home, we were a flurry of unpacking and getting everything in order to tackle the big project on our list - replacing the deck. 

Pat ordered the wood he needed on Monday and began to tear it apart on Tuesday while I  had my weekly visit with family and enjoyed this view.

Ah yes, the dentist. I'm not sure which one of us had more fun!

When I saw the deck again on Wednesday morning (it was late when I got home Tuesday), it looked like some sort of strange art installation. 

And, by Wednesday evening, most of the boards had been pulled up.

Now it looked more like a skeleton.

It took us almost all week to get the thing pulled up because of the Alabama heat and humidity. We could only work in the morning and evenings because the heat of the day was far too brutal for us.

My job was fairly simple - take the piles of boards, haul them over to the dumpster, and toss them in. While simple, it was definitely a workout!

I also took the time to salvage some of the decorative elements that the previous owners had on the railings and posts of the deck. I couldn't let those beauties end up in the dumpster.

Of course, we did take a couple of afternoons to enjoy ourselves too. 

Thursday included a late lunch with a couple of margaritas.

Friday was my favorite day of the week though. We packed in so much! Pat worked on the deck a little more while I ran a few errands first thing in the morning. On my way home, I pulled over to stand in a sunflower field.

It was amazing.

From there, we rode down to the beach for another late lunch. This time at The Gulf.

We enjoyed burgers, mojitos, and the fabulous view for a few hours. But, I really wanted to get in the water.

So, we drove down the road and found a stretch of beach that was almost totally deserted. 

Really, it was one of the Florida State Park areas, but there were hardly any people there. And, the ones that were there were leaving just as we arrived. We had the whole beach to ourselves for a little bit. However, because it is the South, thunderstorms were beginning to roll in, and we knew it was time to head back toward home as we were meeting friends for dinner. 

Saturday was all about finishing up the last little bit of the deck demolition before we spent the whole afternoon watching college football. 

We watched the Crimson Tide dominate on friends' huge projector screen. It was a fantastic ending to a long week.

I'm looking forward to getting back to my routine in earnest and knocking out some of the projects that are scattered all over the house. Of course, the deck also has to be finished, but the hard part of pulling up all those old, nasty boards is done at least. We'll be working in the evenings to get fresh, new boards down. I can't wait to have it done, maybe we'll actually use it more.

Despite being so busy and on vacation, I still found loads of inspiration to share. This is for you!

• Marsha at Art Elements shared her tutorial for creating a Fishtail Braided Bracelet. The braided fiber makes her bracelet look so cozy to wear. 
• I have been so drawn to embroidery lately that I think it might be time to pick up the thread and needle. I mean, how amazing are these landscape Embroideries by Vera Shimunia?
• Roben-Marie shared How to Use Instagram Stories: 10 Ideas for Artists and really made me think about my social media a bit more. 
• I discovered this 10 Minute Diaper Bag Tassel Tutorial that I thought fabulously illustrated how easy it can be to create a leather tassel. 
• These Surreal Assemblages from Betsy Youngquist are mesmerizing. Not only are they creative, but the beadwork is sublime!
• I think I mentioned previously that I have a thing for pumpkin decorations and crafts this time of the year. The Faux Quilted Hoop Pumpkins from Ann Butler are no exception. I mean, they even use embroidery hoops!!
• Another fun "Fall" project would be to make these Twist a Tree Pendants from Facet Jewelry. They make it look so easy!
• I've seen a big resurgence in Macrame Plant Hangers recently. They're retro cool or something. Cut Out + Keep has a great tutorial that includes a PDF that illustrates the knotting. 
• LilRuby Jewelry has been enameling her heart out recently and the results are amazing. You should definitely see what's she's been firing up and head over to her Instagram for more. 

See....so MUCH inspiration!

Here's to a wonderfully creative week ahead. Enjoy yourself.