I Believe . . .

Are you ready for Christmas?  As usual, despite all my big plans, I'm beginning to realize that many of the things that I had planned to do this holiday are just not going to happen.  But, that's okay - we have our outside lights up (thanks Hubby!) and it looks very festive, our tree is up and decorated inside.  Little by little the other holiday decorations are being set in place and I have started a list of my holiday baking favorites so I can make sure I have all the ingredients.  Gifts are being selected one by one and I BELIEVE they will all either be in the mail before the big day or wrapped and placed under our tree.

I have been admiring all the beautiful hand lettering that I've seen all over the place recently.  Lori Vliegen is a very talented artist whose work is beautiful.  She offers a class called Letter Lab which has really inspired me.  I now find myself doodling letters on all sorts of things.  Over the weekend I practiced my technique and made myself a little Christmas decoration.  I think it's kind of cute and am enjoying it hanging over my desk.  I never thought I could do this kind of art - but, now I BELIEVE!!!

Happy Turkey Day!

Hope y'all have a wonderful day with family and friends.  I am so thankful and blessed to be spending the day with my immediate family and in spirit with all of those who we hold dear.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Studio Happenings

I woke up in the wee hours last night - not sure why, but I really didn't want to get up in the middle of the night, so instead of counting sheep to get back to sleep I created a new card design in my head.  I couldn't wait to get in the studio this morning and bring it to life.  My inspiration came from my BFF Irene.  She is a terrific seamstress and made this cute little bag a while back.  It is so cute!  But, since I don't have a clue where to start making a bag, I decided to use her bag as a starting point for my new notecard set.  One thing led to another and I now have matching address labels to go with them.  It was a productive day!

New Etsy Shop Addition - pennant notecards & matching address labels

Favorite Family Dates

As soon as I saw this project on A Steed's Life blog I knew I'd have to make it for my home.  I love graphic art like this that has a meaning for my family or our life events.  So, this morning I have the house all to myself (wonder of wonders!) since all the men have gone golfing and I decided I needed a little "ME" time to create something.  I have had this metal stand sitting in my studio for years waiting for a purpose.  I dug through my stash (which took a great deal of time because I kept finding things I had forgotten I owned - do you do that?) and found a couple of hardboards that were already predrilled with holes and grommets - PERFECT!  A little Photoshop, some paper and glue and voila!  I had enough paper scraps in my scrap file to match my Family Photos album so I decided to use that and display both things together.  I love it!

And now, I have to go do what I should have started the day doing - tackling my laundry pile!!!!

Football Food

I love football season.  I like it when the weather turns cooler, the leaves start to fall from the trees and every weekend we can look forward to the football games.  On Saturdays we hoot and holler for our beloved Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.  And then on Sunday, it's the Falcons, Broncos and Colts.  With all that action on the tube, the food needs to be easy and quick to prepare.  On today's menu is homemade Sloppy Joes.

I was never a big fan of Sloppy Joes when I was a kid.  I thought they were okay, but my Mum's version of adding ground beef to a can of Manwich just didn't do much for me.  Then, I discovered this recipe for a chuckwagon version of this dish.  And I became a believer!  These Joes are yummy!  They are easy to prepare and taste great.  Serve them up with some homemade coleslaw, chips and pickles and you have a crowd pleaser.

Here's the recipe for you -

CHUCKWAGON SLOPPY JOES

1 cup each, finely chopped celery, bell pepper & onion

1-2 Tblsp. vegetable oil

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard

4 Tblsp. chili powder

1 1/4 cups ketchup

1 cup beef broth

1 tsp. vinegar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

• In a large skillet, cook and stir chopped vegetables in oil until tender, about 10 minutes.  Add beef; cook and stir, breaking up and browning meat, about 15 minutes.  Drain off excess fat if needed.
• Add brown sugar, mustard, chili powder, ketchup, beef broth and vinegar; stir to combine all ingredients.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, spoon mixture on burger rolls and top with cheese or other toppings of your choosing. 

            Mmmmmmmmm . . .  good!

Happy Fall, Y'all

I can't believe how fast fall has crept up on me!  Last time I looked it was the middle of the summer, it was hot and sunny and my flowers were blooming prolifically.  And now here we are - the leaves are beginning to change colors on the trees, my flower pots look like they have seen better days, it's beginning to get a little cooler in the evenings - seems it's time to change out my summer frame for a fall one.  Here's my Fall frame art - I'm just printing it off to put into the frame - now . . . . what else needs a new fall touch?????

Dog Days of Summer

What a crazy summer we have had around here.  I thought without baseball this year I would have had time on my hands - NOT!  It seems we've been busier than ever.  My little part time job has taken up a good deal of my time.  The other free moments have been spent getting son #2 ready for college, son #1 ready to graduate from college and when I can fit it in I've been in the Worleybird Studio getting my calendars ready for the Etsy shop.  I'm happy to report that two new calendar creations are almost completed.  I am working on the finishing touches to prepare them for printing.  Here's a sneak peak -

Sneak Peak

Working on my patriotic frame really got my creative juices flowing.  I started thinking it was probably time to start working on my next calendar creation.  I thought it would be fun to change out my patriotic frame each month with a new graphic.  So, with that in mind, why not adapt the frames to a calendar project?   I'm still in the planning stages, but it's coming along nicely - the title of the 2012 calendar is going to be "A Banner Year" and each month will have a banner in a theme to match the month.  Here's a sneak peak at my new frame for August which I will transform into a calendar page.

Patriotic Display

Over the weekend I was doing a little blog surfing and saw a really cute patriotic frame idea on the Landee See, Landee Do blog.  I immediately pinned it to my Projects To Try board on Pinterest.  Since it was a digital project I decided to get right to it.  Here's my version.  And, for once, I am ahead of the game for 4th of July decorating.  I like this one enough though that it might just stay up year round.  After all the sentiment is true 365 days a year!

My Version - digital elements from kit by Julia Makotinsky





Landee's Version - so cute!



Curtain Reveal

Well, here they are in all their glory!  It was a lot of work but they turned out well - not sure I'll tackle another big project like that again until I perfect my sewing skills though.  I still need to make some pillow covers.  I think I will take that on after we make it through graduation.  I need to get started on that now!

Man Cave "Lite"

The Man Cave curtains are done and hung.  I am in love with the fabric.  The colors are perfect and the overall pattern just really appeals to me.  I know it's a floral, but it looks great. In light of the fact that the men who occupy the Man Cave did not step up and offer to make the window coverings, I, the Decorator-In-Chief, decided to do them my way - and Voila!  Man Cave "lite" - works for me!  LOL

The Living Room drapes are also done, but I have them tied at the moment in an effort to get them to "remember" where to fold and hang nicely.  I'll take photos in a day or two when I unleash them!  Stay tuned.

Two Months? Really?

Oh my word!  I can't even believe that two whole months have flown by since my last post.  Things have been in high gear around here lately.  Between working, crafting, baseball and college miscellany for son #2 there hasn't been much time left over for blogging.  The end of the school year is coming to a rapid end (only two short weeks away) and in order to keep my mind off the fact that my youngest child is graduating,  I have kept myself busy.  I'm guessing that when Taylor heads off to college in the fall I will have more time on my hands than I know what to do with - so look out!  I'll be a blogging maniac!

This weekend the Worleybird Design Studio has been turned into a sweat shop - I'm working on some curtains for the Man Cave and our Living Room.  I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking taking on this project.  For starters, I don't really know how to sew.  And my BFF who I turn to for all things sewing lives about 400 miles away in Vegas.  Let's just say that I have set my phone to speed dial so that when I get into a panic my dear friend Irene can talk me down!  I have nine panels to make - They are 107" long, 54" wide and I'm lining them.  Oh. My. Goodness.  That is a LOT of fabric!  Four are done and I'm hoping I will be able to finish the other five tomorrow.  Here's a sneak peak at the fabric (which I adore) - I'll be back to post photos of the finished project when it's finally done. 

Party!!!

                                                                                           

Well, I'm not having a party, but I've been working on a fun Party Package.  My son Taylor has a fundraiser next week for his high school baseball team and I have donated a party basket to the silent auction.  I'm thinking of adding some of these packages to my Etsy shop.  I'd like to add a printable version for those that would like to print their own at home and a custom printed version.  Still working out the details.  The artwork that I used on this particular package is by Julia Makotinsky - she is an incredible artist.  Using her designs always puts a smile on my face! 



Cool Water Resistant Labels



Party Planner - made from a Target place mat



The entire party package includes invitations, thank you notes, envelope wraps, treat toppers with bags, and cake toppers/table decor picks.  I think it turned out pretty fabulous - I hope the bidders at the auction do too!

cupcake toppers

coordinating thank you note

Invite

Trendy Envelope Wrap!

Treat Topper - perfect for a sweet treat for your guests

Oh, and one more little something special that I included - a matching 4x6 photo keeper - so that all those special memories are sure to be shared!  I love birthdays!!

Making Change

A Change Purse!!!  I'm just patting myself on the back over this one.  I saw this tutorial on Crafty Girls Workshop a while back.  I fell in love with it and put it on my never ending list of things to do.  Well, since it was so stinkin' cute, it made to the top of the list in record time.  I know it's not perfect and I learned some tricks that will make the next one a whole lot easier, but don't you think this is adorable?  Technically, it is a change purse, but I'm thinking I might just use it to hold all those little things that seem to collect at the bottom of your purse - you know like toothpicks, lip gloss, kleenex, rubber bands, safety pins . . . . etc.  Wait? What?  Y'all don't have a complete drug store rolling around in the bottom of your bag?  Is that why everyone runs to me when they need something weird?  I'm telling you - I'll be all ready for Let's Make a Deal when Monty Hall comes calling!!  (Yikes, that's showing my age - I just remembered that the new host of LMAD is Wayne Brady - well, I'm ready for him too!)

Bunko Tonight!

I've been invited to sub at Bunko tonight.  I so enjoy the women in this group - it's always a fun evening.  Tonight's theme is "Lucky" and we are supposed to bring a $10 gift pertaining to the theme.  I racked my brain for something unique, dug through my stash of semi-finished projects and here is what I put together. 

I already had the little gift bag topper made up, so I added a fun caption using the "lucky" theme.  The lottery tickets looked a little sad all by themselves so I put them in a cellophane bag, thought up a little ditty to include and printed it up on a card stock topper.  I finished it off with a little something extra (who doesn't love wine and chocolate????) and VOILA!  All ready for Bunko night. 



18 Years Ago . . . .

18 years ago at this very moment, we welcomed our second son into this world.  Modern medicine had progressed considerably since the birth of our first son and I remember thinking what a breeze this whole delivery thing was!  Now, if only the raising of said baby could have been equally as easy!!  LOL  Seriously, we are so proud of our now 18 year old "baby" - he is a wonderful young man - kind, funny, loving, sometimes a hot mess, but generally an all around great guy - Happy Birthday, Beaner!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My hubby and I are not the mushy types, so I opted for a fun valentine instead - but, even after almost 29 years of wedded bliss I still consider him my sweetheart and best friend.  Here's the card I gave him. Isn't this monster image by Julia Makotinsky adorable? She sure makes it easy for me to add a few finishing touches and crank out a cute card.

Envelope Wraps

At Christmas I worked on a little project that I thought was really fun.  I made a few personalized note cards for some friends and included some coordinating envelopes and envelope wraps. Thanks Barb and Irene for being my guinea pigs! Sorry, I forgot to take photos of those wraps, but here is my Valentines version.  The original idea came from my friend Mish.  She made some of these and posted them on her blog a while back.  She does some amazing handcrafted work.  My version is a much simpler, digital version, but I really like the idea of these envelope wraps.  I think they are a trendy, updated version of return address labels.  And, the best part is you can customize them to whatever holiday or occasion you want.  You can either leave them blank and fill the address in by hand, or use your computer to fill them for you.  Either way, these would be fun to get in your mailbox wouldn't they?

FOCUS

My friend Bevie challenges us every year to come up with a word of the year.  This year she mentioned the word FOCUS and listed the following -

F - Finish what you start
O - Organize
C - Create
U - Use what you have
S - Simplify

I thought that this word fit me perfectly.  I could stand to focus a little more - okay, a LOT more!  I am the Queen of Being Distracted.  It's why today my beds are still unmade and my bathrooms still need cleaning.  Instead I have been working on a little project that incorporates all the words that my friends have selected for their words for 2011.  Here's the work in progress -

I am still going to tweak it a little and add some embellishments.  I think I would also prefer a black frame, so I'll be pulling out the spray paint at some point.  But, right now I need to FOCUS.  Something tells me that those beds are not going to get made by the bed fairies and the bathrooms aren't going to clean themselves (although someone should invent a self-cleaning bathroom!)  

hAPPY nEW yEAR!

I know I'm a little late, but since I am also a firm believer in the "better late than never" philosophy I hope y'all will forgive me!!  I just can't seem to get settled into a routine - I have tons of things on my to do list but it seems as if everyday I throw all my good intentions up in the air and they scatter like a deck of cards - then I spend the rest of the day playing 52 Card Pick Up!!  LOL  

I do have a lot of projects brewing in my head - so, don't worry.  I'll be back soon with something fun to share.  In the meantime, Welcome, 2011 - it's going to be a good year!