Constipated Yawn...

Yawn:  v.intr.

A yawn is a reflex of simultaneous inhalation of air and stretching of the eardrums, followed by exhalation of breath.

Yawning is commonly associated with tiredness, stress, overwork, lack of stimulation and boredom, though recent studies show it may be linked to the cooling of the brain.

In humans, yawning is often triggered by others yawning!

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn)

I bet you're fighting the urge to yawn right now!  Well, for the past few days, I feel like I have to yawn... and it goes and goes and I never get that last bit of inhalation that leaves me feeling satisfied.  I imagine I've looked like this a couple of times... yup... attractive.

So I've been 40 for over a week now.  What's different? Nothing and everything... if that makes any sense?!?  One thing I've been thinking about a lot lately is how greatly my interests change from one year to the next.  One moment, I'm all about cooking, then sewing, then gardening, then painting, then nails, then fashion... (Adult ADD?)

One thing for sure, I miss drawing.  I have all my supplies staring at the side of my head right now.  Begging for some attention.  I miss it... but not feeling it lately...

The last time I doodled with my Prismacolors was when I drew these girls.

This one got smeared and had to throw her out :(

This one is waiting to be colored in...

This is waiting for completion...

Waiting for completion...

She's not done either... She's my favorite tho :)

Some friends and family have expressed missing my videos.  I used to video myself drawing and painting.  Honestly, I stopped because I couldn't take the negative criticism.  Yup, there's some nasty, competitive crazies out there.... But here I will sign off leaving you with an oldie but goodie.

If you haven't seen it before, I hope you enjoy it.

If you have, I hope you enjoy watching it again!

Click here to watch:  Violet Blu

Nail Art

I go through phases where I really enjoy decorating my nails. Sometimes, I'll do my nails, take a picture then take it off immediately. People often ask me how often I do my nails and I really don't have an answer for that.  It just depends... sometimes I'll do them once a week and other times, I'll go 3 or 4 weeks without touching them.

Here's are some designs I've done this year.  Hope you enjoy :O)

Glittery French

Simple Valentine Message

Cute "Corset"

Simple Nude with Black

Cherry Blossoms (purple, yeah I know)

Cute Pink and Black flower design

Nude with White Lines accented with Gold

Black and Gold Marble design with Zebra accents

Zig-Zag Red, White and Blue

Simple Marble Watermelon design

Cute and easy Halloween design

Black and Silver with White Zebra stripe accents

Fun and simple Dice design

Red, Gray and Gold design using the tape method

on the ring finger

Thanks for visiting! :O)

2012 Fall Wreath

Although we are still in the high 90's here in AZ, I can't help but feel excited about the Fall.  All the stores are filled with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas decor.  I figured, since we are officially in the Fall season now, why not make a Fall wreath?

Here's a super simple wreath that I put together in about an hour or less:

I bought a medium size wreath a few months back.

Ribbon $2.79 ea (sale)

4x6 Letter "S" $2.99

Velvety Maple Bouquet  $1.99 (sale)

2 - Daisy/Mum Fall bouquet  $3.49 ea. (sale)

Supplies needed:

Glue gun

Diagonal cutting pliers

Thin wire

I wrapped one spool of ribbon loosely around

the wreath and secured it in the back.

I created a bow with the second spool of ribbon

and secured it with thin crafting wire.

Make sure to leave a little ribbon at the end

to hand you letter from.  This ended up being

too much so I simply made a few more loops

in my bow :O)

Attach the bow to the wreath with wire.

Cut the flowers off the bouquet as close to the

base as possible.

Arrange the flowers on the wreath simple by

weaving through the twigs of the wreath.  This is

where you might need your glue gun.  There

were a few flowers that were loose and not

fitting snugly through the vines of the wreath

so I just put a little glue and secured them

into place.

I wasn't planning on putting all the flowers

on but it just kind of ended up this way.

I could have gotten away with not wrapping

the first spool of ribbon around the wreath

since you can't even really see it.  I could

have used both spools on making a

larger bow.  (lesson learned!)

I spray painted the "S" with gold paint,

created a loop with the remainder of 

the ribbon and secured it in the back...

Hung the "S"...

and Taaaaa-Daaaaaa!

Here you have a monogrammed wreath for Fall!

Hope you enjoyed :O) xoxo

Refashion a T-shirt

Hello Monday...

So, my hubs gave me a couple of t-shirts to donate a few days ago and I thought, why not try to refashion these?  There are so many ladies that refashion old, ugly t-shirts into adorable tops!  There's a site I used to go to that belonged to a young girl that refashioned just about EVERYTHING! She made bikinis, underwear, dresses, skirts and shorts out of old t-shirts! I tried to make a bikini last year but I felt that the t-shirt material was too thin and there was not enough support for my girls... I'm having trouble finding her blog as it's been over a year but I did run across another gal that has made some really cute tops out of t-shirts.  Her name is Christie at Sew What's Happening?  Check out her site!

I'm not going to post a tutorial on my refashion because like I said before, I am not an experienced seamstress and I was kinda just figuring it out as I went.  I tried to follow Christie's photos but there are a few extra steps that I had to take...

Here is a before photo. I was going to leave it just like this but then I realized that there were a couple of large stains towards the bottom.  But I didn't want to cut it there because then the shirt would be too short.  I decided to bleach the bottom half!! Yikes! I've never done that before so I didn't know what to expect!

 

I wasn't sure how long to leave it soaking so I did a quick "google" and found that if you leave it in too long, the bleach will start to eat away at the fabric.  I figured I'd better take it out.  After I washed and dried it, this was the result.

 

Not too bad.  Those crazy stains didn't come out but at least they're not so noticeable.  Looks like it's suppose to be that way! Haha!  Here is the finished result...

I cut off the sleeves and the neck, sewed it all up and added an elastic band to the bottom.  I wore it with a white tank top underneath because I don't like my bra straps showing.  I'm not "in love" with the results but it turned out ok!

Have you ever refashioned a t-shirt?

Refashion Summer Dress

Yesterday I went through my closet and found some dresses, shirts and T-shirts that I no longer wear and I tried to figure out how I could refashion them.  One of the dresses I selected seemed to be the easiest fix... I bought it a couple of years ago and it goes down to about mid thigh..  For some reason, it seems too short to me now so I didn't wear last summer and I haven't been able to wear it this summer either.  I love the print and the blue is really pretty and I knew for sure that I was not ready to give this dress up!

 

It's a Mossimo dress I bought from Target

but I can't remember the price.

I decided to cut off 10 inches, hem it and wear it as a cute shirt instead!

I am far from being a seamstress so believe me when I tell you that I was a bit frustrated at times.  I have a very difficult time sewing on a curve.  I know that there's probably a trick to it but I've never been taught and I've never asked.  I'm amazed I followed through with it because I'm that type of girl that wants to get it done quickly and easily!  I do have to say I was pleased with the results :O)

Have you ever cut the bottom off one of your dresses and worn it as a shirt?