Thank You For Being A Friend....

I am now the proud owner of two (that's right, two!) new pieces of wall art from the talented Magpienight.  I hung them in my crafting studio, on the wall in my sewing corner.  Of course, the guys in the house think I'm absolutely ridiculous but they don't know what they're missing!

The color isn't the best in this photo but that corner sucks for lighting despite being next to a window.

I love watching stuff as an adult that I'd seen as a kid.  Now that I actually understand all of their catty remarks and dirty jokes, The Golden Girls is a new found favorite of mine.  So when I saw these I knew that they had to come and live with me.

How about you?  Re-discovered any old gems waiting to become your new favorite?

Snapshot Friday!

Alright, this week's edition of Snapshot Friday is going to be a bit different.  I'm going a bit personal with it.  However, as both pictures are more than 20 years old, they officially fit the definition of vintage.  So, yeah. And please excuse the awkward cropping, I figured no one else had to be embarrassed along with me. 

This is how I want to feel.

This is how I actually feel.

 

(You should feel privileged, this is one of the worst pictures of me.  Ever.  I've never shown anyone...until now.)  

I look like some sort of jabroni saying (in a strong NY or Jersey accent) "OH! Whattaya doin?  Don't be takin' my picture!"

Yeah, long story short- surgery sucks!  Now, if you'll excuse me.  I'm off to take some wonderful pills and watch The Golden Girls.  Man, I love those mean ol' ladies!  (That reminds me- tune in tomorrow to see my latest etsy purchase.  I'll give you a hint- it has to do with The Golden Girls.)

Chugging Along.

A little update to show you the progress on the  IBTOY Sewing Circle piece, Haiti.

 

Not as much progress as I would like to see, but that's no one's fault but mine!  I ended up using a copper bead to signify Port-au-Prince instead of a larger red one, it was just way too big.  My sloppy fill stitch looks ok with green, not so much with the yellow.  It probably just blends better with the darker color.  I'm a bit worried that the rivers are getting lost amongst the green, although they look great in this picture.  Wow, I sound like a Negative Nancy!  (Always stitchin' and bitchin' lol)  I actually really do like how it is coming along.   I can't wait to get to my favorite part- the mini-map in the corner.  I'm really excited about layering the colors in the ocean too.  I'm going to try something I've never done before!

 The craft store I normally get my floss at randomly switched brands (Whhhhhhyyyyyyyyy????) so I got the equivalent color.  I don't mind switching but I don't usually do it mid-project for one of the main colors!  Even so, it was down-pouring and we were feeling too lazy to go across town to a different store.   So, once I got over my paranoia I continued stitching and haven't noticed a difference yet.

Anyway, gotta get to stitchin' if this baby is going to be done by the end of the month!

Spoiled Rotten- part 2!

These are the cards that I received from Jeannie @ Artaha.com in the flickr artist exchange.

Lift "A" and Lift "B"

Love

Ginko Fish

Tragic Cake inspired by Thiebaud

Creepy Chick Child

Aren't they great?  Told you people were spoiling me lately.

Thanks for looking!

Spoiled Rotten- part 1.

As I mentioned yesterday, I've been spoiled rotten lately when it comes to receiving mail.  These are some recent ATCs that I've traded for.

From Sam in Australia.

Accckkkk, check out this gorgeous couching!  

From Allen in Ohio.

Entitled: Sure, the other witches said she lacked ambition, but in Logan all the town's children loved Nurse Hildegard.

 

From Jeannie in South Dakota.

A big thank you to Sam, Allen, and Jeannie for trading their wonderful cards.  Be sure to check out the links I've included for them.  Perhaps, there is something perfect for you to trade for!

Ironically, when negotiating the trade with Jeannie I learned that she had sent me some ATCs in an Artist Exchange that I was participating in on Flickr.  Those are coming up next in "Spoiled Rotten- Part 2."

Postcrossing Update.

I've received a few more pieces of correspondence from Postcrossing.

From Cheng in China.

From Yvonne in Florida.

From Nina in Italy.

(This lady officially had the most beautiful handwriting I have ever seen!)

And since I am officially addicted, I sent out a few too.

 

(This one isn't from around here but the guy wanted a lighthouse.)

More mail posts to come because I've been spoiled rotten lately!

Snapshot Friday!

Sorry for my lack of posts.  I'm feeling a bit under the weather at the moment.  However, I couldn't let you guys miss out on this installment of Snapshot Friday!

(Click on the image to enlarge.)

These folks must be the cool kids on the block because more than one of them looks a bit confident.  I especially love the sunglasses the lady sitting at the picnic table is wearing.  It seems to me that she's the boss here, and these other gals help her run the show. 

I've Been Thinking About You. (part 1)

Yesterday I mentioned that I had joined an a sewing circle called, "I've Been Thinking About You."  What's really interesting about it is that it's International.  So, people all around the world decide that they are all going to stitch on the same day, somewhere between noon and midnight. The first one took place on January 13, 2010.

I'd originally planned to stitch up a quote from a love letter written during the Victorian Era.  However, before I sat down start stitching I decided to read the news online.  An hour and several tears later, I sat back thinking about nothing other than the destruction and pain being experienced in Haiti.  Suddenly my romantic quote seemed so trite, so I decided to stitch something about Haiti.

Getting ready.  (You'll notice my cheesy template I mentioned yesterday.)

The image I chose to stitch came from the 1964 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia.  It had a 4 page article on Haiti.  I read the whole thing, and thought to myself, sadly, not too much has changed for Haiti in the last 45 years.  As my attempt at social commentary, I left the map exactly how it was in the book.

Progress shots.

 

 

 

 

It's not done, but it's getting there.  The most time consuming part is going to be the fill stitches on the land part.

 Oh yeah!  There's one more thing I need to get out of my system.

That popped into my head the second I heard about the theme.

For more information about the Sewing Circle.  Visit the official site HERE!

NINJAS!!

So, I've mentioned my roommate, Jamaal, right?

And how every time he comes around hilarity ensues, right?

Well, did I tell you he and his co-workers have a blog?  I didn't think so.

What do they blog about?

 NINJAS!

These are some of my favorites by him.

What else would a little ninja eat?

 

The only way football could be any better!

Oh, and they take submissions!  If you have a newspaper and some sharpies lying around, I suggest try to make a ninja.  Then, submit it to them!

For more awesome ninja action, check out

Liquid Paper Cuts!

Random Stuff.

Since I've been a naughty blogger, I've already ruined my goal of posting everyday in 2010.  So, I'm going to double up on a few days.  Just until we're all caught up.  How does that sound?  Like cheating.  Yeah, I know but you guys win out in the end.  So we'll just overlook the cheating part, ok?

I wanted to share with you a few things I found in the crafting closet clean-up.  Truly random.

Coin from Ecuador.

A pretty mess.  This must have been stashed away by one of the kitties.  Surprisingly, I had the patience to untangle it and re-wind it onto bobbins.  Did I swear a lot while doing it?  You betcha!  It should be safe now, unless a little terrorist named Boris decides to run off with the whole ring of metallic floss bobbins.

Awesome chipboard sign, leftover from my days of working at the local store in high school. 

Before California had "The happiest cows on earth!", it was the cheese that made our fine state so spectacular.  My Californian friends reading this will know what I'm talking about.

I used it to cut a template, which will be used to size my fabric pieces for the "I've Been Thinking Of You" Sewing Circle.  (I'll tell you more about that tomorrow!)  I hate measuring stuff, so this way I only had to measure once.  Well, and double check it several times to make sure I didn't measure wrong.

And last but certainly not least.  A jar o' pirates.

 

Aaarrrgggggghhh, thanks for lookin'!

Now go craft something, mate.

LUCKY WINNERS!!!!!

Alrighty kiddos, the time has come for me to announce the lucky winners.  I chose all of the winners using the random number generator, so no hard feelings, ok?

First up: The ATC Kit!

Nanbon44 said-

 

And now for the personalized banner!  The winner of this prize will also receive the Mad Ink embroidery patterns, generously provided by Sew Lovely Embroidery.  And some sweet little notions and stitching stuff that I've gathered up, guaranteed to make any craft lover's heart swoon.

 

Katie said:

In addition to providing a set of their super fantastic patterns for the grand prize winner, the gals at Sew Lovely Embroidery graciously sent along a few extras for some surprise winners.  Yay for surprises!  And yay for Sew Lovely Embroidery!  A big thank you to Katy and Maureen for all of their hard work making awesome patterns and sharing them with my readers!  (And yay for exclamation points because I love those darned things!)

The surprise winners are

#20

#29

#16

#7

#32

#36

Congratulations to those that won.  And a huge thank you to everyone that participated!

If you are a winner please contact me at MafiosaGrrl(at)aol(dot)com with your mailing information.  Actually, we're all winners here.  (Yes, I am that lame.)

 Have a craftastic day!

Inspiration Board.

After the getting my workspace all nice and organized last weekend I was able to have a nice long look at my bulletin board.  After taking in all of it's scrappy goodness, I realized just how much I love it. It's one of several places throughout the room where I keep "inspirational" stuff.  Little bits and snippets that, for whatever reason, appeal to me.

The whole lot.

This is where my favorite picture of us is kept.  (I need to frame the poor thing before it gets destroyed.)  Plus one of my favorite postcards, in case I need a Bobby D fix while I'm crafting. 

 

Oh la la.

I want to be like this- covered in tattoos and looking like one tough lady.  I get the impression she doesn't take any shit- from anyone.

 

Sweetness.  In case, I ever need a smile.

 

Remember kids- waste not, want not.

 

Best comic ever, a lovely fortune and a postcard from one of our first unforgettable roads trips.  (Being broken down in Placerville, CA aka Hangtown turned out to be a lot of fun!)

*Bonus points if you laugh at the yellow button!

 

I plan on getting a lot of stuff done this weekend, so I'm glad that I can stand at my nice, clean desk and have an unobstructed view of these gems.  However, looking at all of these photos reminds me that some of this has been up there a long time.  Perhaps it's time to switch it up!  Nothing inspires creativity like a little change.

I also keep a journal of sorts that's filled with similar sorts of stuff.  It helps me when I'm feeling stagnant with my painting or need a subject when I'm working on my sketchbook.  Do you have anything similar that you reference when you are feeling less than creative?

While were on the subject of inspiration, I want bring to your attention to a recent post by Threadstar.  Not only is her work inspirational, but she leaves the most thought provoking comments for people.  On her blog, she's taken the time to share thoughts on inspiration vs. motivation.  For some reason I was really taken by this post.  I read it at just the right time in my life, as motivation (and inspiration) have been on my mind a lot lately.  Please take the time to read her post HERE.  You'll be happy you did.

Thanks for looking!