by way of explaination

You may have noticed that I haven't posted in a while. I am taking a bloggy hiatus. I don't know when I will return, if ever.

I love blogging. I love using my talents and sharing them with others. I love having a record of my projects and recipes. I actually go to my blog often to look up recipes or tutorials-- I don't have the memory capacity I used to.

The thing I love most about blogging is the friendships I've made along the way. So many ladies that I would have otherwise never met I now call friends. I love the communication I have with all of you readers. Like your comments on my most recent giveaway post. I was touched by your kind words.

Here's another example: I recently got this comment on my blog:

Erin, The writer of another blog that I read just announced that she's pregnant with her 10th child. I notice that you haven't been posting lately. It makes me wonder if you're about to be a mama again.

No matter, I hope you're away because you're well and out having fun!

I'm not pregnant again (thankfully!) but I loved this comment! I appreciated that she had noticed my absence and had taken the time to write to me about it. Thanks, Kathy!!

At this point you are probably wondering why I am giving up blogging if I love it so much, right? Well last month I went on a girls trip with some friends. I was gone for four days. I have never left my kids for so long. I felt guilty for leaving but I had such a fantastic time! Being removed from my daily life gave me time to reflect and ponder the way I do things. And I wasn't happy with what I saw.

Try as I might, I have never been able to master balancing my priorities. Blogging takes a lot of time, more than I would have imagined, especially when you are a craft blogger. Creating something, photographing it, editing the pictures, uploading and writing the post (writing does not come naturally to me either). Just for one post. Tutorials are even more time consuming! I would set certain times of the day or evening that I could blog or do projects but I would often try to squeeze things in during the day. I would choose working on a project over playing with my kids more than I would like to admit. I found that even when I was with my family I would find myself thinking about blogging-- projects to do, ways to photograph or present the project, composing blog posts in my head. It was just too much a part of my life.

Over the last year or so I kept getting the feeling that I needed to quit blogging. I finally decided to listen to the prompting. My kids are the best things I have ever created. Being their mother and teaching them is by far the most important thing I will ever do in this life. They deserve 100% of my attention. That is not to say that I can't have other interests or hobbies but I need to cut back and so blogging is what I am cutting. Without blogging I will actually have more free time to craft when I feel like it.

At first I thought I would just remove the ads from my blog. In doing so I would no longer be contractually obligated to blog. I would blog when I felt like it, not on a schedule mandated by someone else. I removed the ads but after a few weeks of not posting I found that I was happier, more relaxed. Without the self-imposed pressure to create on a daily basis I was free to do other things. I have been playing more games with my kids, reading with the kids more, I have been exercising (!!), keeping the house cleaner, staying on top of laundry, I still have managed to create too. I sewed myself a cute new skirt and have plans for a few more. I have even started teaching Liam how to sew! He's doing awesome, by the way! I am spending very little time on my computer. I even unsubscribed from 90% of the blogs I had been reading. Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing!

I still don't have enough hours in the day for everything I would like to do but I'm closer. I am getting more done and I am happier. This wasn't an easy choice. I know I will miss blogging, I already do, but I also know it was the right choice. In ten years it won't matter if I had a blog or not but my kids will be 18, 15, 13 and 11 (Yikes!) that is what is important. And that is what I want my focus to be.

I will be leaving the blog up. I will still be using it a reference I hope it will still be a source of inspiration for some out there. A big thank you to all who read and commented and supported. I will miss you! Love, Erin

winner!

The winner of my third blogiversary giveaway is comment #51- Joyce! Congratulations! Check your email.

Thank you everyone who entered and for all your kind words. Seriously. You guys are going to give me a big head! :)

retro tv t-shirt

My sweet husband, Michael, celebrated his birthday last month. One of his presents was this retro t.v. t-shirt.

The t-shirt was inspired by one of our all time favorite TV shows, The IT Crowd. It is available on Netflix Instant. I definitely recommend it with one caveat- British TV allows much more foul language than American TV. There are a few F-words sprinkled throughout the series-- less than one an episode. It's like a PG-13 movie. Anyhow, one of the main characters, Roy, wears lots of great t-shirts. This one was my favorite:

I recreated it with freezer paper stencils and fabric paint. This was my first time doing a freezer paper stencil on an adult sized t-shirt. I struggled getting it centered and level, as I am sure you can tell! Little kid t-shirts are much easier. If I hadn't left it to the last minute (literally- I did this the morning of his birthday!) I would have bought a new shirt and tried again. Live and learn, right? I also wish I had made the t.v. a little larger.

I do really love how the antennas and the details of the t.v. (the switches and speaker and legs) turned out though.

Michael was very happy with this present. He put it on immediately and wore it the rest of the night. See all those candles? He's OLD! :)

third blogiversary giveaway {closed}

:::this giveaway is closed:::

My third blogiversary was actually January 29th but I have been so busy the giveaway had to wait. I have so much I want to share but between the kids and other responsibilities there just isn't enough time in the day. I'll get it all out eventually!

the bike isn't part of the giveaway. I just like this bike so much I couldn't resist using it as a prop! I wish I could ride this bike all over town and fill the basket with goodies. Alas, Charlotte is a not a biking friendly city.

I know my last giveaway was a tote bag but I have since changed the way I was making them and wanted to give away a 'new and improved' tote bag.

The new tote has a black vinyl bottom that gives the bag a nice weight and structure and makes it more durable.

The rest of the bag is made with a medium weight canvas. The cheery + colorful print is from IKEA and is lined with a white canvas. There are two exterior pockets and two small interior pockets.

Tucked inside the bag are a few of my favorite things:

Essie nail polish in Chinchilly
Ritter Sport milk chocolate with hazelnuts (I love anything with hazelnuts!)
A braided leather bracelet (tutorial by Melissa Esplin- surprisingly easy. I made three in about 30 minutes and plan on making lots more as gifts)
A ring made from a vintage clip on earring

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As always, thank you, to all of you that read my blog. I know I am 'small potatoes' and I dont blog often enough but I appreciate all of you that take the time to read and comment!

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To enter the giveaway you only need to comment on this post-- please include an email address if you don't have one linked to your account. No liking or other hoops to jump through! One entry per person, please. If you accidentally leave more than one comment please go back and delete the extra(s). Thank you and good luck!

thrifty finds

It's been a while since I shared any thrifty finds. Pickings have been slim lately but last Saturday we found two fun items.

A vintage bicycle! For $26.

I especially love the basket!

The bike seems to never have been ridden, just sat in a barn for thirty years. It was very dusty and a little rusty. Michael cleaned and oiled it and it was good to go. It didn't even need a new chain or tires.

Vista Sophisticate. I don't know much about it, but it sure is cute!

Ezra got a ride in the basket. We normally wouldn't do that or ride without helmets but for a quick ride on our quiet residential street we broke the rules.

Spectator Mary Jane's for Gemma.

They won't fit her for a while but they were too cute to pass up.

Only $5 and have never been worn!

What about you? Have you thrifted anything great lately?

perpetual daily journal calendar

I came across this DIY project on Design*Sponge sometime last year and purchased all the supplies for it but decided to wait until the new year to start. Of course I forgot all about it until a week or so ago when I was cleaning my sewing table and came across the adorable red berry basket I had purchased.

I bought the vintage post cards at my favorite local over priced antique store. They had some beautiful cards but they were in the $2-4 price range. Since I was going to be cutting the cards to size and they were only being used at dividers not framed art I decided to pick some from the 50 cent basket!

I quickly threw it all together and played catch-up for the first few weeks of the year that I had missed.

Now that I am caught up I can just jot down a highlight or lowlight or a funny quote from the day. It's completely simple and doable and is just what I needed because I have gotten so lazy in journaling the milestones of my family.

I have a feeling it is going to be a very rewarding and entertaining project in the years to come!

vegetable sushi roll

Over the weekend I had my first attempt at making sushi. It was fantastic and surprisingly easy! I followed this recipe for the rice though I wish I hadn't as it didn't call for enough water and the rice was slightly undercooked. I should have followed the directions on the rice bag (duh!) as it called for a half cup more water.

I bought my supplies at a local asian market. Everything was very inexpensive and the man running the store was very kind to give me some sushi making tips; wrap the bamboo mat completely with plastic wrap. Lay out an even layer of rice and press down firmly. Keep a bowl of water near by, rice won't stick to wet fingers.

Lay a sheet of nori paper over the rice and add your filings of choice. I made mine with carrots, cucumber, green beans and avocado. Seems like a strange combination but it was delicious! I, personally, wouldn't use raw fish when making sushi at home. It makes me nervous.

Once you have layed out the filling, start with the edge closest to you and roll as tightly as possible.

Roll your roll in sesame seeds.

Using a very sharp knife slice your roll, wiping the knife between each cut.

Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and sriracha hot chili sauce. Enjoy!

Have you made sushi before? What are your favorite combinations of fillings?

my birthday. instagram style.

Yes, my birthday was almost a week ago. Yes, I am still talking about it. It's the only day of the year that is all about me so I try to make it last as long as possible. :)

After taking the big kids to school I dropped the little ones off at my sister-in-laws house and made my way to the spa for a one hour massage. This spa was so posh. It was packed with Ladies Who Lunch so I was a little out of place but I enjoyed myself nonetheless! Unfortunately, I accidentally left my favorite ring there. I am SO bummed.

After the spa I met up with Michael for a delicious (and healthy!) lunch.

My sweet husband mid-chew.

Then is was back to regular life for a while: library, getting the big kids from school, homework. After that I got to share another great meal Michael! We ordered miso soup and several different sushi rolls. My favorite was the garden veggie. It was amazing. I purchased all the ingredients to recreate it at home because I couldn't get enough!

Because we are old and boring we went to a movie after dinner. We saw the new Sherlock Holmes film. I'd like to say it was good but I fell asleep. See? I wasn't kidding about the old and boring part!

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January isn't just my birth month it's also the month that I started this blog, three years ago. Last year I didn't do anything to mark the blogiversary since, you know, I'd just had a baby but this year I want to do another giveaway so be on the lookout for that!

five things friday

Today is my birthday. Thirty-three. Yikes! I am not weirded out by getting older I just don't know where the time has gone. The years are flying by and I would give anything to slow it down!

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My dear mother celebrates her birthday tomorrow. I have always liked sharing a birthday with my mom. Someday when I am rich I am going to take us on some fancy trip, just the two of us, to celebrate our birthdays. But I'm not rich yet so she is getting a tote bag, just like the rest of my family and friends. And it's not even done (let alone mailed across the country) so it will be late, just like the totes for the rest of my family and friends. Wah-wah. At least I am consistent! Happy birthday, Mom!

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I bought some cute second hand ballet flats for Sutton. She loves them but the elastic strap across the top of the shoe was digging in, so I cut them off. As I was tossing the cut-off elastic into the trash can Sutton said, "No, Mom! I can use those for something!" My little repurposing heart almost exploded with pride!

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Yesterday Liam said his first ever swear word. The D word. Exact quote, "I wish I didn't have so much d**n homework." (That kid seriously hates doing homework) It took all I had to not laugh out loud. I'm not proud of that but I am proud of the fact that he got to the age of eight (and a half!) before saying a swear! We had a little talk about bad words and being frustrated. A good reminder for me too because even though I do my best to not swear in front of the kids, you better believe I am thinking or saw bad words under my breath!

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I am really late in hearing this news but Pantone's 2012 color of the year is Tangerine Tango! That is the exact shade of orange as my bookcase. Who knew I was so trendy? Not me!

paint chip art

Back in July Jessica Jones of How About Orange posted about using paint chips to make art. There are many versions of paint chip wall art but I liked her geometric triangles the best.

I decided to make one for Michael for Christmas. I grabbed a few paint chips, made a template and started cutting. My triangles looked like they were all the same size but once I started putting them together and found they were not the same size. Close but not exact. It almost looked cool but I knew the imperfections would bug me.

Enter Plan B. I grabbed a 1 1/4" square punch. Punched out a bunch of squares and sliced them in half, corner to corner. Since I only had to make one cut, all the pieces were the exact same size. Whew! The triangles were a different shape then Jessica's but I was okay with that- 'make it your own' and all that. Plus considering the size of the art I was making it was way faster than cutting by hand.

Then came the fun part, making the design. I played around with the triangles until I found a pattern I liked.  I added a second row to check if I liked how the pattern repeated.

Then I prepared my backing paper with some guidelines to keep everything straight. I sprayed the backing paper with spray adhesive and laid out the pattern, keeping the colors completely random.

This part was really quick and it wasn't long before my paper was full!

I put in in a mat and frame I already had and it was done. Michael was really pleased with it and I like that it sort of looks like a mini-quilt.

(uh, just ignore all that crap under the desk. mmm-kay?)

give and get

Christmas has come and gone and once again I have disappeared from my little blog. I've been having too much fun celebrating this special time of year with my family. In addition to spending time with my little family we been playing with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. Unfortunately all of my kids are sick (the boys both have ear infections) so we have had to take some breaks from the fun here and there.

I wanted to share just a few of my favorite things that I gave and received this Christmas.

Michael gave me this beautiful coat. It fits really well and I LOVE the color!

He also gave me this necklace made by Morgan Pranther. She makes some beautiful and affordable necklaces.

Unlike last Christmas's doll house, this year I only made two simple presents. Colorful art for Michael. I'll show you how I made it soon.

I also made a necklace for my little sister. Sorry for the crappy picture. In typical Erin fashion I made it after dark the night before I had to mail everything. The necklace looked great on my sister when we Skyped Christmas morning. I followed Jess' tutorial for felt flowers at Craftiness Is Not Optional.

As I mentioned back in October, I got Sutton Fashion Plates. They were a huge hit!

What did you give and get this year?

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas (or whatever Holiday you celebrate) and I hope that you have a fabulous and healthy New Year. Bring on 2012!