Friday, May 30, 2008

The final quarter


Uppercase Living

Vinyl lettering

Sale!

After 2 ½ years I have decided that this quarter will be my last as an Uppercase Living demonstrator.

To commemorate this change I have decided to offer

10% off anything in the catalog

&

5% off any custom orders

You can view the catalog online by going to

www.uppercaseliving.com

Click on Customer Corner login

In the box on the right type in the

Demonstrator ID: 128570

And Registration Token: vinyl

Or

You can stop by and buy a catalog or borrow one.

But, HURRY! The quarter ends JUNE 30th and I will not be able to place any orders after that time.

So whether it’s that favorite quote or inspirational saying you keep meaning to display in your home, or you just want to get a jump start on holiday gifts, now is the perfect time!

If you would like to place an order, have any questions, or would like me to provide a free personal in home consultation, please don’t hesitate to call or email.

em.lettering@gmail.com

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

work in progress.....

Well mine is actually done, but I am just SO proud of myself I had to share. This post is in answer to this post.

I started and FINISHED this project in 24 hours and I made TWO of them!


It's a nursing cover. I, however, prefer to refer to them by the first name I heard for them which is Hooter Hider.

Hilarious.

Anyway, there was a double shower for my sister and my cousin. I went fabric hunting and this particular fabric had, literally, barely been taken off the truck. It was still in the wrapping and just lying unassumingly on the floor. I snatched up my treasured find and raced home. Each Hider cost me less than half of what it cost to buy one, even with the designer fabric.

I have purchased two of these covers and I must say that the ones I made are just as good. I even put the boning in them. That's right. I'm cool. But please no bowing.


(p.s. did you notice the chocolate brown?)



Excuse my boasting, but I am just so tickled that I pulled it off (I am a novice in the sewing department) and more importantly that I actually completed a project. I have a bit of a problem with that.

Just ask Danica about my 2 1/2 year old-less than half completed-quiet book. So sad.

Preschool Graduation

Last Thursday, May 22, Karaia graduated from preschool. She did a great job in her program and nailed her solo! She sang Never Tell A Lie and did a fantastic job! Kevin did a good job accompanying her even though there was a lot of last minute practices.

I cannot believe her next step is kindergarten! She is beyond excited and thinks it unfair that September is SO far away. I can already tell that summer is going to go way too fast for me.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

I've been tagged


(my new color and cut. Not the best picture, but it'll do)

What is something mom always says to you? You are a good mom
2. What makes mom happy? When she sees her grandkids
3. What makes mom sad? Not having all the energy she wants
4. How does mom make you laugh? Being silly with my kids
5. What was mom like as a child? Super spunky and adventurous
6. How old is your mom? the big 50
7. How tall is your mom? 4' 11 1/4" (she shrunk a quarter of an inch)
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Be with family
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? crochet
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Her un-named disease (we keep waiting for them to name it after her since they can't tell her what she has. It only seems fair)
11. What is your mom really good at? crocheting and playing with the grandkids
12. What is your mom not very good at? running (see #10)
13. What does your mom do for her job? Has Nana nights with the grandkids and crochets for her upcoming etsy shop.
14. What is your mom's favorite food? candy
15. What makes you proud of your mom? That she is willing and happy to give most of her precious energy to play with her grandkids
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? What do you mean "if"? I already told you how tall she is.
17. What do you and your mom do together? Window shopping
18. How are you and your mom the same? We like children
19. How are you and your mom different? She can organize like nobody's business.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because she comes and does my laundry sometimes because she knows I HATE doing it.

I tag all my nieces and nephews who can talk.

Beckham's been tagged


(Check out that smile! LOL!)

What is something mom always says to you? Be obedient.
2. What makes mom happy? Being silly
3. What makes mom sad? Disobedient
4. How does mom make you laugh? When we be silly
5. What was mom like as a child? A baby
6. How old is your mom? I don't know.
7. How tall is your mom? Medium
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Play the computer (do you think I've been blogging too much)
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Watch T.V.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? you'll be mad (sheese, I sure hope child services doesn't read this. According to Beckham I'm a computerT.V-aholic who has a grumpy streak. Maybe you should just read Karaia's answers)
11. What is your mom really good at? Playing the Wii
12. What is your mom not very good at? Doing tricks
13. What does your mom do for her job? Do the laundry
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Lettuce
15. What makes you proud of your mom? I'm proud of you for typing what I'm saying.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? A different mom
17. What do you and your mom do together? Play
18. How are you and your mom the same? We both have brown eyes.
19. How are you and your mom different? Because I have hair that's sticking up and you have hair that's sticking down.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Hugging.


Beckham tags me

Karaia's been tagged




What is something mom always says to you? I love you.
2. What makes mom happy? By being obedient
3. What makes mom sad? By not being obedient
4. How does mom make you laugh? When you be silly
5. What was mom like as a child? A little cute baby
6. How old is your mom? Um...how old are you?
7. How tall is your mom?Medium size
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Play with us a lot
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? work
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? What's that mean?
11. What is your mom really good at? Exercising (I sure wish my body reflected that)
12. What is your mom not very good at? If someone leaves something at our house mom forgets every day that we want to take it back.
13. What does your mom do for her job? cook dinner....sometimes. (that's right I occasionally feed my children. But I try to keep it to a minimum. Yeah right. Have you seen Beckham?)
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Healthy food (again, sure wish the body would reflect all my sacrificing)
15. What makes you proud of your mom? Yesterday she played hide and seek with us
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? A princess. Cinderella
17. What do you and your mom do together? Work with each other. Play with each other. And even the most play outside with each other.
18. How are you and your mom the same? Because we're both girls.
19. How are you and your mom different? Because mom has short hair and brown eyes and I have blue eyes and long hair.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? You are nice to me.

Karaia tags Beckham

Sunday, May 25, 2008

To appease the masses

I have had a few people comment to me how I haven't posted anything in awhile. I had no idea there was such a demand! I am highly flattered and aim to please. So until I can organize all my happenings of the last two weeks, here is an excerpt from my personal history that my mom has asked all her kids and their spouses to write:

"The summer after I turned 16 (It was a big year for me), my uncle Ray, my mom’s oldest brother who was somewhere between his 1st and his 5th wife and hardly known, at the time, for responsibility, stopped by our house to show off his new motorcycle. My mom wasn’t home and I being newly licensed and therefore having an unhealthy and naïve fascination with all wheeled vehicles paired with my recently acquired teenage delusion of invincibility, found my uncle’s invitation to drive his new toy irresistible.

He took me to Bountiful Elementary, showed me where the brakes, throttle, and clutch were, got off the bike, and helped me on neglecting to arm me with a helmet. As he was holding the bike up for me because it was too big, he told me to GO! I popped the clutch and threw the bike into a back wheelie. My uncle had decided that starting right next to the tether ball courts was an excellent idea. Because of that decision I found myself trying to maneuver this much too big bike between metal polls with too close for comfort success.

Beyond the tether ball courts were cement stairs leading up to the school. I realized I was heading straight for them. I tried to brake but the bike was still going. It’s only later that I realized I was turning the throttle completely forward and I had such a tight grip because I was scared that there was no way the brakes could have compensated for that. I tried to turn, but I leaned instead and the bike laid down on it side going full speed.

I was thrown from the bike and remember watching the corner of the stairs barely miss my un-helmeted head as I rolled by. When I came to a stop I was embarrassed. Remember I was 16, so I was shamed and in shock the I couldn't automatically ride a motorcycle like a pro. I couldn’t feel my injuries yet due to the adrenaline. Because it was so hot that day, and I was wearing shorts, the skin on my thigh stuck to the seat and was literally rolled off when I was thrown from the bike. The skin on my shins, knees, and forearms was also rubbed away by the asphalt and I had a huge gouge in my side that I’m not sure how I got. I never hit my head on the ground. I firmly believe it was because I had an angel holding my head and protecting me from more serious injury. I rolled about 5 times and physics will tell you the head should have been bouncing around on the ground. I am grateful for such an obvious miracle in my life. The bike continued it course toward the stairs and practically crumpled in on itself.


My uncle ran over and made me lay still for all of about 5 minutes. Then he put me back on the bike, drove me home, dropped me off on the sidewalk in front of my house, told me to feel better and road his crumpled bike quickly away before my mom could even come out and talk to him. Needless to say my mom was FURIOUS with her older brother when she found out what happened. To this day riding a motorcycle is always on the bottom of my list."

Monday, May 12, 2008

Color Challange

My aunt (well, mine through marriage), Denise, posed this color challenge. Feel welcome to accept the challenge yourselves. And while I am late, I have good reason. I love colors in general. To pick one seemed daunting. I thought about it each day, failing to settle on one that felt as if it encompassed my full passion for color.

I decided that I really prefer colors in combination with other colors the best. I delight in the emotions that color combinations evoke and how just swapping one color out for another can have significant results. Upon even deeper reflection, (I know, I think things out way too much some times. But dabbling in art from time to time has resulted in color having a very meaningful effect on me) I realized that I especially love when other colors are paired with chocolate brown.



I adore how chocolate brown makes other colors feel.

It gives them a sense of elegance and grounding. It brings in warmth. I wouldn't say blue is a color I particularly like, but I have a lot of it in my closet and it's a major player in my bedroom. I think it's because I seem to combine the blue I own with chocolate brown and it creates a whole different life for that color. I LOVE how blue feels with a bit of brown next to it.

Chocolate brown is a color found in nature and therefore also creates a sense of serenity.




Chocolate brown evokes feelings of comfort and indulgence.





Take for example a chocolate dipped strawberry.




Healthy vibrancy in the
middle,
decadent, velvety, indulgence on the outside.







Adding chocolate brown to pink brings it from young and girly to a sense of sophistication.













Because of it power, just like red, it must be handled
in a thought out manner if you plan on using it for more than just an accent color. But when done correctly it becomes breathtaking.







I'm drawn to the subtle and powerful nature of chocolate brown. It allows you to have the whimsy of more playful colors and yet still retain a feeling of depth and maturity.


After all, brown IS the new black.