Today.

sunflowers, originally uploaded by laurastantz.

listening: to noisy cicadas and The Sundays. because come on, the static and the silence is the best album ever.

eating: peaches. and bread and butter.

drinking: chai tea. by the gallon.

wearing: a men's blue oxford. (and have been for days. it's the perfect crafting shirt)

feeling: nervous and excited.

outside: electric. there is rain coming. there hasn't been rain for weeks.

wanting: kisses. and lots of them.

needing: more time.

thinking: about the collection.

enjoying: knowing I have tomorrow off.

wondering: how to become more organized in my creativity.

Fabric Swap Success

Last week, I had a bunch of crafty types over for a little get together. I made a ton of ice cream, sat out all the toppings and we all dove right in. But after that, came the fun part.

Everyone was directed to bring 3 1/2 yard cuts of fabric and two fat quarters. We piled it all into the middle and drew numbers. Then we all took turns and picked from the pile. It was really interesting to see all the different styles and patterns everyone brought. So much fun to see everyone!

Now all I need is a bigger house. ha!

Blueberry Crumble for Breakfast

I know my last post was about food. but so is this one. Last night I had the pleasure of having dinner at a friend's house. And in my ingrained teaching that came from my mother, I couldn't arrive empty handed. So, I took blueberry crumble. I'm a huge fan of the blueberry. (especially inexpensive frozen ones I can find at my local grocers.) What I didn't expect was how awesome it was going to be to have leftovers for the day's most important meal: breakfast.

I'm on vacation this week. Doing nothing but all the fun stuff I never have time for. Like rearranging my living room and going through my fabric stash and taking as many naps as I like without feeling guilty. So, whipping up this easy crumble recipe was a perfect part of that. Here's to eating dessert for breakfast.


Easy Blueberry Crumble

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

5 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen, thawed if frozen)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp black pepper

Place all ingredients in a casserole dish and toss to coat

For Topping:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt

Put all ingredients into a bowl and crumble with your fingers. Allow some of the butter clumps to stay pretty large to allow for a crispy crust. Spread generously over top of the prepared blueberries and bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Lunch and Simplicity.

I usually work nights at the job that pays the bills. So, I try to do most of my crafty work during the day before I go in. This usually means that I skip lunch or eat a sandwich on the way to work. But these hot and humid summer days here in Indiana take a lot out of you and I decided I needed a real sit down meal while working. I didn't want anything that took a lot of time. And I wanted something simple. So, I made a plate of my favorite things to eat and munched on them while working. Honey toast on oat bread, orange juice, colby cheese, pecans and bing cherries. It was so perfect and I couldn't help but smile the whole time I nibbled.

Also, a fun story about the pecans. I work at an inn and I always get to meet really interesting people. There was a gentleman checking out yesterday who was all the way up from Georgia visiting his brother. We got to talking and he was telling me about his pecan orchard. And he "just happened to have a few bags in the car." (a sly salesman to say the least.) I took the bait, I think it may have been his smooth Georgia accent, and he came in with a bag of the most golden pecans I've ever seen. And the price was awesome; six dollars for a pound! I love things like this. Just some older man driving around with a trunk full of pecans he labored over himself.

The moral of this long winded story is that sometimes it's good to remember to keep things simple. A boy I love tries to get me to understand this everyday. I like finding ways to incorporate it into my life. His gentle reminders are working.

here's to lunch.

new business cards.

The other day I really needed a project to get my wheels turning. Do any of you ever do that? Just get stuck in a rut and need a good shovel to dig you out? Tedious projects are usually my shovel of choice. I find that something repetitive and creative greases my wheels and lets me work more freely. So, i sat in my living room watching a marathon of mad men and made these new business cards. They were really simple. I printed my business name, email and etsy store in a very simple font in light gray. I used the snap apart avery cards you can buy in a pack. Out of all the do-it-yourself business cards, I find these to be the brightest and heaviest. After that, I used wonder under on some fabric. (I don't even think it is called wonder under anymore. It's just called Heat Bond. but my grandma and mom have always called it wonder under and I will too!) I cut the fabric into one inch strips and ironed them directly onto the card. So each card is personalized with a different strip of fabric. It was a lot of fun. And now I have these really sweet business cards and greased wheels.  

Penelope Fox

I would like you to meet Penelope Fox. 

Yesterday, there was a strange creature out of my window at work. When I looked closer I realized, "It's a FOX!!" She was eating the birdseed that drops from the feeders. Her slim limbs and her long snout made her look so dainty, but as she walked and pranced around, her grace and cunningness came out. That's when I knew her name had to be Penelope. She was dark brown on top with a line of red and then a white undercoat. She was just beautiful. I watched her for a good fifteen minutes. And I knew I had to go home and make a fox immediately. So I did! 

I put the fox in the window at work because I thought maybe she'd be back tonight. She was. I snuck outside to watch her in the wild. It wasn't very long before she recognized my presence and stood at the edge of the wood to stare at me. We both just stood there waiting for the other one to move. Finally, she realized I was no threat to her and went about her day. I just stood there trying to memorize every color in her coat.

sewing tags

Somewhere I read an article about how you could type on fabric and heat set it. If you wrote this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Last night I stayed up pretty late obsessing over such a thing. Love stories on the television, my typewriter in my lap, fabric ironed on to freezer paper and a thousand trial and errors. But it was so much fun, I couldn't give up. I finally got it down pat and now I have a baby food jar filled with sewing tags with my little business name on them! I'm so excited. 

So, excited in fact that I stayed up and extra hour just to make something to sew such a tag in. Sleep be dammed, sometimes it is way more important to be creative! 

After an etsy sale that went all the way from Indiana to Australia, I'm psyched to get making things again. I love these and I can't wait to add them to my products.