Sami turns 21!

My younger sister, Sami*, has officially turned 21. Ignoring the fact that all my years of pushing on the top of their heads a la Lucy from "Peanuts" didn't work, I'm very excited for her. Now we can go drinking!

Not that I'm some huge drunk, or that she hasn't already been drinking for years. Just... it's a milestone that I get to help someone else celebrate! I'm usually the younger of my crowd; the only other person I've helped celebrate their 21st is my husband (who is 1.5 years younger).

So I'm excited! To celebrate, I made my sister a card AND jewelry for myself to wear tonight so I feel a little younger and more hip. (Not that I'm SO much older, but I'm a good 7 years older than my fellow revelers... and probably the only one who is dorky enough to use the word "reveler". ;p)

First, my sister's card:
I wanted to convey a sense of drinking. Was I successful? ;p I made the martini "paper" with some clear stamps, then colored and stamped the large martini glass.

Aaand these are for me! I'm treating my sister to dinner (and if she really likes this set, I'll just give it to her - I have enough materials to make another xD) for her gift, but I wanted a good necklace to go with my low-cut sweater top. I want to look cute, too! Even if I AM the old lady of the group! Hahahaha.

*If you look to the right, you will notice that I am named Samantha. Yes, Sami is short for "Samantha" and my sister and I have the same name. Just to explain, 'cuz EVERYONE asks: My sister and I share a brother, but are not blood relatives ourselves. Basically, bro and I share a dad, bro and Sami share a mom. Sami is my sister through LOVE, which is even stronger than blood IMHO - I don't have to love her, but she is my sister no matter what you say. The names are merely coincidence - we met when she was 1 and I was 8.

Hallowe'en Craftiness

So, as I've mentioned before, I'm an unemployed teacher. Nothing I did, just the way the chips fell with the economy and the budget cuts statewide. Ugh.

I am working as a substitute teacher, and unemployment makes up the difference, so we're not broke, but we're trying to be cheap and frugal when need be.

One of those frugal choices was Halloween - we wanted to have fun costumes, but not spend a lot of money. We thrift-store hunted and modified as needed. I went as a Roller Derby girl, and I made my own shirt:

I was lucky - the trims were on sale for 50% off, so I spent about $3 for the trims. Paint cost about $3, and the shirt itself was a whole $2.

I found the stencils at Michaels in a set for $5. I painted the fire first, then layered the skull on top once the painted fire was dry.

My "derby name" and number - hey, if I'm hell on wheels, I should have an appropriately demonic number! (The derby name is a play on our last name, hence the double n.)

Aaaand me in full costume. Helmet is thrifted, found the skirt at a thrift store and cut it WAAAY short (esp. in back - oops), and found the knee socks at a thrift store, too. The fishnets are tights that I cut the crotch out of and cut the feet - the "crotch hole" went around my shoulders, and I owned the black tights already. So basically I made my costume for about $25! I had skates, too, but I didn't get a chance to practice in them before we went to my cousin's house - and I didn't want to get an RUI, or fall on my butt, frankly. Hehe.

Most people got it immediately, and I was told the shirt was the best part. It's my favorite part, too - I'm glad I found those stencils to make the "logo" of the team!

Just 'cuz I can crochet doesn't mean I should, probably... ;D

Xmas '09 gift for Joey 2
Originally uploaded by mantequilla81

WUT UP.

Ok, I love this photo, hahaha. But that's because I'm a dork.

So the sad thing about this project is that the gloves are for my friend Joey... who is very much a dude. Yet you can see that these fingerless gloves fit me well. *sigh* I have man hands. I'm a 5'10" Amazonian woman that desperately wishes I was 5'2" and dainty. It's like a St. Bernard trying to be a lap dog. xD

BUT I like how the gloves turned out. I think Joey will, too. They're simple and WARM, and they'll go with a cool leather jacket or a pea coat (as Joey is a fashionable sort). And if he doesn't like them, well... then hopefully he'll lie and tell me he does. Good thing I'm working on a stationary set for him, too. Speaking of, I'll have to show that set when it's done - it's probably one of the cooler card sets I've ever made. Which reminds me, I need to get back to work on those, I still have 4-6 of those to make...

Anyway, this is the second to last crochet project for the holidays, but the last one will be a looooong one. It's a scarf, and it's a scarf I'm trying to figure out from only looking at it. Oy. We'll see how it goes!

Doodles by me - 1st post

So I will never claim to be an artist. Any artistic capabilities I have are thanks to my mom, who I DO consider an artist, but she would probably take a similar position to myself. Basically, we have a knack for it, but we're not what you'd probably consider "serious" artists. If I took classes, I could probably be more technically skilled, but I haven't so I'm not. I'm a great appreciator, but a technically-challenged creator.

Semantics, really, because I'm sure there are some people who would consider some of what I do "art". In fact, I have a few ideas of "art" that I'm hoping to work on this weekend (and yes, I will consequently post said art).

All this "art" talk aside, I really do enjoy the occasional doodle. Sometimes I even like them so much that I want to share them. I'm not a constant doodler, and what I usually tend to draw are pictures of people. I esp. love to draw clothes - I wanted to be a fashion designer when I was younger and drew clothes all the time, and I studied costume design in college, where rendering the costumes in watercolors was one of my favorite parts!

While working as a substitute, I am usually bored when the teachers just give me the very basic plan of "watch a movie". That's when it's basically expensive baby-sitting - I appreciate the money, but YAWN. So I decided to illustrate this feeling:
Yes, this would be me. Feeling very, very bored. This particular sub day, I arrived to find out my only instructions were "Have students continue working on projects." That's it. No information on the project other than what was on the board, and no info to do with students if they finished early, if they weren't working, class policies, etc. VERY ANNOYING. And boring.

That was a crappy day. The Hubs heard how frustrated I was that day, so he decided to be a wonderful husband and pick up some dinner for us. Specifically tri-tip that was already cooked at Raley's. Lo and behold, he also stopped and picked up a box of my new cookie obsession: Maple cookies from Trader Joe's.
That's right, my husband doesn't bring me flowers, he brings me meat and cookies. Which is exactly why I married him. xD

So like I said, I'm not an artist by any stretch, but occasionally my doodles are amusing.