Make It Do

I know, I know. I promised apricots. I will get to those, but first I want to talk about cake. Because we’ve been having a lot of cake around here lately. Birthday cake to be more specific. My mom was the queen of special cakes. I remember very distinctly some of the cakes she made + decorated: Beehives, Carebears + Barbies [the 3D kind], flashlight, spaceship, guitar, Mickey Mouse… etc. For the past 9 years I’ve been trying to be a cake queen as well. I just don’t have the patience for it. Admittedly my technique has greatly improved over the years and I feel like I could accomplish the task if I could only 1. Stop procrastinating and 2. Enjoy the process for longer than 5 minutes. This year I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s just not me. Hallelujah!

Last week for the girls birthday I attempted multi-tasking the birthday cake. The end of the month came very quickly [again] and I needed projects to turn in + it was a last minute/throw together sort of party. Hence the birthday banner. Hence the store bought cake. It was the obvious solution. Surprisingly, I found myself actually enjoying the party. I haven’t really enjoyed a birthday party for… oh, I’d say nine years or so. Hmm.

[This number painting I did was 100% inspired by Katie Daisy]

This week we had another birthday. He’s nine. He’s indecisive. He’s 100% my child. Yesterday he said he wanted a Star Wars cake and I said, “Little late for that. How about I pick up a cake at the store and paint a fancy paper “9” to put on top of it?” Project approved. Nice.

Make it do. That’s what this is all about. I have these dreams of pretty. I have this need to put my hands in things. I was failing miserably. I was not enjoying. Today I have officially adopted two new habits/traditions:

1. Buy a cake at the store. My time is worth $15. My sanity is worth $15. Enjoying my child’s birthday? I can’t put a price on that. I wish I had realized this sooner. If you are a maker and feel like you have to put your hands in things, make something to put on it.

2. Have a pre-party photo shoot. I never would have thought of this on my own. It happened quite by accident. Last week I did it to get photos for the gallery. This week I did it for good light. This week I realized that it’s brilliance. I sat him down + forced him to sit through a photoshoot. He was goofy and sometimes infuriating, but we took lots of photos and got some really cute and fun ones. I was able to move things around. I was able to say, “how about you look at me instead of the floor?” We lit his candles + he blew them out just for me. I was able to get up in his face. I loved it. I took more photos at the party. They are fun, but my favorites are when I was teasing him about looking at the camera and he was making obnoxious faces at me. The cake looks pretty. The lighting is perfect. I wasn’t worried about the flow of the party. And I was able to do this because I wasn’t near tears in the kitchen trying to throw together a Star Wars cake. Happy Birthday indeed.

2.for.Tuesday

one: Template Tuesday made by my friend Mindy over at the Jessica Sprague blog. It's free and here's the downlow on Template Tuesday: Every Tuesday there will be a free template [you'll find it under news + announcements on the homepage]. You make a page using the template + upload it to the Template Tuesday gallery at JS and after you've uploaded 10 pages [using 10 different templates] you get a coupon for $5 off a minimum $10 purchase at JS. Everybody's a winner! Yay Mindy! Awesome template.

two: pretty paper postcards. That's what I'm calling them. I've got way too much digi goodness floating around on my computer. I can't find anything. I find myself going to the same stuff all the time because I have no idea what's really on the thing. I'm working on an organized digi project. This is phase one. I'm making postcards out of all my paper packs. I'll just keep them in a little flip album or on a binder ring so I can easily see what I have. Along with this process I'm attempting to organize the files on the computer so everything will be in one place. We'll see how that goes. I love the postcards though. This is my first batch. I'm thinking I'll make duplicates of my favorites and actually send them as postcards. Who wouldn't love to receive a pretty paper postcard? I want to hang them on my walls. Really. Oh, and of course I haven't forgotten you... if you'd like to make your own you can grab the first 5 templates in the box. Enjoy!

Make It Do

I've decided to start a new regular [or semi-regular at least :)] installment here. We have loads of self reliance projects on the back burner and I feel like they've consumed my brain. That, coupled with the fact that this blog is somewhat neglected [for lack of illiteration on my part - I honestly feel like my brain is melting] I thought a new series/weekly installment on what we are doing to become more self reliant might just liven up the little space. Make like we're actually still present and accounted for. Ideally you will find it both useful and interesting. Here's to hoping!

Up first: A large box of apricots. Check back...Thursday? Yes. Thursday sounds just fine I think.

ps. If you have anything you would like to see here or would like to share a something you do/ have done to be more self reliant [guest blogger anyone?] let me know. I'm very open :).

pps. Bonus points to anyone who knows where the title came from!

Woot! Woot!

Last stop! Everybody off! Thank you for riding the Spraground Express! Don't forget to grab your complimentary quickpage on your way out The bloghop is now over. It's been a pleasure. Really. Come again soon!

Shout Hooray!

Girlie had a birthday! She has graduated from a very sassy two to a very sassy three. No big surprise there. I've had a few things I've been meaning to get down about her at two. I'm having a really hard time getting things down lately. Hopefully I can remember... Girlie, I love how you giggle behind your hand when you know you're being silly. I think it's hilarious that you can't seem to remember that you just saw what's in the cupboard only five minutes previous. I love how you swim like a mermaid. So glad you enjoy the water. I love the faces you make at the camera. I have to hide my smiles when you lecture the boys. I get a kick out of your hand on your hip when you give instructions. I love how you are always wanting to put the eggs back on the nest so they can hatch. I love how you sing 'Good Night Ladies' to the chickens. I love that your nightlight is really a lightnight, that your favorite movie is, 'Howl's Movie Castle,' and that you love prunes. But I'm sad that your yellow boots are getting too small. Most of all, I love being your best best friend. *cake banner + flags created using Crystal Wilkerson's Sweet Summertime Paper Packs 1 + 2, and Crystal Wilkerson's Doodley Doo Birthday Brushes. Click the photo for product links.

2.for.Tuesday

one: I'm over here today! Yay! I designed the template for Template Tuesday over at the Digi Lovely blog.

two: A huge birthhday bash. That's right. JessicaSprague.com is FOUR! To celebrate, they're (we're) throwing a HUGE Birthday Bash & Summer Sale. From June 14-26, you can save 20% off of every self-paced class, and 35% off of ALL digital products. In addition, grab all 27 episodes of Jessica's amazing Photoshop Friday tutorials for just $1 each before they're retired on June 26! As part of the celebration, starting on June 24, you can participate in an incredible 49-person blog hop, picking up a sweet digital freebie at each stop! Best of all, on June 26 Jessica will be making a special announcement of a brand new class coming up in July. We only put our site on sale two times a year, so don't miss out on this GREAT savings opportunity! For all the info on the Summer Sale, Photoshop Fridays, blog hop, and the new class, just click here!