When I was at Barnes and Noble yesterday, I saw notebooks, coffee cups and other various items stamped with, "Keep Calm and Carry On." It got me thinking about it's origin. There is no denying it's impact in the last few years on the crafting community. It's been customized over and over again.
Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake
Keep Calm and Rock On
Keep Calm and Call Batman
Keep Calm and Love On
You get the point. Anyways, I wasn't sure I would find the origin of where it came from, but while surfing the internet last night, I came across a video that explains just that. Enjoy!
Showing posts with label random awesomeness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random awesomeness. Show all posts
March 22, 2012
November 9, 2011
International Quilt Festival: Houston
I mentioned earlier that I ventured out to International Quilt Festival in Houston. I am so thrilled to be living in the suburbs of a large city. I feel like I have the ability to take in so much art and try to take advantage of it on occasion. I wish I could have experienced more of the Quilt Festival, but I came down with a nasty bug of some sort that hit me like a ton of bricks while I was walking the floor of the George R. Brown Convention Center.
The Quilt Festival is huge! Like, seriously, HUGE! I have never seen more Rascal scooters in my life. They have a spot where they rent them out there. I wish I had worn my pedometer. The main floor (which is where I kept to) is 639,000 square feet. You better pack your walking shoes!
The right half was all quilts being displayed. Oh and a small Husband's lounge. It was really called that and it was equipped with recliners and flat screens tuned to sports. It was full. The left side of that map (all those tiny boxes) were all vendors. The far far left was ridiculously overpriced food and where you could rent motorized scooters. If you ever plan to come, don't expect to get out in an hour or two. You won't.
On to the quilts. What an amazing display of craftsmanship, ingenuity, artistry and talent. It is truly inspirational to see the quilts that are produced. For a total newbie to quilting like myself, it is almost overwhelming. I hope you enjoy the quilts I chose to share. I wish I could have taken photos of more, but some were off limits to photography.
With any great art, you can find a personal connection and relate. These first two quilts I definitely found a personal connection. The first one was produced by a mother as an homage to her son who proudly serves in the military. I look at that quilt and remember my time as a military wife.
I fell in love with this next quilt. What a beautiful moment to capture. A mother and her baby sleeping. I look at that fondly and remember when Maben use to curl up next to me on the couch and want to take a nap with me.
There were many quilts that celebrated the whimsy and fun.
The geometric quilts had me mesmerized. There is a lot of math going into getting those just perfect.
There were political statements made.
There were true works of art. These were some of my favorites.
And my favorite award winner. This one took in one of the top prizes at the Quilt Festival.
The one thing that struck me as a whole about the show, was just how many ways you can manipulate fabric and really the only limitation to what you can do is yourself. It makes me want to try more and sew more. Now if I could get over this bug that I have, I might try something new, but for now...I am going to curl back up on the couch and hope that the kids will be nice.
The Quilt Festival is huge! Like, seriously, HUGE! I have never seen more Rascal scooters in my life. They have a spot where they rent them out there. I wish I had worn my pedometer. The main floor (which is where I kept to) is 639,000 square feet. You better pack your walking shoes!
The right half was all quilts being displayed. Oh and a small Husband's lounge. It was really called that and it was equipped with recliners and flat screens tuned to sports. It was full. The left side of that map (all those tiny boxes) were all vendors. The far far left was ridiculously overpriced food and where you could rent motorized scooters. If you ever plan to come, don't expect to get out in an hour or two. You won't.
On to the quilts. What an amazing display of craftsmanship, ingenuity, artistry and talent. It is truly inspirational to see the quilts that are produced. For a total newbie to quilting like myself, it is almost overwhelming. I hope you enjoy the quilts I chose to share. I wish I could have taken photos of more, but some were off limits to photography.
With any great art, you can find a personal connection and relate. These first two quilts I definitely found a personal connection. The first one was produced by a mother as an homage to her son who proudly serves in the military. I look at that quilt and remember my time as a military wife.
 |
| Discipline by Cheryl L. Lennox |
I fell in love with this next quilt. What a beautiful moment to capture. A mother and her baby sleeping. I look at that fondly and remember when Maben use to curl up next to me on the couch and want to take a nap with me.
 |
| Dreaming by Sonia Bardella |
There were many quilts that celebrated the whimsy and fun.
 |
| Good Onya Sonya Onya Bike! by Helen C. Godden |
 |
| California Dreaming by Susan E. Slesinger |
 |
| Another Whimsical Garden by Tina Curran |
The geometric quilts had me mesmerized. There is a lot of math going into getting those just perfect.
 |
| The Hues of Amber by Karlyn Bue Lohrenz |
 |
| Vortex in Variation by Nora Ronningen |
There were political statements made.
 |
| Beyond the Horizon by Judy Holley and the Peaceful Quilters of Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
There were true works of art. These were some of my favorites.
 |
| Wish I was There by Barbara A. Daniel |
 |
| Manipulation #3, Pinocchio by Bente Vold Klausen |
 | ||
| Copley Square, Boston, Massachusetts by Bobbie Sullivan and the Coastal Quilts Artists |
And my favorite award winner. This one took in one of the top prizes at the Quilt Festival.
 |
| Harmony Within by Sue McCarty |
The one thing that struck me as a whole about the show, was just how many ways you can manipulate fabric and really the only limitation to what you can do is yourself. It makes me want to try more and sew more. Now if I could get over this bug that I have, I might try something new, but for now...I am going to curl back up on the couch and hope that the kids will be nice.
November 6, 2011
The Redneck Blender
As of writing this, my most viewed post is Redneck Wineglasses, where I showed everyone how easy it was to take a candlestick holder, a mason jar and some glue to make this.
I personally think the redneck wineglass is one of the funniest gifts you could ever give and it just got even better. I heard that you can take a mason jar and use it on a blender...I had to test this out.
This is my blender. Hello Cuisinart. I hate cleaning you.
Disassemble your blender and set the glass pitcher and lid to the side. Also, grab your redneck wineglass.
Fill your redneck wineglass with whatever beverage ingredients you like. I originally thought I would be making a margarita to test this out, but I now have a cold, so healthy smoothie it became.
Screw the base of your blender to the top of your redneck wineglass.
Flip over and place on the base of your blender.
Blend.
It's blending. : ) Once done, flip redneck wineglass and base over.
Unscrew the base from your redneck wineglass.
Remove blade from the base and clean. I only had to clean the blade. The seal was tight enough there was no leaking!!! Haha! Take that glass pitcher and lid!
Enjoy your beverage!
Is this not seriously the best news ever! I just rednecked my blender. (This will only work with the narrow mouthed mason jars)
I could also see this coming in super useful to make salsa that I can just store in a mason jar in my fridge. Ahhh, the possibilities seem almost endless.
If you decide to make anyone some redneck wineglasses for Christmas, please include a link to this post to show them just how awesome their gift truly is!
And if you are curious, my smoothie was made up of orange juice, ice, frozen blueberries, frozen raspberries and blueberry yogurt. It was tasty!
I personally think the redneck wineglass is one of the funniest gifts you could ever give and it just got even better. I heard that you can take a mason jar and use it on a blender...I had to test this out.
This is my blender. Hello Cuisinart. I hate cleaning you.
Disassemble your blender and set the glass pitcher and lid to the side. Also, grab your redneck wineglass.
Fill your redneck wineglass with whatever beverage ingredients you like. I originally thought I would be making a margarita to test this out, but I now have a cold, so healthy smoothie it became.
Screw the base of your blender to the top of your redneck wineglass.
Flip over and place on the base of your blender.
Blend.
It's blending. : ) Once done, flip redneck wineglass and base over.
Unscrew the base from your redneck wineglass.
Remove blade from the base and clean. I only had to clean the blade. The seal was tight enough there was no leaking!!! Haha! Take that glass pitcher and lid!
Enjoy your beverage!
Is this not seriously the best news ever! I just rednecked my blender. (This will only work with the narrow mouthed mason jars)
I could also see this coming in super useful to make salsa that I can just store in a mason jar in my fridge. Ahhh, the possibilities seem almost endless.
If you decide to make anyone some redneck wineglasses for Christmas, please include a link to this post to show them just how awesome their gift truly is!
And if you are curious, my smoothie was made up of orange juice, ice, frozen blueberries, frozen raspberries and blueberry yogurt. It was tasty!
Linking this post up at these places:
October 3, 2011
Hail To The King Baby!
This weekend, the Alamo Drafthouse (by far the best place to see a movie ever) was celebrating Bruce Campbell Day with an autograph signing, photo op, Q&A session with Bruce Campbell and then showing Evil Dead, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness. If you have no idea who Bruce Campbell is, you may know him as Sam Axe from Burn Notice.
The man is HILARIOUS! I missed out on the autograph signing, but was there for the Photo Op, Q&A and Evil Dead. I couldn't spend 12 hours there like my hubby because of the kids, but I truly enjoyed the time that I was there.
With the amount of weapons Bruce has wielded in the movies, I decided to make Bruce one of my 50 cal pens. He signed my husband's book, "If Chins Could Kill," with it! Then when the photo op came up I gave it to him. Love the look on his face! Bruce Campbell is now the proud owner of one of my pens! Groovy!
Bruce takes great photos! He did something different in almost every photo. I wonder what the people thought of the bunny ears they received from Bruce (that they were completely unaware of)? Yeah he totally did that.
The Q&A session was great. Bruce is a great speaker and a great story teller. By far my favorite story he told was about the fan he hated the most, the fan he just wanted to push in front of a bus. Instead of actually doing it, he did it in a movie. The other story (which I had heard before) was how he and Jeffery Donovan accidentally caught a tank on fire while visiting the soldiers in Iraq. He also had a quick discussion with my hubby referring to my husband's tank as his own, since he is a tax payer.
It was a great night, a lot of fun and completely memorable. My hubby is a huge Bruce Campbell fan and I have become an even bigger fan than I previously was. It's great to see someone famous completely live up to and surpass your expectations!
The man is HILARIOUS! I missed out on the autograph signing, but was there for the Photo Op, Q&A and Evil Dead. I couldn't spend 12 hours there like my hubby because of the kids, but I truly enjoyed the time that I was there.
With the amount of weapons Bruce has wielded in the movies, I decided to make Bruce one of my 50 cal pens. He signed my husband's book, "If Chins Could Kill," with it! Then when the photo op came up I gave it to him. Love the look on his face! Bruce Campbell is now the proud owner of one of my pens! Groovy!
Bruce takes great photos! He did something different in almost every photo. I wonder what the people thought of the bunny ears they received from Bruce (that they were completely unaware of)? Yeah he totally did that.
 |
| The actual pen that I gave Bruce. |
The Q&A session was great. Bruce is a great speaker and a great story teller. By far my favorite story he told was about the fan he hated the most, the fan he just wanted to push in front of a bus. Instead of actually doing it, he did it in a movie. The other story (which I had heard before) was how he and Jeffery Donovan accidentally caught a tank on fire while visiting the soldiers in Iraq. He also had a quick discussion with my hubby referring to my husband's tank as his own, since he is a tax payer.
It was a great night, a lot of fun and completely memorable. My hubby is a huge Bruce Campbell fan and I have become an even bigger fan than I previously was. It's great to see someone famous completely live up to and surpass your expectations!
August 18, 2011
I'm So Lucky I Should Play the Lotto
Okay, maybe not that lucky, but I won another giveaway! I'm so psyched about this one too. I wasn't quite sure what I was getting, but that was the best surprise box EVER! All I knew was that it was worth $75. Brandy over at Gluesticks had a Pick Your Plum giveaway a few weeks ago and I was the lucky winner. Check out all the awesomeness that this box contained.
List of things that came in the box of awesomeness.
*Pick Your Plum is a daily deal site that is dedicated to craft supplies. It's pretty cool.
List of things that came in the box of awesomeness.
- 3 bags of assorted ribbon
- 2 bags of assorted ric rac ribbon
- 3 bags of bobby pins
- Several of those super cute flowers
- 6 flower buttons
- 1 bag of assorted elastic
- 2 metal stars with magnets
- 1 curly metal thing
- 1 photo stand (not the curly thing in the top right)
- adhesive chalkboard
- iron on vinyl
- dry erase labels (I think that's what they are)
- 1 craft apron
- 1 tote bag
- 4 rings
- 1 small bottle of mod podge
- 1 small foam brush
- 1 square of sand paper
- And some candy...not pictured, it was eaten.
*Pick Your Plum is a daily deal site that is dedicated to craft supplies. It's pretty cool.
July 21, 2011
I'm a Winner!
A couple weeks ago Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl) had a giveaway over on her blog to celebrate her birthday. I was one of her winners! YAY! I love getting stuff for free, it's even more fun when I win it! So, this is what showed up in the mail yesterday.
I totally thought I was only getting the primer, but Kilz was awesome enough to mail me some brushes too! They are a really nice quality brush too. Now, to carve out some time in my already busy schedule to start the projects that will be needing some primer.
Thank you Brittany and thank you people at Kilz!
I totally thought I was only getting the primer, but Kilz was awesome enough to mail me some brushes too! They are a really nice quality brush too. Now, to carve out some time in my already busy schedule to start the projects that will be needing some primer.
Thank you Brittany and thank you people at Kilz!
June 28, 2011
Favorite Photo Tuesday #13
My favorite photo this week has to do with something that people just don't believe. My children often choose anything other than the sugary treat to eat. I took the kids to Double Dave's Pizza last week and not just one, but both decided they wanted to eat more pickles before their dessert pizza. Below is a photo of Colton munching on his pickle with his untouched dessert pizza in the other hand. This photo is also completely unedited.
Since I am sharing on the subject of my kids odd eating tendencies, I will also share a conversation my husband overheard between Maben (3 year old) and myself. He sometimes thinks he has entered the twilight zone after overhearing conversations like this.
Maben: "More broccoli please!"
Me: "Sorry pumpkin, we are all out of broccoli, do you want cauliflower or cucumber?"
Maben: "Ummm...broccoli!"
Me: "I already told you, there is no more broccoli, cauliflower or cucumber?"
Maben: "CAULIFLOWER!"
...a few moments later...
Maben: "Mmmmm, I like cauliflower."
How I love my kids...and I love that they love munching on raw veggies or pickles with me!
Since I am sharing on the subject of my kids odd eating tendencies, I will also share a conversation my husband overheard between Maben (3 year old) and myself. He sometimes thinks he has entered the twilight zone after overhearing conversations like this.
Maben: "More broccoli please!"
Me: "Sorry pumpkin, we are all out of broccoli, do you want cauliflower or cucumber?"
Maben: "Ummm...broccoli!"
Me: "I already told you, there is no more broccoli, cauliflower or cucumber?"
Maben: "CAULIFLOWER!"
...a few moments later...
Maben: "Mmmmm, I like cauliflower."
How I love my kids...and I love that they love munching on raw veggies or pickles with me!
June 25, 2011
I Have A Bullet
Well, not a whole bullet. More like the shell casing of a 50 caliber bullet that has been turned into a pen. How freaking awesome is that?!? I am going to give this away to an instructor that is teaching some friends of mine (and myself, kinda) some hand gun safety and teach us how to shoot a hand gun.
I learned how to shoot revolvers over Christmas break. It was a blast! I learned how to shoot rifles when I was six. So, this is something that I am really looking forward to. Now, I definitely do not get out often to do this, but jump at the chance when I can.
I don't think the photos do this pen justice. It's 5 3/4 inches in length. Definitely more of a statement piece than a practical one. BUT...it is one heck of a conversation starter.
This bullet had been previously fired. You can tell by the indent in the center. That is where the primer has been struck by the firing pin to cause the chain reaction in the firing of a bullet.
I plan to make more of these, they seem to be very popular and I have received a few offers to sell them at local gun shops. How cool is that? Going to try and make a stock pile so that I might be able to turn that into a reality!
I learned how to shoot revolvers over Christmas break. It was a blast! I learned how to shoot rifles when I was six. So, this is something that I am really looking forward to. Now, I definitely do not get out often to do this, but jump at the chance when I can.
I don't think the photos do this pen justice. It's 5 3/4 inches in length. Definitely more of a statement piece than a practical one. BUT...it is one heck of a conversation starter.
This bullet had been previously fired. You can tell by the indent in the center. That is where the primer has been struck by the firing pin to cause the chain reaction in the firing of a bullet.
I plan to make more of these, they seem to be very popular and I have received a few offers to sell them at local gun shops. How cool is that? Going to try and make a stock pile so that I might be able to turn that into a reality!
June 10, 2011
Geektasticly Awesome Quilt - Waka Waka
I was cruising around on fabric.com one fine day and came across fabric called Geeks Gone Wild Pac-man and knew that I had to have it. I mean seriously, a fabric that is paying homage to one of the greatest video games ever made, who couldn't resist that. There is a reason why I don't own a gaming system other than a Pac-man plug and play. If I did own a gaming system like a Playstation or X-box...I don't think this blog would exist. I'm kind of an addict.
Anyways, it has been sitting in my art room for a few months when Prudent Baby announced their Embroidery Contest. That is when I knew I had to kick it into gear and get a quilt done for Colton. I am sure you are wondering the connection between quilting and embroidery...I decided that I was going to hand embroider Pac-man's catch phrase of, "Waka Waka Waka," across the quilt.
I purchased my coordinating fabrics and went to town on doing the quilt. I decided (with this being only the second quilt I have ever done) that I would do a strip quilt since it seemed much simpler than blocks.
I cut out randomly sized strips of all my fabrics, I made one large strip with the Pac-man fabric. I arranged the way I wanted to started sewing. It came together rather quickly which was great. I then cut out and appliqued Pac-man to my large strip of the Pac-man fabric.
Now, I am sure that I probably didn't do the batting correctly, but I did a fantastic job with the binding. I am a person who most definitely learns by trial and error. This is a vast improvement over my first quilt. I intend on making more in the future, but probably not right away. I am going to bask in the glow of this being a super duper kick butt quilt with a seriously geeky boy flair.
Anways, enough about me telling you how cool this quilt is, why don't I just show you?
Maben pointing out my hand embroidered, "waka, waka, waka."
Maben sitting on the quilt, asking me if this is another blanket for him. That would be a no pumpkin. Your brother deserves things every once in a while too.
The little monster Colton standing next to his new quilt...which he so proudly asked to sleep with that night! Woo hoo! He likes it!
And a shot of the back with all it's imperfections. There are a few, but I honestly didn't feel like redoing it and I am still learning.
A special thanks to my hubby for holding up the quilt and the boys for actually posing for me. So all you quilters out there, how did I do for my second quilt? Not sure what the learning curve is with quilting. Is anyone else as geeky excited about this as I am? I might have to show this off to my favorite geeky online store, Think Geek. They have some totally awesome gift ideas for even the not so geeky (And I am not paid to talk them up, just love the occasional shopping there).
Showing this awesome quilt off at the following places:
Anyways, it has been sitting in my art room for a few months when Prudent Baby announced their Embroidery Contest. That is when I knew I had to kick it into gear and get a quilt done for Colton. I am sure you are wondering the connection between quilting and embroidery...I decided that I was going to hand embroider Pac-man's catch phrase of, "Waka Waka Waka," across the quilt.
I purchased my coordinating fabrics and went to town on doing the quilt. I decided (with this being only the second quilt I have ever done) that I would do a strip quilt since it seemed much simpler than blocks.
I cut out randomly sized strips of all my fabrics, I made one large strip with the Pac-man fabric. I arranged the way I wanted to started sewing. It came together rather quickly which was great. I then cut out and appliqued Pac-man to my large strip of the Pac-man fabric.
Now, I am sure that I probably didn't do the batting correctly, but I did a fantastic job with the binding. I am a person who most definitely learns by trial and error. This is a vast improvement over my first quilt. I intend on making more in the future, but probably not right away. I am going to bask in the glow of this being a super duper kick butt quilt with a seriously geeky boy flair.
Anways, enough about me telling you how cool this quilt is, why don't I just show you?
Maben pointing out my hand embroidered, "waka, waka, waka."
Maben sitting on the quilt, asking me if this is another blanket for him. That would be a no pumpkin. Your brother deserves things every once in a while too.
The little monster Colton standing next to his new quilt...which he so proudly asked to sleep with that night! Woo hoo! He likes it!
And a shot of the back with all it's imperfections. There are a few, but I honestly didn't feel like redoing it and I am still learning.
A special thanks to my hubby for holding up the quilt and the boys for actually posing for me. So all you quilters out there, how did I do for my second quilt? Not sure what the learning curve is with quilting. Is anyone else as geeky excited about this as I am? I might have to show this off to my favorite geeky online store, Think Geek. They have some totally awesome gift ideas for even the not so geeky (And I am not paid to talk them up, just love the occasional shopping there).
Showing this awesome quilt off at the following places:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
You Might Also Like
