So Long...

This is the last officialy post on the LovePeaceFamily Blog Spot blog. Thanks for sharing my life with me here, now you can visit me @ LPFDesigns brand new website! You can still read all about my adventures in motherhood, and being a one-woman sweat shop. Hope to see you all over that way!

Craft-a-holic - Half Apron with Ruffle Trim

My fellow crafty addicts, I cannot be the only one who has ever wanted to make a super cute vintage-inspired apron, right? So after scowering the vast internet, I found an easy project on one of my favorite craft blogs, Grosgrain.


I can't wait to try it out! Especially now that I have some great new embroidery patterns added to my stash!

My First Love

One of my earliest memories, besides playing with my giant Optimus Prime transformer, is having a crayon in my hand pretty much all the time. It was like an extension of my hand or fingers. Even as I got older, when ever I was bored or feeling a bit twitchy, I would pick up a pencil or marker and start drawing. After struggling to find my niche - I could never really get the realistic groove going - in manga and comic style, I became even more attached to the art form. I spent several years learning to translate my love of drawing into the digital world and became quite awesome ;) with photoshop and using a pen tablet.

After writing my first Graphic Obsession post, I was asked to show some of my art, so here it is kids!



a character I was working on for a comic that never came to be





two separate characters for comics I would like to do sometime...maybe...

I have a lot more scattered around, but these are my favs and some of my best work. I can only hope to get better and maybe someday, I will be lucky enough to have someone ogle my work. And, yes, I like chics with guns. Dunno why...

Graphic Obsession - Tara McPherson

I am a lover of graphic art. I have dabbled in the genre a bit and have found that my artwork and drawing skills really come alive. It's like I have filters on my eyes and my hands draw my world in comic and graphic form.

I accidentally found artist, Tara Mcpherson, while looking at some embroidery patterns on Sublime Stitching.



Her art work is so amazing! I have absolutely fallen in love with the ethereal overtones contrasting against the sinister and dark drawings. Her style is a very modern take on classic comic book drawing with hints of manga influences thrown in. Something I absolutely swoon over!



Ms. McPherson has done what I have always secretly wanted to do; make amazing art and do it for a living!

Craft-a-Holic - Felt Matryoshka Dolls

Good afternoon my fellow crafty addicts!!!


One can never go wrong with making felt toys. Especially ones that are beautiful, colorful dolls!

Matryoshka Dolls are Russian nesting dolls and I have always loved to unique and lovely designs.

The great thing about this tutorial is how customizable it is. You can decorate your doll how ever you want!


SnipSnappy Tutorial

30-something

Last week I turned 30. I can say, whole-heartedly, that I was not looking forward to this particular birthday. I would no longer be the 20-something girl. I was now going to be the 30-something woman. For some reason, I felt like everything would start to sag and wrinkle and age immediately and I could no longer do some of the things I truly enjoy doing - watching south park, the simpsons, and family guy. Or buying ridiculously brightly colored eye shadow and were it with confidence, or anything like that. I was slightly terrified of turning into a boring adult.

During this first week of being 30, two things happened.

One, a wonderful friend (who is about to be 31, so very wise, and cool as hell) remarked about the dreaded age..."Whatever, being thirty is awesome. People actually take you serious now."

Second, we were invited to my sister-in-law's 21st birthday at some local hipster coffee shop. C asked if I wanted to go, and my reply "Heck no! There is no way, I wanna spend the evening with some stupid 20 year old kids..." Immediately following that I groaned and replied "Crap. I am thirty." and hung my head in shame.

I think I am ok with my new age. I spent a lot of my 20's looking for something, making mistakes, and eventually finding my niche. I learned a lot about myself and who I want to be. Now I feel comfortable with my life and where it is going.

Especially since it includes these people.

Etsy Shop: July Updates

I have been quite the busy crafty bee lately (i.e. more crafting, less blogging. sorry guys!) and finally updated my Etsy Shop with tons of new goodies (and some old ones that never got listed. oops!)



Hair Bows (as seen in a previous post)

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Bunny Pal Chew Buddy - made with organic terry cloth

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two new hand bags made with super cute summery fruit fabric

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Upcycled crayons (love the skull molds, so punk rawk!)

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And a lot of other stuff too! So go check it out!

More stuff coming next month. My head has been overflowing with inspiration lately!

Craft-a-holic - Craft Academy!!!

Good morning craft-a-holics! I have found something that is truely worth blogging about.



Craft Academy!!!


Two of my fellow Etsy Austin team members, Renee Rice & AJ Kosarek started Craft Academy a few months ago, and I knew I had to sign up. Not only do I get super awesome crafty projects like the ones I did for M's 2nd birthday and video instructions (how cool is that?!?!), but I also get to meet fellow craft junkies! What they have put together is something really quite wonderful.

Summer session is closed, but you all gotta check out the fall sesh. It's gonna be sweet!

Scraptastic!

I am a pack rat with crafty stuff. I will constantly buy fabric or yarn or pretty much anything without a project in mind. It's a compulsion I think - part of my crafty addiction. But alas, I have recently discovered a fantastic solution that is as easy as it is freakin cute!



I am a total sucker for hair accessories. In fact I bought an adorable headband for M this weekend when I told myself I wouldn't (whoops!). I love barrettes and clips and the like. So naturally, I knew I would be making a ton of the fabric bows when I found the instructions on-line. Best part? I made all five in about 3 hrs. Including waiting for the glue to dry! I can pretty much promise you will be seeing a lot of these in my Etsy shop!

Birthdays and Crafty Love

July 1st, 2008 at 8:05 pm, I gave birth to an 8lb wrinkled crying little baby girl. Ever since then, being a mom has completely changed my life and I am a better person because of it. Yesterday, we celebrated M's 2nd birthday with the Austin family. It was a long, exhausting, wonderful day, and I am a little sad to see my baby quickly growing up. But being me, and having some fantastic inspiration from my Craft Academy classes, I made some really great things to make her party extra special!


One of the classes was a special 4th of July party pack that had some wonderful crafty ideas to throw a great summer party. One project in particular was Cupcake Ice Cream Cones. I can't think of anything better for a little girl's birthday!




I used a white cake recipe and gel food coloring to tint the batter bright rainbow colors. The rest...well, it's confidential. ;}

I decided to be sneaky and top the cupcake cones with actual ice cream, cause you can't have cake without ice cream! It also served as a great candle holder!



Another class was how to make a fabric banner. I customized mine with ribbon and some pretty cherry fabric.



It turned out so freakin' cute and was deffinately a hi-lite of the party.

I hope every year I can do something special for my baby. Because, well, how could i not want to make a wonderful birth day for this cutie?!?

Craft-a-Holic - The Motherload

I admit, I spent a lot of time perusing the interweb for crafty blogs, tutorials, patterns, goodies, etc. In the past, I had stumbled across this site on one of my many fabric hunts and ogled the pretty prints likes some hormonal boy. But I was unaware of the goodness that lay within the coded pages.



When I realized how many projects and tutorials were on the Purl Soho's blog, I nearly cried. In the knitting category alone, there are at least 50 posts and most of them have the pattern listed for free. I know that I am truly a lost cause now.

Thank you Purlbee for hooking me up with the primo stuff.

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The Purl Bee Blog

There's No Place Like Home

When I was 15, I came to Austin for Debate Camp and spent a wonderful two weeks here. I instantly fell in love. Never had I experienced such a place; so alive with creativity. I swore to myself that I would someday leave my small suburban hometown and move to this magical city.

12 years later I was finally able to move. On my own and free, I packed up my car with the few things I had and left the only home I had ever known.

That was three years ago, (June 3rd to be exact). It's incredible and amazing and little scary how one decision can effect your life so drastically. Because of my decision to move to Austin (basically, with nothing), I reconnected with the most amazing man I have ever met, and started a life with him. I got pregnant and had our wonderful daughter, who truly made my life whole and filled my heart with so much love. We bought our first house, and have settled into a great neighborhood. I have met some awesome and inspiring people, that have pushed me to find and use the creativity that I knew was buried deep inside.

If I knew how much everything would change by simply moving to a place I fell in love with so long ago, I would have done it a lot sooner. But I can say with the utmost sincerity, that I am the happiest I have ever been and it's all because I took a chance and followed my heart.

Summer Stylin'

I'm not really a fan of the summer season...mainly because Texas gets h.o.t. Like 106* hot. Like icing melting off cupcakes I spent 5 hrs making for M's 1st birthday hot. But luckily, I live in a place that is covered with natural springs and lovely refreshing watering holes to cool off during the summer months. There is one thing that makes me long for summer, despite the yucky weather....

Shoes.

Cute, strappy, summery, shoes.



Old Navy and








Target, respectively.





New shoes always makes me feel good. What can I say, I'm a girl. Shoes are like crack to female gender. Even the not so girly girls can revel in the afterglow of an awesome shoe purchase.

And I am already eyeing another pair...


Note: I apologize for the serious paleness of my legs. I do not tan, and am cursed to remain pasty white.

Craft-a-holic - Finger Puppets & Summer Skirts

Good day all you crafty addicts! I have found some new wonderful projects for your itchy fingers.

Felt Animal Friends -



I adore these tiny little animal finger puppets! OMG, I could just make a ton of them if I didn't have other things to do. I have already made the little lamb for M and have started the squirrel for a friend who is expecting. They are super easy to make (tho I don't suggest hand stitching. I did and it doesn't work well with the small seam allowance).



And yet, another thing to make for M. Basically, anything I want to make is usually for her, but I will make an effort to start looking for non-kid things. But I'm pretty sure the directions are easy enough to turn into an adult version!

Happy Crafting!

The Day that We Turned Off the Tv

I admit, I am a tv junkie. I love movies, and I have several favorite shows that I tivo and watch when M is sleeping. I also enjoy a warm cup of coffee and the morning news. As M has grown from a small unassuming baby into a wild and energetic toddler, she has payed more attention to tv than I thought was possible. As she grew and became more aware of her world, she noticed the tv and it's entrancing glow, so I made a compromise. If she was going to watch the images that were on the tv screen, I would make sure they were age appropriate. So she started watching Nickelodeon. Every time she zoned out watching Dora or Yo Gabba Gabba (which I love, for the record) I always felt a little guilty. Now I should state for the record that I NEVER let her watch tv all day long - EVER. But when she started asking to watch tv when it was off, I got anxious.

The other day, I was reading a post by another blogger about her children's lack of tv watching. Inspired, I decided to go a full day with no tv. At all. Really it wasn't that bad. M was entirely willing to be a child and entertain herself. Lordy that girl has an active spirit. She played outside almost all day, and when she was inside, she colored, read books (well sorta...she pretended to) and played with her toys. We even had some extra cuddle time, which for me was especially nice.

As I strive to practice Attachment Parenting techniques, it is always rewarding when M is more affectionate and more willing to listen to me rather than be a typical toddler and rebel. Today, she was an angel. And that is something special for a child her age. Instead of spending the day trying to get her to listen and behave, or seeing her with a glazed look on her face; I saw a child being a child and I couldn't have been happier. Despite the fact that my house looked like a war zone.

Now I'm not saying that our tv will stay off (I am watching Futurama now :D), but I know that M doesn't need it and I can survive the day with out it distracting her.

Felted Friends

So my newest crafty obsession is felted things. I have spent hours drooling over some amazing and beautiful felted crafts. Inspired by it all, I gave it a try and made a little something for my small person.



M is totally into cutesy animals and loves to play pretend with them, so I know she will flip when she sees the bunny friend I made for her (she is currently sacked out for the evening, so no cute pics).

Now, I've got so many little ideas floating around in my head that I will prolly have a hard time falling asleep tonight. Maybe a panda and kitty design tomorrow? I'm thinking that it would even make an awesome DIY kit for folks, but that will come later (it's a sercret! you'll just have to stick around to find out!).

Craft-a-Holic - Travel Art Desk & Fabric Eggs Tutorials

Hello, my name is Bridget and I am a craft-a-holic! Welcome to your weekly (if I'm lucky) crafty fix.

Tonight we have two super awesome tutorials for you to make and enjoy. A wonderful and inspiring travel art board/desk thingy and some adorable fabric eggs perfect for Easter or Spring-time decor.

Travel Desk -



Yet another thing I want/need to make for M. She is already such a little artist. Her love of drawing is so consuming that she asks for her colors all the time. This desk is the perfect thing for road trips or any car ride, and if you are an experienced seamstress, I'm sure you can even customize it to fit much more than art supplies.

Fabric Eggs -



This project is something so cute, yet it's not overkill. I rarely decorate the house for holidays, except for Christmas, because a lot of the deco is so cheese ball and U-G-L-Y. These sweet little eggs are eye-catching and really simple to make!

Enjoy the treats, crafters! Until next time...

Pretty Knits

My new crafty obsession is knitting. I really love it, even though I had a tough time getting the hang of it. But after a few weeks and many, many (soooo many) attempts, I have a new set of pretty spring accessories!



I used some super soft bamboo/wool mix yarn to make the bracelet and headband. The color is just lovely and totally reminded me of all the new leaves budding out on all our trees in the yard.

For anyone who knits, the patterns are very easy - like ridiculously easy. Both are done with your basic knit stitch on a US 8 needle.


To make the bracelet, cast on 4 stitches and knit/garter stitch, slipping the first as if to purl for nice edges, until it is long enough to fit around your wrist. Graft the two ends together and sew on a pretty button! Or if you are feeling extra creative, sew in some embroidery thread to make pretty decorations.



The headband is made exactly the same way, except you cast on 10 stitches instead of 4 and you make it the length of your head - not your wrist.. Graft ends together, and you are done!

Deep in the Heart of Texas

I love, love, love living in Texas. Never mind the stereotypical cowboys, rednecks, and crazy fringe conservatives, oh and Rick Perry. I just consider them annoyances to an otherwise, wonderful place to live. Especially Austin. This city is a world unto it's own. Great food, great music, and amazing scenery. It has some of the most beautiful natural landscapes I have ever seen. Aaaaaand we have Rodeos!!! Ok, I am pretty much apposed to Rodeo-type stuff (calf roping, bull riding, etc.), but there are carnival games, and the live stock shows - which is like a zoo, but for farm animals.

We took M yesterday, for the last day of the rodeo, so she could go see a cow up close. We may live in Texas, but we do live in the city; and despite the depictions of Texas being one big giant ranch, there are not cows on every corner. The big docile creatures actually scared her! Even the sheep and goats made her cling to me, and whimper! All week long, she was so excited to see cows and horses! She was running around the house yelling "MoooWah!!!" After a disastrous attempt with the animals, we enjoyed some super tasty barbecue (what ever i know it's soooo wrong to eat bbq after looking at cows!) and one of the best things to eat on a warm sprummer* day!


Snow Cones!!!

*note - Texas doesn't actually have a spring season, it usually goes from cold winter to a few weeks of rain, then hot sunny days - i.e. sprummer.

Panty Raid

I think potty training is one of the more disgusting facets of parenting. At least it has been in my experience. M is right in the middle of learning to use the potty and apparently can't decide whether she wants to use diapers, pull ups or panties. After a long day of yelling "pee pee momma!" and then pro ceding to rip the diaper off, I decided to go get her a pack of panties. My mommy heart got very sad in the store. As I was looking over the little girl panties, so cute and girly, I realized that this is another step in the direction of my baby growing up. Every time she does something that is toddler or child behavior, I have a mix of happy and sad emotions swirling around. I love watching her grow and explore the world and learn new things every day, but at the same time, I very much miss my tiny little girl that I could hold in my arms.

She was so proud of her new panties that she even showed C when he got home from work. I was sure that she would tell me next time she needed to go potty. Right before dinner, I checked and they were wet. I can't tell you how gross it is to have your hand wet from pee. After a small tantrum, we decided on panties again instead of a diaper - which Mommy mistakenly thought was the better choice.

As I got her ready for bed last night, I put on a diaper and tossed her panties (which she had peed in again) in the laundry basket, she squeaked "panny." She then stood up, wrapped her arms around my neck as tight as she could and gave me a kiss. Which makes me melt. Every time.

And this morning, just for fun and to make Mommy crazy; M decided that neither diapers OR panties would be appropriate for today. Instead, she has decided that being bar bottomed and POOPING ON THE FLOOR is a better approach. Ugh.