Curious Bird

out with the old...

icy fun

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this beautiful ice-covered tree while driving to visit my family. Doesn't it look like it was dusted with powdered sugar?
and in keeping with the ice theme, below are some shots of D and I ice skating during our trip home. I had never done it before and as you can imagine it was really difficult (I'm naturally clumsy). Of course D was like freakin' Wayne Gretzky out there...

I started managing some solo skating after several trips around the rink with a helper. I look like a maniac out there. lucky for me I didn't mow any kids down.

I think "wayne" and I had a few balance issues in this shot. I seem pretty happy about it, though.

and in case you're curious, friday's with motown is on a short hiatus. motown requested some holiday time of his own.

happy friday.

Mission Mimosa: accomplished

wow, that was quite a little blogging vacation, wasn't it? I'm happy to be back, and I hope you haven't given up on me. The holiday festivities were lovely. My family is wonderful, the traditional mimosas were served, and Mortimer and Motown missed us, but didn't give us the usual cold shoulder upon our return. Oh, and I got some serious christmas booty. I'm talkin' craft books (i'm going to put them to good use, I promise), novels, music and several items made by super talented crafters I know and respect, like, Jill Bliss and Happy Owl Glassworks. I'll post a few photos of my excellent gifts very soon.
Today is going to be a day of laundry, organization, and  brainstorming intentions for 2006.
more soon...

a little blogging break

I'm going to be taking a little rest from my journal, you know, for mimosas and such...I plan to be back with daily rambles very soon. stay tuned and...
 

he is going to freak

I recently did a trade with my friend Laura . If you've been reading for a while, you probably know I love trades, but this one is very special. I'm trading for an xmas present for D. Laura, being the talent painter she is agreed to do a painting of our two cats, Mortimer and Motown in exchange for some curious bird goodies. below are some photos showing how fantastic it turned out. The frame is part of an additional trade I'm doing with another friend,  super crafty welder Steve T.
D is banned from reading this blog to keep the surprise from being spoiled. he is going to freak! yep. freak.
thanks, Laura and Steve.

a little peek...

I can't resist, I have to share some photos of a holiday gift I made recently. mums the word on who will be getting this, though...and no guessing.

I've wanted to use this vintage fabric for a long time now and I think it turned out beautifully. when I found it, I was thinking of making some curtains with it (it's relatively heavy), but D nixed that idea due to it being a little too pink. I think a bag was just the ticket.

here's a closeup for ya.

and now some links I wanted to pass along. I found this while reading not martha. the funny thing is, I built a really ugly and very tall gingerbread house with one of my young friends last week. we used two kits and hot glued each piece together--this wasn't my idea, his mom said they wanted it to stay intact and they had no plans of eating it. we still haven't finished decorating it--he prefers to just eat the sprinkles and icing instead of using them for their original intent . I guess I can't blame him.

also, save gocco!

only six more days until mimosas for breakfast...

holiday booty...

we had a little holiday soiree this past friday night. it took place after my friend Kat's art opening. did I mention I bought a painting of a yeti at said art opening? well, I know this sounds strange, and it's a huge digression from my original point, but several of the paintings at Kat's opening made me want to eat bowls of cereal. yes, cereal. but not just any cereal, and not the kind I normally eat. her paintings gave me a hankering for the stuff my mom would never by me as a child. you know, boo berry and smurf cereal, mostly boo berry. see I told you it was a digression and somewhat of a nutty ramble.

okay back to what happened at the holiday soiree...
I got huge amounts of gifts from my lovely friends. I'm talking fantastic gifts from people who really know what I like. here, see for yourself.

this is a combination of the gifts I received from my girls, Liz and Jessie.
owls, tons of vintage fabric, big eyed girl pictures, chocolate, and a slingshot organizer!

this girl takes the cake.

my owl collection is getting huge thanks to all the owls floating around NC thrift stores.

see that mod red fabric? I will be sporting a new handbag from that as soon as all this holiday madness is over.

show and tell...

the other day was my BF leah's birthday. she called to say she received her Curious Bird package, so now I can show off the goodies I sent her without ruining the surprise.

I made her a special handbag with a skeleton key patch (surprise). I also sent her a special xmas stocking and a birdie pillow made out of mossy green felt. I had posted a peek at the pillow a while back.

in other news, I just purchased a brilliant painting of a yeti (yes, a yeti) at my friend Kat's art opening. It's the best and I will post a photo as soon as the show ends and I get my yeti home.

get a look at these sweeties I just stumbled upon. I want one.

you don't have to be sherlock holmes...

here's another installment of Friday's With Motown. This shot was taken right after he had spent some time playing with the water in the sink. yes, he's one of those anomaly cats that loves water.  no, he doesn't love baths, he loves water, on his own terms. For instance, as soon as I get out of the shower, he jumps in (I'm always appreciative of that little bit of privacy he gives me). I bet he wonders how I always know when he's been on the kitchen counter. wet paw prints, my friend.
wet paw prints.

in crafty news, I'm in the middle of completing the last and final xmas gift. It bums me out that I can't post photos for fear of the receiver catching a glimpse. I suppose I will have several photos to post later on. speaking of photos, my new camera has arrived!! thank each and every one of you who purchased curious bird items over the last few months because you not only made me love what I get to do even more, but you purchased my camera for me. I will be forever grateful.  photos coming soon.

here are a few links I wanted to share.
beautiful hats
nice jewels. I like this in particular.
a project my friend Diana is involved with.

9 more days until mimosas in the morning...

a disco christmas...

 
introducing Lucy, the most vibrant owl pillow yet. Lucy will soon belong to my little sister, Ann. shhhhhhh, Mom. I love the way it turned out. it just fits her. the pink material was super stretchy--I almost screamed, but interfacing came to the rescue. sometimes I don't know what I would do without the lifesaving invention of interfacing. I suppose I would probably scream a lot.
 
since we didn't get a tree this year, I decided to get crafty with a Styrofoam cone and some funky purple trim. I found the idea while flipping through a Martha Stewart magazine at Borders. I'm pretty sure they used gold in the article. I like the purple better...gold is a little too, well gold.
 
and here's where the real disco Christmas takes place. when I moved to North Carolina, I had no idea what a Moravian star was or even what a Moravian was. Well, all that has changed. I now know about moravian stars, moravians, AND moravian cookies (so tasty). One of my friends bought me the star as a gift a few days ago. Thanks so much, Debbie! You're a sweetie.

only 10 mores days until we have mimosas for breakfast...