Tag Archive | DIY

A Touch of Mae

Take one of my nicknames which was also the name of my maternal grandmother and cross it with “Touch of Grey,” one of my favorite Grateful Dead songs and you have “A Touch of Mae.”

About a year ago I came up with this name for my crafty adventures…

In that time I’ve done 6 craft shows so far with one more to go the first weekend of December.

Some have been great… some far less than great…. But I still love doing what I’m doing with it.

Aside from craft shows,  special orders and gifts have kept me busy through most of the year.  From personalized items, to requests for specific colors and quotes, to wedding details, I’ve had a total blast with it all.

That’s why you’ll still find me crafting away most nights….

THANKS to Pinterest, I got the following lovely ideas!  Here is my take on different projects I’ve found… Let me know if you like them.  While you’re at it Pin some!  🙂

Back to crafty land I go!

I may be many things, BUT…

I’m not a seamstress…

I am an “artsy” person.

Paper crafts. Painting. Doodles.  Writing.  Poetry. Music. Upholstery.

I have piddled with minor sewing projects… ornaments, Recovered pillow, gift bags, curtains, and even altered some clothing for Halloween costumes in the past.

Thankfully none of these projects needed to be precise in measurements & such because I can’t stitch a straight line to save my life.  I’ve tried and just can’t do it.

I do have an awesome old Kenmore sewing machine I got at an estate sale for a whopping $15.  BUT, my mum requisitioned it some time ago since she’s a busy bee making quilts. (She CAN sew in a straight line!)

I’ve seen patterns for things that I only wish I could tackle, but it’s just not meant to be.  Purse, shirts, skirts and the like.  I can’t make clothing.

AND of course… today while feeding my pinning addiction on Pinterest, I came across these beautiful shirts.

DIY shirts.  The problem being I can’t do it myself.

Sooooo….. who’s gonna make ’em for me?!?  😉

Ummmmm, yes please!  Love each of the styles…. Love all of the colors.  I want them!

THANK YOU More Design Please for making my brain spin with all the awesomeness I spied on your site.

Actually, this website has a TON of fabulous things to take a gander at… Food, Art, Decor &  DIY projects of all sorts.  Let’s just say it is bookmarked and presently occupying several tabs on my browser screen… even as I should be in bed but can’t stop the addiction of peeking at all the goodies this site has to offer!

So to all my fellow “artsy” peeps… the painters, the DIY-ers, the writers, etc.  take a peek and see what you think!  I’m thinking you won’t be disappointed!

And to the seamstresses out there…. I’ll be your guinea pig model if you wanna give these shirts a try!  Just sayin’

Organized chaos?!?!

Adventures in crafty land have been pretty busy…

My living room looks a bit as if Michael’s, Jo-Ann’s and Pat Catans all came for a visit and threw up on the floor.

This is after I "straightened" up in between projects. 🙂

I wasn’t kidding!

A donation box for the Kristy Lasch Miracle Foundation, a guest book for one of my girlie’s weddings and a gift for another one of my girlie’s weddings are my most recent bigger projects.  I’ve been buried among the crafting rubble while also having had pieces glued to myself including my fingers being glued together.  I.KID.YOU.NOT.

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I also participated in my 5th or 6th craft show this year (I can’t remember!) on Saturday.  It was a last-minute opportunity given to me by a former co-worker who offered up one of her tables to me.

Unfortunately it was another dud for me….  Seriously re-evaluating the whole craft show circuit thing.  I have two more slated for this year… The one in December is going to be the deal breaker for me.  If I sink, I’ll be going into “early retirement” from doing craft shows. 😉  If I swim, that will more than likely be the only show I do from here on out.

I’m thinking my focus needs to move to the personalized/customized/special order side of things.  Not sure yet, but thinking that’s my best bet.  All I do know is that I’m not ready to call it quits in crafty land just yet.  🙂

Until then, I can still be found in my “organized” corner of chaos.

My stuff makes great Christmas gifts…..  Just sayin’. 😉

Sometimes being a slacker pays off!

Ya, I know…. I’ve still been slacking.  Barely squeaking out a post a week these days…..

I’m not going to promise to post more frequently because every time I say I’m going to do that, I post even less!

Lots has been going on but really nothing at all at the same exact time.  Does that even make sense?!?  In my twisted little corner of the earth it COMPLETELY does. 😉

And what does a blogging slacker get rewarded with?!?

What’s that you say????

Yup…. A blogging award!

In the midst of my slacker-dom in the blogging world, I somehow managed to get an award thrown my way from one of my dearest blogging friends and most favorite-est people ever,  the fantastically-fabulous and incredibly-hilarious Donna at The Redneck Princess.  This lady is the perfect addition to your daily reading material as she is funny as all get out, she’s as REAL as they come and she’s one of my biggest supporters.  AND to boot she’s pretty kick-ass at all this technology stuff and currently flaunting ( I mean that in the nicest way possible!  xoxo)  it well at her NEW SELF-HOSTED home for The Redneck Princess.  It looks phenomenal so check it out!!!!  OODLES of thanks my friend!  You are one “Versatile Blogger” and am happy to be lumped in that category along side ya.

Sooooooo…. on with the deeds I must do.

THE RULES

Here’s the dealio…

  1. Thank and link to the person who nominates you
  2.  Share seven random facts about you
  3. Pass this award to five new blogging friends
  4. Contact and congratulate the awarded bloggers
Now to the nitty gritty…. doling out the digs…
Just a disclaimer… you know I love you all but…. I’ve been a slacker for much too long so I think I should at least pick some peeps instead of giving it to everyone. 😉
1. The Ramblings– ah, the lovely Tori… I know Donna passed this along your way but I can’t help but slap another one on ya!  Tori’s ramblings are my newest addiction in blogging land.  I’m not sure exactly how long our paths have crossed, but all I do know is she simply cracks me up with each and every read.  PLUS, she’s doing some pretty cool stuff with her wedding!  Check her out!!!  You’re an absolute gem, Tori!  🙂
For the next four, I’m going with some of my tried, true and trusty blogging friends on this one… The ones who have been by my side since the very beginning and supporting me along the way.
2.  The Wordsmith’s Desk–  If you are a poetry lover or an inspiration seeker, this is the place to go.  LeRoy’s daily musings have a way of centering me and putting me in check during all of the craziness that I tend to let consume me.  He’s a kind soul and his positive messages are a true inspiration.
3.  Laughter Is Catching– There aren’t enough adjectives in the english language to accurately describe this lovely gal… Miss Tink has been scheming a way to get me on one those them there aero-plane thing-a-ma-jigs along with the fabulous Miss Vix since we first became blogging pals at the beginning of this year.  She’s a hoot, insightful and one of the sweetest and real chicas I know.  She will make you laugh… Go on now… catch the bug and head on over her way.
4.  Mirth and Motivation– Eliz is truly a breath of fresh air… Her positive outlook on life is infectious.  Her words are so incredibly eloquent in each and every post.   She continues to motivate me and help me to hunker down and focus or take a step back and just breathe for a minute whenever it’s needed.
5.  Little Miss Vix– My long-lost sister from across the pond.  🙂 Vix was my very first subscriber many moons ago leading  us to become quick friends bantering alongside Tink.  From music and fashion to writing and reading she covers it all!  One day we will cause a raucous with Tink over there or here… it must happen one way or another!
So there you have my five picks of the litter…. It really is hard to do as I have sooooo many favorites and much respect for my fellow writers out here.  🙂
NOW to the INCREDIBLY hard part… sharing 7 random facts about myself (Ummmmmmmm…. I’ve already listed 100 here so this is gonna be rough!!! 🙂 )

1… I am an extreme lover of peanut butter & Nutella. On bread, bananas, pretzels or by the spoonful.   Alone or a little of both.    Pretty sure I could eat them both every day if I let myself!

2… I think perhaps I may be a bit obsessive compulsive in some regards. Not in ways involving specific rituals or routines per say. More along the lines of once I get a notion in my head (good or bad) I can’t shake it… honestly I can’t control it. Sometimes it can be a good thing yet other times it’s not so much. I think it may tie in to the worrier in me. I dunno, but it’s led me to be known as “the persister” by some.

3… I ask questions.   A lot of questions. If you tell me you’re cooking dinner, know that I am going to ask WHAT you’re making. I’ll ask HOW it’s coming along, only to be followed by my asking how it turned out and if it was yummy. Numbers 2 & 3 correlate well or work against each other depending on the situation.

4… I love to paint my nails.  Both fingers & toes.  However, I hate taking nail polish off so don’t be surprised if you see me with chipped polish! 🙂

5… I’m probably the biggest klutz you’ll ever meet. Between falling up the stairs more times than I care to admit and walking into things, I’m a cluster of accidents waiting to happen.   Amazingly I’ve never broken anything more than a toe or two.

6… I am a procrastinator. I should have been writing this post about a week ago whenever I was first given this award…. but I started putting it off & now here I sit.   Finally, 3 days into writing this post, I’m finally finishing it. I can know about a crafty project 3 months ahead of time but without fail the week before it needs to be completed I am against the wall cranking it out at the last-minute. (I will say some of my best writing has occurred @ 4:00 AM, only hours before a research paper was due!)  Time management is NOT my forte… going to make a concerted effort. LATER. 🙂

7… I am a “fixer”. When there’s a problem I want to fix it. If a friend is in distress I want to help. If someone is down I want to cheer them up. If someone is sick I want to make them feel better. Giving words of encouragement or a listening ear may be all it takes but I’m always up for a challenge. The hardest part tends to be when you surround yourself with people who tend not to reciprocate when you are the one that needs some fixing.

Soooooo…. there you have it. 7 more dirty little secrets about yours truly. Now you know wayyyyy more about me than you probably ever wanted!

Time for me to get back to business. Time to take my nail polish off & paint my nails.

Eh, maybe later. 😉

Follow me, Find me, Friend me

Morning friends!

First off, I hope all of you that have been affected in any way, shape, or form by the nastiness that was hurricane Irene are safe and sound…  Thought about you all throughout the last several days.  Pictures from all over the east coast have ruffled some of my feathers… Mother Nature is one strong momma!!!

Hmmmm…. let’s see… my weekend was productive but nothing earth shattering occurred.

Having a hard time even remembering what all I did!

Spent some time with the nephews; went for a run with the lovely famdango at the park & also took time out for a solo run or two… MY LEGS ARE HURTIN’!!!

Found a bunch of gift cards I forgot about … Yay!  It was like Christmas all over again. 🙂

Oh, the goodies!!!

AND, it afforded me the opportunity to meet up for dinner at Panera with my friend Diane and take B-Shane to Dunkin Donuts… For the record, I didn’t get ANYTHING at Dunkin Donuts!  Yes, I would like a pat on the back thank you very much. 😉

I also completed one of my yearly “aunt-ly” duties… covering B-Shane’s books for school.  This has been my “job” for as long as I can remember…

That's alotta books!!!

5th grade is killing me!  Poor kid’s backpack weighed more this morning than he does!!!

I worked on a crafty project for one of my girlfriends…

Bridesmaids' Boxes 🙂

They are “trinket” boxes for her bridesmaids… The one with the grey dots is just about complete and the other 8 are getting pretty close. 🙂

And that brings us to this morning… I got to start my day off right by seeing the nephews for a bit.

Seriously... could there be anything cuter?!? I. THINK. NOT.

My little love bug, J-Man.

Nothing beats seeing that sweet little baby face.  ❤ him to pieces!!!

Now some important pieces of business to share… 😉

Maggie Mae’s Days has been on Facebook for a little while now…. sooooo…. if you haven’t already “liked” it, get movin’. 🙂  Click the icon below to head on over and “like” my page. Pretty, pretty please?  With a cherry on top?

You can follow my blog on Bloggers.com & Bloglovin.com …  just click-on-through the icons below to share some love there too! You can even “vote” for my blog on bloggers.

PLUS, you can follow me on Twitter…

And lastly…. You can follow my pin boards on Pinterest!!!

If you haven’t checked out Pinterest yet, I suggest you do so… I must give you fair warning though, it.is.addicting!!! But it’s given me TONS of great ideas for DIY projects, all things crafty, home, recipes… you name it, there’s a pin for it!

Well, my lovelies…. That is all I have.  A little of this and a little of that.  Hope you are all well!

How was your weekend?  Do anything exciting?  Did Irene come knocking at your door?

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