Orchestrating Projects.

Almost everything is officially done! I am very excited, because we are leaving tomorrow! Yay! 

I think I had mentioned before that I wanted to give the invitations I made to my family that are coming and have them tell Little Miss that they are there for her birthday, that they got the invite in the mail! She is going to be so excited, they both are! I don't know how I managed to keep this all a secret. For my parents, and my sister and brother in law, I decided to frame the invites. I think they are definitely cute enough to be framable, and to remember when this fantabulous vacation began!

I have some plain, black, wooden frames that I thought would be prefect.

Of course I had to spice them up a bit, and since Little Miss' favorite color is green, it's a dinosaur/Rex party, I figured I would go with lime green! Unfortunately since I have been running around like a crazy person, I forgot to take a picture of them just painted. I added my absolute favorite black glaze. It dulled down the brightness of the line green, and gave it a lot of texture. 

I went to print out the invitations and of course one of my ink cartridges is empty, so I couldn't. I have to run out to the store in the morning, because there was one other thing I forgot to pick up today too! But here is the invitation once again, so you can picture it in the fantabulous green frame!

I love how the green came out so much, I am thinking about doing my bedroom furniture that color!

Other than working on these, I had to work like crazy to design an ad, so it can be put in the newspaper before I leave.

The biggest project of all though, has been the all the shopping and packing. Making sure we had absolutely everything we needed, and then some. I also love the fact that we have a minivan!!! Yes, some may not think it's the sexiest ride ever, but it is beyond fantabulous. There is so much room compared to my little ol' Jetta.

Since I am mild OCD, I always need to make sure we have everything, that it's perfectly arranged, and I know where everything is. I think I have been fairly successful. It will definitely make my job of putting everything into the van tomorrow much easier!

Well, I am off to bed, I stayed up way too late as it is for having to drive so much tomorrow! On top of a little shopping, and loading the van! Yay for busy days, and mild stress. Ha! It absolutely worth it though, because it's going to be a blast!

Beautifully Designed.

What a whirlwind of a day. Racing from here to there, from appointment to appointment. It has been a loooong day. 

I am officially almost completely ready with everything I need to do before we go to Florida. I am also really excited because one of the little ladies surprises showed up today.  A girl that I met while stationed in Biloxi is beyond talented. Everyone now and then some new notification pops up on facebook with something she has made. My person favorite out of everything she does are her little tutu's. I just think they are absolutely adorable. So two weeks ago I messaged her and asked if there would be enough time to make them, and we just got them today. They are oh so cute.

The girl who made them is named Ashley. She only has a private facebook, so you would have to message her if you want one of this amazing little tutu dresses.

I never had the chance to design what I wanted to today, for Little Miss' birthday night. I am about to crash hard, trying to get everything ready and perfect before we go! I literally just sat down a little while ago to relax, for the first time all day! I'm hoping though since I worked so hard today, I wont have to tomorrow, but with my luck, it will be another exhausting day! Like I said, about to crash, so I am off. I really just wanted to share the ladies' new beautiful tutus! Goodnight blogland....

Vinylmation.

I didn't end up having a chance to design the party hats for Little Miss' birthday, hopefully I will get the chance tomorrow. Today was a fun filled day of cleaning, organizing, and shopping all for this trip to Florida.

When I was thinking about what to talk about tonight, it just popped in my head. All I can think about is this trip. It's going to be amazing. In relation to art, there are so many things you could choose to talk about, but I have a new favorite. Vinylmation. It was one of my new absolute favorite things at Disney. I totally love vinyl pieces and have for a long time now. 

Vinylmation is a bunch of vinyl Micky's designed mostly with Disney themes, done by different amazing artists. There are so many now, I can't wait to get a couple when we go there. The only problem is is that they are 'blind boxes', so every one is a surprise.  It's fun, but there are some that I personally like more than others, so it can be frustrating if you don't get the one you really wanted.

We got three of the 3" vinyl figures, two of them were the same.

I got a keychain.

A tote bag, which is now my computer bag.

And I got my man a shirt.

I like vinyl.

There are so many awesome artists, that create these. 

Here is a series I would love to get a few of....

I am also a big fan of Toy Story. Who isn't? These are my favorite from the Toy Story Vinylmation colection.

I can't wait to see what new series' they have there, and what new products they have to offer. I am not really a big fan of spending big money on things, but this is something I am a total sucker for. I'm a big vinyl art fan, big counter culture artist fan, and a huge Disney fan. Mix them all together, and you have something pretty awesome!!! Very very very excited.....only two more nights and I'm on the road! Have a 'magical' night!

Invitation Design.

So this one is going to be fairly quick because I am exhausted! This Florida trip is coming up really fast, and I have a lot to do before we leave.

For those of you who don't know we have managed to keep the fact that we are meeting up with family in Florida, and going to Disney and Universal Studios. I figured though, since we are ending up getting there on Little Miss' birthday we need party stuff. We have reservations at the T-REX Cafe in Downtown Disney. Which looks awesome by the way. She is going to freak out, but then again my man might just as much because of all the dinosaurs. 

I figured we could do something fun, so I am designing party hats, and invites. With the invites, I plan on giving them to all the family members who are coming before they see her. That way when they show up they can show her they were invited to her birthday! 

She is in love with Toy Story, her favorite color is green, and she loves dinosaurs. So she decided it would be fun to have a Rex (from Toy Story) party. Her auntie is going to be jealous. Haha.  I worked on the invites tonight, and tomorrow I will design the party hats. Here's the design for her invitations....

With every day that goes by, I am getting more and more excited. Now I am psyched to make it more birthday party-ish. That's it, today was gathering stuff to be packed, and starting on her birthday things. I cant wait to do the hats with her tomorrow. Goodnight blogland

Design. Florida. Projects.

Right now there are a lot of things going on. I have been extremely busy with designing and learning more about the blog world, racing around making sure we have everything set for our Florida trip, places to go and appointments that need happen before Florida, and I have a few design projects I'm working on. 

First off, I have been staying up crazy late working on designs. I am so under slept right now it's crazy. I am wicked over psyched about our trip next week, but when I get on the 'design train' it's hard for me to get off. So unfortunately, I haven't done as much as I should have so far when it comes to packing, and getting everything ready.

Tonight I had another workshop, and it was awesome! I have learned so much this week it's ridiculous.

Next I have been working on some newspaper ads. I do all the graphic design for my parents doctors office. Every couple months they need a few new ads to put in the paper. It's crazy to see a portfolio of them, and how they have changed over the years. Here are a few recent ones I have designed...

I am also working on some sketches for a friends sons birthday invitations. I have a few great ideas floating around, but I need a bit more information from her before I can really get to working on them.

Also, there's a project I am working on, but it's a secret so I can't share. Sorry. I will definitely be able to post about it in a couple of weeks. Really excited though for the results. 

Lastly, I have some awesome project ideas floating around, but with everything going on this week, and next, I don't have a chance to really start anything. When we get back from our Florida vacation, it will really be time to buckle down and get working on them. I think I have some awesome ideas, that I am ready to get going on and share with you!

Well, that's it for tonight, I still have a good amount of work to do before bed! Jealous of all of those who are already curled up in bed! Until tomorrow....

Big Changes.

I worked all last night, and literally all today up until about ten minutes ago trying to figure out how to change this blog! And I did it!!! I am so beyond excited. It's a big difference than how I really wanted it to look, but I guess it's a learning process, and I am fine with it for now. 

Designing a blog is a million times more extensive than designing a website. It's ridiculous! It has been an extremely long day of trial and error. Like extremely long!!!

I have made a good amount of changes to the entire thing. The first thing is the whole look of it. I hate to admit that I'm not a wicked fan of it, but I am satisfied for now. I need to take a bit of a break from tweaking it or else I might literally go insane. 

The next change is all the pages that have been added. I feel like I throw a lot of random stuff into each post, and they can be all over the place. This will help me categorize, and if you are following along, it will help you navigate around a bit easier. So technically, I would normally put this into the designing page, since it's all about the new design, but I figured I would give myself a day, and just explain to you what's going on. 

Next is my fun little button on the side. I think this step was the easiest for me to get a grasp on. I added the code, so you can grab it.

It took so long because literally everything you see on the page I made. On top of that, I couldn't get in touch with the girl who gave the workshop the other night to get the video of it. So I kind of went in and just changed everything from memory. Hence the trial and lots of error. Tomorrow night I have another workshop I am doing, that once again I am psyched about. I love learning geeky computer things I didn't know before. Also, I would absolutely love any comments or critiques on the new design!!!

Well, that is it for today. I have a wicked love hate relationship going on with my beautiful computer right now. So it's time for me to put it down and relax for the first time today! Before I go, I just wanted to add, I'm kind of psyched, if you Google Juggling & Jellies, some of my posts come up now! Kinda awesome! Goodnight blogland!

Designing, Designing, Designing....

I have been working on the design of my blog for hours and hours and hours. It is beyond frustrating to me. You can give me any project, and immediately I can come up with ideas, and can execute them. Not when it comes to my own stuff though. Designing my own website, or blog has been tricky to me for years. I always come up with an idea, then a better idea, then a better one. Normally, what I think is better, I end up hating, and go back to the original idea. It's all very annoying. 

Even as I type I keep going back to change little things. I am officially happy for the night with how it's turned out. I have a feeling though that I still have several hours until just the design aspect of it is done. Still, I am very excited with what I have in store, hopefully it will be as great as what I see in my head. 

Other than that, not too much has gone on today. The ladies and I played, colored, and worked on letters and reading. My man also let me pass out for a couple hours on the couch when he woke up. Now when I say pass out, I mean it. He thought it was funny because we were all watching a movie, and my eyes kept rolling to the back of my head. The last thing I remember hearing him say while laughing was, "Hey, what ya doing?" I don't know if it's from working out or not, but I was dead! Oh yea, and every inch of my body is on fire today. I don't want to move at all, but I suppose stretching is better for me. Other than stretching, I have given myself a one day break. I need it. 

So that's pretty much it for today. Sorry there are no fun pictures and what not, but when I am in design mode I go for hours and it's all that matters (so it's works best while the little ladies are asleep).  I might work on one more thing on the design, but I am definitely off to bed very shortly. Goodnight blogland.

Out With The Old, In With The New....

I am so excited that I had the blog design workshop tonight! Since it has ended I have been messing around, trying to figure stuff out on my own a bit. Tomorrow I am going to sit and work really hard though. I think it's funny because designing a blog, seems to be a lot more work than designing an actual website. You wouldn't think it would be. 

I guess I am going to go back to design 101, ha! Sitting down sketching, and working on ideations, before I actually sit and start designing in Photoshop. Once I actually have what I want, and design it, I have a feeling I won't be changing it for a while. 

I am wicked excited though. I hate having visions and not being able to execute them. This is a big learning process for me though. I am not a fan of coding. So everyone's just going to have to work with me a bit until I get the hang of things. Hopefully, it comes quickly!

As for the rest of the day, there were no projects. Today was a day of shopping!!!

In eight days from now we are heading to Florida! I am beyond excited. We have managed to keep the entire trip a secret from the little ladies. They are going to freak! We are just going to show up, and when we get there it will be my Little Miss' third birthday. Once we get to where we are going they are going to realize that the first surprise is a good chunk of my family is going to be there. Since moving because of the Air Force we haven't really been able to see them much. Which is very different than the first twenty four years of my life where everyone (both sides of my family, aunts and uncles) were all within about a half an hour away. It's been hard, I miss them beyond words! So do my babies. They are going to be so excited, they won't even realize all of the awesomeness that will be going on. We are spending two days at Universal, four days at Disney, and a day at Discovery Cove. How fantabulous is that?

Here are a couple pictures from our few day 'girls trip' to Disney back in April (me, my babies, my sister, and my mummy)  The joy on my babies faces makes the trip totally worth it.

Today, I needed to go out and get the ladies more clothes. Mainly for Miss El. They grow like weeds! It's ridiculous. We also got a few presents for Little Miss' birthday. 

After all the shopping, I had to race home to make it in time for the workshop. I am so grateful to April for all the help, and answered questions. Like I said, hopefully it comes quickly, and I will have everything completed relatively soon. 

Once that was done, it was time for dinner, then working out. My body is on fire today, but I pushed through it anyway. Go me! So now it is officially time to crash after a long day. Until tomorrow....

The Art of TaeKwonDo....

I have always been the type of person to say "I'll do it later." Ask my mom, or my man, they will certainly attest to this. I pride myself on my procrastination, it has become an art form of it's own. Haha. How horrible does that sound? It's true though.

There are so many things that I want to do, and have wanted to do for a while, yet I always put them off. Well, I am officially done with that! I am working more on my design, on my house, basically projects in general. I would have to say the biggest project for this year though, is myself!

When I was young I took TaeKwonDo for years, and years, and years. Talk about passion, this was my life! It was an outlet, it was a workout, and it was an art form. I don't want to pat myself on the back or gloat, so I will just say I was good. I was nationally ranked, attended several Jr. Olympics, and went to train at the Olympic Training Center. I went to class, I went to camps, I went to tournaments. This was my life!!! 

Somewhere along the way though, I lost my passion for it. It became something I had to do, and not what I loved to do. Looking back now, I wish I would have never stopped, it is a major disappointment to me. For years, I have talked about getting back into it, and have genuinely wanted to, but there is always a reason I can't. At first after I had Miss El, my back couldn't handle it, then once my back was better, after Little Miss was born, I blew out my shoulder, then we moved, then we moved again, and now it's the cost, and the fact that they don't have the style I trained in. Very frustrating!

The biggest thing that drives me crazy, other than the fact that I don't do it anymore, is the fact that I am totally out of shape. The last five years have not been so awesome, which is not the norm for me. It's annoying to me that my man always says, "well, go to the gym". As ridiculous as it sounds I have no idea what to do at the gym to get in shape. People do routines and machine and whatnot, I know nothing about that. It was always me, maybe another person, maybe a punching bag. (unfortunately, my man has never enjoyed holding a pad for me to continuously kick)

I have decided if I can't do TaeKwonDo right now, I need to at least get back into shape, until I can get into it again. So, I found myself a 'personal trainer'. I think the idea of having a Marine as a personal trainer is a good idea. I just wish he could be screaming in my face to do more when I work out. At least I will get a good regimen!

To my personal trainer: PLEASE do not be disappointed in me! I absolutely could not handle what you told me to do! I did attempt it though. There was no way, after not working out for forever that I could run for 40 mins. Even in my best of shape, I would still loathe running 40 mins. Also, Jay said you lied,  that you are a running machine, or at least you were. I did run for about 25 mins though, then I did the weights like you said. I took a bit of a break after an hour of running and weights. The look on Jay's face was complete shock that I really went. He had me do a bunch of ab stuff when I got back too. Now I feel dead, my calves are already burning, and my body is on fire. I figure I will give myself a day off then go again on Wednesday. 

I am so excited, and hopefully I will be able to stay on track. Every time I try to lose some weight and get back in shape, I give myself crazy goals. Well, that needs to change, because it only leads to disappointment! So I am aiming to lose 15 to start! I am so determined. And maybe, just maybe.....once I get in shape, I can enter a tournament, just to see how it goes. To me TaeKwonDo is like riding a bike. I think it would be pretty awesome! I think I should also start teaching my baby girls, especially Miss El, because personally, I think it is ridiculously important! 

Here I am dead, after my first real workout in a long time....

(you'll notice my shirt is a tournament shirt - I have hundreds, and they come in handy for work outs!)

Ooooo Shiny....

I don't have a huge update for today. I think I am starting to suffer from sleep deprivation or something. Let me tell you, insomnia is not fun! 

Thanks to my fantabulous little sister, I was reminded about the chair to my desk that I needed to paint. I have to touch up a few spots tomorrow, because once it finally dried we ended up having a thunderstorm. It's crazy, I have never seen weather like this in my life. In a week and a half its gone from 80 and sunny out, to frigid and snowing, to now warm with thunder storms. 

I am slightly torn on the chair though. I am absolutely in love with how it looks with the desk, but I don't know if I should add a glaze to it or not. Whenever I start a project I get really excited and jump right into it, so I have a tendency to forget about the before pictures. It was just a natural wood, that matched the desk. Like the desk, it is also about twenty years old. There are a lot of nicks and dents in it. I thought the glaze would accent those and just make it more unique, but then again I like the lightness of the chair in contrast to the dark desk. So I would love some opinions! 

So here she is, in all her gorgeousness....

Later on down the road I have a feeling I might add something to the very top, whether it's painting a fun design, or adding a cool antique piece of hardware that I find and paint to match the silver. It just looks a bit flat to me. I am so happy with how it's turned out though, and I am ready to move onto something else for now. 

For now though, I am moving onto bed. Goodnight blogland!

Complete with Cookies....

The sun finally shone today, and it was above freezing! I checked the weather, and it is supposed to rain again tomorrow. That meant if I wanted to finish my desk this week, it would have to be today. I'm so excited to share this. This project definitely took a while to finish, but I am oh so happy with the results!

After we got our day started, I decided to lug out the bottom half of the desk, and paint the first coat! It was funny when I took the drawers out, I found a lot of random things that were my little brothers. Yes, Kev, that would be you! I have a book of yours, a big box of Nerds, temporary tattoos, a thank you note from some teacher that you gave a Beetles cd to, and a bunch of other crap!

Throughout the day, I added another coat, and made some touch ups to areas, in the midst of every day mommy life. After my man left for work, and the little ladies finished some movie about mermaids, we decided it would be a good time to make some cookies! We have had some cookie stuff from Christmas time, that we never made. They have been begging me to bake them, so I knew they would love it to do most of the work!

Little Miss was so excited to try a heart cookie cutter, and then so proud of herself when she made a perfect heart!

There were a lot of weird shaped cookies that were made!

They were so concentrated on the frosting part. I think they ate more than they put on the cookies.

 I took three adorable pictures of them together like this - in every one of them Little Miss is eyeing the cookies! (These babies are the reason I breathe. I could never describe how much I love and adore them. Look at those cute faces.)

Then the frosting battle began!

Cookies finished, just for Daddy!

After cookies, it was time to settle down. So we had art time. I worked on the glazing on the desk while they colored. Here is the bottom half all finished!

Ok, so I have to emphasize how ridiculously strong I am! haha. I know I have said it before, but I am crazy impulsive!!! Seeing everything finished, but not put together was driving me crazy. So I just harnessed all my magic super powers and lifted the whole top half and perfectly placed it on the bottom half. Go me! 

Here it my gorgeous new twenty year old desk!

Now all I have to do is the chair to go with it. I think it's going to have to be silver. Oh, and to my love Keileigh, I hope you love and appreciate my lime green, and hot pink zombie wallet. I was totally thinking of you when I got it! I love that you love me for my "eccentricness".

Ok, so that pretty much does it for today. I am beyond happy that I finished it! I have also been in the zone working all day, thanks to my new and fantabulous album I bought. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow. If you haven't heard of them click on their picture below and listen! Seriously, or else we can't be friends. They are amazing. Definitely, awesome music to listen to while painting.

Until tomorrow night....

Winter Wonderland....

This morning I was woken up by screaming, crying kiddos. When being awoken out of a totally dead sleep, that is one of the worst sounds to hear. It made my heart drop. I snapped out of my daze though, and realized why they were crying, especially Miss El. They were crying tears of joy!

It was snowing!

They both woke up at about 4:30 in the morning, having coughing fits. Both of them seem to be doing better, but are the worst at night. When I finally calmed them both down, I had them look out the window. There were tiny little flurries. Their eyes burst out of their heads with excitement. 

Well, when we got up this morning, it was like really snowing! Something we haven't seen since being back home in New Hampshire for Christmas of '09. I calmed them both down, and they just begged to go outside. With them still being a little sick, I said they could go play, but for only about 10 minutes. They immediately put on hoodies and shoes, and ran out the door in their pajamas! 

They were psyched to have a mini snow ball fight!

And Miss El begged to do just one snow angel before we went inside.

I was so excited for them. It definitely made me miss snow, but only a little bit! I miss building snow forts with my family, building snowmen, sledding, and having awesome/horrible snow ball fights!!! My babies were happy, and to see their little faces playing in the snow made my day!

After playing, lunchtime, and naptime, we needed to go to Target. A lot of southerners are freaked out drivers when it comes to snow, so unfortunately we didn't want to drive all the way to the commissary on base to go shopping. When we got out of the car my man was just as happy as the little ladies to play in the snow a bit. He made a snow ball and chucked it at the big Target logo, he missed the center target by like a foot. A guy saw him and said, "Man, now I have to stay out here for a minute and try to hit it." Since he lost his target, I became the target! For all three of them.

We got some random essentials, and I got my baby the Lalaloopsy doll she wanted for her birthday. After we came home I worked on some more blog stuff, ate dinner, and put my little sickos to bed. Now I have to run, because the coughing fits are starting again. 

Right before I clicked the post button, my man ran into their room, to calm Miss El down. He ran out of the room, and told me to get my camera. Both of the little ladies sleep with millions of stuffed animals, it's ridiculous. When I complain to my mom about this her response is, "Hmmmm, I wonder where they get that from." Well, the littlest miss is curled up with all of them, and on top of them, but she was also curled up with her baby. My man thought it was adorable so he wanted me to share.

That's it for today. Goodnight blogland!

April Showers....

Ok, clearly there haven't been enough prayers about my babies, and the weather getting better. The ladies seem to be more sick, and now it is snowing. There has definitely been a regression. 

Once again, this means there has been no way to finish my desk. I am starting to get really frustrated. Everything that was in the desk has been sitting on my dining room table. My house basically looks like a disaster. Definitely the worst it has been since we moved in and got all the boxes.

In the meantime, I am still been trying to figure out more about the whole blogging design whatnot. I am actually really excited because next Tuesday I will be taking a workshop all about designing your blog page. Personally, I am ecstatic. I feel like I am in graphic design limbo right now. Knowing what I want, and yet not being able to execute it is driving me slightly crazy. You have to check out the girl who offers these workshops. Her page is great. She also gives free tutorials and has been a big help in emailing me back right away with my millions of questions! So click on the button and jump on over to her page to check out her awesomeness!

I apologize for not having many projects going on right now. Honestly though, for me, when my ladies are sick it's like the world stops! Hopefully tomorrow will be a more productive day. It is the one day this week that my man has off from work. He is always such a big help around the house when he is off (if I ask for it), and tomorrow I could definitely use it. Maybe I will even bundle up and attempt to paint the bottom of the desk, since he will be able to take care of the ladies. Anyone know what happens when you use spray paint in freezing weather? I certainly don't! Hopefully nothing, then I can finish this up. Until then, I need some sleep!

Codes & Monsters....

Once again, another day of sick kiddos and crappy weather! I promise though, no more talk of little girls toys. It's crazy how the weather here can go from 80 degrees to 20 degrees in only a week. It's really messing with my projects. 

Since I can't be painting in the house, and I don't want to move onto another project before this one is done, I figured I would work on more design. 

You name it, I can design it. My only issue with graphic design is coding. For those of you who may not know, every website you visit, is just a big code. Well, this is something that has always been fairly tricky to me. Working on this blog is different than a normal website though, it requires certain things in the code because it is comprised of a bunch of widgets. Right now the design of my blog is killing me. It's just a template I picked out for the background, and some tweaking on the actual blogger template page. If you look around there are some amazingly designed blogs out there. It's frustrating to me because I know what I want it to look like, and I am perfectly capable of designing it, but I have no idea how to transfer that design into a working blog. Let me emphasize here, it's VERY frustrating. Basically, I have just been sitting, searching, and reading, and reading, and reading. There are a good amount of people with other blogs that offer free tutorials on how to change certain aspects of the blog and to write the code. So basically, if the weather persists, and my babies continue to remain sick, I will just keep working on this. Hopefully, you will see some changes shortly in the future!

Anyway, since I can't share anything that I have been working on really, I want to share with you an artist that I absolutely love and am inspired by. Buff Monster! His work is fantabulous, fairly simplistic, all encompassing monsters and the color pink.  He started out by just posting up some of his posters on the street, and art he did on spray paint cans, and now he is in art galleries, painting wall murals, and creating vinyl toys! He is inspired by his love of music, monsters, cuteness, the color pink (which is in every piece he creates), and ice cream! 

Here is some of his work...

Here he is with one of his wall murals...

These are two of his vinyl toys. I am a total sucker for vinyl toys! You can purchase these awesome guys at Kidrobot. If you haven't checked out their site at all, you need to! I have their link on the side of my page. They have so many vinyl toys created by amazing artists! Personally, I want to buy them all!!!

Well, that is it for today. Once again I'm praying for my babies to get better. Life is chaos when they are both sick. I hope you have enjoyed some of this fantabulous eye candy. To me this guy is so inspiring. I mean how could you not love cute little monsters and ice cream. I know I certainly do!