Sparkles and Sticks

This Is What Happy Looks Like

Keeping my February goal of "going on more walks" has not been hard at all.  I am lucky enough to live in a town full of creeks with secret paths* that do a lot to make walks my favorite part of the day.

I woke up this morning and discovered that it had rained hard during the night.  More raindrops threatened to fall, so after a cup of coffee (and a quick episode of The Vampire Diaries just to find out if Damon and Elena kissed again) I put on my stretch pants, converse sneakers, and rain gear jacket (that I bought before going to Wales in 2003 and then never actually wore because I realized that the brochure lied and Welsh people are actually quite fashionable people, especially in a university setting) and hopped out the door before the weather decided I shouldn't.

The air deliciously chilled air woke all the happy things inside me.  Like daffodils bobbing, partying like headbangers in the winds of a storm that would flatten them.  Yellow laughing at the grey, living in joy despite the world around them.

Every happy cell inside me was awake, they let all the sad cells sleep, and I dreamed of all the places I could go and all the useful things I could do for the world in the future.

I winded my way to a Starbucks and rested with a drink.  It was too warm and stuffy inside, so I was the only person sitting in the nippy outdoor seating area.  With an iced drink (and awesome sparkly fingernails) nonetheless.

Chilly air, walk enduced endorphines, and daydreams about the future.

This is what happy looks like.

*The existence of the paths and the creeks are not at all secret.  The real secret is the awesome experience of walking them.

a jumper for a golden baby boy

My college roomate, my dearest friend, had her first baby about a week ago.  I am officially an (unofficial) Auntie!

I found out that my friend was having a baby several months ago, and I knew right away that I wanted to make a special gift for it.  My friend and her husband decided that they were going to wait until the baby was born to find out whether it was a boy or a girl.  The question I struggled with was this:

What's a girl to knit?

The woman I refer to as my "sister-in-law-to-be-someday" helped me figure out the solution when she and my brother-in-law visited from Wales.  She also had friends with babies on the way, so after a trip to the most marvelous yarn store (Knitterly) we chose to knit the same baby sweater pattern.  I seleceted a neutral colorway for the yarn that everyone in the store assured me would work for a boy or a girl.

We both finished in a matter of days and had lots of fun working on the same project together.

This was the result:

When I was young my dad gave me a stuffed lion that I imagined protected me from all sorts of monsters that could attack in my sleep.  I wanted to include these awesome little lion buttons as sort of a protection blessing for my new little friend.  I think I secretly fancy myself his Fairy God Mother, capable of giving him a magical gift.

The only potential problem: this sweater is teeny tiny.  I hope he gets it before he is too big to wear it!

Hello February

(I love winter sunsets)

In February I will...

go on more walks.

read more educational books

visit two out of town friends

start a new fitness goal

blog some craft projects

 

What are your goals for February?

Book Report: The Fault in Our Stars

I picked up this book on my birthday a few days ago for three reasons: 1. Everybody was talking about how amazing it is. 2.  I had never read anything by John Green and everyone is always talking about how amazing he is.  3. This year, I always encourage myself to follow the stars. 

Some books are discovery journeys, both for the reader and the characters, and are therefore very hard to describe without spoiling the joy of reading the story.  Imagine me trying to describe The Hunger Games to my dad, while we are speeding down a freeway in Seattle, in a way that makes him understand that he HAS TO READ THIS BOOK with out saying anything about the plot.  It sounds like just another been there, read that Big Brother dystopian story, but anyone who has read it knows it is so much more.  So, I am going to try and tell you how much you HAVE TO READ The Fault in Our Stars without telling you anything that actually happens in the story.  Look- the Space Needle is on your left!

In The Fault in Our Stars...

There is a breathing machine that sounds like a dragon. 

There is a sexy use of a Venn Diagram. 

We get to go inside the The Literal Heart of Jesus Christ.

On page 49 I think I already know how the novel is going to end and I want to throw it across the room and figure out a way to punch John Green (do I end up doing these things? No spoilers!).

This video pretty much captures the tone and many themes of TFIOS.  I am 99% sure Green was working on the book when he made this video and it shows beautifully.  Honestly, I think that my #1 favorite thing about the internet is watching artists work on projects through their blog posts, tweets, photos, words that they start to focus on, doodles that appear everywhere, philosophies or motifs that resurface... and then getting to enjoy the project (book, painting, album... whatever medium) when it is finished.  I love watching their creative processes.

When I finished reading TFIOS I knew that while I understood the book this time around, I would understand it even more the second time around.  When I read it a third time a few years from now, I will probably understand it in a completely different way.  This desire to reread a book with a thirst for more understanding is rare and the ultimate compliment a book can recieve.

Read The Fault In Our Stars.

Did you know that every copy of the first printing of TFIOS (basically, any book on the shelves in stores RIGHT NOW) is signed by John Green?  Frequently, in GREEN sharpie?  Watch a funny video about the task of signing all these books here.

This one is good too.

(But not as good as the book itself!)

wandering under overcast skies

I went on a walk this early evening.  It was the first time I left the house all day (after driving my husband to work in the morning) and it was lovely.  The sky was grey, which made all the pretty greens, blues, pinks, of the plants, trees and other general signs of life seem extra bright.

Just like my grey shoes and highlighter color socks.

The air was light, and nowhere near cold or hot.  Just perfect.  The clouds had woven themselves into an airtight blanket that let some light seep through while hiding the brightness of the sun.

I realized that it was the sky that was making me feel so light, happy, and safe.  Most people hate overcast weather, but I love it.  There is something about the way the cloud blocks out the rest of the universe that allows me to focus on the universe inside my head.  I know I can let the ideas floating around in my head out for a little run without worrying that they will venture out to Jupiter and get lost in it's perpetual storm.

I can wander without getting lost.

The skies here, at The Real Home, tend to tinge blue when grey.  The skies in The Home Away From Home tend to tinge pink.

I became an independent, roaming, life loving adult in The Home Away From Home.  Today, I miss it's pink skies.

What I Wore: To Meet Marissa Meyer

Today I went to my favorite place in the whole wide world (ok, my favorite place in the town that sits next to mine): the bookstore!  Why did I go?  To meet Marissa Meyer, author of the new YA dystopian novel Cinder.  Meeting her was a blast- she was very friendly and everyone around me was talking about how wonderful her book is.  I'm sure a book report is coming down the pipeline, but for now let's get down to the really important stuff: my outfit.  Everyone knows that its always super important to wear interesting and fancy clothes when one wants to hang out with books and the people who write them, yeah?

purple t-shirt: Rubbish, silver shrug: Anthropologie, denim skirt: Old Navy, tights: unknown, boots: Anthropologie, silver star necklace: unknown, bag: Steve Madden/thrifted.

My only regret: that I didn't wear my red shoes. 

Birthday Party Crown Tutorial

Guess what?  Today is my birthday!  I turn 29 today.

To celebrate, I want to share a little tutorial I did for Mary Rebecca's Birthday Blog Party last month.  You can wear these fun birthday crowns at birthday parties, bachelorette parties, on tuesday nights... anytime you feel like celebrating!

Supplies: 

a pack of sparkly pipe cleaners in assorted colors.

strong scissors or wire clippers

Star Crown

 

 

Step One: Attach two pipe cleaners together to form a circular base for your crown.

Step Two: Make your center star.  Start by making a very small crease at the end of your pipe cleaner.  You are going to use this "hook" to attach the two ends of the pipe cleaner.  Then, make ten crisp creases in your pipe cleaner.  The 10 segments you make with these creases form the perimeter of your star.  Manipulate the pipe cleaner until you are happy with the shape of your star.  Make another small hook at the end of your star.  Cut off any excess pipe cleaner and hook the two hooks together to complete your star.

Step Three: Make four more stars (two medium sized, two small) as described above).

Step Four:  Attach your stars together and to the base of your crown by twisting small pieces of pipe cleaner around the pieces you want to connect.

Heart Crown

Step One: Attach two pipe cleaners together to form a circular base for your crown.

Step Two: Make your hearts.  Start by making a small crease at the start of your pipe cleaner- this bit will serve as a hook that will help complete your heart.  Bend the rest of your pipe cleaner into the shape of a heart.  Make sure the top humps a round and smooth while the center is a hard crease.  Make another hook at the end of your heart, trim excess pipe cleaner, and hook your heart together.  Make five more hearts, or however many you need to fill your crown.

Step Three:  Attach the bottom points of you hearts to the base of your crown by twisting small bits of pipe cleaner around both.  Make sure your hearts are evenly spaced.

Step Four: Attach the tops of your hearts together with small pieces of pipe cleaner.  Twist excess pipe cleaner into little circles for a pretty, royal effect.

Sponsor Swap in February

Sparkles and Sticks runs an ad swap program!  We're looking for bloggers and/or handmade shop owners who want to make new online friends/fans.  If you like crafts, geekery, handmade, books, setting goals, making art, travelling, or just general silliness, we'd probably be a good match!

Here are the swap details:

• We exchange buttons, and keep them posted in our designated button areas of our blogs for the month (or longer).
• I need an image that is 170x100, and the link you would like it to point to.
• I can supply an image in any size that suits your blog.
• I usually tweet links from my sponsors.  It would be awesome if you chose to support me in a similar way.
• You have the option of doing a guest post or giveaway on my blog, at our mutual discretion.

Ready to swap?  Email me at welshgrl2 (@) gmail (dot) com.

Hi. My name is Jaime, and I am addicted to the library.

Wedding Blanket In Progress

This week has been all about projects in progress.  You already know about the Dresser Dress Up, but I have also been working on The Wedding Blanket, Scrapbooks from 2010-11, a blog re-design, and a really cute DIY Planner for 2012.

Phew!  It's an exciting week, maker-wise.  But right now, let's just focus on The Wedding Blanket.

I started making the wedding blanket just a few weeks after Ashley and I got married last October.  I saw the pattern for this gorgeous, flower-y blanket on a shelf at Michaels.  I don't think I have ever fallen in love with a knitting pattern I found at Michaels before, but there we go!  I saw this project as a brilliant opportunity to learn how to crochet, and I saw Ashley and I cozying up together on top of this finished masterpiece, with a champagne picnic, in the garden we were supposed to have had our wedding ceremony in, on our one year anniversary.

This is what actually happened:  I learned to crochet.  And we had a champagne picnic in the garden we were supposed to have had our wedding ceremony in... with a different blanket that I made before we were even engaged.

Needless to say, the project is taking a little longer than I anticipated.  I need to make 70 squares.  This is my status report:

Flowers made without sparkly trim: 11

Flowers with sparkly trim: 4

Flowers with leaves: 5

Complete squares, sewn together: 15

I am still totally lovin' this project, but I'm tending to work on it in bursts.  It will be the only thing I am working on for a week, then I won't even look at it for another two weeks.

The hardest part: taking good photos of this blanket.  In person, the flowers are a lovely ivory and eggplant.  In photos, they are the color of a decades old, uncleaned wedding dress with pit stains... and blue.  I try photographing them in different types of light, with different camera settings, with different editing procedures... I don't know what to do.  Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Project Details:

Yarn:  Loops and Threads Impeccable: Amethyst, Aran, Chocolate, Fern Loops and Threads Dewdrops: Pearl, Amethyst

Pattern: Rose in Bloom Blanket