Spring or not to Spring....

Things have been pretty hectic in the Madhouse, as of late. 

I regret to say that some of the seeds I started have since passed. Not sure what the issue is exactly. I would have to say Lavender is not a friend to me. I might have to just bit the bullet and purchase dried lavender instead of growing it myself. Going to attempt another round soon, hopefully these will work out better. I have also picked up some hot peppers, cherry tomatoes, green and yellow beans. I managed to find a wooden crate at work that was going to be tossed in the recycle bin and it would be perfect to use as a planter in my backyard for some veggies. I have also planted some bell peppers. 

The weather here has been all over the place. Spring just can't seem to make up it's mind if it wants to arrive or not. It would be nice for it to arrive so I can start planting stuff outside, but looks like I have to wait just a little while longer. I have been keeping busy though. 

Finally managed to upload a couple of my recent projects to Cutoutandkeep.com, one of my favourite sites for crafty things. If you want to check them out click the links below and head on over for tutorials. Both were pretty easy and fun to make. I am itching to make more. Possibly for gifts or to sell. I have a dream to one day get organized enough to open an Etsy Shop of my very own. At the moment though it has to wait. 

Mini Top Hat

DIY Rune Stones

Here is a pic of me wearing my mini top hat before heading out to the birthday/St. Patrick's Day party. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I will definitely change some things with the next one I make. Possibly making it out of fabric instead of foam. The possibilities with these little darlings, are endless. I did win a sash and button for my outfit which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

I will be adding some more things soon, endlessly trying to get organized and get things done. Sometimes I think it would be awesome to have a fairy godmother to take care of things for me. Or a Mad Hatter. Oooo I think that might be my next hat. Maybe to wear to a tea party, perhaps? 

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend. Still hoping for Spring to arrive. 

Hugs and Smoochies 

<3 Arawynn <3 

Spring is on it's way...

...in the Madhouse at least. 

Last year I started my seeds way too late and I didn't get the most out of them so this year I decided to start them early. I have read that planting seeds during the New Moon is beneficial, being it is a new beginning of the moon's cycle and all. So I gathered all my supplies and a playing in the soil-less medium, I went a sowing. 

I decided to give herbs a try. I have been studying home remedies and wanted to try growing what I needed myself instead of buying it from a store. What can I say, I like inexpensive and diying my way through life. 

I have planted Catnip, Rosemary, Sage, Sweet Basil, Peppermint, Lavender, Chamomile, Apples, Bell Peppers, and Cat Grass and I have signs of life. It is amazing you can plant something so small and it grows into something so beautiful with just a little water, sun and love. 

With the snow we have been getting here, as of late, it is nice to look at my windowsill and see signs of greenery budding through the soil showing that Spring is on it's way.

So far pretty much all my seeds have started to show. I find my Chamomile and Sage have been doing the best, so far and I get so excited to see them grow. "The teen" thinks I have lost my mind, and maybe I have but I am mothering over these little seedlings and looking for ways to protect them when I transplant some of them outside. 

I have purchased some chicken wire from the dollar store as well as some gutter mesh in the hopes to rig up some sort of protection cage that won't keep light from getting to the plants but will protect them from the multitude of squirrels and rabbits I have roaming my backyard through out the year. Many a seedling have been lost to these little creatures much to my frustration. I will post pictures of that project when it comes time to actually construct it. For now I will post a few photos I have snapped of my little darlings. 

Chamomile

Peppermint

Sweet Basil

Chamomile (different angle)

Lavender 

Cat Grass

Lavender (different angle) 

Sage and Lavender

Garlic. 

As you can see I use egg cartons to start my seeds in. I really love how it doesn't cost anything and you can plant them straight into the ground if you wish. I look to reuse a lot of different containers for planting to save money and reuse. As my little darlings grow I will share more photos of the stages until they are outside. I am planning on keeping some in containers in the house just in case the squirrels manage to get their little claws into the ones I plant outside. 

Before anyone freaks out I know Chamomile is dangerous for Cats so those will be moved into "the teen's" bedroom so they are not available for my little furbaby to munch on (since he keeps his door shut at all times to lessen the cat hair exposure to his room), until I can transfer it outside. For the most part she doesn't touch any of my plants. She doesn't even seem interested in the cat grass I planted specifically for her. 

Hugs and Smoochies and Happy Planting 

<3 Arawynn <3

Winter Moon....

I was going through my photos tonight and came across one that I wanted to share. I took this back on January 2 and just never got around to posting it. 

Winter Moon

I love the look of snow on bare branches in the winter. The moon always look so majestic though the same branches. Not my greatest shot of the moon but I still love the effect. Spring is on it's way so there won't be many more days to enjoy the beauty winter can bring . Enjoy while you can. 

Hugs and Smoochies 

<3 Arawynn <3 

A Stencilling We Will Go....

"The Teen" is really into gaming and geekery and being on a pretty tight budget this past Christmas I was trying to come up with some cool gift ideas for him. I have seen all these wonderful licensed tees for things he is interested in but the price tag for said tees are way out of my price range so I turned to the net and found some different sites on making your own t-shirts. Didn't look too hard to do and I am a fairly crafty person. I needed to buy some supplies but I was able to make three t-shirts and a hoodie for the price of 1-2 of the licensed tees in the stores. 

I made stencils by printing some pics off the internet and tracing them on plastic sheets I had floating around the house. Using a craft knife I cut out all the pieces that I wanted to have paint on the tees and after cramping my hand, more than a few times while cutting them all out, I started to paint. 

I went the fabric medium for acrylic paint route then purchasing straight fabric paint. More variety that way. Fabric paint doesn't seem to have much selection compared to acrylic paint. I made use of coupons when buying craft supplies with helped out greatly with the cost. 

It took me about 2 days total to complete all 4 items. I had to wash all the items prior to stencilling, then stencilling time, drying time and rewashing, so definitely consider this if making more than one at a time. I made them while watching Christmas movies so the time went pretty quickly. I had a blast once I got into it. I had to send "the teen" off to his Dad's to make sure I wouldn't be interrupted while I was making them. Nothing worse than trying to make something for someone and them walking in on you when you have everything out. 

This is what I ended up with: 

Creeper from Minecraft

Assassin's Creed shirt. I made two stencils for this, this one is my fave one.

Doctor Who Logo

The teen giving his best Ezio impression while wearing his Assassin's Creed Hoodie

I am pretty proud of the results. "The teen" was pretty impressed with all of them. Heard a lot of "Sweet" and "Cool" when he was opening them. Best part is they are made with love which you just don't get from shirts bought in a store. 

Downside to this is that now I want to stencil everything I own. This could be trouble *lol* 

Happy stencilling and of course Hugs and Smoochies.

<3 Arawynn <3

365 Bust....

In fitting Madhouse style my 365 photo project has failed again. I just haven't had the urge to touch my camera lately. Nothing really has inspired me to take photos lately and I don't want to just take pics for the sake of taking pics since all that seems to do is leave me feeling unhappy about my photos. I still carry my camera on me in case I see something that is photo worthy. Maybe I will come out of this photo dry spell I am having. It can happen right? 

To be honest I am really struggling with motivation lately. I have all these ideas and things I want to do but just can't find the time, motivation or finances in order to set them in motion. It is quite discouraging, in fact. 

I have described myself as Tinker Bell on crack to several of my friends and that is pretty much what I have been lately. Nothing seems to hold my attention for long. I am up, I am down, I am doing spirals and twists and turns in every aspect of my life it seems. I really need to focus and try to find some balance before I totally crash and burn. 

Of course every time I think of the words crash and burn together I picture the scene from Hackers and want to be looking as hot as Angelina Jolie was in that movie and swimming with a hot guy. Love that movie gotta watch that again soon. 

There is no real theme to this post other than to let you all know I am still alive and kicking, albeit feeling very much like Tinker Bell on crack. I hopefully will have time soon to get some photos of the shirts I made "the teen" for Christmas. I am very proud of them and totally wanting to stencil everything now. 

Going to go and snuggle up under five blankets right now to try and get some sleep in this ridiculous cold we have been hit with here. Mother Nature certainly has been frosty lately. Maybe she needs a little attention? 

Hugs and Smoochies

<3 Arawynn 

Happy New Year

I am a day late in posting this. Lost track of time. Typical of life in the madhouse. 

I have decided to attempt the 365 day project again this year. Hopefully I can keep it going for longer, hopefully the entire year this time :)

Was an interesting year in the Madhouse. Lots of ups and downs, lots of mistakes and lessons learned. I wouldn't take back any of it. Everything shapes me into the person I am and the person I am to become. Hope 2013 is a great one for all of you. Looking forward to what it has to teach me. 

I will leave you with my photo and a quote from someone I admire. 

Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.

~ Marilyn Monroe 

Hugs and Smoochies

<3 Arawynn <3 

Rose Petal Candle Holder

Like so many others I seem to be addicted to Pinterest. I love things that I can do where I don't have a mess of papers lying around and that get misplaced. Pinterest is amazing for organizing stuff and being able to find it again. I wanted to actually make some stuff I have come across on Pinterest and I thought I would give this a try. 

Being the crafty (read frugal) person I am I wanted to use things I already had on hand instead of purchasing new items just to make it. I still have thousands of red rose petals left over from when I got married seven years ago (wow has it been that long) and a glass vase that I didn't mind destroying remodelling. So I grabbed my petals, vase and my trusty glue gun and set to work. I ended up with this 

I kind of like how it turned out. I am a sucker for red and for using stuff on hand it cost me absolutely zip so that is a BIG happy dance moment for me. 

I have other projects in the works and I will be sharing them soon, right now I am off to get breakfast because I am a hungry girl. Happy Sunday all. 

Hugs and Smoochies

Arawynn <3