The Bird's Papaya: February 2012

Monday, February 27, 2012

With great anticipation...

This week has been crazy...so I'll try and recap for you before the rest of the week becomes a ridiculous whirlwind of puppy love.

Yes....

PUPPY.

LOVE.

Settle in, it's a long story...but a good one!

Last fall, we said goodbye to my nearly 15 year old Shih-tzu x Maltese dog, Panda.

I probably kept her living a year past her due.

At the end, she was almost completely blind, deaf and has little control over her bladder.

To say the least, she was a mess.

But saying goodbye? well, I was a mess.

I got her when I was 12 years old.

She's been with me through my teen years, getting married, and having 3 kids.

I had prayed that when the decision needed to be made, I would know it, and thankfully that prayer was answered when I was bathing her one day and felt her body, and how it was all skin & bones.

She wasn't happy.

She was likely in pain.

She was scared.

I was holding onto her, and I think she was ready to say goodbye.

So we said it.

I told myself I could never ever do that again.

Then we watched Marley & Me the next week when it came on TV.

Salt on the wound, I know.

But somehow it helped. At the end of the movie, when Josh Grogan (Owen Wilson) talks about dogs and their unconditional love for "man" regardless of what car you drive, what house you live in, what job you have. I felt renewed. I also felt closure that the canine-human relationship is meant to be a shorter one. Panda was about 102 years old in dog years. Can I really ask for any more?

After watching Marley & Me...Jordan and I got talking.

Desires began bubbling up again to "one day" have a dog.

One day I was just standing in the kitchen, bawling over a memory of Panda and Jordan said "we're dog people! we need a dog!"

I wasn't there yet.

Dogs (especially puppies) are work.

Jordan wanted a "real" dog...one that he can run with and not have as "fluffy furniture" (Panda was 5lbs and not at all active).

Somehow, at some point Jordan started talking about Beagles.

Again, I wasn't there yet.

Then last week (on Family Day for us Canadians, also known as President's Day for you Americanos) we headed to the states for a day of shopping and stopped in a pet store and sure enough, there was a little 8 week old beagle.

Oh my gosh.

How did I not know?

THEY ARE FREAKING CUTE!

(danger, Sarah, danger!)

Then we took him out and played with him.

(alright it's all over now...)

Then they told us he was $1300.

(SCREEEEEECH. halt. stop. not happening.)

We came home, all puppy loved up, and I did what I always do...

OBSESS.

Kijiji, Craigslist, breeders, all of it.

I was looking high & low for a beagle puppy.

Then, my heart strings pulled to wanted a rescue dog...so I found a list of shelters in our area and began looking through their dogs.

About the 3rd shelter down in the list, I found a litter of 3 month old beagles.

RESCUE. BEAGLE. PUPPIES.

Is this actually happening?

We had to wait until Saturday to get to the shelter bc they had funny hours.

The puppies caregiver immediately wanted to pair us up with one of the pups,

shelter-named Winston.

When he came out I looked at Jordan and said "I'm going to cry, I'm going to cry" to which he said "don't cry! It's a puppy!".

He was soooo cute. The perfect combination of chunky and droopy ears.

I picked him up like a baby and he poked his nose into mine.

It was over. I was in love.

Jordan & our pup

(phone photo that does NO justice to his extreme cuteness in person)

I didn't think we even needed to see the others...but Jordan encouraged me to.

So we did...they were incredibly sweet, but not as comfortable with our busy, loud, affectionate family.

Back to "Winston".

We applied to adopt him.

We were to hear back TODAY on whether we were approved.

At around 9am this morning, we got the call.

He was ours.

Today we got the last supplies to bring him home.

We pick him up tomorrow.

Prepare yourself to be inundated with a plethora of beagle puppy photos in upcoming posts.

EEEEE!!!!!!!!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Spring yourself onto my sidebar! {March Sponsorship}

Another month is fast approaching.

GOLLY GEE (yeah I said it) I am excited for Spring.

I'm still knee-deep in snow here.

over. it.

February has brought some FANTASTIC shops & blogs to my sidebar. I

have never been so happy to look at that grouping of buttons.

With March quickly coming, now is the time to book your March sponsorship spot.

If you decide to book a spot, you'll be featured in a March Sponsorship Lineup where you will give a blurb about your shop/blog/you and a photo of yourself to give a little peek into the minds and hearts behind each button on the sidebar.

The LARGE AD is sold out for March - but I only sell ONE per month, so April is the next available and pre-booking for it is open :)

Go here for all the info & stats and booking.

ALWAYS open to emails and inquiries.

Thanks lovelies!!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Fabric Rolled Rosettes {a tutorial}

For oh-so-long I've been dying to make rolled rosettes like you see on wreaths and headbands. I've done the kind that you put on felt, but not a felt free style.

I scoured blogs, pinterest and more and came out with about a dozen different tutorials. So I took an afternoon, just me, my fabric scraps and my glue gun and went to try them out.

I came out with a small wealth of knowledge on making these (and a few burns) and got my 20 minute process down to about 5 minutes, thankfully.

All in all, I learned that you kinda have to keep ROLLING even if it looks WONKY.

I put together a tutorial for you all, because maybe you're just like me, and have been struggling to get these to look "right".

Here's a photo step-by-step:

1: Cut a strip of fabric approx 1" wide and at least 12" long (the longer the strip, the bigger the rosette!)

2: Fold in half, right sides out.

3: Tie a knot at the end. This is the bud of your rosette.

*bear with me...I switched fabric halfway through this tutorial!*

4: Roll your folded fabric around the knot/bud a couple times,

and secure with hot glue.

5: Now you can begin folding/twisting. Twist TOWARDS the center. Secure with hot glue after a twist. Do folds/twists about every 1/2"-1" of fabric...otherwise it will be one big twist and lose it's petal-look effect.

6: Continue rolling, folding, twisting, gluing.

6: This is the point where it all looks WONKY and wrong. Keep going!

7: When you reach the end of your rosette rolling, folding, twisting, gluing...leave a short tail.

8: fold the tail down on the back and secure with hot glue.

Should the center of your rosette be sunken in, simply push up the center from the back, and it should pop up just fine.

Make MANY...

MANY more.

RECAP!

Cut a strip of fabric 1" wide and at least 12" long (mine was about 24" long)
Fold in half.
Tie a knot.
Roll fabric flat around the knot a few times, securing with hot glue every couple rolls.
Begin folding the fabric TOWARDS the rosette, securing with hot glue every couple rolls.
Keep rolling, folding, twisting, gluing.
When it looks weird, keep going.
Leave a short tail at the end of the rosette.
Glue the tail onto the back.
If the center is sunken, push it up from the back.
MAKE MORE!

These are great for wreaths, headbands, and other craft/home embellishments.

Hope this helped you in learning how to make these.

I have MAD respect for those who make these for their handmade shops.

They are no simple task. They DO take time, but it gets easier.

Pin It

Monday, February 13, 2012

Thrifted Frame Jewelry Display

Ever notice the plethora of empty frames in thrift stores?

I always look through them and grab up ones that suit my fancy..problem is they usually sit in storage waiting for something to be done with them...something about me being anti-committal when it comes to actually following through with a project idea/plan

(what if I find a better idea on Pinterest? ahhh!).

Remember how long it took me to complete the mirror-to-chalkboard project? yeeeaaahhh.

Kinda a problem.

There really are TONS of ideas for empty frames.

I love using a big one I found (and spray painted) for my coffee filter wreath.

This little metal, chippy frame I found for $1 about a year ago.

Originally I had planned to make some sort of hair clip holder for the girls, but decided I needed a quick easy way to display my jewelry. Now, this isn't my personal collection, but some shop stuff (some sneak peeks included of new earrings to come!)

All that I did was use a foam core board (found at the dollar store) and cut it down to fit. It fit perfectly and doesn't budge so no glue was required.

But, depending on your frame/foam core, you may need some glue :)