Glam Up Fido's Gear

To the dog lovers out there:

Have you ever said to your dog "wanna go for a walk," only to realize you have no idea where the leash is and the poor dog is left ferociously wagging his tail?  This happens to me all too frequently.  My dog's leashes seem to get tossed on the entry table, or on a coat rack buried with cold weather gear, or on our laundry room counter that serves as our perpetual catchall.  So, in the spirit of organization, I started making little personalized plaques that can hang fido's leash.  Problem solved!

When my student recently brought home a new puppy, I thought they might enjoy this little plaque. Here it is:

Also in the spirit of organization, I picked up a container to store my pup's food.  I had been using a plastic container, but it kept cracking and I was getting tired of picking up little food pellets all the time. The product is actually sold in the trash can section of Ikea, but I think it works nicely for this purpose...the food stays in the container and it stays fresh.  Double win!  Naturally, I spruced it up just a bit:

ABC...Cute Letters Please!

I love, love, love, decorated letters!  I think they are so cute and they can really add some color to a room.  Here's a pic of the letters I made for Miss O's room:

These were fun to make...and easy too!  Scroll down for a tutorial.

We painted the walls a muted gray so that we could accessorize her room with lots of color.  We have stuck with pink, green, and white for the most part and I like the way the room is shaping up.  And check out the flower lamps that I found at IKEA...absolutely perfect!

Tutorial:

If you want to create your own project, these letters are really easy to make.  Plus, they are pretty cheap!

Supplies:

• Large chipboard letters (you could use wood, but chipboard is generally cheaper.  It is also lighter and is easier to hang with the ribbon).
• Scrapbook paper
• Mod podge (pick up the kind that is specifically made for paper - you'll be glad you did!)
• Sponge brush for applying the mod podge 
• Embellishments (I kept mine simple, but you might try things like buttons, flowers, ribbon, etc.)
• Ribbon for hanging your letters
• Staple Gun

Step 1:  Trace the letters onto scrapbook paper and cut them out.
Step 2.  Brush your mod podge onto the letter directly and set your paper on the chipboard (you'll need to move quickly).  Be careful not to load the chipboard with too much of the liquid adhesive or you'll end up with a soupy piece of paper.
Step 3:  Allow your adhesive to dry (fully!).  You can seal it with another layer of mod podge, but I skipped this step and so far my letters are still looking sharp.
Step 4:  Measure out the ribbon for each letter and start stapling it to the back of the letter.
Step 5:  Hang your letters!  You might have to get creative depending on the weight of the letter.  In my case, I had an issue with the "L."  It wanted to slope and I had to put an extra nail in the wall to hold it up.

See?  Easy peasy!

Race Medals

If you are a runner, you most likely have a few too many homeless race medals and/or bibs.  Maybe they have been tossed in a drawer, or maybe they continually do the "desk shuffle," as you debate the perfect way to display them.  Since my husband seems to have formed a new habit, and loves running half marathons, we had the same problem with his race medals.  He wanted a way to display them that wasn't lame or cheesy, so I came up with a more manly craft.  It lacks a little luster for my taste, but it also matches the stain of other pieces in the room and looks good in the space.

I stained the wood and started measuring to evenly distribute the hooks

First hook placed!  Yes, this involved some drilling...
I did it without the hubby's help!  

4 hooks for the 4 marathons

Here's the final product.  If I had my way, I would have added a saying -
maybe "runner," or "marathons."  But, after all, they aren't my medals!

Now my husband can look at them everyday and continue to be inspired to keep on runnin'.  We will keep adding more hooks for every new marathon.  I think it will be a nice tradition!  

Diapers can be Cute!

Okay mommies and soon-to-be mommies - someone needs to have a baby shower or a gender reveal party so that I can print these invites.  Of course I can't wait to help you celebrate your expanding family, but my crafting crazy is a little overwhelming right now, so get on it!  

Diaper Invite/Card

As for the super duper cute card, I made it with the help of (yep, you guessed it) my silhouette cameo.  It was SO fun!  And really addicting....

So, for those friends of mine that are already preggo, watch out, I'll be nagging you to have a party incessantly.  And for those of you that haven't had your first yet, we will be having several "let's talk about your future" convos soon.  You have been warned!  

Wedding Bliss Isn't Amiss

Just last weekend my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary!  We had a blast.  To start, we traveled to the town where we tied the knot...Tulsa, OK.  We hit many of the spots that are special to us and had a great trip down (a not too distant) memory lane.

The weather was gorgeous so we grabbed a drink at a restaurant alongside the Arkansas River.  And by the way, we must truly be getting rain in Oklahoma, because I couldn't begin to see the bottom.  I can't remember the last time that it actually lived up to its name -"River!"

Downtown Tulsa with a full Arkansas River.  Pretty eh?
Photo from virtualtourist.com

We spent the rest of the day lounging at our favorite shopping mall, Utica Square, and had a lovely dinner at Juniper.  We topped off the day at one of my new fav venues, Guthrie on the Green, and caught some great bands playing at the Tulsa Music Festival.

Guthrie on the Green
Photo from inhabitant.com

And for the grand finale....check out the gift that I received for our anniversary....

Photo 1:  Sorry the picture is a bit wonky...
that's the best I could do with an iPad.  

Photo 2

For those of you that might not know this scene, this a section of the gardens at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa.  The hubby and I got married there and it is just incredibly GORGEOUS!  It is hands down my favorite place in Oklahoma and quite possibly my favorite place in the US.  My husband had a picture of our wedding site turned into an oil on canvas.  Isn't that the best?

So here's to one year of marriage and many more to come!

Welcome Miss Heidi and Miss Annelise

Last Valentines Day my sister gave birth to two amazing girls, Heidi and Annelise.  These little sweethearts have two of the greatest parents in the world and my sister, a first time mom, went all out on their nursery.

They already had the wood beams so a nature themed nursery was fitting

I wanted to make something for the room, but given the gorgeous mural and the limited real estate, my piece needed to be compact.  Here's what I came up with:

Instead of spelling out their entire names I thought I'd keep it short and emphasize their first initials.  Unfortunately, I had to choose between a wreath that spelled out AH or HA (this didn't occur to me until I was too involved in the project - oops!).  I decided to embrace HA...hopefully they will laugh at it someday!  Aside from this, I love the way it turned out!  

Studio 155

On April 28th, the legendary cellist, Janos Starker, passed away.  He made such an incredible impact on this world and he will be missed and remembered by thousands.  So many of us are eternally grateful for the gifts he shared as a player, as a teacher, and as a mentor.  I was deeply upset to hear of his passing, and I began writing as I reflected back on my studies with Mr. Starker.  Below is an article that I wrote on April 30th.  It will be published in the upcoming edition of the American Suzuki Journal.

Studio 155:  Remembering Janos Starker, the Teacher.

Some years ago, I found myself standing awkwardly outside of Janos Starker’s studio, room 155, at Indiana University.  Completely awestruck and intimidated by this musical powerhouse, I nervously pressed my ear to the door.  It was the start of Mr. Starker’s teaching day, so I had anticipated that he’d be working with a student and I could easily slip in to observe the lesson.  When I didn’t hear anything, I felt a wave of anxiety as I realized that he could come around the corner any second and see me compromised with my head glued to his door.  I quickly stood back and opened the door.  Much to my surprise, his student had not arrived yet and I found myself alone with the legendary, larger-than-life Janos Starker!  While Mr. Starker was actually quite personable and funny – hysterical, really – I couldn’t think of a harder task than making small talk with someone I revered and respected so much.   In my mind, he was the authority on cello, and he may as well have been some kind of demigod.  I managed to muster up a meek “hello,” and I quickly found a seat.  We were alone for a second or two as he sorted mail from his swivel armchair, and in that moment, I remember looking at a picture of David Popper that hung on the mustard-colored wall.  I thought of Starker’s incredible CD, Romantic Cello Favorites: A Tribute to Cellist/Composer David Popper, and as I was in the middle of promising myself I’d start practicing more, his student arrived. 

For those of us lucky enough to have a lesson or several lessons in room 155, we have countless memories that we hold dear to our hearts.  For many of us, Mr. Starker was a teacher first and a player second.  Of course we will never forget his celebrated Grammy Award-winning recordings or his hauntingly inspirational performances, but as he himself stated in a 2006 interview for Strings: “No matter how great the ovation is after a concert, the people eventually sit down and stop applauding. But if you teach, you may affect generations.”  Fueled by his commitment to teaching, Mr. Starker taught at Indiana University for more than 50 years, instructing hundreds of young cellists.  His work has had a ripple effect, as his students have themselves become successful teachers who spread Starker-inspired principles and philosophies of cello playing to their own students.   Surely all of us in the music world are connected to Mr. Starker with far fewer than the proverbial six degrees of separation. 

There was something special about Mr. Starker’s daily routine as a professor at Indiana University.  At 12:30 on any given weekday, he would come into his office, hang his jacket on the coat rack, and make his way over to his desk, checking to see who had been penciled in as his afternoon “victims:” a nickname he affectionately gave his students.  He’d then proceed to teach three students over the course of the afternoon, and we would gobble up every word and suggestion as fast as our mortal brains could digest his teaching.  At the end of his day, in a collegial and loving spirit, Mr. Starker would usually visit with his cello colleagues.  He’d say hello to Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Emilio Colon, just a few doors down, and then make his way over to see Helga Winold in Merrill Hall. 

I think part of the specialness of this routine rested on Starker’s open-studio policy, and the accessibility it provided students.  Cellists – in fact, any IU student – knew that for three hours, five days a week, we could always learn from a truly exceptional player and teacher.  Starker’s open-studio policy followed a master-class model in that the student would prepare and play through their entire piece before he gave any feedback.  Some days there might just be one or two other students in a lesson, but that was rare.  More likely, there would be a small crowd sitting just a few feet from your “hot seat” as you “entertained” the room.  

In this respect, Mr. Starker’s teaching philosophy was pivotal in fashioning a very unique environment.  He, alongside his colleagues, Helga Winold, Tsuyohsi Tsutsumi, and Emilio Colon, created a place unlike anywhere else in the world.  They encouraged collaborative learning, in which studying with multiple cello teachers was not only tolerated, it was encouraged!  In fact, over the course of my two degrees, I had the fortunate opportunity to study with all four of these exceptional minds.

While there are many facets of Mr. Starker’s teaching I appreciate, one of the unique challenges I faced was to meet his expectation of bringing a new piece to every lesson. I believe this particular expectation stemmed from a number of goals, one being his desire to foster experimentation.  Mr. Starker encouraged his students to learn various techniques in the repertoire and then discover how they could be applied in different scenarios.  While this fast-paced and high-pressured approach proved to be difficult at times, I am confident that it exponentially benefitted my work as a student and continues to help me as a professional today.  

Like so many of his other pupils, I think of Mr. Starker daily.  Often I hear his voice echoing phrases that he repeated during lessons: “Be the beat.” “Not at the frog.” “Create excitement, don’t get excited.”  I will carry these reminders as well as his larger pedagogical ideas with me for the rest of my teaching days.  As a teacher, I cherish the high standard he set for his students, and in keeping with the goals set forth in studio 155, I will work to create the same kind of drive and ambition in my own studio. It is impossible to acknowledge everything that Mr. Starker did for me as an individual, and it’s even more of a challenge to recognize the indispensable impact he had on the music world.  While there are several stories of Starker’s brash or brazen demeanor, I knew a teacher who was truthful, brilliant, humble, and warm.  I knew a man who wanted to make a difference and leave the world a better place.  And that is exactly what he did.   Thank you, Mr. Starker.

Mother's Day Project

It has been about 4 weeks since the end of the semester, but extra work has kept me busy, so I'd say I'm on week one of summer "vacation."  I've been busy practicing cello and playing my favorite role, "stay at home mom" to my lil' babe.  Of course there has been some crafting too (not as much as I might like, but it's still early.....).

I created my first summer project to celebrate the wonderful grandmothers that Olivia has in her life.  I made my mother and mother-in-law these signs for Mother's Day.

I was pretty happy with the way that they turned out!  It was definitely the hardest project I've undertaken so far, but that's all part of the fun.  I started with a plain plaque from Hobby Lobby and gave it a couple of coats of spray paint.  I created the letters out of vinyl with my new baby, my silhouette machine.  Printed the photos at Target and, boom, DONE!   It may not have been totally that seamless (there was lots of measuring, remeasuring, and measuring again) but I'll spare you the nitty grit...On to the next!

Spring Break Crafts

Alright crafty crafters, once we finished the desk, I finally started on the spring break crafting.  I jumped in by learning about the new Silhouette machine that I got for my birthday (2 months earlier!).

Silhouette Cameo Machine

I can't believe I waited so long to experiment with what is now, my new found love!  Let me tell you, this thing ROCKS!  I've already created canvas projects, vinyl wall art, and paper crafts with this little puppy.

The first vinyl project I did was super easy.  I wanted something to delineate the space that I created for my little lady's artwork, so I cut three simple letters that spell "ART." Then I slapped them right on the wall in two seconds flat.  Pretty cool!

As for the artwork, the hubby and I concocted a little hanging display area that allows us to showcase Miss O's latest works and let's us switch them out easily.  I first got this idea when were at IKEA, but  the IKEA price was something like $20.  We made this one for $0 since we already had the wire and the wall screws.  Win!


Next up?  A little felt board for the peanut....

Just about every week Olivia goes to the library for a cute little class called "lapsit."  Depending on the size of the class it can be less cute, and more chaotic, but it's still a great experience.  Anyway, the teacher uses a felt board to encourage the kiddos to learn their colors.  O is usually very intrigued by this, so I thought it would be fun to create a board that we could use at home.  Here is a look at the final product:

I decided I'd go with a weather theme and use the board as a means to talk about the (frequently changing) Oklahoma weather.  Good in theory, but so far Miss O is giving it the "cold" shoulder.

If you are interested, making this board is really simple.  You'll need:

• 1/2 Yard of felt
• 1 16x20 canvas board or sturdy cardboard
• Staple Gun
• Scissors 
• Colored felt to cut out shapes and designs

Cover your board with the felt, wrap the felt around the edges, staple to the board, and cut off the excess.  Done!

Ikea Desk Upcylced

As I mentioned....I was a crafting MANIAC over my spring break.  But, before I could get started, I needed a place for my craftin' mess.  Suffice to say, our office was no longer going to cut it.  So, with a little (or actually ALOT) of help from my skilled hubby, we upcycled an old ikea table that was in our garage and made it a totally workable craft table in no time.  Here are the pics from the project:

My handsome husband hard at work!  

Just needs a couple coats of paint now!

Drying...almost there!

Done!  Isn't it pretty?!

This is the start of my craft space.  It still needs some sprucing up, but I'm excited!

Here we go!

Hi All,

I'm new to the blogosphere, and I'm here to share my passions with you....cello, crafting, and of course my number one love: my family!  I am a cellist and music professor by day (and night) and a mom to a sweetie pie named Olivia.  Like every other cool craftin' chick, I'm addicted to craft blogs and Pinterest.  Would you expect anything else?  I have a crazy busy schedule and have to sneak this addiction in...usually in the middle of the night.  My husband will be the first one to agree...too many times he will roll over at 2 a.m. and I'll be under the covers with my iPad, checking out that DIY that inevitably, I HAVE to do TOMORROW.

I am completely in love with all facets of my life, but am still holding out for that clone so that I can be all the more committed to each addiction.  My job is probably just about the best job in the world for me personally.  Of course there are challenges, but I LOVE teaching, and I love music.  I started taking music lessons (piano) when I was five and started cello in public school at eight.  I went to school for about a billion years, because any musician will tell you, that's just what you have to do.  Eventually I found a job and could stop going to school...bonus!  I moved myself to Oklahoma to take the job, found myself a fabulous Okie (born and raised!), and now we have a beautiful daughter.

So, that's me.  Now let's get to the good stuff.  I crammed in tons of crafting over spring break and I can't wait to share.  One more thing I should add...I am a total newbie crafter.  Serious newbie, but I'm bound and determined to learn (in the middle of the night, of course!).  Here we go!