My Viking

For Christmas this year I commissioned my sweet and ever-so-talented friend +Lisa Gullion 

to make me a gift for my husband.  

He is Swedish and very proud of it, 

So I had her make a viking helmet for him and a detachable Viking beard

So, I just wanted to show off some pics of my amazing friend's work

and how cute my husband looks in it.

Here he is fluffing it out so Linda and I can take pictures
Maggie seems to like it!

Starting the New Year with a Month about Me

While going through my blog reel

{and realizing how VERY behind I am on reading all my faves}

I came across this post from Western Warmth this morning about Writing Prompts.

She snagged it from ScribeTime which is a cool website that helps you with Journal writing and the like.

Anyone who also blogs knows as well as well as I do that sometimes, 

believe it or not 

you just don't really have anything to say...

So I will be starting this About Me journey this next month or so,  

And I would LOVE it if any of you would like to join in on the fun!

Submit a link in the comments and I will add it to the post!  if we get enough I may do a link party for it.

I am really excited about this and it will also be a great way to start off the New Year I think!  

So here is the List:

A Girl and her Giant Dog

My husband works swing shift, so he is always switching days to nights and back

It's exhausting.  

So, sometimes the kids and dog can only stand so much quiet time in our small little house and we have to get outside and release some serious wiggles!

Sweet Baby Owl Purse & Money

Gracie, my 3 year-old daughter,

loves playing with little bags and purses

So I decided I would make her one for Christmas.

After a lot of looking I found a really sweet pattern 

here 

Custom Keyboard Kitty "Ivy"

Recently I received a message in my Etsy shop from a really sweet lady asking if I would consider doing a custom Lackadaisicat (Keyboard Kitty).

{{Honestly, I felt like a dope that I hadn't thought of it before she asked!}}  

Why I'm a Bad Blogger...

Bad Bad Bad Blogger!!!

I know, I have been officially crappy at this these past few weeks.  

I am thoroughly sorry! 

Let me give you a Quick run down of what's been up over here:

Cute-Looking Chaos - Photographing the Kids and Dog

Let me just say that I am the WORST holiday procrastinator ever....

I CONSISTENTLY:

-wait until the morning of Valentine's day to get Tristan's valentines

-wait until the Saturday before Easter to get the stuff for Easter baskets

-wait until a few days before Halloween to get costumes

-And wait until like the 20th of December to think to send out Christmas cards.

It never fails!

Time just gets away from me so quickly.

So this year I decided I was going to take a stand against....

well..... myself. 

I had the idea to take the kids out to a cotton field and take some nice Christmasy looking photos because the cotton looks like snow when you look out across it.

I thought I could shop them a little and make our own Christmas cards 

Well, I got the pics taken, I guess we will see how the rest goes....

*****

Bunny couldn't stop playing with the cotton. 

Handmade Scrap Buster Advent Calendar

Last year I had a lot more time on my hands than I do now

And I got ambitious and decided I should make my own Advent Calendar!

I am all about traditions, and my husband and I are always looking to start new ones

I had received LOADS of my Grandmother's old fabrics including a whole tub of Christmas fabrics!

And I was chomping at the bit to use them!

I am so proud of this project

It was a pretty quick one too!

Waiting on a Train...

While on our last trip out of town to visit my Grandmother

 our last stop was having dinner with my husband's best friend.

Of course as luck would have it we get stopped by a train when we are already running late....

15% Savings in TheSepiaPuppy Etsy Shop!

Yesterday while i was cooking my little heart out and watching the Parade

I saw some ads for "black friday" sales 

And thought, why not do a little something Similar??

So on account of:

Black Friday

Small Business Saturday

& Cyber Monday

I am giving you all the gift of savings this long weekend!

I will be offering 15% off ANYTHING in my Etsy Shop!

All you need is this coupon Code: SEPIASALE

The sale goes from right this very second until Monday night @ 11:59 pm

So head on over and get some Shopping done!  

As usual, Love you all!

Tristan and Gracie's Dragon Party

So the day finally arrived for Tristan and Gracie's 8th and 3rd birthdays respectively.

I can hardly believe they are getting so big!

(See how I made these cakes here)

We rented a HUGE 20 ft inflatable double slide

We were able to get some good playing done on it before all the kids arrived

Fearsome Dragon Cakes

Ya'll may remember me saying in my Tristan's jar cupcakes post that we were planning a party for the kids' birthdays on Saturday the 17th. 

We decided a while back we were gonna make this a dragon themed party because that's something they are both really into.  

I searched the world of pinterest and found a really awesome tutorial to make a dragon cake!

I altered it just a tad to make it fit my cake plate and I think they turned out fantastic!

so, here we go.... a SERIOUS undertaking...

Tristan's Birthday Jar Cakes

Yesterday was my Son's 8th Birthday

And since we are having a big Party this weekend 

We didn't do the whole shebang 

But my husband suggested we at least do cupcakes or something like that and so i decided to make the rainbow jar cakes you see all over pinterest.

I want ed it to be a "dry run" in terms of coloring the batter because I wanted to do rainbow cakes for the party Saturday...

Colored batter.  

I freaking love gel food coloring btw 

Sick Babies

There are few things more terrible than having to deal with a stomach bug.

Whether it's yourself or your kids, it's just plain terrible.

I personally would rather die than have the stomach flu.

just yuck.

Well last week Gracie had a stomach bug.  

And we didn't know it until it happened all over my husband....

Elliott insisted we make a public shame photo of her, lol

{I love these kinds of photos.  You can't help but laugh.}

Inspirations of a Fellow Artist: A Guest Post by Lisa @ Lost Garden Designs

Hi everyone!

  

It is my very great pleasure to introduce to you my very sweet friend Lisa!

She is the person who first inspired me to express myself through blogging, and it has been so fulfilling for me and i surely hope for her for us to kindle this sweet friendship!  

Lisa and I went to high school together and got reacquainted through facebook (as so many do!) and it wasn't long before we couldn't go a day without emailing back and forth and bouncing ideas off one another.

She is so very talented and also inspired me to pick up crocheting.  

She is amazing with a hook and I asked if she would be willing to do a guest post to show off some of her amazing creations, and she happily obliged, 

So, without further ado, here is Lisa!

Adventures in Ooo

I know most of you 

{if you're anything like me}

are totally done with Halloween even though it just happened.

So, bear with me, I'll keep it short!

I made the costumes for my kids this year.  

The prices on the ones we wanted were jacked WAY up for some reason by the time we got around to shopping for them, so i made the decision to make them myself!

This was a pretty big undertaking considering i am also balancing schoolwork and this blog and  trying to maintain the house.

I think they turned out great!  

Mixing it Up a Little

I'm trying to keep it together today

I got on the scale this morning and it's fair to say it hurt my feelings a little bit.  

I gained!  don't ask me how.  It makes no sense at all.  

GRRRR!

Trying to lose weight is freakin' Exhausting!

******

Oktober Brat Rolls

If there was ever something my mother taught me 

it was how to make due with the stuff you had.

She was especially an expert at this when it came to food.  

Growing up in a 10 person family made dinner time.... interesting...

There were plenty of times where my mom would just look in the fridge and the pantry with no plan whatsoever and throw together the most amazing meal.  

those always ended up being the best dinners.

So yesterday afternoon I was all too fed up studying and got busy on planning dinner.

And here is what I threw together:

My Week Off from School

You may or may not already know that I'm going back to school. 

I go to Liberty University Online and I love it!

However, (isn't there always a "however??) I love my off time as much as any other stable-minded person.

Handling Anger

This is one of those little pieces of advice that sounds so simple, 

but in practice can be a bit more difficult.

Loss in Pounds, Gain in Happy!

Great news! 

I am so shocked and happy!  

After so much time of no progress no matter what I did, I had stopped expecting anything to happen.  

So this time I just went with the plan and didn't stress myself!

Booya!

Visiting with Honey

My Grandmother is better than any other.

And I'm sorry...but that's just the truth.

She is super fantastic!  

I have never met someone so strong and faithful in my life, and I probably won't ever again.

I have always felt really close to my grandmother, 

She's is one of those people you just want to be near and listen to intently. 

and thusly she has tons of friends that consider her their family.  

A few years ago she was diagnosed with colon cancer, 

But somehow, just like every other illness she has been through no matter her age she has pulled through it beautifully.  A Miracle from God to say the least.

Mummy Bait

Around Easter I found a really awesome recipe for a chex mix the likes of which I had never seen

It was called "Bunny Bait" {from Life in the Green House}

and it was a huge hit at our house!

So I decided to make a Halloween Version and have Dubbed it

MUMMY BAIT! 

This stuff is crazy good!

Awesome Coca-Cola Pitcher

Ok, So, When my husband and I first got married I wanted a pink kitchen.

I was so excited at the idea of having my own kitchen

..... now, about 6 years later, I am so over the pink.

I still like pink... I'm just kinda... over it.

So little by little i'm trying to ditch some of the old pink stuff and get more of a grown up look working in my kitchen.

HSBA II

Yes Ladies and Gents

It's that time again

Time for some more high speed ballistic art!

For more detailed  info on what exactly we are doing here go to our first HSBA post here!

Crib Bedding Score

I found this AWESOME crib bedding set at our Local thrift store, 

It's made by MiGi which is a partner with  Bananafish

They have the freaking cutest baby bedding

And it can be crazy pricey too!  

So, when I saw this COMPLETE bedding set at our thrift store for only $30

I had to get it.

(and no, I'm not expecting; but if i was I would probably keep it!)

There's a quilt, a knitted blanket, a bed skirt, a bumper, a diaper stacker, 2 fitted sheets, a changing table cover, and a mobile that winds up, spins and plays music!

Stocking Up

There are few things I love more than stocking up on clothes for my kids 

before they need them!

When I was pregnant with Grace I hit the thrift stores like a fiend 

picking up anything and everything insanely adorable that I could find

I am just now running out of clothes for her! 

(she's about to turn 3 but wears 4T most of the time)

So I'm thrifting hard again lately

Here are some recent finds that came no where close to breaking my bank: 

Suitcase Love

When I was growing up we had super old suitcases all over my house.

For decoration, storage, for anything really. 

Old suitcases hold a special place in my heart for sure.

And up until the other day I had no idea just how many i had!  

I even have a very old saxophone case with real velvet inside, that i just adore.  

I'll have to do a whole other post for that one..... 

I also have my little "choo choo bag" where I keep my Camera.

Ok ok.... I'm obsessed...

Halloween Bunting

Let me just say, 

I Love Halloween. 

It is awesome.  It is however a little more fun when you are a kid, 

But then you have your own kids and the fun starts all over again!

Picking out costumes for them and taking mountains of pictures.

here is one of my little boogers from last year @ our church's "trunk or treat":

Adventures in Weight Loss

In January of 2011 my husband and I decided we were bound and determined to lose weight. 

 {source}

We had both gotten pretty heavy 

When i got pregnant with my daughter he had all the sympathy symptoms, it was pitiful. 

(and I know some women would cringe at me feeling bad for him, but, I truly did) 

When i gained weight, he gained it too. 

when i had heart burn, he had it too.

When i had back pain, so did he.

And so on...

"Pumpkin Better Than... Cake" success

Let me start by saying, 

I love finding an awesome recipe on Pinterest 

And then discovering that I already have ALL the ingredients!

That was this case with

Something Swanky's "Pumpkin Better Than Cake"

This looked so gooey and yummy I just had to make it

I had no excuse not to!

I had everything!

Well Almost Everything...

My New Smug Monster

I favorited this shop quite some time ago on Etsy

and I had some money just sitting in my pay pal so i went back through ALL my favorites 

And i saw this little guy

And I thought to myself I just HAD to get him 

not only is he friggin' adorable but

he also matches my new bedroom color scheme!

Wet Sunset

If there's one thing I love 

(besides the obvious of course: my husband my children and pizza)

It's a good rainy day.

I never really liked the rain until we lived in Jacksonville, NC for a few years

It rained super often since we were so close to the coast and 

It got to where i really looked forward to just cozying up inside and listening to the rain...

Another favorite thing of mine about rainy days is when it just pours all day long and starts to clear up just in time for the sunset 

Hoofbeat Plantation

So, on Tuesday we went to the park for a relaxing afternoon and a picnic

(See Things I Learned Yesterday)

On the way home from that park there is a really cool WMA

(wildlife management area)

in Warthen

called Hoofbeat Plantation

it's a deer farm consisting of red and fallow deer

it is VERY cool!

we got to see a bunch from the road 

and as many of you hunting savvy folks might know the rut is on!!

we got to see the bucks chasing does around and calling to one another, it was so cool!

Here are some pics I took from the truck:

This guy was staring straight at us.  

Things I Learned Yesterday

Yesterday I kept Tristan out of school by request of my Dad and his wife, Linda.

(and before I hear anything about it being irresponsible to keep him out when he's not sick, 

let me say that some of my fondest memories are of my mom keeping me out for a "mental health day"

and it never did me any harm.  

in moderation i believe this is a good practice.)

Anywho.

We went to spend the day having a picnic at Hamburg State Park

I had never been there before and it's a really nice park.

Seeing as it was a tuesday the place was completely quiet and empty.

Which was ideal.  

Because Maggie-Moo got to run around free!!

I learned that she was supposed to be on a 6 ft leash in the park

But what the park doesn't know doesn't hurt them.  

Walking Stick

Yesterday morning I went out to our shed to grab a couple of folding chairs to take with us to the park

On the door jam was this little guy

We've seen him around the house/yard several times

how do we know it's the same one you might ask??

Croc Blanket Progress & a Small Project on the Side

Hello Lovelies!

For anyone Interested in my progress on my Croc Stitch Blanket

Here is a slightly up-to-date photo of where I am on it.

(nevermind the poor lighting and weird coloring in this photo, I took it from my phone inside @ night.  

So obviously, the worst possible conditions)

It's to the point now where it makes me hot to work on it

(get your mind out of the gutter!)

This thing is getting so big and heavy!  

When i lay it on my lap to work on it i'm completely covered and I get to sweating!

Vintage Chalk Message Board

I bought this old message board at a local thrift store for a bank-breaking $0.50!

It was pretty cool anyway, but definitely needed a little help.

The chalk board portion was really suffering and the cork part was even worse.

So i taped off around the chalkboard portion and spray painted it with Chalkboard 

Paint

Copper & Bronze Chalkboard Trays

There is a lovely lady named Rosie who bought a quilt from me a few years ago and loved all my craft stuff that i make so she asked if she could sell some of my items in a booth she had in a very nice upscale shop in town here.  

I of course was completely flattered!  

like whoa!  

Anywho, she would always keep an eye out for cool things for me at shows and stuff and found me these awesome trays to make magnet boards out of...

Well it turns out these were NOT magnetic so we had to think of a new plan

Fried Ravioli

I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought it was worth a try. 

I rarely fry anything, but i thought this would be a great idea for leftover ravioli

(when there actually are any)

and so i pinned it to my noms pinboard use later.

Via What's Cookin, Chicago?

Rag Quilt for Violet

Just last year my 90 year-old Grandmother gave me all of her fabrics and craft supplies...

I can't even BEGIN to tell you how much stuff that is!

She requested only one thing of me 

And that was to make a quilt for my cousin Rachel's little girl for Christmas

Her name is Violet (adorable) and my Grandmother had already picked out a bunch of pretty fabrics with purple and lavender and, duh, violet to make it with.

I was so excited about this project!  

The fabrics she picked out were amazing and I couldn't wait to get started!

Here is little Violet with the finished product

A toddler-bed sized quilt made ESPECIALLY for her!

 Grace (my daughter) and Violet are only a month apart!  (Violet is older)

Here's a pic of them together at our Grandmother's 90th Birthday Party

(Sept 29th 2011)

Me and Maggie at the Bus Stop

This is our dog "Magma"

(we call her Maggie)

She is an Irish Wolfhound and believe it or not, she will get bigger than this.

She's only 7 and a half months old and is larger than the average "large" dog

Waheezy fo Sheezy - A Tradition

For those of you who don't know, Waffle House is a southern staple. 

period.

They started in Avondale, GA 

(which is only about 2 hours away from where I live)

It's probably one of my top 3 favorite restaurants of all time. 

Bunny is Ready to Hunt!

My husband likes to deer hunt, and in the particular county we live 

(which as you may already know is VERY "podunk")

Deer season is super long 

(like from the beginning of september to mid january!)

because the white tails over here mate like rabbits!

(meaning there are tons!)

The limit is typically 11 does and 2 bucks....

per hunter....

wow.

it looks like

Bunny is ready for deer season!  

Her Daddy is so proud!

Finished Skull Motif Scarf

Well, I have been working on some Skull Motifs the last couple of days.

I love these and posted some progress photos on the 3rd 

But now, I have officially finished my scarf!

I love this!  

Ship Shape @ the Post Office

Today I went to town 

(which by the way is 8 miles away from my house.... I wasn't kidding when I said I live in the country!)

Because I needed to ship a Hiding Hollow Book that I sold on Etsy over the weekend.

(whoop whoop!!)

Lovely Roses for My Kitchen Table

I went grocery shopping the other day and since we live in such a rural area there are always great deals that no one has snatched up yet

This was one of those deals, 

I haven't had fresh flowers in forever 

and these were only $4 for a dozen so I had to get them!

Skull Motif

I love this motif!

A few weeks ago I bought this pattern on Etsy 

From Wicked Crochet

The pattern is for a skull motif scarf, so I'm gonna do that first

But I was thinking I could probably piece some together to make a throw or something!  

Like for Halloween 

(or just whenever really)

This is how I am spending my morning/day

Coffee & Crochet

 How cool are these?

 Bunny "helping"....

I love this color, it's called "Ocean"

The pattern is super easy too

 So fun

I look forward to getting further along on this project today!