I Have the BEST Sister

Well, I've gone and done it. Actually, my sister has. I was interested in yet another Silver Bella swap, and it was supposed to open today while I was at work at Huber. Unfortunately, stuff happens, and the swap was rescheduled to open at 8 pm est. Since I was at work at Tidewater, I didn't think I'd be able to sign up, but Wanda called me while I was at work to tell me that she signed me up for it. There were only 8 openings, in this swap, so I have to publicly admit that Wanda is the best sister a girl could have. Anyway, this is the latest swap - and there might even be another one later this week.

Apron Flair Swap
Opening: Tuesday, June 30th, 12:00pm CST
Hostess: Angela Carignan and Alanna George
Email Address: carignanad@... and alannageorge@...
Maximum Number of Participants: 10
Delivery Plan/Deadline: We'll meet and swap our Flair at the Silver Bella Swap Meet
Details: In honor of the recently announced Vendor Night attire, 'Night of 100 Aprons', we would like to invite you to join our Apron Flair swap. Flair can be made from any material and as always glitter and sparkle is a welcome addition. Each person will create 10 pieces of flair to swap with the other participants at Silver Bella. Think about something small enough to fit on an apron to help embellish it, and show a little personality too!

Two More Silver Bella Swaps?!?

The fourth swap that I wanted to join for Silver Bella opened today. It is being hosted by my sister, and luckily, while I was out at the Safety Day activities, she signed me up.

Sweet Treat Charm Swap
Swap Opening: Thursday, June 25th, 12:00pm CST
Hostess: Wanda Clark
Contact E-mail Address: clark_wanda@...
Maximum Number of Participants: 24
Delivery Plan/Deadline: Deliver to hostess by November 1st.
Details: Each participant will need to make 24 charms that are no
bigger than 1 1/2"...that way if others want to wear them on a charm bracelet they aren't too big. The theme is Sweet Treats so think Willy Wonka meets Silver Bella. Whatever your favorite sweet treat may be...candy, fruit, ice cream, cupcakes...use your imagination and whip up something you'd be proud to wear. Each charm needs to be attached to a card of some sort with your information as well.

And then, after some deliberation, I joined a fifth swap that I came up with an idea for yesterday.

Vintage New Year's Resolutions with Flair ATC Swap
Opening: Monday, June 22nd, 12:00pm CST
Hostess: Gina Grable
Email Address: gina.grable@...
Maximum Number of Participants: 20
Delivery Plan/Deadline: Bring these little babies to Omaha on Thursday night and we will swap away. I will have little bags ready with names and we can just pitch our work in.
Details: Hey all you vintage photo lovers...This is an ATC swap that when complete, you can assemble into fat little mini-books, or whatever your little hearts desire! When we meet at Silver Bella, each participant will receive a delightful, collection of ATCs made from vintage photos and funny New Year's resolutions to go with them made by their fellow Bellas! Please create a set of 20 identical/similar ATC's using a vintage photo and a funny caption about the upcoming New Year. Use your imagination and take it to the limit with all of your creativity. There is not a particular color scheme. Embellish, embellish, embellish! Decorate one or both sides; just remember to include your artist information somewhere on the card (name, email, blog and any other info you want to share). Please keep your cards at least card-stock weight and within the standard 2.5" x 3.5" ATC dimensions. Although you may feel free to go off the card with embellishments if you dare, just make sure to allow enough on the left, long edge so we can punch and bind the ATCs with a ring if we chose.

I have to stop now. No more swaps until I've got some of these completed, or at least until I've bought plane tickets to get to Silver Bella, to go along with the registration I've already purchased.

Huber Safety Day 2009

Huber's Safety Day this year had a theme of "Going Green." The most exciting part of this day, was the Recycled Art Contest. I asked for help from the bartenders at the Tidewater, and they saved me bottle caps from the beers that we sold for over a month. Next, I had to decide what to do with them. A picture of some sort seemed like the best route to go - inspired by the old Martha Stewart commercial where she's tiling the bottom of her pool with cut up credit cards - in the image of "The Birth of Venus." At first, I considered trying "Starry Night," but that seemed too complicated, and I went with a design of my own - and underwater scene with fish and plant life. I thought it had turned out well, until I saw what other people had done.

My Recycled Art Project
The Art Contest

Amy's Project - Blue Jean Bear and Beach Bag

Contest Winner - Tony Parks

I don't feel too bad, though, Tony has a shop and sells artwork like this for around $250. Apparently, he says he only works at Huber because you can't make a living as an artist. Competing with a professional is hard, and I wasn't expecting this level of competition - but it was still fun, and I'm still proud of my little piece of recycled art.

Hair Accessories

After band tonight, I went ahead and worked on my hair combs for the Summer Hair Accessories Swap. After a message from Wanda earlier in the week - who had thrown out the idea of using hot glue - the project went along a lot faster, and was easier to put together. I was originally going to try to sew each piece to the comb - and to each other - with fishing line. The hot glue seems to be a strong product that will go where I put it.

My Third Silver Bella Swap

Wow! Who'd have thought that I'd find another swap that I'd be interested in for Silver Bella. This one is a Mini Art Quilt Swap. I thought that I'd be able to find a cute idea for four panels, and I certainly hope that I do, I've got enough time, and it's only four panels. Here are the details:

Mini Art Quilt Swap

Opening: Monday, June 22nd, 12:00pm CST


Hostess: Sheila Rumney

Email Address: rumcraft@...

Maximum Number of Participants: 12


Delivery Plan/Deadline: Deliver to hostess by Thursday, September 1st

Details: Each person designs 4 – 5" x 7" mini art fabric panels – making sure to leave a 1" border around for binding. Pull out your vintage laces, buttons, beads, small embellishments, fabric, and embroidery threads and design 4 unique mini art fabric panels. Don't sew? Don't worry there are fabric glues that work great so you too can join in the fun. I will then sew together 4 panels from each of the participants on cream osnaburg/muslin background and present 1 mini art quilt with 4 panels to each participant during swap night.

The last swap I plan on signing up for opens on Thursday, and hopefully, that will be it - I've made huge commitments and I need to be responsible and live up to them.

My Second Silver Bella Swap

After watching and waiting for what seemed like three whole hours - it only ended up being two hours and 45 minutes - I was lucky enough to sign up for this swap, my second for Silver Bella. I plan to sign up for one more, unless something else comes up that is new and unusual, and immediately inspires me.

"The Sweetest Thing" Recipe Swap

Swap Opening: Friday, June 19th, 8:00am CST

Hostess: Shea Fragoso and Deborah Murray

Email Address: sheafragoso@... and deborahmurray@...

Maximum number of participants: 20

Delivery deadline: To be mailed to hostesses prior to November.

Details: Let's channel our inner Sugarplum Fairies, and share recipes for our favorite decadent, treasured Holiday Desserts! 20 participants will each contribute two recipes, mounted back-to-back on a single sheet of chipboard, creating a keepsake collection of 40 delicious treats!! We encourage you to open the vault, and share grandmas famous secret recipe, or the one that you have kept successfully to yourself all these years. These are your Silver Bella Sisters, and they deserve to bake the very best!!! Using a format of 8" x 10", we will create recipe pages that will be sent in prior to November, and bound into a book and presented to the group at Silver Bella! Use the page background to decorate and/or tell the story of the origins of your offerings. Create a pocket on the page, (one on each side), and insert 4" x 6" cards of the actual recipes. We will laminate these removable cards for practicality, so that your book can remain out of harm's way! In order to achieve a fairly cohesive look, let's use a color palette of winter white/cream, gold, and silver with accents of chocolate brown. If you feel your page needs more of a "holiday look", please feel free to add touches of burgundy and forest green. As always, lots of sparkle and glitter is welcomed as we create pages to be treasured and visited again and again, year after year. A cherished memento of our time together at Silver Bella 2009!

My First Silver Bella Swap

Wanda called me earlier today to clue me in to the swaps that were opening this week for Silver Bella. Last year, I wasn't able to participate in any swaps, since I signed up to attend extremely late, and they were all full. I also need a lot of time to get things done, so lead time is very important to me. Today, Wanda signed me up for the Sugar n Spice n Everthing Nice ATC Swap. It's details are as follows:

Sugar n Spice n Everything Nice ATC Swap
Hostess: Bianca Gaspard
Swap Opening: Tuesday, June 16th, 12:00pm CST
Email address: whitelily.2006@...
Maximum number of participants: 15
Delivery deadline: Please have them mailed no later than October 1st. I plan on putting the cards in a book to give the participants at the welcome night.
Details: ATC's need to be 2.5"x3.5" either vertical or horizontal. Use at least 2 layers of cardstock or cardboard for the base. Theme- Your cards can be any variation on the saying "Sugar n Spice n Everything Nice". You could do little girls, candy, sweets, spicy items, anything along those lines. Please make sure you put the title of the swap, your name, where you are from and the number of the card in the series on the back.

I think I'm going to try to sign up for another swap on Friday. They go quickly, so wish me luck!

Sunday Craft Session

Before work today, Tom was nice enough to allow me to have the day to myself. That was really good, because I had a lot of stuff to do. I started off by assembling all of the charms for the Things with Wings Spring Charm Swap. If I find the time, I will try to add another piece to the charm, but if not, this will be the completed product. They are all slightly different, since the beads were either variegated or came in a multi-pack. The charms also came in a pack of five different "things with wings" - butterfly, moth, bumblebee, dragonfly, and whatever is pictured below.

Completed Charm

After that, I sorted out the bottle caps that I've asked the bartenders at Tidewater to save for me for my recycled art project for Safety Day at Huber. I then started to put my art together. It'll be a long process, but I hope it turns out well. I lay out the bottom layer, and started gluing pieces down. Hopefully, the rest will go as easily as that part did.

My Palette

Friday Rehearsal Dinner

Another night, another rehearsal dinner. Sondra and I worked this one together. This party was in the banquet room. They brought their own centerpieces, as well, and they were all different. The father of the bride was someone that I used to work with at Huber.

A Centerpiece

Another Centerpiece

After the party, I was walking into the server station when Sherry (a hostess) told me that the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. Woo hoo! I'd forgotten that game 7 was being played tonight.

Thursday Rehearsal Dinner

At work tonight, Adrienne, Sondra, and I worked a rehearsal dinner. It was crazy! First off, they wanted the porch - usually banquets are held in the banquet room in the back, or, if they're small, in the dining room - so all of the tables and chairs had to be moved out, and new ones put in. Then, we had to rent linen, because they wanted white linen on the tables. They even brought centerpieces for the tables. It all ended up looking very nice.

Finished Table

Centerpiece

They ate, drank, and were merry. They brought a groom's cake for dessert, and rumor had it that their wedding cake cost $5000 and was made by the Ace of Cakes!

Groom's Cake

Swap Supplies

Yesterday, after the KaBOOM gig, I went to Michael's and picked up some things for the Summer Hair Accessories Swap. My first impulse was the top picture - but then I realized that the due date was after July 4th, so I went with a better choice of the lower picture. I did, however, pick up the red, white, and blue ones, and hope to make some hair pieces for the holiday - I've been invited to a couple of get-togethers, and they might make nice gifts.

Patriotic Colors

For Swap

KaBOOM Playground Build

Today's Pep Band gig was a long one, but fairly rewarding. We met early at Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore, and played for the children in the Day Care. Some of the children tried on uniforms, while everyone got to try the different instruments. Later, we had a little parade, with the musicians in front and the kids trailing behind. Shortly before 2 pm, cheerleaders arrived, and started to entertain the kids. Then, the players came in! Coach Harbough, Todd Heap, Joe Flacco, Kelly Gregg, Derrick Mason, and Jarret Johnson we among the few who represented the Ravens. We then went to lunch, while they entertained the kids. After lunch, Poe arrived. Around, 4:30, we headed out to the playground, and performed the Fight Song for the ribbon cutting ceremony.

The Playground Area - Before

The Playground Area - After

The Players, with the Kids

Dad's Gone :-(

Well, Dad left this morning. It's sad to see him go, but he might be back at the end of the month. We talked a little before he left, and it was nice. Afterwards, I headed to Huber to work, and when I came back, Tom and I planted a couple of trees along the property line. All of this planting is getting to be fulfilling. We only finished two trees before I had to go to Tidewater for the evening, but I think Tom planned to plant at least one more after I left.

Dad's Third Day

Today, Dad went to go visit Donnie. They participated in the Wine Festival at the National Harbor. Afterwards, Dad stayed to watch the hockey game. I, on the other hand, stayed home with Tom, and we planted some bushes and shrubs. Most of the time was taken up by planning and arranging where things should go, and I only actually planted two things before I had to go to work, but Tom got the rest of them done - another 13 plants. They look good.
Before all of that, though, I was able to work on more charms for the Things with Wings Charm Swap. I feel good about them. I even put together a charm, and am considering that to be the finished product. I'll confer with Wanda before deciding.

Sneak Peek - Part 2

Special Olympics 2009

Tonight, I took Dad to a Pep Band gig that's usually pretty interesting - the opening ceremonies for the Maryland Special Olympics Summer Games. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be as interesting as it has been in the past. It was raining outside, so they canceled the Parade of Delegates. It's kind of like the regular Olympics' Parade of Nations, only by county. The ceremony itself was disjointed, with things being stopped (like the introduction of the Delegates), and other things being inserted in the middle (in this case, the introduction of the Color Guard units), and then the other thing being restarted. The Judges', Coaches', and Players' Oaths were separated, when in the past they followed each other in succession, which makes more sense to me. The raising of the Special Olympics flag was started, then something happened, then a little bit later it was restarted. I don't know what happened, but the "pretty cool" function that I dragged Dad to turned out to be not as cool as advertised.

Dad's Visiting!

I had received a phone call from Dad while in Ocean City, letting me know that he was coming to the area, and that he'd be staying over Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Day One of the visit has gone fairly well. It was raining most of the day, so when I got a phone call from the restaurant, asking me if I'd like to be cut for the night, I jumped on the offer. I then called Dad and Tom to let them know that I'd be off, and I went home and fixed dinner. While dinner was cooking, I started to talk to Dad a little bit about our financial situation, and then Tom came over and talked about it. We ate dinner, then watched the Penguins beat the skates off of the Red Wings. During the game, I worked on my charms for the Things with Wings Charm Swap, and feel good about the sense of accomplishment. After watching a little more TV, Tom went to bed. I stayed up a little bit longer, finishing up what I was doing, cleaning up, then I talked to Dad about the financial situation for another hour or so. It felt good to let Dad know about what's going on here, and I hope some of his questions were answered.

Sneak Peek - Part 1

And even though I forgot to call, Happy Birthday, Wanda!

Tidewater Flower Pictures

Money Matters

Today, I took another money matter into my own hands. When we returned home from Ocean City Saturday night/Sunday morning, there was a credit card bill in the mail that I thought should be addressed soon. And then, after rifling through another stack of bills, I found a doctor's bill that hadn't been paid for a couple of months. I took care of them today. I went to the doctor's office and paid that one, then set up an on-line account for the credit card, and arranged for a payment to be made. Getting all of this bill stuff straightened out is not easy. I think I've accomplished a lot since I decided to get involved, but it's slow going.