Collage from Shari

In the mail today, I received the collage from Shari for the Marie Antoinette Collage Swap. It had a wonderful combination of colors - blue, ivory, and peach - the resolution of the pictures she used were so much better than mine, and there was a beautiful crystal hanging from the bottom.

Marie Antoinette Collage from Shari

Here are some close-ups of each corner.

Upper Left

Upper Right

Lower Right

Lower Left

I Dodged a Bullet

I almost did it again, but I'm so glad I didn't. Another triple was looming, but Mel wouldn't let me do it! I offered to work for her this evening, since the guy who was going to cover her evening shift reneged on her - she had surgery for her varicose veins on Friday, and really shouldn't be on her feet - and it was getting late anyway - I was scheduled until 3, but the new seating chart wasn't put up until after 4, and I'd just had two new tables seated in my section. She decided to stay, since she was promised to get cut soon. So I went home, and Tom was kind enough to let me take a nap, even though he needed help watering the plants. I feel so much more rested than I have in a long time.

12th Annual Spring Fling

What a long day! Today was the NFL Draft Day, and the Raven's Spring Football Festival. The Pep Band performed at the festival, and at the Orioles game that followed. We set ourselves up on Raven's Walk, outside of the stadium, and played for the people who were lined up to enter the stadium. This year, we did less playing - we alternated with the drumline, rather than playing a set of music, then having them perform. When we went inside the stadium, we played for about half an hour before taking a meal break, then we hung out until it was time for us to play at Camden Yards for the people lined up to get into the Orioles game. Right before the game, we set up on the field and played the Raven's Fight Song, then were taken to our seats, where we played in the middle of the third inning, and for the seventh inning stretch. It was a long, tiring, warm day, and we wore our regular uniforms. Luckily, it wasn't as hot as had been predicted. Overall, a decent day.

Complete Marie Antoinette Collage

Phew! I never thought I'd finish it! Last night, I finally finished my collage for the Marie Antoinette Collage Swap. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, but I think it might be a little bit too "flat" (Note: Wanda may recognize the lingerie lace attached to the bottom of the canvas).

My Marie Antoinette Collage

Here are some close-up shots of each section of the collage.

Upper Left
Upper Right
Lower Right

Lower Left

I truly hope that Shari, my swap partner, likes this collage as much as I liked putting it together!

Brainstorming a Birthday Party

My girlfriend, Amy, and I went to lunch today, and while there, we brainstormed ideas for her oldest son's birthday party this year. We came up with such a good idea, I just can't keep it to myself! It started out as a beach theme, since the party will be in July. We were throwing around ideas for a scavenger hunt of some sort, but after looking through the Oriental Trading Company catalog she'd brought along, we started thinking about a Camping theme, and then saw some bug jar craft kits.


That totally opened the floodgates, and ideas were just pouring out of my head. For the hunt, Amy will make up bug jars for all of the participants (like what is in the catalog), and get plastic bugs.


She will set up a campsite in her backyard, with things like a tent, a picnic basket, a bucket next to a campfire, etc. Then, in select locations, she will put piles of bugs and a picture of the next location to go to. Each child will be given a picture of a location, and they will go collect a bug for their jar, and next to the pile of bugs, there will be a picture of their next location. Hopefully, the kids will be running around all over the place, collecting bugs, and whoever finishes first will be the ultimate winner, but everyone will get a jar of bugs to keep, and a prize of some sort for participating. Then, for food, in addition to cake and ice cream, she could have hot dogs on a stick that she could precook, and put on a stick to let the kids hold over the fire for a few seconds to "cook" it, chips, s'mores, and roasted marshmallows. I think it's a fabulous idea!
We're also currently working on a craft idea, like a picture frame with nature stuff glued to it, that the kids put together. She's got woods behind her house, so they could go on a nature hike to look for the nature stuff. When all of the kids arrive, Amy intends to get a group picture with the campfire setting as a backdrop. She can print those pictures before the kids leave, and put it in their frames. Not too shabby, and relatively inexpensive.

Band and Souvenir Pennies

I had a pretty decent band rehearsal tonight. It started earlier than usual for me, 6:30, so that the Pep Band could get together for a quick rehearsal of things we didn't get to try at Saturday's rehearsal. Then, guess who won the 50/50 raffle? Of course it was me, you sillies! I won $41, almost enough to cover the medication I had to buy today! Not a bad day's work.
Then, on the way home, I stopped at the Maryland House to pick up some souvenir pennies for the two swaps I'm signed up for with that subject matter. Overall, I'm feeling quite productive. Now, the only thing that's pressing right now is finishing the collage for the Marie Antoinette Collage Swap - it's due out Friday!

My Butterfly ATCs

Tonight, I finally finished my ATCs for the Butterfly ATC Swap. Wow, there's nothing like waiting until the last minute - the send out deadline is tomorrow. They weren't what I had initially hoped to do, but with the limited time that I've had in the past few weeks, it's the best I could do.

My ATCs for the Butterfly ATC Swap

Wanda might be glad to see the use of a little lingerie lace on the top one, and I used a glorious amount (at least, for me) of Stickles on the bottom one. I feel like they were a little bit too plain - but with the time constraints that I had, I think they turned out okay.