Sculpey vs. Play-Doh

Posted on August 1, 2012 by jesseesuem

I’ve decided to take this week as a calm week. A week where the only deadlines I have are shipping orders and making lunch! I figured I’d work on some projects that I’ve been meaning to do. Monday I started cleaning my workroom (I hope to have photos once I’m done), and yesterday CT and I sculpted.

I’ve been itching to make some resin figures to paint. It’s been on my to do list for years. Finally a few months ago I decided that I need to stop saying I’m going to do it, and just do it!! My plans got put to the side quite a few times, but yesterday I finally sat down and sculpted. I’m not 100% excited about what I made, but it’s a good start. I finished an entire figure, a little rag doll looking figure to be exact. I’m planning on sanding and sealing the figure today and HOPEFULLY make a mold and a test cast by Friday. Plans always change, but I really hope I can keep to these!!

Usually when I do anything work related CT doesn’t care. Today was different, she was super interested. So I set up a little work area for her to play at too. She never really liked Play-Doh, it always grossed her out. I figured she might go for it this time because I was doing something similar.

She LOVED it!! She actually spent FOUR HOURS playing with one little tub of Play-Doh. Purple to be exact. We only have one color since she never showed interest. She has never, ever, sat for that long to play with anything!! I got a lot finished and she perfected the art of making Play-Doh caterpillars and mustaches. You can even see one of her mustache creations below.

We went by Target last night and picked up a few more colors plus some little Play-Doh ”tools”. CT was really excited when she went to bed last night because her plans for today are to play with PINK, not purple. haha. I wish I could have days where that’s the only thing I need to do!!

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Collections: Disney

Posted on July 31, 2012 by jesseesuem

Today I’m sharing with you another one of my larger collections. I have a thing for all stuff Disney. Disney shows, Disney parks, Disney books and especially Disney memorabilia. I don’t know exactly when this all started, but I’m assuming I was young, and I bet commercials had something to do with it.

I remember the first time I really became interested in the inner workings of Disney, not just the products, was after reading one of the many biographies of Walt Disney. I was 13, so I don’t remember exactly which one it was, but I do remember loving it! I read it after the Kurt Cobain biography, and my “punk” self thought Disney was WAY more interesting. HA!

I had to know more, so I went to the library and checked out two more of his biographies. I even did a report on him in middle school, I talked in front of the class and all! I’m really shy, so that’s a big deal for me. This was also around the time that I started to REALLY want to go to Disney World! I wanted to see everything this guy had built. It wasn’t great timing, my youngest sister was a baby, my family was going through some pretty crazy times and it just wasn’t looking like it would ever happen. I understood. I figured I’d just go when I got older.

Flash forward a decade or so… my Disney obsession had died down a bit. I was in LA with Heidi and Katie vending at one of the holiday Felt Club shows. One of the traditions with the local crafters was to visit one of the many amusement parks in their area. This time around they decided on Disneyland!! I was excited! I FINALLY got to visit a Disney park. I was very lucky too, because one of the girls boyfriend was a tour guide, and she had picked up on a lot. I got to hear a bunch about each and every ride. I think I may have wandered off a few (a bunch of) times. I feel bad now about making the group worry. I was like a kid in a candy store, I couldn’t help it!!

That trip started my obsession back up. It probably didn’t help that cable tv made it really easy to access NON STOP documentaries on Disney and their parks. If its about Disney, I’ll watch it! It was a few more years before I finally made it to Disney World. My sister in law had her wedding there! It was awesome. The trip made me so happy that my husband took us back later in the year for our one year wedding anniversary! Oh and to top off that year I was a vendor at another Felt Club, so we figured were already in the area why not go to Disneyland?

Three Disney trips in one year? My 13 year old self would have been SO jealous!!!

I became pregnant with CT pretty soon after, and we haven’t had a proper vacation since. Like I said last week, were headed back to Disney World in the Fall. I bet after reading this you can imagine just how excited I am!

As you can see from my collection, I prefer the Mickey Mouse figurines or anything that has to do with the parks! I collect both new and old Disney memorabilia. I like the bold, and colorful styled pieces. A bunch of the new pieces are from my four trips, I go crazy in the gift shops! I’m already saving up for the Fall trip. I have my eye on the new Vinylmation series. Especially this one. I’ve heard that there are even park exclusive pieces?!?! Ooooooooh!!! Haha!

We also have many pieces scattered throughout the house that are Disney, half belonging to CT. I just didn’t want to post a few dozen photos!! I chose my most favorite pieces to share today.

I did not expect this post to be sooo long and informative, but I just couldn’t help it!! Ha. Do any of you get this way about anything? Your favorite show? Your favorite band?

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My Weekend: Headaches, Crafts & Family

Posted on July 30, 2012 by jesseesuem

This past weekend was one of those weekends where you want an extra day “off” just so you can recover. I work from home, I’m home all the time, but that doesn’t mean that weekends aren’t as special to me. Weekends mean that there is TWO sets of eyes watching CT, which is really nice. Weekends also mean lots of errand running and spending time with the people we really like.

This past weekend was no exception. We were supposed to spend Saturday morning at the MVA, trying to get me a drivers license (fun fact: I don’t drive!). Those plans changed the night before because I didn’t have all the information needed and I wasn’t really feeling too great. You really need to feel your best to deal with the MVA. So instead I spent most of Saturday dealing with one of the worst migraines I’ve had in a long time!

I didn’t spend my ENTIRE day in bed! around 4 we headed up to Heidi’s monthly Crafternoon. My migraine had subsided slightly, but I still felt out of sorts. This months project was carving stamps that we then used to decorate some reusable tote bags. (the only photo I took was the one above, sorry its an Instagram photo, I just wasn’t feeling like myself) I somehow finished my stamp with only a little cut on my finger. I thought about it on the way home and I have no idea how I didn’t cut my entire finger off!! Who carves with sharp knives when feeling tired? Apparently I do!!

I loved seeing everyone as usual. I also got to enjoy three awesome gluten free deserts that were made because some of the girls knew I couldn’t have any. How sweet is that!?!? The girls who come to these crafter noons are seriously some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. It’s awesome! Thank you Heidi!!

We had to leave a little early because first off, it was close to CT’s bedtime and we were an hour away from home plus we had family coming Sunday and we needed to tidy up a bit (aka clean for the first time in two weeks). Instead when we got home we got sucked into watching the new Nerdist specials on BBC America. I totally recommend them!!

We woke up way to early Sunday and “tidied up”. My sister in law and brother in law, along with their three kids came up to visit for the a bit. It was awesome!! CT was so excited to see her cousins and I was happy to have family over. Our weekends get so crazy that sometimes we don’t get to see the people we want to see, so days like this are nice. We had a little barbecue, I got to play with my little baby nephews and CT had the best day ever! (in her words).

The family left early in the afternoon so we tried to spend the rest of the day relaxing, we kinda succeeded, as much as you can with a toddler I guess…

I think I caught a cold somewhere along the way and seriously did NOT want to get out of bed this morning. Their building a house next door, and we had painters fixing our bay window at 6:30, so sleeping in wasn’t really an option! Maybe tomorrow?

I’m thinking next weekend we MAY try and go to the aquarium, it all depends on how exhausted we are by Friday night!!

I’m sorta, kinda, in the DC and Baltimore area. Both cities are pretty close. Do any of you have suggestions for neat, indoor, things we could do with a toddler on the weekends? Something all of us could enjoy? I’m waiting until Fall to visit all the outdoor places, So I guess I could take suggestions for those too.

Thrift Finds: July 15th thru July 26th

Posted on July 27, 2012 by jesseesuem

Our thrifting and antiquing trips haven’t been happening as much as they use to. It’s just too darn hot out, and most places don’t have efficient air conditioning!

Even with the heat, I have found some neat things during our short trips.

I have been searching high and low for a Plasticville model set that was ready for assembly for months now. It all started with that little yellow house I bought back in April. I found a cute little diner at my local hobby shop that I picked up, but I really wanted a house! I just love building houses. I found this one at a local shop for $5! They had a bunch. The rest were $20 or more, and the assembled ones were even more. If I really love assembling this set, I MAY go back for more. Building things is very therapeutic for me, and $20 is cheaper than a therapy session, right?

Oh and if your interested in little plastic houses too, check out my Pinterest board I started!

Of course it wasn’t a successful week, unless I found some Disney items! This time around I found another plastic Mickey and a Donald Duck to match my red Mickey from last time! My husband found me this awesome Small World 7″ record with read along story book insert. I’ve looked through every page and can not find the illustrator, but they are seriously awesome looking! Were planning a Disney trip for the fall, so weve been getting CT all excited about the rides and such, so things like this def help!!

I’m planning on showing all of my Disney memorabilia next week as part of my collection series, so if your interested please check it out!

The little blue guy was a funny find, it’s a rubber version of “Sulley” from Monsters Inc. The funny part about him is hes SKINNY! he’s not supposed to be skinny, he’s a big chubby monster. It was so weird we had to bring it home.

Oh and the random Brunswick soda bottle? We have been accidentally collecting soda bottles, and thought this one was neat since we live in Brunswick, MD. Simple.

As with the Disney stuff, I can’t seem to leave a place without at least one travel plate. This time I couldn’t seem to leave without TEN travel plates! They were mostly theme park and tropical island themed this time around, and not a single one cost more than $2!

I finally found a place to put all of them in the house! Once I’m done hanging ALL of the plates, I’ll make sure to share it here!!

Do you have weird compulsions to buy certain things at thrift shops? I’d love to know I;m not alone.

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Wonky Woodgrain Pillow Giveaway!

Posted on July 26, 2012 by jesseesuem

I’m a bit behind on posting this, it has been crazy and exhausting around here, but I’ll talk about that later…

We are proudly sponsoring a giveaway over on the Guppy & Whaleshark blog this week. You could win a Wonky Woodgrain Pillow Cover!! (a $25 value). The giveaway started this past Monday and they will continue to take entries until the upcoming Monday at 9pm (EST). Just pop on over to their blog and leave a comment as your first entry, plus there are additional ways to join!!! go see!!