Crafty Tuesday: Owls

I have a delightful coworker who has her first baby turning one this month. In addition to being totally in love with her little man, she also loves owls and the color orange. I thought this was the perfect combo for all of them!






This was my first attempt at trying anything with minky (the super soft fabric that you find on baby blankets and things). I have to admit - it was much easier than I expected! The tough thing about it is all the fuzz - it makes it hard to trim the applique close enough to the tack down stitch. But overall I am super pleased with the way it turned out! And more importantly, so is Paxton's mom!

Crafty Tuesday: Thanksgiving Shirts

When I saw this adorable shirt on pinterest, I knew that I couldn't resist making some too. I also thought the original shirt was so cute that I did a little Internet investigating to find out who had made such an adorable thing. It turns out, the shirt was made by Jessica at Love From Texas. Not only does she make cute turkey shirts, but she has all kinds of adorable creations...not to mention two sweet little people!

My ribbon turkeys were a bit of a trial and error process, but I think they turned out pretty well. Not to mention, their recipients were all pretty pleased!















And a boy version:


For more crafty goodness, go see what's being shared at Carrie's!

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Crafty Tuesday: Baby Blanket

Like I mentioned, now that my coworkers have discovered that I can make things, I have had several requests for things. This was just a request to add a name to a baby blanket someone had purchased.

I was a bit nervous, since I did not purchase the blanket and therefore did not have a spare if I made a mistake....yikes! It actually was much easier than I expected it to be -- a little bit of solvy kept the stitching from getting buried in the fur of the blanket!


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Photography Time!

Because life has been so crazy lately, one of the things that I haven't had/made much time for lately is photography. I absolutely love it, but I have a hard time finding time in my schedule to do many photo sessions. :(

But the fall is a popular time for family pictures, and I absolutely LOVE fall photo shoots, so I was thrilled that I could find some time for a few this month.

First was the adorable Marshall family. Because the winter was so cold here last year, and then the summer and fall were so unusually warm, the leaves have not changed to the vibrant colors that they normally do. Even still, I thought that these turned out pretty well!














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Crafty Tuesday: Birthday Shirt

Several of my coworkers have discovered that I can make things, which has caused a significant increase in the number of requests that I have gotten. One of the requested items was a first birthday shirt. I hadn't ever done anything like that before, but I figured it was worth a shot...and I was pretty happy with the end result!

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Scenes From Family Medicine

I mentioned that my October rotation was in family medicine, but I didn't mention that it was in a small town about 45 minutes north of where I live. In addition to not being used to such a long commute (the hospital that I work at is a whopping 2.5 miles from my house), I am not used to being in a small town. I'm from a big city (although technically the suburb portion of the big city) and I live in a well populated suburb of a medium sized city now.

While I'm only driving 45 minutes from where I live, and less than 20 minutes from the city limits, it still feels like I am entering a whole different world sometimes.

And while I am anxiously awaiting the end of the month and an end to the two hours I am spending in the car every day, I just might miss the beautiful scenery I see on my drive every day.

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Family Medicine

When I started medical school, I was not a fan of family medicine. I had no issue with it for run of the mill care, but I had a very difficult time seeing how one person could know enough to manage complicated issues from such a wide variety of patients. Sore throats, physicals and blood pressure? Okay fine. Pregnancy? Sorry, that's not something that I have an easy time accepting. (Disclaimer: everyone is entitled to their own opinions -- if you want to, you can love family practice and let them deliver your babies. It's just not a choice I would make).

In medical school you are required to do rotations in a large number of specialties, and that includes family medicine. And I have spent the month of October doing, you guessed it, family medicine. Which I have to admit has been a different experience than I was expecting.

I expected to hate it.

And, don't get me wrong, there are a lot of things that I am not crazy about. But I also have to admit that I don't hate it like I thought I would. The days are easy, low stress and pass (reasonably) quickly. Lunches are catered almost every day (thank you, pharmaceutical reps!), and there are no nights and no weekends.

I still have no idea what I want to do with my life once I am does with school, but if nothing else, not hating this rotation like I thought that I would is helping me keep an open mind about the different options that are out there to pick from...


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Crafty Tuesday: Tutu

I have not fallen off the face of the earth, although it does appear that way. It just seems as though one day tumbles right into the next, and I am either too busy or too exhausted to ever complete the things on my to do list that aren't marked as "very important".

I did, however take time to make some scarecrow tutus for some coworkers for their little girls to wear for Halloween. I hadn't ever made a tutu before, but I must say...I am pretty pleased with how it turned out!

Hopefully it will look as cute on as it does on my living room floor!


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Crafty....Saturday Night?!

I just realized that there is only one Tuesday left in October (and by the way, how did that happen?!) and I have several crafty Halloween things to share! Guess that's what I get for slacking off for an entire month! Here are some of the Halloween shirts that I did this year:

A close up of the design. Love it -- and it was surprisingly easy to do too!



I also made a shirt just like this for Lindsey's little brother, but I guess I didn't get a picture snapped before I sent it out to them. Oops!


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This Too Shall Pass

As I look around my house at the piles of things to be cleaned and organized and put away, I try to remind myself that this too, yes - even all this mess, will pass.  Someday -- probably a day that is here before I can believe it -- I will look around and this life, this one that feels rushed and cluttered and overwhelming, will be nothing but a distant memory.

Something just on the edge of where I have gotten to, close enough that I can close my eyes and picture it in my mind, but far enough away that picturing it doesn't bring back the rush of emotions that I have now.  I will remember how the house was never quite spotless, the laundry was never quite completely finished, and how there was always a dish or five in the sink.  But I won't remember, I hope, the feeling of being overwhelmed when I think about that to do list on top of everything else.  I will simply remember that everything flew by, and then, in an instant, it was over and I was on the other side, mostly unscathed.  But still singed just enough to remember that it was...tough.

This is not to say that I am complaining about my life.  Far from it, in fact.  I have hobbies that bring me joy and fulfillment, an education that I am proud of, and a job that makes me wonder what I did right to get so lucky.  Even when my shifts are long and my patients are nuts, or my patients are sick or the outcome is awful, it's an incredible thing to do.  Which is the only reason that I can come up with why I am still doing it.  And the reason is...because I can't imagine doing anything else.

At least not at the moment.

Although I suppose that the decision about what to be when I grow up will have to be made soon enough.

Crafty Tuesday: Happy Housewarming!

For reasons that absolutely escape me, lately I have been completely unable to give a gift that was not handmade (or at least partially handmade). I have no real explanation for this, given that I am not exactly swimming in time, other than that I have clearly lost my mind. But, crazy or not, it is what it is.

Also, have I mentioned my love of Pinterest lately? Or the fact that my love of pinterest leads me to want to make things that I never could have come up with on my own?

A coworker of mine got married last year, and she and her husband just bought their first house. It's quite a lovely house, and I was searching the corners of my brain for something to get her as a housewarming gift. And while searching for ideas, I ran across some wreaths on pinterest, including one that I thought I could change a bit to match what I was thinking of.

Perfect!

Now all I have to do is figure out how to make a wreath. Luckily, it turns out that it is not only incredibly easy, but it is pretty quick too! It didn't turn out exactly as I had originally pictured, but I was still pretty happy with the end result!

I have to say, I was pretty happy with how it turned out. Which is good, since I bought materials to make several more over the next few weeks! Maybe next time I will think to take pictures of the process...I think this would make a great holiday gift!

See what other crafty goodness people have to share at Carrie's!

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A Collection Of Random Thoughts

*I have had the NICEST patients lately.  Seriously.  So nice that I hardly believe that anyone like that exists in real life.  Except that they not only exist, but they have ALL been my patients.  It's stunning.  And also awesome.  And reminds me that my job rocks...even on the nights that it's rough.  It also makes me slightly afraid that I am due for an absolute nut case of a patient...  Not to mention that I have the world's most fantastic coworkers.  Hands down, the best.

*Why does my house ALWAYS feel dirty?  I swear I feel like I clean ALL. THE. TIME.  And then I blink and it's a disaster area.  Again.  Where does the mess come from...I hardly feel like I am home at all, let alone home enough to make a mess!  I told my coworkers last week that if I had to call 911 for something that I would have to throw myself in the neighbor's front yard, because I wouldn't want the paramedics to see my house.  That might be a little bit dramatic, but it's not completely false...

*My insomnia has been absolutely awful lately.  I'm not sure if it's stress related or just bad luck or what, but it's really annoying.  And when I say insomnia, I don't mean poor sleep...I mean no sleep.  Example?  Yesterday finally fell asleep at 10.  IN THE MORNING.  Given that I am usually required to be places all day, this is quite inconvenient. 

*The weather here has been absolutely AMAZING.  Sorry East Coast dwellers!  For almost a week straight it has been almost fall-like weather -- windows down, sun shining, put you in a great mood, amazing weather.  It makes me remember how much I love living in the midwest -- I'm not sure I could appreciate this quite the same way if it hadn't been almost 100 degrees and humid 8 days ago!

*I adore where I live.  Every time I drive down the street I look around and remember just how much I love the area I live in.  It's an older part of town, and so there are HUGE trees that line most of the streets.  I think that it's absolutely lovely, and I can't imagine living anywhere else.

*I can't seem to quit adding things to my "crafty things to make" list.  It's not all written down, which is probably a good thing...it would be a mile long!  There are just so many things I want to make -- and finding so many great ideas on Pinterest really doesn't help!  (this is to say nothing about the length of my to do list in general, but I am sure that goes without saying...)

Image Credit

Addictions

Hi, I'm Maggie, and I am an addict. 

Addicted to what, you ask?  Lots of things!  But here are a few of my latest addictions:

Pinterest.  At first I didn't understand what it was.  But one night when I couldn't sleep, I poked around a bit.  And I haven't stopped since.  There are so many things to look at!  And pin!  And...well, you get the picture.  But seriously...I love it!

Applique Forum.  I have made no secret about the love I have of my embroidery machine.  It's probably one of my favorite things I've gotten over the last year or so.  I find sewing relaxing, and I just love the finished products.  I read about a new forum for applique on Applique Cafe, so I decided to check it out.  It's been, hands down, one of my favorite things about the internet.  The ladies are so crafty and wise.  And the free designs available each month are amazing!

Diet Coke.  Okay, so that's not really new.  But I still love it. 

Presets Heaven.  Which, as the name implies, is heaven.  I am not all that great at using lightroom yet -- I will use it to sort my photos, but most of my editing is still done in photoshop.  But I just discovered this website, FULL of presets for lightroom.  Which are awesome.  And will hopefully make editing go faster, especially as it gets closer to fall, which is by far the time I do the most photoshoots. 

So tell me, what addictions have you been feeding lately?  Please, tell me I'm not the only one...

Crafty Tuesday: Onesie

Not too much to share this week -- work has been crazy and I haven't had much time to photograph some of the other things that I have made. But I do have this onesie that I made -- the name didn't turn out exactly like I had wanted -- but I love the little bird/birdhouse!

To see all the crafty goodness that everyone else has, see what is being shared at Carrie's!

Roller Derby

One of my cousins does (plays?) roller derby. If it weren't for her, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have the first clue about it. Well, mostly I still have no idea about it. But I have been to a roller derby match (game?) to watch her. I went once in St. Louis, and then again in Kansas City when she called to tell me she would be in town for one night to play.

If you haven't ever been to roller derby, I assure you it is QUITE the experience. While I still have absolutely NO idea what the rules are, it was still pretty entertaining to watch. Let me tell you, there are plenty of opportunities to people watch at an event like that!

I also made my friend come with me -- I figured that roller derby is an experience that everyone should have at least once. She agreed -- and brought her kids and husband along for the fun!








I'm pretty sure that any baby that can sleep through roller derby is a keeper...it is a very LOUD event!

Crafty Tuesday: Gifts

Last week a friend of mine asked if I could make a baby gift for her sister-in-law. Up until this point, all but one of the gifts that I have made I have given to people from myself, meaning that even if it didn't turn out all that well, it would still fall under the "it's the thought that counts" heading. So I wasn't totally sure that I was qualified, but I have always liked the baby gifts I make, so I figured why not.

I was pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

It was nice that this gave me a pretty good excuse to try out some of the new fonts that I have gotten...I swear I find a new one that I like just about every day!






This onesie also gave me a chance to use another new font -- it was much easier to use that I thought it would be, and I was pretty happy with the way that it turned out.

It was actually nice to be able to make something for someone else to use as a gift. I am seriously thinking about an etsy shop -- as it turns out, people pay quite a bit for things that are personalized! With something like that, I just might be able to help pay for my habit :)

Crafty Tuesday: Trick or Treat Bags

I know that it's only August, but I have already started thinking about Halloween. Perhaps I am just dreaming of when the weather turns cooler?

In addition to cooler weather, I have been working on my latest craft project...trick or treat bags! I've only done one so far, but I was thrilled with how it turned out:

To see what everyone else has been working on, check out what's being shared at Carrie's!