modernJax: 08.2011

8.29.2011

Swapped, 80s style

My oh my, international post to New Zealand takes awhile -- almost 5 weeks! But now that I know the package has arrived, I can share!

The I Heart the 80s swap was so much fun! I spent way too much time listening to 80s music and watching clips of my favorite 80s movies on YouTube.

I received this fabulous package from quiltinkimmie:

I was so excited to get this "Sixteen Candles" wallhanging!! So brilliant! And Jaxon and I wrestled for the extras. The Kermit the Frog pillowcase is now on his bed...but I won the pop rocks! Thanks, Kimmie!

And I was excited to make for a blog friend, Viv!

It was time to cut up Charlie's childhood. Yep, that was one of his bedsheets. He gave it to me when he refused to allow me to cut into the Star Wars sheets. I thought Viv would appreciate it, along with a friendship bracelet I whipped up, a set of PacMan crayons from Etsy, and some pop-a-point pencils (my favorite 80s writing utensil).

I embroidered around PacMan and the ghosts, and then quilted the whole thing with X-es in the pellets. I hope you like it, Viv!

I also stocked up on 80s-themed crafts, just in case we needed a swap angel. The rubic's cube tissue box cover is presently on my cutting table, and the Mr. T embroidery hoop is going to be hard to part with, although I do need to do a five year blogiversary giveaway soon!

-- Post From My iPad

8.23.2011

In a blink

It's hard to believe I started this blog almost 5 years ago. And in the very first post this is the very first photo I posted of Jaxon:

And this was yesterday:

Jaxon's first day, a photo by modernjax on Flickr.

Kindergarten. My blog and my baby are all grown up.

Thanks for sticking around!

8.21.2011

Come on over...

I've been hoping you would visit!

We can snack on some fresh tomatoes from the garden. Please. And while we are at it, you can take home a few pounds of zucchini!

It's been storming off and on all day, so we can sit in the dining room and catch up. I just mopped the floors and put down a new rug. I don't know how long it will go without having chocolate milk spilled all over it, so let's enjoy it while we can.

Oh, there's the oven timer, the peach cake is done! I have an abundance of peaches getting soft, and I love a good peach dessert! Charlie isn't a fan, so eat as much as you can!

Michelle isn't one to miss a party, and she has traveled a long way, so I'll let her rest* on my SHAG WDW pillow**...

...and maybe have a drink* out of a SHAG WDW tumbler**...

...or you can stare longingly* at my SHAG WDW map print.**

Why all the domesticity you might ask? Anything to keep my mind off Jaxon's first day of kindergarten tomorrow. He's no longer a baby!

* No resting, drinking, or staring longingly on/from/at/near my SHAG merchandise please!

** SHAG (AKA JoSH AGle) is my favorite artist. The day after I returned from Disney World, I read that SHAG had produced a line of artwork commemorating WDW's 40th anniversary. He would be at the Magic Kingdom signing autographs later that week. Exactly 3 days after I got home. *sigh* I couldn't get his autograph, but Disney mail-order helped me out with some merchandise. By "helped" I mean took an exorbitant amount of my money and shipped said merchandise to me. I'm still pining for the charm bracelet and Hawaiian shirt.

8.15.2011

Did I blog about this?

Do you do that? Do you take photos of some little thing, thinking "this will be great for a post," and then never get around to blogging about it?

I do. A lot. My iPhoto is riddled with photos of events and small projects I never got around to posting. I have a folder of color corrected photos sitting on my desktop ready for blogger. But I am usually on to the next big thing.

Here's a couple of small things I came across recently that I never shared with you.

A tried my hand at making salsa verde. Our health center emailed a recipe, and because it is my favorite of the salsas at Casa I had to try it. Not as good as Casa's, but still pretty good.

I made Jaxon's friend Evelyn a bandana dress for her cowgirl-themed birthday. I used this tutorial, but modified it to accommodate a lining. After washing (which I deemed necessary due to the stiffness of the cotton), the pink bandana seemed a little thin. The other problem with pre-washing bandanas? Shrinkage. Which isn't that big of a deal, there's still plenty of fabric for coverage, but is it too much to ask that two matching bandanas shrink uniformly? I will try to get a photo of Evelyn wearing her dress, I hear from her mom she quite likes it.

I can't type the word "shrink" without typing "shrinky" and having to delete the "y." Why is that? I don't often type "shrinky dinks." Or ever. Shrinky.

Now I want to make shrinky dinks.

edited to add: I had a request from a no-reply commenter for the salsa verde recipe. Here it is -- I hope you come back and find it!

8.11.2011

My baby!

So the sneaky peek of the Accuquilt box from last post was the result of me WINNING. Yep, me and Charlie Sheen -- only my life involves a love of fabric and thread, not prostitutes and illegal drugs. Apples and oranges.

You've probably noticed Accuquilt Go Baby giveaways happening around the blogosphere. I had entered many of them with no luck. Then the stars aligned and I won Amber's giveaway. I think some Tiki spirit was helping me -- Amber lives in Hawaii.

I won the Go Baby and three dies of my choice. I selected the 2.5" strip die, the apple core die, and the Sparkle Christmas tree die. I'm going to be putting that Christmas tree on everything.

And so far I am loving it! The CMQG is taking part in the Habitat challenge, so I whipped out my apple core die. So easy, Jaxon could do it fresh from the bath!