I haven't blogged. And here's why: I've had two important writing projects I've been working on that are actually paying gigs and I could not allow myself to write for fun with work hanging over my head. Both projects are at a hault for the moment and I'm in Atlanta, so I give myself permision to blog again.
And, it helps when your little sister sends you a message on Facebook that says, "Please Blog." I always have a fan in her. So I'll post something tomorrow. She even sent me pictures and asked me to blog about specific example of resourcefulness from our lives. So, I can't disappoint her.
Tomorrow!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Monday Night Girls
If I continue to tell stories about the girls from Bible study, then I think I'm going to have to start using code. I cannot type out "one of the Bible study girls" behind each girl's name. There are 11 of them. And I cannot use an acronym like BSG. We use acronyms for everything at work, so much so that I never know exactly where the meeting is or who I'm meeting with. The joy of acronyms.
So from now on, they are The Girls.
If I didn't label people we wouldn't be having this conversation. (I label everyone--for clarification, of course.) Examples: Courtney, my best friend from college; Larissa, my best friend from work; Jason, my friend from the womb (Our moms were pregnant at the same time. He's been my friend since I was entered the scene.); Lainey, my four-year-old friend, and so forth. All that to say, I have a great need to label the girls as one of the girls.
I adore this picture from Jessica's shower. Here's why, there are four really nice ladies in this picture who are not in our beloved study group. And you can totally pick them out because they are not laughing. They're simply smiling, just trying to make it through this picture posing process with strangers they met a mere hour prior.
Could we be obnoxious? In this shot we are pretty much the equivalent of 7th grade girls at the Homecoming Dance who've just been asked to dance with the cutest guy in school.
So from now on, they are The Girls.
If I didn't label people we wouldn't be having this conversation. (I label everyone--for clarification, of course.) Examples: Courtney, my best friend from college; Larissa, my best friend from work; Jason, my friend from the womb (Our moms were pregnant at the same time. He's been my friend since I was entered the scene.); Lainey, my four-year-old friend, and so forth. All that to say, I have a great need to label the girls as one of the girls.
I adore this picture from Jessica's shower. Here's why, there are four really nice ladies in this picture who are not in our beloved study group. And you can totally pick them out because they are not laughing. They're simply smiling, just trying to make it through this picture posing process with strangers they met a mere hour prior.
Could we be obnoxious? In this shot we are pretty much the equivalent of 7th grade girls at the Homecoming Dance who've just been asked to dance with the cutest guy in school.
Friday, June 13, 2008
The Truth About Packaging
I love packaging. Packaging is a powerful force in my life. I buy Ms. Meyers Clean Day Soap, not because I think it's necessarily the best soap, but because I love their packaging. The creative genius behind this packaging is Werner Design Werks. I think my favorite thing about my job is coming up with packaging concepts. I like doing that just as much as playing with words until I find just the right way to say something. So, I'm a lucky girl to get to do such fun things.
I was thumbing through the creativity issue of HOW yesterday when I ran across this smart self promotion piece from Hatch Design out in San Francisco. They printed it on egg carton material--how clever is that?
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Fishing Line & Baby Showers
In case you didn't know, the two go together.
I know this because I have become quite the shower-thrower. This would be because the girls I'm closest to in life, my Bible study girls, continue to become pregnant. One right after the other. Within three years this group will have yielded something like six babies.
Two things I've learned in my party planning: a) Do not use all your good ideas on one shower. b)Bring in special ops.
Exhibit A: Let's call this one "The shower that Martha built." Here's the thing about this shower. It was for Julie, my most loyal and faithful friend, and she has taught me every single thing I know about how to throw an even remotely tasteful party. And because she and I are not Publix cake people (sorry if you are, but I have to ask you: What is special about a Publix cake? Here's the thing I know some of you like the icing (not me) but anything you can walk into a store and have somebody practically spray paint a birthday wish or shower congrats on is not necessarily, shall we say, special. I rest my case.) So for Julie's shower I wanted special, so I went straight to the source: marthastewart.com.
I immediately got on the phone with Melissa, who makes amazing tea cakes and is hands-down my favorite florist in town. She makes everything feel so personal, which is a quality I love in her work. And then I called Jenny, who is quite possibly the classiest and most hospitable person in this town. And she's from Texas, and we all know everything is bigger in Texas--including the baby showers. And we got to work.
FYI: Jenny & Melissa are special ops. I know. This blog is already so hard to follow.
You should all run straight out to the store and get the ingredients for this cake. It is the antithesis of a Publix cake. And you can make this. You really can. Just be patient with the egg-shaped truffles. They are tricky but worth the work.
The shower was successful.
So, last Monday Special Ops, Julie, and I had our turn at hosting a shower for Jessica, another Bible study gal. (Remember, them, the girls who are working with God to help populate the earth.) Now, that I set a standard with the whole bird/nest-themed-shower-that-Martha-built, I wondered what we could do, you know, a little extra touch to make Jessica's shower cute.
This is where the fishing line comes in. We went with a polka dot theme for the shower and because Jessica is one of the most creative scrapbooky types I know, it felt right to make something with paper--a sweet little polka dot garland draped across the window.
It was as easy-as-pie to make, time consuming, but easy. Here's what you need: small plastic rings (sewing section at JoAnn's), fishing line (do not try to find this at Target. May as well load up and drive to the nearest Dick's Sporting Goods), card stock or scrapbook paper. I used paper with adhesive backing so that I could just place the line between two circles to seal it in place. I recommend using a circle cutter, but if you feel ridiculously good about your ability to cut perfect circles, knock yourself out.
Jessica posted pics from the shower. Melissa did the flowers--lovely as usual.
As for the dots, what if you strung them across a playroom, or your creative space. They'd be so sweet in baby's room tacked from corner to corner. Or maybe you could make them for the next shower you throw!
Tomorrow,
Amy
I know this because I have become quite the shower-thrower. This would be because the girls I'm closest to in life, my Bible study girls, continue to become pregnant. One right after the other. Within three years this group will have yielded something like six babies.
Two things I've learned in my party planning: a) Do not use all your good ideas on one shower. b)Bring in special ops.
Exhibit A: Let's call this one "The shower that Martha built." Here's the thing about this shower. It was for Julie, my most loyal and faithful friend, and she has taught me every single thing I know about how to throw an even remotely tasteful party. And because she and I are not Publix cake people (sorry if you are, but I have to ask you: What is special about a Publix cake? Here's the thing I know some of you like the icing (not me) but anything you can walk into a store and have somebody practically spray paint a birthday wish or shower congrats on is not necessarily, shall we say, special. I rest my case.) So for Julie's shower I wanted special, so I went straight to the source: marthastewart.com.I immediately got on the phone with Melissa, who makes amazing tea cakes and is hands-down my favorite florist in town. She makes everything feel so personal, which is a quality I love in her work. And then I called Jenny, who is quite possibly the classiest and most hospitable person in this town. And she's from Texas, and we all know everything is bigger in Texas--including the baby showers. And we got to work.
FYI: Jenny & Melissa are special ops. I know. This blog is already so hard to follow.
You should all run straight out to the store and get the ingredients for this cake. It is the antithesis of a Publix cake. And you can make this. You really can. Just be patient with the egg-shaped truffles. They are tricky but worth the work. The shower was successful.
So, last Monday Special Ops, Julie, and I had our turn at hosting a shower for Jessica, another Bible study gal. (Remember, them, the girls who are working with God to help populate the earth.) Now, that I set a standard with the whole bird/nest-themed-shower-that-Martha-built, I wondered what we could do, you know, a little extra touch to make Jessica's shower cute.
This is where the fishing line comes in. We went with a polka dot theme for the shower and because Jessica is one of the most creative scrapbooky types I know, it felt right to make something with paper--a sweet little polka dot garland draped across the window.
It was as easy-as-pie to make, time consuming, but easy. Here's what you need: small plastic rings (sewing section at JoAnn's), fishing line (do not try to find this at Target. May as well load up and drive to the nearest Dick's Sporting Goods), card stock or scrapbook paper. I used paper with adhesive backing so that I could just place the line between two circles to seal it in place. I recommend using a circle cutter, but if you feel ridiculously good about your ability to cut perfect circles, knock yourself out. Jessica posted pics from the shower. Melissa did the flowers--lovely as usual.
As for the dots, what if you strung them across a playroom, or your creative space. They'd be so sweet in baby's room tacked from corner to corner. Or maybe you could make them for the next shower you throw!
Tomorrow,
Amy
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Resourceful...
People tell me I'm resourceful. I think I'm resourceful, too. I get this resourcefulness from my father. He can figure out a way to make anything work—it's because he's a farmer. So, I get it honest.
When it comes to ideas, I often hear myself saying, "What if we..."
So, as I start a blog—which I have felt much peer pressure from friends to start—my aim is to share ideas. You know, the "what if we painted it blue, or what if you turned the couch in the opposite direction, or what if we used fishing line..." kind of ideas. By the way, I will share my fishing line creation tomorrow in my second blog!
Welcome to my blog, Resourceful Amy. I cannot tell you today whether this will be short-lived or if it will be my new favorite thing to do. Besides, to make a plan would only rail against my spontaneous nature. I only know that I do not want to sit at my computer for hours when I could be living life with people I enjoy, so I will be attempting to keep this low-maintenance. But the thought of sharing creativity, ideas and resources sounds like a lot of fun to me.
By the way, I had nothing to do with the above picture. But I'm not above it, I once briefly considered duct taping my headboard to the roof of my the old Camry in an effort to move into or out of one of the many apartments in which I've lived. After all, resourcefulness is all about making what you've got work.
Tomorrow!
aj
P.S. Leave a comment. It'll make me feel good.
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