Harriet the Amigurumi Hippo ^-^

Meet who I would call Harriet :0) Harriet the Hippo :0)

Full of curiosity and fun! I tweaked a recipe for the pattern I found here.  But, as mentioned only used it as a base and went from there :0) You might notice there was no tail on the one with a pattern, I HAD to add one! :0) It's soo cute! :0) ^_^

A friend of mine whom I made through Freecycle loves Hippos and upon request made this one. It took me a few months though only because I kept putting it off with the housework that needed to be done so I could focus on it.

I only just sent my friend the pictures :0) hope she (and you!) love them! :0)

If you have Ideas I'd love to hear them! All opinions welcome! :D

... if you are familiar with Etsy AND familiar with Treasuries you *might* be familiar with Curation Nation, its a group of Etsians who have come together to help promote and encourage each other in their business through making treasuries, having monthly meetings via the internet, etc. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity to be part of a team like this and grow with. At any rate, I currently do not fit the requirements to apply for this group but it's good, means I have some goals to set my sights on and I think today is the right time to start :0). What i need to join:

"How to Join: For us to review your application to be considered as a team member your shop must have a minimum of 4 pages of products and you must have a minimum of 6 treasuries created in Treasury East. Your shop must also fill a void in the existing team. Many categories are already full."

Its quite possible my type of shop is not needed but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it - for now, I must list!

SO in lieu of needing to list - I have acquired a bit of furniture pieces that I'm toying with the idea of passing on via the shop - they are repurposed and One Of a Kind hmmm - if any of you fans has an immediate response to the postings today Please let me know. I do value your feedback!

I think I need to post my redecorating final pics on my blog so
people can see what "lostsentiments" style is - a kind of
granny/shabby/vintage chic - and help those who like that style to come to me with their wants for their own home or room... but what would you CALL that? lol :0) granshabvin chic?? is that even ...catchy?? :0) LOL *discuss* ;) Seriously - feedback? thoughts? talk to me :0)

Room Picture Ideas

I realize, I haven't unveiled any one finished room here on the blog just yet - rest assured this will happen! ^-^ I want to be able to post the "final" product of the rooms but things are a bit disheveled at the moment and not everything has a "place" just now. SO stand by :0).

Meanwhile, I'm kicking around some ideas in my head and loving some pictures of fellow etsians that I may decide to incorporate into the scenery of the house.

I suppose I should preface that a move I am fond of is Fried Green Tomatoes. I love the raw homey feel of the town they are in and how there isn't anything brand spanking new, don't touch or sit on. Instead there is a feeling of every bench, booth or chair being free reign for any town folk or stranger to have a seat in.

Then of course you have another of my favorites - Anne of Green Gables/Avonlea where they use everything they have with a "waste not, want not" mentality. The trails and places Anne discovers are picturesque and the colors of the season they are in paint the scenery. It's so inviting and I love it!

In both movies people don't have a whole lot of access either so while their homes are cozy, they are not over done. The rooms are a haven, a place to go and escape the noise outside - you won't find a cell phone here :0) lol :D.

Right, so with all that in mind I move on to the pictures I'm being drawn to - soothing, dreamy, rich in wonder and possibility. :0) If you please ;).

These artists are in no certain order - only thing I require is you enjoy the pictures and feel free to check out their shops for more! ;)

Katya Horner of Slight Clutter Photography has many, many lovelies in her shop - however my eyes tend to specifically feast on this picture:

Breaking Through

and another just this morning caught my eye (though in truth, they are all eye catching, I'm looking for certain rooms and color schemes though :0)) this one in particular for our bedroom:

Wonderland

and this one possibly for "my" room:

Gratitude

not that your minds eye is fixed on these images allow me to share that Slighclutter is currently having a sale - here are the details as you will find them on their shop announcement...

CURRENT SALE #1 is 20% off 16x16" and 25% off 16x20" fine art prints in the Large Prints set. Runs through August 10th.

CURRENT SALE #2 is an ongoing Buy One, Get One Free ("BOGO") sale for purchases of prints 12x12" and smaller. Please see details in the "shop policies" section. Does not apply to "set of four" listings.

Now to unveil another artist with some amazing talent - ThisYearsGirl

And while again many of the pictures in this shop are positively alluring I've been coveting this one the most lately and WANT for my room ;0)

The Queen

It reminds me of how we each carry burdens, many all our own... while yes, we can share them with others we are the sole bearers of most and we all need a place we can go for a reprieve and comfort ourselves. You might have guessed I really like trees - something about them.. tall, strong, silent, comforting.

Next Artist to mention -

love this one - I'm thinking of it for the bedroom, but there is no way I can get all of these pictures I'm sharing - :0) Sharing anyways! ^-^

JudeMcConkey's Photography

The Fern

******************

Karcharz

The Door Still Opens

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InMostLight

Feel the Magic in the Air

and since I've shared a novels worth here lol :0) (AND I'm running out of time!) I'll end here. I will update soon! Thank you for reading and viewing! :D Enjoy! All the best, ~Dawn

Almost a year later

July 31st 2009 we signed for the house and while no, we didn't move in right away, we've almost been homeowners for a full year now - craziness!

Also almost a year later the sitting room upstairs is just about complete! With painted walls (compliments of my family who visited in May ^-^ and decor strategically placed to maximize the "homey" or "cozy" feeling. I'm totally excited! I will say however that I am purposely not posting pics right now so you will get the full Before and After affect. I had to at least write and tell you about the progress though! ^-^

Man what an adventure it's been! Freecycle has been a God send. I've gotten so many candles and things over the year(s) and been "storing" them up for this season! ^-^ The season to "sow" and make manifest the vision for the house that has been in the works for too long! dah! :0) Forgive the poetic antics - its the best I can do for explaining sometimes :0)

Alright! I'm sure to post again tomorrow, cause this weekend, well... I have plans... ;0)

I'll leave you with these at least, the pictures of the sitting room BEFORE when we first moved in.



AND when we had to emergency move in since our apartment washing machine decided to flood us out! You will note most of our items are in trash bags and no, I didn't know what was where or who put what in which bag. We had a group of friends swooped into help and make small work of the packing and moving, but in truth, it was all a very arduous task unpacking... what can I say, when it comes to organization I'm a type A lol :0)

You might see the black sleeping bag in the lower right hand of this picture. The first night the hubby and I stayed in our house, he was there and he gave me the couch. Love him. He's too good to me.







Alright, so get ready for some changes people! :0) ^-^ Woot! woot! :0)

As always thank you for reading AND thank you for supporting me through the projects! Eesh! ;)

Update on the weekend paintcapade! :0)

So I'm beat, I think both mentally and physically right now from everything this weekend. I'm hopeful that these weekends where I tackle a project will soon be behind me so I can focus on the things that I want to do. I'm definitely making progress on the house, sometimes I feel like it's two steps forward and one step back. With painting you can't always do one coat and be done with it. There are touch ups or yes, the second coat sometimes. So it' not just "oh I'm going to paint". Le sigh, forgive the detail I went into there -as mentioned I'm a bit beat :s.

Alright! So! Pictures! The trim is Semi Gloss White, the main color is Flat Dove White and the ceiling is ceiling paint. Inside the closet, we have kilz2 white primer, no sense in giving it a hue I figured, since the kilz is bright as it is :0)

Here's a quick before pic of when we first bought the house and the room hadn't been touched by any type of cleaning or face lift mechanism :0).

BEFORE:


DURING:
We first had to scrap the remaining lines of wallpaper off the ceiling. As you'll notice in the BEFORE pic - they had some blue sky wallpaper adhered to the ceiling that needed to go.


Onto priming the walls and saying goodbye to all the nicotine stains :0) Yay! :D


AFTER:
Last night we took pictures of the room done...


Finished touch ups today and put the final coat on the desk and a mirror I needed refinished :0)


So now for the decorating... that should be fun, but I'll need a few nights sleep first I think :0) I will say decorating is the most fun of all the home stuffs :0) so whoo hoo :0) for decorating :0) and yes, I will take pics ;)

As always, thanks for reading! :D ~Dawn

**UPDATE** - see pics of decorated white room (work in progress ;)) here: http://lostsentiments.blogspot.com/2012/01/white-room-decorated.html

What is in store this weekend?

The plan of attack is to try and get "MY" room done as far as the painting goes, this weekend.

So kilz/prime tonight, then paint ceiling Saturday morning and then onto the trim. Hopefully Saturday afternoon the ceiling and trim will be dry enough that I cna hit the walls without fear of messing things up.

I may be dreaming as far as the time frame but I figure if I can paint the room within that time then I'll have Sunday to recover. Right? :0)

Um, pray for me, cause I'm overwhelmed thinking about it! But I just have to get started and then I'll be good. :0)

I'll take before and after pictures, maybe even a few in the process of things if its going well lol :0) so feel free to check back before long! :D

UPDATE 7/24/10 Pictures!

Treasures acquired today

So the truck died at the freecyclers house :0( not cool. BUT my hubby came in and saved the day - fixed the truck and followed us home. The lady who had posted her items name was Ursula - kind soul who brought my sister and I water while waiting in the near 100 degree weather... inside a parked not running truck. Thank God for good people!

In addition to the trunk and the rocking chair, Ursula showed us this large lovely braided wool rug that they needed to get rid of! This will be perfect in our sitting room upstairs once we get hard wood floors! We are so blessed! Now to break out the shop vac and go to town on cleaning the rug and "my" room that I scrapped the other night :0) stay tuned!

What else, what else... :0)

omigoodness! I'm picking up a 100 yr old refinished trunk tonight! Freecycle rocks my socks! :0) The person had posted the offer for the trunk 6 minutes before I responded and then continued to list a large black rocker in excellent condition. When I opened the post for the rocking chair all I saw was an email full of code, so what do I do? I don't falter, no! :0) I know I want it, based on the description in the subject line and I send another email requesting the rocker for pick up at the same time as the trunk. ... and guess what? In response they tell me that they have a tiny matching rocking chair as well, how about a 3 for 1 deal?? :0) lol So of course! Yes! Where do I sign!?!?! :0) jk jk :0) Right! So tonight after work I'm going to be picking up some new pieces for the house and I'm SO excited! now if the walls would jsut paint and sand themselves so I can really "nest" we'll be in good shape! :0) ;) lol I'll post pics of these 3 bad boys later gators! :0) so stay tuned!

In case you were wondering...

... why I've been so quiet (aside from a giveaway ;)). I've been keeping busy running around collecting items from freeycylers like this desk



The room I had in mind for my "studio" and then decided against is getting worked on! Just this weekend I sanded the walls and stripped the ceiling of the wall paper the previous owners had stuck up there :p. So things are in the works! :0) and I can't wait to unveil what I'm now calling "my room" once it's done! :0)

I have SO many ideas for the house and have been able to bring the main ones to fruition for the most part IE. landscaping and the big room upstairs that I'm in most of the time for now.

But yes, I'm brainstorming, planning, sanding, painting, repainting, decorating, trading on etsy for home decor and making my own pieces for home decor.

All the while I'm also brainstorming ideas and items I want to make as originals or signature items if you will from lostsentiments shop - SO at SOME point, while I wish I had a time line in place I don't, so at SOME point lostsentimensts will be getting a revamp and face lift! So stand by! :0) Feel free to check in every so often and I will do what I can to keep you up to date on how things are going or the things I'm doing. :0)

Want a FREE Teddy?? Read on...

Hello my fine friends! :0)

Recently Tia of http://christopherandtia.blogspot.com/ graciously agreed to host a giveaway for a lostsentiments Tiny Amigurumi Teddy! (very exciting I know! ;0)) and I had to come share it with YOU :0)

Tia did a wonderful job of explaining away why mothers would love a tiny, faceless amigurumi teddy for their little one and sprinkled throughout she shares her own day to day mother trials, tribulations, victories and praises (o.~) of her children... it had me laughing out loud! This is good stuff! :0)

So please, read her blog to enter for a free amigurumi teddy and while there - why not follow this kind hearted lady?? ^.^ Let's keep discovering each others lost sentiments one at a time!

All the best, always,
~Dawn

It's Curtains for you! Curtains I say! :0)

A sister of mine moved in recently and the windows in her room were in need of some curtains :0). While the room she stays in is lovely with natural lighting (2 windows) when the sun comes up at 6:30AM she doesn't need to know - BUT the sun has been waking her up for lack of curtains. Candace and I ran to Target to peruse the curtains and quickly realized the "standard" sizes were either too long or too short for her windows... so to the fabric stash! Though we started with a wine color we found the fabric was too short for what we needed and went rummaging again. Much to our surprise we found a green lot that was big enough and a nice white/green fabric to reinforce the back side and keep the room energy efficient :0). heck yes!

Here are a few pics of our first curtain making escapade! :)




28 cut outs for 14 loops for curtains and the fun begins ^.^




folding material to pin for sewing! :0)




let the sewing begin! :0)




Candace (sister :0)) ironing the 1st completed pane ! :0)




Me sewing the 2nd pane... almost done! :0)




completed! :0) 1st curtain




completed :0) 2nd curtain




thermal backing :0)




and the loops all have reinforced material too! :0)

All in all, I'm SO proud of us :0) It was an undertaking and I've gained A LOT of respect for seamstresses :0)

Back to crafting..

I've been working on our bathroom an dmy mind feels like it's going to explode with all the ideas I have and want to make a reality for decorating the house!

There will be many projects I will factor into the decorating and still yet, knowing that I will be making many things for my self, for my house, I wonder... what shoudl I make for my shop??

If you have any ideas of something you'ld like to see me make or have listed as an option in the shop PLEASE let me know and I thank you for your time and ideas! :D

***THREE Treasuries***

Pretty crazy, I know!

Please check out the following links and give them each some love!

All treasuries were made by someone on the wonderful BNS thread I am a part of - such a wonderful group of supporting artists!

Petting Zoo
Featuring New chick on the Block

Fiber Arts...East
Featuring New chick on the Block

Second Chance BNS Superstars!
Featuring Iris - Tiny Amigurumi Teddy

Remember - Treasuries only last for so long! Check them out now while you can! :D

Thank you for looking!

Struggling with the scale?

I recently read a post by a girl who is well over 200 lbs and by all accounts sounds like she has been taking the right steps towards losing weight but not nearly fast enough as she would like... I offered this encouragement and wanted to share it with others.

As always, thank you for reading!

Roar!!!!! The scale is not our friend some days is it?? We want it to show all the effort we have put in has paid off and a smaller number to show it's face and smile at us... so what do we do when it refuses to move, or even decides to go up?!?! Do we falter?? Heck yes! But who has the last word? You do! Every day you decide to make those smart choices, everyday you decide to drink your water, and everyday YOU (and only you) decide you're going to hit the gym, the pool, or whatever your heart desires to "work it out"! You look forward... not back dear! You keep on keeping on because although those numbers may be saying one thing.. your body may be doing another.. it may be water weight hanging out or better yet, it may be some lean sexy muscle trying to show up and it will weigh more than fat my dear! Do not make friends with the scale love :) make friends with your ipod, your fruits, your veggies, your machine or workout dvd of choice :). I wish changes happened over night for you, I wish it were easier, and I wish it didn't have to be a thought. But you will meet your goal love! You will! Hang in there and keep looking ahead... great things are on their way dear... beyond what you can think or imagine. hugs to you! ~Dawn

Why I run...

Its in the everyday small changes and steps that over time we can look back and see how far we have come! And the small "habits" we change today will soon be part of our routine and as comfortable as breathing. It gets easier! Kind of like the run you don't necessarily want to do, the first couple steps aren't nearly as easy as the pace you have going well into your run. Like I said... it gets easier... just have to keep putting on foot in front of the other

I keep on keeping on with my running because I want more for myself.. more than what I currently am and have now in the physical sense. I do not want to be self conscious about my "cottage cheese" nor it be a nagging thought everytime I put on something a bit more revealing, I want to enjoy myself. I deserve that and much more.

I also run to clear my thoughts and leave the stresses of the day behind... I need to physically exert myself to let go of the frustration I feel against the things I cannot change but need to endure until circumstances change.

I encourage anyone on a fitness journey to think of the soreness as a medal from yesterdays work out, you broke down and pushed your muscle to be built up again and be stronger than it was before. :) YOU did it! :D Now drink that water and take the vitamin C to support your body in quick recovery! :D You can do it! :D And no one but YOU will reap the rewards of your committment to yourself to be healthier and more active. :)

Best of luck to you all! Please feel free to share why you run, or bike, or hike, or swim (!) etc. Thank you!

Journals... Nice Journals... More than $3 Journals...

when I get a really nice journal I hesitate to write in it - honestly... I normally opt for a notebook that was .50 and scribble the crap out of it in putting down my thoughts. I used to journal quite frequently before I was married, I didn't have a close friend in VA - all my friends were back at home, those who had been there physically with me through lots of things... I think my thoughts were probably overwhelming though... and they never stop... so to a journal I went to repeat myself in different fluid ways... not very often would I look back on my pages... in a sense with a journal, your thoughts are noted but you note them to be forgotten and leave the rubble behind... the substance of what you discovered comes with you though... I've thrown away and discarded the journals I logged much heart ache in.. I've written poetry and pulled poems out of my writing in the past... maybe should get back to it before I go to bed and just dump my thoughts then...

I love journals though, do not get me wrong! They are an art in themselves and it's funny how a binded, hand made piece can be so moving just to look at :) I sometimes think I should write in my best handwriting to add to it :) :D

Blank pages before you... a story to unfold... of joy, heart ache, struggle, endurance, encouragement to yourself... treasures to be realized within yourself... exciting indeed!

I have friends on Etsy who would love to have you embark on your own journal journey and provide you with the canvas... please feel free to visit Robynsart Etsy Shop. Robyn is currently embarking in a journey of journal making and would love to come alongside you with your journal writing! PaintingPam is mixing up her journals using lots of fibers - and flowers! :) Please stop by both shops and have a look see! :D

Thank you for reading!

I was Run-nin...

Where to start... I've been running lately. Just yesterday I put up my first double digit distance ever... 13.74 miles... until then I was anywhere between 4 - a lil over 8 miles for one run. I've been sharing my runs on my facebook as a way to keep myself accountable to myself. Someone mentioned I would benefit from having a blog, which I have - so I'm sharing ;).

At this time I am not training for any particular event. Basically running to run and relieve the stresses of the silly rat race. So I guess I'm training for the rat race lol that I would not run if I didn't have bills to pay. Being from the midwest and having a general notion that people are decent and coming to the east coast have been an eye opening experience. That and it's definitely given me a thicker skin which I hate, but it's either that or constantly get my heart squished and beat up. No thank you. Granted it still happens, just not as often as it used to.

Right, so I'm running to run, to feel alive. I've heard the slogan "change your body, change your mind" and I believe they go hand in hand. My hope is that as I progressively get stronger day by day I will be more head strong too and able to brush off the day a bit easier as I leave it in my tracks.

I always like to ask people, if you run... why do you run?

The Visitors Refuge

Patrick (my brother) is coming over!!! ^.^ Last time he was with us he had to suffer a couch - T.T I decided I was going to make up the room for him ALL cozy like ^.^



Not to my surprise once I showed my husband he said we should move into this room ^.^ lol - this is in the lower level of the house and I'm not one to prefer a basement room. This room has windows though!



Nothing has been painted since we moved in ( though I do have all the painting supplies in hand to do it! lol ).... so this will all be taken down at some point and then put back up... still so much work to do - but I needed to "nest" O.~ ... just a bit ^.^

I want to sleep there! o.~ hope my brother enjoys it ^.^ Snug as a bug in a rug ^.^



Here is other corner of the room ^.^ ready to read a book? ^.^ I am! O.~

The wall that you do not see in any of the pictures is where the door and the closet is.

This really isn't much of a "before" pic since nothing was done to the walls or carpet (beyond numerous runs of shampooing and cleaning :p) but this was the canvas I had... and this is the only pic I took before I added anything, probably 5 months ago.



JUST Realized this is worth noting - ALL pieces you see - the metal pieces on the wall, the candle holder, the lamp, the chair, the mirror, the tiny lamp, the SPACE HEATER, the chair, the mattress AND the bed skirt - ALL FREE through friends or from freecycling! ^.^ the pillows and bedspread I had for years and the roses on the wall were dried from the husband ^.^. The champagne bottle in the window was from our wedding ^.^ AND the candles are hit n miss... some free some from the family.

All to say and encourage you to take heart, you may have to do some hunting and running around for stuff but it can all come together simply and elegantly ^.^

Thank you for reading! ^.^

I want BRAINS - Custom Made Zombie Girl! :D

Yay! This WAS FUN!!! :D

Complete with crazy hair, slime, a null for eyes :D Sooooo excited to share with you :) Here she is!









I was asked by a fellow etsian to make an amigurumi zombie that had a face like this one, with similar features, but clearly not the same body:



Thank you for looking! :D