StarSparrow

The Roaming Gnome is Roaming

So, Typepad is expensive. It was worth it when I first began this blog roughly a year ago, because Blogger was very limited in what you could do. However, Google is doing amazing things with Blogger now, and it has made leaps and bounds past Typepad. Not to mention, it's free. And I can set it up to reroute to StarSparrow.com, instead of that address taking you here. 

Not to mention, it's costing me roughly $120/year to host the site on Typepad with a custom domain, and I can do the same exact thing on Blogger easier and with more options at no cost. With a baby on the way, saving money is a no brainer!

I'll still be blogging about art, sewing, quilting, and antiques, with the new addition of traveling, and adventures in mommyhood. I hope you will follow me over to my new online home!

See you there!

 

Here's What I've Been Working on Lately

I'm almost done with the first trimester, and I am SO looking forward to feeling human again. The nausea, exhaustion, heart burn, dizziness, breakouts, and food aversions have been terrible! 

We are so excited about what the future holds for us as parents, however, for those out there trying to have a child, hang in there. We had been trying for around a year, with no luck, and things were looking really dark. After the first of the year, I'd been to see a specialist who ran a number of tests and recommended exploratory surgery as the next step in trying to have a baby (at the time, I was a few weeks pregnant, but we didn't know). It was terrifying. As two people in our mid-twenties, we hadn't really considered that we might have trouble, or that we could be infertile. Having that desire for a child, and seeing babies and pregnant women everywhere, can be agonizing for someone who has been trying to conceive. 

That's why, although I am so happy that my dream is coming true, my heart and my mind are also with all the men and women out there who are struggling with infertility and the desire to become a parent. I know for those in that situation it can be incredibly discouraging, but don't lose heart.

I am thinking of you all, and I send my love and lots of baby dust.

Vintage-Style Nativity

I finished the Nativity I've been working on, and I actually finished it before Christmas! I sculpted the heads, hands, and animals from paper-clay, and the bodies from tinfoil (cheaper than using paper-clay, and the bodies tend to be too thick to dry). I created the costumes on the body using fabric scraps and hot glue (quicker than sewing, and you can't really tell the difference). The Nativity includes, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, an Angel (not pictured above), our dog Pompeii, a lamb, and a little bird. I also made a manger for baby Jesus to lay in. I'll be constructing the Creche for the Nativity in the weeks to come.

Straight from my sketchbook, here is the idea page for the Nativity. I sketched it up while I was half-asleep in bed, and I knew I had to make it. I hope this will encourage you to write down all your ideas, no matter how daunting or absurd they seem, and then try some of those ideas out! You may just end up with something neat that you didn't even realize you could do! I felt like this was too big a project, and I figured it would be next Christmas before I finished it, but I pleasantly surprised myself. 

Gingerbread and Red Riding Hood

This past week, I thought it would be nice to build a gingerbread house. J thought it would be nice to eat a gingerbread house. We both ended up happy from that one! This photo of him diving into the finished product was just too cute not to share!

And here are the parts to the Nativity I mentioned last night, happily drying in a downy cotton cushion. They should be dry in a day or so, and then I can get to painting!

Do I even need to tell how you freaking EXCITED I am about this?!?

Amanda Seyfried? Check!

Guys with faux-hawks and serious looks on their faces? Check!

Gary Oldman? Check!

Dark gothic romance? Check!

Beautiful scenery and panoramic shots? Check!

Incredible and vintagey costumes? Double Check!

This movie meets all my requirements for a great movie! Forget the good acting and great dialogue, that's for the timeless classics (which I also adore... bring on the Casablanca!) this is the perfect atmospheric, dark and moody chick flick! I love these!

Will you be catching "Red Riding Hood" when it comes out in March 2011?

And just for kicks: Favorite movie ever, and why?

Mine is "An Affair To Remember". I cry every time, it's just... *sigh* incredible.

Two Silhouettes, One Nativity, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

In less than a month, a very lovely couple is getting married. I designed the silhouettes for their wedding, which were printed on 150 thank you cards, and the menus for the reception. I also created 12 gorgeous pendants for the bride and wedding party. The pendants will be tied to the bouquets with ribbon during the ceremony, and can later be worn on a necklace. Each one features a mirror on the back so the lady can check her lipstick. The front is monogrammed, with a little snippet of the bride's dress included as a keepsake. I was in such a hurry to get them mailed off to the bride that I forgot to take photos! We'll see if I can get some photos of them in-action at the wedding and share those later.

 I wanted to show you photos of the neat little Nativity I'm sculpting (the one above is courtesy of Caravaggio... LOVE him!), but I managed to leave my SD card at work, so my camera is useless until after tomorrow. Regardless, I've been working on a tiny little paper-clay Nativity, featuring Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, an angel, a little lamb, a littler (littler is so a word) bird, and our dog Pompeii. Okay, so our dog wasn't exactly present at the birth of Christ, but it was so darn cute I couldn't resist! I also sculpted the parts for another angel, which I think I'll turn into an ornament.

Have you started getting in the Christmas or Hanukkah spirit yet? Have you begun decorating? I have, much to my husband's chagrin! He thinks Christmas decorating should begin no sooner than the day after Thanksgiving... I vote for the day after Halloween. This year, I found a loophole! He said "No tree until after Thanksgiving".

...I smiled sweetly, and waited for him to go to work. Then I hung the garlands, pulled out the ornaments, decorated the mantle, put a wreath on the door, wrapped presents and stacked them where the tree goes, hung the stockings, pulled out the snowman, and lit a gingerbread candle. But I didn't set up the tree.

No, trees are for after Thanksgiving.

I win.