Catching Up on the Interwebz

Sometimes I get caught up doing the same ol' thing online - check my email, check ebay, check my blogs, get bored.

And then sometimes I get swept away in the awesome randomness which is just a click away on my computer. I need to get started on my 'friend gifts' for this year, and know what I want to make for one, but I also like to mix it up & make it more stressful for myself by whipping together multiple creations. In the midst of my search for the perfect, complicated, hive-inducing project, I wandered into OhDeeDoh. I love this site for its mix of high-end nursery design, low-end kid crafts, and everything in between. Plus, I've been obsessing about the possibility of renting a house (more space! more work!) and doing something cute with the kids' room. And today I found this:

This little beauty is by Thorunn Arnadottir, an Icelandic artist. Looks like it's a one-off design, but how cool would it be to reproduce this in a kids' room? Grab some paint, tape, wooden boxes and nails, and you've got yourself a cool, modern mural/ wall storage. I am not always a huge fan of modern design, but I am getting there.

I'm feeling crafty

I moseyed into Michael's today, looking for a project to turn into my next hobby (as I continue to avoid finishing the quilt a half-heartedly started for Peaches). Almost immediately, I was captivated by the Martha Stewart Craft section. There are labels, ribbons, albums, papers, notecards, glues, nearly everything you need to snazz up your next craft project. All of it is done with Martha's signature subtle style and blue accents. I was dutifully impressed, but left feeling like I always feel after an encounter with all things Martha - opened to possibilities, but shamed for knowing that I'll never live up to Martha's standards.

Don't get me wrong - I secretly dig MS. I think she has good taste and interesting ideas, but I always leave feeling inadequate. How could anyone live up to the multiple houses, the farms, the gardens, the pet collection, the iron ware, the gourmet cooking, the ironing of the bed sheets? Seriously, who has the time? I get tired just watching her work and feel a tiny bit hysterical when I read a feature story in her magazines. She sets a standard of homekeeping perfection that no woman can live up to, and I part of me hates her for making me feel more inadequate than I already do. I was a little glad when she was convicted of lying and obstructing justice (come on M, you're a brilliant woman & former stockbroker, you know what you did was wrong). I have to say she did Man Up and serve her sentence, and I think her public image improved because of it. As much as we Americans like to tear people down, we also love a comeback, and she's really busted her behind to reinvigorate MS Omnimedia. Not only that, but I do adore her new mag, Blueprint, which is much more my flea-markety-DIY-from- the-hardware-store style.

Net/net - get yourselves on down to your local Michael's store & check out her new craft line. You can also find even more on her website here: http://www.marthastewartcrafts.com/