the green machine!

I know i have mentioned before but i recently moved into a new apartment, one that i cannot stress enough is the size of a to-go box that you ask for at a restaurant. More like when you say "i need a small to-go box, the smallest one you have please." That is my apartment. At this moment i don't have an awesome picture of my place but to give you an idea it looks kind of like this (minus the amazing bay window, and add a fridge and a stove randomly against a wall.):

(I'm sorry i don't have the original source of this photo, i found it on tumblr)
As you could imagine a washer and dryer in a space this small are a no-go, especially considering that there is no hookup for them. I have been looking all over the Internet for alternate clothes washing apparatuses that do not involve electricity, and i decided to take the plunge on this one:

 The Rapid Washer - DIY Manual Hand Washing Machine

I have to say i am not a fan of this device, i received it yesterday and tried to do a small load of clothes in my sink. I work as a waitress/bartender so my clothes tend to get a little more funky than the average person, and i found that it didn't get the deep clean that i really needed. I'm sorry to say that for my personal needs it just didn't cut it, but with that said i still am boycotting the laundromat, so for the moment i will continue to hand wash my rags. 

Be Wise!

I know that everybody feels this way, but i seriously have the most amazing mother in the universe! She has always been my best friend and partner-in-craft.

 For those of you who do not know, she is one of the most talented portrait artist that ever walked this earth. When i was a little girl i would sit in her "art room" and watch her construct these amazing images, i was so fascinated by the many boxes of pastels she had and the way her finger tips would be covered in rainbows.

(a portrait she did of my aunt cherry who passed away recently)
She was always creating something amazing, whether it was with sewing, painting, jewelry making her imagination and creativity never stopped! As a teenager we would go shopping and if i liked something she would look at the pricetag and say "golly, i could make that" and honestly it would embarrass the crap out of me and make me mad because i would just want the stupid brand name tag, now i say the same thing (insert chuckling.)

While i was growing up we would always watch the classic movie channel together and one movie that we would most often quote was:

 we would always try and "make enchantment" like blanch, and until i was older and just recently watched the movie i didn't realize how many things we would quote from that movie. I guess this is just one of those mother/daughter inside joke things but its reason 1,000,008 why i love my mommy.

I could seriously write for years all the reasons i love her, but basically she is my real soul-twin, my treasure box, my inspiration, my shining example of a true woman. Mommy i love your gracious heart and your rose colored glasses, Happy Mothers Day!

stencil me in

At the moment I am in the process of decorating my apartment, something that is very hard for me because I am a very indecisive human being. I knew that I wanted to paint an accent wall and went as far as to buy paint samples and undertook the task of painting only half of my apartment in a color until I kind of realized it was not true love, thank goodness valspar has color guarantee.  I had to rethink my whole design plan, which still includes the accent wall, but now i am obsessed with wall stencils to create that look of wallpaper. After days and days of looking through every search engine I could find, my dream stencil and i met.

this stencil is from royal design studio on etsy, they have so many amazing designs!

this was the second runner up, also found on etsy by bluedoor17

I am so excited to go paint shopping again! This time I am going to go with my gut and pick what I love, instead of picking what i think a "grownup" would choose, i see pinks and blacks and lots of hounds-tooth!

if anybody is interested in any other stencil designs you can also find a large collection at http://www.cuttingedgestencils.com/ and http://www.stencil-library.com/ is one of my favorites, they pretty much have everything!

seal the deal

Today i am enjoying a very rare off day, usually i work six to seven days a week. I pretty much feel like i live to work sometimes, but lately i have been really trying to be productive in areas that i have neglected this past year (more like 5 years but whatever) Painting and drawing being number one of the list. That being said i took the time to paint my current obsession: A Baby SEaaaaal!

I want to do a whole series of seals, maybe some with bow-ties to honor busters hand. (If you have never seen arrested development, go now, watch it and love it!) I literally have sat at the computer looking at seals for hours at a time, but I'm sure I'm not the only one. (right?)

Devil Dogs

Tonight i pulled an all-nighter for the first time in probably 3 years. No, i was not protesting sleep for some righteous cause, or even partying down........I was held hostage by the boyfriend and his best friend and forced to watch a scary movie that i have seen 4 times now. (still scares the pee-pee out of me.) Then the boys decided to talk about "the old scratch" and his minions (a.k.a. satan, demons, and ghosts) Thanks to my over active imagination my eyes did not feel droopy once until now........the sun has finally risen and i am safe from the dark lord (well one hopes anyway.) I did manage to do one crafty/non-scary thing last night.

I present:

this little frenchie is not mine unfortunately. If i cant add another sweet wil' bebe to my furry family at the moment then at least i can paint my dream dog. I am gonna prop him next to my bed I'm sure he will protect me from all the ghosties.

buyers remorse

Today the boyfriend was really sick and decided to go to his mothers house because i guess I suck as a nurse. I thought i would be able to give my care giving skills another shot when i got off work (which was almost midnight) but the poor dear understandably was more comfy at his moms mansion soooooo, i found myself alone for the night. What is a very lonely unsleepy girly to do at such a late hour? Shop of course! Normally i have the boyfriend looking over my shoulder to talk some sense into me before i blow my pathetic excuse for a bank account balance on trinkets and lovelies. My Jiminy Cricket was nowhere to be found, so i went absolutely mad and now will be skating my behind to the poor house in my new gear. check it out yo:

my sweet new riedell r3's! 

and of course safety first peeps!

also i happened to purchase the coolest book in the world!

 def take a look see! there are tons of pictures from the book on amazon!

I am probably most excited about this book, seeing as i am kind of in the middle of moving into/ decorating my literal shoebox of an apartment. I plan on stealing every idea out of this book and trying to cram it into my extremely small space!

Anyway even though i can justify all my purchases (at least in my own head) I sort of dread explaining them to my honey bunny........does he really need know?..... ;-)

Holy First Post Batman!

Hello cyberspace! I have looked at you from afar and admired long enough, no more "from your secret admirer" notes anymore i want you to be a part of my life! intros are always awkward so here i go..............

My name is Claire, I am 25, I probably live in the smallest apartment in the whole world. I am a southern belle currently living in the sunshine state right next to the beach. I love crafty, retro inspired things and am in the process of blinging up my tiny space. I love! love! love! finding a bargain, something im sure i will be talking about alot.

.........and that pretty much sums it up folks.