Sunday Funday!

I’ve been feeling extremely tangled up lately. That’s the best way I can describe it… just too many strings, all trying to go different directions, and getting all knotted up…kind of like my crosstitch thread that is wadded up in a bag in my craft room.

I have been writing for a freelance job that I have been barely getting done on time, and I’ve been neglecting my own blogs because of it. On top of the writing, I have a couple of craft shows coming up in December that I have been wanting to get busy making things for… but every weekend it seems that things I have no control over get in the way of me making the making happen. I have gotten more and more frustrated, and feel like I have been spinning my wheels for weeks.

Finally, today, I got up and managed my time and had nothing else to do except whatever I wanted to do. And I was actually determined enough to get stuff done! I got out of bed and found a corner to get some of my freelance writing done this morning, which will help me not be so frantic come Wednesday night when I’m trying to finish it up. I also made a dent in some of the prep work for making bags for the shows, and worked on a couple of vintage ironing boards I’m re-purposing into holiday decor.

After getting some making done, I went out to check on my chickens and ended up cleaning out their coop and putting a roost in. Then I picked up the legs of our pool that had been lying around in our yard for a few weeks and put them away. Then I put the new grill cover on our grill and cleaned up our patio…

So, a free Sunday is a good thing. I’m hoping to make this a routine, so that I can make some progress on the huge project list I have hanging over my head. Time for being creative and get stuff done makes me happy. Seems simple enough, doesn’t it?

 

Sometimes you just need to veg out.

Tonight’s the premier of the new season of Design Star on HGTV and I am not ashamed to admit that I’m probably just a little too excited. There are several reasons… not the least of which is the fact that this is one reality show that my hubby will sit down and watch with me (Food Network shows, Chopped and Bravo’s Top Chef also get his attention) but this season THREE of my favorite HGTV designers are acting as judges!!

I’ve always loved Vern Yip  – and tend to channel him when I’m redecorating a room by using unconventional materials in conventional ways. One of my other favorite Trading Spaces alums is Genevieve Gorder (how can you not love a designer in a pencil skirt and bare feet??), and she’s going to add her perfectly simple opinion to the mix. To top it off, my favorite North-of-the-Border amazon designer, Candice Olson is going to be on the panel! It’s like designer overload!!

Interestingly, the design sense of all three of these judges is modern. I think Genevieve is the most likely to appreciate something a little more “foofy”, but for the most part, the designs I see them create themselves are streamlined, clean, with subtle color choices and not a lot of  big crazy statements. Since a lot of designers I’ve seen on the show have a design style that is… shall we say… “unique”… it will be interesting to see how those designers are judged, and if the ones with styles similar to the judges’ do better in front of the panel.

But tonight is not the only night of great t.v. that I’ll be enjoying soon! Oh, NO!!

August 20th (thanks jeanhasbeenshopping!!) is the season premier of Project Runway, on Lifetime this year. Tim is back, Heidi is back, and one of the most interesting new designers in the mix is Etsy’s own Louise Black! (check out her audition and bio info here) Louise and 15 other hopefuls will be frantically sewing, scratching, clawing, back-biting, and generally… being fabulous. All this, in an effort to earn the right to be fabulous AND wealthy as the next “new thing” at New York’s Fashion Week.

Of course, the shows are all well and good for the designers, the networks, and the careers of the judges, but the real coolness is that they do it all on t.v. for people like me (and you!) who dream of fashion and design fame and fortune, but just haven’t quite got the portfolio that would qualify them for the shows. It’s not that we don’t have the SKILLS!!!

Better get a lot done today before Design Star comes on… so I’d better get off the computer…