What up, Buttercup? Another update in pictures....

Well, this is an unusually warm day for Midwestern November: it's 65 degrees!!! What the what?! Hey, I'm not complaining.

So, what's up? I'll tell you what's up: insanity. Rapidly approaching are my first semester of college finals as well as portfolio reviews for my are classes. Uhhhh......yikes? Yeah. Roger that.

But before I melt with the stress of my college classes, I get the sheer joy of flying out to see my sailor for FIVE WHOLE DAYS. I
leave on Wednesday (in precisely 47 hours). In all honesty, words cannot do justice to the excitement that keeps making me giggle like a school-girl.

Don't judge me! I haven't seen him since his graduation on October 4th. That's a long time. I know you know that. You are smart. You can count. And stuff.

The DeviantART obsession continues (no I do not have it opened
in another tab.....stop judging me!) as I have officially posted 50 deviations. It is indeed spiffy.

In other news, my hat making sales have really been booming. So far I've made a narwhal hat for Hannah-from-the-first-floor and have been commissioned to make hats for Long-Lost-Cousin-Andrew-who-wants-a-simple-hat, Michael-who-wants-a-hat-that-looks-like-a-monster, and Jax-who-wants-to-be-the-one-and-only-"Jax-a-lope"-with-antlers-on-her-hat.

So. Looks like I know what I'm doing on the plane! Crochet hooks can be taken on board, yes?

In other, other news, I got to spend some time with some of my favorite people this weekend: Tara, Bubba, and Daddy. :) Before heading home for the weekend, we saw a shadow performance of Rocky Horror Picture Show (featuring Jax as the criminologist) here in town. T'was fun. A relaxing weekend (despite the disturbing nature of Rocky Horror, I was able to sleep well) complete with our first ever fire in our fireplace.

We've lived there for...oh....five years now? Yeah. We're a lil slow with the fireplace thing.

And I got to hang out with the Martin Girls! Though it was not in the best of locations: Shelby is in the hospital again. Click that link to see some of the spiffy crafty work Tara, Shelby, and I were doing. That doll was so well dressed.

Now, the pictures:
1. Jacque the Zombie: an accidental piece of artwork created on my paint pallet
2. Doraleous at Target: the plushie Doraleous I crocheted a while back. He goes everywhere with us. Perhaps I shall post the full adventures of Doraleous at a later date...
3. Tara modeling for Propaganda Candy's new items. Check out the shop and admire all of my fav sister's photo work for us!!!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Love,
Carolyn Michelle

Hello Sailor!!

What a fabulous weekend.
Two months is a long time.
A very long time, indeed.

I have renewed amazement for all those who go for even longer than we did without seeing each other in order to defend our great nation. What strength!

I love you Caleb!!


-Carolyn Michelle

Regarding Vintage Dresses...

Vintage dresses: they are wonderful, right? Who doesn't love the feeling of pawing carefully through a pile of historical garments only to find the most amazing, most lovely, most stunningly-awesome dress...

And have it fit you like a glove...

And find the perfect shoes...

And find a vintage slip to wear under it...

And have a cardigan and belt in your dorm room that will match it perfectly...

And then find out that not only is it a vintage dress, but also a vintage dress made of hand-crocheted lace...

And have a boyfriend who will be graduating from Navy Basic Training on Friday October 1st which presents you with the perfect opportunity to wear aforementioned dress, shoes, cardigan, belt, and slip...

Yeah. I love that feeling.

Dress, shoes, and slip from Moxie in DeKalb, IL

In other news: I got a DeviantArt account (the-carolyn-michelle) which means I have yet another place to list my creations (in addition to flickr and Ravelry and Facebook and here and Etsy...) Yay!

Also, in case you didn't get it, Caleb graduates on Friday!!! I leave with his mother and father on Thursday night to head out to the hotel and meet up with Josh (Caleb's brother) and his wife Linda. It's gonna be an awesome time!!!!!!

YAY!

That's all there is to say: yay!

All my love,
Carolyn Michelle

Photo: Carolyn Michelle's cell phone 25th September 2010

A List of Things I've Done Lately:

Lists seem to be the most practical way of describing life lately. This is what has happened:

1. Propaganda Candy was officially registered as a business. Yay IRS and responsibilities as an official business owner! (Aug. 5th-ish)
2. Caleb left for boot camp (Aug. 2nd)
3. I moved to college (Aug. 19th)
4. I worked with kids and horses (All summer)
5. Sammi and I got asked to be the "Crafty Goddesses" of the dorm floor I live on (Yesterday)
6. I got a Ravelry.com account (Sometime last weekend) (Add me!) (CreativeCooby)
7. One of my best friends, (and roommate at college) got engaged (Aug. 12th....I think)
8. Classes started (Aug. 23rd)
9. I got a new phone (Aug. 24)
10. I made another sale for LLH design (Aug. 22)

This is not in any particular order, as you may have guessed. The decision has been reached, at least in my mind, that I will attempt to sell the remaining items in the Luck, Love, and Hedgehogs shop in the Propaganda Candy Shop. This crossover will be happening I-don't-know-when, but soon. All we are waiting on now seems to be our photographer (my sister) who still needs to send us the images of our products that we will be using in our shop.

With no more Luck, Love, and Hedgehogs Shop for the time being, at least, this blog will become my own personal blog...which is basically what it was to begin with...right? Right.

So...no major changes. Okay. All is well. :)

All my love,
Carolyn Michelle

Photo: From my Dorm Window: a Sunset over NIU, Aug 21, 2010

A Weekend in List Form, or, The Insanity of Growing Up

Yes, yes. It seems my attentions have been driven yet again far from thoughts of updating this blog. Hmmm....why is that? I have developed an easily-understood list for you, because "easy" is all I can do right now. So, in no particular order, things distracting me:

1. My dear friend Shelby, in whose hospital room I am sitting right now.
2. Graduation from High School yesterday.
3. Reaffirmation of my faith via baptism yesterday.
4. A crazy-intense Grad Party at my house yesterday.
5. My darling boyfriend Caleb's birthday tomorrow.
6. The initial success of my latest crafty endeavor with Samantha Marie, the bee queen.

Regarding #1: Shelby is the middle daughter of the family I babysit for. She has been in the hospital for almost a week because of wonky white blood cell numbers. I have the honor of being the first non-family member to have a sleepover with her in the hospital.

Regarding #2-4: Just. Wow.

Regarding #5: He'll be 20, I'll feel old. What does one get for a guy leaving for the Navy in just over a month??

Regarding #6: Read all about it here on the official Propaganda Candy blog.

Now, sleep does come.

Have a blessed time-period-until-the-next-post.

All my love,
Carolyn Michelle

What Your Mother Always Told You, or, A New Way To Wash Your Hands

I was a dirty child. I loved to make messes and drag them all over the house. If it wasn't a dirt/grim-filled mess, it was a whirlwind of toys, papers, and a hoard of craft projects. Not much has changed besides the acuteness of my motor skills, and even that is debatable sometimes.

My whole life, the one thing tying my down and keeping me from plummeting into the abyss of clutter-filled madness has been the other people guarding the order in my life. Who are these guardians of sanity and neatness? Hmm...

Mothers. My biological mother and all the additional mothers who pitched in to raise me right: Bubba, Grandma Beth, Grandma Kay, and Aunt Moo Moo, just to name a few key players. Without them, I would definitely be an untamed, unruly explosion of destructive creativity that is unable to do anything from start to finish. Through their years of dedicated persistence that I do wash my hands and don't keep bringing out more projects when I have a zillion going I have grown up to be a still-insane yet much more socially acceptable human being.

On Mother's Day I celebrated not only my mother, Bubba, but also these supportive mothers who kept all my fingers attached while I endeavored to explore art while under their watchful eyes. Thank you, ladies. I am quite glad that you put up with me and helped make me what I am today.

Grandma Beth taught me to crochet, to make apricot preserves, to sew on a machine without losing a finger, to read patterns, and to be a world-class bargain hunter.

Grandma Kay taught me how to sew by hand, to make my own patterns, to embroider, to bake a pie, to play hostess, and to tend a garden.

Aunt Moo Moo was my first crochet student. She taught me to be patient while teaching others, to get excited as they learn, and to be amazed when their skill surpasses my own.

And Bubba. I cannot even begin to list the things my mother has taught me through the years.

Thank you.


In other news: The Pec Thing is fast approaching! May 15-16, 8 am-5 pm. Propaganda Candy is lookin' good. Pics next time??

Also, I am proud to announce that this post is courtesy of me getting up on time via Wake-up Call de Caleb. Baby steps, baby steps. Maybe eventually I'll wake up on my own.

Hah.

-Carolyn Michelle

Life is wonderful.

The art of a trip to Chicago with Art 4 Honors.

The art of knowing what college you are attending.

The art of Senior Prom with Caleb.

A Monkey in the Midst of Madness

Amid all the insanity going on this week, somehow there was time to enjoy the Sock Monkey Festival at Midway Village. What a way to spend Sunday afternoon: walking with my Grandparents, Tara, and cousin Abbey through rooms full of vintage sock monkeys. Of course what would a sock monkey festival be without sewing my very own sock monkey?

{There would be a picture here, if it weren’t show week for Singsation}

Also, the results are in, Caleb is officially a member of the United States Navy.

!!!

I’ve never been so proud in my life.

The best part of it all is, for Caleb’s job, he will only be gone from me for nine months of schooling because he's a reservist. Then he comes back and will probably be going to school somewhere in close proximity to me because, after he finishes training and schooling, he only has to report to a base once a month for a weekend.

In the midst of this madness, the world is slowly starting to fall into place.

On Being Sick and Reaching Goals

There simply must be some law that ensures that when creative people are home from school, they are totally and completely bored out of their minds and thus are dying to return to school ASAP. If there were such a law, I wish it could be enforced on me. Granted, I should not be in school because I am such a snotty, sneezing mess; however, there must be some was to inflict boredom on myself. Being stuck at home with every form of supply and tool for creative expression available to me is a far cry from punishment. In fact, staying home from school is a great deal of fun, despite the long list of chores Bubba leaves me with and my incredibly explosive sinuses.

I feel guilty knowing that all my friends are having their physical health rewarded with Calculus homework and heat-lamp lunch food while here I sit: still in my PJ’s, doped up on green tea, and crafting like there is no tomorrow, trusty box of Kleenex at my side. Sometimes I wish I could just drop out of school for the sake of art alone. I swear I’d get more art done in twelve days than I have in twelve years.

Disclaimer (in the event that my mother reads this): On the subject of dropping out: I will do nothing of the sort; I’m finishing High School, and I’m going to college. But, at least in college I’ll be studying art all the time.

Even as I write this angst-filled blog post, there are people making significant amounts of progress towards their goals. Right now, Caleb is sitting in a waiting room getting ready to take his ASVAB and MEP tests.

Yes. Caleb is joining the Navy.

Since he was in second grade, he has wanted to be in the military, and now (after much deliberation and questioning) he has finally signed up. Everything is all crazy in my mind with the excitement and fear surrounding his decision. All I can do is wait until Wednesday when he gets the results back and finds out when he ships out. Is there some kind of support group that understands the obsessive “I’m-freaking-out-right-now” crocheting of the proud, yet fearful, girlfriends of future sailors?

There’s one thing I can tell you, I’m going to get so many hats done.

Prayers please.

Carolyn Michelle

photo source: www.collectingpapermemories.com

The Truth About Hats

The Truth About Hats

or

Another Reason to Send Him With a Yarn Sample

The truth about hats is that they are an excellent way to use up the random-and-totally-unmatchable skein of yarn. Hats are infinitely variable in pattern, color, shape, and size. You can whip one up in your morning classes and be wearing it by homeroom at the end of the day. Hats are basically the most practical, instant-gratification project in the history of instant-gratification projects.

The truth about this hat is that it was made with yarn. And not just any yarn, mind you: it was made with yarn that Caleb willingly offered to go to the craft store and picked up for me.

Yes ladies. I am gloating. My man went to the craft store for me.

However, the yarn I sent him off to find was not intended to end up as a hat. I was in desperate need of more yarn for Emma's Backpack and thus attempted to leave home early for Bible Study on the 21st. Keyword, attempted. Since I was late and still in need of yarn from the craft store that would be closed by the time Bible Study was over, my darling Caleb offered to go get the yarn for me. I even brought a scrap of the stuff so that an exact match was possible.

Best laid plans of mice and men: I forgot to give him the piece of yarn.

After describing the brand and color of yarn to him via text message, I had little hope of him finding the right kind. It's a very obscure shade of orange Red Heart that I'm using.

When Caleb arrived to give me a ride home, he proudly presented me with the Michael's bag containing the yarn. I peered inside and was amazed at what I saw:

The exact shade of orange I needed...

...except it was Red Heart Soft, not Super Saver.

Snap.

I smiled and said, "I think this is right! Thank you so much!"

Life lesson applied here: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. He went into No-Man's-Land for me and that's enough. Besides, this hat is pretty darn fly, right?

That's the truth about hats.