Happy Anniversary!!

Its been a year today since my fiance and I started dating again, and what a wonderful, crazy, stressful, amazing and inspiring year it has been!

This time last year I was on a plane flying to Austin, tx, where my fiance was living at the time. I spent a week there, and had the best time of my life! I loved the culture and the fun spirit of Austin, and all the FAB food!!

But the best part was spending time with Mike (check out his blog here) , meeting all of his friends and seeing where he worked, lived, and hung out :D

Now a year later, hes moved back here to Florida, and pretty much spent every waking minute (besides our time at work) with me and my kids. We've just bought a house, and are working on getting settled.

So what do you give to the most awesome man ever, who has everything? Unfortunately this year, not much. I decided to make him a little something, and sneak it in his laptop bag while he was showering :D This was my first real attempt at hand-sewn felt, and I think he turned out pretty cute!

Home hair cuts :D

So last night, my oldest son came to me and told me he wanted a Mohawk. His hair was getting long again, and its to think he was super hot all the time (yay for Florida summers.).

So after a squeal of delight from me, I propped him up on the bathroom counter, got out the fiances beard trimmer, and started trimming.

It took forever! His hair is so thick that just trimming it was a total ordeal. We were both very happy with how it turned out though :D

Tutorial: Wearing your baby, a DIY Baby Sling

I finally made my sling! I've had the fabric sitting around since I found out I was pregnant with my youngest, and now that hes 2, I figured it was time to make it (while he was still small enough to use it! lol)

For me personally, it not only lets me be more hands free, but it helps my back, posture and my oh-so-tired arms when I have to carry around my little Zach (AKA the Pit).

Now granted, my little guy is now a big 2 yr old, but there are those occasions when we're walking around a lot and dont have the stroller, these things are an absolute life saver.

Cleaning jewelry with toothpaste

No, you didnt read the title wrong. I said you can clean your lovelies with regular old toothpaste (and I normally use an old toothbrush as well!).

I decided the other day to (finally!) clean out and organize my jewelry box. Its huge, has lots of drawers, and frankly, was so jam packed with stuff that it wouldnt even close!

So as I was going through, I noticed that some of my lovely silver jewelry was starting to turn (i.e. oxidize or turn black). It reminded me of a trick that my mom and grandma swore by. Take regular old toothpaste (I used colgate :D) and smear it on the blackened surface, then rub vigorously! I used one of my sons old toothbrushes that we'd replaced (and for some reason was still floating around the house lol)

Do you ever wonder if you're TOO crafty?

As I look around our new home, I have nothing but potential design ideas running through my head. But occasionally I sit and wonder.... am I trying to do too much?

I can't help it!

Everywhere I look I think..."I could paint X on that" or "I could add Y to that and make it AWESOME!", But when does it get to be too much?

For me, it's when I find several half-finished little projects laying around.

I try to finish one before I start the next, but if an idea is just too tempting, i cant help but want to jump right on it while the creative juices are flowing!

I guess you could call it the "Ooh, Shiny!" syndrome. Or maybe I have ADD or something. I find something that's new and exciting, and the things that I'm working on suddenly lose interest.

Feeling Royal... Purple that is

Im just in a purple kind of mood today. Of course, if you havent already noticed, im in a purple kind of mood almost every day, but today its a little more then normal. 

Im feeling it from the top of my head:

(super sparkley purple headband)

To the soles of my feet:

(My fab purple plaid heels. and yes, those really are my legs, and that is a real tattoo,

 one of many)

So ive decided to share some of the purple love. Here are a couple of purple drenched pics that i totally loved:

I love the mix of shades, and the flowers are gorgeous! via

I totally dig the textured wall coverings, the the way the yellow plate pops via

 

Great idea for leftover bottle tops! (its an earring holder) via

I love anything to do with round paper lanterns via

Arent these just to die for?! via

Super detailed crochet (maybe i'll get this good someday) via

What colors inspire you? 

GG

For Zach... (how far I've come...)

Wow. Today my littlest-little guy turns 2. For our family, today is a day of celebration (and loud, annoying gifts), but for me personally, it’s a day of reflection.

It’s been an eventful 2 years. Frankly, I’ve lost a lot. A father figure (cancer), a husband (divorce), and an internal organ (emergency gallbladder removal). I’ve had to move back in with my mother (which was awesome, cause she’s awesome. But it still wasn’t "fun", none the less). I’ve had to deal with the court system and debt collectors. I’ve even had a mini-nervous breakdown.

But everything I’ve gained through the past 2 years have been so amazing, so wonderful, that all of the bad things don’t seem that bad. I’ve reclaimed my life. I’ve found the freedom and support that I was missing for so many years. I’ve been able to hang out with my mom, brother, uncle and grandma as much as I want. I’ve learned new things, and rekindled old loves. And with my new-found love I’ve been able to settle down into a new home, and a life style that suits us and our family. I’ve got the creative juices flowing again, and now I not only have an outlet to BE creative, but I’ve got a partner to be creative WITH! He really has been my inspiration.

DIY: Decorating my bathroom- The idea phase

Now that we've been in our new house for a few months, I’m trying to start working on decorating. I’ve done a little in a couple of rooms, and my oldest sons room is pretty much done, and now I’m turning towards the master bathroom. I LOVE this bathroom. It was the clincher for me when we chose our house. I spend a lot of time there, it’s my place to close the door and relax with minimal interruption. I decided on a purple and green color scheme (my 2 favorite color), and now I’m working on getting pieces that fit into the design (I do mainly thrift stores and Salvation Army. I like to reuse :D).

Tutorial: DIY Light Box

Yesterday, my darling fiancé and I took on a little DIY project. He paints miniatures (his "little men" as I call them) for a game called Warhammer (check out his blog!: http://mikedthreeb.blogspot.com/ ), but he needed a light box to be able to photograph them (find out about light boxes here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_box and here http://www.studiolighting.net/homemade-light-box-for-product-photography/ ). So he whipped together a quick frame (just some 1/2 inch dowel rods, nailed together to make 3 sides. Bottom measurement is approx. 18", height was 13"), and I attached some light, white muslin to the sides, and one full piece for the bottom, back and top (just quickly straight stitched on my singer, nothing super complicated, honestly).

Au Natural facial cleanser

http://oilcleansingmethod.googlepages.com/home

I’m typically down for anything that’s organic, natural, chemical free, etc., but even I was skeptical of the "clean your oily face with oil" facial cleansing method. I first read about this on my favorite forum, Punky Moms , and they typically don’t steer me wrong, so I figured I’d give it a shot.

I’ve been using this for several days now, and frankly, it’s AWESOME! I normally do it at night when I’m showering before bed, and it makes my skin feel super clean (cleaner then when I use facial cleansers or soap), and tight (and my darling fiancé says it makes me smell "like a hippy").

I started off with the 50/50 method of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and castor oil for the first time, then added a tad more castor oil because my skin still felt a little "oily" after I’d wiped it off and rinsed. I also threw in a little tea tree oil because of the antibacterial properties it has (hence the "hippy" smell).

If you have trouble skin like I do, think about this next time you're shopping the super-expenisve facial cleanser eisle, and maybe grab some EVOO and castor oil instead!

GG

Happy National Flip Flop Day!!

I couldnt let this most wonderful of holidays pass me by without a quick note. I spend a majority of my time in flip flops. Im not sure if its my lovely florida lifestyle, or that my feet need their freedom, but i cant live without them in some way, shape, or form. I even wore them at my [first] wedding.

Read about the history of flip flops here: http://www.pecheblu.com/history.php

Tutorial: Learned something new!- Blind Hem

I got to spend some time Sunday with my mentor/sewing inspiration/all around coolest lady ever, my grandma. I had brought my bag of sewing projects (things I was fixing/altering for my "paying" customers lol) so I could get her advice on a certain pair of pants that were giving me some trouble. So she jumps on her (no lie) 50 year old singer sewing machine that still works like a dream, and proceeds to show me something called a blind hem. I'd seen the stitch on my machine before and had no clue what it did or what it was for (on the machine, it looks something like this: __/\__/\__). Once she showed me how to use it, it was a little bit of an "oh crap" moment for me. I'd seen her do stitches like that on my pants before, but never knew how she'd done it (I thought it was some sort of grandma magic).

Be gentle, its my first post...

Hi! Welcome to my blog. My name is Alicia, and I am the Ginger Goddess. I’m a 27yr old mother of 2, working to improve myself and to become a better mother, wife, daughter, woman, and all around Goddess.

What is a Ginger Goddess you might ask? Does that have something to do with a tasty root used in Japanese food? No, no it does not. By "Ginger" I refer to the small part of the population that is fair skinned, red haired, and freckled. Most are Irish, some are just unlucky.

This blog was created to document my ideas, inspirations, opinions, trials and tribulations. I have plenty of hobbies (most of them old lady ones, such as knitting, crocheting, cross stitching, and sewing), and this will also be a showcase for my creations. I hope that as I’m learning and creating, I can inspire others to find their inner crafty-bitch, break out the hot glue gun and CREATE!!