On Bosom Buddies, Breast Cancer, and Bookmarks with Mustaches

I'm not one of those beyond-well-endowed-in-the-chest-department people, but my heart sincerely goes out to those with bosoms so ginormo their backs hurt. Therefore, at the start of June, when my critique partner and bosom buddy in the Anne-Shirley-meets-Skype-and-g-chat way, Kearsie Murphy (who has been beyond well endowed since her teen years), was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and qualified for a breast reduction, I jumped up and down and burned underwire bras in her honor.

Everything was grand. Kearsie had her reduction surgery and I went on vacation, had a splendid time with my family... and came home to an email saying: WHERE ARE YOU DID YOU HEAR MY NEWS!?

Then I heard her news.

This wasn't good news, folks. This was stomach-dropping-but-not-in-an-awesome-"I've-just-been-on-a-thrilling-roller-coaster-ride" way.

This was news in the "I-just-had-my-reduction-and-now-I'm-my-dream-cup-size-Oh-and-also-I-have-breast-cancer-and-will-be-having-a-double-mastectomy-ASAP" way.

Here's where the ground fell from under my feet. I've never had a friend with breast cancer. I've sported pink ribbons and cheered on those marching for breast cancer... but I've never had a friend with breast cancer. That makes this disease so much more real, somehow.

The good news is this - Kearsie had her double mastectomy and is now breast cancer-free. And to be on the safe side, in the event the cancer spread from her breasts before they were removed, Kearsie will begin chemo shortly.

Kearsie is a ridiculously brave, super crafty 35-year-old book lover with two adorable daughters. To help the Murphy family through this time, the all-around-awesome Winn has magically created bookmarks for her Etsy shop Vintage Umbrella. Proceeds from these bookmarks will go to aid Kearsie's family during her breast cancer battle.

I bought one. She is currently staring at me from between the pages of Pride and Prejudice.

This bookmark and I have a lot in common. We both share a love for buckled shoes. We both love regency romances. And we both have a mustache. (Seriously, remember those Our Changing Bodies classes we had to go through back in 6th grade? Why don't they have those for grown ups? Because I would have loved to have known that age twenty-nine was the year of Our Growing Mustache before it happened. What. The. Heck?)

I love my mustached bookmark.

Kearsie has been blogging her journey since she was first diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis {HERE} if you'd like to take a peek into her life and say hi.

And if you'd like a mustached bookmark of your own, you can find them:

{HERE}

Have a wonderful week, folks!

And I LOVE YOU, KEARSIE!

xoxo,

A Short Love Story

Oh wow, if I could bottle up my love for this stop-motion short by the AMAZING Carlos Lascano, there would be enough love to power the world, because this film = the best thing ever, and I LOVE it, truly and completely!

A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

Click all over these links to find out more about the artist, and the making of this short little EPIC love story!

http://www.carloslascano.com/carloslascano/vid_ashortlovestory.html

Happy weekend, folks!

xoxo,

TMD's Cookie Jar

*click the above image to go to TMD's Cookie Jar *

HEY PEOPLE! - Exciting news for mamas who love to buy and/sell handmade items!

The Mama Dramalogues is getting ready to launch The Cookie Jar, which is a monthly limited sampler box of handmade goodness, all made for moms (and their tots), by moms.

Put together by the fabulous Holly (aka Winklepots), these boxes are filled with sheer awesomeness. They'll be going on sale April first, so get ready to grab one fast!

Here are some of the items that will be found in the April box:

*be sure to read the FAQ's (here) for more details*

Chocolate Cashew Clusters

Nicole's Homemade Treats

"I Heart You!" Series 5x7 Print

(HEY! That's me!)

Elegant Snobbery

*****

Crocheted Sandals, Booties or Beanie

Crochele Handcrafted

*****

Felt Flower Embellishment

Stitch N Stones

*****

Bzzz Off! All Natural Insect Repellent

Teddy Started It!

*****

Ribbon Trimmed Burp Cloth

Tiny Stitches by Kathleen Gordon-Ross

*****

Wooden Doll Pendant

The Peanut Butter Bandit

*****

Sock Monkey Card

Aunty Ann Designs

*****

Big Sis Bracelet

Monkeys N Munchkins

*****

Lip Balm or Perfume Solid

Suds & Scrubs Bath and Body

*****

Korker Pony-o Bow

Winklepots Clothing & Accessories

*****

I know, right? Awesome.

Have questions? Send an email to Holly at cookiejarcontact@mamadramalogues.com

xoxo,

A Must-Read Book and it's Lovely Book Trailer

Maggie Stiefvater's new book, Shiver, is coming out soon (August 1st) and I'm quite excited about it. I'm a huge fan of Urban Fantasy, and her book, Lament, was fantastic. Now that I only have a month to wait for Shiver to come out, the anticipation is killing me. I hate waiting for things I want. I'm a lot like Veruca Salt in that respect.

I love the trend of authors creating book trailers. The bookworm in me spends more time watching book trailers on YouTube than movie trailers, I have to admit. Maggie did a beautiful job on this one. She hand cut the paper, assembled it, did the stop-motion, composed and arranged the music... wow, right?




Here's the Amazon.com blurb:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Oooh, its going to be good.

So, if you are a fan of YA Urban Fantasy (Twilight readers, you know who you are!) be sure to check out Maggie Stiefvater's work. You won't be disappointed!

PS, And she's an award winning colored pencil artist and mother of two, writing by day and drawing by night. Basically, she's who I'd like to be when I find that genie in a bottle (not the Christina Aguilera song, thankyouverymuch) and have my wish.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Oh Winklepots Korker Bows, How I Love Thee... and a Giveaway!

Its no secret that I have a little Winklepots korker bow obsession. Just look at any number of photos of my girls featured on this blog and the bows are everywhere.

My girls have this rotten habit of pulling out hair accessories, but these korkers are no-fail in our household. Attached to metal French hair clips, my girls can't figure out how to get them out of their hair. Hurray!

Plus, Holly always offers a buy 2 sets for $12 deal, which is perfect for gals like me, who can't decide which set to choose (might as well buy all of them!).

To date, I have 11 sets of bows and 9 single korkers, lovingly made by Holly, and I'm not done yet. I just can't get enough and she gave me a sneak peek at the new ribbons she bought while I was visiting her this past weekend... they gave me shivers of delight, they are just that fabulous.

I was soooo happy when Holly sat me down, the movie 27 Dresses playing in the background (I love that movie!), and taught me how to make korkers of my own.

Lets just say that I have a new found appreciation for the work Holly puts into each of her korker bow sets. All ribbons are hand-curled, hand-assembled, and hand-stitched to ensure durability.

They aren't easy and they are very time consuming. I was more than happy to pay for them before and now I'm even more happy to pay for them, because while I had fun, I'll leave the hard stuff for Holly!

Here is a little sample of the mass quantities of korkers that we have hanging on Gracie and Annelie's hairbow holder....

What can I say? I love 'em.

But whats in it for you, you might be asking yourself. Well, I made two french clip korker bows just for you, my dear readers. Its time for another giveaway and there will be two winners this time.

Heres how to win:

Hop off to Holly's shop {click here!!} take a look around, and then come back and give us the name of your favorite item in her shop.

Leave a way for me to contact you, either by email or Etsy shop.

Also, please let me know which korker you would like to win from the choices below:

But that's not all... I'll be slipping some surprise items from my Elegant Paperie shop, into the packages for the winners, just so they have all sorts of cute things to brighten their day.

Looking to add multiple entries? Shout this giveaway out to everyone you know, via Twitter, Facebook, or on your own blog. Let me know how you promoted this giveaway and I'll add more entries to the pot. Just leave me the link in a comment here, so I'll be able to count it.

Max 4 entries per person. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 1st, so please be sure I have a way to contact you!

Enjoy!
xoxo,

I'm Even Hotter Up Close

I Am Even Hotter Up Close - Women's tee
www.Winklepots.etsy.com

Hee hee, nice title to this post, don'tcha think?

Well, I'm back and I had an AWESOME time in Portland visiting Holly (aka Winklepots). Hopefully this time next year I'll be blogging about me, Will and the girls moving to Oregon, because it is a place Will and I have always talked about moving to, and after this past week we want to get there as fast as we can. Portland is FABULOUS! And Holly and her family are even better. Best. Trip. Ever.

At the moment, I'm just unwinding from my vacation and unpacking my suitcase. Traveling takes a lot out of me. But before I go, check out the shirts in Holly's shop... and see if you can guess who the model is.

One Odd Bird - Women's tee
www.Winklepots.etsy.com

Blue Bird in the Cherry Blossoms - Women's tee
www.winklepots.etsy.com

Have you guessed yet?

I'll give you a hint: Its me!

Okay, that wasn't much of a hint. But Holly's shirts are even cuter up close - I have a couple of them and I always get tons of compliments when I'm wearing them because they are so cute.

I have a bunch of Portland related posts coming up, as well as a GIVEAWAY which I'm going to be putting up on Friday - so moms with daughters: be sure to check back because you wont want to miss this one!

Enjoy!
xoxo,

Halloween Spooktacular (Two Months Early)

I never really understood why shops put the Halloween stuff out several months in advance... until having a three year old.

Gracie is so excited about Halloween this year. She talks about what she wants to be (a monster, a mermaid, a princess... ), she talks about Halloween movies she wants to see, she points out every monster and ghost toy she sees at Target, and she was quick to sport her new Halloween shirt from Target and her new Kandy Korn Korker bows from Winklepots, my favorite Etsy shop.

In a way, I'm kind of glad Halloween has started so early, because we will have two months use out of this outfit, rather than just one. And Gracie couldn't be happier - or cuter!



Holly of Winklepots Wearable Art and Accessories, is gearing up for the holiday season and her hand painted children's outfits and accessories couldn't be more adorable. Her korker bows ( in both clips and pony-o's) are the cutest ones I have seen. Gracie and Annelie have 7 sets of them, and they are our favorite hair accessory.

Crisp autumn has come to West Texas, and there isn't a better way to welcome the season than with caramel apples! I am completely in love with the hand painted Caramel Apple outfits in Holly's shop.



And, while this Zen Buddha tank top isn't quite Autumn related (though the colors are Fall colors), I couldn't help but show it off, as this is the cutest picture I have ever seen .

Seriously, too cute. You can find all these and more at www.Winklepots.etsy.com.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Playing Around With Mixed Media Collages

Joy is a Flower that Blooms When You Do
~author unknown 5 x 7 collage

I have been itching to try my hands at altered art/mixed media collages for ages, but frankly they have scared the daylights out of me. I don't really know what I am doing, but I just love them so much that I decided to suck up the courage and give them a try.

I bought some collage sheets with some lovely vintage images from The Lady's Closet months and months and months ago, but have only just looked at them, not knowing what in the world I would do with them all. But this past weekend, I put my colored pencils away, and pulled out my paints (watercolors and acrylics) and ink pens and just had at it.

"Child of the unclouded brow
and dreaming eyes of wonder!
Though time be fleet and I and thou
Are half a life asunder
Thy loving smile will surely hail
The love-gift of a fairy tale"
~Lewis Carroll 4 x 6 Collage

"How does one become a butterfly," she asked pensively.
"You must want to fly so much that you
are willing to give up being a caterpillar."
~Trina Paulus 5 x 7 Collage

"Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt
I love you"
~William Shakespeare 5 x 7 Collage

"Garden fairies come at dawn
Bless the flowers, then they're gone"
~author unknown 5 x 7 Collage

So, these are the ones I have done so far. Kinda strange. Like Mackenzie-Childs meets Teesha Moore sprinkled with fairy dust and butterfly wings... but hey, I'm a beginner. And I like fanciful things. And I had a lot of fun.

And I love them!

If you are thinking of making some altered art collages of your own, be sure to visit The Lady's Closet. You wont be disappointed! You can find a bajillion collage sheets and fabulous vintage items to make your collages straight-up fabulous.

These are two of the sheets that I have. Recognize any of the images?? I'm completely enamored with the one featuring the vintage girls (if you can't already tell). Maybe because they look so angelic and peaceful, when my two little terrors are from from it.

And if you are looking for some French vintage text... or some vintage Bingo cards to make your collages on, The Lady's Closet is the place to be. And if you have a fancy printer at home (which I don't), you can save the time and effort and go straight to Digital Collage Sheets which is their second shop, filled with even more lovely collage sheets that are in PDF digital download form. Nice and easy!

Enjoy!

xoxo,