Crafty In Cobb

Good Mews , as many of my Marietta friends know, is local no-kill animal shelter that provides a variety of services for our furry friends and works hard every day to find forever homes for cats ages 3 months to, well, it's impolite to ask. Regardless of age, the friendly felines at Good Mews have a good home while they're in the shelter and they ordinarily thrive when they go home with their new family. Because Good Mews services so many cats in so many ways they need to constantly fundraise. Of course, Good Mews is always ready to take a direct DONATION . But, if you're looking to get some holiday gifts and decor while supporting Good Mews you have two excellent sites to shop this week. Remaining Dates Open December 9-10, 15-17 Holiday Décor Market Location: 1860 Sandy Plains Road / Marietta, GA 30066 Right by the Publix in its own pop-up shop Good Mews' Holiday Décor Market has returned and only has 2 weekends left! Local donators offered u...

Lewis is crazy for cats. At first, he was mostly interested in watching YouTube videos of cats falling into trash cans or being scared by a banana. While this was all so very entertaining I think at some point he realized that he wanted one. Partly because he seemed to think the people with cats lived with non-stop YouTube hilarity. Partly, I think, because he's an only child and wanted some company. After months of his asking and asking and begging and 3 visits to a local cat shelter we caved and adopted 2 sweet, fuzzy, 6-month old kittens. Their names are Daisy and Boddington. We shelter we used for the adoption was  Good Mews . This adorable pair have brought calm and happiness into our cozy home. They play and spoon all day, with a short spat thrown in here and there. Boddington helps me wake up Lewis for school. Daisy follows me around the house. They both snuggle with me while I watch TV at the end of a long day. Becau...

Three popular components of Hygge - a hot drink, a sweet treat and candles. Hygge is a lifestyle that is part of the Danish way of life and something we all could use. It's a cozy, relaxed way of spending time with friends and family as well as solo. In my family it was called "Gemutlichkeit". My grandmother, who usually spoke German, used to say that word whenever she ate something she especially enjoyed. I just finished reading a fantastic book on the subject of Hygge, written by the director of the Happiness Institute in Copenhagen, Meik Wiking. Yes, there does exist a Happiness Institute where happiness is studied under a microscope. What an amazing concept. Anyway, the book is entitled The Little Book of Hygge and I have to say it is a gem of a read. The design of the printed book itself is very hygge, perfectly sized to read in bed or a cozy chair. Printed on beautiful paper with a smooth, colorful cover. Full of sweet little illustrations to enhance...

I am a so-so gardener. I love the results but often don't want to put in the work. So, I am always looking for easy garden projects that will give me a lot of visual impact. But, I don't want them to break the bank or take up the whole weekend. An afternoon now and again is fine and, quite honestly, it does feel really good to play in the dirt. Photo Source: Empress of Dirt Crafty In Cobb is on Pinterest and I've made a board of Garden Ideas that could be really enjoyable to do. Hope you like!

Yesterday was a beautiful warm Sunday afternoon. Me and the family decided to hike at Sope Creek Park, local to Marietta, GA. The Sope Creek trails are a complex network of small bumpy trails through the woods and larger dirt trails where you can ride a bike. The main trail is an easy loop that's a bit under 2 miles. The parking area is not especially large and we had to wait a few minutes for a spot to open. It was well worth the time. The trails are well marked so that you know which are for riding bikes and which are not. And, there are also well placed maps throughout the trails so that it is fairly easy to get around the area. For many visitors, the main goal of walking the trail is to see the old Civil War Paper Mill Ruins . It is a beautiful sight. The remains of the building are right by Sope Creek, as was necessary 150 years ago for the production of paper. It is a bit tucked away via the trail and a decent walk but it is so w...

Margaret Atwood is quite famous these days as the author of  The Handmaid's Tale . If you haven't read it, well, it's an enticing read to say the least. However, I personally am a bigger fan of Atwood's poetry. Variations on the Word Sleep is one of my favorites. I won't tell you what I think it means. Atwood's poetry can be fairly open to interpretation. Enjoy! I would like to watch you sleeping, which may not happen. I would like to watch you, sleeping. I would like to sleep with you, to enter your sleep as its smooth dark wave slides over my head and walk with you through that lucent wavering forest of bluegreen leaves with its watery sun & three moons towards the cave where you must descend, towards your worst fear I would like to give you the silver branch, the small white flower, the one word that will protect you from the grief at the center of your dream, from the grief at the center I would like to follow you up the long...

Do you love Pinterest? Me, too! I'm keeping a Garden Board to help me figure out what to do with my mostly wooded backyard. Some of these designs are pipe dreams. But what's life without a little dreaming? Feel free to check it out. There are loads of good ideas here!

One of the best parts about being a working designer is the opportunity to share your work with the world. Well, for me it's primarily with my friends in Cobb County but with apps like Instagram and Twitter it's easy to reach well beyond our own serene little corner of the universe. I posted 2 pretty floral pattern designs for coloring last week and have two different designs to share today. Same as last week the designs I'm sharing here will print at 8x10" on a letter-sized sheet of paper. If you want a really great experience coloring I suggest buying some inexpensive watercolor paper from Michaels or Targer or wherever. Cut the page to 8.5x11" and print via the sheet-feeder. The color of whatever media you use - pencil, pen, crayon - will be pretty spectacular. For the image above I used my favorite Prismacolor pencils. The color saturation is really deep and it's pretty easy to blend color. Crayola are fine but you do have to press pretty hard to...

Whether you work from home or in an office or are a homemaker it's really important to take a break every morning. My favorite morning break is a walk around my neighborhood to get some fresh air and light exercise. The neighborhood is large enough that I have choices about where to go and how long I want to walk. But it's not so large that as I get lost in thought it takes me an hour to walk home. Which has happened when I've drifted out of the neighborhood. I always have my phone handy so that I can take photos here and there. Earlier this week I was on a quest to find various tones of a specific color - purple. And, in one short 15 minute walk I found five beautiful flowers. I don't know what they all are. For sure I photographed a sedum, lilirope and hydrangea. The others I can't identify. But they are all quite pretty. Next time you're out for a walk or hike play a color game. See how many plants you can find of a certain color...

The school year is a good month in if you live in Cobb County, GA. Can you believe it? August has passed so quickly. This also means a month of making lunches and snacks for the kiddos. Store bought items are OK but after awhile they end up tasting the same. For me, they taste like either sugar or salt and maybe a little something else. When I have the time I prefer to do homemade snacks. Something that tastes like real food because it is - real flavor, real texture, really yummy. Muffins are my go-to homemade snack and can often make a great breakfast, too. They bake quickly and it's so easy to include healthy ingredients. I'm not the type to hide them. My son is not the best eater but I make sure he knows all the goodness that he does eat. The muffins will take you about 10 minutes to make and then 25 to bake. The ingredients are pantry staples. You may be able to make them today! Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins Makes 12 Muffins Ingredients 1 1/...

I've been working as a designer in all kinds of capacities for some time now and have developed some skills that allow me to create things that are fun to share. One of my favorite creative activities is making patterns - floral, geometric, random, nautical, rustic, abstract, you name it. For me the creation of the forms that make the patterns are fun. So is adding color. Recently I thought... why not make some coloring pages? I did and they've been so enjoyable to make and color (pencil and/or crayon are my favorite choices) I decided to share some with my readers now and again. The designs I'm sharing here will print at 8x10" on a letter-sized sheet of paper. If you want a really great experience coloring I suggest buying some inexpensive watercolor paper from Michaels or Targer or wherever. Cut the page to 8.5x11" and print via the sheet-feeder. The color of whatever media you use - pencil, pen, crayon - will be pretty spectacular. All artwork w...