L.O....E. Wait a minute....

I am blonde. I am constantly multitasking. I am sometimes preoccupied with other things than the task at hand. I am daydreaming about something much bigger than myself that is out there for me! I am getting older every single day. I am a woman. Whatever the reasons are, I am forgetting everything lately!! Anyway...the lesson for this blog is: if you at least start something, you are more likely to finish it than if you never start it at all.

Hmmmm, let me explain that whole first paragraph and introduce ya'll to some yarn art!! Let me take you back to last Friday. It was a rainy little day and I had nothing in the world to accomplish except some errands. Since we live in a smaller town, my errands consisted of an hour-long drive to the 'bigger' town down the road. I adore these days. I cherish my alone time on the way up there and just love looking around all day at some of my favorite stores.

I was in Hobby Lobby (sigh of contentment!) and I had been inspired recently to cover some chipboard letters with yarn. Standing in front of the letters, I was trying to think of what word would look good. "EAT" in the kitchen...hmm, no good...I don't need a reminder to do that. "ALEXANDER" in the hallway...hmm, too long of last name. "SLEEP" above our bed all cutesy-like....nah. "JOY" somewhere in my house....no, this wonderful word reminds me too much of someone I used to know named Joy. "LOVE"....this word can never be overdone. It's perfect! So, I grabbed my chipboard letters and then scooted over to the yarn aisle to buy four of my most favorite colors of blue and green to cover my letters.

I arrived home, got out my recently purchased supplies to start making my project. OH HEAVENS!!! In front of me lay an: L, O and E. I messed up and forgot my V. You can NOT have LOVE without the V!!! I went through the whole array of emotions in literally two seconds (from frustration to humor) and started to work. Part of me wanted to just wait until I had my "V" in hand, because I wanted a finished project. However, I knew that I had the time, energy and gusto to work on my little yarn letters right then, SO I DID.

Have I made it back up to Hobby Lobby yet? No. Did I put up the "LOE" in my hallway already? Yes. Did I have lots of people over to my house to see the "LOE" in my hallway? Ha, yes, I did! But, I figure that if I walk by it everyday, I won't forget to finish this very fun project. So, people, start something, even if you don't have all the stuff to finish it right there!!

Lastly, here's how you do this quick little masterpiece. Buy letters, cut them out yourselves, whatever you would like to do...then get some yarn and just tie a knot in the back to start it and then start wrapping. It takes a few minutes, but it's easy and oh so cute!!!

A closer look at these letters wrapped in yarn...sorry for the HORRIBLE lighting!

I have the letters sitting on a small shelf in my hallway that is surrounded by pictures. The "V" will be a darker teal than the "L" and it will make a lovely little "LOVE." Until then, "LOE" your neighbors!!

Good luck my friends and Merry Christmas!!!

Can't spell, but I can write!

I am a bad speller. I use grammar wrong constantly. I have no idea what a preposition (Yes, I just googled the word 'preposition' to make sure it was indeed the thing I have no idea what it is) is still to this day. I have to think really hard when I play Mad Libs to and they ask for a particular part of the English language. To put it very bluntly, I am bad at English. HOWEVER, I love to write!!! No, no, no...not write books or poems or short stories or anything along those lines. I like (let's be honest, LOVE) to write letters. It brings me great joy to think that in a few short days someone will be sorting through a stack of bills or junk mail...and then, suddenly, they spot something written by an actual human. They see this envelop and they think....hmmm, maybe someone is getting married or graduated. Then, they open up the envelop and see that it is just a good old fashion letter from me!

When I have a lot to 'say,' I use notebook paper (college-ruled of course). When I just would like to say a quick 'hello and I love you,' I use a homemade card. When I want to wow their socks off, I use some of my homemade stationary! (I just learned how to make this INCREDIBLE stationary last week, so people who get regular letters from me, please prepare yourselves for your socks to be wowed soon).

Okay, while I will someday highlight cards and this to-die-for-stationary, the subject of this particular post is about the envelope. In my humble opinion...wait a minute....I take that back. My opinion in this matter is not humble. I keep the post office in business with my constant stamp-buying (these stamps are going up at ridiculous rates)...Therefore, in my non-humble opinion, I think the envelope is one of the most under-valued objects of American culture. There is not the proper respect given to the envelope as it deserves.

The envelope is to the letter as your makeup and outfit is to you: VERY IMPORTANT! While I hope you understand the importance of what I am saying here, please notice with equal awe of the simile (a comparison using like or as) I just used! Anyway....This is the first thing people see and it sets the whole mood of the letter. I may have some serious issues here, but come on people, give the envelope some respect. One might be thinking, how many ways could there possibly be to address an envelope? OH....let me show you! Some ideas below of some fun and creative ways you can make your envelope as special as the letter you are about to send. And....please if you aren't a "letter-writer," try it...you'll be shocked how much joy your insides will feel.

Write the person(s) name larger and in a pretty font. I covered up their address, to protect their privacy...and I already had this envelope ready to mail!

You can make the address into a simple shape, such as this butterfly!

Sometimes it is just fun to write in a bright color and make it very over sized, almost taking up the entire front of the envelope...I'm sure the mailman appreciates my extra large writing on this style!

It always adds such a special touch to make one letter extra big, more detailed and different than the rest!

One of my favorite ways to address letters...it is completely unique! The person's name goes on top and bottom, with the address in the middle in between two thick lines (use a ruler if you need).

If you are curious by now, Omega is my grandma and she gets letters weekly! A fun way to address the envelope is use different colors, curve the name, off-center the address and use different styles of hand-writing!

If you are going to just address the envelope like normal, you can always add a little flair on each letter
with hash-marks and indent each line.

You can put the name sideways in a different color for an added pop!

My favorite paper store of all time. Every color, every size, every weight of paper and envelopes you can imagine. It's literally like envelope-heaven on earth. I am sad to say that they used to know me by name in this store. If you live by an Xpedx, visit this store!!



There are so many ways someone can spice up an envelope, so be creative! I hope these gave you a few ideas. I will be back to sharing the creativity of my parent's home later this week...prepare yourselves to continue to be awed!