Post Office

So, I was standing in line at the post office today and heard this...growl/grunt/guttural sound. I didn't want to look back in case it was a person doing it...didn't want to stare, etc. The sound kept going on and then this guy pipes up with "He's irritable." So of course I then have to turn around and look. What do I see? Boxes with holes. Animal carrier boxes, with holes.

You can mail animals?!?!?!

I of course had to ask the guy what kind of animals he was mailing. One box had white carrier pigeons that were being shipped off to use in a wedding, and the other box with the "irritable" creature turned out to be a pigeon as well. As it turns out, the "irritable" pigeon was actually quite friendly and was being shipped off to a pigeon rescue farm/place in Massachusetts. He was found in a cougar trap and was being used for bait, but some girl found him and kept him fed for a week until she could find the cougar trap owner and get the bird out of there.

I didn't think I'd learn so much at the post office today.

Also, you can ship ladybugs, newborn chicks, and bees at the post office.

Toodles,
J Squirrel

Boot Camp

Nothing like a good boot camp workout at Core Body this morning to start the week off the right way. It's at a reasonable time, 9:30, that's the only way I can make it. Here's a small rundown if you want to try it out at home. Good Luck!

...and good night...

Jumping jacks
Mountain climbers
Burpees
Single leg step ups
Single leg step overs
Single leg lunges
Squats
Squat jumps
Box jumps
Chest press
Chest flies
Pushups
Bench dips
Military press
Bicep curls
Single arm dumbbell pulls
Shoulder stability

Fab Friday

Clothing Refashions

More sewing this past week!


This is an Old Navy top J Fox gave me to work on. I added the teal swirls to the shirt. They cover the front as you see them and carry over onto the back. I cut the teal jersey into thin strips and just started winding and sewing it to the shirt.

Here are some tops I worked on this weekend with my cousin. One for her and one for my aunt.


We used blue t-shirts from Hershey World for the base of the shirt and added ruffles and pleats with old t-shirts. I really like the pleated shirt...probably going to work with big pleats like that some more. :)







Hope you all had a great weekend!
J Squirrel

Before and After

Made by Lex has a great tutorial on how to create a dress out of a t-shirt and extra fabric. So, here are the before and after pics of dresses I made for two cute kiddos I know. :)

Dress #1 started as a Halloween shirt from Old Navy and leftover batik (I think it was batik) fabric from my a dress my sister made.

Afterwards, a fun summer dress for a 4 year old with ruffles and a sash.

Dress #2 started with a lime green shirt from The Landing, wherever that is, and some old school floral fabric from my mom's collection.

An hour or so later and here is what I came up with.

Sorry for the weird arm coming out from the side of the picture. I thought that having my roommate holding up the dress would show it off better...but it just looks kind of creepy.

With each dress I shortened the length of the shirt, gathered the skirt, added ruffles to the bottom of the dress, and put in little belt/sash loops. To the shirts I used the extra fabric to make ruffles to cover the images on the shirt. Mom and daughters were very excited to give me a shirt and have it come back as a summer dress.

Happy Crafting!
J Squirrel

Local Wisdom brings the fox out of the hole....

So you may have noticed that I've been hibernating for most of the winter (and by hibernating I mean traveling to and fro to other temperatures and time zones) but gratefully, all the while, J Squirrel has so magnificently held down the fort, getting crafty and sharing her inspiring creations and thoughts with you all here in cyberspace.

Well since Spring is nearly here (it can't come soon enough in my opinion!) I thought I would come out of my foxhole and share with you a card line that I am currently obsessed with!

Kathleen started making collage cards several years ago and started Local Wisdom Cards in Vermont in 2001. Her cards are now featured in over 700 shops around the globe, as well as Etsy.com where you will find her entire inventory, and may purchase them directly through her!

Here is a sampling; these are some of my favorites:

Check out Kathleen's fun collection for yourself, and let us know what you think. You may decide to not give away a single one but rather frame them all, and I say this out of personal experience!

Until next time (or until the sun decides to show himself for more than a few hours!)

~ J Fox

Roller Derby

Oh geez...why did I wait til just now to go see the Atlanta Roller Girls?? Have you been? Do you know what I'm talking about? Roller derby is so much fun! (cue my boyfriend making fun of how much I say the word 'fun') Anyways, it's awesome! The place was jam packed. We sat on the floor with our Solo cups of beer and craned our necks over fans to see girls skate, bump, trip, fall, and sling each other around.

The Dirty South Derby team was playing some team from St. Louis. I don't remember their name...but all that matters is that the Atlanta team won. :) We actually had a pretty good grasp on how the sport is played from watching the movie Whip It, but there were a few things we had to learn as the bout/match went on. The crowd was really into the bout/match- lots of cheering, chants, boos, clapping, shouting. Everything that makes a sporting event more exciting to watch. Plus, the people watching is great! There are all sorts of people that come to these matches. There was a storm trooper at the bout last night! I missed a few really good parts of the bout because I was too distracted by people in the audience. Whoops!

If you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend it. The next match/bout isn't until April but buy your tickets early, grab some friends, a cooler of beer and have a good time.

Adios,
J Squirrel