T-Shirt Diaries and More

Well I am shaking things up again. I am celebrating my favorite of favorite holidays Saint Patricks Day, hence the new header and signature. I would have done a special series of St. Patrick's Day crafts but darn it everyone has been so sick around my house I can barely find time to type this little post. Luckily the kids are much better, sadly I am not. Oh well. That's just the Winter season. So what am I looking for? Well I am looking for a few bloggers in crime for my next feature: Spring Stashbusting Are you brave enough to volunteer to write a guest post? Are you brave enough to pledge another month of not shopping? I think you can do it, just email me at thetshirtdiaries@yahoo.com and we will schedule your post (a teaser will appear here and the main post will appear on your blog). What are you waiting for... Start planning your Stashbust.

Hello fellow upcyclers! You have a great project that you want to post featuring upcycling (taking something old and making it something new). Post it hear for all the world to see! Come on show me your awesomeness. I am sick I need something to make my day.

No not the blogging world, rather the radiology department. C1 Resting her sick little head That is right the I ventured to the radiology department at the Cleveland clinic for the second time in one week. This time with the adorable nudist C2. He just loves showing his belly to whomever wants to see it. Just as shocking as my lovely little C1 and her wonderful diagnosis of pneumonia so was the fact that C2 has viral bronchitis. Ah yes my dear children both have chest infections. The humidifiers are on full blast, the vicks vapor rub is being rubbed all about, and mommy has a few seconds to let her bloggy friends know that she will be back after this regularly scheduled illness. Oh yeah and C2's stomach bug, well mommy has a touch of it now. Happy days!

Anyone want to come over for a playdate? Hubsters has the flu, I have an ear infection, C1 has pneumonia, and C2 has a tummy bug. Jealous? You know you are.

UpAre you Awesome? Do you Upcycle? Post your upcycled awesome craft or project here! I would write more but darn it my son has a really gross stomach bug.

I have been slacking when it comes to updating my website. I am actually slacking when it comes to cleaning my house. So I figured I would put together a little to-do list to keep myself on track. The thing about to-do lists is that they force you to acknowledge those pesky little tasks that you keep putting off so here it is, my to-do list: Write three posts on this website Start e-book for my second site Finish our taxes Promote my facebook page Get items priced to sell at Crafty goodness (new craft store in Cleveland I can not wait) Make five tutu's to sell at Crafty goodness Get caught up on laundry Be more ridgid about tracking on Weight Watchers Figure out my iphone Okay that is it. So what are you plotting to do this week? Anything I can help you out with? Let's allmake a to-do list and go crazy getting these things done!

Are you Awesome? Do you Upcycle? Post your upcycled awesome craft or project here! Thanks, Robin

I love going to the Pittsburgh Children's Museum because they have this absolutely incredible art studio where the kids can make paper, screen print, and paint. I think I like this area even more than the kidlets do. We make it there about once a year and I just loved making paper so much I went out and bought a paper making kit from a local store. Well I tried it and it was okay. Was not so keen on the kit we bought and probably would have dine just as well grabbing some supplies from the hardware store and making the press myself. The end result, well my daughter decided to decorate it with popcorn, so check it out: Well it made for a good way to teach my children about upcycling newspaper into something a little more elegant and it was fun. Popcorn however does not make for good craft paper.

Image via Wikipedia Talk about an amazing title to a blog post. Seriously though my regularly schedule blog post for tonight is on hold because my idea to serve veggie dogs in a pigs in a blanket format was a miserable failure. Yes the kids lapped them up but darn the indigestion in my belly now is so annoying! Well I am off to sleep it off (the ginger ale is not cutting it). I will be back with a fun informative post about one of the following topics tomorrow: 1. The crisis in the middle east? 2. How to make cheap foaming soap (use Dr. Bronners and water in a faoming soap pump ~ I guess that is not long enought for a post). 3. Or upcycling newspapers into craft paper. Your guess is as good as mine. Thanks, Robin

So the big decision this week, to stay with Linky Tools or try something different. Well I stayed because i hate change, and yes their is now a cost, but I truly believe that being able to provide my readers with a picture of my fellow bloggers upcycled project is so very important. I put together Upcycled Awesome because I could not find any other weekly linky list that showcased upcycled and green crafting projects on a weekly basis. I love green crafts and I personally need the to see what other options there are when it comes to crafting goodness.I am a visual person and I need to be able to see what you guys have made. I have to say i am quite happy that I finally reached my goal of getting to 100 entries. I mean that is huge for a very small little blog that only focuses on making something out of well something you already have. So thank you each and every on of you for sticking with me through this decision and backing me up by participating in my weekly linky party. I ...

Upcycled Awesome #31 is going to be the biggest Upcycled Linky Party yet! Why because I am rocking a brand new linky tools account and I know you guys are going to support me in my decision to pay the very reasonable, nominal feel so that I can show your awesome pictures of your upcycled and repurposed projects. It's Upcycled Awesome time again. Please feel free to post as many upcycled entries as you like! The more upcycled links the better in my opinion. Not that my linky party is really all that different from any other party out there, but I do have a few easy rules: Find your favorite Upcycled art project and share it with our readers What is an upcycled art project? Take something old and make it new again, a T-shirt that you stained, a picture frame that was about to be tossed, upcycling is all about taking the old and making it new again. Add a link below to a specific blog post not your main blog address Grab a party button and pop it up on your blog someplace visi...

Image via Wikipedia  I just found out this morning that McLinky, which I use for Upcycled Awesome, is going to begin to charge a monthly fee on February 7th. The fee is rather minimal, $2 a month, but you have to pay a year in advance. Now the reasoning is legitimate (ads and donations are not cutting it), the fee is minimal, and well there is not another linky tool out there I can think of that allows you to post thumbnails for free. My problem, and it really isn't one, is that I was hooked on the free version and darn it I hate to pay for something that I have been taking advantage of for no cost for months. So will paying for it make me throw more linky parties? Do linky parties really make this blog? What do you think of a text link instead of the luscious pictures the linky tool thumbnail shows? I know I will be paying, heck I don't want to lose all of my past linky party information. I just thought that I would throw this info out their to all of you to let you...