I'm a Pimp

I've been meaning to sit down and gush unapologetically (with only the slightest hopes that it will land me something free from any of them) about my tres (yay for French) clever friends. But first, an update. If my nouns and verbs don't quite match or I suddenly forget how to use their, there, and they're...please understand that I have a masonry saw headache the size of Russia. I feel like I'm trapped in the mouth of a dental patient. Who has been brushing his teeth with a stick.

One day, my house looked like this:

The next day it looked like this:

I am doing everything I can to not place my temples between a vice and crank down. Hard. And the girls, I'm afraid, are not faring much better. I'm getting a lot of confused looks and exasperated sprawling with paws clamped over their ears.

Anyway, let the bragging commence.
First is my friend, Shelly, who occasionally comments but always reads. She is the Empress of Embroidery and made this well-said onesie for a certain blogworthy baby.

This is the interactive section of the post where you have to turn your head. Go ahead. I'll wait.

You can visit Shelly at Precious Cargo Boutique. And ask for the Gator Hater Special. It comes in all sizes.

Next up is Audrey. I don't actually know Audrey. I found her on Etsy. I was looking for a handmade carrying case for my new Nook Color last Christmas. She uses the binding of books to make ereader cases and clips a passage from the book for a pocket inside the front cover. I didn't immediately see a book that I wanted, but she was willing to use one I already owned and loved. I chose The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (I realize the ereader is going to be the death of all bookstores and books in general, but please don't get your thong in a wad about me ripping the pages from a book in order to store my electronics. I kept the pages. It's still a book...albeit bound by a hair tie...)

I so adored Audrey's work (and the speed at which she creates these custom pieces) that I ordered one for Anna Banana's birthday.

Now granted...Audrey lives in Saskatchewan...which is essentially at the end of the earth and then hang a left. And if you ship her a book to use, it will take a month to get there and a couple of weeks to get the finished product back to you. But if she's home and able, she will complete your ereader case the same day she receives it in the mail. Amazon ain't got nuttin' on that. Find Audrey at her Retro Grandma store on Etsy.

If you don't know Queenie Jeannie and her adventures in Italy (including copious amounts of bread...wine...cheese) and her overwhelming creativity in paper crafting, you simply must go visit her. She always sends me the most beautiful and complex cards in the mail....matched in perfection only by the Italian wine she can no longer ship for fear of landing in the brig. I received these last month and keep them on my desk for any crisis of creativity that arises during the day.

I special-requested this one because it's my most favoritestestestest card she's ever done. Why can't all peacocks look like that? With pearls. Instead of scary. Like Bronx Zoo peacocks. Eating trash that is overflowing from the can....

Visit her at her blog and scroll through the exquisite designs she posts. There is always something to covet!

And speaking of crafty bloggers...we all know Mimi, oui? She is living life "in France" and sometimes sews precious pillowcase dresses and patio pillows (for the really demanding shopper). I have looked high, low, and Kohl's for the perfect outdoor pillows. Nothing. Nada. Craptastic pillows for $20 each. So, I found this outdoor fabric on like 322% off at Hancock Fabrics and sent it with a special request for 2 square pillows. I got 3 because she's awesome like that. And it was a lot of fabric. (What do I know about fabric? I just kept telling the girl to unroll the bolt until it looked about right.) Two weeks later, these arrived:

...just in time for SweatFest 2011. While I am unable to enjoy these right now...even after the sun goes down...even at 3 AM...they will be perfect lumbar support for sipping margaritas and watching my rosemary grow. Find Mimi, The Cursing Crafter, on Facebook or on Etsy.

As some of you may know, Sara @ Sara Plays House has launched a baking empire with Totally Sweet Cakes. I had been trying to score a Sara cake for Neal's pre-deployment gatherings, but with the timing and the driving and...well, Christmas...it just never worked out. When I was asked to supply the cake for bestie's baby shower a couple of weeks ago, I turned to Sara immediately. And it was a sugarfrostingvelvetymoistorgasm. This picture does not do justice to what Sara created using only the website link to bff's nursery decor. If baby girl's nursery was made of fondant it could not have been a better match. I promise better snaps soon...but for the sake of inclusion...I present bliss in batter form:

Find Sara on Facebook or at Totally Sweet Cakes. And if you are anywhere in the Atlanta area, you can stop ordering your confections from Publix. Your search is over. She's your girl.

Lastly, but certainly not least, is the funky genius behind my Daisy & Elm website, Monica of MDS Marketing. To be totally fair, Monica and I go way back. Let me put it this way...we would sit in the bathroom and chat while the other peed. And that was not at all alarming to any of the adults. Inseparable from age 5 to 17, we've had our disagreements over boys (my apologies to all of our middle school guidance counselors) and gone our separate ways a time or two. But now we are both happily married businesswomen who giggle just like the good ole toilet days. She has an eye for color combinations, a twist of OCD, and a healthy dose of attention to detail. Exactly what you would want in your website designer. If you love my new look and find yourself in need of some freshening..or an overhaul, you can email her at mdsmarketing@hotmail.com to get started.

We do not look old enough to drink but this was, indeed, someone's 21st birthday. Monica is in the middle. I'll let you sort out the rest.

If I have failed to mention you and you are another one of my crafty (cursing or not) friends (I'm looking at you, photographers!)...fret not...I have part 2 that I'm still writing. Because I am surrounded by seriously skilled craftswomen, I can't fit that much awesome into one post or readers would spontaneously combust.

Tomorrow I'm celebrating Champagne Friday over at From the Sidelines with a tale of how a soccer ball scored me pneumonia and I became an athletic supporter.