Weekend Fun: Blog Tag. I'm it!

Terry over at These Peas Taste Funny has tagged me in a bloggy version of tag.  So since I'm it, you're going to learn a little about me today. :)

RULES:

• You must post the rules.  
• Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you & then create 11 questions to ask the people you've tagged. 
• Tag 11 people and link them in your post. 
• Let them know you have tagged them. 

1. How did you decide to start blogging?

When I had Raya, I lost all my "me-time". :) You moms know what I mean.  It's a bit of an adjustment when you have your first baby!  As a means of keeping my sanity, I started doing a bit of crafting.  Which led to perusing the craft blogs.  Which led to more crafting.  Which led to entering a few crafty challenges, which led to winning one of them!  Which led to Carlee of Ladybird Ln. asking me why on earth I didn't have a blog.  Which led to her offer to make me a header, which led to me dreaming up an idea of a collection of one-hour projects, which is all I usually had time for.  So I found myself with an idea, and a name, and a brand-spanking new header, so really - there was nothing left to do but start blogging! :)

2. What would be your dream job?

My dream is to do a whole bunch of things.  Some days I wish I were a pro craft blogger.  Some days I wish I were a pilot or a tour guide in some tourist destination.  Some days I wish I were a stay-at-home-mom.  Some days I dream I'm a published author, and I still want to be a rock star when I grow up.  So... I guess a traveling crafty pilot rock star writer with kids?  That's a real thing, right? ;)

3. What is your favourite movie or book?

I think asking a reader what is their favorite book is a bit like asking a parent who is their favorite child.  It's impossible.  Recently I really enjoyed Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games, and I always come back to Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth books (I'm midway through the series for the 6th time right now).  As a kid, I adored a collection of children's poems that I still have, and read to Raya.  My very first favorites when I started reading on my own were the Ramona Quimby books.  The first book I ever read several times was Stephen King's Eyes of the Dragon.  Man, I could really keep going into categories of favorites that only make sense to me, but I'll spare you...

4. Favourite food?

Yes.  Food is my favorite.

5. If you had an entire afternoon free, who would you want to spend it with and doing what?

Wow, the thoughts that go through my mind on this one.  Now, if I suddenly found myself with a normal weekday afternoon free, I'd go home and work on a quilt I just started for Raya while she's napping and when she got up, we'd go visit my husband at work.  But if we're talking about an anything-you-want afternoon, I'd sit on a beach with a delicious beverage and a good book.  I am sure this sounds awful, but I would SO enjoy an afternoon to myself - I haven't had one in a very, very long time!

6. What is the most significant goal you have achieved to date?

The significance is usually in the proximity to the achievement, for me.  I've accomplished some big things I wanted to do in my life, but what feels significant is what's most recent.  I've lost 30 lbs.  I think that was actually more difficult than getting my entire college degree, LOL, and I'd like to keep going!  But I don't know that it's more significant, than, say, growing a human being.  I'm also rather proud of having written 5 novels and 2 screenplays, learning to ride a motorcycle, and cooking dinner not one but TWO nights this week.  So I've got a lot going for me that's worth celebrating.

7. What is your dream vacation?

Oh man.  Everywhere.  I want to see Italy and Ireland.  And Tahiti.  I want to go somewhere I can go snorkeling and drive on the wrong side of the road.  I want to soak up some sunshine and go adventuring and see some really old castles or ruins or marvels of nature.  Frankly, I think any vacation will do.  After all, I did say I want to be a traveling crafty pilot rock star writer with kids.

8. When you go to weddings, do you dance or sit like a bump?

I hate weddings.  I like to leave when the music starts. :P

9. If you were going to volunteer for an organization, what would it be?

I do volunteer!  I organize events for aspiring writers who do NaNoWriMo.  I also miss doing Junior Achievement - my old job let me teach as many classes as I wanted, so I nearly always had a first or second grade class going.

10. Favourite celebrity or sports star?

Jared Leto, hands down.

Although I am also a big fan of Ken Jennings, actually, but I only love him for his brain. ;)

11. What is your best go-to recipe when you have company coming?

Ha.  Hahahaha.  HAHAHAHA.  I get takeout!

So that's me, in a nutshell.  I now have to pick 11 questions of my own to ask 11 new tag-ees.  So here goes:

1. If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be?
2. What's your guilty pleasure?
3. Socks or barefoot?
4. What's the fastest way to make you mad?
5. What's your favorite time of day?
6. What's your most embarrassing moment you dare to share?
7. Sweet or Salty?
8. What's the story about whichever you prefer to share: either your first car, or your first kiss?
9. If you could only have one box of craft supplies, what would be in it?
10. What's something you're proud of?
11. What is the best gift someone could give you?

Now, 11 bloggers to tag... (no obligation to play along, but I sure hope you do, this has been a fun post!)

Kelly at Here Comes the Sun

Elaine at Dashasel Sews

Carlee at Ladybird Ln.

Jennifer at Finding my Way in Texas

Trish at Mom On Timeout

Ramona at Create with Joy

Jenni at Kissed By a Frog

Pam at Threading My Way

Jenny at the NY Melrose Family

Vicki at Vicki's Vault

Christina at Mrs. Fox's Sweets

~ Adrianne

Freestyle Friday #30

Welcome back, you're just in time for the party!

How has your week been?  The weekend is thankfully in sight!  Things have actually been pretty uneventful here.  Which is always better than disastrous, so I guess I don't mind a boring week every once in a while. :)

We had some awesome links last week.  Check out a few features:

Yummy-Looking Breakfast cups from Adventures of our Fami-Ly

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Biscotti by Tales of the T's

Sugar Swings' Bee Cupcakes

Sunny Vanilla's Bib Tutorial - with free pattern!

Simple and Stylish Bag by DK's Craft Cafe

If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from the sidebar or the buttons page!

Upcycled Bangles

I guess I'm on a bracelet kick this week.  I ran across some old metal bangles over the weekend.  They were inexpensive to begin with, and a little beat up because they were well-loved a few years ago.  But rather than toss them, I thought I'd give them a little facelift.

I "made" these out of  wire, some skinny bangles stacked together, and a little bead chain.

I wasn't quite sure what I was going for when I got started, I just started playing.  My camera battery also died while I was playing, so this won't be a full tutorial or anything, but if you happen to like the looks of these, or they spark an idea of your own, I'll try to explain what I did. :)

For the red one, I just stacked three silver bracelets together, wound some red bead chain around it, and wrapped it with wire between each bead to secure it.  This sounds easier that it was to get started - I found pretty quickly that I needed to attach the bracelets together to get it to stay put.  So I secured it with a little bit of wire in a couple spots before I got started:

That made wrapping so much easier.

At this point, I have no more in-progress photos.  But I was having fun playing, so I kept going.  I did opt to wrap a second round of wire on this bracelet because I liked the looks of it.

Then I tried this one, which I don't like as well, but it works with the others.

This one was just using both silver and Vintaj brass wire, wrapped in different directions on three black bracelets stacked together, about 5 or 6 times around.  I use 24 and 26 gauge wire.

Then I found myself with two silver and two black bangles left.  So I decided to combine them, and I did a simple, snug wrap in a couple places to hold them together.

When you're wrapping tightly like this, it's easy to pull too tight.  In this case, that would just mean pulling the bracelets on top of each other instead of holding them neatly side-by-side.  So where I wrapped, I held the bracelets in place with my plastic-coated pliers and wrapped close to them.

Then, to smooth the wire out, I used my regular pliers to smash it nice and flat. :)

I think I like this one the best. :)

So, nothing fancy today, just playing with things I already had to give them a new look!

Have you upcycled anything recently?


I link up to these great parties!
~ Adrianne