Quoth The Raven “Nevermore”

At my baby shower, one of the goodies I got to take home was a birdhouse. I picked a fancy Victorian style one with no plans of what to do with it. Then a few weeks age I was at Michael’s and it dawned upon me.

A haunted birdhouse.

My husband laughed when I told him about my idea. Sometimes he cannot see my visions of absurdity creativity.

In my defense, this is what happens when you are busy with grad school, analyzing just how Article 1, Section 8 of the constitution applies to discrimination (the answer is interstate commerce, my friends), and autumn creeps up on you to say, “HEY! Eat some damned pumpkin butter and do a craft already, loser!”

I picked up some Halloween themed Washi tape and stickers from Michael’s to help bring together my birdhouse. I had much of the paint at home from past projects.

To start, I painted the entire birdhouse black.

Next, I added a crackle coat (I did this last year on a reindeer) and then a top coat of gray on the walls of the birdhouse, which gave the house an aged effect. I left the roof black for the contrast and painted the bird openings yellow.

Once the paint set, I went to town with the Washi tape. I added a fall foliage tree I picked up from Beverly’s and a little cobwebbing that I made from the stuffing of a gift box. I realized a few stickers go a long way, so I only used a few of what I picked up the other week.

I think Edgar Allen Poe would be pleased.

Welcome Back

I’ve pretty much fallen off the face of the earth – at least when it comes to Teal and Tulle. It’s been a whirlwind of a month – starting my grad program, looking down the barrel of pending motherhood in another month, amongst other events and commitments. To get up to speed – let’s start back and work forwards.

Criminology Book Worm

I started my graduate program with UC Irvine last month. That involved a one week intensive in-person session followed up by the start of fall quarter with two classes (Legal Institutions & Society and Police, Courts, & Sentencing). It’s been a huge time commitment, but of the best kind. I’m in love with this program and would probably settle into a common law relationship with it if I wasn’t already committed to a real life human. He’s pretty awesome too.

On my way to class.

Woodland Shower

I also had the world’s most amazing baby shower. Like, seriously. The best. I’ve never been to a nicer baby shower. I had so many friends and family come from all over the state – it was a really touching day.

My friends who put it together (Kristin, Jackie, Cassie & Lauren) didn’t miss one little detail. They crafted, you guys. CRAFTED. These are women who have much better things to do than fiddle with burlap, fabric, and a glue gun, but they did it for the baby shower. Amazing. They are simply the best friends a girl could have. Here are a couple of pictures (too many to post them all), courtesy of my friend Kristin. In case you don’t recognize me, I’m the ginormous orb of a human in stripes.

My hosts!

Autumnal Surroundings

Autumn has finally set in. It’s an old hat in the blogging world – pumpkin spice lattes, crisper days, layers. Today it’s raining and it feels like the perfect day to kick off some fun holiday decor ideas. My oldest friend was in the state last week and we got together for a great shopping trip in the Bay Area. While up there, I picked up some fantastic card-stock cutouts of witches and pumpkins from Paper Source. Once home, I added some Washi tape to the witches hats and thin green ribbon bows to the pumpkins. I then hole punched each one and ran black tulle through the holes to create a garland for our staircase. The whole thing cost under $10.

As for my extended absence – I can’t make any promises that I won’t go off the grid again in the near future (hello baby! and hello wine!), but I have some new fall craft ideas lined up for the rest of the month to keep myself sane.