Surviving At Home

Is there a full moon out tonight? Something is in the air because this is my 3rd (count ‘em T-H-I-R-D) blog post today!

Yowza…I’m on a roll!

I would normally have saved this post for tomorrow (and probably would have written on a different topic) except I happened upon Karpo’s tweet about the blog redesign contest at BlissfullyDomestic.com.

So, for another chance to win a redesign, here is why I need a professional designer:

1. Just open your eyes and take a look around…can you say B-O-R-I-N-G?

2. I’m 5 short months away from turning the big 4-0… certainly that’s worth something!

3. I really don’t feel as boring as this blog looks…this spot needs some serious help in the personality department!

4. I am NOT a designer nor do I play one on tv (Ok, so it’s getting late and my weird sense of humor is emerging…)

5. My oldest is starting middle school in 5 weeks (again, is the whole preteen-hormonal-girl-thing not worth an extra vote??)

And so you have it! Thanks for holding the contest and thanks for tweeting and convincing me to enter

A blog designer I am not.

I can find my way around WordPress and some CSS code for my clients but when it comes to doing artsy stuff like funky backgrounds and cool headers, that’s when I have to throw my hands in the air and accept defeat. (Remember, I’m crafty, not artsy!)

Which is why my blog looks so pitifully boring. I like this standard layout but geez aloo…It can’t look any more boring.

So I was very pleasantly surprised when I found out my friend Nell at Casual Friday Everyday is sponsoring a blog design giveaway! Yes, I’m throwing my name into the hat of hopeful winners and will let a professional do her magic with this layout.

For more Wordless Wednesday pictures taken by talented moms, check out the list at 5minutesformom.com

I truly admire creative people. You know the type…they have an eye for putting colors and patterns together that look amazing; they can paint or draw; or they can come up with a very cool business idea and make it come to life.

Unfortunately, I am not one of those creative people…

I am more crafty than creative. I can read the directions of a crafting project and make the finished piece look just like the picture. But don’t ask me to come up with an original craft idea. Even when I was little and my brothers were making creative monstrosities out of legos, I was the one looking for the printed directions for building a house.

Not very creative!

When I was in college, I think my junior year, I needed an elective and found an Art For Non-Art Majors class. It sounded interesting and I figured, hey, how difficult could it be if it’s for “non art majors?”

Well, what I didn’t know was that “non-art majors” was really secret code that meant “artists not yet admitted into the art school.” So imagine my surprise when our first projects were handed in. I felt like I was a kindergartener who time traveled into the future and woke up in a college classroom.

Luckily there was another poor soul who had the same misunderstanding I did so we decided to laugh about it and just do our best. We were having fun even if the teacher glared at our final compositions.

But I’ll always remember during my final portfolio review (of which I was SO proud that my self-portrait actually looked like me!!) my professor looked over my projects and asked me, quite seriously, “You’re not thinking of pursuing art as a career, are you?”

I kid you not.

Luckily I was able to laugh and told him no but geez…I would have been crushed had I wanted to be a designer of some sort.

So now I take comfort in my counted cross stitch kits and follow the printed directions which give me beautiful works of art. I’ve made each of my daughters a birth sampler plus I have some other larger and more complicated samplers scattered around my house (and lets not forget about all the unfinished projects I have in various corners of the house). I love having my hands busy doing something and, if I do say so myself, my work is excellent

To discover even more Artsy Mamas, visit Mom’s Talk Network for a list of links!