It starts with cheap polyester.

And then you set the edges on fire.  Next, you poke it a couple hundred of times with a needle.  Afterwards, you twirl it around and around until, finally, you  have  this:

There's nothing quite so fulfilling to me than making something  exquisitely beautiful out of something discarded, broken, or cheap.  Some would call it repurposing.  Others might call it salvation.  Both would be accurate.  But I think the reason that I love it so much is because it illustrates to me how everything is meant to be valuable.

Today's happiness:  This was actually made for someone that I value.  She just doesn't know it's for her yet!  Maybe one day when I get good at this blogging thing, I'll post an official tutorial of how to make one of these dandies.  Until then, there's always silk flowers from Michael's :)

It's kind of like brownie muffins.

The blog, I mean. 

You know how you have the "cake brownie" people.  And then you have the "chewy brownie" people?  And the two don't mix nearly as well as the oil and water in the batter?  Well, I'm most definitely a fan of the chewy brownie.  So much so that I have been experimenting with making brownies in muffin pans in lieu of the regular 13" x 9".  That way all the brownies have that delectible chewy edge.

So my maiden voyage of this blog reminds me a lot of my brownie muffins.  It's an experiment.  I might not be very good at it.  It might not be very interesting.  I might not do it as often as "they"say you're supposed to.  But if other people can do it, why can't I?  That's been the story of my life for about the last two years.

As some of you know, I'm taking the plunge and displaying my first collection of children's clothing at the Atlanta Marketplace next month.  Crazy, fun, and stressful, but all worth it so far!  But two years ago I could barely sew a button on.  And when I did it looked ugly.  But something inspired me to sew.  And the sewing inspired me create.  The creation inspired me to design.  And the design has led me to take a leap of faith and pursue something I passionately love.  Something I recently knew nothing about--cared nothing about.  But now I can't live without.

So whatever it is that you've been itching to try, go do it.  Then tell me about it.

One final note on the brownies:  They turned out great, except I think I need to tweak the cook time.  There aren't any directions on the box for making brownie muffins.