Loving the Great Outdoors

The best way to refresh and relax is to take advantage of a beautiful day.  It is one of the biggest reasons I love where I live...the "wilderness" is anywhere from an hour to only 5 minutes away and just look at that view.

 Last Saturday, the hubby hopped on his bike and I loaded the dogs in the van.  I packed burgers for my Hubby and a Garden Burger for myself, my mini charcoal grill, seats, trail mix, chips, toys for the dogs...you name it I probably packed it.  We started off without a destination, just out the road.  We found a quiet, sunny spot next to Kalsin River, a river usually packed full of fishermen. We all unloaded and just.........played and played and played.

Hard Working

Taxes Taxes and more Taxes!  That is what my life has looked like the last couple weeks.  Amazing enough, I have been working on lots of projects.  I made a pair of crochet earrings for my mother in law for easter, a pair for a friend for her birthday and since have had two orders for them.

They are fun to make and I plan to start making more of them to sell at the bazaars come holiday season.  Crochet is my focus, mainly because it is the craft that I most enjoy.

For The Ladies

For Easter this year, the hubby and I went to a family friends house for dinner. The plan is always to go to his parents house for holidays but we all decided to change things up and let someone else host. The food was good, at least that is what they told me, being a vegetarian I only ate side dishes, and three of them were potatoes. So it was mashed potatoes and carrots for me.

And now for the craft...you know there was going to be some kind of craft right?

All the ladies received a crochet flower brooch, made by yours truly. They are really simple to make and a great way to use up scraps of yarn.

Ta Da!

Here she is in all her glory.....

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby Right Round!

Today I am going to be blessed with a Spinning Wheel! Now I have never spun wool before and I have never used a spinning wheel...I don't even know what this wheel looks like. But I am very excited to try and hopefully succeed. How wonderful to be able to spin the yarn I use to crochet with.

This has been just an idea in my head since Christmas and I almost gave up on the idea.

Rewind to the beginning. My good friend calls me up and tells me she has a Christmas present for me, but there is a stipulation...this spinning wheel has been donated to the High School Drama Club for a stage prop. The Drama teacher is worried that the wheel will just be destroyed by the students and appears to be in very good shape. It can be mine as long as if they ever need it as a prop for a play, I would be willing to let them use it. Hmmmm a free spinning wheel and all I have to do is agree that IF they ever preform a play that needs a spinning wheel I have to let them borrow it. No, I can't do that!

Are you kidding me, of course!

Old

I am no longer a spring chicken.  I have stepped past the twenties and am now the big 30.  It is not really as scary as everyone makes it out to be...just a number. 

Did I actually finish something?

Yes!!! I actually finished a split skirt this weekend.


I am bringing the 80's back and going to wear with pride my "Culottes". They are much more fashionable than the one's I wore when I was eight years old and frankly, I can't believe I ever stopped wearing them. I hardly ever wear skirts anymore, the weather where I live is just too unpredictable. The wind will pick up without warning and so will your skirt....right over your head.

(Picture coming soon)

Job...Work...Career...?

Lately I feel as though all I do is work...work...work...work. As I type this I am working, scanning tax workpapers and daydreaming about crafting. When I was young that is what I thought you do...you finish school and "go get yourself a career!" Careers are very much overrated. I work to live, and support my family, nothing more.

Though this job requires so much of my time and attention sometimes. The balance between work and play can be so hard to find when you are exhausted from work to play. As things are going it is taking me a week to finish a split skirt. It is only 4 straight seams and two curved, a hem and casting for the elastic waist band. How do you balance your work and play?

A whole month!

I can't believe I let an entire month go by without posting. Actually in a way I can....the last month has been dampened by rain. And although I don't mind rain...."whomever said happiness came with sunshine, has never danced in the rain"....it does get old after weeks of non stop rain and dark skies.

Today the sky is not grey and rainy, but white and snowing and blowing. Oh joy winter has finally hit.

As far as crafts go, not much has been happening. Hopefully soon I will have some new things to show off. Three weeks ago I did a Matryoshka Doll painting class (Russian Nesting Dolls), they are almost complete, just having a tough time with the faces....I hate faces! I am also trying to finish up my nieces Christmas present that I didn't finish in time for Christmas (I know bad auntie). I have also been working on some new skirts for work. Unfortunately all these things are unfinished, where o where did my motivation go??

Nothing

That is what everyone has missed in my lack of posting...nothing. Unless you want to hear about the long hours I have been putting in at the office, or about my new haircut.

In an attempt to spark my creativity I have started an art journal, and up to this point there is about as many entries there as there was blog post in January. I really need to get myself out of this funk.....I just don't know how.

How do you spark your creativity?

Keeping Busy

Ever go looking for coasters at the store.....they can be expensive, or not fit in with your decor, or if you live somewhere remote or small (like me) where stores don't carry them. Here is a quick and easy way to make your own personalized coasters.

You will need:

• One 12" x 12" square of cork material.


• One sheet of 100% wool felt (craft felt will work as well, just may not hold up as well).


• e-6000 adhesive.


• Dimensional fabric paint.


• Tools to cut and measure.


• Your imagination!!

Directions:

Start by cutting your 12" x 12" Cork into nine 4" squares, and cut the felt into 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" squares (one sheet will make 6 squares).

Using the E-6000 adhesive, glue your felt to the cork. For best results spread the glue in an even layer. It is also easier to apply the glue to the cork instead of the felt. One more thing...you can use lots of adhesive. I chose the E-6000 because it is water proof and very strong.

You now have the base for your coasters. At this point it is up to you to be as creative as you feel like.

Using Dimensional Fabric Paint, I decided to go simple with three dots in each corner. Feel free to go crazy, just remember you want your glass to sit on an even surface.

A Look Back

Happy New Year.....it's Twenty-Ten, shouldn't we be riding in hover cars by now? I love watching old movies and giggling about how we envisioned the way the future would be.

2009 was a good year!

1. Bought my first home.


2. My husband and I celebrated our one year marriage anniversary.


3. Met my adorable niece in September, she turned one this October.


4. Did two craft shows...they weren't the greatest, but I did them.


5. Tried Woodburning and Reverse Print making for the first time. Love Woodburning, not so much into print making but fun regardless.


6. Started learning bookkeeping, I am now the Receptionist/IT/Internal Bookkeeper for the company I work for.

And many more ups and downs, but all in all a great year! Cheers to 2009 and on to 2010!

Being Lazy and Happy Holidays

I had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope everyone out there did as well. I was actually able to take the entire week off, and not a single person called me from work all week. I went out to lunch, cleaned house, crafted and did some last minute shopping. It was wonderful!

My husband bought me for Christmas a Drimmel tool, which I am very stoked about. There are so many possibilities. From carving wood to cutting tile...well, you name it and the Drimmel can probably get the job done.

My first project was a tree house for The Beatles. I bought these Beatles figurines when I was 14 or 15 years old and they have traveled with me to each and every place I have ever lived. I have been planning this shelf for months now and very excited to have it complete and up in the my craft room. I plan to make a rope ladder that will hang down from the shelf, and add some drift wood decoration. As always a work in progress.

Busy Little Elf

Each night I diligently work on Christmas presents. It is always a big undertaking to hand make most of the gifts but the final projects are well worth it. Above is my "Soups in a Jar" gifts. I plan to make some more, just need to buy the ingredients.

These are very simple gifts to make. All you need is a jar, ingredients, small amount of fabric, and ribbon. I used a recipe book specific to Soups and Chilies in a Jar, but I am sure you could do the same with your favorite recipe. Measure, layer, seal and decorate with fabric on the lid and Ta Da, your done! I hope the receivers of these love them as much as I enjoyed making them.

Not My Cup of Tea

A good friend of mine invited me out the other night to attend a Reverse Print Making class. We were told to draw a design that would include three colors. You start by drawing your design on the rubber thingy...(she didn't tell us what any of the tools or materials were so thingy is what I will call it) and carve out only the parts that you want to stay white. You then apply the first color of ink, which will be your lightest color, mine was the pink and "stamp" as many prints as you'd like. Once you have made enough prints of the first color, the thingy is washed off and you carve more away from your design, anything that you want to stay the first color is now taken away. You repeat this process till all three colors have been applied. My first color was pink, then green, and then black.

I had a very hard time carving away at my design. The whole time I kept thinking why can't I just create three of the same design, each with a different part carved out. The teacher also in my opinion did not teach the process very well. She just kept saying you'll just have to see, I can't explain it you will see when you do it. Print making reminds me of stamping and I will say, I prefer stamping to print making...print making is just not my cup of tea, but learning a new skill and spending time with friends is alway fun.