End of summer

Well somehow last weeks post never got written.  Time has been on short supply this week too but I have made a very strong effort to sit down and post this week.

B and I have been doing some serious crafting.  We had many Thank You cards to get out  which we like to make.  It was also good practice for spelling and penmanship.  The trick is in the fun it (hee-hee).

We bought some card stock with envelopes.  Simple white is easy.  We used craft glue, colored tissue papers, and adhesive jewels.  We also used a cool hole punch that works on edges to make some really decorative corners ( a new toy!). Oh and tweezers and colored pens too.

Cut or tear the tissue into small pieces.  If you can find confetti rounds for tissue paper that would be a lot easier then how we did it but hey hind sight right. Pick up a piece with the tweezers and twist or crunch it around the point.  Dip the end in the glue and stick it to the paper.  You can layer pieces on top of each other which we did and we stuck our pretty jewel in the center.  To finish we drew lines with our colored pens.

  Easy and pretty and thoughtful.


Since we were into glue and paper already we decided to make another project.  This one involved music.  oooooooooooh...
We used a paper towel roll, scrap book paper, glue, feathers, small blocks with letters painted on them, ribbon and a hand held hole punch. and beans.
So we cut and glued the paper around the paper towel roll (we split ours in half to maximize prettiness), we cut rectangles slightly larger than the ends.  I pinched and two longer sides down with glue to the paper towel roll then cut the the corners of the remaining ends to make a neat seam.  It's not a perfect circle but you can get pretty close.  Once one end was done we put our beans in.  We put about a 1/4 cup of dried black eyed peas in.  More beans the different the sound right.  You could use pasta or rice too really anything will work. Punch 2 holes across from each other and knot the ribbon through from the inside.  Then glue the top on.  Finish decorating and let it dry.  Now, this project looks great and was fun, but it broke  within a few minutes of B shaking it around.  I think I should have used a card stock for the bottoms because her beans busted out.  Any ideas would be welcome.  We've turned it into a pretty pirate telescope.

This week I set up a station for B for her backpack and school stuff and our keys and carry stuff.  Thank you Target! Bookshelf $19.99. Hook $8.99.  Linen boxes $5.99. Bowls $5.99.  So for just under 50 bucks we have a cute little organizer!

I was working on refinishing 3 pictures into magnetic chalk boards but ran into a snag with the chalk board spray paint that has left me needing turpentine.  I've used the chalkboard paint before but never the spray paint kind.  I don't like it.  So redo on this one.  I'll re-post when it's done.  It will go next to the new school zone as  a calendar, chore chart and general notes.  I just thought it was good to share failures since so many of blogs and craft books don't tell you that these projects can be challenging.

Ugh! 

Other notable activities that have occurred over the last two weeks were ear candling B and J trying to catch a golden grass carp from our pond with his bare hands...well a neighbor caught it on a hook and J was going to take it off the line.  And then there's Irene.

Things I love


~Craft Magazine and Blogs~
I am not a naturally artistic person.  I can do lots of things but I need diagrams, instructions and videos.  I know this about myself and I accept my limitations.  I get my inspiration from others ( the backs of giants as Newton said) for which I mean craft mags and blogs.  I love browsing catalogs, and blogs for ideas.  People get paid to make those images look so pretty and desirable.  I may not be able to afford the $2600 table made from reclaimed wood in Restoration Hardware but I'll make something close to it (maybe this is a bit ambitious but I'll do it someday in the future I just know it).  The craft bloggers are inspiring on a different level.  If they can do it then I bet I can too. Craft blogs I love these days are Made, Living with Punks, PS I made this,  and No big dill. Fun, Fun, Fun!

~Painting a Room~
Nothing brings life to a house like a fresh coat of paint.  I tend to lean toward light colors.  I can't wait to paint.  It's all the prep work I'm not excited about (so much tape and washing of boards and tape...). Look out Hazy Grey, here comes my living room!

Accent wall for B's room but with pink and purple pin stripe.  

~Helpers~
Anyone wanna paint?

Thank you for reading.  This one was a doozy I know.

J

Pass the tissues please...

Well this week was pretty sick.  We spent the better part of it in jammies and under the covers.  We tired of movies pretty quick too.  Luckily we have books.  So we read aloud to each other.  B started in on chapter books earlier this spring.  We've read a couple of very short ones from The Secrets of Droon series (Tony Abbott).  These books are a combination of Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter books.  It's fun to read them with her and see all the ways the world could be magic.  This week started reading "The Wind In The Willows," by Kenneth Grahame. These are simply great classic stories and they have pictures too.  Today she started the Little House On The Prairie series " Little House in the Big Woods."  I loved these books when I was a girl. I am so glad she gets to read them.  These are a bit longer and definitely more comprehensive. A challenge for the girl is good though.
While she read I began working on knitting in the round.  I worked a round scarf on rounded needles.  They work fine.  You have to pay very close attention to which way your stitches are facing as they can get twisted easily.  Which mine did.  So I decided to try the rather complicated looking three double needle method. I chose size 3 needles (which is pretty small) for my first round project.  Which is hat.  I have very pretty yarn and loads of patience.  Which I needed.  Not for the knitting, but my yarn ball was loosely spun by the yarn shop(I usually wind my yarn into a ball myself but the contraption the shop had wound it in like 2 minutes.  Actually B did it) and it became a bit messy in use.  Really it became a big knotted mess for which I threw several very colorful adjectives at.  Turns out that doesn't help knots.  I ended up spending that hour getting out and re-rolling my yarn (namaste right!). Well long of the short I finished the hat.  I found the 3 needle method actually easier than the round needles and will probably stick to them for my round knits.

Next project finger-less gloves!

Thanks for reading,  

J

Better late than never...I guess.

This week we cooked...a lot.  We made curry, quiche, baked bean/biscuit casserole (not sure if I should call it that as it conjures up images of bad neighborhood potlucks and bake sales and mine was better than those), and lots of baked goods.  B was instrumental in the mixing process.  She wants to have her own restaurant and teach people how to cook (after being an artist, actress and veterinarian).  

She's got to eat her veggies...

We even got fancy with our drinks...

sift, sift, sift...

 

Sugar cookies with lots of sugar...

Thumb print cookies filled with organic grape jelly...

Blueberry cornbread muffins...

When we were not in the kitchen we were playing at the beach...

When we were not there were at a cheer camp/gymnastics...getting black eyes and twisted ankles...

Yup, another shiner...

We wrapped things up this week with girls night.  Which consisted of doing our nails, eating frozen pizza(cuz we cooked all week mum!) and Klondike bars and watching a movie.  Her choice this  week...?

Nails-a-la-B

Monday was our anniversary too.  J and I have been officially married for 5 yrs. (though we've been together well over a decade) We first eloped in July of '06, and had a ceremony in Aug. of '08 (08-08-08). It's hard to say which we should celebrate. So we do all three.  Happy Anniversary J.

Things I love

Kleenex~

B was a bit run down last week and this week I am (hence the late posting). We've gone through several boxes all ready (serveral meaning more than 4 since Thurs). We've discovered a box with Vicks in the tissue.  So blow and breath easy with vicks for 2 minutes till your face fills up with mucus again. Repeat, repeat, repeat...and repeat. Ugh.

Netti Pot~

...yup, the netti pot.  

 Thank you for reading...