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    T Tuesday: catching up again edition

    May 11, 2021 - By 

    Once again I’m playing catch up here on my blog. Spring definitely gets away from me. School gets more demanding as we near the end which leaves me too tired to do anything beyond feeding my family and preparing for the following day.

    This spring we also have the added pressure of Mini-me graduating from high school! Stressing over whether or not there will be a graduation ceremony, a choir concert, grad parties, etc. And if there are…how comfortable do we feel about it. We finally got the answer to a couple of those question marks. There will be a concert but it will be single choirs to limit people and possible exposures. There will be graduation which will look similar to those in the past due to since our governor announced a step down in restrictions taking effect before graduation. This does make me nervous even though we are all vaccinated. Mini-me will not be having a graduation party.

    Last week was an eventful one. Wednesday was my birthday…next year is a big one… I was spoiled by friends and coworkers with kind words and thoughtful gifts.  Thursday, Mini-me and I drove to Duluth to move J home from college for the summer. It was a quick up and back trip.

    We had to take a quick detour into Canal Park before heading to campus…we love Duluth so much. I wish we could have spent more time there.

    If you look closely there are two ships in this photo. The closer one is a “salty” meaning it traveled in from the Atlantic Ocean. The other one on the horizon is one of the Great Lakes fleet of ore boats.

    I did manage to fix my journal. I plan to add some beads along the spine to cover the extra holes but decided that it would make the most sense to wait until the journal is complete.

    Look at all the pretty papers! I can’t wait to start using it. I know my birthday cards and notes are going to have a place right away.

    I have been sewing too..no surprise there. It is so satisfying to be making a major dent in my scraps. I have yet to decide if this will become a bed size quilt or a couple of throws.

    I had to share the mug J bought for me. He said it was a combo b-day and mothers day gift. So sweet.

    This summer appears to be getting more back to normal. Both kids have jobs…thank goodness! Mini-me will actually have two. J currently has two but his school job will end in June obviously and he will be able to put in more time at his internship. It’s so very exciting to see them both taking those next steps in life. Although I’m not even going to pretend to be completely ok with being “empty nesters” next fall.

     

    T stands for Tuesday
    What are you doing today?
  • Around home - Art - Blog - Creativity - Outdoors

    T Tuesday: in progress edition

    April 12, 2021 - By 

    I feel like I should have a virtual loading bar on my activities. I have many things in progress and I’m excited about all of them!

    Journal progress

    I gutted a book from the 50s that I knew would never hold up to the abuse that I would put it through. I liked the orange cover and mid-century motif but it was a bit damaged on the back. I decided to cover it with some Tim Holtz tissue and go from there.

    I used some transparent pink paint over top of the tissue for a little better color once I had picked out the inner spine fabric and end pages. Pink is a favorite of mine. I’m so not a girlie girl but I do love pink.

    I stitched in my signatures….

    and now I need to take it back apart…ugh. The book no longer sits nicely. Is it fine? It would work but it would bug me every single time I used it. I should have left more space between the signatures.

    Plant babies

    My seedlings are doing quite well. I’m just about ready to transplant the tomatoes into larger pots.

    The nasturtium seeds I saved last summer are baby plants now! I started a few more plants just last week. So excited for those. I’m planning to try the leaves and flowers in salads this year. I’m also going to save some of the blossoms for tea. I have no idea if I’ll like it but I’ve heard it good.

    Maybe I’ll use these fancy little cups that I can’t seem to part with. They are so pretty.

    My radishes have  sprouted…unfortunately its been cold and there is snow in the forecast.

    They are all tucked into bed now…so punny.

    I also had to share my thrift store score. I got all of this paper for under $5. Stacks and stacks of good sized scraps and three paper pads. Crazy! I’m looking forward to making a bunch more cards.

    Fan favorite- Marvin

    This picture was just too cute not to share. He is laying on his “security bag”. It’s a reusable shopping bag that he immediately claimed. He gets upset when I move it to vacuum. So we have a bag that permanently lives on our living room floor. He’s not spoiled at all. But who could say no to that face.

    T stands for Tuesday
    What are you doing today?
  • Art - Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    Minions diorama

    April 11, 2021 - By 

    Creating miniature terrain and dioramas is a passion of mine although I rarely indulge myself in it. Silly, I know.

    I think one of the main issues it that I have to spray paint outdoors and it’s not really warm enough to do that 2/3 of the year. With that said, I was totally inspired to create a diorama after finding a couple Minion figures at the dollar store.

    I have a coworker that is a true kid at heart. She loves Disney. She loves Minions. She loves dinosaurs…especially T-rex. So when I saw the Minions, I tossed them in my basket with her in mind. I honestly was just going to sneak and leave them at her desk randomly. But then I decided to challenge myself to a diorama.

    This was what I came up with. The white structural pieces are a thick craft foam. I also used a cracker box and stir straws. I wish I had taken photos along the way but I get into a groove and don’t think about anything else.

    The backing plate is a plastic card that some game pieces came in from a collectable pirate ship trading card game I believe. It pays to never throw random stuff like this away. I figured that if I fill the various depressions with unique bits that it would appear like a control panel of sorts.

    The spray paint really starts to make it take shape. Provides the cohesive color to tie the whole thing together.

    Next I started on the paint. Adding layer upon layer to give depth and interest. Highlighting some areas, edges and so forth.

    I made a few barrels from paper cylinders that protected spark plugs. I punched circles from cracker box that were almost big enough. I filled the inside with hot glue to take up space then gently settled the cardboard circles in each end.

    This slightly open appearance screamed to have something leaking out of it. I used yellow and chartreuse paint to create some sort of ooze. After the paint was dry I added Diamond Glaze to give it a shiny, wet look.

    I gave some highlights to the goggly eyes and other panel pieces to emphasize the dome shaped buttons or screens.

    I used a plastic plug and the metal button off my jeans pocket to create an oversized control button. I figured the crazy looking minion would be just right to be manning the control while his partner with the hard hat looked on with a dopey smile.

    I love how the stir sticks work so well as piping or conduit.

    When I gave her the little diorama, she almost cried. She was so happy which in turn made my day!