• Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    T Tuesday: I’m still here edition

    Hey there…glad you stopped by today. It has, once again, been quite some time since my last post. I had good intentions of posting more but the motivation to sit in front of another screen after doing it all day just wasn’t there.

    I’m all about sitting  in front of my sewing machine though.

    Now that all staff will be back in the building, my home office area can become a sewing station.

    I pulled the quilt top I had previously completed out of the closet and have been working on revamping it a bit and creating a quilt back complete with a signature in a block. I’ll show my terrible embroidery skills when I get the quilting done.

    This is what kicked me back into sewing mode…a big bag of scraps from a coworker. Her and her girls started a small business/side hustle sewing scrunchies then masks and now they have added aprons. She saves her off cuts and scraps  for me. So many fun bits of fabrics! I ironed every scrap and began cutting pieces for a scrappy quilt pattern I saw on Pinterest. The pieces are so small…I am having a bit of regret. I may just set that stack aside and use it for something else.

    Speaking of Pinterest…this was really weird. I was scrolling through Pinterest on my phone during my lunch. For those not familiar with how Pinterest works, if you don’t specifically search for something the site picks things it thinks you’d be interested in based on previous things you’ve looked at and things people you follow have posted. So like I said I’m scrolling along in my “for you” pins and I see these…

    Those are my own projects. Things I had blogged about and pinned forever ago. So weird seeing your own creations like that. “hey we think you’d like this…” ah yeah I would, I made it.

    So what else is new…hmmm… J is back up at college for Spring semester. He is happy to be back even though he has different roommates and a different apartment(a nicer one in my opinion). Even though most of his classes and his tutoring job are online, he has one course with a lab component so he had to be there in person. Unlike Mini-me who got a lab kit to bring home.

    She extracted DNA from blueberries right in our kitchen. It’s actually a really fun lab that I do with my 7th graders.

    Speaking of Mini-me…she was invited to participate in a competitive scholarship by the University will be attending in the fall. She got 2nd place which is basically half of her tuition paid each year plus a one time stipend to be used for approved study abroad, supplies or research. We are so incredibly proud of her…she works so hard and now all of that hard work is playing off in a very big way! I could continue to gush about her recent accomplishments but I really don’t want to be that mom.

    All staff went back to school today. This is my new look when working in person with kids…super fun. I am on the list to get my first COVID-19 vaccine. I had to pass up my first opportunity since I had just gotten my Tdap vaccine. Of course, getting the COVID vaccine will not make the mask and shield go away this year. I was actually surprised once I had it on my face and starting working, it didn’t bother me like I thought it would. My only real issue is the need to push up my glasses regularly….not easy.

    What are you doing today?
  • Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    Card making frenzy

    In my ongoing effort to get rid of things, I decided to challenge myself to use up scraps to create a bunch of greeting cards. Most of these, if not all, will be donated to Cards for Kindness.

    I sent in a couple dozen cards a while back but recently saw they have a need for some specific categories. With that in mind, I set my creations in that direction.

    I still have a couple pounds of scraps…it’s a serious problem. I’ll keep plugging away at them. I’m sure some scraps will make their way into some journal pages and master boards as well.

    Until next time…stay safe and go create something!

  • Around home - Blog - Crafts - Creativity - Kitchen - Outdoors

    T Tuesday: another two weeks edition

    It appears that this is how things may be for a while…slow to update…such is life these days. Time keeps ticking away and I’m finding less and less time to be creative. So many fall projects to tackle before its too late.

    I’m scrounging for canning lids as I keep getting more green beans. What do you think of my carrots? LOL  I had to pull them up because the squirrels were trying to do it for me.

    I also have a couple other canning projects I’d like to try but I either need more regular lids or more wide mouth jars…neither of which I can find anywhere.

    I did can some bloody Mary mix and somewhat appropriate sized containers.  It is a homemade, never be able to reproduce since I didn’t measure anything, type of mix. Hopefully its not the best ever. (Please excuse the poor photography and chaotic pantry.)

    School is going well. We all seem to be finding a rhythm…although I really should not have said that since I’m likely jinxing myself.

    One crafty thing that I actually completed during the past week was this paper garland. Our resource room is tiny…white cinder block walls with 6 doors but no windows…I can’t even make that up. It was originally a storage space of band instruments almost half a century ago.

    I really want to dress it up a bit without spending money since we certainly don’t have a budget. I’m hoping that between the 4 of us that current use the space throughout the day, we can make it a like happier. Brighter. A place the kids actually want to come for extra help without being distracted or over-stimulated.

    Last week, (I think…it’s a blur) we had some really interesting sunrise and sunsets. A high veil of smoke gave the sky a sort of post-apocalyptic look.

    I’ve been suffering with a sore hip or sciatica this past week. Its so frustrating! Hurts to do anything for any length of time. Whether its sitting, standing, walking or laying…it all hurts. I’m sure it came about from my abrupt change in activity when I returned to work. I’d been used to walking 2-3 miles most mornings then puttering around the house and garden. Being barefoot on soft surfaces. Nothing like life now. More sitting, hard floors, shoes, standing, leaning over. When I spell it all out like that, it makes complete sense but it doesn’t make the pain any less.

    I did get out for a walk Sunday morning. The trees are so beautiful. There was a slight crisp in the air. I love this time of year. Jeans and hoodies…my perfect outfit.

    I’ve made a few more masks as well. I decided when this is all over I’m going to cut apart all the masks I’ve made and make a COVID quilt.

    I have done a bit of art journaling as well….this is a current WIP. Of course this was what I should have been doing…but since I cleaned up my space it just had to be done.

    As many of you know my art space is in the laundry/utility room. My crafty chaos tends to overflow my actual space and I end up putting things on the washer and drier.

    But look…they are clean. Unfortunately there is a really lame reason for my sudden cleanup. The rubber gasket that keeps the water from leaking out the door of my front load washer ripped. Mr. G ordered a new gasket but the washing machine has to be taken half apart of replace the it. While waiting for that part Mr. G came across a video showing a potential hack to “rebuild the gasket with roofing sealant. We are giving it a go since…if it fails…we are right back where we started. I’ll update you next week as it takes a couple days of cure time.

    I’m so thankful that he is able to tackle these projects. In the meantime, I had to clean and make a trip to the laundromat.

    It’s certainly not perfect but trust me…much better. I tend to end up creating in a one foot square space. So dumb but I can’t seem to break myself of the habit.

    This is also madness. All of the scrap papers I had laying about. Ok truth be told…half of this was in the bin to start but seriously. I have a problem.

    What are you doing today?