• Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    T Tuesday: many things edition

    February 4, 2020 - By 

    This post will be a jumble…so many things in so many directions. That’s my life right now. Some days I feel a little more scattered than others. When I’m having a scattered day I am trying to be mindful and prioritize, slow down when possible and forgive myself for not vacuuming.

    I finally set up my sewing machine in J’s room. Not really sure what took me so long to get back to it… perhaps lost creative mojo.

    Quilting

    marvin being helpful

    Now that my machine is in a usable space I got out the scrappy quilt top I made before Christmas. I settled on a tie-dye fabric from my stash for the backing. As soon as I laid the quilt on the floor for basting, my helper showed up.

    marvin being helpful

    Making the bed is pretty much his favorite activity…well maybe eating and sleeping are tied for first then making the bed.  Of course, he doesn’t understand that laying the quilt out nice and flat and smooth, keeping it all inline are an integral part of the process.

    Teaset pincushion

    Since this desk overlooks the front yard, it’s a perfect spot for Marvin to do a bit of bird watching. With that in mind, I decided that the standard tomato pincushion wasn’t the right choice…looks a little too much like a ball.

    teacup pin cushion

    I made this teacup pincushion a while back and have finally put it to use. I love that the cup sits slightly off-center on the saucer. When I first noticed this mistake I was upset but now I realize that this is a good thing. The off-center placement allows for more useful space for sewing tools at the ready.

    Week of appreciation

    para appreciation week

    Last week was declared Paraprofessional appreciation week by Governer Walz. Our school went all out making us feel appreciated in so many ways. Puny gifts, signs on our lockers, cards, and breakfast but honestly, the most meaningful one was drawing and note from a student that I wasn’t sure I was making an impact with.

    Archery

    Archery season is upon us. I love this season even with the distance we travel most Saturdays. It gives Mini-me and I some quality time in the car.

    Birthday Boy

    reading to friends

    J turned 20 years old today!! TWENTY!! So crazy. It was hard not to be with him today. I was very distracted with thoughts of him throughout the day. I just wanted to hop in the van and drive to Duluth. I’ll be calling him shortly when his class is over…but it’s just not the same.

    What else…oh yeah…I dyed my hair…mostly the underside…purple. Well…technically eggplant. Yep…totally went for it. It’s really fun and I love it. The family had a bit of a hard time getting used to it but I think they have now. If you take a peek at my about me page, you will see the new look.

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

    T Tuesday: Christmas wrap(up) edition

    December 30, 2019 - By 

    Hello and welcome to another edition of T stands for Tuesday! You may have noticed that I’ve been gone a while. I talked about my back saga in the previous post so we are moving on to something more festive and fun!

    Since we were hosting Christmas (because I love it!) I had to lean on the rest of the family to do all of the heavy and not so heavy lifting.

    Even the simple things like getting a cake in and out of the oven.

    The past few years I’ve made a rum cake for Christmas but this time I went for a Fireball Whiskey cake. It was so good. I forgot to take a photo of it with the icing…likely because it wasn’t very pretty.

    We had overnight guests on Christmas eve…Mini-me gave up her bed and slept on the couch. Of course, this meant that she was up even earlier than she usually is. She is my early bird kid.

    It was a long wait…even with me making all kinds of noise in the kitchen.

    This was my favorite present under the tree…it’s hard to wrap arrows. Mini-me needed a new set for archery season which is just days away.

    Marvin had to be a part of the chaos…bows are his favorite.

    I suppose the whiskey cake could have been my “beverage” for T stands for Tuesday but instead, I thought I’d share the tiniest cocktail I’ve ever seen. My BIL brought this over. It wasn’t anything I cared for but the can sure was cute.

    I’ve been working on purging my rubber stamps. I was so frustrated digging through them trying desperately to find a Happy Anniversary stamp since I had promised my MIL that I’d make her some cards. I had a bunch of bases completed they just needed a sentiment and the also requested “shiny butterflies”. Thankfully I have a very crafty neighbor who is willing to share. Thanks, KW!

    The “shiny butterflies” have the big wow factor but are pretty easy to make. I stamped each butterfly on white card stock with black Staz-on ink. I used watercolor paint to colorize each. After completely dry, I fussy cut each and placed on a non-stick surface. I coated each one with Diamond glaze. As they dry a slight curl happens quite naturally giving them an even more “lifelike” appearance.

    I have now looked through every single one of my stamps and alas…I never even had a Happy Anniversary stamp. ugh. Well, now I do…I bought a set of sentiments at Michaels. I’m sure you’ll be seeing some cards in the near future with these words.

    Today is Mini-me’s 17th birthday. I can hardly believe it. 

    I was planning to go out and get her favorite meal… Chipotle…but we are getting a snowstorm. It remains to be seen if we venture out or not.

    Speaking of crazy storms and slippery conditions….have you seen this video?

    The video was taken a few miles from our house. Mini-me had friends on that bus heading to a girls’ hockey tournament.

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

    T Tuesday: all things crafty edition

    September 9, 2019 - By 

    Since heading back to school I think perhaps I’ve done more crafting than I did all of August. It always works that way. What’s that saying?… “Busy people get things done.”  There is whole lot of truth in that statement.  Grab a cup of coffee or whatever and stay awhile…I’ve got lots to share.

    I think I’ll start with the travel journal I made with ephemera from our trip. It’s still a work in progress but here’s a sneak peek at the journal with some of the goodies tucked inside.

    I’m still sewing like there’s no tomorrow.

    In fact this photo was taken 10 mins before I had to leave for my first day back to work.

    No games will be played at the game table anytime soon. I’ve kind of temporarily taken over. I’m nearly done with the paper foundation stitching on all the blocks…at least I think so. Once I start doing the layout I’ll know for sure.

    I also did a bit more cleaning and organizing in my art zone. I wish I could call it a studio but that would be like putting lipstick on a pig. It’s functional…just not pretty. 

    Check out my new washi tape organization….

    Mini-me has yet to do her color organization on the washi…I know she will though and it will be much prettier.

    While I was organizing I decided it would be a good idea to make some more card bases or backgrounds..which ever you prefer.

    I picked up the paper pad above at Tuesday Morning (no affiliation) and was itching to use it. So many pretty patterns.

    I have a nice stack of cards started now just waiting for the right sentiment or occasion.

    I’m heading back to the sewing machine to finish up my blocks. Can’t. Stop. Sewing.

    T stands for Tuesday
    What are you doing today?