Sunday, January 31, 2010

Valentine Bean Bags - and a tutorial

***
Craft level: simple
Skill level: beginner
Fun level: very

*****

I've been making bean bags since...well...for a long time - and lately I've been seeing a lot of them during my morning blog surfs. I had some scraps left over from a recent project (I'll show you in a couple of weeks) and decided to put together a few Valentine bean bags. While I was at it, I thought I'd throw in a little tutorial.

Materials needed:
- 2 squares of fabric (mine are 6"x 6")
- fabric scraps for applique
- fusible webbing (fabric iron-on stuff)
- filler (I used plastic pellets because one of these is going to my toddler nephew and I want it to be washable, but you can also use rice or beans)

*****

Here we go:
Iron the fusible webbing to the back of a scrap of fabric. This will be your cut-out applique.
Trace your template and cut it out. (I used a heart shape that I created in Microsoft Word by turning on the drawing tool bar and making a heart. There are all kinds of shapes in there; stars, arrows, voice bubbles, etc.)
Peel off the back and iron it on to your top square.

Stitch around your applique shape to secure edges. I like to use a wide zig-zag stitch.

Pin squares right sides together, stitch around the square leaving a 3" opening (Trust me, leave a large opening! It's easier to fill this way.)

Trim the corners so that when it's turned right-side out your corners will be pretty! (I use a chopstick to poke into the corners once I've turned it to make them look good.)

Turn. Press. Stitch 1/8" from the edge (don't stitch over your hole for the filling!).

Fill it with plastic pellets, rice, or beans. (I roll up a piece of paper and place it into the hole to make a funnel. For the 6"x 6" square I used 1 cup (8 oz.) of filler.)
Stitch the opening closed.

Easy, huh?

Have fun!

:o) ♥

(PS: This bean bag is for you, Carrie.)

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Revolving Sushi

Hubby and I met for lunch yesterday at Tehara, a revolving sushi bar near where we live. I took my small point and shoot camera with me and got some lousy pictures, but I'm going to use them anyway. (I'm spoiled with my good camera!)


There are two conveyor belts that revolve around the center section where the chefs are making sushi. When something passes by that you want, you take it.


California roll, and spicy shrimp and crab roll. Soy sauce, wasabi and chopsticks.
The different colors of the plates represent different priced items. When you are done, the server counts and adds up your plates and you pay accordingly.
.
Here's a video that I accidentally shot. I decided to upload it because it gives you an idea of what the place is like (all 5 seconds of it...).
It's fun! If you ever get a chance to try something like this I highly recommend it!
*****

Friday, January 29, 2010

These. Are. Shortbread. Cookies!!!

***
Do you know I have this THING for buttons?!?!?
Carrie found a great tutorial and recipe for these adorable cookies here!
.
I'm going to make these for our next girl's craft day.
.
(To my local friends: Act surprised, ok?)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

The 9-lives of Whiskey Jay

My dear sweet blog friends ~

Thank you so much for your sweet comments and prayers for my furry friend, Whiskers. I'm cautiously optimistic as I write this post, but I think he's going to be ok! I'll spare you the details, but he's acting like his normal self (using the word normal loosely here!) and everything seems to be ok now.

While we were at the animal hospital the other night, Carrie took out her camera. At first I protested, but it's my own doing - I raised her to be a scrapbooker and, well, it's what we do. We take pictures at odd times. Not my finest hour...providing a place for Whiskers to hide while we wait to be seen by the doctor:
Hubby and Daughter would tell you that I tend to worry a little too much at times. And while it might seem that I jumped on the worry wagon too quickly where Whiskers is concerned, there's a reason I went there so fast.

About 2 1/2 years ago, Whiskers ate some ribbon from my craft table. A dollar's worth of ribbon turned into a very costly vet bill. The ribbon became lodged in his intestines and required surgery that was risky and very hard on him (and me!). He was so sick, his recovery was long, and he was completely traumatized by his experience at the vet's office.

Do you think he would stop eating ribbon? Nooooooo. In fact, he almost became obsessed with finding and chewing it. It's the shear stuff that he likes. Shear ribbon and tulle. I am meticulous about keeping this stuff under cover because I know he's crazy for it, but I'm a crafter and there are times that things aren't tucked away completely. :o\

*****
Animals are funny, aren't they? Our other cat loves to eat plastic bags and lick photos. Where does that come from?!?! Do you have a pet with a quirky habit?
.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Happy Birthday, Presley...and a Whiskers update.

~ My niece Presley is 5 years old today ~

(Happy birthday, sweet girl!!!)

*****

Santa brought me a long-reach-heavy-duty stapler last year (love it. love Santa.) and I used it to make this little notebook for Presley's birthday. My sister tells me that Presley calls it her "diary." Cute! I have a feeling I'll be making her many more "diaries" as she gets older.

Edit: I should have mentioned this... I bought the little tube of colored pencils at Michael's and decorated it to match the notebook. The "P" is cut from my Cricut, and the crown is a Martha Stewart punch embellished with Stickles glitter. :o)

And while my hubby and daughter will give me a hard time because I "worry too much, " Hubby tells me I should wait another 24 hours before posting a good news post about Whiskers. So, I'll wait another 24. [fingers crossed]

Don't judge me by my sickly plant. I really can grow things.
This one has been through a lot!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Highs and lows.

The high: My kitchen table right now.

Yes, I have a beautiful craft space - my very own entire room - but no space for sewing in there so I use the kitchen table. In the works here are a pot holder (LOVE LOVE LOVE this black and white and pink fabric I picked up at Joann's!!!) and some Valentine bean bags. The red chopstick I use for turning small pieces and making neat corners accidentally fits in nicely with the color scheme.
.
The low: This guy swallowed a piece of tulle/netting last night. We spent three hours and $162 in the animal emergency room last night trying to get him to "cough it up" but to no avail. Now we have to "wait and see" if he can pass it on his own. He's not feeling so hot today and I can't tell if he's still somewhat hungover from the medication and drama of last night, or if the foreign object inside him is upsetting him. :o(
I'm tired and worried today...so say a little prayer for Whiskers if you are so inclined.

Monday, January 25, 2010

An egg is an egg, right?

Wrong.

Here's something I've learned within the past 6 months:

Eggs are different when they are farm-fresh.

*****

I work in a chiropractic office and we have some interesting (and wonderful) patients. One of our patients is a man by the name of Perry. Now, Perry has a few pet peeves. One of those peeves is about the "poor nutritional value in the foods that we consume...and who's to blame? Our government." {Views presented on this blog may or may not be the personal opinion or beliefs of yours truly.} Get him started on one of his...pationate subjects and he just can't stop himself.

Anyway. We love this guy. :o)

In Perry's quest to find produce that hasn't been "chemically treated or genetically altered in some manner," he frequents a local farmers market. He buys fruits and vegetables that he raves about, and he buys eggs.

And he buys eggs for us.

At first I was skeptical. The sight of them alone was foreign - they weren't all the same size, shape or color. And, (as instructed by Perry) I couldn't refrigerate them, had to wash them before cracking them, and I'd have to break them into a bowl separately just in case one had "gone bad" or [gulp] "has blood in it." Really? Really?

Fast forward 6 months....

My hubby thinks there are few things better than a homemade breakfast on Sunday morning. And it's always a special treat if we still have eggs in the carton on the counter that need to be washed before cracking! I've never been a big egg eater, and I'm still not (a little goes a long way) but farm-fresh eggs are wonderful.

What makes them different from store-bought eggs (or at least the kind I have been buying in my local grocery store)? According to Perry, mass produced eggs are laid by chickens in factories [so to speak] that are given feed and hormones designed to enhance the amount and size of the eggs the hens lay. Eggs from farm animals (or "free range") come from a hen who is in its natural environment, eating the foods (and -ick- bugs) it was meant to consume, and producing eggs that taste like eggs are supposed to taste.

Yummy.

Sometimes Perry makes a lot of sense.

:o)

*****

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Back to basics.

Last year I took a class called "Blogging for Scrapbookers" taught by a woman named Shimelle. I signed up for the class as a way to spruce up my blog and to learn some new tips and tricks for scrapbook related blogging. Well, I got that and much more.

It was a pleasant surprise to get to know other bloggers through the online class forum. I really enjoyed looking at all the wonderful blogs out there and making creative connections with other bloggers all over the world.

When the class began, I felt like I needed to make my blog look different. I had to have those side borders and a different banner. The current one was so simple.

Wait. I like simple.

So, for now, I'm going back to a solid background and my original banner. I want to be able to change out my banner from time to time, and this plain background should be more...cohesive? Cool.

Mom will be happy that the turtle is back.

I ♥ flowers.

Lately I've been dabbling in a little crochet. Learning to crochet a granny square got me hooked (pun intended) and I started looking for other tutorials on YouTube. (Did you know you can learn how to do just about anything by searching for videos on YouTube?!?!)
.
I found this tutorial and this one for making these cute little flowers. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but you can bet I'll figure out something! Got any ideas?
***♥***
PS: I thought I was being very meticulous about my photo shoot here and when I uploaded the picture there was a cat hair in every one. ~sigh~ Good thing I love that little monster so much!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Party Favors ~ K & J ♥

{Here's a little peek at the party favors I'm
making for my niece's bridal shower. }

Supplies I used
- a square of white tulle -
- two Dove milk chocolate hearts -
- K & J printed on red cardstock -
- red cardstock + heart punch -
- ribbon I love -
.

. . . and a friend to help me make them . . .

Friday, January 22, 2010

Five Fav's on Friday...

xo

This post was inspired by my blog-friend, Cate who recently did a post about her five favorite blogs. I thought it was a great idea and immediately started thinking about which blogs I might choose if I did a similar post. It was tough! I follow 88 blogs and while each of them are deserving of a mention for some reason or another, here are my top five (in no particular order):

#1 - Skip to My Lou ~ love this blog for the quick and easy craft projects. When my daughter Carrie was little we loved crafting together (still do). Craft with your kids! Roll up your sleeves and make a mess! Nurture their creativity! This blog will give you all sorts of ideas.

#2 - Centsational Girl ~ This is a great DIY blog. Her projects make me want to quit my full time job and re-do everything in my house! Carrie and I love looking for potential treasures at thrift stores and bringing them home for my hubby to re-finish. Centsational Girl does these project all by herself!

#3 - PoppyTalk ~ Fun blog with tons of inspiration!

#4 - The Decorated Cookie ~ CUTE projects that I will never make. I tend to stick with crafting non-food items, but this gal is really clever with kitchen utensils!

#5 - The Long Thread ~ Every time there's a new post on this blog I want to make the project shown.

And I want to give a special mention (shameless plug) to my daughter's new blog: Rosalind Revival Check it out when you get a chance.

What are some of your favorite blogs...and why? I'm always looking for new inspiration and would love to add a few more to my list of 88.


Thursday, January 21, 2010

Fortune cookies...what?

.
They just don't make 'em like they used to.

What ever happened to a little sage advice or practical fortune telling?
:o)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Valentine Inspiration ♥



I love Valentine's Day.
Here are a few projects that have caught my eye and are
screaming (little voice in my head...) to be made!

You know how I LOVE garland?
~sigh~
Must. Make. This one. SOON!

found here


And this cute one:

found here

Simple yet adorable bookmark:

found here

And if your Valentine is a tea lover, how cute and simple are these?!?!

These were found under the same link as the two above, along with a whole bunch of other Valentine projects! Gotta' love Martha! (Thanks to Carrie for sending me the link!) Have fun checking them out.

:o)

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Salad bar at my house.

This past weekend, Carrie and I had friends over for a craft night.
Our sweet group of friends has a variety of diet needs.

One is carb-free.

One is gluten-free.

One is vegan.

What to make for dinner? A salad bar.
,
I wish I had taken a picture of the salad bar I created before we all dug in! I thought of it too late, so someone suggested I just take a picture of my salad:

Yummy, right?!?!

Turns out that a salad bar set up was a great way to
accommodate each guest's dietary needs.

:o)

Monday, January 18, 2010

I love parties ~ here are the invitations...

Bridal shower invitations are done and ready to be mailed (x 34).


I'm a fortunate girl. One of the (many) perks in my life is that I live close to Scrapbooks, Etc. - a scrapbook store owned by the same family who owns Bazzil Cardstock. They have pretty much every color and texture of cardstock and when I go there I'm like a kid in a candy store! Seriously? I could scrapbook and craft with nothing but textured cardstock for the rest of my life and I'd be happy!

Hopefully you can see the texture in the cardstock in these invitations I put together. I'm so happy with the combination! The white is standard texture, the black strip is embossed with a beautiful swirly design, and the red for the hearts is dry embossed (raised design) - perfect for a Valentine themed party!

There's a party happening at my house in a few weeks!!!

Life is good.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Cookie History 101

*************************
As I planned to bake cookies one day, I asked Doug if he had any special requests:

Doug: "Yeah. How about those macadamia nut cookies like they have at Subway?"
Me: "Subway!?!?!"
Doug: "Yeah. Those are my favorite."
 
Psh. Move over Subway Cookie Man...
*************************
I received the Mrs. Fields Cookie Book before Carrie was born and it was never used until she was a latch-key kid at the age of 10. She called me at work after school one day to ask if she could bake cookies. Since she had never made cookies on her own before I protested, "Wait till I get home..." Well, she persisted (in the way that only a pre-teen-only-child-female-Gemini can) saying she'd follow the recipe in the book and she'd be fine. I gave in, ending the call with, "Clean up your mess!"

When I came home from work that night the house smelled amazing. My kitchen was (fairly) clean and the cookies were SOOOOOO good!

This after-school-baking-activity would continue from that point on, and I ended up printing the cookie recipe on a card and laminating it (thinking about protecting my cookbook from a 10-year-old baker). The directions on the right show her version of how to mix the dough. :o)

It's been about 11 years now, Carrie is out on her own, and I still pull this recipe card out when I want to make these cookies. I figure I'll have to give this card up when she realizes she needs it and I still have it. :o}
.
I follow the original directions and cream the sugars and butter together first, then add the eggs and vanilla. The dry ingredients go in last...


Per Doug's request, I substituted white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts for the chocolate called for in the recipe.
Mmmm-hmmm...pretty darn good...

Doug says my cookies are better than Subway's.

So there.
*****

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Accordion fold / morphing picture

A few years ago I worked at a scrapbook store for a while (BEST job ever except for the fact that I spent almost every penny of my paycheck on store product...but I digress...). One of the huge advantages of working there was the constant stream of inspiration I received from my co-workers and our customers.

This framed piece that I made for my daughter a couple years ago was inspired by one of those customers. As you look at it from side-to-side the image changes...
(Photo is of Daughter & me when she was about 3 years old)

(front view)


(Daughter & me about 5 years ago)

The construction of this piece was a bit tricky and took a little trial and error to figure out. Basically, I printed two 8"x8" photos and cut them into 1" strips. Then I pieced together a piece of cardstock to measure 8"x 18" and folded it accordian style in 1" intervals. (You want it to be twice as wide as your photo, plus an extra inch on each side to adhere to the back/base piece.) I cut an 8"x8" hole in the center of my patterned paper, and put the accordion piece into it. (If you are interested in making one of these and have any questions on how it's done please feel free to leave me a comment and I'll try to explain in more detail.)

The journaling came about because back in our "single days," Daughter and I LOVED the show Gilmore Girls. She and I could really identify with the main characters and if you are familiar with the series, you will know the relationship that Daughter and I have - pretty much identical to Lorelei and Rory! Anyway! The theme song for the show was Carole King's "Where You Lead" and we used to sing it at the top of our lungs every time the show came on.

Here's a shot of the wall it hangs on in my craft room. It's a special addition to my little collection.

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