Glitter Jars

Sometimes inspiration doesn't turn out exactly how you thought it would. And yep! that happened the last time I saw something on Pinterest and thought 'what the heck! I am gonna try this'. And nope! this is not like the 'Regretsy' thing - it didn't turn out *that* bad =D But, after I was done, I did think it needed more tweaking to make it an ideal thing I want to put on display for everyone to see, rather than stick it in the bedroom and stare at it every night trying to decide where I went wrong.

The inspiration was the below pictures I found on Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AZfFioGWgE45CiUWOlBe6MJVxiBUgSmlbowvg47_L26YIlIbx7M4R5U/

Basically, take some Mason jars, add glue inside, add glitter & put a candle inside. Altho, I wanted to step it up a notch and add some ribbon to make it a bit fancier. The paper ribbon I added to the 1st one was too much, it blocked out most of the light inside =/ And then the 2nd one didn't have enough glitter despite the three attempts to add more to the inside of the jar.

See my attempts(s) below:

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/sprxn1p1awhbedz/AAAYKMRdunIzxXUTs7-06Dnua

Maybe the 3rd try will by just perfect tho! =)

Wamego Woolfest

   Yes, y'all.... I know. I have been shamefully neglecting this blog. In my defense, I *have* been extremely busy at work and I haven't been inspired as much. However, since making the trek to Wamego Woolfest with some good friends today, I feel a bit more inspired =)
   What is the Wamego Woolfest? Well, its a place you can go to find new yarn to add to your stash, new fiber to spin, baskets to lay all your projects in & a place to take several different classes on fiber/yarn/color theory and more!
   For me, it was my first time. I as a Wamego Woolfest Wewbie so to speak!Yes, y'all, I said 'Wewbie' in place of 'Newbie'. Let's give Lisa a big THUMP on the head and move on =D
   For me, I was just taking it all in today. And capturing it all in with sneaky pictures taken from my camera phone =) I think I can sum up the trip with:
   1. Arrive at the threatre its held at. Audrey makes grand gesture of enthusiasm as I inadvertently catch the doll behind her. Which, by the way, makes Audrey look like she has someone standing on her head =D
   2. I sneakily follow my friends and snap pics of them fondling yarn.
   3. We take an early lunch and one of my friends taunt me with her delicious smelling cinnamon pastry since I am on a carb/sugar free diet.
   4. I sneakily take more pics of fondling of yarn. And well, sniffing of yarn. And see that some of the knitting/fiber frenzie starts at an early age.
  
   Check out the below link for pix =)


https://www.dropbox.com/sc/ryq2laz0t5mykb8/AACwEHd0i7tzvOu90jyHRzOra

Sticks & Stones

The treks to Hobby Lobby the other day proved to be an insightful process. Not only because I became more aware of my likes, what I will tolerate, what I am unable to stand - but the trips gave me insight into what my friend and husband think of homemade decor.

In order to keep this blog post fairly short, let's just say that my husband did not like the glass beads/stones I had picked out to go with the faux sticks that I was gonna, uhh...err...stick in a vase as an effort of setting some decor about the house. While we have painted the walls since we moved in and have done other household projects, I do not have the various little things about a house that brings the house together (ie vases, pictures and such).

Granted, I *do* have a few, but....a very few...

So anyway! Glass beads somehow reminded my husband of his Grandma which -suffice it to say - it wasn't his favorite Grandma. Sooo.... I looked for natural stones instead and got more sticks. But then we found a table to put in the hallway that made me wince with the price of it (so I put them back) - BUT it was an excellent fit. It actually looks perfect...

Tho, I now have the old glass beads and vase I have - coupled with new glass beads and some faux sticks from my 1st trip with my friend. The latter I am debating whether I should take them back or try my hand at doing something that will wow even my husband.

Anyone ever get this stuff and make something that turned out spectacular? =)

Impressive Blankets

I have a friend who was knitting squares for a blankets for a wedding anniversary gift. She and her sister got together for the project - altho she was key in getting most of the 180 squares done. Uh huhh... yup....180!

I am not sure about y'all, but I was seriously impressed to hear that it took that many and that she stuck with it. I was even more impressed when I was able to see the finished product, cuz personally, I love the colors used.

GREAT job Jeana!! =)

Hobby Lobby

 

Going to Hobby Lobby can be fun for the crafter - whether you knit, bead, scrapbook or even are looking to just decorate your home =) I have made two recent trips there in the past few months, and both have been with my *very* good friend. Well, ok.....there was a third trip there, but that was with my husband and that was more a learning experience into his idiosyncrasies that - despite almost 10 years of marriage, I still don't know all about.

Anyway....each time my friend and I go there, we always find stuff that amuse us for one reason or the other. The first time, however, we came across the aisle with the feather boas and.... well... we both had to try some on of course. Although, my friend looked pretty darn groovy when she posed - so despite the odd looks from other customers & their employees, I had to take a picture to capture the moment =D

LUV hanging out with this gal!!

Duct Tape Dress Form

I thought for sure I had written a blog post on here about going to my friend's duct tape dress form party. BUT I searched high and low, and am unable to find it - tho, I did find that another friend posted pictures wrote about it and her blog here --> http://mockeymonker.livejournal.com/22090.html

Why am I bringing this up? Well, I was emailing that friend and it reminded me about it. AND I still have my duct tape dress form in my closet - tho, much to my dismay cuz I think my form is *maybe* a bit better now. It was in 2009 when we did this tho - so I imagine it is probably important to continually update your duct tape dress form.

And seriously? Even if you do not sew/knit much as you should (*cough,cough* that might be me lol), I loved getting together with my friends and sharing that experience =) It was funny, silly and serious all put together - PLUS my friend's Mom has an awesome garden which I got a tour off and envied (as I tend to have the green thumb of death according to my husband).

Anyway! Google it - y'all will find numerous posts on the subject. And *maybe* if you are a local gal reading this, we will have another duct tape dress form get together and you can come out and hang with us! =)

Knitting Squares

I have decided I needed a break from the usual knitting projects and do some 'mindless' knitting. So I started knitting squares - all knitted, no purl. They are fairly small too, so it makes me feel like I have accomplished something even sooner lol

What will I do with all these squares? I have it narrowed down to something for my dogs =) They are not fussy, and they will not notice if everything isnt perfectly done. They are my perfect test subjects...

I just need to decide if I should make a pillow or a blanket. My husband votes for the pillow - but I do not want to create a pillow by adding stuffing, as I can just picture them pulling out the stuffing a bit a t a time. I *could* buy a pillow and just make a pillow case, that way, it would be easy to wash it. The only problem with leaving the end of the pillowcase open is that the pillowcase might slip off - which would defeat my intended purpose for the pups. I know this may be an unlikely scenario, but...

I could also just make a blanket, but then they would have to share it. I could make 2 blankets, but then the project would get a bit bigger than I had originally intended. Altho, they would also have to share the pillow/pillowcase, so maybe I would need to do two of those also?

Ughh. Again, its for my pups - they wont care that much - why am I overanalyzing this? lol Any thoughts y'all? =)

Geraniums

My geranium plant is looking odd. I would love to have it bloom so I can cut some of the flowers off to put inside or try my hand at preserving/drying them. The latter is what made me think about posting this up here - but then, I don't have any blooms. I just have an *extremely* tall geranium with NO blooms. It is the most odd looking geranium plant I have seen.

And of course I managed to grow the oddest geranium plant. Yay me??!! lol

Anyway! I DO want it to bloom, not only so that I can snip a few blooms and try to be craftey, BUT so that I can actually not be *that* neighbor. Ya know... the neighbor who kills plants or only grows weird stuff? =)

So, will post the picture of it and see if anyone has any insight. It does look like it could start blooming. But its been that way for a month and a half...

Ugh.. anyway! Enjoy the picture of my funky looking geranium lol

Tattoos

Originally, I started surfing the web for ideas on how to preserve butterflies actually - not anything really 'artsy'. Once upon a time, I used to try to collect them and pin them in a case - tho, their frail wings would crumble soon after. I initially brought up pages about butterflies and what they symbolize. This then led to tattoos of butterflies, and well.....

Here we are with another blog post =)

Cuz, some people who do get tattoos do view it as art. I have a tattoo on my ankle and even though I do not view it as art, I do think it symbolizes who I am, what I like, etc. While I would not get another tattoo, I have had experience with people whose views towards tattoos are not like mine. They have the tattoo artist create something original, they draw something that depicts their artistic talent, or they may simply have a copy of something altered in some fashion to truly show how they view things.

So anyway - I thought I would share my thoughts and also the picture of the butterfly tattoo that inspired this blog =)

Dining Decor

My husband and I were out of town the other day for work-related stuff and ended up eating at a restaurant outside of Allentown, PA. Actually, they had rooms too - so it was a country inn place with a fancy restaurant =) I really loved their dining room decor - and after looking at their website and thinking on it more, I am pretty sure it wouldnt't be too hard to make some of the decor for the walls of your own house (see picture below).

The red flower picture would be relatively simple - just a few rustic boards painted white and the red flower painted on. However, the horse picture to the left might be a bit harder to duplicate. If I am looking at it right, I think someone took a thick piece of wood and carved the horse into it & painted the recessed background black.

Has anyone done much wood carving? Or do you think they created this picture differently? I may have to give it a try - tho, not sure where I would put a horse picture at actually. If it turns out good, I could always give it as a gift or *find* room for it =) Otherwise, if it turns out horrid, I just might throw it away lol

Or maybe use it as kindling for a bonfire? =)

Lace & You Tube

Yup, y'all! This is actually *knitting* related lol I know my husband says I hate knitting, but I generally don't  if all is going well =) Or if someone else is knitting something for me. Or if I buy something knitted. Or if I am admiring a page in a magazine that has something knitted, or...

Well, you get my point =)

I am NOT an experienced knitter like my friend Dee Anna. Seriously. I know she thinks I am trying to be nice just to have her knit something for me, but I am REALLY impressed with her dedication and her talent.


ANYWOOOO!!


I have restarted my lace project about 3 times already, and if it wasn't for my stubborn nature, I would throw it to the side and pretend it never even got started =) BUT, I decided that *maybe* if I googled You Tube vids of yarn overs that *maybe* it could help me.


I do not want to sound bad to the long-term knitters out there - but what DID y'all do before You Tube? lol Seriously, seeing a picture in a book is not the same as seeing it on You Tube. UNLESS you are already an experienced knitter! Which I am not....


So to keep this blog post short - thank you! You Tube!


I *may* be able to finish this lace project yet =)

Air Guitar?

Well, y'all, if I wasn't already busy I would be busy checking this out tonite =) Kinda reminds me of the Blue Man group with no props - just dancing and acting like they are playing some bad a$$ guitar riffs lol In addition, if it wasn't for the fact that I don't know how to play guitar and therefore even play air guitar badly (husband says my hands are not at ALL where they should be when a person is actually playing a guitar), I would enter! Altho, I do know of a couple of guys who stand on the corner by 'Little Caesars' pizza place that practice on an almost daily basis. Methinks they should join! Or maybe they have and thats why they have such skillz!! hehe

How is this art related? Heck - y'all don't think dancing can be an art? =)

http://usairguitar.com/

Brookside Art Festival/Studio Trip

No pics of this event y'all! I tried to take a pic of some stuff in a booth once we got there, but the gal was NOT happy with me doing so. Soo.... I got terribly paranoid about taking any pics after that lol I guess I could have taken some at the Studio, as they are relaxed/easygoing - but got a little sidetracked there trying to buy something that I am hoping will get me back on track with my knitting =) Could have take pics during lunch at Blancburgers maybe, too - but figured thats a terribly rude thing of me to do. I know I am not the most graceful when it comes to eating - would hate to have someone taking pics of my horrid eating habits lol

Anywhooo! Have decided I am going to try knitting lace - woot! GO ME =) Gonna use the below pattern, so we shall see how it turns out. Anyone knit lace much? Do you like or dislike it? Should I be finding bulkier projects to knit? lol

http://brookenelson.com/leafscarfpattern.html

Windex, Vinegar & Peroxide

Lately, we have had to clean a tempurpedic mattress - so off I went googling to find the best course of action =) I found it interesting that there are some everyday household and/or kitchen items that could be used. And not only for a tempurpedic mattress. For instance:

Windex
Hardwood floors
Clean area rugs
Erase marks on dry erase boards
Cleans lipstick smears (not that I wear much lipstick, but maybe y'all do =))
Seems to help the itch of poison ivy
Ward off intruders - my fav lol (courtesy of http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/25091104/detail.html)

Vinegar
Removes mineral deposits from coffee makers
Makes newly cleaned ovens smell better
Discourages ants
Makes cleaning the grill easier
Clean up pet accidents
Helps get decals off walls & doors
And muuuucccchhh more! (thanks! go to this website for all the useful tips: http://www.vinegartips.com/scripts/pageViewSec.asp?id=7)

Peroxide
Clean yellowed or stained plastic
Clean cutting boards
Clean a tempurpedic mattress (altho, uhh - be careful! it will bleach spots if you concentrate it too heavily in one area!!)
Blood stains
And much more! (You can find more tips at: http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/uses-of-hydrogen-peroxide.html)

OK, am done spreading my wisdom about today lol Y'all have any to add? =)