Halloween Sampler, Completed

I finished my Halloween Sampler (designed by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery) late Tuesday night.  I don't care for Halloween, personally, and yet I love this sampler!

The beautiful cloth color was achieved by dying white Aida with Rit gray.  I used silver Kreinik for the stars of the H and W, and added it to the steel gray of the ninja's weapons.  I used a single piece of gold Kreinik with the yellow of my lightening.

It's hard to pick a favorite, but I think the owls might be mine.  Or maybe the ghosts.  Or the lollipops. Or perhaps the black cat.  No, definitely the owls.  I think.

H is for Haunted

A is for Apparition

L is for Lightening

L is for Lollipop

O is for Owl

W is for Witch

E is for Eyes

E is for Eek!

N is for Ninja (costume)

Halloween Sampler, Week Two

I've been trying since Tuesday to get a photo that does justice to these colors, but keep failing!  This is the second week of The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Halloween Sampler. 

I think the owl is my favorite for this particular week, but it's always so hard to choose!

I used silver Kreinik for my stars and added iridescent Kreinik to my moon; I dyed the cloth with the soft gray Rit.  

Can't wait to see what the final week will be!

H is for Haunted House

A is for Apparition

L is for Lightning

L is for Lollipop

O is for Owl

W is for Witch

My Friday Fives

In an effort to reflect more positively on what I accomplish and to plan goals more reasonably, I'm going to start writing out My Friday Fives.

1. Finished shelving all our books on our new bookshelves.
2. Decorated my side of the bedroom shelves with Washi (like I did our hall shelves); will finish his side next week.
3. Cleaned up the hallway (though doing so created some temporary mess in other places :p).
4. Hung up a new shower curtain.
5. Finished the first week of The Frosted Pumpkin's Summer Sampler.

I love the colors they chose, muted yet bright at the same time.  I'm glad I chose the beige Aida; it really brings the colors alive.

It's a super hard choice, but I think the kawaii guitar is my favorite from this week, mainly because I loved making his little strings.

1. SIX thunderstorms in five hours on Thursday evening.  It was lovely!
2. Won a fantastically cheap lot of vintage mysteries on ebay.
3. Won another fantastically cheap lot of vintage books on ebay.
4. Had my husband home on Monday; we celebrated our excellent dentist appointments with a Chick-fil-a milkshake. :)
5. Helped St. John catch bugs in the living room.

1. Use and review the gluten free sugar cookie mix I got from the Amazon Vine program.
2. Return to taking my photos every day.
3. Caulk around the tub. 
4. Dust the cobwebs in the living room.
5. Complete the second week of The Frosted Pumpkin's Summer Sampler.

Super Great Package Day

I love the daily deals at The Plaid Barn (and sadly, no, I'm not getting any endorsement for this).

I wouldn't go so far as to say that I am addicted to their great craft items and cute geegaws (only because my husband reads this blog and I don't want him to cut me off), but I will say that when I was finally lucky enough to snag one of their goodie boxes (they sell out FAST!!!!), I nearly cried with happiness.

My goodie box arrived today, after about five eternities of waiting.

So, naturally, I had to take photos and show all of my new goodies!

Here we have pillow boxes (I got four); fancy, velcro closing gift bags (four of the polka dot design, three of the plain); a package of blue/white chevron straws; small jute drawstring bags (four); medium kraft paper bags (two); and two daisy lids for mason jars to be used with a straw!

I got loaded with accessories, too: a lovely, sandy colored, polka dot scarf; gorgeous earrings that make me think "Morocco" and will become my new favorites; three fancy bobby pins; and two lace edged bobby pins that come with clear epoxy stickers so you can add your own design.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this!  It's an antique-y, handwriting font, rubber stamp set of all the upper case letters plus ! and ?.

Next up: yellow chevron ribbon, polka dot fabric tape, pink Washi tape and tiny scissors!  The tiny scissors are awesome and I plan to carry them in my purse.  Also a set of four each of blue, white and pink daisy cabochons, a set of blue, yellow and purple shabby-chic cloth flowers and  three varieties of fold over elastic.

Lastly, three sheets of vinyl (dark brown, rust and avacadoish), two unfinished wood circles, a lovely bunch of wooden spools and two unfinished wood candlesticks.

 How exciting is that?!?!

Other than my super great package, though, today was a waste.  I was tired from being up later than usual, I didn't get much done (still haven't washed the dishes, even) and am thinking of heading to bed early (i.e. now).  Trying not to be discouraged and to remember that not every day is going to be a great achievement day.

Looking Back on a Good Week

It's been another good week. I'm starting to feel like I can accomplish things in the house!

Monday:
I did the grocery shopping and took the books and cds to the used bookstore.  Remember how I speculated that I'd come home with as many as I took to sell?  Well. . . . I didn't bring back quite that many.

I'm really excited with my finds.  I've been on a cozy mystery kick, and some of them are hard to find at the library.  Most of these authors are new to me, but if I don't like them I can always trade them in for more.  Golly, I love books!

I also started pulling our books out of the various bookshelves and sorting them in the living room floor.  I'm sorting by alphabetical, nonfiction and devotional/Bible study.  My husband is going to build us some sturdier, taller shelves (maybe this weekend) and I plan to put the fiction in alphabetical order (like mine always were until I married and didn't take the time to merge our two groups) and the nonfiction in Dewey decimal order.  I get tired of not being able to find the book I'm looking for amongst all the other books.  I'm super excited to do this, being a book nerd and all.  I'm also sorting out the short stories to put in a separate section if they are by multiple authors.  I'm going to break with the Dewey and put plays and poetry in with fiction, though, because to my mind they are fiction and should not be in the nonfiction.  I've always struggled with that!  The devotional books will stay in my bedroom bookshelves, but I'll be sure that I have them all in there, as sometimes they get scattered.  I'll probably put my husband's Civil War books in his bedroom bookshelf, if there is room.  That is his special area of interest, and I want to be sure they are readily available to him to browse and admire.

Tuesday:
Can I admit that I don't remember anything at all about Tuesday?!  I think that must be when I caught up on all the dishes left over from the weekend (we don't have an automatic dishwasher).  Yes, I think that was it, and I made chili too.  I really like to put grated cheese on tortilla chips, melt it in the toaster oven, and then spread my homemade chili over top.  Super yummy.  And super messy!  I can't believe how easy chili is to make.  I created my own recipe:
saute garlic and onions in olive oil
add 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
and 2 cans of beans (I prefer black beans, but sometimes I put in a can of Great Northerns with the black)\
and 1 1/2 tablespoons of cumin
and 1 1/2 teaspoons of chili powder
plus salt and pepper to taste
Simmer until the flavors blend and voilà.  

Oh, yes, I just remembered!  On Tuesday, I made a new covering for our front door. St. John broke the blinds some time ago, and I had covered the panes with scrapbook paper for privacy.  It looked terrible, but it was all I could do at the time.  

I made a sort of fake stained glass to cover our door.  It looks silly, but it also looks happy, so I don't mind.  I put a sheet of wax paper across each pane.  Then I took another sheet of wax paper and taped on shapes from scrapbook paper and put it across the pane (so that the shapes were sandwiched between the wax paper sheets).  You can see the tape from the inside, and if I were to make it better and fancier, I'd buy contact paper to sandwich them in between so there wouldn't be any tape.  But, it provides color and privacy, so I don't care that it looks childish.  My husband gave me a huge compliment, saying it looked hippie-ish, so that means he doesn't mind it too badly either. :)

Wednesday:
Wednesday was a good and busy day.  Noon Communion, followed by lunch with Mom at Chick-fil-a (one of the only two fast places a person with Celiac can have fries).  Then she and I went to Joann craft store and I scored an amazing deal!   I got an $80 OttLite full sprectrum desk lamp for $19.99! It was marked down to $39; when it rang up even cheaper, I went back and got another! I am SOOOO excited!  After that, we parted ways and I went to Sam's and Big Lots.  On my way home, I texted my husband that I would pick up his perscription at Walgreens, but he didn't hear the text and headed that way too.  I pulled in behind him in the drive-through! Imagine my surprise when he got out of the work truck (which I never recognize) and came up to my window!  Surprise meetings with him always make my day!

Wednesday night I did some more furniture shifting.  When we moved my desk, I found a cache of lost kitty toys.

Every one of those was under that desk!  I thought the stove and refrigerator was the only kitty toy black hole!

Thursday:
Goodness, that was just yesterday!
I found a wonderful spring cleaning list, broken down into easy daily tasks and started doing it.  Yesterday was the stove and microwave.  I couldn't believe how nice the oven door looked when I was done!

I found the list here at Organize and Decorate Everything.  I get overwhelmed very quickly with large tasks, which has been the problem getting the house organized.  Having it broken down so nicely is great!  

I also made my homemade macaroni and cheese (a staple in my house).  I like to add broccoli to it and lately  I've been adding green peas also.  Quite yummy.

I made butter mints last night, too, but again that recipe didn't turn out quite right.  I'll have to try a different one.  This one, with sweetened condensed milk, just doesn't work well for me.

Today:
Today I cleaned out the fridge, and since I don't have a dishwasher, I started on tomorrow's spring cleaning chore and cleaned some of the cabinet doors.  


Here is my current work in progress, though I've not done much this week.

The Frosted Pumpkin did a Fruit of the Month sampler a few years ago.  I bought it, but had not completed it.  I've decided to do each fruit separately  so they can be displayed during the month.  Plus, I can put them on varying pastel colors, depending on what looks best with that fruit.  This is the May lemon, being worked on pink Aida.

Week in Review

This week I have felt like I've been in a gray haze.  Looking back though, I see that it had some lovely bits and I did accomplish some things.  It just didn't feel that way as I was experiencing it.

Finished week four of the Spring Sampler Tuesday or Wednesday (can't remember which right now).  Another adorable week of designs!  The final week will be released tomorrow.  I can't wait to see what it will be!

Wednesday noon Communion was wonderful, as usual.  Took this photo of the lovely hydrangeas outside of the Church on my way out.

Received several more rolls of Washi tape in the mail! :)  I saw an idea for Washi taping light switches and electrical outlets and had to give it a try.  This is the one for the kitchen.  I plan to do more next week.  I was thrilled at how nicely it stuck to the plastic.  I guess that it just doesn't stick well to cardboard, and that is why my flower craft was such a fail.

 I had to put aside my Sugar Skull cross stitch.  It is too intricate for my state-of-mind right now.  I started a Medieval-ish sampler based on heraldry flags.  It is easy enough (lots of squares of the same color) for my mind frame right now, plus it is lovely!

Mom and I saw Seraphic Fire in concert.  They were magnificent   I'll be buying their new album when it is released next week.   

Finished listening to Anna Karenina.  I didn't like it nearly as well as I did War and Peace.  Could have been the translation, of course.  I didn't like Madame Bovary when I read it twenty years ago, but I was blown away by the new translation last year.  

It's nice to look back and see that good things did happen.  I'll try to focus on those and try to forget that dull, gray feeling.  Tomorrow starts a new week and I will make it better.

Tolstoy and Toilet Paper

Wonderful weekend!  We made those really easy oatmeal/chocolate/peanut butter cookies, and then stood there and ate them with a spoon as they hardened.  It's good to be an adult!

I worked on my Sugar Skull; it's coming along quite nicely.

 

Had to put it back on hold, though, because Week Four of the Spring Sampler arrived early this morning.  I did the raindrops after dinner tonight. (The cloth is actually pale blue, but always gets washed out in photos.)

We also enjoyed sitting outside in our secret spot on these cool evenings.  Such a pleasure!  Every cool day in April is a hot day stolen from summer!

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St. John had a fantastic weekend.  He discovered toilet paper.

Yesterday, my husband left a roll in the bathroom floor right before we took a nap.  When I got up, the bathroom and hall were filled with shreds and he was lying on the rug in the living room, eating what was left of the roll.  Sadly, cat's just can't be shamed:

Also sadly, it appears that a taste for toilet paper, once developed, is insatiable. This is what happened while I was in the shower and unable to stop him.  (I know what you are thinking: "Why didn't you throw water on him?"  Because, unlike a typical cat, my kitten loves water!)

 Then, believe it or not, as I was taking the above photo to post, this happened:

I guess it's time to start hiding the toilet paper in a bag or something!

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I listen to audio books voraciously: in the store, in the car, in the shower, while crafting and cleaning. . . I average 7 a month.  This month, though, has been dedicated solely to Anna Karenina--all 35 and 1/2 hours of it.  

A dozen or so years ago, I read War and Peace; I loved it.  Tolstoy is amazing.  He is so in depth about what is going on in the lives of his characters.  Simply fantastic novel.  

I had never read Anna Karenina, though, as I honestly don't care for romance in general and adulterous romances are certainly not my bag. This book opens with a husband caught in adultery who is not sorry, and if you go by the blurbs, centers on Anna leaving her husband for a young officer.  

I decided I'd give it a third try, though, since I really did enjoy War and Peace, and I checked out the audio book from the library.  It is excellent, and is does not fully center on adultery and I am very interested in most of the characters.

However, at about 28 hours in, I am nearly ready to throw in the towel.  There was an hour long segment on hunting, and I just can't see how it added to the story.  I pushed on through and now am in a lengthy scene about a political election.  I don't want to quit--not this far in!!--but am frankly, bored.  I want to know how it's all going to wrap up, but I want to "skim" this political talk.  That is the one bad thing about audio books: I can't skim the parts that I find dull.  

I can't decide whether to take a break and listen to something else in between or just press on.  

Birds and Blisters

Early this morning, before I went to bed, I finished up this week's row from the  Spring Sampler and also my April Fool's jackelope from the Woodland Sampler.  So much fun!  I can't wait until Monday for the next installment of the Spring Sampler.

The baby birds are so ugly they're cute!

April Fools! :)

 Found this cute craft at Jo-Anne, on sale in their "Summer Camp" seasonal aisle.  I thought it would be cute on our front door.  I started making it last night but was too lazy to get out my hot glue gun, so I tried using some super glue.  I glued my fingers together, then the same finger to my fingernail. . I did not get the felt pieces to stick to each other.  Amazing, isn't it?!

Today, I got out the glue gun and, as usual, burnt myself several times.  I have never used a glue gun without burning my fingers; it's just part of the crafting.  Today, though,I burnt the same place on my fingertip that still had a layer of super glue.  Holy cow, did that hurt!  Hours later, it STILL hurts and I have quite the blister!  That is officially my last time using any sort of super glue-y product.

I did finish the birdies, though.  It certainly isn't perfect (the eyeball fell off the little bird and the bigger ones are crooked and have a distinct resemblance to Mo Willems' Pigeon), but it is mine.  I created it. =D  I had fun and it will be cute on our door.

Here it is, in all it's glory:

Beware!  They're staring at you with their creepy eyes!

And here is St. John, nomming some grass, on his walk today:

Wishy Washi

Made my first Washi tape creation today.  It didn't turn out great; I've still got a lot to learn about using Washi.  My ends didn't want to stay down and I don't know if it was the cardboard or the tape.  It was fun anyway!

I took this inexpensive cardboard flower (on sale for $2.79 at Jo-Anne) and covered it with some of my tape.  You can see that my edges aren't sticking like they should, and I didn't do a good job on the flower-hole, but it was my first time.

  

 

I also glued my fingers together with faux super glue attempting to make a felt craft for the front door.  I know better than to use that stuff, but was too lazy to get out my glue gun.  Tomorrow, once I can feel my fingers again, I'll use the glue gun!

Early this morning I finished one of the squares in my Spring Sampler.  The mouse was adorable, but I think I made it even cuter by adding the whiskers. :)

Before I went out for errands today, I played with the dandelions in the yard.

Make a Wish!

More Cross Stitch Love

As I mentioned in my last post, I am in love with The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's kawaii patterns.  The reason I've not finished the April part of this sampler is because they released a Spring Sampler this month.  It's as cute as the winter sampler and I am loving it!  Each Monday for five weeks, I get a new set of patterns in my inbox.  So exciting!  Here are the past two weeks. I'll post this week's as soon as it is done. =D

Cross Stitch Crazy

I've recently (as in November) started back cross-stitching.  It was my favorite hobby some twenty years ago, and then I gradually forgot about it.  Now, I'm having a blast again, and I owe it mainly to The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.  These two ladies make the prettiest, kawaii patterns.

Here is the Kawaii Winter Wonderland sampler.  I didn't finish it until January, but I'll be able to display it this Christmas season.  Isn't it adorable?!  I think the apple cider was my favorite.  No, wait, the ice skate was.  Or maybe the milk and cookies? 

I made this one for my husband for Valentine's Day.  It looks fantastic on the black, but now I remember why I hate working on black fabric--it is so much more difficult than other colors!

This is the Desert of the Month club from last year.  Each month they sent out a pattern; it was so much fun anticipating what the pattern will be.  The pumpkin pie was my absolute favorite.

This year's monthly sampler is the Woodland Sampler.  I get so excited on the last of the month and on the first I check my email numerous times waiting for the lovely surprise.  Here are the first three.  (I've not finished April yet.)