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Projects upon Projects . . .

There are so many ideas running through my head. Every time I get online I end up finding something else I want to make. Does anyone else have this problem? For instance, I just saw a pattern for a Darling hand bag. I've been needing a new purse for a while, so that is now on my list. I'd call it a bucket list, but that's not quite accurate. My understanding is that a bucket list is full of things to do before one dies, right? My list is full of things I wish I could do tomorrow.

Here is a small sample of the projects I get excited about in no particular order. I think about them, plan them, find examples online, watch tutorials, print off plans and patterns, and poco a poco I do them.

1. Stained glass window panels. (I've only watched programs and tutorials but I bet I could do it if I had the equipment).
2. Queen-sized quilted (not pieced) bedspread.
3. Large, acrylic landscape painting. I have yet to decide on the actual scene, but I want it to look like it goes on and on into the distance. Any ideas?
4. Cute table with chess-board top and storage drawer for chess pieces (I don't know how to play chess, this would be for my mom who is planning on carving the pieces as woodland animals. It's going to be pretty awesome).
5. Crocheted, lace bedskirt. (I finally found a perfect pattern!! MyPicot.com Isn't it beautiful?)
6. Irish crocheted cardigan (In the works right now - sort of).
7. Miniature replica of my Dad's childhood home -"Driggs". I've got some great ideas for this one and am planning on completing this in time for Christmas.
8. Bright crocheted flowers as luggage tags (oh yeah baby, I'm going on vacation in the relatively near future!!)
9. "Rustic" nightstand. I think I just today found what I want from The Woodsmith Shop. But it's just a preview for their Season 6, so I'm going to have to wait for those plans. All their plans are free online. Awesome. 
10. Replace my kitchen countertops and backsplash with tile! I've been to Home Depot (my second favorite store) many times just to look at the tile and dream.
11. Plant a living fence of fruit trees. This will not happen while I live in my current home, so it's stuck in the dream category as well.
12. Wool rug for my entry. (My cheapness is stopping me on this one. I rarely buy 100% wool yarn or fabric cause the acrylic and polyesters are so much cheaper! I'm on the lookout for an amazing sale.)
13. Halloween silhouette scene for my front window. I'm thinking I'll make it out of felt so that I can roll it up and store it year after year. I've got orange lights to put behind it. It looks great in my head and hopefully it will make a great future post for you all to see before Halloween this year.
14. Cleaning apron. I saw a pattern idea for this on a home organization website - can't remember the actual name - and I loved it! I always seem to either ruin what I'm wearing at home or I wear extremely sloppy clothes because I'm planning on cleaning something, OR I walk around the house with a handful of things to throw away because I know if I put them down they will never make it to the garbage can, however I have to put the object in my other hand away on the way, and in the process I see something else that needs to be put away, so I do that, still with one hand full of garbage. The solution is obviously a cleaning apron. The one I saw was made out of canvas and was only a half apron. I would make it come up a little higher and I would keep a lined pocket just for little pieces of garbage I might find.
15. Books. Journal photo books to be exact. I blame my sister Bethany for introducing me to this art form as I had no idea prior to her showing me that it was even possible to make a real book just how you like it.

OK, I'll stop. But you get the idea, I'm overflowing with awesome things to make and do. 

You might notice that I didn't get to the part of the list that includes meal planning and other similar homemaker jobs. Those are in my head too, they just don't exactly qualify to be on the list of things that make me excited :-)

 Planning meals doesn't excite me at all UNLESS it is for a party. I believe in parties and celebrations. And by "believe" I mean in this instance that even though they may not be practical, they serve an important purpose. I also believe in decorations. I believe in hostess gifts. I believe in flower gardens. I believe in sparkles and ruffles and lace.  .   .  .  

All of a sudden I have the song "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in my head .  .  . 

Harry Potter Game, Quidditch and Whomping Willow

This year for our annual family reunion I decided to prepare some sort of Harry Potter game for my assigned activity. It began with my making our own version of a Marauder's Map. It took a while but turned out great - pending finding my CAMERA I'll show you all it's coolness.

Once I had a cool map to follow (I designed it after my parent's cabin ) all I had to do was figure out how to incorporate it into some sort of game. Not easy. There were too many possibilities, but not enough connections. I needed a purpose, some way to decide the "winner", I also wanted it to be interactive enough for the whole family.

After a few brainstorming discussions with Israel, we realized that using cameras was a must in order to be able to share with each other what the other teams had done. The game was played in pairs - 4 pairs to be exact (Four Hogwarts Houses of course) and each "house" had their own set of clues that led them to a final object. Along the way they could "earn" house points. At the end the points were tallied and the House Cup was figuratively awarded.

These pictures represent two of the tasks that each team was assigned to do.

1) Head out to the "Quidditch" pitch and go for a spin on your broomstick. Take pictures.

2) Find the Whomping Willow and record it attacking you.

As you can see, my sweet family was extremely creative and willing to play the game to it's fullest!

My mom took the winning picture of Austin flying above the tree tops of the "Forbidden Forest"- but all the pictures and videos are so good, we just might have to do something like this again!

Ruffle Skirt

 Okay, I am no photographer. In fact these pictures were taken on my phone because our regular point-and-shoot camera is MIA. I'm not sure the darlingness of this skirt really comes out in these mediocre pics, so you are going to have to take my word for it. 

With all the Spiderman and Ironman kiddos running through the house, I couldn't resist making this burst of femininity. I found this yarn calling my name on the the shelf at Hobby Lobby. There are a few different brands of this ruffly yarn. Frankly, I don't even remember what this one was called. I found the ~pattern~ online after doing a quick search. You may have seen scarves made from this yarn - also super cute.

I deviated from the pattern because I used yarn from my stash rather than buy more for the waistband and the knitting in between ruffles. I like the look of sport weight yarn a lot, but I bet the project would have been even quicker with thicker yarn. Oh well! I'm happy with the result. I couldn't wait to try it on my little chunk of a ballerina girl.

Top view. There are five layers of the ruffle yarn with 5 rows of knitting in between each layer with the sock yarn. The pattern specifically called for a yarn with elastic in it, which this sock yarn has. It seems to me that it would work without the elasticity as there is an elastic band in the waist. I plan on making another skirt but with 10 to 15 knitted rows in between the ruffle layers to spread them out more. I would also like to put this yarn on the edge of a half-sleeved sweater or something for me. I need ruffles too!

 The skirt in motion. Buglet had to pick her up in an attempt to keep her still. I plopped her on the couch, but the little princess couldn't see the TV with mom standing in front of her. I guess I can't blame her, SuperY is a great show :-)

Cakes

I've had fancy cakes on my mind for the past couple of days and thought I would share a few of the cakes that I've made. But then I realized that very few of them had blog-worthy pictures taken of them. I LOVE the look of a cutely decorated cake, but I really don't like actually eating cake, so I usually make these for other people :-). A few years ago I expressed interest in cake decorating, and my sweet Israel got me some great tools from a local craft store. 

Tools I have and use every time I decorate are:

1.  Pans. Obviously the correct size and shape of your pans is important (mine are circular) but please save yourself some sanity and purchase TWO of every size that you want. Seriously.

2.  A set of frosting tips with bags. I really like the disposable bags, but my non-disposable bag is great too, it just stays the color of the last frosting I put in it. I have fun playing with the different tips.

3.  Spatula. Not a pancake spatula or a rubber spatula, but the spatulas that look like gigantic butter knives.  Mine is off-set but I'd like to try a straight one at some point. The long, smooth "blade" of the spatula spreads and smooths the frosting.

4. A good "how-to" book on decorating cakes, including recipes and techniques. While I use the internet all the time for new tricks and techniques - it's really nice to have my book out and open right there. Wedding Cakes You Can Make by Dede Wilson is my current reference. 

My point-and-shoot camera did a bang-up job with this picture. Trust me, it is decorated. Mainly I put this in to show the size. In a wedding cake, this would be the top tier - but it is perfect for a small family. I used two 6-inch pans. If you use a box cake mix, just fill both pans 2/3 full and use the extra batter for cupcakes.

Another layer cake. I put caramel in the center, but was lazy and failed to put a large bead of frosting around the perimeter of the first layer before covering the top of that layer in caramel. As you can see, it is bulging around the middle. 

This is the biggest cake I've attempted to date. Clearly I have some things to work on - getting rid of those bulges for one - but what I'm most proud of are the flowers. I purchased a set of rose cutters at JoAnn's as well as some pre-made fondant, then I went at it. I LOVE them. I will definitely be making these again and will include a tutorial.  There are a couple of tricks, but once learned they are incredibly easy for looking so . . . darling!

This cake was for my parents 30th anniversary a few years ago. These pics don't show it, but the swirls spell out "love" and '30th' at different places. 

Quick Summer Capris

This morning these capris only existed as a couple yards of fabric and a pattern. We had a playdate at the park scheduled for 10:45, and I started at 8. After a solid two hours I had a new pair of comfy, cool summertime capris. I think I'd like them a little narrower on the leg, but I had a need for speed so I didn't spend too much time on alterations.

The fabric cost around $5, and I got the pattern for $1 - all on sale. I used an elastic from another item of clothing bound for the garbage. Excellent! This fits right into our rather tight budget. These days, who doesn't have a rather tight budget? I've heard the recession is over - um, until my house is worth at least what it was when we bought it 5 years ago we are in a recession as far as I am concerned.

What made this project so speedy is the use of a Serger. I love it, and it's not even mine! Some day I hope to own one, but until then, I am making great use of my mom's. Thanks mom!

Oh, and yes, that is the lower half of me. I promise sometime soon to post a picture of my whole self :-)

Finished Painting!!

Hooray! I've got a great new painting for my wall! Not to mention my kitchen table is free. This is a very amateur rendition of how the Idaho Falls Temple looked the day I got married. Someday I might go back and add Israel and I standing in front of it. I thought of attempting that now, but my list of other projects is calling too loudly. Plus, I'm just not very good at the whole painting thing yet. Don't you want to try it?!

This is the first building I have painted, and it was more difficult. Too many straight lines to attempt. Right angles. Parallel lines. I suggest if you want to start painting try a landscape of some sort. I really enjoy watching the Yarnell School of Fine Art on PBS, and I also watch his sample videos online.  Let me know what you think!

Easy Eyelet Washcloth Pattern

The eyelet border gives this washcloth a fancy touch, and it's great for the beginner who doesn't want to cast on a lot of stitches before getting started.

Supplies: Size 10 needles (6mm),  1 ball Peaches N'Cream yarn

Finished size: about 7-8 inches square

Gauge: n/a

CO (cast on) 3

Increasing rows:

After the first 16 rows

1. k(knit)1, kfb (knit front and back), k1
2. k4
3. k1, kfb, kfb, k1
4. k6
5. k2, kfb, kfb, k2
6. k8
7. k4, YO (yarn over), k4
8. k9
9. k4, YO, k1, YO, k4
10. k11
11. k4, YO, k3, YO, k4
12. k13
13. k4, YO, k5, YO, k4
14. k15
15. k4, YO, k7, YO, k4
16. k17

Continue the pattern, adding 2 stitches on every other row, for 18 more rows. Ending with:

   34. k35

Decreasing rows:

   35. k3, k2tog (knit 2 together), YO, k2tog, k21, k2tog, YO, k2tog, k3

   36. k33

   37. k3, k2tog, YO, k2tog, k19, k2tog, YO, k2tog, k3

   38. k31

   39. k3, k2tog, YO, k2tog, k17, k2tog, YO, k2tog, k3

   40. k29

   41. k3, k2tog, YO, k2tog, k15, k2tog, YO, k2tog, k3

   42. k27

Continue decreasing pattern for 15 more rows, ending with:

washcloth up to row 56

   56. k13

   57. k3, k2tog, YO, k2tog, k1, YO, k2tog, k3

   58. k12

   59. k3, k2tog, YO, k2tog, YO, k2tog, k3

   60. k11

   61. k3, k2tog, YO, k2tog, k2tog, k2

   62. k3, k2tog, k4

   63. k2, k2tog, k2tog, k2

   64. k6

   65. k1, k2tog, k2tog, k1

   66. k4

   67. k1, k2tog, BO(bind off) 1, k1, BO last stitch.

Pull yarn through last loop, cut, and weave in ends.   Yay! you're done!!

I'd love to answer any questions or give more info if needed. I would also love to see your finished products!

Washclothes - the Perfect beginners knitting project

If you've ever wanted to learn to knit, but just wasn't sure you wanted it badly enough to actually do something about it (happens to me all the time) may I suggest a washcloth. Not only are they simple and small, but they offer the chance to make something right off the bat that is functional. They don't even have to look spectacular because it isn't as if you are going to frame it.

I'd like to make a case for knitting in general - it's Productive! I can sit in front of the TV or in bed before I really get sleepy and knit. Depending on the project, I can either knit away and let my mind wander, or I can be completely involved in an intricate pattern. It's almost like reading a book in that it takes me away to a quieter place; it's as relaxing as a good long bath with the benefit of having something to show for myself besides pruny hands and feet.

Nine years ago I learned how to knit. The washcloth on the left is my first full project. Looks pretty good after nine years of use, don't you think? I should say that this isn't the very first washcloth I knitted. My teacher (and my missionary companion at the time) knitted a third of a washcloth and then handed it over to me to learn on. It was VERY obvious where I had started in the final product, but by the end of it my stitches were more even and I knew I could make one all by myself

About two years ago I realized that it was silly to just have one washcloth that I really liked, so I made a bunch more, the two green ones on the right show a couple of the different patterns I played with. They still work great, though the original green is a bit faded, but I wanted some that were a little smaller.

So I made a bunch more. White this time, so the fading wouldn't be noticeable, and an inch and a half smaller - 81/2 inches square instead of 10. The benefits? I got more washcloths out of one cone of Peaches N'Cream cotton yarn and they fit my hands better especially as they stretch a little when wet.

Of course I don't need 30 washcloths. This project was jumpstarted by another project - a baby shower for my sister-in-law! These white clothes were the "diaper" favors for her diaper-themed shower.  They were way more fun to make knowing I had a cuter object in mind for many of them.

"Diaper and wipes" baby shower favor

Try it! There are many sources for learning how to knit (my personal favorite is verypink.com) and once you get the hang of it you just might be addicted!

Lunch AND Dinner in one shot!

I mentioned in my "Get to know me" page that meals are the bane of my existence. And they are. I have to believe that I am not the only one haunted by what to have for the next meal. Am I? It seems as soon as I get into something, be it laundry or vacuuming or something less productive, I have to stop and try and decide what to make for the next meal. I know simple planning would solve all of this and believe me I've been trying. Just don't have a handle on it yet.

However, I DO have some help. I have a book written by a friend of mine, Tammy, that I refer to literally every other day at the minimum. She also has a blog, All Things Provident. It's fantastic. Check it out. While her emphasis is on using food storage, it is a PERFECT resource for someone like me who needs to know what I can make with what I have at home.

Today I made lunch and dinner before lunchtime! Seriously, I should do this everyday. These recipes can be found on Tammy's blog here and here.

Chicken Bistro Twist
First I whipped up some Soft Garlic Breadstick dough (I actually made 3 double batches today, whew!), and then spread a chicken salad like concoction down the middle.

Then with the kitchen shears I sliced 1-inch strips on the sides and folded them toward the center like a braid. So easy!

And here's where the true magic happens. They are only baked most of the way through. After they cool, one gets wrapped in plastic wrap and put in the freezer for another day. The other one gets wrapped in foil and plopped in the fridge until about 5, when I stick it in the oven until it is heated through and voila! Dinner! Cute dinner at that.

Here is my Lovely little helper waiting for her lunch. With one of the batches of breadstick dough I made it into Cheesy Breadsticks with tomato soup. Yum!

Painting together

I would have to say my creativity began with my own mom. I remember as a little girl watching her paint. She did quite a few oil paintings, most of which have been given away, silly mother. I found out later that this was a hobby she didn't really get into until she was married with little kids. Well then, why can't I do the same? I'm not as good as she is, and I'm slightly afraid of the "mess" that I imagine oil paints would make. So far I stick with nice, water-based acrylics. 

 Mom and Dad in 1980 admiring her winter scene

Later she did quite a bit of toll painting. She always let us have a little wooden shape of some sort to paint, though the style seems to be a thing of the past. She has always been a sewer. She made her own wedding dress (she regretted the stress it caused - I borrowed mine), she made most of her outfits in her high school and college years. Since those days she uses her machine for mending and occasionally piecing a quilt. 


Her main creative outlets now-a-days are card making and wood carving. I have yet to dapple in those genres, but I truly feel that my creative bug came from her constant projects. I'm not blaming her, I am actually very grateful for the confidence and excitement I feel in learning and creating new things. 


I am truly my mother's daughter. This last week my boys and I painted these temples. I've been wanting to display these sacred buildings for a while, and why would I buy a print or take a picture when I might be able to paint it?

I prepared the board canvas by roughly drawing the temple and then covering it with masking tape. I had to cut it thin in some places so it would match the drawing, then I chose three or four colors for the boys to choose from to paint with. Sparky, true to form, splatted the paint on and ran off, while Buglet on the other hand took his time.

It's important to pull off the tape before the paint dries.

Then the dried sky and the white section of the temples were taped and colors were given for the ground. I managed to snap a pic of Sparky before he ran off this time.

Meanwhile I worked on my painting. This is phase one of many. It is still unfinished, but I've kept to my rule of not putting away a project until it is done,
 so it shouldn't be long now. 

The finished products.
 I added the details and put them in inexpensive, unfinished frames I happened to have.
 Now they are hanging in their room. Buglet painted the Rexburg Temple,
 and Sparky painted the Boise Temple.
I am painting the Idaho Falls Temple and can't wait until I get it done!