A New Beginning....

Now that my first tutorial is done, I feel like I'm taking a new path in life. Over the past few weeks I have given up (quit) some things that were incredible time "eaters" for me. First and foremost were the games on Facebook. Ridiculous, when I think about all the time wasted keeping up a restaurant, farm, homestead, kingdom, whatever! There is absolutely no benefit from doing any of those for me, other than avoiding the things I want, or need, to be doing. 

Next is just DOING the things that I want or need to do! The first was getting that tutorial done. As simple as it may seem it was a huge thing for me. It's not "perfect" by any means, but the gist of the idea, I think (hope), was clear. I have also been clearing out my creative areas. Whether it's selling things on Ebay or donating to the library, Services for the Blind, or Goodwill.

I am pretty much busy every day of the week and it's a good busy, whether I'm creating, cleaning or running the kids to sports and back. Life feels good!

Granted, I still read the blogs I keep up with and still check in with facebook, using it more as a promotional tool than anything else.

So my hopes for my blog are to start posting as often as I can and keep you up to date on what I'm working on. I hope to post more free tutorials but from now on I won't make promises of when I'll have them ready, since I haven't been very good about following through on dates. So the picture above is of a few things I made last year out of polymer clay. I want to incorporate them into a couple of jewelry designs over the next week. Should be fun!

So here's to new beginnings! I hope you're having a terrific weekend!

I Finally Have It Done!!!

Whoo Hoo! Without further ado.....and the twenty million reasons why I didn't get it up when I said I would....

From Seat Belt to Fashion Statement

Here is the basic list of items needed to complete this project:

1 seat belt-the one I used is from my Dad, he ordered them for my Mom's

Toronado, but for some reason they didn't work, so he decided to pass them on to me for the exact reason I'm using them. Thanks Dad!

A sewing machine

thread

tape measure

straight pins

scissors (small and large)

lighter or candle

This first step it a “personal preference” for me. You do not have to do this step.

Some people like these extra labels for their own personal reasons, I do not, so I remove

this tag.

Next you are going to remove the metal pieces what would normally be used to anchor

the belts to your car. These are the pieces with the holes in them. DO NOT remove the

buckle! In fact it's a good idea to keep the belt buckled, as a reminder. Also do not put

your thumb in the way of the cutting blade, like I did (dork). I use a razor knife to cut

these threads since they are a bit thicker than normal threads. Do this step very

CAREFULLY!

Then you are going to unbuckle the belt and measure each side to determine the size of

your belt. Mine is going to be about 38”. Be sure to leave a 3-5” tail for adjustment of

your belt (see top of photo).

The locking part (female) measured 15”, so this side doesn't need anything further done.

The insert part (male) needs to be cut down to 24” (15”+24”=39”). You are going to

allow one extra inch for overlap.

Once you have cut the male part down you are going to need to “finish” the edge to

keep it from fraying. You could probably use fray check but since the belts are nylon I

use a lighter, or candle, to gently melt the edge of the fabric. Just gently run the cut edge

of the belt along the flame until you have a nice even melt.

This next step doesn't make a huge difference by I like to lock the belt together before I pin it so that the finished edge is facing the body, of the person wearing the belt, on the

male side of the belt. Again this is totally a personal preference thing.

Note the right side of the belt above.

Then overlap the two cuts edges by 1” and pin to hold. Keep in mind

that this seam will not meet in the center due to having a “short” side.

Then sew two rows of zig-zag stitch across the overlap about 1/2” apart. I use regular

thread and double stitch for extra holding power.

And there you have it, a “Seat Belt, Belt”!

Note, that unless you have extra wide loops on your jeans, most seat belts will not fit

through the loops, and these belts are usually worn low on the hips.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. It was a fun learning experience for me and I hope to do

more.

I would really appreciate any feedback on it, good or bad, so don't be shy.

Just Had To Post This Link...

This is a must see! My oldest son attends Snohomish High School and plays in the marching band. He told me about this when I picked him up from the game.

Please watch....special touchdown

Maybe This Will Help.....

We have decided to do away with both the hard line (house phone) and the satellite dish (no cable either). The main reason for this decision was financial, but now (amazingly) everyone in the house is looking forward to it. Granted the phone isn't going to be a big deal, we are a cell dependent family. Everyone in the house (except the little guy) has one, and that's pretty much the main form of communication in this house with the exception of the computer. Now the television on the other hand, I thought would be a HUGE deal, but surprisingly the boys took it rather well. They have about a week before the "plug" is finally pulled and they will get to be "creative" with their time. It should be interesting to see what happens with all of us, I admit to enjoying my evening television time after the boys are in bed.

I know, I know! Where is that darn tutorial? Well it WILL be done tomorrow or Wednesday. Actually writing a tutorial is a new experience that I'm learning and enjoying. Now I know why it takes people awhile to come out with new ones. I will be looking for feedback once it's done.

On a weather note, I think the Earth has tipped and we are now sitting somewhere in the Southern Regions. It is warm and uncomfortably humid tonight. Worse than it's been all Summer or any Summer for that matter. Strange weather!

Enjoy your evening!

Guess What?

I got all of the photos taken yesterday! Now all I have to do is put it all together!

After I finished the belt I started on a "Stick Bag" for my oldest Dakota, who plays the drums. I'm thinking of posting a tutorial for that too, but it would be an "experimental" version. He tells me this is something drummers use to store their sticks in for "Gigging", and that it can be hung off of the drums while playing for easy access, in case one of the sticks should break in the middle of a song. I'm designing it off of the measurements and description he gave me of what one "should" look like. It will be interesting to say the least. Once I finish the first one, he can critique it and tell me what he wants changed.

I'm still feeling a bit tired from "whatever" it was that happened the other night, but I'm doing much better and it scared me bad enough to REALLY start taking care of myself. Being in my mid 40's and needing to lose weight I realize that carrying extra pounds is really not good  for my body. I also promised Jim that if it happened again I would let him take me to the hospital.

So for today, after the school morning rush I will see what I can do to get the seat belt tutorial up and running.

Under The Weather.....

 Another future project, stay tuned!

I had a little "episode" last night. Don't know what you would call it but it scared me a little. Today I'm a bit tired but seem to be doing much better. I'm hoping it was just a little bump from the peri-menopause I have been going through for the last couple off years. Going to the Dr. isn't going to happen right now, with no insurance and struggling with the bills we have already. However if there is an emergency I will go. For now I'm going to start really looking at how I take care of myself, eating, exercise and the like.

Today I think I'm going to sit behind my sewing machine for awhile and finish up the belt project.

Enjoy your day!

We Interrupt Everything For The Back To School Rush.......

Last week was the official end of Summer for the boys. They went back to school on Wednesday, aside from huge bus schedule issues everything went great! Duncan started middle school and was a little nervous because it was a new experience, plus he had his first Cross Country practice right after school. When I picked him up I was relieved to see he had a big smile (yeah!). I knew that meant Middle School and  Cross Country were a hit! Connor and Dakota both had no problems falling back into the Elementary and High School routines from last year and all 3 of them were actually looking forward to going back! That's always nice!

By the end of the week everyone was exhausted  from getting up early and sports practices! It really felt good  getting back to a routine. The buses did cause me a bit of grief, trying to coordinate picking up, meeting and dropping off of various boys at various times, but we did finally get it to good. Hopefully this coming week the buses will stay on track, however we have an emergency plan in place just in case things don't jell.

I'm still only half way through the photographing of the seat belt project. My plan is to work on more of it today, and hopefully get it posted by the middle to end of next week.

On a totally different note, I learned how to change my brake pads (Thanks Jimmy!). I believe that most women should at least know the basics for taking care of a car (as in oil, air and changing a tire) however knowing few extra things are always good and can save you quite a bit of $$$ in the long run. Just sayin.

So I hope you're having a relaxing Sunday. I'm really looking forward to Monday!

A Bit Of Delay....

But what else is new. The boys will be back to school in a couple of days.

We ended up taking a last minute trip to the ocean. While the weather was nice for the most part we had a bit of mist and one day of wind and pouring down rain. I did a bit of frivolous reading. One of my all time favorite Authors, Dean Koontz, is always good for an edge of your seat read......try this one out......a bit of an end of the world twist!

and on the opposite end of the spectrum, how about some Nora Roberts. Do you like dangerous men?

Anyway getting on with it....I'm still working on the seat belt tutorial. I'm about half way there.

The boys are really excited to be getting back to school (friends), Jim is still diligently looking for work. It's been over a year and I never would have believed that anyone could be out of work that long if I hadn't seen if for myself........and I'm battening down the hatches at home for some serious work myself.

So I promise I'll be back with more updates........SOON!

The Turn Of Events......

Drum Roll Please (Ok, so I like a bit of anticipation).............

Last week while wondering how to attract attention to my blog I came to the decision to turn it into a tutorial blog of sorts. What better way to be able to "showcase" some of what I do while feeding my ADD with different projects and showing how to make some of the things that I create. I've wanted to write tutorials forever and just haven't worked my way around to it, however this is a great way to motivate myself plus get feedback on how I'm doing.

The tutorials will be of various projects, from sewing, knitting, crochet, wirework, woodwork, glass fusing, resin, polymer clay......whatever I happen to be playing with at the time.

Today I will post just a basic progression of a project I did for my sister, woodburning a mirror, and next week I will start with a basic sewing project.

So without further ado......the mirror I woodburned for my sister:

I started (stole) from my sister this rather plain IKEA mirror, it measures about 10" square and cost approx $2.99.

Next you can either transfer a design on using carbon paper or you can free hand a design using a pencil. If you draw lightly to begin with it will easily erase if you make any mistakes. I free handed mine.

When you've completed your drawing, plug in your woodburner to pre-heat it. Don't forget to select your tip and screw it in BEFORE you plug it in. Now while I'm new at wood burning this is, so far my favorite tip to use (skew). It helps a lot with "gliding" over the grain of the wood which can prove to be a bit of a "bumpy ride" using the pencil (writer) type tip. Search Amazon.com for wood burning tool 

Once the burner has heated up then start burning away. Remember that if you haven't done this before you might want to start on a small piece of scrap wood to get the feel for your "tool". My favorite wood to work on is bass wood, which has a less defined grain and burns easily with these lower wattage (inexpensive) wood burning tools. The pine is nice but the grain is more pronounced and the wood is a bit harder, which makes the burning a bit more difficult.

Although I decided not to add color to this design, you can define yours with Sharpie Permanent markers, watercolors or acrylics, even colored pencils would work.

Please keep in mind that I'm just a beginner myself when it comes to woodburning. The most important thing to remember it is to have fun!

Coming next week, How to turn a Seat Belt into a Fashion Statement.

A Great Weekend!

For just staying one night we sure did a lot! My son Duncan caught his 1st fish ever! It was so exciting, one of those "payoffs" for being a parent, when you get to see that look of pure joy on one of your kids faces.

We also hit the pool a couple times, this would be one of Connor's greatest pleasures in life. So we will be heading back next weekend for one more run before the boys get back to school.

While fishing the next morning I was a able to snap a picture of a cool stripe winged dragonfly. I'm really liking my camera (A Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS7). As you can see above it has a sports setting that works wonderfully for taking action shots and also takes great close ups. It's not horribly expensive either (around $100). The only thing I will require in my next camera would be better Zoom capabilites.

This is neither here nor there but I wanted to show off the local hornet's nest. It's hanging from one of those cables crossing over the middle of the street supporting the power lines. I would estimate this nest to be the size of a couple of basketballs put together. Yeah, it's a biggie!

One last note. I'm going to be changing the course of my blog soon.........curious?

Keep watching, I should have something new up in the next couple of days.

Heading Out Today....

Camano here we come! Will be visiting with my sister and her kids, and taking 2 of my boys (and my niece) fishing and swimming. My oldest will be helping out a band and hoping to get to play at least one set with them when they play at a block party tonight.

Speaking of fishing (the not to eat kind)........

Yesterday we hit the local pet store since they were celebrating one of their local fish personalities (Zorro) Birthday. They had games and all their fresh water fish were 50% off. The kids love this store which is called Bridges Pets, and is one of the nicest pet stores that I have ever been in. They have a huge selection of fish, a reptile room (not my favorite), various other furry critters, and tons of supplies for pretty much all pets.

I snapped a picture of my favorite fish, the Discus tank:

and the Betta I would love to own but, of course isn't for sale (Black and gold, so cool!):

and a Bright Orange Betta, also NFS:

It was fun, the kids got to play a couple of games, win some toys and candy and I came home with a new Betta. I'll post a picture of him soon.

Anyway....time for me to get a move on, Camano is quite the hike from here.

Have a terrific weekend!

What I've Been Up To

Made a bit of tatting progress. I started out using the shuttle but for some reason my brain just couldn't wrap around the concept, all I ended up with was a short row of tatting and then a knotted mess, so then I acquired a tatting needle and talk about "catching on". No problems there, plus I find it to be very "speedy". I now keep a needle and some thread in my purse so that when I have down time I'm able to pull out something to work on. Tatting is an extremely "portable" hobby and fun to boot!

I've drifted back over to the knitting side (for the moment) and am now working on my first pair of socks, well actually booties. It's something I have always thought of as a big mystery. Why? I really don't know, but I figure that it's long past time to learn and I've been told that sock making can become somewhat of an addiction in and of itself (we'll see). Another portable project, btw.

In anticipation of Fall, I've also started a poncho. I received some really nice yarn in a swap I did with a friend (Thanks Tracy!). I think that it will make a terrific poncho, however now that I've started it I realize I don't have enough yarn to finish it, and of course, this happens to be a discontinued yarn so I'll be keeping my eye out for more. If you should happen to know anyone who has some "Yarn Bee, Mosaic Twist" in Grotto, that they no longer want let me know. In the mean time I'll keep a watch on Ebay with the hopes that some will come up before I run out. Or I will improvise and work the collar up in something a bit different but the same yarn weight.

Have I mentioned that I might be a bit ADD? I think my wood burning venture might verify that. Something else that I've been playing around with. I have to say that it's a lot of fun, but I wish the burner had a bit more wattage for more burn power. The professional wood burning tools are between $100-200, and that just doesn't work into the budget at the moment. However if it proves to be something serious for me maybe when things improve we'll look into investing. Do you like what I've done so far?

And on a random note, this is our Betta that loves to play dead. Here he is doing a head stand in this photo holding perfectly still. What I need to get is a photo of is him laying on his side at the top of the tank, which he does frequently, and makes me gasp thinking that he's dead. Tap on the glass or drop in food and he's back to normal.

Want To Simplify?

One of the blogs I follow is having a contest to find some testers for e-courses she will be offering. If you are looking to "Balance Your Budget" or "Simplify Your Life" click on the link and get your entry in!

Trying To Tat....

And getting nowhere fast. Well actually after "trying" over and over again for about a week, I'm starting to make some progress. From left to right, you can tell that the synapses are starting to finally connect. The first pile is a mess of failed attempts.

How about a pic of some duck tape roses. I taught my 7 yr old how to make them and he was thrilled. They are a fun for the kids and not too time consuming. Now I just need more colors of duct tape. Excellent Summer craft for the kids (or you) if you're looking for something to do. Even the silver tape would look good! Link here Duck Tape Roses if you want to try them.

And last but not least. My 12 year old son at 6th grade recognition. The main reason I'm posting this picture is because I can never get him to wear pants. He wears shorts year around, even in the cold, but here is proof that under the right circumstances, he is capable of wearing pants and looking good in them! Not that he doesn't look good no matter what he's wearing. I'm so proud of him!

A Washcloth

I'm teaching myself new knitting stitches. It's really fun and while I'm forever a crochet lover. I really enjoy the challenge of learning something new. Socks next, right......maybe......

The last day of school is tomorrow. I've spent more time at the school in the last couple of weeks than I have all year. I was a lot of fun! I even shed a few tears during my son's 6th grade recognition. New year he'll be in middle school and he's really looking forward to it. I can't believe how quickly this year went! Here is a picture of the plaques I helped them work on for the school carnival. I really got to know a few of the students in the class. It was a bit of an eye opening experience for me. I'm learning that I can "teach" and that it really is a lot of fun, even when you're not sure about what you're doing.

On a totally different note. I fell down the front steps a few days ago. I ended up with a scraped face, knee, hands and ankle. All in all it could have been much worse. Funny, my youngest saw me fall and in his words "Mom, you tripped over nothing!". This is true, my feet just seemed to tangle on their own and down the steps I went. I'm sure it didn't help that I have been thinking about falling down those steps for a long time. Don't ask me why, it was just one of those random thoughts every time I went down them. Guess what! That thought is gone now. Really weird.

Do you like African Violets? I have this window that has brought out the best in some "rescued" plants. You know, the ones they sell for .50 because they have one leaf left. Look at these babies blooming away. Too Cool!

Durian Cookies & Weaving.....

Durian Cookies (Bagged for Safety)

First thing I want to say about durian cookies is, hmmmm, well they smell bad! I mean really, really bad!!! So bad that it took 3 heavy duty zip lock baggies to block it! Believe it or not the taste is well, oniony. Yeah, I tried, one, and one was enough! I got the boys to try them too, and they agreed, yuck! At least by cookie standards. I forgot to take them with me down to my daughters and she has decided that she wants them. Mainly to keep people from sitting next to her on the bus, lol!

My wonderful Mom and lovely daughter : D

I had a great day with her on Friday. We went to lunch, at an excellent and unique Mexican restaurant (can't remember the name) on Broadway in Capitol Hill and then we hit Pike Place Market. I bought some rhubarb (the plants growing in my yard aren't very vigorous) and some Jicama.

My Elephant bag from Noreen Crone-Findlay's book The Woven Bag. Did you ever use one of the pot holder looms when you were a kid? Well this bag was made with one of those looms. This book has tons of great bags to make using both the pot holder loom and other small looms.

This little bear and his blanket were also made on the pot holder loom. You can find directions for the bear at WeaveZine an online weaving magazine. I learned that I don't particularly like working with nubby yarn for weaving. Maybe I'll like it better when I'm more experienced. However this bear is a quick weave project and fun!

I'm really liking weaving and made a couple of looms out of PVC pipe. Quick, simple and inexpensive. When I get them warped up I'll take pictures of them. First I need to decide on projects though........

Hope you had a nice Holiday weekend. It rained all weekend except for the last few hours last night. I'm hearing that we have a 1 day reprieve from the rain before it makes it's return tomorrow. I suppose this is a good thing since the kids still have a couple more weeks of school, but it would be nice to see the sun a little more often!

The End Of The School Year Is Fast Approaching!

I've been a slacker on the listing thing but have been busy helping out at the elementary school. I was doing the Art Docent thing for both my boys there and ended up helping make plaques in my Duncan's class. They are going to auction them off at the school carnival. It was an honor to be asked to help with this project. When I started doing Art Docent at the beginning of the year it was a little awkward for me but as the end of the year has approached I have started to "find" my inner teacher. I was teaching art in both Connor's 1st grade class and Duncan's 6th grade class. I found that the 1st graders were a much tougher audience. Lots of squirming and short attention spans as compared to the 6th grade preteens. But teaching both classes was fun!

On another note, I have begun to sell off a bit of my glass supply. Jimmy has been out of work for a year now and I won't be getting my oxygen generator fixed any time soon so the glass has got to go!! If you're interested, check my Ebay Dolphina33 . All auctions starting at .99. I just listed a 3lb 11oz lot of Bullseye this morning and there is some great glass in it. I also listed some original Double Helix Terra, that is no longer produced, and some ASK Lavender Fields. I will continue to list more over the next couple of weeks. Along with more books and magazines in my Etsy.

I suspect that the coming weeks will become even more busy as Summer approaches. Jim is frantically looking for work and there are signs of life beginning to show in the construction trades. I'm sure something will come up over the next few weeks.

I'll be heading down to Seattle on Friday with my Mom to visit my Daughter. I'm really looking forward to it and miss her since she moved out in September. She's very busy with 2 jobs and just turning 21. It's always a treat to spend time with her I'll try to get some pictures while I'm down that way.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Goals

So I listed 5 books yesterday. Better than nothing. Today I'm hoping to list more but haven't had a chance to even start yet.

Made another trip to GoodWill last night. Found a bunch of knitting books. Some will go and some will stay, I just haven't decided which ones yet.

Have I mentioned that along with weaving I've also had a certain fascination with macrame. I'll save that post for another time.

My goals today.....list, sort magazines and laundry.

Finding Treasure.....

This, of course, is subject to opinion. GoodWill just opened up near us and can't tell you how exciting that is. Sounds weird doesn't it. Yesterday my "find" of the day was this.....

"Adjustable Crochet Fork" which translates into a pin lace loom. It cost .99 (what a steal) along with some crochet hooks, bamboo knitting needles and a couple books on knitting. I truly DO NOT need any more books, or hooks, or knitting needles, but who can resist a deal like that ; )

On the subject of books (and magazines) I've finally reached the point where I HAVE to start thinning what I've acquired. My goal is to list 10 magazines and/or books on my Destash Etsy every day. Don't know if I'll be able to meet this, but I'm gonna give it a shot.

Creatively I have been making wire wrapped rings and learning weaving. Nothing like adding another creative outlet, right? Well at least I can say that it's stays within the realm of fiber : D I'll just group it in with the crochet, knitting, spinning, sewing category(s) and I should be fine........eh. On that note here is an excellent site I found for learning weaving and playing with pot holder looms and spool knitting, Tottie Talks Crafts and her Etsy with lots of cool patterns and other stuff Noreen Crone-Findlay.

I'm also learning how to use a new camera. I'm hoping this will improve my photographing skills. You should start seeing more pictures (yeah!).

And a cake for Jimmy's Birthday last weekend. Can you say chocolate...

Hand made all of the roses and leaves out of white and milk chocolate modeling clay.

That's it for now. Time to get dinner started.

Blew It Again.....

Sorry the time has passed way too quickly! Summer is almost here and admittedly I'm still trying to get it together.

I want to add (and this is not an excuse), that I'm suffering from peri-menopause. I have a family history of women going through it a little earlier than most. I'm in my mid 40's and seem to be in the midst of what I will call "temporary insanity". Ask Jimmy, he can verify it (poor guy). I gave up drinking at the beginning of January, hoping this would relieve some of the symptoms. That didn't help, but for now I'm sticking with the no alcohol regime. I'm against hormone therapy (personal reasons) so now I'm trying out Estroven (Maximum strength). It's been a couple of weeks and I'm starting to feel the "cloud" lifting. While my hot flashes and night sweats aren't decreasing, yet. My head is starting to clear and I'm actually able to start concentrating on stuff instead of being "all over the place". I also started out the New Year trying to lose weight too, but that stalled out also. I'm hoping that the Estroven will help, a little, with that also (we'll see). The biggest thing is the mood swings and those (with a sigh of relief) are easing dramatically.

Over the past couple of weeks I've actually completed a few rings and am FINALLY working on the beginnings of a tutorial (YEAH!). No pictures of those yet but I have a few pictures of cakes.......oh crap!!! I forgot I ended up having to reformat the hard drive on this computer and they are no longer here, so to speak. I hope I remembered to back them up on our external hard drive! However on the good side this computer (laptop) runs like a champ now and I'm loving it.

Are you all prepared for Summer? It's just around the corner. Jimmy is still out of work. It's been almost a year but he's still diligently looking, every day, however there's a heck of a lot of competition out there right now. I do have faith that the job he's dreaming about will come along when the times right.

The weather has been going back and forth between rain and sun. Mostly rain, but the sun is peaking out more and more and everyone is loving it!

Mainly I just wanted to touch base and say "I'm still here".