Mused: Planting Inside

I went out to eat with a friend a few days ago and talked about gardening plans.  Since I can't dig into the yard, I'll have to make due with makeshift buckets and storage containers.  My friend suggested that I ask the restaurant if they had any buckets rather than buying them from the store.  Have you see the price of buckets? 

The store had a couple different varieties of buckets and were happy to sell them to me for fifty cents each.  That is not that much when you are talking about five gallon buckets.  There were some two gallon buckets as well.  I have some square and round ones now that I can plant things in.  I keep thinking they are too small, but they should work just fine.

I got the gardening bug last night and so punched a bunch of holes in one bucket so I could start planting.

Once I had down these, including the four on the sides of the buckets, I went back in and added another couple rounds to make sure that drainage wasn't an issue.  I planted lettuce in this one and spinach in another and put them beside my kitchen window.  Did I remember to take a picture of the dirt?  Of course not, but I'm sure you can imagine what a dirt filled bucket looks like. 

From what I have read, leaf lettuce will grow in shallow containers so I actually wanted something smaller than this bucket for it.  But I couldn't find any of the plastic I had been setting aside for planting.  I have to remember, though, that even though it is one small seed, it will grow up to be a big plant. 

Here's to hopes for a great garden this year!

Create: Key Necklace

I've had this idea buzzing around in my head for over a year so I'm happy some form of it finally came out.

I took my skeleton key and strung it with beads and a few charms.  For some reason, I felt compelled to put a spiral and bells on it as well... 

Each bead/charm has knots before and after it to hold them in place.  The ends are 'macrame' so there is a row of square knots that hold it all together.  I forgot to take a picture of that, however. 

The original plan was for this to be a part of my Raven Faerie outfit for a ball last year.  The ball is coming up in April so maybe I'll finally finish my costume!

Happy Friday!

Mused: Valentine's in the Mailbox!

At the beginning of this week, I really wasn't into V-day at all.  But I've started coming around.  Today is the kiddo's valentine's party at school, so we had to make up some treats and a container to receive his treats.  (When I say 'we' I mean 'I' this time.  Normally he helps).

I found this tutorial on Crafting a Green World and used it as my idea.  I didn't follow the tutorial, although I should have, it's so cute!  Instead, I went with what I had on hand and what I could remember from the image.

I am in love with my hot glue gun.  It made this project go so much quicker than it would have if I had used my glue stick.  I took a Bisquick box for the mailbox and cut it up.  The bottom I made bigger than the rounded top.  I folded over an inch on both long sides and glued the top to those flaps.  It made it pretty sturdy.  I would have made an actual front door for the mailbox, but I didn't have any big enough pieces of box left over.  The back was made from a piece of foam board I had left over from the kiddo's birthday party.  It was, once again, hot glued into place very easily.  Then I took a piece of cardstock and glued it in place over the cardboard.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mused: Napkins for Mom

I love my cloth napkins.  They have saved an amazing number of paper towels at work.  I use them for coasters, plates for snacks, cleaning up spills, and, of course, as napkins.  I went to dinner at my mom's a few weeks ago and realized that she needs napkins. 

Every once in awhile she likes to have fancy dinners (Thanksgiving, birthdays, etc) and she doesn't have any nice napkins.  So for her birthday, I made her a set.

I found some great fabric at the store that I thought she might like and found a good tutorial online for mitered corners.

I used a yard of fabric and cut it into 12" squares.  I only cut out six squares but could have made nine.  Once I had them cut, I used my wonderful iron.  I seriously don't know how I did any craft project without an iron before.  Some days I don't want to get it out, but I tell you, it's fantastic.  I found that using the steam setting helped my edges stay down very nicely. 

With the iron, I folded over all the edges of the fabric about a quarter inch, and then again, pressing to create nice lines. 

When the lines where laid, I opened it up and cut off the corners.  Then I pressed that section in to lay it flat.  Once that was set, I folded up the fabric along the lines and pressed once again.  With the corners cut off, the edges of the fabric should meet at the corner and give you a nice edge.  Most of my napkins had a great fit but this one shows a bit of a gap.  I found as I went on that you can adjust your lines with the iron to make them fit better.

I was lucky and found a cream thread at home that fit pretty well with the fabric.  I probably should have tried to find a matching blue, but I forgot to buy thread when I bought fabric. 

Tadaa!  I now have a great (I think) birthday gift for my mom.

Have a great weekend!

Mused: Recycled Frame

Sorry for the late post today, ladies and gents, but I got sick and didn't get it done last night.  There will also be a lack of pictures as I need to get a new device for my memory card. 

Do you remember this photo from last week?

This week I intended on showing you how to make that frame so you could hang up your oaths and pledges for the coming year. 

I always forget to buy picture frames and when I do, I blanch at paying more than a few dollars for them.  So I've taken to making my own mat board-type frames for my crafts.  Given that we go through a lot of thin cardboard at work, it makes perfect sense to me.

The frame above was made from the cardboard container for large manilla envelopes.  I measured out how big my actual design area was and then figured out how big I wanted the frame to be.  This one was, I think, 5.5" x 7".  I added an inch to each size and cut out a rectangle that was 7.5"x9".  Then, with a rotary cutter, I cut out the center rectangle, 5.5"x7".  Another piece was cut that was just under the larger amount, that way it would cover the back and edges.

I cut the material to fit, glued it to the frame, and then glued the backing in place.  I had a slight mishap with the glue as you can see from the discoloration on the bottom right corner.

Then I slipped it under a heavy box for awhile (I happened to have a new box of dishes I received from xmas sitting there).  I used tacky glue but hot glue would work fine as well.

This is a quick and easy way to make sure that I do something with my finished work.  I hope it will work for you too!

Mused: Basket Liner: A Tutuorial

With winter came the piles of gloves, hats, and scarves.  I had pulled down the box of accessories but I didn't like the way it looked cluttering up my hallway and closet.  So I decided to put one of my baskets to use and put the box away. 

What else did it need?  A liner!

I took some fabric from my stash and tried to fancy up my basket.  I looked up a couple different ways of lining baskets but none of them quite applied to my basket.  My basket bows out at the sides, is not even around the edges, and some parts are broken.

These instructions are vague because baskets are all different.  Mine is an odd shape.

Basket Liner:

Materials:
Enough fabric to go wrap around your basket outside.  This makes sure you have enough
Sewing supplies
Scrap paper
Glue gun (because this project began to annoy me)

Lay out your scrap paper and trace around the bottom of your basket from the outside.  This will give you some seam allowance. 

Then hold your scrap paper up against the outside of your basket and trace across the top, or use a measuring tape and measure the sides.  Add another couple of inches to your pattern for seam allowance and to fold over the edge of your basket.

Pin your patterns to your cloth and cut them out.  My side pattern is only for half of the basket, so I cut out two of them.  Since I was going to fold my fabric over the edge, I had to think about how the handles were going to fit in there.  To create a hole, I sewed up the sides of the pieces but left several inches free at the top, enough for fold over.  You should probably iron the seams flat.  Iron them all the way to the top so that you can sew the seam flat against each side. 

This way your fabric won't unravel at the handle.  Fold over the top edge and hem to keep the rest of the fabric from unraveling. 

Now you should have a tube of fabric hemmed at the top and a solid bottom piece.  Now we gather! 

My basket needed more fabric in the center than on the bottom, so I got to play with gathers.  The way I tend to do gathers is to pin the bottom piece to the outer piece in one spot.  Then, pin on the opposite side.  Pin halfway between those and then halfway between those.  This divides your extra material into small areas to gather rather than doing funky things like, oh, math but yet keeps them mostly neat and even.  You keep dividing your sections until you get to the size you want your gathers.  Then fold and pin the extra fabric down.

Then pop it in the sewing machine, hand sew, or staple (I'm joking but you possibly could use staples) around the bottom of your liner.  Once done, pop it in your basket and see how it fits.  If you need to make adjustments, now is the time.  Mine fit pretty well.

Now that your liner is in, there are a couple more options.  I starting sewing with a needle and thread at where the sides met around the handles.  I found it was difficult to go through the basket to the other side with any degree of ease.  It wasn't bad getting the fabric tacked down in those spots, but I couldn't see going all the way around and making it look neat.  So I fired up my xmas present from Santa, my new glue gun.

Lay out the fabric like you want it to be.  One site I saw suggested using clothespins to hold the fabric in place and just take a couple off at a time to glue it down.  My basket was too big for that option, so I held it in place.  Once I got my section figured out, I lifted the edge with my hand on the back to hold the fabric in place, laid down a line of glue, and pressed the fabric back down.  I only glued the front edge of the basket but you could glue the inside first if you want to hold it down more.

Go around the entire basket a little at a time and end up back where you began.  Now you have a fabric lined basket.

Good job!

Mused: Something to Die For

Dang it.  I had meant to make a big deal out of my 200th post, but it slipped by me just like 100 did.  Bah.  Oh well.  Welcome to my 202nd post! 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. left us with a lot to remember him by.  He stood up for civil rights and peaceful protest.  He gave us amazing speeches that are still quoted today.  I chose one of those quotes to cross stitch for this week. 

The quote reads:  If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.

It's a little harsh, and I haven't done soul searching to discover if my beliefs are something I would lay down my life for.  But I know I would come close.  And of course, I would die for my son.

I chose this quote as a way of reminding myself that I want to focus on Action this year.  I believe in a lot of things, like equal rights for all, and I firmly deeply believe in it.  I sign petitions and try to teach my son about it.  I vote for it.  But yet I have trouble getting out there and standing up for it in a sense.  I don't always speak up when I hear someone bashing equal rights.  I don't go out and volunteer at the phone banks or at protests.  And I want to.  I want to believe that I can make a difference by my actions, and I want to push my actions as far as I can.

Have you discovered something you would die for?

Mused: Mmm Bread

I have a weakness for bread.  Seriously.  I love nothing better than bagels or a good loaf of wheat bread.  Growing up it was always white sandwich bread, but I didn't care much for it.  But I would always try to get the 'other' kinds of bread at the store.  French bread, mini baguettes, etc.  But I've always felt like making bread from scratch, not bread machine, was hard and I couldn't do it.

But this week I was proven wrong!

I found this great recipe on It Starts with Me for hamburger buns.  My mom had mentioned grilling out (in the cold) later that night when I came over to do laundry, so I thought I would whip up some buns for us.  This recipe was simple to follow and simple to do.  And the buns tasted pretty yummy too.

Then, I rented Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day from my local library again.  I had read it before but never put it into practice.  I was put off by the amount of material I thought I needed, most especially the container.  But my friend and I scoped out a couple different stores in our shopping spree and found the perfect container.  Yes, it's plastic, but it's a plastic that will not be thrown out when I am done.  And I don't think it was coated in plastic wrap either.

So I finally followed the recipe in the book and made this fantastic bread.  It's very yummy and even more simple than the hamburger bun recipe.  I am definitely enjoying having an easy way to make my own bread and to get away from the plastic wrapped store bread. 

 

This weekend when I make up a new batch of dough, I think I might make it an herb bread.  I think I'll also make smaller baguettes and make meatball subs for my son.  I'm excited!

Do you have something that you make at home rather than buy?  Where do you get your recipes from?

Mused: Gifts of the Season

So I have shown you some of the gifts I made, now it's time to show you the gifts we received! 

 My grandfather and his girlfriend made these blankets for me and the kiddo.  Everyone in the family received one with their name, even my mom's dog.  They are all sorts of nice and comfy!

 These, plus one I didn't get a picture of because it's in use in my kitchen, came from them as well, but only his girlfriend did the work.  I guess she embroiders during her morning coffee.  I think that will be my hope for the future. :)

Aren't these wonderful?  I adore, ADORE, embroidered flour sack dish towels.  Let me say that again, ADORE!  They remind me of my childhood when we used them all the time.  I remember my great grandmother making these.  Now, teddy bears aren't my favorite thing in the world, but they are adorable and will be well used.  I have had dish towels on my list of projects to make forever.  Maybe these will inspire me to finally get them done.

A friend wants to do a themed xmas next year, Our Ethnic Heritage, so I could whip some of these out with Dutch tulips and patterns.  Although I think I might make them into cloth napkins...  Ah, so many project ideas!  At least I know what I will be doing for my summer crafting.

Happy New Year!

Mused: And to All a Good Night

As usual, the holidays are all sorts of busy.  I have a million projects to do and not enough time to get them done.

And as this is xmas eve or after it, I will leave you with a couple pictures of what I have accomplished this year.  Many of them are already wrapped and under the tree or already handed out, but I managed a few pictures.

 I made our stockings this year.  And I forgot to get a better picture of them hanging up on the wall.

 

Crochet wolf I made for my son.

 

Upholstered ornaments for my coworkers.

I hope your holidays are full of joy and laughter.

Hail the newborn sun!

Mused: A Cloudy Sun

I apologize for the lateness of this post, dear readers.  Life around here has been a bit… busy.  This is the first time I am able to sit and write up a post.  One of my goals for the new year is to plan ahead and write posts well before they are supposed to be published.

Diane Rixon

Today’s craft was supposed to be dried oranges to hang on your tree to greet the sun.  Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to accomplish it.  Instead, I will share tutorial with you on how to do so. 

http://www.diylife.com/2007/12/12/orange-slices-make-fragrant-and-pretty-christmas-ornaments/

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/oven-dried-orange-slices-1

Mused: Snowflakes Snowflakes!

Here at my office, we have been in a bit of a decorating mood.  Last year we barely did anything.  This year, we decided to have a crafting lunch and make snowflakes.  Then they were put up around the office.  Then I went home and the kiddo had made snowflakes at school.  Then it snowed a bit.  We made some more snowflakes later in the week as well.

And today, as I'm getting ready to post this, I hear that we are supposed to get an inch of snow this weekend...

...Maybe if I talk about warm weather, cute single guys, and cash, that will fall in my lap as well...

Ah well, it's worth a shot.

Here are some of the snowflakes that are hanging around my office!  I hope you enjoy!

Mused: What I did this month

Nanowrimo ate my brain for awhile.  While I was writing up 50,000 words and finishing my novel, almost everything else fell by the side of the road.  But no longer!

I not only finished my novel and hit the 50,000 word mark, but I have accomplished quite a bit of crafty-ness as well.  Luckily.  With the holiday season upon us, I had better get my butt to work, right?

So today I am going to take you through a few of the projects that I have completed.

First, and my current favorite, is a scarf that I will present to someone who shares my love of vampires.  I got the idea for this project from the Vampire Knits book.  They had a freebie design that was called a Tourniquet Scarf.  I can't knit, but it was pretty easy to crochet.  It's supposed to look like a big wound on your neck is dripping down the tourniquet.

I'm still working on the kiddo's Harry Potter scarf.  He likes Ravenclaw.

I finally finished the advent calendar, and just in time too.  It is now hanging around three walls of our house (windows and closets keep me from having a large amount of blank space that isn't already decorated).  The kiddo has had fun with it so far and I hope that continues.

I am sending out my Solstice cards to a few people in a Swap-Bot swap.  I am very happy with the way they turned out.  Plus, I wrapped them in scrap paper rather than use a new envelope!

And my biggest accomplishment?  Finally deciding on a planner system for next year.  It's always a struggle for me because I have so many different ideas of what to use.  I settle on an idea, then think, oh wait, I want this too!  But this year I have decided to go with a 5.5 x 8.5 binder.  That means I can take out and add things to it as I want to.  And I finally found the binder!  It was an obsession to find one.  I wasn't able to thrift one, although I did make a binder from an old photo album and cardboard, so I ended up paying money to buy this one new.  But it was cheaper than buying an actual planner and I can customize it the way I want to.

Have a great weekend!  I hope you accomplish everything you set out to do.

Mused: Advent stockings

Last year I made a paper chain with events to do with the kiddo each day as a count down to Solstice.  This year I made stockings.  Or am making, they aren't quite done yet. 

I came across a wonderful pattern on the Martha Stewart website, I believe.  I lost the link for it.  But it was a how to on making mini stockings from paper.  And I thought it would be adorable to have a bunch of little stockings strung across my wall for my calendar this year.

Unfortunately, my wall space is odd and I have to search to see where I'm going to put them up.  I don't have a long stretch of wall in this apartment.  My hallway is full of closet doors.  I could put them high up, but I want the young one to be able to reach them himself.  I think there might be a spot in the kitchen/dining room. 

The green slips are going to be what the activities are written on.  I'm going to put a number on each heel or toe and add a little loop to hang them from.  Then I will put them up with a ribbon/string running between them.

Are you counting down the days?

Mused: Family Cranberry Recipe

So... I said I would share this recipe with you.  I have to admit, it's not really a recipe.  And I haven't made it this year so I can't share a picture with you.  But this is one of my absolutely favorite parts of Thanksgiving. 

My great-grandmother used to make this recipe every year but unfortunately can no longer make it.  Fortunately, she is 93 and still kicking.  But she taught me how to make it and she taught some other family members, so we will continue to have cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving.  I've often wondered why I don't make it at other times, but I think it's just something about the holiday.

Keep in mind that this sounds disgusting, but it's actually really yummy.  And it's not really a sauce.

Cranberry Sauce:
2 cans whole cranberry sauce (you could use the jelly stuff, but I can't stand it)
1 container whip cream
1 sleeve crackers

1.  Mash up your crackers into crumbs.  You could buy cracker crumbs already mashed or bread crumbs, but make sure you add some salt to the bread crumbs.

2.  Layer your goods.  Put a layer of cranberries on the bottom of your dish.  I typically use a clear mixing bowl, but I've used tupperware as well.  On top of the cranberries, sprinkle enough cracker crumbs so that they cover the cranberries.  On top of the cracker crumbs, put down a layer of whip cream.  Repeat.

The thickness of the layers is up to you, but I do a little more whip cream than cranberries and it works out well. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mused: Craft Fair Setup

I was worried when I got down to a week to go to the fair and I didn't have a set up yet.  But while I was outside looking for sticks to try and make the kiddo a Harry Potter style wand, I realized that I had a huge resource at my disposal.

For a previous swap, I had made a jewelry holder out of twigs, and so why couldn't I make a display out of them?

I grabbed a couple mostly straight sticks that I thought would hold up under handling and one that had lots of smaller branches and sprayed them down with glaze.  The straight ones where wrapped together using hemp and all of them were sunk into tin cans wrapped around with more hemp and full of stones. 

I got more comments on my set up than my product at the fair.  I was quite happy with it all.

Have a great weekend!

Mused: Pencil/Pen Case

I have a tendency to forget where I put my pens.  I have two places in my house where they could be and they are always there when I see them... But when I go looking?  They disappear. Just like my scissors and fingernail clippers.

I do a lot of writing on the rideshare van each morning and I have pens tucked into a pocket of my bag.  Well, they either got out of my bag or I couldn't find the pen I wanted each morning.  So when my friend Kristin shared one of her patterns at a sew 'n swap, I knew I had found a solution to my problems.

This also gives me something to just throw in another bag when I am going elsewhere without worrying about loosing my pen.  It's just in that bag there!

The pattern is called Love Bug Clutch and it is free over at Kristin's site, Craft Leftovers.  You should totally go check it out.

Have a great weekend!