Stumbling through daily life as a working mother of three
I just wanted to wish a happy birthday to my dear husband Michael.
Here’s the birthday card that I made for him (it’s so hard to make a nice masculine card, but I like how this one turned out using brown velvet and embossing):
Thanks, Michael, for sharing your life with me!
Good news – you can FINALLY order Stampin’ Up! products online – and it’s about time!
Just visit my Stampin’ Up! website (a link can also be found down below in my Blogroll) and click on the “Shop Now” button.
Feel free to email me with any questions – happy shopping!!!!
Way back in January, I started to work on a felted tote bag – and tonight (in SEPTEMBER), I finally finished it!
Not that I’ve been working on it non-stop since then. In fact, I stopped work on it altogether for a few months after I lost one of my size 8 knitting needles on my first trip to Alaska back in April. A few weeks ago, I replaced the missing needle and then it was back in progress. Unfortunately, I can’t find the book with the instructions…so I had to improvise a bit.
What I like most about this bag is the simplicity of the design – basically two side panels and one VERY long handle. I should have probably made the handle longer, but I got really bored when it got to be around 6 feet long (it was supposed to be 7 feet, I think – part of the problem of losing the instructions!) and stopped. The handle was just a plain garter stitch with the first stitch of each row slipped to make a nice, sturdy edge.
So after knitting the handle and side panels, I hand-sewed them together using the green yarn. The handle acts as the sides and bottom of the bag – the seam is sewn together along the bottom.
Before felting, the bag was so big and floppy, I had my doubts.
But then I threw it in the washer through a entire cycle on the hot/cold setting…and it was like magic! I couldn’t believe how fantastic it was after it was felted – you can barely see any of the individual stitches and the bag became structured and sturdy – now I can’t wait to felt some more projects!
To complete this one, I knitted some pockets (again, no instructions so I had to wing it) then felted them individually. The result would have been okay…but I wanted to add some felted flowers and leaves.
I found this pattern for a simple ruffled rose from Y2knit online and decided to give it a try…here’s one of my roses before felting:
Just a simple strip that curls around itself as a result of increasing the stitch count.
Next, I wanted to add some leaves made with the green yarn. But I couldn’t find a leaf pattern that I liked online – I tried several that I found, but they all seemed to end up looking lumpy. So I made up my own pattern and made these (the photo is before felting):
To make these leaves:
Cast on 3 stitches and knit the first row.
Knit the next 3 rows, casting on an extra stitch at the end of each.
Knit the next few rows – I think I did three or four.
Then knit the following rows, decreasing the number of stitches by knitting two together once on each row.
Bind off when you reach a row that only has two remaining stitches – that’s it! They felt up so cute – it’s just the final shape that’s really important after they are felted.
Here’s the finished tote completely felted (one side is blue, the other is brown):
I also added some blanket stitching around the pocket and top edge to keep the colors blending together. I think it’s so cute – and I can’t believe that I made the whole thing myself.
Hmm…I think I may be making some of these for Christmas presents…and if I do, I’d better start now (or make smaller bags)!
My brother had surgery this week – hope you’re feeling better, Ken – and I made him a quick masculine get-well card:
Emily and I were excited to find a new item at Michaels – a Project Runway fashion doll kit!
As I may have mentioned, Project Runway is my favorite show – I don’t know who was more excited about the doll – Emily or ME (I think it was me)!
The kit has a paper doll, stencils to make different pieces of clothing, patterned paper and accessories like gems, sequins and trims.
Here is Emily’s first creation:
Emily LOVES to mix the patterns!
And here is mine:
How fun! I love having a daughter!
I had a chance to play with some of my new Stampin’ Up! products for the first time the other day. I made a quick thank you card for Ray and Barbara in Eagle River, Alaska to thank them for hosting us in their home last week.
I used two of the new In Colors – Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze – I love this combination! I can see using Kiwi Kiss with a LOT of other colors as well.
I also used a piece of Not Quite Navy cardstock and scalloped the edges with the new large scallop punch – so easy!
The flowers were stamped tone-on-tone with the Baja Breeze and then a few were embossed with white embossing powder.
Now that I’m the parent of a teenager (Seriously?!?! Am I really that old????), I am amazed at the lack of common sense that a child of that age possesses.
Apparently, scientific research has shown that teenager’s brains are not fully developed – especially the parts that handle logic and reasoning. This leads to risky behavior – and apparently an extreme lack of common sense.
Case in point – we were having corn-on-the-cob for dinner the other night and I left a few ears in the pot of hot water on the stove so that it would stay warm. Andrew (my 14 year old) went to grab an ear of corn out of the pot and instead of using the tongs that were on the counter, he reached into the pot with his bare hands! At which point he screamed that the water was hot – duh!
Remember the less-than-bright Vinnie Barbarino from the TV show Welcome Back Kotter? That’s how Andrew’s been acting this summer…”What?” “Where?” “Who?”
“Take what trash out? Where do I put it?”
“I don’t know how to put dishes in the dishwasher [make a bed, mow the lawn, run the vacuum…].”
“We have a hamper?”
“Was that my iPod that went through the washing machine?”
“I’m supposed to flush the toilet after I go?”
“Where’s my cell phone [book, shoes, Nintendo DS, jacket, belt…]?”
Okay – that last one applies to most males I know, so I guess that’s not just the teenage brain…
After I gushed in my post yesterday about how much I was enjoying my new job, I walked into a not-so-great day today. The team is just a little bit stressed and I think it’s starting to show…
So after a bad day like that, I was overjoyed to see two Stampin’ Up! boxes sitting on my porch when I got home. And one of the boxes contained my copies of the new Fall/Winter Idea Book and Catalog!
There’s nothing that will relax you more than flipping through page after shiny page of great stamps, bright colors and original project ideas! I’m impressed with the new collection – lots of modern stamps and the new In Colors are great! I just wish that there were a few more vintage-style and ‘artsy’ images – but there are MANY others that I’m in falling love with!
By the way, the ‘in’ thing this fall seems to be scallops – scallop punches, scallop stamps, scallop edged cards…
The other box contained my pre-order of the new In Color stamp pads and cardstock – as well as a new stamp set and the new scallop punch too. Maybe I’ll have a chance to play and post a few creations made with my new stuff.
I’ve already started to compile a wish list from the new catalog – now I just have to figure out how to pay for it. Maybe I’ll clean out my craft room and sell some of my old stamps…but the question is, can I stand to part with any of them?????
I had a great time at the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Valley Forge, PA this weekend! My friends and I went at the same time last year and had so much fun shopping, we decided to do it again this year but stay overnight for the crop and some more classes this time too.
I took two great classes (I’ll finish up the projects and post them later, but here’s what one of them will look like when it’s done…but with photos of my own family, of course)
and got to SHOP all afternoon! And when I say shop…the vendor area in these conventions is incredible! Lot of new paper crafting products, demos, make-and-takes…and I also did a little bit of celebrity ‘stalking’…
When I first started making soldering projects, I mentioned on my blog a website called Simply Swank that sold pink soldering irons and other supplies including a fabulous instructional DVD.
I may have also mentioned a book, Simple Soldered Jewelry & Accessories by Lisa Bluhm (one of the ‘swanky’ sisters), that I just loved for project ideas and instructions.
Well, Lisa Bluhm, her royal ‘swankiness’ herself was at the convention and I just had to stop and gush over how much I loved her book and products! I was such a geek – but I honestly do love her stuff and didn’t hesitate to tell anyone who stopped by her booth (in fact, she asked if I could stick around for a little while and help sell some sets with my free advertising/testimonial). I eventually pried myself from her booth and continued shopping, promising to send her some emails of some of my projects.
After shopping all afternoon (I got some GREAT bargains!), my friends and I grabbed a quick dinner then went to the crop Friday night. I couldn’t believe how many women were there!
Here we are at our table:
There were lots of vendors inside the crop as well – and one of the people helping out was…Lisa Bluhm! This time, I was even geekier and showed her a photo of one of my projects that I still had on my camera:
I whipped this project up this week after one of my co-workers announced her retirement – THE NEXT DAY! (Note: If you are going to retire, please give your friends more than 24 hours notice in order to plan an appropriate gift) I used a vintage postcard with some images of a rose garden, added some glitter and a rub-on that says, “Enjoy” – then I wrote on the back, “Take some time to stop and smell the roses.” Hey – it was the best I could do in one evening with no advance warning!
Anyway, I showed Lisa this photo on my camera (at least, a tiny version of it on the little camera screen) and she said she loved it (I’m sure she was just humoring me, but I pretended that she meant it anyway). Then I took even one more step toward being arrested for celebrity stalking, I asked to have my photo taken with her and she kindly obliged:
How did she manage to look so good after all those hours at the vendor fair?
I noticed a man standing to the side laughing at us – Lisa said that he was jealous that no one ever recognized him and asked for his photo. Turns out, his name is Brian and he’s a model who has done lots of work including underwear ads for Target…so I told him I’d like his photo too:
Um…I didn’t ask him to see his work – or his abs. That might have been going just a bit too far. Right, Mike?
I also chatted with former Paper Crafts editor-in-chief Stacy Croninger (I had my photo taken with her last year, so I didn’t make the poor woman pose again) – but this time, she came up to OUR table (was she stalking me???). Turns out that she just announced that she is leaving the magazine to take a position as the director of the Creating Keepsakes conventions. We talked about that a little bit (I offered some feedback on the convention – she also humored me and made it seem like she was interested in my opinion) and I showed her the photos of Emily during the “princess incident” that I happened to have out on the table – she thought they were really cute and would make a great layout…I’ll work on that when I have time.
I also saw Mindy from Crop Classix – she also found me out in the crowd and came over to chat…I guess scrapbooking is really becoming a small community – you see the same people year after year at each event.
I didn’t get nearly as much done at the crop as I’d hoped (I was too busy chatting!), but I had a lot of fun and will definitely go back next year!
After a late night of cropping, we headed back to the vendor fair the next morning and picked up a few more bargains and did a few make-and-takes. Most of the free make-and-takes were pretty lame, (mine were always MUCH better, if I do say so myself)…but what do you expect for free?
On my way out, I ran into Stacy Croninger again and she was with Stacy Julian, the founding editor of Simple Scrapbooks. But poor Stacy J already had a list of other stalkers waiting for photos, so I just said hello and headed out.
I had JUST enough gas in the truck to get home…and then got stuck in a MAJOR traffic backup on the Schuylkill Expressway (known for its traffic backups) – it took me almost 1 1/2 hours to get home – twice as long as it would under normal conditions. But I didn’t run out of gas (thank goodness) and to ease my stress, I took the time in the truck to admire my purchases…now let’s see what I can create with them!
As you may have gathered from my previous post, we spent this weekend camping in Hershey, PA at the Hershey Highmeadow Campground, one of our favorites.
We had a really nice time…with the exception of a few minor meltdowns due to the heat and the crowds – and half the time it was me melting down, not even the kids! But after a break in the shade, a cold beverage and a chocolate-y snack, all was well.
We spent our first day (Saturday) hanging around at the campground – just enjoying the nice weather, swimming in the pool, playing some games – my parents even came up for a visit.
We purchased tickets for HersheyPark for Sunday, which meant that we could go on Saturday night for a few hours for a ‘free preview’ of the park. Unfortunately, we were not the only ones on the park Saturday night – in fact, there was a record number of people at HersheyPark that night! Between the Jonas Brothers and Brad Paisley concerts at the arena this weekend, the place was CRAZY!!!!
Emily was very excited to see that she was a “Reese’s Cup” this year and was tall enough to go on most of the rides. Andrew, of course, is now tall enough to go on anything he wants!
We fought our way through the crowds and managed to go on a few rides that first night, but that was about all we could take and left exhausted.
Sunday morning, we headed out bright and early – as guests of the campground, we got to enter the park an hour before it opened and enjoyed a few quick line-free rides.
As soon as it opened, Emily, Matt and I headed over to the new “Boardwalk” – a huge waterpark filled with all kinds of fun things for the kids to do. We changed into our swimsuits and played for about an hour…until it started to thunder. At which point everything in the park shut down.
This was not such a bad thing – it was time for lunch and we needed to let the dogs out anyway, so we headed back to the camper on the shuttle bus and returned later in the afternoon after the skies had cleared.
Emily was proud to go on her first real roller coaster and Mike and Andrew went on a BUNCH of roller coasters including the new “Fahrenheit”– which to me looks just insane. But no more insane than this one – the “Stormrunner” – which goes from a complete standstill to really-really fast at the very beginning of the ride. Every time I saw the start of the ride and heard this creepy voice, I had my own personal little panic attack – and I wasn’t even on the ride! I managed to take a video of Andrew’s car at the start of the ride – take a look at this (this voice still gives me nightmares):
And here he is by one of the loops:
Matt doesn’t enjoy rides very much, but he waited very patiently at the ride exits for everyone to finish:
We made reservations to stay at the campground again next year – between the campground, the amusement park, the water park and all the other activities, this is one of our favorite ‘one-gas-tank’ trips!
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