Dresser Re-Do

Earlier this summer I bought an antique dresser for around $40. I sanded, primed and painted it to give it a new life as my entertainment center. 

Even after sanding, covering what must have been several coats of the stubbornest cherry stain I have ever seen, took more that a dozen coats of white paint. I still think that it is vaguely pink but I'm satisfied with it. It looks and works much better than the old printer stand.  

Steampunk Magnifying Glass Necklace

I want to preface this post with the note that the only reason I call this necklace "steampunk" is the fact that I'm going to be wearing it with a steampunk outfit. 

As a DIY this project was almost insultingly easy. All you need us a cheap magnifying glass, some copper-tone spray paint (or whichever color you prefer), a length of chain, some wire, and a pair if pliers.  Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of any if this until I was done. 

1. Start out by taping off all the parts of the magnifying glass you don't want painted. For me this was the glass itself and the silver attachment piece. 

2. Spray paint both sides of the magnifying glass using smooth, even strokes. Trust me, you really don't want any runs!

3. Once the paint is dry, (about 30 minutes to be safe) remove the tape and measure out a piece of wire to wrap around the handle. You're basically making one gigantic jump ring. 

4. Slide the last link of each end of the chain onto your wire ring. Now, using your pliers crimp your wire ring closed around the handle of the magnifying glass.

See? Amazingly easy, even for me. And I have absolutely no jewelry making skills. 

Bowtie bracelets?

So I was browsing the buttons and notions in a quilt/fabric shop today and came across two hook clasps that look like little bows. 

Of course I had to buy them, they were too cute to pass up! (And on sale!) I'm planning some bracelets with ribbon I've had stashed away forever. Once I've got them done ill be sure to post a tutorial. 

Getting Green

Welcome to the new year friends! Here it is only January, and my green (-ish) thumb is itching to get started. Not helped of course by Pinterest and my new favorite book. A while back, my aunt gave me a call, just to tell me that she had all kinds of cookbooks for me to go through at her house. I got to pick out the ones I wanted, and the rest were being donated to charity. Hidden among the many diet books, and sugar-free cookbooks, I found this beauty. And I hereby dub it the Gardening Bible. This wonderful book is filled with all kinds of tips and tricks, plans for constructing beds, dealing with pests, even how to properly start seeds (which I needed).

The original list price is $17.99, but it is available on Amazon for as little as 74 cents. I however got it for free and I am going to use it this year as I start my vegetable garden from scratch. Not entirely sure which plants I'm going to put in it this year, but I am much better prepared to map this sucker out.

Just Need to Rant

Ok, I know that my only subscriber is Sam, and that this will probably lead to one of our infamous blow-ups, but I need to get this out.

Recently, a certain someone posted on her blog that she felt that it was always left to her to plan our gatherings. First of all, that couldn't be more wrong. I usually am the one asking around to see if we are doing anything, when we're doing it, where we're doing it, and who all is coming. But nevertheless, I took her comment in stride, despite others telling me not to fall for it, and volunteered to plan our annual Christmas/New Year's party. I was home sick one day and decided that panning this out was more important than taking a nap that I really needed. So I created the event on Facebook, did research into food for the menu, started figuring out presents for the people I get presents for, and even started thinking about the parking situation.

Hours later, my friend who will be hosting this party at her house, like every other party we have, responded by asking what we were having to eat. I told her the four items I had decided we were having for food-food, all items I know she likes to eat, and her response was "so basically, cheese, cheese, and more cheese". Now I realize that all the food items I had decided on involved cheese, however there are very few party recipes that do not involve it in some form or another. It should also be noted that she didn't offer anything to substitute. Then, today I was checking the page to see if anyone else had given their RSVP, and her sister-in-law, who so far has not been involved in any of the planning also put her two cents in, further criticizing my choices. She questioned the lack of veggies in the menu, which, her being a mother makes sense. Just as it made sense when she brought a veggie tray to our fish fry recently.  Now I don't mind having veggies at this party, I just don't appreciate the way it was brought up, and that those who complained about always having to do stuff are criticizing those who are trying to give them a break, deserved or not.

I know that this is probably considered inflamatory, and that I will probably recieve both angry texts and phone calls, but look at this from my point of view for a second. Initially, I was the only one planning this, I made some decisions. People knew I was planning this, knew they had their chance to voice their opinions, yet waited until less than a week before the party to do so. And the worst part is, that this happens every time, and I say nothing. I let my so-called friends walk all over me because that's how much their friendship means to me. Case in point, my BFF's Bridal Shower this past summer. No one wanted to help me plan, and yet just weeks before the day they all had something they wanted changed. And I did it. Sugar-free cookies for the relatives with diabetes? I made them, did anyone eat them? NO! I was forced to throw all four dozen away. More prizes so that everyone gets something? I compromised by adding more prizes, as well as a favor bar. Did I bend over backwards to please my friends? Yes, but not this time. Unless something changes I am so very close to dropping off my presents earlier in the day and telling them to have a great party without me. And, to NEVER ask me to plan something ever again. I will show up, I will eat your food, but I will not be involved in any of the planning. I only have to wonder, will anything ever get done without me to nag and force them?

UPDATE: As the result of a recent conversation with the above mentioned friend, I am no longer even attending this party that I spent a month planning. I hope that everyone going has a good time, and that they all ring in the New Year in style.

Present Update

A couple of weeks ago I posted that I was going to etch a set of baking dishes for my Mom's Christmas present. I finally got around to doing it this morning, I know, talk about procrastination. So in about one hour, I etched two glass baking dishes with my mom's last name.

Supplies needed:
Whatever you're etching
Armor-etch Etching creme
Adhesive letter stencils
Sponge Brush
Masking or Painters tape

Making sure your letters are straight tape all the edges to keep the etching creme from leaking where you don't want it. This is permanent so be sure of what you're doing before you start once you have your letters on and taped, sponge the etching creme onto the surface. Now in tutorials I have seen, other people who have done this say to leave the creme on for anything from 3 minutes to 20 minutes. I found that 15 minutes worked the best. Rinse the creme off in the sink and then very carefully peel off the stencils and give the surface another quick rinse. Pat dry and admire your hard work.

Hopefully you will end up with something like this!

Happy End of the World!

I couldn't let today go without commenting on the major event we're supposed to be experiencing! As I'm sure everyone has heard, today marks the end of the Mayan calendar, which is supposed to mean that the world ends today. I am of two opinions about this, which my friends have all heard.

1. Maybe the Mayans just got bored counting; that calendar was hand-carved out of rock, not nearly as easy as typing on the computer. And I'm sure the guy making it looked at it when he was done and said "Well that will freak someone out one day!"

2. This one is a bit of a technicality. The Mayans didn't have leap years, that's part of the Gregorian calendar we use. So really, the Mayan calendar ended sometime this summer. Now we know why here in the mitten it was hotter than hell!

Am I worried about the end of the world? Not really. If nothing else, the Christmas party I was going to on Saturday will simply be changed to the Post-Apocalyptic Raiding Party. And as long as I get myself some yarn from that, I'll be just fine.



Also as a side note did anyone else notice that today's date is a very interesting pattern? 1-2-2-1-1-2

Christmas Baking

Today I completed the last of my Christmas baking, and have a recipe for you. My family is addicted to the roasted almonds we get at Cabela's on the weekends. We can't get enough of them, and they're safe for me to eat since they use real cinnamon while making them. (I have strange allergies, artificial cinnamon being one of them) So for this Christmas, I decided to make up a couple of batches for snacks at the family get-togethers.

Naturally I had to make up a test batch. The original recipe I found on Pinterest is this one. While it tasted right, I couldn't get that crunchy glaze coating that we love. So I modified it. I really kept it mostly the same, just cut the sugar by half. I also considered melting the sugar-cinnamon mixture and just pouring that over the almonds. Maybe another time....

My Cinnamon Roasted Almond Recipe

Ingredients:

3 c Unsalted almonds
3/4 c Sugar
3 Tbs Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Kosher salt
1 Egg white
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. In medium bowl combine sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. Whisk together egg white and vanilla until frothy.
3. Pour almonds into egg mixture and toss to coat.
4. Mix in sugar mixture. Make sure you have no clumps, they create problems later.
5. Pour all of this into a crockpot set on low for at least 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes or so.
6. Once your nuts are done to the point where you are sorely tempted to eat them out of the crockpot, spread them out on a sheet of tin foil until cooled.

Glass Engraving

As with most of my gift ideas this year, I was sifting through the DIY boards on Pinterest when I came across this how-to for glass engraving. It looked simple enough, and my mom has been wishing for a set of personalized baking dishes for years. Most of our current ones get a quick surgical tape label before being taken anywhere. I have nearly all the required materials, but I have encountered a conundrum. Contact paper or adhesive vinyl? Both are more expensive than I really care for (especially after paying over $9 for the etching creme). And stencils aren't much better. The cheapest of those I could find were over $7! Does anyone, and by that I mean Sam, know of a different alternative?

Also to be included in this gift are some homemade dishcloths that I whipped up watching British TV the other night, and a silicone pot holder that my mom claimed to have loved when we went shopping together.

Staching through the Snow!

Ok, first a little back story. My lovely little sister, who for all intents and purposes is my twin, has a new boyfriend. I've met him, he's lovely (in both senses of the term). Problem is, even though he isn't joining us for Christmas, I feel like I should get him something. Even if it is a small token gift. (And mark my words, if he's still around for next Christmas he is going to sing a carol in front of everybody.) I was thinking of doing this ornament that I saw on Pinterest, as it will go really well with the old fashioned shaving kit my parents are going to give him. However, if I give him something, my older sister has to too (I'm in charge of her shopping). So I was thinking about maybe doing a set of paired ornaments. One would say "Staching through the snow" as the original does, and the second to say something "This is what awesome looks like".

Only forseeable problem, is that after the death of my baby I don't have a car and no way to get to the craft store. Unless someone would like to drive me?

Craft update

Not a recent project that I have done, but I just found the picture on my phone. A couple of months back I took over the planning of meals for my family, a good portion of the cooking as well. To make my life easier I made a weekly menu.

One cheap, dollar store picture frame (this is actually frame number two, the first one fell off the counter and broke), some scrapbooking paper and tape. Write on the glass with a dry-erase marker. I think it took me around 20 minutes when all was said and done.

Please ignore my Christmas baking in the background.

Tiny stockings

Two months ago, at my oldest nephew's birthday party, my sister-in-law's mother commented that she really liked a garland of very tiny stockings that she saw in the (then) current Avon catalog. My s-i-l then gave me a very significant look over the large pile of presents sitting on the dinning room table. Within a week I was out at my local craft store looking over my choices for yarn. As this wasn't something that was going to be worn, I didn't feel the need to go for one of the more softer yarns, and I also didn't want to spend a fortune, as this was probably going to end up in my stash. (A stash that I had just cut down by half.) I finally settled on using Vanna's Choice, not one of my favorite yarns, but as it was on sale I didn't complain to heartily.

I took my yarn home, and there it sat. I knew I had a deadline of Thanksgiving to get it done, but it true procrastinator fashion, I kept thinking "That's ages away!". Off and on during the month and a half I had to work on them, I would try out different patterns. I eventually went with a modified version of this pattern. I ended up halving everything, as their stockings were just a tad too big. Finally the Sunday before the holiday I sat down and cranked out 8 of these little suckers. One quick 50" chain of white yarn I had on hand, and voila! I was finished. (I have mentioned that I work well under pressure?) I folded it neatly into a box and it was ready to go out the door.

Yesterday I received a card from my s-i-l's mother. It was just a simple thank you. But I think she remembered that one of us (my younger sister and I) has a corgi. Because the card had a corgi that looked just like our Tank on the front. I'm not the one with the dog, but I thought it was cute all the same.

The inspiration:

The first stocking:

The finished stockings were a little larger than the ones in the catalog. Rather than 2" they were more like 2.5".
I did forget to take a picture of the finished product before I handed it over to be gifted. Oops! So just imagine the finished product for me!

An Off-Topic Apology

I'm very sorry if you have been checking this and haven't seen any new postings. Between finishing my degree and all the classwork that goes with it, I haven't had any time to knit or crochet.

However, with the Easter holiday fast approaching it is unfortunately time for Spring Cleaning in my house. My assignment? The bathrooms, as always. This year to tackle the stubborn hard water stains and soap scum I have been trying something new. Vinegar and Dawn. I love this stuff. Of all the cleaning products I have used over the years in an attempt to get the showers clean (a difficult task when you have hard water!) this has worked the best. And the plus side, no gloves, and it wont hurt your clothes!

The Recipe:

1 cup heated white vinegar
1 cup BLUE Dawn dish soap
1 squirt bottle (I used a old Totally Awesome bottle)

Heat the vinegar in the microwave for 2 minutes, or until you start worrying about it boiling. Pour it into the squirt bottle. Pour out 1 cup of dawn into the measuring cup. Pour this directly into the bottle as well. Shake firmly.

Then you just spray it onto your shower, let it sit for a couple of minutes, scrub with a rag, and rinse with clean water. That's it! Didn't work the best on grout, but everything else looked almost new!

Note: Make sure you have a window open as the smell of the vinegar is really strong.

Einey, Meanie, Miney, Mo.....

So I need some advice, I want to start a new project, but I have no idea what I want to do? I am asking anyone who reads this to email me your favorite pattern. If I get something from more than just Sam, then I think we should do a pattern swap. And each knit something for and from someone else.

Just a thought...

Pre-Christmas Project Plans

So after finding a long forgotten beanie in the hallway, I decided to get back into making hats. Currently I am working on a Brainmonster from half-assed patterns. And my lovely sister had requested a similar hat, but a dinosaur instead of a monster. If anyone else wants these let me know while I still have the energy to make them.

While not knitted, I found pictures of a "leather" bag I made this summer for my Renaissance costume.

Comittment Issues...

Ok, I have come to realize that I have comittment issues. I am almost done with the fall exchange project, but decided to work on my Ren Faire costume instead. And since it is 100% hand sewing....it could be a while before I return to the exchange. (I'm determined to be on time, unlike some people I could mention....)

I also have pieces for a bag I'm doing cut out, but I haven't gotten around to making that either. I'm so bad.

Good news is, that after a week of battleing a cold I am finally getting better.

Fall Exchange

Could it be? Two posts in as many days? Yeah, it is.

With September fast approaching, I started my fall exchange project today. I really love the color and the pattern is challenging enough that I don't feel like I am doing brainless work. It has a very pretty lace pattern, that should look really cool with Sam's Renaissance costume. Too bad I can't post pictures until after the faire...