crafts

Pay It Forward

/ LDSVenus / 2 Comments

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Ok it’s time to do this again.

PAY IT FORWARD!!

Very cool idea I’ve participated in in the past, and I couldn’t resist the idea of starting another one. I signed up on L’s Fiber Adventures blog site and she is signing up on mine so we can get the ball rolling.

The guidelines: “I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise!”

The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog and link to my blog as where you signed up.

“Want to participate? Be one of the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post and make the same promise on your own blog.

Not So Random Acts of Kindness, and 365 days to do it in!!! What a cool idea!

So, here goes! If you’re interested in participating, just be one of the first three people to post that you would like to PIF! You dont have to be a knitter, you can hand craft – crochet, weave, sew, stamping up cards, anything that is “your thing”.

White Elephant Gifts on a Budget

/ LDSVenus / 1 Comment
You've Been Bad

You've Been Bad

 

We had our Single Adult Christmas party tonight for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd wards of my Church.  We were told to bring a White Elephant gift.  Now my friends will know where my oldest son got his sense of humor from ;P.  The glass decanter was something that I found and I bought winter stickers to go on it.  I used a craft joke I had seen many years ago that would work with this decanter and bought the mini marshmellows and made the card that I hung on the decanter (you can click on the picture for a larger image).   Hehe, it still makes me laugh :P.

 

The other gift, yes that is a roll of toilet paper that I discovered you can embroider on.   I got the embroidery idea from this  website ,  found a cute design and walaa, cuteness :).  It’s a very inexpensive way to dress up a bathroom and it got a chuckle or two. 🙂  Anyway these were what the one that ended up with my gift got.

Christmas on a Tight Budget

/ LDSVenus
I Whisk you a Merry Kiss-mas

I Whisk you a Merry Kiss-mas

 With money a bit short, but still wanting to do something for my visiting teaching companion and the sisters we visit teach, I decided to do one of the favorite crafts I learned.  It’s easy, fairly cheap, but so cute.  You simply buy a nice whisk (they aren’t too much at Walmart), put Hersey Kisses in some clear wrap and stick it inside the whisk.  You then make a tag out of card stock saying “I (or We) “Whisk” You a Merry “Kiss-mas”.  You can decorate the card and I will probably add some sparkles and/or Christmas stickers to this before giving them.  I thought they were so cute when I first saw them, and I still do :).

Still working on the Llama roving and my grand daughter will be unhapapy to learn that I haven’t knit any more on her blanket.  But I will have time to work on it as I search for a new job after this coming week, provided the temp agency doesn’t have something right away.   It would be nice if they do, but it would be ok, if it took a week  so that I can have a vacation (which I haven’t had in over 7 months) even if it is unpaid.   The kids and I decided that we were only going to get things for their children this Christmas.  Maybe things will be better next year.

Winter has arrived.  It’s been in the teens the last couple of nights and 20’s and 30’s in the daytime.  We even had snow on Wednesday evening, then off and on Thursday and Friday, tho it didn’t stick, yet.  The weather will be getting colder, minus temps will come and snow will abound, I’ll just hunker down for a few months and then before you know it, it will be spring again.  I love spring, it’s my favorite time of year, when things turn green again and everything is new.

Suri Alpaca

/ LDSVenus / 1 Comment
click on picture for larger image

click on picture for larger image

 

 About 2 weeks ago I received a 1 oz sample of Suri Alpaca.  I have not had the pleasure of handling or spinning Suri Alpaca.  The fiber is very silky and drapey as compared to Huacaya Alpaca that has more spring or crimp, both are very soft.  I need to finish the Llama that I have on the wheel so that I can try this out.  I love new fiber experiences. 🙂  I appologize for not putting this picture up sooner, my life has been a zoo for the last couple of weeks.  I put Ann’s card on the fiber so you can see where this lovely fiber came from or you can click here to go to her website.

 

click on picture for larger image

click on picture for larger image

 

 I have also finished a fleece tied blanket for my grand daughter Leena.  Her birthday was a few days after mine and things and time got away from me.  This was a little bit larger project than I anticiapated (probably because I had not done one before ;P).  But it’s finished and it looks very nice.  The color on the underneath side matches the bow tie on the teddy bears.

 

 

I have throughly enjoyed the wonderful 60’s that we’ve had here yesterday and today.  It is like an early spring and so very wonderful.  I will try to hold onto the wamth and sunshine during the upcoming cold winter that is sure to come soon.  But then spring will be just around the corner. 🙂

Relief Society Enrichment Meeting

/ LDSVenus
The Christmas Nail

The Christmas Nail

 

 

We had a Relief Society Enrichment meeting tonight.  For those who are not LDS, the Relief Society is a women’s organazation in the Church.  Tonight was a fun “Enrichment” meeting on keeping Christ in our lives during this upcoming holiday season, we had a skit performed for us by some of the sisters to the “Night Before Christmas” poem changed to be about Christ instead of Santa and then we did a really cool craft, the picture you see entitled ” The Christmas Nail”.  I love these meetings.  I miss the spiritual uplift I get from our Relief Society meeting on Sundays (it’s a class similar to Sunday School, which we also have) as I teach in Primary (children’s classes) during that time, but the children are fun too, and I get my spiritual uplift from Sacrament meeting and preparing the lessons for Primary. 🙂

With warmer temps coming this week end I plan on taking advantage of the wonderful 60’s while I can before our negative temps arrive in six weeks or so.  Hope you all have a wonderful week end as well.  🙂

Floodstock

/ LDSVenus / 1 Comment
click on picture for larger image

click on picture for larger image

 

My son and his friend Dustin invited me to go to the Farmer’s Market with them this morning.  It is once a month in the down town area.  I thought Farmer’s Market, ok, vegetables etc, plus I had seen people working on the item in the picture while driving home from work every day for the last several weeks (I will describe it better in a min.)  So I thought sure.  Well it was awesome, they had a rock band performing old Beatles songs, many vendors selling everything from fresh produce to meat, to crafts, baked goods, a guy who did some awesome items with those ballons you twist into shapes.  I’m going back next month and taking my camera with me, and more money :P.  So be prepared for an update next month.

Ok, the picture.  It is a sand sculpture, yep, I said sand!  It says Floodstock on it (yeah, a take off on Woodstock).  It’s celebrating the recovery from the terrible flood that they had last year that devistated the downtown area.  It’s a way of saying, WE ARE BACK.  There are still buildings in the downtown area that are being or need to be renovated, but the work is coming along.  The business I work at is right there in the downtown area and they just recently finished their renovation from the damage the flood caused.

Click on picture for larger image

Click on picture for larger image

 

This small hand embroidered pillow is what I bought today, of course because I spin, but also because sheep are just so darn cute :P.  Besides it was made by a friend of mine from my church who had a vendor booth set up there. 🙂  I also bought some turnips, because I love them and it was cheaper to buy fresh ones than the ones in the store that have the paraffin covering to keep them fresh.  

 

 

 I do have to say that Cedar Rapids has something going on all the time.  I wanted to go to the Freedom Festival tonight up at Kirkwood Community College because 3 Dog Night was going to be there playing, but there are too many things needing my attention.  I’m sorry to have missed seeing one of my all time favorite Rock groups.  Maybe next time.

Life on the Fast track

/ LDSVenus / 2 Comments
My Balcony

My Balcony

 

 

Ahhh, Spring!!  The birds are singing and it’s beautiful with the trees flowering and leafing out here and yesterday was hot as heck!!  We’ve been in the 50’s and 60’s until Thursday when we hit upper 70’s and yesterday we were mid 80’s,  Sheesh.  This week will be back in the 60’s again, thank goodness because the air conditioning isn’t working yet at the bank I’m working at.  They are still doing repair and rebuild work after the big flood here in Cedar Rapids last year.   Anyway this is a picture of my balcony.  It’s not screened in like my apt in TN but it is so wonderful to have a balcony again.  I have a place to put my plants outside and to sit and spin or knit (when it isn’t raining or way to hot.  I didn’t go out on my balcony in TN when it was way to hot either ;P).  

 My life has been a bit busy this last week.  8 to 5  job and I have to get up at 5:45 (get ready, make lunch, take care of Thor) because I have to leave by 7:15.  I am working down town (about 16 to 17 min from where I live) and there is no parking lot at the bank, only metered parking on the street, so I had to pay for a parking permit to park in a parkade and walk 3 blocks to work.  I really don’t mind the walk (and there is a skywalk that goes from building to building so I won’t get wet if it rains, but it’s a bit of a meandering walk that takes an extra 7 min or so to walk), just hate having to leave 15 or more min earlier :P.  Tons of stuff to learn in the new job (isn’t that always the case? :P) and that leaves me drained when I get home.  Had a couple of evening things I had to attend to this last week and still try to get to bed between 9 and 9:30 pm so I can start all over again at 5:45 am the next morning.  It’ll be much better after I adjust to the new stuff and time period.  Saturdays are busy too with laundry and errands, but I’ll get a routine down, put some fun back in my life and it will all be good. 🙂

click on picture for larger image

click on picture for larger image

 

 

This is something my sister has been working on.  It’s called silver clay.  I’d never heard of it but they put silver powder (yeah the real stuff!) in clay and she said you have to fire it after you have finished making whatever it is you are going to make with it.  I think she did a wonderful job.   She’s rather crafty too (making things, not sly – sly to me is not a good thing to be, ie decietful, full of trickery :P), guess crafting things runs in my family :).

 

Oh yeah, to my son who just finished his 4th blanket in the last month!!    PFFFT 😛  I’m working on Jade’s afghan, I did some rows today :P.  Should have some evening time to work on it this coming week :).