jennifreckles crafts

I've moved!

2011-01-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

Find me over here:

Demolition Day, aka The Day Jenn Got A 'Wonder Bar'

2010-01-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

This is part of a post I did on my personal blog. I made it private a little while ago, and just haven't been doing that good updating it. Or this one, for that matter. I don't know how I feel having two blogs anymore.

Anyway, here's an office update:
This is what it looked like before we got the pry bar out.

I decided it was time to start a bit of demolition in my office to remove some built-in shelves. They don't look so bad, right? There are actually shelves just like these on the opposite wall, too, but I just wanted to remove these ones. I believe this room was originally set up to be used as a closet for some sort of master suite in the basement. There are no windows and crappy lighting, so I'm attempting to make this room more functional, and less cave-like.
Let's check on the progress, shall we?
The two shelves on the gray brackets were installed by us, so they just came right down. The white shelves took a bit more effort.
Look at "me" go! "I'm" such a hard worker.

These were real stinks to remove. The shelves were screwed down to the cleats, but they'd covered all the screw heads so they were hard to find. And they used silicone caulk to seal around the edges of the shelves. Grr.

Did I mention they glued and used 3 inch screws to attach the cleats to the wall? Man, did "I" have a tough time with those!

It all came off the walls eventually and there's quite a bit of damage to the wall (curse you, construction adhesive!) The white patches you see to the right are the insides of the drywall. Fun!
The people who installed these were, well, they were on crack. That's the only explanation I can come up with. Half the annoyance was just trying to figure out what they did.
(I swear I was working on the shelves by myself at one point ... B just thought I was getting frustrated and well, he knows how to do it the right way, so who am I to complain!)
Now it really is my part — prepping the walls for either fixing the drywall damage, or covering it up with cupboards, depending on my sanity levels. Did I mention I'm also painting in here (including the ceiling)? Oh, and considering removing the carpet and putting in new flooring? On a budget of oh, nothing?
Way fun.
Call me if you want to have a drywall party! I'll make treats!

(Whose idea was this?!?)

The force is definitely with them

2009-11-01T22:11:00.008-07:00

Halloween was all about handmade this year. Which was absolutely wonderful and super stressful at the same time.
We got Jack's costume finished Wednesday night for his class party Thursday (4th graders don't get to dress up, boo!). Benson's costume, however, was finished, oh, at 6:30 Halloween night!
Els has been having some major skin issues and had four separate doctors visits within a week. She woke up Friday just miserable and would cry when you tried to pick her up unless you held her a certain way, not touching any of what were becoming open wounds. We finally got in to a pediatric dermatologist Friday and figured out she had a wicked case of eczema on her entire body and got things under control. Um, the Friday we were going to finish up costumes!
Saturday was a really busy day! First up, we blessed Elsie and her cousin, David. Ignore the faces Elsie and I are pulling in this picture. It's all about the dress, anyway!

It was so wonderful to see family and friends and bless those two sweet babies. We had a potluck lunch after that and then headed home to finish costumes. The final products?
Padawan Obi Wan Kenobi from Episode I (action shot, of course) and Anakin from Episode III (look at that face of near, but not quite, evil!)

Jack even had a hair extension in for the padawan braid, thanks to our friend, Jenny the hair stylist! These are, of course, far from accurate costumes. We searched many web sites trying to get them relatively close without going crazy! While making them was a lot of stress, it was so much fun! I worked with B (hubby) on most parts. I did the sewing, he did the leather work. He spent a couple hours making Jack's belt and helping me make Benson's boots and glove.
I'll try to get a few better photos of their costumes so you can see more detail.
Elsie got in on the Halloween action, too, wearing a cute ladybug costume put together by her aunt.

Babies in tutus!

The boys looked awesome and it was a great night ... until Benson started to complain about a sore throat. So now he's sick and we're just hoping no one else joins him! We got our regular flu shots but not the H1N1, so we're keeping our fingers crossed!

New stuff

2009-10-24T17:31:00.000-06:00

I've finally finished a couple things! I have plenty cut out, just waiting. AND since Halloween is next week, I figured I should probably finish the boys costumes sometime! We've also had an interesting week, with a visit to Primary Children's Hospital Thursday night. Elsie and I didn't get home from there until 3 am, and have had rough nights since Wednesday, so I'm not getting things done very fast!
Here's the first car seat cover:

It's 100% cotton, backed in brown dot minky fabric.

I can make it to fit these handle types:

Or it can fit a regular straight handle.
The cover is now for sale in my Etsy shop. More of these coming!
Also, the first of the crayon rolls is done.

I also have Superman and University of Utah ones coming!

Shop update update

2009-10-18T22:25:00.000-06:00

Items ARE being made but I decided to spend the weekend hanging out with family and going on a date to finally celebrate my anniversary with B. And Elsie, of course. Who had a rather remarkable blowout diaper at PF Changs.
So stuff will be added as I can get to it.
I'm also going to be doing a couple craft shows, one for sure, one hopefully. Right now the focus is on getting a few things done for family first (priorities! costumes!) and getting ready for Elsie's blessing on Halloween.
And I am just curious, but would anyone be interested in doing a craft swap? I have a couple ideas about making it so you can swap your crafts for points or something like similar that could be used to 'purchase' crafts made by others.

If I post it, I'll have to follow through, right?

2009-10-13T14:42:00.001-06:00

Shop update coming!
There will be (hopefully!):
hooded towels
mini blanket and burp cloth sets (great for baby showers - I know it's what I like to give, ha!)
kid's smocks
car seat covers
crayon rolls
I hope to start putting stuff in the shop this weekend! Any of these would make great Christmas gifts. And if you don't quite see what you want, let me know and we can work out a custom order for you.

Now, about the office cleaning ...
I swear I'm doing it! I just have to clean the rest of the house as well, so it's a bit slow going :)
(How's your homework, Jana?)

2009-10-10T22:32:00.002-06:00

I privatized my family blog - if you'd like to read it, please comment here (if I already have your email) or email me at jennifreckles(at)hotmail(dot)com.

The cleaning saga.

2009-10-06T20:14:00.000-06:00

So. My office doesn't look much different than it did in my last post.
But, I have plans.
I have come up with a new schedule for my days. I really need this because I just started school again and need to make sure I've enough time during the day to actually accomplish something. Since I was scheduling school, I decided to schedule cleaning, too. A different area of the house every day will be tackled, in addition to the regular picking up I have to do with three kids. So the plan is to fill a garbage bag every day with stuff to get rid of. I will donate or chuck as much as I can because I truly hate clutter, yet I have the tendency to be a packrat. Usually these two things are in a state of balance, but right now it's a little off.
Oh, and there's a moratorium on purchasing. Unless it's an item I absolutely have to have to finish a gift, no more buying craft supplies. Unless something breaks and I desperately need a replacement, no buying household items (good thing I decided this after the Pampered Chef party!). And I will keep you updated on how it's going (Gee, Jana, are you too busy to get on my case about my progress?)
By the end of next week, I hope to have quite the car load to donate. Savers and DI, here I come!

Motivation

2009-09-06T17:46:00.002-06:00

So, perhaps if I blog about the sad, sorry state of my office/craft room, I will do something about it.
Promise you will help shame me into cleaning out and organizing it? Really? That's sweet.
This is what I do: I have nice, organized drawers and bins. And completely overwhelmed counters and floors. Go figure. My kitchen is the same way. I have a hard time keeping the counters cleaned (read: my counters are never cleaned off) but my knife drawer? Those babies are on a rubberized mat so they don't bang around, neatly organized so they never touch. Although I do need to get rid of a couple because gah! Clutter in my drawer!
So pictures, to help you shame me. Um, just going to take those with photo booth because I'm scared of losing my camera if I bring it down. So they are not great, and there won't be many but oh well.
These are untouched in all their terrible messiness. Prepare yourselves.
First is the sewing/dying computer table. I have my sewing machine and serger on this table. Along with some towels I'm doing something with, gift bags that need to be put away, and various and assorted papers that are hanging out with the dying computer. Nice. To the left you see part of the fabric stash and bins of toys because for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to put them there. Note: not a good idea. You can also see the doorway into the Man Cave, with the little tv. Those white doors are to the utility area, which needs to not be blocked. Right now? Blocked.Then we have the west wall. I have my scrapbooking and school stuff along this wall and it's pretty bad. Note the nice dark walls and maroon carpet. Maroon carpet that is. Never. Clean. Because of all it's maroon carpetness. And last? Some of the East Wall, which shows some of my stash and part of the built in table where my computer sits. Yes, the top of the table is painted maroon. Because this room is not dark enough (did I mention the light fixture? That it's a wall mounted bathroom fixture that sits above the maroon table? Oh, and did I also mention the lack of windows in this room? Yep, those are issues that will be dealt with later when B puts in real lighting on the ceiling).
0Well, that's it. Be a little kind, but if I don't get moving on this and post improvements within the next month, stop with the kindness!
Let the cleaning fun begin!

Rawr, says Jack.

2009-09-03T17:49:00.002-06:00

Even though I haven't been crafty myself, other people have been.
Yay, other people!
Let's see what they've done, shall we?

I want one of these for Elsie. Or perhaps this one would be nice (it's totally an alpaca). Someday.
My sister does all kinds of crafty stuff. I'm really loving the pencil card she did.
I absolutely love these, but the tooth fairy SUCKS at our house (um, she's on Australia time, just so you know).
These would look great on my leather couch.

Oh, baby's awake. Let's do this again soon, shall we?

I made something!

2009-09-02T13:26:00.003-06:00

This isn't terribly exciting, but it's something, right?
It's a baby blanket made for a friend. Two pieces of flannel bound with wide quilt binding. I think it's my new favorite way to make nice, thick receiving blankets.I LOVE these fabrics. I didn't want to part with them! The binding is all machine sewn because of time constraints. I don't crochet. Therefore I can't make those cute crocheted edge blankets.
Okay, actually I know how to crochet; I just won't crochet. I don't have enough patience. Kind of like my hand sewing issues.
I'll hopefully get a picture of the one I made for Elsie taken so I can post it. Oh, and her crib set, too.I'm also working on Elsie's birth announcements. Hopefully they will go out before she's 1.

Elsie

2009-08-23T19:02:00.001-06:00

Elsie
Originally uploaded by Jennifreckles

My little Elsie at home! Posting was already sparse, so we'll see if I am able to pick it up a bit when we get more into a routine!

Mmm, cake

2009-06-06T23:29:00.003-06:00

I'm part of what's called the enrichment committee at my church. We plan quarterly activities for the Relief Society, the LDS (Mormon) women's organization. This month, we held an activity entitled, "A Night in Seussville," and everything had a Dr. Seuss theme. I was in charge of posters and decorating the cakes that would be served as refreshments. We had talks about three Dr. Seuss books, so three of the cakes represented those books. Here's "The Cat in the Hat Came Back":And "The Sneetches":And this one is supposed to be like the nest from "Horton Hatches the Egg":And then we decided we just needed a couple cakes that had colors found in Seuss books and were just fun looking (although the first one is a bit like "Oh the Places You'll Go" because of the stripes):
All the cakes together. The night was a blast and the cakes turned out great. We used marshmallow fondant to decorate, which tastes much better than regular fondant. The cakes were yellow cakes (except for the hat, which was red velvet) and I used triple berry ice cream topping for the filling and homemade vanilla frosting as the 'glue' keeping the fondant on.
Such a blast. I forsee a lot more marshmallow fondant in my future.

Gah, this dress almost killed me.

2009-05-21T12:19:00.003-06:00

Actually, just the bodice. Stupid, STUPID method for making a bodice! (Um, this was Butterick B5017, by the way. FAST & EASY my big butt). There are four pieces and man, you have to cut exactly to make it work, I guess. I could not press the armholes the right way and finally just cut off the seam allowance and made my own seam binding to finish them. The gathered skirt was tons easier!
Still haven't finished the back. There's a button loop hidden back there, and I'll sew a button, probably white, on the opposite side.
So, is it cute? Or am I right in thinking it is a thing of extraordinary evil?
Oh, the fabric is Arcadia by Sanae for Moda. I still like it.

Making baby (stuff)

2009-05-18T16:05:00.003-06:00

Finally got around to a couple pictures.
Here's my big Ikea fabric pillow with his new friend, the other big Ikea fabric pillow. They now hang out in the new reading nook we've made in our family room.
And here's the first thing I've made for Zeke. The fabric is Moda Woodland Bloom. I machine quilted it but hand tacked the binding. May I repeat: I. Hand. Tacked. The. Binding.
Yes, it's that big a deal.I'm almost done with a little dress for Zeke that has made me question my sanity and say swear words in my head. B informed me it will be the cutest dress Zeke will own but I'm so filled with hatred over the bodice that I can't see it clearly. Perhaps it is really cute? I'll finish it up and let you decide.

Quilty Quilter Head

2009-05-08T09:50:00.003-06:00

Been a while, eh?
I can say eh because my husband is part Canadian.
I finished Zeke's first quilt. For those in the know, Zeke is the baby girl we're expecting in August. Yes, we call her Zeke.
We have NO. OTHER. NAMES. (Suggestions are welcome)
Jack wants to name her Serenity after a girl who moved from his class. But I don't think 'Serenity' is a word that often fits in our household.
Fun? Oh, yes. Loud? Definitely. Serene? Not so much. Too much laundry and Legos.

I sent my mom, Lesa an email about my quilt:

Mother,
Behold, I
HAND SEWED
the binding on Zeke's first quilt.
And did not die.
But my hand is a little crampy.
Carpal tunnel, anyone?

Alas,
It was machine quilted.
In straight lines.
But we can't have it all, can we.

Pictures will be forthcoming.
As soon as it is done drying.
And as long as it
Isn't ruined.

That is as close to poetry as I will ever get. No, I don't usually refer to her as "Mother." It's usually "Yo, Mama" or "Hey, lady." And yes, I slept rather poorly last night, why do you ask?

There will be pictures of the quilt and the fraternal twin of this pillow on the next post, I promise!

First package

2009-04-20T18:50:00.000-06:00

FINALLY. Sent the first package.
This is for my friend, Leah. She has three cute little girls. I do not have little girls. Although I will someday. Just one. Therefore, we will pretend I know what is cute for little girls. Come, pretend with me, will you?
First up? Crayon rolls for her two oldest.
I used both fabrics on each, so the one with the stripes outside has the farm print inside, and vice versa.
They even include crayons! I'm full-service, y'all.
Next up, for her sweet little one (whom I wisely assumed should not have access to crayons), a rags n' tags.
Girls like pink and butterflies, right?
And polka-dot ribbon? How does that go over with little girls?
So there you have it. Colorful stuff for Leah's girls. And I'll be including a jar of my homemade apple butter as well. Mmm, apple butter. Because I got a little excited about the whole "sewing for little girls" thing and need to make sure I include something for the person who actually won the giveaway. Sheesh.

Like contests?

2009-03-30T11:12:00.000-06:00

Have kids?
Go here.
I love Design Mom.

G-g-g-get stuff

2009-03-11T15:47:00.002-06:00

Doing a getaway here.
And you know what? I'd really like to do a spring swap for kids this spring. Something simple, handmade or well-loved by your children (legos, anyone?). Anyone interested?

Maybe this will help me get in the mood to make Christmas gifts

2008-12-15T22:10:00.000-07:00

A real post, depending on your definition

2008-12-05T12:12:00.011-07:00

What?
This is a craft blog?

Really?

Seriously?

Well, okay then.
I'll post something crafty.

Here's the purse I finally finished for my sister. I'm not going to tell you how long I've been working on this. I just don't want to talk about it.
I also don't want to talk about how I forgot to put interior pockets in it. And didn't realize it until after I sewed the lining in. It's just too hard to think about.This is the second purse I've completed made from a pattern I developed all by my lonesome using a way too large Target bag as an example. The purse is roomy without being HUGE and has outside pockets. Guess that counts for something. I'm pretty happy with these straps. I put batting in them to try and make them more comfy.
If this is satisfactory (Dani? Whatcha think?), it will be in the mail soon. I just need to get to work on mine!
Hmm, something else crafty.
Oh, yes. Our advent calendar.Paper mache boxes that I Modge-Podged. I am the queen of Modge-Podge now. I did 24, because I wanted to. Actually, I did 24 because I wanted to put their Christmas jammies in the last one and we open those on Christmas Eve, a terribly special tradition that seems to be shared by about half the Christmas-celebrating world.This is #24. It's nice and big and there's glitter and gold paint involved. Could anything be better?
The others are small and there are candies in each one.Some have a little scroll telling the boys to decorate the tree or make brownies to share with friends. It would also be good to put in scriptures or tell them to read a Christmas book, I just didn't do that this time. My sister-in-law made some too. She did the 12 days of Christmas and I believe she needs to post hers on her blog (amazingly subtle hint).
The boys are so excited about Christmas, they've been making things to decorate. This is a cookie and milk Benson made for Santa. They wrote a note to Santa on the back because they are REALLY ready for Christmas Eve! Little J told me I had to take a picture, so I complied.
Because I'm good that way.
And just so you know? Our star tree topper is having problems.And yes, we're aware of it.

Because I haven't posted in a while

2008-12-04T14:34:00.002-07:00

I thought I'd post this. You look up your answers on Google images. You have to use an image from the first page. Kinda fun.
I'll be posting my advent calendar soon - just have to get good pictures. Maybe this afternoon?
Anyway, here goes:

MY AGEFAVORITE PLACE TO TRAVELFAVORITE OBJECTFAVORITE FOODFAVORITE ANIMALMY MIDDLE NAMEFAVORITE COLORWHERE I GREW UPPREVIOUS PETTOWN I LIVE IN NOWNICKNAME OF KIDS MY NAME (not going to do this one -
It's either a picture of Jennifer Aniston, Lopez, Garner or Esposito
or some other Jenns who are trying to make friends
TOTALLY THE WRONG WAY
if you catch my drift ...

BAD HABITGRANDMOTHER'S NAMEFIRST JOBSTUDIED IN COLLEGE

Hey, I baked a cake!

2008-11-16T21:38:00.003-07:00

My son's birthday was this week. I made him a cake using marshmallow fondant.
I'm in love. With the fondant.
It tastes good! And is not evil to work with!
Here's a couple pics:
We did cupcakes number 1-8 and the cake was, of course, number 9. My sister-in-law pointed out that the cake was the letter b upside down. B for Benson! Of course I meant to do that.
One thing I learned from this was to always sift your powdered sugar! It left little dents in the fondant that annoyed me, but otherwise was great stuff. The cake inside was red velvet with vanilla frosting to adhere the fondant. It was a very colorful cake when it was cut!

Shop Update

2008-11-03T15:43:00.005-07:00

Here's some of the stuff I'm putting in my etsy shop.
(You can also click on the link on the right hand side of this blog).
Hopefully there will be more coming - we'll see how motivated I get.
If you'd like to purchase one outside of etsy, please email me
jennifreckles (at) hotmail (dot) com.

2008-11-02T21:46:00.001-07:00

Etsy shop update coming! I'll finally get some stuff put in there after way to long. Will probably update by Friday.

2008-10-29T10:53:00.003-06:00

I was once told I'd make a great dark lord of an evil empire. Um, that's great. Something to strive for.
Since I'm not doing much crafting myself, Perhaps I will post things I have that were made by others. We shall see. (Insert evil laugh here).

Okay.

2008-10-18T16:59:00.003-06:00

So, no layouts yesterday or today (but three layouts done the day before that! Three!).
I'm a bit absorbed in the world of Ethics (not really, just have to pretend to be so I can write two papers and take a test).
Joy.
Trust me, I would rather be scrapbooking.
So ... what are you doing?

Yesterday and today

2008-10-15T16:13:00.003-06:00

Couldn't post yesterday, but that doesn't mean I didn't scrapbook!
These are not exciting pages, and there's actually a third 2 page layout from the same photo shoot, but I just couldn't scan anymore. Plus, they don't scan very nicely. The background on that patterned paper is supposed to be white, for your information. Sure doesn't look it ...
May have to rig something with my digital camera to get better shots of my pages.

I'm on a roll

2008-10-13T10:57:00.003-06:00

Another two-page layout done! It's not terribly exciting but I'm in 'get pages done' mode, which means each one doesn't have to be a work of art (although some of them can be, if I feel so inclined). I don't want them to be ugly, I just don't feel the need to spend all day on a single page.
I have a goal this week: to get two pages done every day (I usually do two pages per "event," so I'd be getting about an event a day done).
We'll see if this actually happens. I have to study ethics and literature at the same time. What exciting subjects. Woohoo.
I've also noticed the lack of journaling on my pages, so I'd better work on that as well.
Jack is stomping around upstairs because I told him if he's going to be home from school because he's sick, he can't run around and play. Apparently my logic is only clear to me, not to five year olds.

I told you so

2008-10-11T20:10:00.005-06:00

Behold.
Crafty stuff:

I'm finally getting to the end of Christmas 2005. Which for some reason has been terribly hard.
Christmas Day! Just need to do that.
Be proud, Dani. I'm finally scrapbooking again!
I finished these today in about an hour and a half.
So hopefully I'll be motivated to keep going. Because 2006 is looming large.

2008-10-06T22:58:00.001-06:00

This is how cats really think. I swear.
Crafty stuff coming soon. I swear again.

This is not a photography blog.

2008-09-24T22:11:00.006-06:00

(honey bunch currant tomatoes, in various stages of ripeness. I eat these like candy right off the vine)

I got out my film camera while B. was in Canada and took some shots.
I have a Pentax ME Super (mine looks just like the picture) that I usually use with a 35-70mm lens that has a macro setting and it usually has a 58 mm haze filter on it. I also have another shorter lens that I have no clue about (guessing it's the 50/1.7 lens shown on Wiki) and this lens:The top row of orange numbers reads 5 up to 30, infinity sign, ft. and below it in meters, 1.5 through 10. the second ring has numbers 40 through 85. No clue what that means or if that even made sense. I'm sure it didn't. I also have one more thing that says it is an Access7Element Auto Tele Converter 2X.
No, I don't have any idea what I'm talking about. I don't remember things when I use that camera. Things like, changing f-stops (apeture?) and film speed. You know, little things like that. And when I do remember, I just kind of guess. (Little number, big hole, big number, little hole, right?)

(stargazer lily in my front yard)

It's not that I don't want to learn, I just have the attention span of a mayfly. I also really love the little preview screen in the back of digital cameras. LOVE IT. Again, that attention span thing.

(the only praying mantis we've seen in a long while! Haven't seen him since ...)

In spite of all of this, I took a couple decent shots. And I will admit that there was some photoshopping, mainly to get rid of dust specks and lighten them a bit because they scan really dark.

(man, that kid is cute!)

What to do after Husband saves your pan

2008-09-21T21:16:00.003-06:00

B had to attack the bottom of my pan with a putty knife, metal spoon and lots of steel wool to save it. It was a lot of work that I'm pretty sure he didn't want to have to repeat so I tried to destroy it again by making peach butter!
Wait, I mean I was super careful making more peach butter.
Yes, I bought another box of peaches. Blasted farmer's market (Hi, Farmer John!)
I had two pans going to make four batches of butter. It went very well, but it's not a fast process. You have to make peach pulp first and then cook that with sugar, which takes about an hour per batch. Add in the initial peeling and cutting and the canning times and it takes quite a while!I had a helper for the first batch of butter, but he lost interest after stirring for about 1o minutes (I do like his two fisted method). After that it was all me. Until 1:30 in the morning. It's worth it, though. Benson wants to sell some of the half pint jars to our neighbors, which could be entertaining. He wants to be a neighborhood entrepreneur just like a girl down the road who makes and sells whole wheat bread. It's really good, especially with peach butter!
Haven't exactly figured out the price yet for the half pints, but I might let him take a couple jars around tomorrow.
So, any takers?

Millions of peaches

2008-09-15T14:46:00.009-06:00

When I visited the farm stand to pick up our CSA share last Friday, I was sorely tempted by the peaches.
And ... came home with 22 pounds.
And I had to do something with them that night because Saturday was CRAZY and I didn't think they would last terribly long.
Out came the canning equipment!
I decided to can some quarts and make peach butter, which I kept calling pear butter, because I'm easily confused. And that confused my husband and then annoyed him.
BECAUSE I KEPT DOING IT ALL EVENING.
Very annoying.
We did six quarts of peaches and two pints and some number of half pints that I can't remember and I'm too lazy to go check on. I say we because B was dragged into helping. Fun for him! He is an awesome kitchen helper, so maybe he should start slacking so I stop asking for his help. And man, can he chop potatoes! Just don't ask him to do onions. It's his only weakness.The peaches and the first batch of peach butter (seriously, I almost typed pear) went fine. Then I put the second batch on the stove and ...
Went to the bathroom.
STUPID IDEA.
Should have just crossed my legs because this happened: I don't think the pan is salvageable. The bottom is covered in black, burnt on peaches and sugar. It doesn't look much different from the above picture, taken before I broke out the heavy artillery. I tried scrubbing it with baking soda. Then soaking it in vinegar overnight. And then I attacked it with a Brillo pad. And boiled vinegar in it. B has offered to use his palm sander with really gritty sandpaper to try to save it, and I'm seriously considering it. So if anyone can give me any tips short of attacking it with power tools, let me know.
At least the first batch of peach butter tastes good! And I'm pretty sure I'll try again. As long as I use the restroom first.

Rainy day people

2008-09-01T10:21:00.006-06:00

Did you know I like Gordon Lightfoot? I do. I remember listening to Gord's Gold and Dan Fogelberg with my mom, Lesa. I don't like all their songs, just a couple, but for some reason they remind me of being a kid. Good times.
In other news, we really are rainy day people around here. I wanted to take pictures of the church bag and crayon roll I made Jack, but the weather is like this:

Not terribly conducive to taking photos without the flash.
So I will share other photos I should have posted earlier.
This is our first Brandywine. Jack found it very entertaining. He could not believe how huge it was. We sliced it up and ate it for dinner. Or I should say, we sliced it up and B and I ate it for dinner. We couldn't even finish it all! But it was so delicious. Especially on a salad with blue cheese dressing!
We went on a ward (church) campout on Friday night. I only took two pictures the whole time:
Jack swimming with Boston, a friend from our neighborhood:An odd picture of Benson going down the slide feet first - it kind of looks like he's heading up the slide, doesn't it? And that's Boston's sister, Sydney, in the background. Guess I was taking pictures of their family, too? Who knows. They are awfully cute kids!
And I leave you with a picture we took on our way back from camping. We stopped at a gas station to get drinks and lunch and saw this guy:B was able to oh so subtly take this picture. We were cracking up because it was so awkward for him to get the phone and dial his number. Heaven forbid he should get off the bike!
So, when the weather improves (it's supposed to this afternoon) I'll post more pictures. I forgot to get pictures of the five crayon rolls I made for my sister-in-law. Oh well. I can't remember to do everything.

the omnivore’s 100

2008-08-25T22:15:00.003-06:00

I saw this and was intrigued. I am very curious about what others have tried, as well. I'm not going to tag anyone specifically, but if you read this blog, please participate and leave a comment so I can read your list!

Here’s what you do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. (I just put no in front of these because I can't figure out how to cross them out)
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

1. Venison - but NEVER AGAIN. I've eaten several game animals that I would never consider eating of my own volition, thanks to my brother-in-law (oryx, anyone?)
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros - hmm, eggs
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding - According to Wikipedia, "Black pudding or (less often) blood pudding is a British English term for sausage made by cooking blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled" I might try it, just once.
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses - this is a cheese that is incredibly strong smelling. I just don't know if I could do it! I love cheese, just not incredibly strong, stinky ones! Another "I'd try it once" item.
17. Black truffle
18. NO: Fruit wine made from something other than grapes - I don't drink alcohol, so this one would be out.
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras - "I'd try it once"
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese - "I'd try it once"
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. NO: Cognac with a fat cigar - geez, I don't smoke either
37. Clotted cream tea
38. NO: Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. NO: Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu - pufferfish? Can't this stuff kill you? Maybe
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. NO: Dirty gin martini
58. NO: Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin -why would you eat this?
64. Currywurst
65. Durian - oh so smelly - this is one of the few things Andrew Zimmern can't eat. I'd be willing to try, but if he can't eat it, who knows if I would be able to!
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. NO: Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill - oh man, would there be conditions attached to this one!
76. BNO: Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. NO: Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. NO: Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I'll try anything once. Other things I've already tried not on the list:
kimchi, octopus, cuy (guinea pig), lychee, mochi cake, poi
Of course, I didn't say I liked all of them. I actually liked the first three items listed, didn't really like the last three items.
We went to an Asian buffet last week and my son Benson got an oyster and a baby octopus to try. REALLY didn't like the oyster but thought the baby octopus was fine. He'll try pretty much anything, which makes cooking so very easy.
Jack, on the other hand, is barely branching out from his previous food requirement: that everything be a shade of white or beige. White rice, white bread, bananas, cottage cheese.
Oh, and Goldfish crackers, because I haven't met a kid yet who wouldn't eat those.

Tomatoes and faith

2008-08-23T16:17:00.006-06:00

So, we're drowning in Honey Bunch Currant tomatoes (thanks, Burpee!) but what about the tomatoes I really want?
The BRANDYWINES?
This is one of my brandywines:Yeah, I guess that's sun scald, according to the experts on the Organic Gardening forum. It didn't get enough shade from the sun because the foliage on that plant is kind of sparse. I'm sad because that was the second largest brandywine I had.
But the largest?Hopefully it's fine.
Because I really want a nice large tomato.

•••

Many people have heard about what happened to Stephanie and Christian Nielson. Stephanie's blog, Nie Nie Dialogues, has been one of my favorite blogs for a while now. I love her perspective on life and her positivity. But most of all, I am inspired by her faith. Her and her sister, Courtney (the writer of another of my favorite blogs) freely share their LDS faith, something I struggle with. Stephanie and Courtney manage to bring up their experiences as Mormons as comfortably and unselfconsciously as they talk about motherhood. I aspire to be as confident in my faith. I felt silly fasting last Monday for someone I've never met, yet I felt I needed to.
My prayers are with their family.

Yay!

2008-08-15T22:09:00.002-06:00

My camera, er, husband comes back tonight!*
I've missed him so much.
I did accomplish a lot while he was gone - the boys room looks great. I took some before pictures on my Pentax, so I'll have to take some afters soon.
I took Benson, Jack and my nephew Carter to Lagoon today, which was actually quite fun. Sometimes you forget how cool things are when you're only 3 or 4 feet tall. The Colossus really does seem colossal!
Now I must finish altering some pants for my dad. Good times.
Pictures to come later!

* Trust me, I've missed my husband A LOT more than my camera!

Well.

2008-08-11T00:36:00.002-06:00

See the poll at right? Yeah, that was helpful.
Anyone want to be the tiebreaker? Or do I just have to make the decision by myself?
•••
I finished painting the boys' room. Now I have to come up with a way to arrange the furniture without completely covering the blue wall.
Good times.

No camera

2008-08-06T09:28:00.005-06:00

I sent the camera with B for his big trip to Canada with his mom. They are canoing the Bowron, which is what she wanted to do for her 70th birthday. And of course they have to take pictures!
But that leaves me without camera. Well, not exactly. I have a pretty neat Pentax that I'm not very good at using. Oh, and somewhere in my mudroom there's a box of film.
I need to get it out because, ta da! I've decided to try to redo the boys' room before B gets home. On the 17th. (He's been gone since the 2nd) We're painting and I bought a new tall bookshelf from Ikea in the hopes that we can transform their tiny room (it's only about 10x11) into something fun.
So maybe I should try to get some before photos.
And Jack has a birthday party this afternoon for a little girl in our neighborhood. And he thinks she needs a cape.
We shall see.
Until then, I leave you with photos taken last Friday.
Our CSA haul:(I have NO IDEA what to do with those beets. Help?)
And the boys playing at my grandparents' home in Logan. Here's Jack by the bridge my great-grandfather made that goes over the irrigation ditch in the backyard. And Benson enjoying the nice green lawn. They took these pictures themselves. And about 30 other pictures of the grass, the irrigation ditch, a stone bear and the neighbor's potting shed. Nice.

I have issues

2008-07-31T21:48:00.004-06:00

I just got my hair cut. It's cute (my sister-in-law cut it - of course it's cute!).
The color. Not so cute. I've decided it's the color of steel wool. Not the kind with the blue soap stuff in it. The other stuff.
Let's look at it.
Ah, Peru. Here I am painting the face of a schoolgirl in Cachona. Now ignore how cute she is and focus on my hair. The hair that is not that far off in color from my shirt.
I'm going very grey.
And people think I'm older. A couple months ago, a friend's husband said he thought I was 35. I told him I was NOT 35, try again. So he said 33. I think he was being generous - it's a good thing I told him I was younger or else he would have said 39.
Ha. I was 29 at the time.
There is nothing wrong with being 35. I just don't want to look like I'm 35/39.
So. Do I dye my hair? The grey is a lot worse on the sides and is ever so much more noticeable when I have it cut the way I like it (it was pretty long in this picture).
It takes effort. And I'm kind of lazy.
Do I just suck it up and deal with it or do I do something about it?
And yes, I need other people to tell me what to do. On my craft blog. Because my nails are still too cute to use my fingers.
Just answer the pool on the right. Thanks for your vote (and utter honesty. I demand honesty!)

Today

2008-07-30T17:15:00.003-06:00

My hair is short and my nails are red.
First manicure ever.
I will accomplish nothing today
because I live in fear
of chipping my nails.
Sorry, no crafting until the polish comes off.
There is a price to pay for beauty, I guess.
End.

New harvest today

2008-07-23T16:44:00.004-06:00

We decided to harvest a test ear of corn today, since we're still newbies at this gardening thing and have no idea when to harvest corn. We planted red corn this year, because growing crazy colored vegetables secretly makes me giddy.Anyway, after shucking the first ear (oh, and freaking out because there were earwigs camping out under the first leaf we pulled off - I hate no other bug as much as I hate earwigs. We shucked them outside just in case) and taking a test bite, we picked 5 more. We had 5 for lunch and saved one to give to my dad tonight because of his great appreciation for fresh corn.(This is before it was cooked. The boys can't just hold an ear of corn and smile. Turkeys.)
This corn was DELICIOUS. Nice and sweet and of course the freshest corn we've had in a long time, if ever. It didn't leave that weird plasticky feeling in your mouth after eating it. The only disappointment was that the red coloring faded with cooking. The empty cobs did look pretty cool, however.

Giveaway loot!

2008-07-22T15:13:00.008-06:00

Finally - I'm getting around to posting what Mel gets.
I've been cleaning out my office and she benefits! She also benefits from the fact that I can get this to her without having to pay shipping! Yay! All she has to do is let me know when she's going to visit me!

Check this out:A bin o' stuff!

Here's the 'from Peru' item (on a cute metal tin). Baby Alpaca yarn! And Mel, while I liked your guess of a baby donkey,
Peru is known a bit more for their llamas. Just fyi.

We have two plaid notebooks, some blank mini albums,
a circular album and, of course, Martha.Blessed, blessed Martha.

Fabric. A nice, calm pink print (yeah, right)
and a toile that I love but know I will never use. I don't think I would complain
if I were to get something back made out of it (hint-perhaps lining something).Some paper mache containers that I painted, but never used.And yarn!A lot of yarn. I don't really knit/crochet anymore. And do you see that yellow/orange wool yarn? Wouldn't that make a great squid? Huh? Huh?!?
And there's more. That is for her actual birthday, which was on the 18th.
And it's boring to post birthday presents online - you have to open crinkly paper
for them to be true birthday presents.

•••
Why do we have this huge bin? Because.
I am the queen of BIG! PLANS! That will be SO! CUTE!
That I never do.
In addition to this stuff, I have a box and two more big garbage bags of stuff.
And I'm not done yet. The local thrift stores are gonna love me.

And we're back ...

2008-07-11T11:25:00.003-06:00

It's very hard to describe how my trip went without just saying, "Awesome."
I played with the kids. I danced with the national police. I ran a pharmacy. I organized a cafeteria for a village school and helped feed the kids their first meal sitting at their new tables. I helped during an extraction. I did face painting. I comforted children waiting in line for the clinic.
It's overwhelming. I want to go back so badly.
•••
I'm excited to announce the winner of the giveaway - not because I have everything together, but because I really want to give more to other people.
I hope this feeling lasts.
•••
And the winner is:
It's Mel! My beloved sister!
Want a hint about part of your prize?
Do you know what four legged animal Peru is famous for?
That can be used as a pack animal but is mostly used for it's coat?
And the babies are especially prized?
That is all.

No words

2008-07-10T12:25:00.002-06:00

Winner of the giveaway will be announced tomorrow.

Delurking time!

2008-06-16T18:09:00.003-06:00

Is anyone out there? I know I haven't been posting much lately, but I'm going to try to be better. Um, in July. Maybe the second week.
Because I'm going to Peru for a little service mission.
And I want to share the joy!
So leave me a comment, sometime before I return on July 9, and I will give you a prize. Something from my stash (fabric, scrap supplies). AND something from Peru.
But first you have to tell me what kind of crafting you do.
And tell me if you've ever been to South America, specifically Peru and what you did/thought/saw/whatever.
So, delurk!
And someday I will attempt to do crafty things again.
Like the bag I owe my sister.
It will be finished, Dani. Someday in 2008.

All right then

2008-06-10T10:53:00.003-06:00

No more garden posts here (although I can't promise a photo or two might not sneak in). Gardening stuff will now be posted here.
Back to the sewing table for me! Oh, and finally some papercrafting! I am so behind in scrapbooking ... I don't want to talk about it right now.
I have a couple new projects to show off, but getting photos of them that don't look like crap hasn't happened yet. Maybe tomorrow ...

Taking action

2008-05-21T19:52:00.002-06:00

Please, please, PLEASE let this save my garden. The overnight low is supposed to be either 42, 43 or 40, depending on where you look. Tomorrow night is supposed to be cold as well, so I think this cover is just going to stay on. It was about 49 when we put it on, so I hope there's enough residual heat in the soil to keep it warm inside.
Anyone know how hardy corn and peas are? I'm not sure we can cover these in a way that won't blow off in the wind.

Kindness

2008-05-19T22:38:00.009-06:00

I just wanted to say that I feel much better about people right now. First, there was the comment from Jacquie on my previous post (sorry I'm just replying now!). That was just so dang sweet of you to offer to send the boys something - it doesn't matter where the package comes from, it's just fun to receive something of your very own when you're a kid (maybe I should arrange my own swap - with just two partners, ha! I couldn't have you send anything without sending something in return).
And then today, the boys got a package from my sister, which was totally unexpected but hey, sometimes she's like that. They were so excited. When I told Benson it was for him and Jack, he said, "Really? We never get mail!" Aw.
My sister also sent this to me.

(Late night + Pathetic photographer = Blurry picture)

That's right, I'm 30 (although I don't look a day over 35). My birthday was Saturday and she sent me an eCard then, but a birthday isn't a birthday without one of her handmade cards.
Moving on.

The boys' package had bouncy balls and sidewalk chalk, which they put to immediate use.

Jack is just fine, he's just demonstrating the proper use of a chalk drawing light saber.
Benson drew a Yoda head and a lovely, um, bug.

A new superhero perhaps?He was obviously inspired by these.(those black specks are a swarm of ants)

Apparently it's time to get out the ant traps. How fun.

This is crafty.

2008-05-16T13:03:00.007-06:00

I've made an executive decision: Gardening can count as craftiness.
I've been really interested in growing a garden (this talk and this book helped with the decision) for a while now. I want to know where my food is coming from, and try to make sure it travels the shortest distance possible to get to my table. We've also joined a CSA this year and we're excited to see what we get.
And then, I read this blog post. Kelly, I'm with you.
Here's the result of our hard work:The frame is 4x8 and if I only had the ability to see in the future I would have left more room on the side by the house.
We planted the little side yard with red corn and peas.
I didn't want run of the mill plants (hence the red corn), so I tried to pick out some fun veggies.

We have an eight-ball squash plant:

Several kinds of tomatoes. 9 plants. I started a package of seeds that had 4 varieties in it, so five of the plants will be a surprise. The other four are Brandywine I bought at Valley Nursery (gee, can you tell which ones I started from seed? Hint: the ones that look sickly):Two kinds of red pepper:Two kinds of onions, red and walla walla:Broccoli (not interesting, but we'll see how it turns out):

And then I planted seeds for red romaine lettuce, french breakfast radishes, purple carrots, regular orange carrots, zucchini and banana pepper. If I'm lucky, something will sprout. And I'm a little nervous about the tomatoes, because I'm the only one who really likes them. One person out of four liking a certain vegetable (fruit) doesn't really justify planting 9 of that particular vegetable (fruit) does it?
I have a feeling I'll have some tomatoes to give away in a few months.

17th

2008-05-13T19:41:00.003-06:00

I turn 30 this Saturday. If I get birthday money, I really want to get one of these. Maybe this one or this one. Or this one for my bathroom.
I also love these.
Sigh.

Annoyance

2008-05-12T19:49:00.005-06:00

That's what I'm feeling, and I think enough time has passed to express that annoyance.
We participated in miniswap 3, the whole idea being that your kids are the main participants. We put together our package for some little girls in Australia and sent it out in February, admittedly a couple days after the Feb. 22 deadline, but still sent out that month.
Fast forward 2 1/2 months.
We still haven't received anything, and it's May 12th. I haven't wanted to say anything because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but hey, feelings were already hurt - my boys, mine.
People. If you are going to participate in a swap, participate in the swap.
Don't leave your partner hanging.
Especially when it's a swap for kids and they keep asking if they are ever going to get their package from Australia.
Gee, anyone from Australia want to send two cute little boys a prize? Although at this point, a package from anywhere would probably thrill them! Maybe I can slip a little something in the mail at my local post office ...
Thanks for letting me vent. I almost feel better already. I will probably participate in this swap again, but I hope I get a better partner next time!

HUGE pill'uh

2008-05-05T10:05:00.003-06:00

I've had two 28x28 inch pillows from Ikea sitting around my house for way too long, waiting for me to do something with them.
Well, yesterday I did something. With one of them.I quilted the front because I really love quilted front pillows. I tried doing free motion quilting on my machine and as long as you don't look to closely, you don't notice how wonky the stitches are. I'm telling myself it's part of the pillow's charm. I used Ikea fabric that I absolutely love. I want to go buy more of it because I'm afraid of running out!My son approves of the pillow and has already found several uses for it.

As a hat.A crash test cushion.A meditation mat.

Now I just need to get to work on the other one. I'm planning on using a different section for the center panel so there are different animals, but otherwise I want it to look pretty much the same.

12 days

2008-04-27T19:57:00.003-06:00

Do you ever go long stretches of uncraftiness?
I take that back. I have done some crafty things, I'm just not in the mood to post them.
Like the prototype bag I'm working on for my sister (picture red and orange fabric and pockets and, um, stitching).
And the card I made for another sister's birthday (imagine, well, a card. Made of paper. There was a paisley pattern involved).
I guess I'm just a little to involved in playing this to be bothered by cameras and craftiness. Hopefully this inability to crafts and post will pass eventually.
Although I don't know how much I'll accomplish this summer - my son finally learned how to ride his bike (he's 8) and now we're having a hard time keeping him off it. So of course the 4 year old wants to be out riding his little bike to. So I have to be out there too. No more hibernating, I guess.

Spring

2008-04-15T19:06:00.004-06:00

Haven't been sewing much lately.
I did get my office/craft room cleaned. I don't believe there will be pictures forthcoming because I don't want to deal with the "ok, nice before pictures, but where are the after pictures?" comments when people, THIS IS THE AFTER.
I've been getting the spring cleaning bug lately because of some nice weather we've been having but that went kaput today. Yesterday's high was 75° but today it was 50° and this is what happened outside:That's right, snow. Yesterday we were running around in shorts and flip-flops, today we had to get the winter coats back out of storage (someone was feeling hopeful last week).
At least I have this fine greenery inside. Those little plants in the black box? Seeds we started. We've got four kinds of tomatoes (a seed mix that came with 14 seeds - and not all of them germinated so it will be interesting to see what we get), red corn, marigolds (for the bugs) and gazanias. The other plants are two of my favorite curly ivy, a paperwhite, an african violet and a something. I think it is an aspen tree. I had lavender in that pot outside, but the lavender died. Something else started growing and I decided to water it and see what happened. Aspen happened.
We also have several plants in our dining room by the window that grew too big for the black planter. There are 12 pea plants (because they obviously had no problem sprouting) and some more red corn and some floppy sunflowers. I don't know how those are supposed to get to be 6-8 feet tall when they are falling over at 8 inches tall. Wimps.
The pea shoots are getting very long and tangled. One has broken but I think I'll be okay with 11 plants if that one doesn't survive.
Now if the weather would just start cooperating so I can start planting! I don't know how much longer my seedlings are going to last!

Done, done, done, done ....

2008-03-30T18:45:00.005-06:00

DONE!!

(If you look closely you can see my husband's thumbs at the top - because I can't get my quilts to float.)

And I can do mitered corners! And do them well!And the obligatory pic on my shiny couch (ooh! shiny!)

Now's the part where I really start worrying.

2008-03-29T21:31:00.004-06:00

The quilting is done (yay!) and I now need to bind it (boo!)

I've been trying to make my own binding, but my binding maker didn't quite work as well as I'd like, so I have to re-iron it and try again.

Hopefully I'll get it done tomorrow.

And then wash it.
Which adds a whole new level of stress (who's brilliant idea was the white stripe?!? Oh yeah, mine). I think the only part I don't worry about is the initial piecing. After that I almost need to be medicated.

Quilting

2008-03-24T22:16:00.003-06:00

I've basted Cami's quilt and I'm now quilting.
I hate this part.
Because I'm just so sure I'm going to make a mistake.
I highly recommend you NOT USE CORDUROY TO BACK A QUILT.
It is striped (duh) and it's bugging my life that I can't line up the stripes perfectly with the quilting lines.
But it's working (although I need to rip out a couple lines because I had light colored thread in my bobbin and that makes the fact the back is slightly off pretty noticeable).
I like stitches to either be perfect or just off enough that it looks, well, cute. Hopefully I'm going with the latter on this one.

How much cooking do 5 year olds do?

2008-03-20T17:22:00.003-06:00

Last part of the gift for my sister-in-law's niece:I didn't have any more of the ruffle I used on the bag, so I made my own. Turned out okay, right?
Right?!?

Girly

2008-03-17T16:57:00.005-06:00

Now, we know I only have boys.
But some people in this world have girls.
And those girls have birthdays.
And they like presents.
So here's a crayon roll:And a bag:For my sister-in-law's niece.
I didn't use all of the two fabrics Cami gave me to make her present. I have just over a fat quarter of each, a cute pink toned floral and a very whimsical butterfly print.
So what else does this girl need?
A doll quilt?
A crown?
Hmm?

Beautiful Day

2008-03-07T13:33:00.004-07:00

It's very sunny, although still cold. A day not to go outside, but to stay in and look out through the window.
I had some organic blueberries in the fridge that I needed to use. So I needed to make blueberry muffins. NEEDED.I used my favorite recipe from here. I didn't feel like going to the store, so I used powdered buttermilk for the first time and it worked great.We added some orange zest, which made them taste even better, in my opinion.
My messy faced, blurry helper likes to cook, but he didn't like to eat the finished product. Instead he took my camera and snapped a couple pictures:
It's interesting to see things from his perspective. I guess sometimes I forget that he's short and sees the world in a different way.

Oh, and I may have been making muffins to avoid dealing with this:

Know what time it is?

2008-03-03T22:04:00.003-07:00

Time to show you what I've been working on! Complete with crappy pictures! Now with Spam!
Big deal, another layout, right?
Wrong!
I am another layout closer to being done with Christmas 2006! Another layout closer to being done with 2006 altogether! I think I've been scrapbooking 2006 since 2006!
I've been in a paper crafting slump, so this bodes well for my scrapbooks. Except I think I need to buy a new album. I've been using binders from Provo Craft, and there's this part of me that really wants all my albums to be exactly the same with labels on the spine. Which means that in order to not risk going completely bonkers, I must either continue buying the binders from Roberts or I need to replace all the ones I have. ALL 14 OF THEM.
Hmm. Did I mention that I'm cheap?

Commission! Commission! ... Commission!

2008-02-28T16:22:00.002-07:00

For some reason, ever since I decided the quilt I'm working on could be called a commissioned quilt, I've been singing 'commission!' to the tune of "Tradition!" from Fiddler on the Roof. Yeah, that's not going to make me crazy today.My sister-in-law Cami had me help her design a quilt and cut out the pieces. In October, or some other month last fall. Can't remember, but it's been a while.
And the pieces have just sat at her house.
Well, I owed her and her husband some money. And Cami says, "How about you finish my quilt instead of paying us!" And I say, "Okay!" And we decide not to care what her husband thinks (love you, brother!) and behold, a commission is born. Determining the placement of the fabrics was not the most fun I've ever had in my live. I don't think I would ever get to the point where I would say it was perfect (I know this after over an hour of fiddling) so I finally just said it's good and began sewing.I am quite happy with how it looks so far. Fortunately, Cami is not too much of a horrible wench, so she'll only yell at me for a little while if she doesn't like it.
Just kidding. She's not a wench at all.
She does, however, have a really, really funny, sarcastic sense of humor that will be used at my expense if this thing doesn't turn out. Should be fun.
I can't remember what fabric this is, so if you recognize, it let me know. I really love the blues, which is unusual for me because I usually go for the greens and oranges. Now I just have to figure out what else I'm going to do on the front, and then sandwich, quilt and bind it. The backing is a pretty dark brown corduroy, which I think will look very nice but I have to admit I'm a bit nervous about. I'm very glad I've got a walking foot now!

Wow

2008-02-18T10:12:00.003-07:00

I made stuff.
AND I TOOK PICTURES.
Bad pictures, but pictures nonetheless.
If you are Aimee - DON'T LOOK.
DO NOT SCROLL DOWN.

Unless you like to spoil surprises.

Don't look.

Are you looking?

Okay.
I put together a little package for a friend who is unfortunately on bed rest right now.
First we have the gift for my friend's baby girl, due in March.
It's a Rags N Tags blanket and a hoodie towel.
Then for the mom, a rice heat therapy bag, from this tutorial. With a couple modifications, of course.And then for the big brother, a crayon roll: He's a big Ute fan and I'm happy to continue the indoctrination.
I'm going to be mailing it out tomorrow. I'm so grateful for flat rate boxes because I don't want to know how much it costs to send 2 pounds of rice in the mail!
Hope they enjoy this!

Superhero Princesses

2008-02-15T15:54:00.005-07:00

I have an easy time finding a model when I make items for boys.
Girls? Not so much.
I had made two sets of capes and crowns for a swap we're doing with two sweet little girls in Australia and I wanted to take pictures that were a bit more exciting than a couple capes and crowns sitting on a chair.
And Jack didn't want to be my model, for some reason.
But fortunately I went to JoAnn's. And saw a friend from down the road with her three little girls. And realized that two of them were the perfect size to model the capes and crowns for me! I am brilliant! (in very short spurts only once in a great while)
So thank you so much for modeling, girls! And let's just ignore the fold line down the back of the capes, shall we?Jack decided he needed to be in a picture with his new cape.This is the pose he decided would be best. He looks unaffected by our little photo shoot, but just before we took this pic, he was bouncing around, yelling, "Look at me girls!"
He's so subtle.
I can't decide if these are for royalty or for superheroes, but there's nothing that says it can't be for both.

Duh.

2008-02-09T11:24:00.000-07:00

I finished both quilts. Quilted them. Made my own binding and everything.
And DIDN'T TAKE PICTURES OF EITHER OF THEM BEFORE I GAVE THEM TO MY GRANDPARENTS.
Because I'm stupid, obviously.
Of course, I was working on one of them right up to the time I was visiting my grandma. So I was a little pushed for time.
But the other one? I realized I hadn't taken a picture of it until I already had it boxed up.
Yes, I could have opened the box. But I'm lazy.
Oh well. Guess I'll have to visit them. My grandparents, not just the quilts.

Because I really am doing crafty things. Really, really.

2008-01-31T10:37:00.000-07:00

Exhibit A:The largest non-tied quilt I have ever made. Which isn't actually that big. It's a throw.
Um, no, it isn't finished.Have to finish quilting the white border and the center. And bind it.
It's patterned after this one:From Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts.
For my grandma and grandpa for their birthdays.
I bought a walking foot and you know what? My top layer is still bunching up. I keep having to make little tucks to try to keep the corners from getting too funky. Hopefully it will look nicer when it is washed.
Perhaps I need to make sure I'm pulling the top as taut as the bottom when I'm basting? Makes sense.
And basting on carpet? Not quite the smartest idea I've ever had.I kept getting pieces of carpet stuck in the thread, which I didn't realize until I was finished. Had to cut some of my carpet. Duh.
I'd better work out the kinks before I get going on this one:For another set of grandparents. In fact, I have five sets of grandparents and they may all be getting quilts this year. Or maybe not. Depends on my sanity.I really want to make this quilt. So yes, my sanity is in question.

Yeah

2008-01-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

So I'm not a very good blogger right now, obviously.
I have been a bit busy, I guess.
I made these last week:and put them up for sale (look on the right).
I'm thinking about putting together kits for people to make their own. What do you think?

• • •

Anyway, I did clean my office. There will be no pictures, however. It's so dark and dreary in here that any after pictures would look like before pictures, if that makes sense. I call it my dungeon for a reason. There are plans to paint in here and put in new lighting (to replace the single bathroom fixture that's hanging on the far wall), so maybe I'll post before and afters once that is done.
In about three years.

• • •

I got these books last week and I'm in heaven.

Have to say, I really love Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. It's a really beautiful book. I already have several projects planned out of there. And I love InStitches, too. It has beautiful projects — there are several office/household projects I can't wait to try.
I'm expecting these two next week:

Decided to buy the Simple Gifts book to join this flickr group. It just sounds fun.
I think I've already blogged these, but I bought these two last year:

Love, love, love Amy Karol's blog and her book is as fun to read. I want to live in her house. Or make mine look like hers (that would probably be easier and less scary for Amy, don't you think?) Lotta Jansdotter's book has a lot of modern touches and there are several projects I'd probably never make (door stop? don't really have a problem with doors closing on me around here) but I like the aesthetics of the book.
So I've got plenty of inspiration hanging around.
Just need to get going.
And warning to family and friends? You'll probably be getting handmade items this year for birthdays. Unless I know you want a store-bought item. Just let me know in advance, k?

Hi. It's been awhile. Where you been?

2007-12-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

Or, um, where I been?
Huh?
Anyway, time to report on Christmas. I didn't take the homemade Christmas pledge because I know my limits but I did try to make as many presents as possible.
I'm proud to say that almost all the gifts we gave to others were handmade. By me.
The gifts to my boys? Purchased.
It would have been rather difficult to hide the gift making process from them and I like gifts to be a surprise. So maybe next year.
Anyway, my cousin's daughter got this:and this (it's the smock she's wearing - isn't she adorable?):I ended up making five crayon rolls total, three more for my nephews and one for a family friend.I also made the presents my siblings and I gave my dad and stepmom. We gave Mom a set of DVDs with videos I made of her parents talking about their lives and we gave Dad a scrapbook with all the LDS temples that he's worked on (60!). These were very time consuming and oh so very fun to work on. And their reactions? It was wonderful. There was a lot of crying that night. Which is why I'm giving them useless, meaningless items next year. Can't handle any more crying.
And this is the final Christmas gift, finished today. Because no, I didn't finish everything.But this is for my sister, Goobie, who didn't finish her Christmas gifts either. So we're okay.

Christmas

2007-12-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ooh, a slideshow! With completely inappropriate music!
By inappropriate I mean not related to the pictures, not full of swearing and references to private parts.
I also like that my VERY messy sewing area gets shown too. I'm so proud of it.
The smock and pink crayon roll go to my cousin's daughter, Ashley. She's VERY girly. Which was interesting because we are NOT girly at all around here.
The other crayon roll is going to a different cousin's son, along with a stuffed robot that I haven't taken pictures of yet.
———
I'm talking to my sister right now. She says her son is naked, standing on the phone stand playing with some oatmeal and watching TV. Word World. He's learning a lot.

A fuzzy photographic study

2007-11-27T00:26:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin pinwheel cake.Leftover from Thanksgiving.
And this post still counts for Monday.
Because I haven't gone to bed yet.

Day 25

2007-11-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you give a 7 year old the camera.
Just wanted to warn those of you who will someday have a 7 year old.
Oh, now that's nice.

Cause I can't breath through my nose ..

2007-11-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

... I can't get enough oxygen to my brain to think of good things to type. So here's a picture.

moar funny pictures

Just a couple videos

2007-11-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

If you own a Mac, you get it.

What a day

2007-11-22T20:18:00.001-07:00

We had 12 over for Thanksgiving today. 16 people total. 11 adults. 5 children.
I made

the turkey (a 22 pounder! I was worried because of its size but it cooked very nicely in an oven bag)
sweet potatoes (from this recipe - these were so good Benson and my nephew, Adam thought they were the dessert! And Benson had seconds!)
a coconut cream pie (from my America's Test Kitchen cookbook - a little fussy but VERY good)
a cheater cheesecake (no baking)
a cherry pie
rolls
cranberry sauce (another America's Test Kitchen recipe)

And nothing was disgusting! (This is the coconut cream pie, with a little peak at the cherry pie,

which was rather ugly — in spite of the fact that I cut out little maple leaves from the dough
and used them to cover the top of the pie — because I was short about a cup of cherries
and it was sunken in the middle)

Actually, it was all very good, especially the cranberry sauce and the coconut cream pie. I don't think I will ever buy cranberry sauce again. It was four ingredients (well, five because I felt the need to add lemon zest) and took a grand total of 11 minutes. LOVED it. The guests (all family) brought wonderful things too, like mashed potatoes and a rice casserole with mushrooms. And a pumpkin roll. And a Better-Than-Sex Trifle (although my sister-in-law says she didn't have enough whipped cream in it so it wasn't really complete - so we started to call it the Better-Than-Heavy-Petting trifle). And au gratin potatoes. And sweet pickles.
Because it's not a family get-together without sweet pickles. I actually sat and ate a whole jar of pickles at my mother-in-laws when I was pregnant with my first son. It was a smaller jar, but still!
So there you have it.
The funny thing? I made a memo board for my mom (kinda like this one) and a robot stuffie for my nephew for their birthdays. And did I take a picture of either of them after I finished them?
No.
All I have is this picture of the robot front before I did the embroidery and put it all together. The front panel was designed in Quark and I printed it on printer fabric. I then stitched along the black lines. The pattern is from here.
It looked pretty cute. You're just gonna have to trust me.

No ducks

2007-11-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

Just a happy early Thanksgiving wish!
And let us all pray that I will be able to cook a turkey without incident.
Amen

I like to be entertained

2007-11-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

Excellent use of classical music training. Oh, and black socks are extremely sexy. I just wondered at what point in time he said to himself, "Hey, this is the part of the show where I take off my pants and enjoy some self affirmation."

Quack

2007-11-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

Two nights ago, I went to my car to go to the store.
I couldn't leave because of this:
This duck was standing in the road at the end of the driveway.
Notice the little bell around its neck? It belongs to some neighbors down the road we've never met.
Duck wouldn't move. B tried doing the kissy noises you'd do to a dog or cat when you want it to come. And the duck went to him. So I decided to walk it home.It was making these grumbling noises under its breath. Grunting noises. Did you know ducks walk, er, waddle pretty slow? Yeah, they do.
Anyway, made it to the duck's house and we stood in the driveway for a couple seconds. I was afraid it would follow me back home.It didn't follow me but it did start quacking very loudly as I walked away.

Anyone else have a pet duck?

Day 18

2007-11-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

I've just about finished the smock for my cousin's daughter. Just need a couple buttons. It turned out pretty cute (I'll post a pic tomorrow), but I learned a valuable lesson today.
My four year old son, who is close to the same size as my cousin's daughter, doesn't really want to try on a smock with pink flowers on it. Even if it helps Mommy.
I have a feeling the smock will be on a hanger for tomorrow's post.
Although my camera's having issues, so there might not be a photo. Again.
Man, I'm boring.

So.

2007-11-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

I really suck at posting daily.
Oh well. I guess for me NaBloPoMo means 'post as much as you can but don't beat yourself up if you don't do it daily.' Because beating myself up would be unhealthy.
I have several Christmas projects planned. The fabric is ready, I just need to get started - of course, I don't want to start because I've got Thanksgiving to get through.
First up are the pajama pants for the nephews. I've got the fabric cut, I just need to start sewing.
Then I'm going to make one of these for my cousin's daughter. We draw names on my dad's side of the family for his parents' great-grandchildren. Did that make sense? Anyway, I'll be making something for a girl. A GIRL. I don't get to make things for girls very often. Had to go buy fabric because oddly enough I don't have pink and purple in my fabric stash.

15th

2007-11-15T22:31:00.000-07:00

My son learned how to swing a couple days ago.
Finally doesn't need Mom or Dad or brother to push him.
When he reached this epiphany, he didn't want to stop swinging.
So he stayed out there
for TWO HOURS.
Afterwards he said his legs were wobbly.

Wow.

2007-11-14T22:51:00.001-07:00

I suck at this NaBloPoMo stuff.
Been busy.
Working on a video for my stepmom for Christmas.
Working on a book for my dad for Christmas.
Trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to do for my mom, stepdad and in-laws.
Oh, and my husband and sons.
I'm clueless about Christmas this year.
And did I mention Thanksgiving is at my house this year?
I'm really excited! Bought the turkey today because it's a monster and will need a week to thaw.
22.49 pounds. Is it going to taste terrible because it's so large? I really hope not.
I'll just have to make sure there's a lot of desserts!
And to the people who won the giveaway: it's coming! I will hopefully get it mailed out by the end of the week (Dani, I'll probably drop yours off tomorrow!)

Random Number Generator

2007-11-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

I pick numbers 1, 2 and 3.
Who says 1 never gets picked?
Thanks for making it so easy to choose!
Dani, Joyful Abode and Kathryn ...
YOU WIN!
WINNERS!
Send your addresses to jennifreckles at hotmail dot com.
Except for Dani. I think I know yours.
Well, maybe you'd better send it to me anyway.

And let me know how you pay it forward. Whether it's a giveaway, treats for a neighbor, a note for a coworker ... it's all good.

EDITED: And Joyful Abode, I do need you to send your address - I don't know where it is from before!

And now back to NaBloPoMo - I got behind trying to keep the giveaway at the top of the blog.
Get ready for some inane blather! Woohoo!

Pay it forward

2007-11-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Pincushions (made from this tutorial), stars, cool envelopes, a little bag of embellishments, stamps (don't you love that Target is carrying Autumn Leaves?) ... and Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers, of course.
I'm pretty sure some Nibs may find their way in, too. And whatever else strikes my fancy.
If you will find some way to pay it forward to three people, whether it be on your blog or somehow in person, leave a comment. It doesn't have to be big, it just needs to be something that may brighten a person's day a bit.
Oh, and it's time to delurk! If you have never commented here before, it's time.
EDITED: We'll draw three names on Sunday.

Day 4

2007-11-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

Remember the giveaway (scroll down)!

Scrub top.
Thanksgiving print.
For my sister who works at a children's hospital.
Scrubs with characters and cutesy prints drive me crazy when they are worn by people who do not work with children.
I do not want to go to an gyno wearing Garfield. That cat doesn't need to be there.
But when you work with kids? Especially kids who are stuck in a hospital?
You need to bring out the cute. There's a Christmas one in the works as well.I just love this print. Poor turkeys.

Day 3

2007-11-03T13:00:00.000-06:00

Remember the giveaway!
This is an easel from Ikea (of course). Every two weeks or so, I pull out fresh paper. We keep crayons, markers and pencils handy. There is no set drawing time at our house. And slowly it gets filled up (faster if my sister-in-law comes to visit - maybe she needs one of her own?). I love seeing what each boy has drawn. It is a collaborative effort, with each adding to what the other has drawn. I think they like seeing what the other has drawn as much as I do.
And here's Jack, drawing on a large notepad at the top of the stairs. Maybe not the ideal place to be drawing, but it works.

NaBloPoMo

2007-11-01T08:56:00.000-06:00

I'm trying this. Don't know if I'll follow through, but we'll see. The thought of posting every day during the busy holiday season seems a bit insane but hey, why not.
Of course, just writing a couple sentences counts as a post. Don't even have to include any pictures! Which is good, because I've got nothing. I take terrible pictures on Halloween.
See you later.

From Japan

2007-10-29T21:45:00.000-06:00

I got my package today from Leslie - I was so excited to win her drawing!
Wonderful fabric and cute bagsChocolate, notecards and ribbon(For some reason my son wanted me to take a picture of his hand in that strange position with the chocolate. Um, okay.)I love it all. Especially the fabric. Oh, and the hedgehog ribbon. I wish my camera was good enough to truly show the cuteness of the hedgehogs. The landlady in my old apartment had hedgehogs that I adored, so I really love the ribbon.
So now I need to pay it forward. I'm getting things together, planning the packages ... and dealing with a sore ankle. I tripped over a rug by our laundry room on the way to the bathroom. I can only imagine how hilarious it looked, since I was having stomach problems and crawled into the bathroom, moaning the entire way. And now I have a sprain that is shooting achy pain up my leg into my hip. How delightful.
Back to the giveaway.
If you are willing to 'pay it forward' in some way to three people, check back on Friday for details. I must get Halloween out of the way and then I will be able to devote my attention to the giveaway. Oh, and I need my ankle to feel better so I can stop my obnoxious whining. Because we're all getting a little sick of it.
See you Friday!

27

2007-10-16T12:50:00.000-06:00

I've been tagged!
By Hoganfe!
So ...
Here are the rules:

Link to your tagger and post these rules.
Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Think, think think ...

I'm obsessed with the number 27. If I don't know the answer to a question, I'll say 27. Age 27 was a good year for me. B and Jack rode in a car with the number 27 on it in Las Vegas. If I'm busy, I say I have 27 million things to do. 27. I also like the letter J. But not as much as 27.
I hate clothes and shoe shopping. I wear shoes until they're unwearable (and they're usually the cheapie Airwalk version of Crocs). I buy jeans on clearance at Target (I'll buy several pairs) and wear them until they get holes in places I shouldn't show to the public. I like hand me downs. Especially my sister's. Or maybe only my sister's because I think she's the only one who gives me clothes.
I'm prematurely gray and too lazy to do anything about it. I'm going for the sexy older woman look. In gross shoes and hand me downs.
I love office supplies. Especially smooth writing pens and post-it notes. Oh, and notebooks, college ruled. Because I am in college. It feels good to have appropriate supplies.
I am in an off phase of scrapbooking right now. Just not feeling inspired but I'm still trying. Hopefully I'll be back 'on' again soon because I'm getting really behind and that is one of my major pet peeves. I hate being behind on my scrapbooking.
I gave up caffeine on July 9, 2007. This is the longest I've been off caffeine without being pregnant in my adult life. I have been drinking Caffeine Free Diet Coke and Fresca (Black Cherry and Peach versions) because I believe I still suffer an addiction to carbonation. I love bubbles. I will not drink flat soda, but I will drink not very cold soda. You know, the can is a little cool to the touch, not warm, but definitely not ice cold.
I hate the smell and taste of coffee, but I like Bare Escentuals buzz latte for lips. My favorite lip stuff is Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers. Jack likes to wear it too. And lick his lips. I just scrunch up my face to smell my lips. But I don't drink Dr. Pepper. I just smell my lips.

So there it is. I think I need to search Flickr for photos with the number 27.
Whom shall I tag? I don't know. I would like people to delurk. And if anyone has not done this before, please do! And comment so I can come see!

News and details

2007-10-14T20:43:00.000-06:00

I won a giveaway! I've never won anything before and this giveaway was especially cool because I'm supposed to pay it forward to three people.
More info to come ...This is the larger table runner I'm working on. It's about 17" by 54" before binding. There are four of the pieced squares, all surrounded by cream broadcloth and tan corduroy.
I've decided this corduroy is an evil creation, bent on the utter destruction of my sanity. It stretches widthwise and sheds little tiny threads everywhere and makes me question why I ever though sewing was a good thing to try.
Ugh.It's been quilted (yes, by machine - haven't gotten any more patience lately) and the binding is just waiting for me. Since I've already made a similar table runner with the same charm pack and corduroy, I was a bit more prepared for the stretch problem. I don't have a walking foot to try to help with this problem, so I just ironed some heat n bond along the edge and that helped quite a bit.
And now I have to bind it. And that's when I had most of the problems with the first table runner. Guess I'll just have to suck it up and do it. Stay tuned.

On the list

2007-10-06T23:50:00.001-06:00

Finish table runner. This is not the earlier table runner - that one is too small for the intended table (which seats 10). It is now on my table (which seats 6).
Christmas scrub tops for my sister, who is a nurse. She is very small (I feel like the intro of Charlie and Lola. "I have this sister Mandi. She is small and very funny." She really is very funny). Um, where was I? Oh yes. My sister is only 5 feet tall and maybe 100 pounds. Basically a size 0. Regular scrubs, even the extra smalls, don't really fit her. So I make her tops. And I think she needs some Christmas ones. (Anyone else run into this problem or know someone who does? The "tiny person who needs scrub tops" problem? Am considering making tops to sell if anyone is interested.)
Christmas presents. We give to one of my sisters-in-law and my youngest brother this year. Have no clue what to do.
Thank you/Birthday cards for a craft class. A craft class that I won't be at, so I have to make the instructions very clear. Meh.
Christmas cards, package for nephew in Iraq. Gotta send this soon! The post office says it will take less than two weeks to get there, but I'm not sure I believe that.

I think that's all. Well, all I can think of right now. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed!

WIP

2007-09-25T12:50:00.000-06:00

I bought a charm pack of Moda fabrics, ('Fall back in time'). I just love them!
Anyway, I've started on what I'm hoping will be a table runner. I was going to do a cathedral window quilt with these fabrics, but I just couldn't find a solid I liked to go with them all. So instead, we have this:This part is about 3/4 done. Then I plan on doing a thin strip of cream around this section, then a thicker strip of brown, hopefully corduroy around that. I can't decide how to quilt it. I'll probably just stitch along the seams. I thought about putting buttons in some of the squares, but I'll have to see what I think about that. I'll probably back it and bind it with solid brown.
Any ideas for the quilting? It might be fun to try something new ... without destroying it, of course. It's a gift and I want it to be really cute. Oh, and I would like to finish it when it's still fall!

Wedding album

2007-09-15T08:59:00.000-06:00

I going to a wedding shower for my cousin's fiancee today. It's a theme shower, 'it takes a village to raise a bride,' and I am the village photographer.
And since there was no way I was buying them a new camera, I decided to go for things that hold pictures. I bought two frames at Target (which are already wrapped, or I'd show them to you) and made a small album for them to put pictures in later. I am struggling taking pictures with my digital camera. Even on the macro setting, it has a hard time doing closeups. I end up getting things like the nasty wheels to my barbecue in focus while whatever I want in focus is blurry.
Anyway, on to the album.Here's the cover. There's a leather strip with a charm and elastic on the back that goes around it to keep it together (does it look familiar? It's the same album from the giveaway — when I like something I tend to buy several), but I forgot to put it on before I took the photo. The album is a 6x6 accordion album from All My Memories and the patterned paper I used on the pages is from Chatterbox. I have a rather large stash of Chatterbox paper, a lot of it with flowers (um, duh Jenn, when are you going to use floral paper with two boys?!?), so it's nice to get a chance to use some.Anyway, I just put some blank green paper in the front because I don't have a photo of the happy couple. I wrote the cropp sizes on the mats so all she has to do is cut and paste photos on. I'm considering adding a photo album to the gift, but this might be enough. We'll see how ambitious I get today. My youngest is sick and so I might not be making it out of the house — the visit to the shower might end up being a short stop to drop off the gift.

SPOILER ALERT FOR EMILY!

2007-09-12T13:56:00.000-06:00

Don't look if you don't want to know what I sent!

The package is in the mail.
I sent it tonight.
I just can't wait to show what's in it.
Because I haven't been crafty lately and if I post about this, I seem crafty.
And that's what's important, right?
The appearance of craftiness?

Just warning you, Emily.

Don't look.

I'm trying to waste space so none of the pictures will appear at the bottom of the screen.

So that scrolling is required.

So I won't be responsible for giving away the surprise

(even though just posting this is like giving away the surprise, isn't it?)

I just wonder if Emily was one of those kids
who would search high and low for hidden presents
- even opening wrapped ones -
in which case she's probably going to scroll down,
no matter what I say.

I have a sister like that.

The fear is just that it will look better in pictures than in real life.

Or that it will look crappy in pictures and she'll just throw it away unopened.

Enough space wasted?

Good.

START OF SPOILER!

Of course, there's the apron.
I also included two place mats I made when I made the apron.
I love the Elsie's kitchen fabric I used on the patchwork and hope they will be useful, even if they are a touch wonky.There's the panda, which I started calling Earl, made of acrylic felt, because that's what I had. And an accordion album. Because I love albums and am determined to scrapbook again, soon.
And Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers. Because I'm becoming obsessed with it and the Peppery goodness.Four handmade note cards using some of my favorite Chatterbox paper. I used orange paper? Me? That is SUCH a surprise. And a Halloween treat box filled with Halloween M&Ms. My son kept telling me that he was "M&M hungry" when I was filling the box.Hope 'Joyful Abode' enjoys this stuff!

Things I've realized/The winner!

2007-09-12T09:36:00.000-06:00

First. This is fun! I'm enjoying putting this package together and I'm excited to send it to ... I'll tell you in a minute.
Second. Kara, nice try but you're a bad influence. 'Joyful Abode,' I'm sorry Kara is a bad influence. However, she is VERY fun at parties.
Third. I was going to throw slips of paper with names on them in the air and have my boys pick one off the ground, but then I would have to pick all the other ones off the ground. And that would be cleaning. Which I'm not going to do right now.
So here it is.
My helper.Holding an old frosting container I've been using as a pencil cup. Been meaning to cover that with cute paper ...
The drawing.I like that he still feels the need to close his eyes even though there's no way he could see in the cup.

The winner.'Joyful Abode'!

Just email your name and address to jennifreckles[at]hotmail[dot]com and I'll get the goodies sent off!
Thanks for playing!

This little guy ...

2007-09-11T16:07:00.000-06:00

... could be yours.
Along with the aforementioned apron.
And other stuff.
Enter the drawing! Either comment here or on the last post.
Ends tonight! Midnight MST!

The "I'm so proud" giveaway

2007-09-02T18:19:00.000-06:00

This is my 30th post! And I'm so proud, I'm going to do a giveaway! (Because I also did the 20th post on Scrapchallenges and the 100th post on my 'me' blog!)
That's right, a giveaway!
And what will it be?
Various and assorted things! Including this:The apron, not the boy.
Because the boy's a bit cranky about having to model the apron.
Oh look, now he's a pirate.(just fyi, the neck strap is big enough for adults - I had to tie it to fit the boy - and that's a pocket on the side, not some random red gingham. This is handmade, so the quirks are just more to love, right?)
The giveaway will also include other goodies as the mood strikes me. Because we can all use more goodies!
I was inspired by the RVA swap and need to get the giving out of my system. At least until Christmas. Plus, I want stuff I make to actually be used, instead of sitting in my finished projects pile, looking at me with forlorn eyes and a wounded heart. Oh, dear.
Just leave me a comment and I will randomly select a winner (through my powers of random selection, i.e. my children picking a slip of paper with a name on it after I throw them all in the air)!
This is a great way to delurk, by the way. I want to give you stuff, even if I don't know you. I'll take comments until, oh, let's say next Tuesday.
So comment away!

RVA Swap

2007-08-27T14:35:00.000-06:00

I love the idea of swaps, I love seeing what others swap ... I'm just nervous when it comes to actually participating! I worry about the stuff that I'm sending - I'm just paranoid the recipient won't like it. I worry about finding the right things and basically start stressing the instant I mail things out (because, of course, I think I sent the wrong things).
I need to mellow the heck out.
So, I participated in a swap. It was a Red Velvet Art swap, and they wanted you to send your partner at least three of your favorite things, which I thought would be safe because it's MY favorite things, right? And of course, I didn't take any pictures of what I sent because this week was INSANE getting ready for school so I waited to the last minute, of course. So if my swap partner Christine posts pictures, I'll link.
But I did get some (crappy) pictures of what she sent me!
Cute paper, rubons (I love rubons!), a pin cushion and some yummy lip balm (which is funny, because guess whose package had a tube of Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers, hmm) ...Pink fabric holding vintage sewing notions! Actual wooden spools of thread! Bias tape! Snaps! Yes, I'm excited, because unless you manage to raid your grandma's sewing closet, it's hard to find that kind of thing around here!
Okay, and I just have to add pictures of my two absolute favorite things.
This orange gingham bias tape and zipper.I can't even believe the cuteness of the little roll of zipper.
I wish they still packaged them that way.
And still sold them for 40¢.

So thanks, Christie! I think I might just get a hang of this swap thing!

I'm supposed to be ...

2007-08-08T18:34:00.001-06:00

I'm supposed to be doing homework. Instead, I made him:His name is Howie and he just wants to say hi.