Sneak Preview

Before I show you the sneak preview of my latest punch project, I have to show off my new kitchen ceiling fan. This new one is a low profile, so it's a tad bit closer to the ceiling than the old one. It's also a few inches smaller in diameter, so it makes the room appear a bit taller and bigger. Russ and Matt installed it last night before it got too dark to see. I love the dark metal on it, too. That will eventually lead to new hinges and handles on the cabinets. But first, I'll have to wait for a paint chart to arrive in the mail. I requested one from a store that carries Olde Century paint. It's an hour drive from here, so I wasn't keen on driving, just to pick up a sample. I want to see it in the kitchen, and compare it to the living room wing chair and window treatment.


Ok, my newest punch project will be mounted on a hornbook that's drying. I cut, sanded, painted, and used some gel stain on it.


This is the snowangel that will be mounted on it. I added a small tan border, then a larger black border to frame it. I always like to use some handmade cording to edge the sides so that the white weavers cloth doesn't show. On a hot, humid summer day, a snowman sure looks welcome!


I've added things like a string of buttons or an aged hang tag to other projects. This one I'm going to add a mini aged brass tag that I hand stamped. I need to get a better photo, but it's an aged brown color. The silver ring and mini charm contrast to the brass. I'll have to play around with what else to put on this string ~ maybe some small buttons??

Tomorrow I have to work a couple hours for my phone job. I work sporadically for a marketing firm. It's not steady, but it's something I can do from home. Since I'm off for the summer from being a lunch supervisor at school, it's nice to pick up a few extra bucks during the summer. It's going to be another hot, humid day tomorrow, so I'll take James to the pool. It's fun to see all the kids from school there, too. :-)

~*~Laura~*~

Frogs and snowblowers

Sorry dinner was late. There was a frog stuck in the snowblower! Literally. You can't make this stuff up. Andrew and his friend were in the garage after fishing. They were trying to remove a fishing hook from a big bull frog. The garage door was closed, to keep it from hopping away. Well... the frog hopped , and found a very small crevice in the snowblower hopped in. He wouldn't come out.

We had to remove the cover of the snow blower to get him out. But, at least he's out, and back at the pond ~ without a fishing hook. And without the snow blower. Here he is after his removal. Kinda cute, huh?
For those that want to watch a video of the removal process, here it is:



I'm finally done with listing on Ebay. Way too many hours spent uploading and editing photos. I'm hoping for some sales this week, and tried to keep the prices low. Keeping my fingers crossed! :-)

Listings, listing, and more listings!

I've spent the entire afternoon doing some Ebay listings. I figured why not, as it's the last day to list items for no charge. I've gotten more hits in a couple days than I had for an entire week back in the spring. Seems like spring is slower for sales, but it picks up after the 4th of July. I've added the wool applique pillows that I completed the other evening.

I also have a couple candle mats, and hope to get the listings done for a couple more. I ran into a snafu when the lisitng photo wouldn't upload. So, it's time to take a break. (ok, it's really time to get some dinner made)





I started another punch needle, and am doing some snowmen. I love doing Christmas in July! I used some overdyed floss for the background on this, for a very subtle shading. It really blends well between the blue and the tan.

Last night it rained SO hard, it was difficult to even see across the street. The street was flooded, as all the water couldn't go down the storm drain quick enough. Luckily, it didn't last long to do any flooding. The sun even came out later. :-)

On Sunday, I purchased a new ceiling fan for the kitchen. I went into Menards to buy the Sunday paper (it's 1/2 price there, so I can buy 2 for the coupon inserts). I saw that the fan was on sale, so I grabbed it. Now to get someone to install it and do a few other projects.

In other news, Matt got his lower braces on this morning. He's not complaining yet, so that's a good sign. He's really anxious to get his teeth straightened, and looking good. I'm anxious to get the payments over, so I can start on the next one that needs work!

Time to get some dinner ~ something soft for Matt.

Kitchen

Why does everything break around the same time? First it was the dishwasher. The control panel broke, and it was only 3 years old. Got that fixed, and a recall with the dishwasher at the same time. I am glad that I finally have my dishwasher running again. With 6 of us, I hated doing dishes, and having all the dirty dishes cover the counter during the day. (I cover my kitchen counters with other stuff: purse, cell phone, coupons, and junk)

Then last week, the pull chain on the ceiling fan broke. Of course, it didn't break on the outside where the chain could be repaired. It broke on the inside. Off to buy a new light kit. After hitting several stores, I didn't find a light kit that would coordinate with the brass fan that had more than 2 light bulbs. I searched on line, and found the same light kit for a mere $60. That didn't include the glass, bulbs, etc. Only the brass kit. A new fan that I saw is only $79.99. The newer one that I saw is a low profile, so it would be closer to the ceiling. I think I like that idea. The kitchen originally had some extra cabinets, and a built in table that was a REALLY strange shape. We took that out, and gained extra floor space. Now that we walk under the fan, the few extra inches of clearance would be nice. Not that we are tall, but if we have guests that are tall, we'll look out for them.


The new fan (yet to be purchased - waiting to see if it will go on sale soon) has dark blades, and a black metal. That leads to changing the cabinets. The paint is chipped on the kitchen cabinets, and needs a new coat of paint. The blue came out lighter than I originally planned, so a change of colors is in order.

I've been staring at paint samples and looking at them in different light. I think I like the one on the right. It's a Behr paint that has the primer already in it - bonus! Some reds are too orange, some are too red. I'm just looking for a nice barn red. This sample coordinates with the living room chair and swag on the patio door. I would like to change the cabinet knobs, handles, and hinges, but that might wait until fall. I would like a new window treatment, as well as a can light about the sink. That 1970's light has to go! I need to find an electrician to do the work, so that's the next step. I'm just hoping that nothing else breaks for a while. :-)

Good intentions

OK, so I've had good intentions of blogging during the summer. It just hasn't happened. Some days I can't even get time on my own computer, as the kids are using it. They like mine because of the big screen, and it's new. So, while I get a chance, I'll blog. It's only 11:45pm, but I'm still awake. Russ is on a business trip to Switzerland, and I"m home with all 4 kids. He's never been to Europe, so it's a nice chance to see a different part of the world ~ even if he only gets one day to do some sightseeing.

I've done some sewing this week. I took some ticking, aged it with walnut ink, and added some wool applique. I'm not sure how I"ll finish this piece~ either a pillow or frame it. I also think it needs something, but I"m not sure what they something is. So, it will sit on my partially finished pile and I"ll wait to figure out what that something is.

I finally finished this punch needle piece by adhering it to a hornbook. I added an aged tag, and a string of buttons. I'm hoping to get this listed on Ebay this week. Russ took my camera, so I'm borrowing Rachel's. It's still a Canon Powershot, but it's different than mine. It just takes a while to figure out settings, and it uploads differently to my computer. So, it will take longer to get the listings ready.


Another partially finished project is a set of bird wool applique. I'm using a homespun backing to add some interest/variation to the pieces. I'm thinking these will be pillows, and sold in a set of two. I love wool for a background, but it gets pricey. So, I'm trying to combine textures and keep the price down.

Aren't these cute! I like how they are done on the point.

I've been wanting to experiment making a necklace for Rachel. (inspired by my cousin who makes really nice hand stamped jewelry ~ check out Bella Michele Jewelry) I had a gold tiny charm necklace that I wore in high school. It had the school penant in school colors. I also had a charm with the graduation year. I ordered a cheap metal stamp set and experimented on some nickel discs. I do have to say that stamping on the nickel is hard. It's a bit thicker (20 gauge). It didn't take the marker well to age the lettering either. But it was cheap and something to experiment on. This one has the school mascot.


This one is also cheap nickel, with the school initials and Rachel's graduation year. I want to add beads with school colors to each. (ok, when I do them with silver instead of nickel)


I was at Hobby Lobby, and found a mini 3/4" finished blank sterling silver disc for 50% off. So, I bought it and tried stamping on silver. Much easier to do. Since the disc is small, I only went for school initials. I added a couple beads in dark sapphire and crystal. I think I need to try the white opal color instead of clear for more contrast. But, she has a necklace until I get larger discs. I'm thinking that these might make great gifts for some of her friends. I'm even thinking that I could stamp some copper to attach to my other crafts.

It's now past midnight, so I'll leave some other photos for a post tomorrow. It has to do with my kitchen and some work that needs to be done.

Laura

Summer happenings

Baseball season is officially done for James. The play offs are still going on (and on, and on) due to so many rain outs this season. He now can concentrate on all the summer activities and just hanging out.


One thing that a 10 yr old boy and his friends like to do is catch tadpoles at the local pond. Not just catch them, but also bring them home.


We're still having fun watching for our "pet" foxes in the backyard. This photo above was taken one quiet morning. This fox just wanted to lay around in the shade. He sure is cute!

Then one day last week, we noticed they brought back a rawhide dog bone. I have no idea whose dog they stole it from! But the bone moves around every day, so I know they are playing with it. I've even seen them playing with branches that have fallen from bushes. I wonder what will be next?


Today I had a birthday party for James. A couple weeks late, but that's ok. His birthday was June 8, and school was just getting out. I couldn't plan on any weekend dates due to baseball, so we had to pick a weekday. I think we picked a perfect day for lunch and a waterpark party! Sunny (NO rain!!! NO thunderstorms!! ) and 82 degrees ~ perfect! He invited his 2 best friends for a fun filled afternoon.


After a quick lunch at Portillos, we headed a couple towns north to Woodstock and their waterpark. It has a zero depth pool with 2 large slides, and several activity stations/fountains. Of course, I had to get a silly photo of the boys.


And a more "serious" photo of them.


Ice cream break time. All had fun, even Matt and Rachel that came along for the afternoon.

I started a bunch more candle mats this week. After taking a break from crafting (ok, and blogging, too!), and back at it. I finished 2 of these Americana mats, and am working on some other ones. I cut and need to sand and paint a hornbook for the last punch needle piece, but my camera needed batteries, so you'll have to wait to see photos of that. I'll have to see what other crafts I can accomplish this week. It will be really quiet since Andrew and Matt leave for Boy Scout camp on Sunday. I'll be down to only 2 kids at home! Hopefully more crafting time! :-)

Laura

Where have I been?

Where have I been? No, I haven't been buried in a pile of rubber band bracelets. Just the end of the year activities. My three 8th graders (Andrew, Matt and Rachel) graduated from jr high last Friday evening. They all went to the 8th grade dance the night before graduation. Even Andrew went to the dance, although he doesn't dance or listen to "pop" music - only rock. But they all had fun.


They had to wear graduation gowns to the ceremony. It was in the high school gym, which was NOT air conditioned. Of course, it was hot and humid. So, lots of hot people sitting in the bleachers.

On Friday, it was the last day of 4th grade for James. He now goes to a grade center school for 5-6th grade. To celebrate the end of 4th grade, the kids had a breakfast for the parents. During the breakfast, the students had a mini concert with their recorders.


Here's James in the school cafeteria. The same place where I worked as a lunch supervisor every day. This school is closing forever, so it was a very sad day. I was fortunate that I am keeping my small part time job for next year, but at a different school. There's not too many part time jobs, so I'll keep it. I had been spending some time searching, but I don't want to work full time. Some part time is up to 30 hrs per week, which is too much for now. School hrs will be shorter next year, so James will get out at 2:30. My high schoolers (I'm too young to have 3 freshmen in high school) won't get home until after James, so I need to be home for him. I'm happy that I have a job, know when I'll start. Plus 2 other co-workers will be going to another school with me. At least some familiar faces!


I have had no time for crafting, but hope to get to some next week. This week is filled with dentist & doctor appointments (gotta get those high school physicals done). I also have a list filled with household projects to get done this summer. Don't know how many I'll actually accomplish, but I'll try! :-)