Animals

I figured I should post some pictures of some of the things i've been crocheting lately. Well, maybe not should, but I'm going to anyway.

Elephant

Monkey

Pony

Lion

Walrus

I've got several more but blogger only lets me upload so many pictures....but they're all along the same basic lines.

randomness, because it's late.

You know, it never ceases to amuse me to hit account on this site and have it tell me I'm only managing one blog. I barely keep up with this one. I don't really think I could handle two or more blogs.

Anyway; onto my topic. Wait, I don't have a topic. Well, that might be problematic. Maybe I'll just ramble about my camera. I'm now the proud owner of a pretty Nikon DSLR. Which I use on auto. because, honestly, I have read the manual. and digital photography for dummies. and about a million tutorials online for switching the camera to manual, and adjusting the ISO, and the Aperture, and the....S....Shutter speed, maybe? I don't remember right now. But all those things you're supposed to be able to do to take gorgeously delicious pictures.

And then i close whatever I'm reading, and promptly forget all my newly obtained knowledge. Like which of those three things an f-stop relates to. and which way the numbers are supposed to go. Seriously, I've got the lingo down. I just don't know how to put them together to take a pretty picture. And, hey, the camera has an auto setting for a reason, right?

It's HOT here. Which, I know, was bound to happen sooner or later. Personally, I was rooting for later. Like, in July later. Two months of summer? perfect. I can probably deal with that. Five months of summer? Thanks, I'll pass. I'm definitely more of a cold weather kind of person.

I just put new music on my iPod. Seven whole songs worth. Five of which were from the free section of iTunes. I've found some of my favorite music that way. And a lot of music that wasn't worth the time it took to download. Also a couple of Mumford and Sons songs. Hopefully they live up to the hype. If not...well, they're English. at the very least they'll have awesome accents.

I've been crocheting. Like, a Lot. I'll have to take pictures of the adorable doll I made. Seriously, she's so cute you'll want to keep her forever. plus, she has a ridiculous amount of hair. I'm not even kidding. I got a normal ponytail holder around her hair twice. For reference, I can get a normal ponytail holder around my hair...like...five times. Granted, my hair isn't made out of yarn. I've also made several animals (I actually have people pay me to make them. Which is awesome, because I'm pretty much getting paid to do what i do anyway.) And I've made several shawls in the last month for the church's prayer shawl ministry. That will be on hiatus over the summer, which is awesome, because making something that resembles a blanket in July when it's 105 degrees outside and almost as hot in your house is not pleasant.

Right. I'm gonna stop spewing words out of my fingers now and go curl up with my book. Incarceron, if you're curious. It's kinda Victorian, kinda post-apocalypse, and completely exciting. Plus, I haven't read it before. So I don't know how it's going to end. Well, I do, but only because I read the back of the book first. But I don't know how it's going to get to it's conclusion. That makes it all the more exciting.

my table

Ok, this is that table i showed ya'll yesterday. After gleefully dismantling The Time Machine (ok, not really; it felt wrong to be tearing apart a book). I decoupaged the pages randomly to the table.

That's a closeup of the pages. The mod podge dried clear, and kinda shinyish.

Then I trimmed off all the excess. I still need to sand down the edges (because you can only cut so much with scissors), and seal it so i don't have to worry about it gettting wet. Ignore the mess around the table. I haven't cleaned up the extra pages yet. And yes, those are my feet. :)

See this table? I'm working on it to make it better. I'm hoping to cover up the hole in it and make it interesting before I bury it under all my kitchen appliances I don't have room for in my kitchen. I'll probably have it done tomorrowish so stay tuned!

Hair toys and other stuff.

I made myself a bunch of pretty headbands last week out of ribbon, and felt, and taffeta, and satin. here's what I learned:

Felt melts like nylon when you burn it. Probably because it's made out of about the same stuff.

Taffeta burns REALLY fast. If you're not careful, you will burn your fingers. I may or may not have learned this firsthand.

Satin burns much slower, and more controlled. It still turns out really pretty though.

Hot glue makes a good gripper thing if you put it on the bottom side of a headband.

Hobby Lobby is the coolest store ever. (it is. Really.)

I've moved on to new projects now. My sister in law sent me some pretty pictures for me to hang on my wall and i've been trying to come up with a creative way to do that without having to put holes in the wall.

I think i'm going to buy cheap wooden plaques from hobby lobby (i love them. I really do.) and paint them, then modge podge the photos to the plaques. I can use the magic velcro things dan discovered to hang the plaques on my wall and i don't have to use a nail. Plus, they'll be nice and durable and easy to move, and i won't have to worry about breaking the glass in a picture frame. And also, picture frames are expensive.

I inherited a bunch of furniture from Beka this weekend, including a second coffee table. It's got a hole in it (walmart's fault, not hers), so i think i'm gonna fill the hole with a piece of cardboard and buy an old book from a thrift store, and cover the top of the table with the pages from the book and again modge podge. I've found several similar tutorials for this on the internets and I really like the look. Plus, its a book. So when i get bored, i can read the table. :)

After that, I just might try my hand at stripping and refinishing furniture. Because I can, and it would be fun. I think. It's at least worth a try, right?

I'm feeling crafty...

No, not that kind of crafty. The kind of crafty that requires me to whip out my glue gun and some fabric and create something awesome.

Oh, wait. I don't own a glue gun. Or fabric, for that matter.

Hmmm...I should work on that. I found a tutorial online today for an absolutely adorable fabric flower headband thingy. I think it's cute. And i wants one.

On the other hand, I bought myself a couple scarves to dye and tie in my hair. that i am really excited about. I just need to get kool-aid.

spring cleaning

I'm in the process of spring cleaning; a much needed process in my house. Today, the living room. I vacuumed the WHOLE thing (dan came out and asked me why the couch was blocking the front door...i told him i was rearranging the furniture and i liked it that way). We are moving around our movie bookshelves so that i can FINALLY get the gerbils OFF the floor and up where they can see and i can see them. They're way fun to watch as they dig tunnels and try to escape their cages.

Next to tackle? the KITCHEN! (DUN DUN DUN)

Can you believe it's April already? I certainly can't. Although, in my defense, it did SNOW here last week. and it's been cold. That makes it kinda hard for anyone to believe it could almost be THE MIDDLE OF SPRING.

I'm still busy crocheting; someday i'll take pictures and post all my creations up here. Maybe.

I'm also still attempting to learn the art of menu planning so that i can know ahead of time what i'm making for dinner and make sure I have all the ingredients i need on hand. Also, I make bread now. Tasty, tasty bread. I might give up the store-bought stuff forever. I just need to work out making sandwich bread first. :) I think I'm gonna need to get loaf pans if i'm gonna do that....

Weather, be warm! Please?

Home Again

I'm busy getting into the groove of being home again and all that comes with that: cooking (remembering i need to make dinner before seven in the evening lol) cleaning (how the gerbils manage to kick the bedding out of an AQUARIUM i'll never know) doing laundry (blech), and all the other things that come with being at home. Not that I mind; it keeps me busy.

I'm still experimenting with different vegetables; my taste buds have changed slightly so i'm more willing to eat stuff i'd never have imagined. Like

bell peppers. Especially the orange and yellow ones. I made stuffed bell peppers last night for dinner; i filled them with Quinoa and apples and tomatoes and some spices and herbs and they were TASTY. totally a keeper recipe.

I've been busy

crocheting too. Making cute little stuffed animals. Because seriously, how can you resist something that looks like that? I think they're adorable. And in case you're wondering, it's a hippo. A stripped hippo with big bug eyes. :)

Home

It has been a LONG two weeks. I've been in annapolis since the 1 of march, being with Meimei and helping out the donaldsons while they spent as much time as they could with Grandmama. She went home to God on friday; the funeral was today, so i can be headed home tomorrow. I'm very ready to sleep in my own bed.

It'll take me three days to get home; meaning i'll get there on thursday afternoon which would be awesome but apparently thurs night is youth leaders meeting at my house so i'm gonna have to clean. And by clean i mean vacuum, and throw brownies in the oven. That's probably all i'll have energy for. Assuming i manage to get that much done.

Also, i'm very ready to see my husband. That'll be nice too.