Happy Wednesday!
Wordless Wednesday: For the Birds
10 Wednesday Mar 2021
Posted in Photography
Tag Archives: crafts
Capture Your 365 (February 2-February 9)
12 Wednesday Feb 2014
Posted in Photography
And so begins another month! I had more fun doing these prompts and most of them do not even require an explanation…just the first one because it’s special! 🙂
February 3: Soft
My Abominable Bear
Meet my Abominable Bear. My Dad made him. A million years ago, my Dad, a professional firefighter, sewed teddy bears and sold them in the local hobby shop. He didn’t make this one for me…I just stole adopted him over time…and up until a few weeks ago, he was unfinished (the stuffing was literally coming out his bum). I was jealous. My friend’s Dad had commissioned a special bear for her one Christmas, but my Dad didn’t make one for me. Years later, I regret being jealous. My friend still has her bear (his name is Edward), but she lost her Dad. I know she would give anything, even Edward, just to have a few minutes with him. My Dad hasn’t made a bear in years, so Abominable, made of extra special fur so he’s super FLUFFY, is the last one. In my opinion, he’s the best one! Thanks Dad for fixing his bum – just for me!
February 6: Shadows
“Cool morning shadows sadly shift across the floor,
Each time we say goodbye it’s harder than before
Even after all the pain of parting still we find,
That we must mourn the death of the dreams we leave behind.”
– Michael Card, A Fragile Stone: The Emotional Life of Simon Peter
February 7: Old School
My great-great grandparents and their children
“A photograph is a most important document, and there is nothing more damning to go down to posterity than a silly, foolish smile caught and fixed forever.” –Mark Twain
February 8: Hand Tinted
“After a thousand watercolors you will find you have fallen in love with paper and paint.” -Rex Brandt
February 9: A Little Heart
Every Love Story is Beautiful…
To learn more about Capture Your 365, click here.
Paper Plate Shakers-Diabolical
10 Wednesday Jul 2013
Posted in Faith, Foolishness
Supplies needed:
Thick paper plates…stacks of them!
Hand-held hole punch (the spongier the better. If it can’t punch paper, it’s perfect! )
Masking tape (preferably the type that sticks for 10 minutes and then slowly starts to peel)
Markers or pens (it’s more fun when it causes frustration because it doesn’t have any ink, or threatens to ooze all over your hard work)
Oven Mitts (oven mitts??)
We’re making shakers today! Volunteers already prepared 40 shakers – but I needed close to 20 more. I had volunteers trying to help today, in between classes, but only 1 out of 6 handheld punch almost punched holes. So I packed up the plates and the tape, and headed home for a fun-filled afternoon.
14 shakers = 28 paper plates. 14 holes per plate = 392 holes
Steps:
1. Punch approximately 14 holes along the edge of one plate.
2. Label one hole with a symbol, on the inside of the plate with the leaky pen.
3. Lay the plate with the holes over top of another plate, eating surfaces together.
4. Trace the holes.
5. Label the hole that coordinates with the first plate.
6. Punch holes in the second plate on your inky marks.
7. Tape the plates together with the holes matching.
Sounds simple, right? These steps represent a couple of hours of trial and error (mostly error)
By the time I had completed 3 shakers, the palm of my hand was bruising. I couldn’t squeeze the punch by the end of the first plate so I had to rest the punch on the table and push down with my full weight – that usually worked. Usually. That’s where the oven mitts came in.
Personally, I thought it was brilliant! By the time I finished 5 shakers, I had worked up a great sweat…and I decided to hit the showers! By the time I finished 10 shakers, it was time to break out the ice pack…and call in reinforcements. Hubby finished the remaining 4 shakers…in less than 5 minutes. I should have called him in sooner and saved myself a lot of some time!
Once the shakers were packed away, all I had to do was cut 58 strings for the kids to sew them together, attach a piece of tape to one end…
…and decorate my own shaker! I had no idea that this would be such a diabolical kids’ craft. I can hardly wait to make toilet paper binoculars tomorrow…it requires holes as well…
My New Business Plan
07 Friday Jun 2013
Posted in Family, Foolishness
The disclaimer came on the T.V. last night: “Mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised” and I said (out loud), “I don’t want mature subject matter. I want immature subject matter”. Maybe you had to be there…
Otherwise, I’ve been scratching my head all night trying to think of something clever to write about for a Fun Friday, but my head isn’t cooperating. There was a glimmer of hope around 3 a.m. but I didn’t write it down and it’s long gone.
The other thing that’s been occupying my rapidly dwindling brain cells is my business. I am a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. Every quarter, I am required to sell a minimum amount of product (which is no small venture) and usually I just squeak through. This quarter it’s more like grinding to a halt. In a few weeks I may be hanging up my Stampin’ Up! apron, but I will still be an avid crafter…
I whipped this up last night….please be suitably impressed…
But there’s still some good news! One of my goals was to get one of my creations published in the bi-monthly magazine. I received my demonstrator magazine for May/June, I glanced through one article of answers to a question posed a few months ago. I was reading the first answer, thinking “cool, I do that too! Oh look, there’s another Jennifer with the same last night…wait a minute – that’s me!” I failed to recognize my own answer, but thrilled that I actually sounded somewhat intelligent! OK, so a craft creation wasn’t published but my writing was (does that count as “published writer? Probably not!)
There’s no school today. Little Guy’s play date was cancelled. His Xbox privileges have been reinstated (after the latest mirror smear incident) It’s raining. Neither one of us wants to get dressed. So-
My business may be bombing so I’m going shopping!! 🙂
Happy Weekend!
jennsmidlifecrisis 