A visit

I was so excited about this afternoon;  the granddaughter of Mrs. Ward was to stop by for a visit.  I was hopeful to hear some of her growing up stories, memories of her Grandmother, etc.  The neighbor just emailed to say that the Granddaughter had stopped by her shop (that avatar is on the right side bar) to say they were heading home early.  I am sad to have missed her visit.  =(  Please come back soon!!

In other news, my friend over at Howling Hill is now writing for The Greenists; her first post is about one of my

favorite animals – CHICKENS!  Stop for a visit.

A sweet giveaway from Phat Fiber – these too cute stitch markers.

And, since some of us need a ‘gloom & doom’ fix (not really G&D), the partial lunar eclipse this Saturday portents some interesting social upheavals, amongst other things.  Serenity posted the details here. Current events seem to be right on.

Since we will not have guests this eve, work will continue and hopefully finish on the coop.  I also hope to stitch a few more envelopes and a skirt! *crosses fingers*

Old t-shirts

Ronnie went through his drawers the other night and set out many t-shirts that he does not like/will no longer wear, etc.  This pile has been sitting by the closet for several weeks now and it is time for me to either donatethese to Good will or repurpose them into something we/I can use at the house.  Handkerchiefs are in limited supply and I like t-shirt material (jersey) so began my search for how to make a handkerchief from this material.  Typing this makes me realize that all sounds kind of silly; why do I need a tutorial to make a handkerchief?  Just cut a square of material and hem it, right?

Well, if I’d taken that attitude then this tutorial, on round and such handkerchiefs would not have been found,  nor this one on making a skirt.  You know I’m going to have to make both, like this weekend.  Yes, there will be pictures.  

Old letterhead

del.icio.us Tags: crafts,crafting,make paper,homemade paper,recycle,upcycle,letterhead

What does one due when the company is going to recycle a boatload full of old letterhead?  You snatch it up and take it home to make your own paper  (unless someone has a better idea?). 

There appear to be many websites with similar information on how to make paper, so if you have a favorite, please speak up!

Friday remembers

There are some exceptional articles today and this list is so I have the info handy and, well, it is well worth a read.

• Wishing I was Sally Hemmings (Thomas Jefferson’s wife)
• A Bee History
• Cilantro-Lime vinaigrette
• how much is your dollar bill worth?
• Bottle garden
• Horehound candy recipe/info

*whew* all this has inspired me to remake our bedroom > I am overcome by the urge to declutter…again!  I’ll post pictures as soon as I’m done.  

A peice of history

We had a great visit with my paternal Grands yesterday evening.  It is sad to see how Granddaddy is slipping away.  =(  Grandmother is holding up well.

We talked about when she was growing up and how she would hide behind a tree so her mom couldn’t see her to call her in to make biscuits;  she hated to make those biscuits and swore that when she married and moved away, she would not make them.  And she did not until Granddaddy went away to fight in WWII and she took my dad and went back to live with her parents until Granddaddy’s return.  That biscuit recipe, by the way, included

• flour
• clappard (soured milk)
• baking soda
• baking powder
• pinch of salt
• lard

There are no actual measurements for these items, she held her hand a certain way and said “this much”.  LOL  it cracks me up!

I asked her about how they stayed warm and what they wore.  She explained that they did not wear pants but skirts, and under those skirts they wore slips and cotton stockings that were held up by garters.  In her earlier years, they had cotton bloomers – still cold though.  No heat in the sleeping quarters, just a wood stove (and later coal) in the living/dining room and then wood cook stove in the kitchen.  You slept under a big pile of blankets.

When asked about making lye for soap she responded that she hated that soap and did not help her mother do anything related to it.  They did not have cattle but pigs and the lard was rendered from the pig fat.  They butchered in the fall, when it was going to be cool/cold and that way the lard would last longer; it needed to be in a cool dark place.  They had no refrigeration.

Ah, I love hearing about the ‘old days’.  Granddaddy, sadly, could not remember much and would mention several times that he was in the air force 5 years and lived on his parents farm (the Russell Farm) for 9 years.  These memories were fleeting at best, sometimes he would not remember what he just said.  =(

And I have pictures for you!  Remember the cake plates that I wrote about here?  Well, I made one.

Reuse metal bottle caps and other what-nots

I LOVE ginger beer.  It is a plus that the bottles can be used as the base to a tea cup bird feeder < I found that idea on another blog and now cannot find the blog to reference here! grrs   This picture is close – the one I saw used a bud vase beneath the saucer and then one end of a dowel went into the vase and the other into the ground.  It gave the base a nice decorative touch.  With the ginger beer bottles, these will just push into the ground without the additional dowel.  I’ll post a picture as soon as one is complete.

Now what to do with those metal bottle caps – I found these ideas:

• checkers for your own, homemade board > I have four so far.  Hmmm.  Got a ways to go before there are enough to play checkers!
• accessories like earrings, necklace, belts, etc.  > I’ll leave this to the kids.
• magnets with either the top showing or the underside sporting a cool picture/design/saying

Ronnie will proally be very unhappy with me if I start saving anything else.  These caps are small enough to hide – Muhahaha

Another easy to item to create, giving new life to a used item are tin can planters.  I’ve actually seen these used in other decorating blogs – just the plain silver cans.  Sounds like a plan to me and perhaps I’ll have to water less.  The cool terra-cotta pots allow so much water to evaporate.

There are so many more project that roll around in my head and so little time or resources to bring these into reality.  I’ll keep saving those ideas here and create as time allows.

Speaking of limited resources and time, this past weekend we were going to try to get the chicken coop under roof and, well, that did not happen.  We discovered three more apple trees in the tree line between the wooded and grassy parts of our property.  The day was spent clearing other trees and brush from these beauties so the sun would reach them.  Too late for this year; perhaps next they will fruit!  All this brush work has gifted me with a does of poison ivy – or so it appears.  Within the next few days I’ll snag some broom sage, boil, and rub the mix on the itchy spots; it’ll dry this stuff right up!

Its time to declutter

Because I am housekeeping challenged it is important that items we do not use do not stay and clutter; clutter drains energy from the owner.  Items that I want to keep need to displayed or used in some manner; taking up drawer space does not count.

I have a love seat that belongs to my great-grandmother that I would love to keep and use.  This piece is so old that it still has the original horsehair stuffing!  Odis loves this material and has proceeded to chew a big hole in the seat – Mom, this is why I suggested it come to live at your house for the time being.  I believe I would probably recover/stuff it yet am scared to try as I have never tried something like this before.  Some of the springs have begun to push through the fabric and, well, it just needs a makeover.  *sighs*  Bartering for the fix would be divine though not realistic.  Googling to see if this is something I can tackle – any advise would be helpful.

Other items my step daughter has put dibs on for when she moves, starting out with candelabras and the leather porch sofa (you’d have to see it).  Whatever else there is, if she does not want it, it will go into the “everythings a-dollar” yard sale.  If it does not rain (like it is supposed to be doing right now) this’ll happen tomorrow.  I need to get this stuff outta here.  My next challenge is on how to better manage my paperwork.  Would scanning items and saving them to an external drive be a better idea?  I saw this the other day and have an extra dresser that can be converted into such a beautiful and useful item.   Check out those binders – makes me want to organize papers!  My challenge with organizing is having what I need at hand to create that organized space.  I’ll nit Ronnie up for some nails later this evening.  Muhaha

Oh the possibilities

Ronnie has just left for work, the girls are still sleeping, dishes are almost done and the sun is already shining.  Laundry is out on the line, recycling is sorted and loaded in the van for the quick trip down the road to the green boxes, kids are up and getting ready to visit their Dad for the Easter weekend and I am bursting with energy!  Time to walk away from the machine – I’ll post some tonite, once the sun goes down.

Repurpose crafting

More snow fell last night (just a few inches) and we are under a watch for additional accumulation today.  The girls have been out of school for two weeks and two days.

Watching the snow gives me the time to fiddle with eye candy in the format (note the scrolling buttons) and writing about different crafting what nots I’d like to try (like the homemade polymer clay).  A few others include:

• Fabric flowers, Boutonnieres + More
• Tooth Fairy Matyroshka Doll

Along with all this craftiness, and since we are still buried under snow, I’ve ‘signed’ the Wardrobe refashion contract for two months.  Who knows, this may become a much longer stint! The opening phrase really struck a cord with me –

I pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of “new” manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings!

Already attempting that with sweaters that we are no longer wearing, clothes passed down that are the wrong size/shape/style/etc.

Along the using what one has theme, All Natural Mama has a great recipe to help in using up those leftover odds n’ ends.  Think I’m gonna make one of these – as soon as we have leftovers!  =)

I do not have class tonite; however, I am headed over to  Warm Spirit Spa for some help with massage techniques.  My class schedule is a little backwards; normally I would have Massage 1 before taking the anatomy class.  The final for the anatomy class is to give a massage to one of the former students.  Ummm.  Help??  Linda and Cindy are gonna help a sista out (thank you ladies!). 

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An adrenaline rush!

Not a near death or vehicle crash experience, though that would get adrenaline flowing, but this rush was brought on by watching some Threadbanger goodness and realizing that I could actually convert some of the many clothes I cannot wear into items that will fit!

While on the Threadbanger site, I discovered Generation T and watched how to make a swicked scarf from a t-shirt.

And, while I am on a Threadbanger repurposing kick, let’s look at turning some of these old jeans into a nice jean skirt – something I do not own atm (a jean skirt that is); wore out the last one.  A great tutorial can be found here. I used this one and had no problems.  The pair of jeans used, those, were tight fitting so the creation is a pencil skirt.  I will get a picture to post.

And, for those web toy peeps, this is an easy site that helps you to create desktop wallpaper like this one (yes, I made this); How About Orange introduced me.  =)