More Craftiness

Another craft I saw in Douglas, MI, and other places, has been jewelry made by glueing pictures to Scrabble tiles. I have been scouring thrift stores for Scrabble games to no avail, but yesterday I found a Quoridor game at the Goodwill in Paw Paw and thought those pieces would work just as well for now, maybe even better!

With something called Diamond Glaze, some bails that you glue on the back, and some pictures cut out of magazines, put between clear packing tape, and glued onto the game pieces, I have some new necklaces

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I'm Craftier Than I Thought

When my cousins were visiting, we went to Douglas and Saugatuck, MI where I bought a handmade ring. After buying one, I got the artist to tell me how she made it and I came home and made a whole bunch of them for myself. It is a super easy and fun project, somewhat similar to the Bottlecap Necklaces that I made with my nieces. I used expandable ring blanks that fit ring size 6 - 8. Unfortunately I think they might be too big for my nieces but I plan to see what I can do about that.

You just use a craft hole punch (I think mine is about 1/2") and you punch out circles from pictures, magazines, scrapbook paper, or whatever looks cool. You glue it onto those clear marbles with a flat bottom that people use to fill glass vases and you glue that onto the ring blank. I am still experimenting because a few came off so I covered them with glue and hope they will stick. You can also use Modge Podge but I don't have any so I used strong, craft glue (Durabond) that dries clear.

In the meantime, I am having fun making and wearing these fun rings!

Old Home Day (Part 2)

Also on Saturday, I went to a White Sox game with Laura, who I've been friends with since I was a little kid, and Tim, who I've known since about 1988 but who lives very far away in the distant land of Canada. We used to spend nearly ever summer weekend together in Chicago that year so it was such a blast to hang out at a White Sox game with them.

Thanks to Laura's employer, we had seats on the Fan Deck with all the free food and drinks we wanted. It poured rain resulting in a rain delay, but we are hopeful people and the game finally started after they uncovered the field. I cheered really loud every time our team got on base, which probably annoyed real baseball fans, but it was more fun than I anticipated! I'm grateful to have such great friends.

Old Home Day

Yesterday I had breakfast with my friend, Barb, who I haven't seen since 1988. We went to grade school, Junior High and High School together until she moved away. We lost touch for many years and reconnected thanks to the wonders of Facebook. It was so much fun to get together after 23 years! Funny how we're both wearing purple.

Interchangeable Bottlecap Necklaces

When my nieces visit for 2 weeks in the summer, I always try to find something crafty to do. It's tricky to find something that both of them will enjoy doing and so I was excited to find instructions for Charming Magnet Necklaces in Family Fun magazine. My nieces said that it was hard but fun and it has provided hours of entertainment already, and we are making more tomorrow for them to give to friends. The fun thing is you can make as many bottlecaps as you want and they are interchangeable with the magnetic necklace!

Supplies:

Ribbon, elastic or other roping for necklace

1-inch metal washer
Strong, non-toxic glue (such as Wledbond Universal)

Small, super strong, 3/4 inch craft magnet

Clear packing tape

Glue stick

Artwork, magazines, photos, scrapbook paper
Cardstock
1-inch circle hole punch

Metal bottle caps

Mod Podge Dimensional Magic Glaze or Glossy Accents clear, dimensional embelishment

Scissors

Findings/fasteners (optional)

Spray paint (optional)

Step 1: Spray paint the back of the bottle caps, if desired

Step 2: Loop the cording through the washer

Step 3: Glue the magnet to the washer

Step 4: Punch out 1-inch circular pictures from photos, magazines, artwork, etc.

Step 5: Glue circles to cardstock

Step 6: Punch out circles again

Step 7: Apply layer of packing tape to front and back of circles and cut them out.
Step 8: Put a layer of glaze into bottlecaps and press circles into them. Let dry.

Step 9: Fill bottlecaps the rest of the way with the glaze. Remove any bubbles. Let dry overnight.

Little Purses for Dinner

Tonight I made Steamed Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao). They are like little purses of Chinese Pork.

It's always exciting when dough rises like it is supposed to. They looked so small before I steamed them so I thought I might eat 2, but after steaming they puff up much bigger. They are quite yummy too.

What Does a Snow Day Look Like?

We finally got our long-awaited snow day today! Unfortunately, since it was really a sleet, rain and ice day, I didn't go out and practice my cross-country skiing. Instead, this is what the day looked like:

Early call from coworker telling me I didn't have to go to work.
Couldn't go back to sleep because I was too excited about not having to get up.
Made a pot of tea and watched the early news and the Today Show.
Cleaned the kitchen.
Rescheduled the home visits that I was supposed to have today.
Studied for my school social work class.
Finished knitting a gift for someone awesome.
Built a fire in the woodstove to offset heating costs on this day at home.
Made another pot of tea.
Started knitting a black, raglan sweater for myself using the Knitting Fool website that creates a pattern (for free) after you enter your measurements, gauge, etc.
Ate lunch and did more knitting at the Red Brick Coffee Shop with a friend.
Mailed a package of clothes to my godson.
Received my snowshoes in the mail!!!
Got a haircut.
Made Hoisin Chicken and Parsnip Mashed Potatoes.

I'm not listing these things to gloat. I'm just grateful for this gift of an unexpected free day. I needed it.