Western Mini Book

While checking out Tim Holtz's site, I came across the little video he has for a one page album.  And seeing as I already had one cut out and sitting for a couple of years in my 'started projects' drawer......I decided to finish it.

One thing I will say about the construction---on the pages that hold the tags, I had to add some tissue tape to the binder end otherwise, the tags tended to push on the binder tape---if one pushed the tag in too far and, where Tim put the binder tape, I added a second piece.

**Note added since this post** After embellishing the  pages, I found that the tissue tape binding didn't hold--so I stamped and sponged a piece of sticky-back canvas and put that on for the binding and I gued it with liquid glass as well.

1/2

3/4

5/6



7/8

9/10

11/12

Tags

The little things added to the pages can have photos or journaling papers tucked underneth.  As you can see in the last picture, the little square on the front can have a photo slipped inside and there is tape on the bottom inside to stick it together.

There you have it   :)   



  

Tea on Tuesday

Happy T Day  :)
 I'm enjoying a lovely bowl of mixed berries with my tea!

If you would like to join us or just see what others are doing for T day, hop on over to Kim's blog,
http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

 I'm not really starting Christmas things already but.....  

.....these are two tags I started in December when Tim Holtz did the Twelve Days of Christmas 

(I had visions of making all twelve--yikes!).

I don't have the right size tags and I don't own all the goodies Tim puts on his stuff, 

but thanks to Diane at http://camelcaravans.blogspot.com/ 

I have some tags   :)

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Second week of Project Jar and I've added 7 papers---a paper craft, crochet item, sewing item, hang a rod for punches, my album (again), tidying of wires behind the computer, and

sorting of papers and binders on a shelf unit in my craft room.
Some things require more space and time, but the whole idea IS to get them out and finished.
Long-term projects will keep going back into the jar until done.
I'm going to try to have 7 projects in the jar each Monday.

Progress :)

The little bag is done  :)  

It has some padding between the brocade outside and satin inner lining,

a little handle and drawstring cord.

Inside the bag is a little rectangle, removable, piece of coroplast--covered with the fabric--that holds the bottom nice and flat. 

I'm really pleased about getting this one done.  It's a gift for my good friend who brought me the lovely daffodils!  Her son is terminal with a brain tumour and she brings ME flowers!  We had tea, ate a huge piece of cake each and chatted the day away. 

Some more cards made this week--I love doing the faux silk technique with tissue, but this time I used a little napkin.  I separated the napkin to get the top layer off, scrunched it up, then carefully opened it and put it on some cardstock to which I had applied glue.  Each piece has a different coloured cardstock under the napkin and I used 2/3 colours of Glimmer Mist on each one. 

I'm still working on my Project Jar, getting the photos picked out and printed.
Another big green garbage bag goes to re-use with unwanted clothes.
There is one more piece of paper in the jar--that comes out tomorrow and then I can put a whole new batch in!
So the list goes on!

I'm so impressed with myself  :)   toot, toot.  

Tea on Tuesday and Getting Results from Project Jar

Well, I have some results to show for the Jar thing  :) 

But, I'm taking a break with my Cranberry tea while visiting others for tea on Tuesday.   

This came from the two ends of my closet---and is going to the re-use center.  

I am down to one of these three-drawer containers at either end of my closet--

1 with yarn and 1 with fabric, plus.....1 tub of yarn and 1 tub of fabric. 

I am finished with the tissue box cards and currently NOT saving any more boxes.

  The two bigger ones on the right are birthday cards and the other are sympathy and thank you cards.

The Picture Wall. 

I have drawn out pieces of paper the size of my frames and stuck them on the wall. 

I did pick out some photos, but I need to get a few more of the older ones and then

get them all printed and into the frames.   

I had to go to town and get thread to do the make-up bag, but now I can get busy and sew it up.

There are three more slips of paper in the jar and

I have already printed up a list of things to do for the next set. 

It's a fun way to get jobs done---so far, so good  :)    

If you would like to see who's having Tea on Tuesday and join us, check out Kimmies site, http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/



The Jar Thing...

Well, I didn't get fancy. 

 Here's my jar and a list of 10 projects that needed to be worked on. 

It was easier to dump them out and close my eyes to choose.

Some can be completed in less than one day and I could choose another that same day--if I was so inclined  :)

1. Prepare fabric and complete this project---this is fabric and pattern that I have had for 2 years.  I wanted sew a make-up bag for my good friend. Can be done in a day.

2. Make a, diet concious, menu plan and grocery list for the next week.  I belong to a tiny group of ladies who meet once a week to keep tabs on our weight and we bring along any craft we happen to be working on. Can be done whilst having my afternoon tea  :)

3. Do the tissue box cards.  That's those little cut-outs in my previous post. I'd say, looking at the pile, that it may take a couple of days to complete this one.

4. Determine projects for my three drawers and one Rubbermaid tub of fabric.  If I can't come up with a plan, then it has to be donated.  Determine projects for three drawers of yarn or donate it.  These two are together because I'm pretty darn sure I can complete this task in one day.  Some of the fabric has been around for 10 years!  I have some Buffalo yarn that my Mom had---she's been gone for 29 years!

5. Finish the tags I started before Christmas--thanks Tim Holtz!  This will take 2 days, for sure!

6. Spend one day to make cards (4?) for upcoming celebrations, etc.

7. Pick photos for the new frames I bought, decide on size and get printed.  I bought 4, different sized frames that will hold 1 to 6 photos. I'm going to trace the frames on paper, then plan a design for them all, on the diningroom wall.  This is going to take a couple of days, I think.

8. Get out my childhood album (which I started a couple of years ago) and get the pictures together with the paper.  I should be able to do 4, 2-page spreads each day--8 pages? I'm aiming to do this once a week until complete.......I want this done in a month, so number 8 won't go back into the jar.

9. Go through drawers and closet to determine what to keep and what to toss!  I know for a fact there are things that haven't been worn for a long time. That includes the laundry basket that has a few things that keep hiding under the newly added ones.  This is a 1 day job, easily.

10. Ok, there's only nine  :)   I doubled up on the fabric and yarn one.

Now, should I add jobs as I take one out.....
or stick with the original plan and empty the jar totally before adding?

Numbers 2 and 6 will be put back into the jar.

I am not permitted to take out a paper and exchange for another!
 If I don't like the job--tough tamales!
 I MUST choose ONE every day.  I love to multi-task and I know some of them take no time. 
I can even take a project ot a friends.  

This post is all about procrastination  :)  on which I'm an expert.

Tea on Tuesday

At a friends house for coffee today--no tea  :)

I took some things to work on.....the beginnings of small, 4 x4 cards.  I made some quite a while back and put pics of them in my gallery on Splitcoast Stampers, if you care to take a peak.  These rose ones are more intricate.  

According to a quiz in a magazine about what 'type' of organizational person I am, it would be good for me to write little tasks on pieces of paper and put them in a jar.   Then, I could just reach into the jar and pick a project.  Of course I've heard of this, but never tried it.  

I'm seriously thinking of giving it a whirl   :)

Kick back, have some tea and join me in seeing who is doing what on this T day  :)   check Kimmies site, http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/  for a list of tea bloggers.

Sad Sack

Poor little thing, I'm sure she feels as though she is being punished.  She just got spayed and isn't too happy about anything.  I have to pack her up and down the steps to go outside.  The cone isn't on all day, I take it off a lot.  But she has to wear it all night and when I'm too busy to watch her.  

 Something I found in my junk drawer.  It needed new strings  :)   well, I just whipped out my waxy flax and fixed it right up.  It's now back outside, over my little deck garden, sounding quite pretty in the breeze.  It says:

 'Sun Shine fades, Stars appear, Garden Angels gather here'. 

Isn't that lovely?   I can't wait till the snow is gone to see my yard  :) 

A friend picked up a recipe for a Mango salad and knew that I'd be interested.  The ingredients are: avocado, mango or orange (I used mango), green onion, red pepper, toasted sesame seeds ( I used almonds) placed on a nice bed of lettuce mix. The dressing is: lime juice, maple syrup, olive oil, ground cumin (I used nutmeg), and soy sauce. I also threw in some craisons.

I teamed it up with a nice slice of this egg dish that Sue, from http://abittatteredart.blogspot.com/, calls  Dutch Baby. 
It's usually topped with lemon juice and icing sugar, but today,

I thought it should have a little maple syrup on it too  :)  

It was beautiful and puffed up, but I may have taken it out of the oven too fast  :)

It's like a cross between a soufle and a yorkshire pudding.  That said, next time I'm going to try my extra large muffin pan, for individual servings.  

Tea on Tuesday

Tuesday seems to roll around pretty quick!

I'm taking a snack and tea break in front of my computer today, just so I can say Hi   :)

It's Christmas tea, yogurt and a ginger/raison cookie from my frozen stash in the freezer.  

So far this morning, I've just been puttering.    I love it when you go to a drawer to find something and end up cleaning the whole thing out--usually ending up with a good handful of garbage stuff! 

Did the same thing with the linen cupboard too. So I've definitely earned my tea break  :)

I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful day  :)

Check out other tea drinkers at Kim's place  http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning....

Got up this morning, the sun coming up on one side and the moon going  down on the other---a few little clouds hanging around to show the beautiful pinky/peachy, orange glow of the sunrise.  I won't look to the north at those very dark clouds creeping around behind the mountain! 

Did anyone watch, on Friday night, the two Oprah shows?  Well, the second one was about clearing out things NOW, not LATER.  I'm not so much a 'collector' as I am a procrastinator.   Anyway, I got energized by watching the show and ended up with two grocery bags of garbage from my craft room!  Not bad considering it had, at one time, seemed important enough to keep  :) 

Sometimes when you're at another crafters house, you use one of their stamps thinking you will make something 'later', or, they have an idea for a project, so you start it and thinking you have enough done to remember the outcome, you take it home....to finish 'later'.   So, while watching a movie last night, I sorted through two small drawers labelled 'started projects' and 'stamped papers' and ended with one drawer full.    So today I continue,  wish me luck.  Maybe by Tuesday Tea day, I will have a project or two to show you!  

Enough, useless trivia  :)   Have a lovely Sunday Everyone 

Who Likes A Heel?

Well, me for one  :)  This is a wonderful multi-grain bread that is so light and flavourful!  A good friend gave me her recipe, so I'll pass it on to all of you:  1 1/3 c. water, 2 tbsp. powdered milk, 1 egg, 2 tbsp. honey, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 c whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 c. white flour, 3/4 c. 9 grain-for cereal and baking,  2 tbsp. flax, 1/4 c. molasses, 2 1/2 tsp. yeast.

Ok, I added the flax, but there is flax in the 9 grain and I used fancy molasses.  I end up using at least another 1/2 cup of flour when kneading--take your choice.  I usually take the 1/3 cup of water, warm it, add 1 tbsp. of the honey and add in my yeast to set.  By the time the dry ingredients are all mixed, the yeast is ready, then just mix in all the moist ingredients and throw it together.  I usually punch down twice and put into pans.    





Well, we got another dump of snow last night!  One good thing is the exercise I'm getting lately, but the baking is maybe going to start counter-acting the benefits of shovelling  :) 

The poor dogs couldn't even get out their door this morning until I shovelled and it was pretty hard to find the 3 steps that lead to the lower deck that was clear last night.  I think some of it drifted to make it so deep--a little  :)

I thought we were going to get a break when it cleared up a couple of days ago.  We have three kinds of light: the lamp post, the almost-full moon and the sun shining on the hillside, just as it went down.   

The key holder is finished, I hung it close to my back door.  It's great for hanging the dog leashes.  I don't usually hang my car keys there, but I think it may be a good place for the shed key.   

Break is over, it's time to make lunch and I see the snow has stopped and a wee bit of blue sky is appearing.  It may be a lot nicer finishing my shovelling this afternoon!

I hope Everyone is having a great day   :)

Tea and Poppy Seed Puff Pastry

First time for making this pastry and it is absolutely delicious!  Goes very nicely with my Earl Grey tea  :)

The poppy seed mix is from a can, called Krakus, product of Poland. Ingredients are: poppy seeds, sugar, honey, candied orange peel and golden raisons.  The puff pastry is Tenderflake.  Couldn't be easier to put together!  Brush with a beaten egg---holds it together and bakes it to a beautiful golden brown. 

The paper craft pile is smaller, but just spread out.   

Someone gave me the wooden key holder, so I've painted it white, modge podged and added paper--still needs more done to it. 

Paper projects are laid out and ready to sponge, stamp and generally add stuff to make look pretty  :) 

 

That's what's in store for this week as far as projects go.  Wrapped up in the white bag is the acrylic album but, the other projects have to get done first!

If you would like to see what other tea drinkers are up to, check out Kimmies site, http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/ 



Cooking and Crafting, still Snowing

Well, as in many parts of the country, it is still snowing here. But, I can keep busy!

Yesterday was much the same so I did more crafting and cooking :)

I love crepes!

For dinner, I stacked them with a lasagne-type meat sauce--Crepes Italiano!

I only made a small stack--saving some for breakfast :)

I used scraps to punch out smaller flowers.

Eliminating one mess! The stack of stuff on the top right corner is my 'to deal with pile'!

One is an arylic book I was starting a while back :)

Just put up shelves. This wall will stay the same. Getting it together---one wall at a time :)

We'll see what developes over the weekend--I'll share with you on Monday :)

Have a great weekend Everyone :)

Getting Things Done on a Snowy Day

Well another foot of snow today :) what can I say, good day for the craft room, baking, laundry or just lazing around. So I did a little of everything.

I made homemade egg noodles but no machine makes rolling a workout. Mix together 3 eggs, 2 cups of flour and 1 tsp. salt. Roll them out, mine should have been thinner but my arms wouldn't do it :) Cut strips and let dry for 2 hours. This is enough for 4 or 5 servings--depending how hungry you are. Store the thoroughly dried noodles in an airtight container.

So for dinner, I sauted onions, mushrooms, peppers, celery, prawns and when that was almost done, tossed in some fresh spinach and nutmeg. While the noodles were cooking, I made a white sauce to which I added a little parmesan cheese. Mixed it all together and voila! Dinner.

I made a mosaic card, thanks Sue for reminding me of this technique. Check out Sue's mosaic tag at http://abittatteredart.blogspot.com/ I have never tried it and good heavens, I can finally put to use some of the rubber I have saved! My piece of acrylic isn't very big so I had to stamp a couple of times.

Directions can be found on SplitCoast Stampers.

The inside.

I love how it turned out. My ruffled flowers are actually pinker, not sure how they got the orange look.

Good gosh, if we get more snow, who knows what can happen around the house :)

Have a great day Everyone.