CAUTION: Woman In Progress

It's been a while since I shared a project here. If you want the truth, it's because it's been a while since I worked on any projects. I did some stuff at Christmas but since then? Nothing. I bought the materials for this particular project in January, including ordering the prints for it and then everything sat on my dining room table until the Saturday before Mother's Day. Cleaning up to host Mother's Day lunch was just the push I needed to see my inspiration become reality.   This little patch of wall used to host a big round clock that I had half-arsed "re-done" with some wrapping paper. But we're coming up on 7 years in this house so I wanted something different. I also hate that I have all these cute pics just sitting on my hard drive (or on my phone) and if I want to look at them I have to hunt them down and scroll through with my arthritic thumb. (Anybody else with a smart phone develop arthritis in their "scrolling thumb"? Just ...

Not for me, silly. My birthday's in March. No. This is the story of what I made Sis2 for HER birthday. Yeah, her b-day was yesterday. While I did give her a couple of small "happies" yesterday, her REAL gift will make its way into her hands on Saturday during her birthday "party." For a long while now she's been harassing me for a lot of the recipes for things I've brought to various family functions and such. I'm always, "Yeah, I'll get that to you" but then somehow I never do. I'm forgetful, mostly. So with that in mind, I decided to give her a cookbook for her birthday. But not just ANY cookbook. MY cookbook. All I did was buy a white three ring binder, decorate it with card stock inserts (scrapbook supplies a'hoy!) and typed up all my favorite recipes that I've collected over the past couple of years. Blogs, newspapers, magazines, etc. Sadly, most of them desserts/sweets. But I wouldn't be me otherwise. ...

So the other night, Mama and I hit up Wal-Mart after work. She had to pick up some things for the kiddos so while she went off in search of juice and yogurt, I headed to the fabric department. I still wanted to finish that corkboard and get the fabric to finish covering the chair in Libby's room. I searched and searched and drooled over fabric and debated and compared and decided for sure this is it five times. I finally found a pink piece in the pre-cut squares that I thought might be big enough. It was an inch wider than the piece I'd bought the previous trip and was a solid...well, sorta solid...instead of patterned. I figured if all else fails, I could use it on the chair. Then I discovered the scrap bin. You know, where all the pieces of bolts go to die be sold. Actually, I think they're called fabric remnants instead of scraps. But whatever. Anyway, I found a bundle of this soft plum colored remnant that was marked as 3/4 of a yard and priced at $1.13. Score! Ex...

I made these a few weeks ago for a friend who was moving into a new place.  They are 8x10 canvases painted royal blue and decorated with white and purple ribbons and jeweled buttons. A simple and fun project. I actually made some ribbon art like this for Lyssa a couple months ago but I forgot to take pictures. :-( Hers were 11x14 canvases painted pastel green and decorated with pink satin ribbons overlayed with pink and purple floral ribbon with a band of purple daisy ribbon accompanying it. It's a lot prettier than it sounds. Next time I'm over there, I'll hafta remember to take a photo.

...Or, "Really, I need to stop." Especially since both my electric and phone bill made me cry this month. To sum up, "January and February have wreaked hell on my electric expenses and I'm never calling BFF again. Ever. I don't care if she did send me a really great Christmas gift this year." But I'm not blogging about the state of my finances. Although they COULD stand a sobbing blog post all their own. But no. I won't bore you with that. Today. I've got more house updates/changes! Jana's been a very busy woman the past month. Come with me. I'd like to introduce you to my newest best bud. His name is Ottoman. I call him sweet comfort and space relief. But that's just me waxing poetic over my newest best bud. He's so super friendly and versatile. For one thing, he doesn't take up NEARLY the amount of space as that old coffee table. And he's soft. So when I stub my toe on him, it doesn't hurt. Much. And he lik...

My mom taught me how to crochet when Emmy was about to be born. She was crocheting the baby an afghan one night (this was back when I still lived at home) and I asked her to show me how to do it. Then I took over Emmy's afghan and finished it. I fell in love with the soothing motion of crocheting. Unfortunately, that afghan pattern (the granny square--very basic learner's pattern) is the only pattern she ever taught me. That hasn't stopped me from making several afghans in multiple colors. When Alyssa was born I made her a pink and white one, teaching myself how to make a sort of frilled edging to it. So naturally when Ethan was born Sis2 asked me if I'd planned on making him one as well. Initially, I'd decided against it. I hadn't crocheted a stitch since finishing Lyssa's and I didn't think I'd have time. But because she'd asked, I decided that must mean that she wanted one for him. So I surprised her with this for Christmas. I managed to finis...

Google is a marvelous thing. LOL I commented to Heather how I wish I knew how to make the hand-tied fabric garland (rag garland, as Trix so helpfully supplied! Thanks, Trix!) and was inspired to Google it. Here's what I found... Supplies: Scraps of homespun and other types of fabric Twine Scissors Directions:Cut a piece of twine 5" longer than the length of the finished swag you want. Make a fold at each end about 2 1/2 " long and tie it into a knot, leaving a loop for hanging. Cut fabric strips 2" x 6". Each strip will take up about 1/4" of space on the garland so the length of the twine will determine how many strips you will need. For example for each 12 " of garland you will need 48 fabric strips. You can experiment with the strips to make it more or less full to your liking Tie each strip of fabric into a knot around the twine, centering the knot on the fabric strip. Repeat for each strip of fabric. So simple and yet so uniquely beautiful. If I co...