Why am I feeling so crafty?

I don't know the answer to that question. Since September 1st I have been creating all kinds of nifty things, and eagerly looking for more nifty things to create. Maybe it is because I have more time on my hands; maybe it is because I have pent up these crafty juices for too long and they are just bursting out. Go figure.

Anyhoo, I do not like wrapping Christmas presents or decorating for said holiday. It's so much work. Last year I didn't decorate at all because we were excitedly awaiting John & Katie's wedding on Dec 26!! Donna couldn't stand it however and did some decorating on her own (fine with me). But this year something came over me (craft juices) and I have been enjoying wrapping presents and look forward to decorating! Makes my head spin a bit.

So I thought I'd share some of my wrapped packages.

Nothing real special with this one. (Except I accidentally decorated the back of the package....):





I find that it is so much easier to use my kids' initials rather than full names, especially when texting. So JK is John & Katie:

The star was made from a cardboard toilet paper tube. Flatten it, cut in slices, glue together. I used paper clips to hold the centers until the glue dried. Then I spray painted them gold and silver:

Got a little "clashy" with the patterns on this one!



Donna & Tyler. Used pages from old hymnals (purchased from MCC Connections), Christmas hymns of course:

Now to show you how I made the bow on the above gift. First you get one of these doohickies:

Then get some more pages from the hymnal and cut into various size strips:

Stick them on the doohicky. Isn't the optical illusion fun--it looks like it is spinning:

This doohicky has a face:











CAREFULLY curl the strips. I ripped a few in my over-rambunctious curling efforts...

Add some curled ribbon and TADA! (scroll back up to the finished package).

And now for an adorable picture of my Sweet B:

Ain't he CUTE??!!

Segerstrom Piano

I am finally attacking the upright piano in our basement. I researched a little bit on how to take apart such a beast and thought, oh well what have I got to lose? So I grabbed some tools, a bucket of bleach water (to clean up mildew and who-knows-what), and the sweeper hose (for the who-knows-what).

I did some research on the Segerstrom piano (there is very little info on the web about this company) and discovered it has no real value. The company began in 1912 and went bankrupt by 1914!

It wasn't difficult and in about one hour I had it down to this:

Now comes the hard part...everything I've read about taking apart a piano says BE CAREFUL with the strings! They are under a lot of tension and if cut could easily cause injury. So I'm trying to find the correct tool to loosen the nuts (or whatever they are called) thus relieving the tension and solving the whole DANGER problem. Once I get that harp out they I'll be finished with the dismantling and can then try to figure out what kind of desk I'd like.

So do you want to know the who-knows-what that I found?
-Pencils
-A plastic hair pin like was used for rollers in the 60's (at least I remember my mom and sister using them)
-A mouse nest with a mummified baby mouse
-A key
-Mildew
-And this letter:

It was written by Bob's now deceased aunt Alice who was in 6th grade at the time it was written on September 20, 1957. Apparently when she folded it to mail it, it slipped into the piano (she talks about how tired she is of her music lessons) and has been in there for over 50 years!! I can't WAIT to give this to Bob's mother!!!

I'll post more pictures as I keep working on this!

Shabby Chic Makeover

Well, my crafty-ness continues. The last two days I have been working on a project that has been in my plans for years. We have an old upright piano in our basement. The piano man checked it out and said it would take at least $500 to make it playable but it would always sound awful and never hold a tune (and he told me that about 15 years ago). So I've been brainstorming ideas for this formidable wooden beast which really is just a high-rise spider apartment.

Here is one idea but I can't find anybody to do it and I'm afraid it would cost a lot of money: Piano desk But it would be whoa cool, eh?

I really hate just taking it to the dump; the thick oak wood is beautiful. What I decided to do was to take it apart, keep the large pieces of wood, maybe someone would want the keys and wire for crafts, and then trash the rest of it. Like I say, this has been in my head for years. And Hubby doesn't like the idea. He has never played this piano; he doesn't even know HOW to play a piano. But he has "known" this piano all his life...and he is attached to it. I don't get it.

 Earlier this year I tried to strip the finish but discovered that whatever nasty red stain that was originally used was IMPOSSIBLE to completely remove!! So even after many layers of stripper the lid was pink...PINK! So I got frustrated and set it aside. Anyhoo...since I have more time on my hands, I decided to finally figure out what to do with this thing. After a bit of research (which actually means scrolling through pictures on Pinterest) I chose to paint it give it a distressed finish. Here is the completion of two days' work:

Before:

After:

The paint I used was a cream color....but that foul red stain tinted the paint PINK!!! But it looks cool so I'm not too upset about it. And it goes with my decor so it's all good.

I had an old book I got from a used book store that was full of color pictures of religious Byzantine art. I modge-podged them inside the bench. I think it looks very interesting and if I were a child I'd spend hours just staring at these and trying to figure out the stories and the people!

I also have an assortment of old hymnals so I photocopied the hymn "Tread Softly" onto fancy tissue paper and then modge-podged (is podged a word??) it to the lid. My parents and Herman and Melba Myers used to sing this hymn as a quartet so it brings back good memories and I can hear them singing in my head.

Everything I used for this project I already had laying around the house...except the piano hinge. I had to spend $6.98 for that but it was worth it. The old hinges were yucky....and I can't remember where I put them...

So, there you have it! My Shabby Chic Piano Bench Makeover!!

No sermon. Pretend I'm sayin' something about God's Makeover of us...

Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse

I love visiting MCC Connections because I just never know what I will find!! I try to cruise through the whole store (except the men's department, unless Bob asks me to buy him something specific). The other day I was just looking around and I found this sweet little wooden box.

It smelled so good inside...I bet the tea was yummy! It was only $2 and it is a nice solid box so I bought it. I was thinking of a jewelry box or maybe storage for embroidery thread.

Today I was feeling crafty (which is really odd for me). I made a table runner (picture pending) and then thought I'd see what I could create with the box.

First I took out the inner dividers, which I will keep because they are a sturdy balsa wood. Then I dug through my fabric to see what inspired me. I found some beautiful silky embroidered fabric that I've had for awhile and decided to use that.

Then I busted out a can of spray adhesive and lightweight cardboard. I measured the inside of the box and cut the cardboard accordingly, then lightly sprayed it with the adhesive and pressed it on the fabric.

I carefully sprayed adhesive around the edges and folded the raw edge to the back of the cardboard. This was a sticky challenge and I had to clean my fingers with fingernail polish remover a couple of times!

This was the final result! It turned out beautifully I think!

Then I wanted to make a padded cover for the lid. And wouldn't you know...my spray adhesive ran out! So I had to use good old Elmer's for this:

The picture doesn't show the color very well (since it is so shiny it reflects the flash) but all the fabric backgrounds are dark choclate brown).

I do believe this turned into a jewelry box, eh?

And here is the table runner:

Inspired by this one fat quarter:

Wonky Quilt

Wonky-adjective. Askew, awry, cockeyed, lopsided.

Before you scroll to look at the pictures read this first! (You scrolled didn’t you? Shame, shame, shame, the courts know your name!)

I finally finished Brenan’s blanket, which I am calling the Wonky Quilt (my previous blog named it the Crooked Little Log Cabin Quilt, but I like Wonky better). Because of all the small pieces, I wanted the top to have more strength than just what knotting would provide and I didn’t want to hand quilt it (I know how to quilt but I just don’t enjoy it and this would have required a lot of stitch-in-the-ditch) so I decided to machine top-stitch:

The edges were a challenge because sewing a wonky block does not always give a uniform edge when said blocks are sewn together. I had to add a couple little edge strips because even though the blocks are wonky I wanted the edges to be straight for the border.

The only law of wonkiness is to not be straight; planned wonkiness is no wonkiness at all.

Then I found a pattern online for a teddy bear, which I have named Basil. I looked up Bulgarian “B” names, to go with Brenan, and think Basil is a fantastic name for a teddy bear! However, the blog from whence the pattern came had terrible directions and I spent hours trying to get the arms sewn onto the body! I finally read the comments and discovered that just about everyone else had trouble with the arms, too! So I started the arms over and actually had to redesign the pattern and finally got them to fit!

This was fun but was a challenge! I hope Brenan will love it!

Do you like the Wonky Quilt?

• Yes, of course! It’s the most wonkiest quilt I’ve ever seen and your grandson will love it!
• No, it makes me queasy.
• No! Have you been eating fermented apples like that Drunk Moose Found in a Tree in Sweden??!!
• Maybe. I’m not sure. Maybe if I squint when I look at it.

Cardinal Rule of the Kitchen

     I don’t know who taught me, my mother or my 8^th grade home ec teacher, that one of the cardinal rules of the kitchen is to always review the recipe before beginning to cook. That way you can check the ingredients and plan for any odd processes for which the recipe might require.

Today, I disobeyed that rule.

     My morning began by picking the last of the roma tomatoes from the garden (with the cooler temps this will be the last week for tomatoes) because I wanted to try making a new recipe for tomato paste, called estratto. I found the recipe here:

     I blanched, skinned, and chopped the tomatoes along with onions and green peppers. I got those in the pot and started cooking them down. The other day I had discovered a recipe called Acorn Squash and Honey Pies here so once the tomatoes were cooking I started on the acorn squash, which I had baked on Saturday. I had read through the recipe when I found it and knew that I had all the ingredients. Then. But I failed to double check today.

     First, the recipe does not specify the amount of squash needed (thanks Martha); it just says “3 small acorn squash, about 3 pounds.” Not very helpful. So I ran the squash through the blender and guestimated the total amount (putting the rest in the fridge) and then added the spices. Second, when I went to get the four eggs I discovered that I only had two eggs. Yesterday I hardboiled some so I could make red beet eggs but I left four in the refrigerator. Apparently Hubby made two eggs for breakfast. Hmmmm…I figured I would just decrease the other liquid amounts and keep an eye on the consistency so it wouldn’t look too “wet.” I got everything mixed together and set it aside so I could make the crust.

     Third, no cornmeal. I could have sworn I had cornmeal. And the recipe called for two egg yolks. No eggs. Humph. So I pulled out my favorite pie crust recipe and made that instead. Now the pie recipe instructs the baker to make little five-inch pies but I do not have those small pans. I wasn’t sure how the recipe would work in a regular size pie pan so decided to make tarts instead.

     By disobeying the cardinal rule I had prepared something that was not much like the recipe! However, these little suckers are delicious! I’m not sure I want to try a cornmeal crust!

     When those were cooking, I ran the tomato mixture through the food mill and put it back on the stove to begin cooking it down. Then I prepared the red beet egg liquid, peeled the eggs, and put that in the refrigerator to sit for a few days (if Hubby can keep out of them for that long).

     By this time it was 12:30 and I was hungry and sorely in need of a break (for my aching feet—I’ve been in quite a bit of pain from plantar faciitis). After a bit of a rest I went back to the tomato mixture and poured it into three cookie sheets to go in a low oven for the rest of the day. I finally finished with the estratto at 6 pm, when I pulled them out of the canner. Worked beautifully!

     You know, having to adjust the recipe as I went is a little like life. You think you know where you are going and what you are going to do, but then life throws little curve balls at you and suddenly you are having to make adjustments, changes, and additions and while the main recipe is still the same some of the ingredients are slightly different. I guess the lesson for me is, Don’t Panic. Think it through, make an adjustment, and keep moving. I could have made a mad dash to the store to get exactly what I needed but gas is expensive and we are on a tight budget right now. So I just continued with what I had on hand and the results are delicious. So it is with our current situation. I know God’s main “recipe” for me and right now there are some unexpected ingredients. But I will not panic nor rush around trying to mix things perfectly like I think they should be.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

I hope the finished dish will be surprisingly delicious!

Crooked Little Log Cabin

     I am working on a quilt for my Sweet B (that's my grandson Brenan). I decided to use a log cabin design and work with a lot of small prints. I found a soft knobby green fabric for the back and used that as the basis for the color scheme. I wanted the blocks to be small so each strip is just 1 1/4" wide, which when sewed are only 3/4"--truly a small block!

     After sewing only a few blocks I realized I wanted to do something different, not just the straight-up-everything-is-square block. So, instead of pinning each strip and making sure all the corners and prints were straight, I just sewed and let the pieces move.
     This is hard for me! I want all my edges straight and all my corners square! What if someone looks at this quilt and thinks, "Sheesh, this woman doesn't know how to sew!" But I persist and ignore all the finger-wagging-sewing-experts-nagging voices in my head.
     I am liking the results! It is fun and is visually interesting. There is definietly movement because the lines are just slightly off kilter. It's like one of those optical illusion thingys that make you squint a little when you look at it.

    

     I decided to call it the "Crooked Little Log Cabin" quilt. And here is a poem I just wrote...

There was a crooked boy and he had a crooked quilt,
He took a crooked ruler and using it he built
A crooked log cabin with a mighty crooked floor,

And he always chased his meatballs as they rolled right out the door.