Summer vibes.

Keeping with the fruit theme for August, this week I made a little sketch of a very cool pineapple. Pineapples are my favorite fruit, and I especially love a good pineapple sundae. 

Since I've taken on many other hobbies, embroidery has fallen by the wayside, but lately I've been thinking of getting back to it. I could maybe sketch a drawing or brush letter on fabric instead of on paper and then embroider it. However, I know I should avoid taking on too big of a project because I'll likely lose interest and not finish it. 

I had a little free time this week, and when I saw these cute little embroidered succulents in Mollie Makes magazine, I knew that they were just the right project to get me back in the embroidering groove. I added magnets on the back, so they're practical too. They'll match my gray fabric covered office perfectly, and I won't even have to water them - lol. 

52 Weeks of 2014 - Week 45

 

 This week, I'm sharing an early Christmas craft. Last year, I dyed a few white bottle brush trees red and pink, but since they turned out so nice, I got really ambitious this year. I bought a couple packages of trees and multiple colors of Rit dye. So Lauren and I spent a Sunday afternoon dying trees and some flocked birds for good measure. I also have larger trees, but since they're going to require a bigger dipping container, I'm planning on doing those at a later time.

Stuffed Peeps.

Our stuffed Peeps are finally finished! Lauren and I have been working on them all week. She's taken really well to sewing, even though her mom isn't the greatest at stitching. My intent was for these to decorate our dining room mantel, but to Lauren, they're just stuffed toys. In fact, she's even slept with them at bedtime!

Many thanks to the split stitch for creating such a great pattern. Lauren is now ready to tackle other animals. Hmm...I do have a felt hamster pattern that I've been itching to try...

Make it. Bake it.

Wow - this week really got away from me. It went so fast, yet I feel like I've accomplished nothing.

Anyway, when we went to the craft store to pick up some felt for an Easter project, I spotted a display of stained glass kits for kids. Of all the crafts that have made a comeback over the last decade, two of my favorites really haven't made that "kitch to cool" transition:  latch hook and stained glass kits. I've mentioned before that I still love to do latch hooking, but I had completely forgotten about the stained glass kits. They were a big deal when I was growing up, and we made numerous ones that were then proudly displayed in the window pains of our front door. They were called "Makit Bakit." I remember we had a parrot, mushroom and a horse.



As soon as I saw it, I knew Lauren would want to make one. She handled the little glass pieces like a champ, and even used the tweezers to grab rogue pieces. Way to use those fine motor skills! Before you know it, she'll be performing open heart surgery. Hopefully she will remember to wash her hands first because I won't be in the operating room to remind her.



Here's the finished product. Mr. Unicorn sure looks lonely hanging in his window by himself. I think we're going to have to make him some friends...

Have a crafty, drafty Christmas.

That's the only word I could come up with that rhymed. Anyway, I wanted to close out the Christmas blogging with some photos of the crafts that Lauren and I made this year. I meant to post these on Christmas Eve, but unfortunately, I only had time to take the photos. Lauren made these oh-so cute foam ornaments from a kit that we purchased at the dollar store. She put her own touches on it like making the gingerbread boy into a gingerbread girl and adding a bunny as the train's engineer.



The next three are all courtesy of Martha the Great. This year's December Living contained some real gems. These glittered acorns were terribly messy but still fun to make. As we were working, Lauren turned to me and said, "This was a really good idea, Mom." That makes it all worth while, doesn't it?



Next are these snowmen wrapped candy bars. Again, these were a little more challenging than they looked. It's not as easy as it looks to get those finger print features looking nice. There is also a more involved Santa version, which we may tackle next year.



Lastly, this one came from a special holiday craft edition of Living that I bought a couple of years ago, which I'm certain I will be turning to for ideas each Christmas. This year, I chose to make these mitten clips for package decorations. They have a magnetic strip on the back of the clothespin so that they can be used all year round.

Spring break.

Just taking a break to enjoy what Spring has to offer. Since we had a stretch unseasonably warm weather, everything bloomed early. The crab apple tree next to our house is so gorgeous when it blooms, I wish it would stay that way all summer. I was hoping that the blossoms would have lasted for Lauren's birthday party, but alas, they are all gone until next year.



Lilacs are my favorite flower. My parents have several mature lilac bushes lining their property, so my father surprised me last weekend with a whole vasefull.



A couple of months ago, I sewed this bag, but I never got around to taking a photo of it. It was my second attempt, and I'm quite proud at how well it turned out (My stitches are super straight - hooray!). I love this fabric by Wendy Slotboom - who can resist raccoons and titmouses?

A word about the trench coat: It came from Land's End, and unfortunately, that's back where it will go. The size is right, but the fit isn't right for my frame - if that makes any sense (In other words, it needs to be cut petite). Too bad because it is such a pretty color.

Lastly, I wanted to mention that Lauren scored not only her first goal at today's soccer game, but SIX TOTAL GOALS. She was on fire!

Cause it's Ross-craft, wicked Ross-craft.

Recently, Lauren and I had a couple of mommy & me days where all we did was craft. She has little interest in anything else these days, so I'm very thankful that there are so many wonderful websites (Like Nick Jr, which provided the means to make these Kai-lan paper lanterns that Lauren absolutely loves to crank out.) with great crafting ideas for kids. And Lauren should be thankful that her mommy has amassed so many craft supplies that we can pretty much make anything we want on the fly!



Lauren had her first experience with perler (or hama) beads at pre-school, so naturally she want to try some at home too.



This super cute bird collage idea came from Kaboose. The nest is made from basket filler that I had left over from Christmas.



Some of the crafts that we've stumbled upon have been a little advanced for Lauren, but they're so irresistible that we have to give them a go anyway. Take this little yarn octopus, also from Kaboose. Lauren picked out the colors, but I did all the heavy lifting, thus defeating the purpose of it being a kids craft. I'm not ashamed to admit that I struggled a little with it myself. Remember: fiber and fabric crafts typically hate me.



I too have found myself to be a little craft obsessed lately, although I don't get much of a chance to craft for myself. One of these days, I will settle down and read this big stack of Marie Claire Idees. These are fairly tough to find (It is published in France afterall!), so I count myself very lucky to have found someone selling the last year and half worth of issues. Also lucky for me is that I can read a bit of French, but besides that, there is so much eye candy to enjoy in each issue that I probably won't even bother to break out the old French-English dictionary.



I also picked up a few books in English. Rainbow of Stitches is written by a Marie Claire Idees contributor. Once I cracked it open, I had to immediately put it down for fear of being driven insane by all the adorable embroidery inside. Each chapter is dedicated to a color: red, pink, green, and blue. Just about everything is stitched on white fabric. Very clean, very simple, very Martha. Love it.



The New Handmade contains directions to make several stylish bags. Lauren has already picked this one out for herself. I'll have to add that to the list after the giant strawberry pillow.



Lastly, I've finally found a form of knitting that even I can do: loom knitting. This iPod cozy was my second project (The first was a newborn sized hat that Lauren uses as Mommy Elephant's sleeping bag.). Some of my stitches were wonky, but that was fixed thanks to the amazing process of felting. After two times in the washer's hot cycle, I was thrilled that my pouch shrunk to just the right size. I want to tackle a larger bag after I get my hands on some more yarn.

On a figure skating note, I'm so excited that Lysacek won the gold medal! Somewhere in Canada right at this moment, Plushenko is still whining about it. Maybe this means that the curse is lifted and that my AI Season 9 pick will win too!

As you wish.

This post is all about giving my readers what they want. First, Mel C requested that I blog about something crafty and Grandma Gert.

The crafty is that this weekend, I finally learned how to use the spool knitter that I bought last year. When it comes to anything involving fibers, I'm one of those people that needs to see how you do things. I can't just read directions. Thank goodness for YouTube, because, yes, people have posted instructional videos on how to make i-cords with a spool knitter. This is either going to be a scarf for Mommy Elephant, or, if I'm ambitious enough, I may make a really long cord and coil it into a blanket for her.

As I was reviewing my tracker today I noticed that the blog had a referral from someone who had googled "gert ross shaler." When I performed the same search, I found links to two very cool newspaper articles from 20+ years ago about Grandma Gert. Here's one from 1986 (Look for the paragraph titled "Guards 'em all"). And here's the feature article about her that was run in 1990.

If you're still out there somewhere, to the person who was searching for Grandma Gert: She is alive and well and as feisty as ever. She has retired to a nursing home and will celebrate her 91st birthday next month.

Next up is blog reader Ellen, who had asked that the blog's banner link back to the blog and not to Flickr. You see, the blog banners are hosted on Flickr, whose terms of service dictate that all photos posted to an external site link back to Flickr. In the interest of keeping the blog as user friendly as possible, I have decided to be a rebel and have changed the link. Shhh...it will be our little secret.



That about takes care of everyone, so on to other blog business. This weekend, I made yet another batch of cookies from the Martha Stewart cookie book. These are called Buttery Pecan Rounds. As the name indicates, they are very buttery and very pecan-y. I'm kinda in love with them.



Also this weekend, Lauren attended her friend Lauren's fifth birthday party. You read that right - like her mother, Lauren likes to make friends with girls that have the same name. She and ten other little girls played laser tag, and as you can see from the photo above, when they put that gear on, they mean business. I would post more photos, but I fear that the government may see them and want to use these girls as part of their elite forces.

Those who can, craft.

Well, it looks like I'm back to my old blogging habits. I can't help it though - there's just a whole lotta nothing going on. As a result, we've resorted to passing the time away by crafting. Much of it involving glitter glue. Lots and lots of glitter glue.



I myself continue to fail miserably at sewing. Wait - let me clarify. Embroidery, I can do. Attaching two pieces of fabric together by hand or machine...forget about it. Still I try, even though it doesn't come easy to me. As I sit there at my sewing table banging my head questioning, "Why do I suck so badly at this!?" all Mark can do is ask, "Didn't you take Sewing in junior high?" The answer to that question is: Yes, I took it in 8th grade (Not 7th grade, when you got to make cool pillows. No, we made ugly aprons. Even the boys had to make them.) and barely merited a B.

Anyway, I made this make-up bag (My second attempt). It looks good from far away, but the stitching is a mess. I think I ripped it out a total seven times. This is the kind of thing that I would like to make and give as gifts, but I'm no where near proficient enough to saddle someone with one of these. The make-up bag pattern is from Sew Pretty Homestyle, embroidery pattern is from Jenny Hart's Stitch It Kit and the Picnic Damask fabric is by Tanya Whelan.



Not to be deterred, I decided to tackle something on a smaller scale. Lauren was thrilled with these little stuffed strawberries (The first one I made is too pathetic to show). So much, she desperately wants me to make the larger pillow version for her bed. *cries*



Okay, now here's something that I *can* do. A couple of months ago, I found this little wooden file box at an antique store. I had seen similar boxes sold on Etsy, so I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Another great way to use up those paper scraps! In hindsight, I wish I had also bought the larger one that was next to this one. I'm thinking that it would make a good recipe box.



When you're crafting, you need snacks, right? I don't know what I was thinking when I bought this bag of peanut M&M's, because I CAN'T STOP EATING THEM. Boredom will do that to you.



Oh yeah, and then there's the cookies. For Christmas, Mark gave me Martha Stewart's cookie book to go along with my mixer. I asked Lauren to pick out a recipe for us to make together. She picked Chocolate Crackles. Although I've come across these numerous times over the years, I've never had any desire to make them, with good reason, as I now know that the dough has to refrigerate for 2 hours. Unfortunately, I didn't read far enough ahead in the recipe to learn this until it was too late. Since it was after 7 p.m., there was no way I could refrigerate the dough for that long and still bake and serve them that night. The alternative was to wait until the next day, but I wasn't about to tell Lauren (or Mark) that there would be no cookies until tomorrow. So I put the dough in the freezer for about 45 minutes, which for the record, wasn't nearly long enough. More dough stuck to my hands than made it to the cookie sheet. However, in the end, they turned out quite tasty, kind of like a light and fluffy version of a brownie. Also, the dough is really to die for, not that I was licking my fingers or anything. Really, I wasn't. Honestly.

***Begin American Idol blabbering***

Even though all signs point to me hating this season, I'm actually very excited that our show is back! Why do I say that? For one, every third season is in the bottom of my personal rankings. That would be Season 3 and 6. What comes next? 9.

Second, after two straight seasons with all male finales, they are going to pull out all the stops to ensure a female victory. Since my top three seasons have ended in male victories (7, 8 and 5), this does not bode well for my watching pleasure.

Still, I'm trying to keep an open mind. I think I could root for a girl, if the right one came along. After all, I did like Brooke White. On the other hand, it was very evident to me during the first two nights that I better get used to having the girls shoved down my throat, as there were very few good guys featured.

One thing that I didn't notice was the absence of Paula Abdul. Maybe once they get to the performance shows, I'll miss her. On second thought...probably not. As for Simon leaving, I think it will be the end of the show, only because the media says it will be the end of the show (and everyone listens to the media). Otherwise, as long as they hire a decent replacement, I think the show will go on. That is, as long as thousands of people line up for their chance of stardom and millions tune-in to see those people either shine or fall flat on their face. Because, in the end, that's what the show is all about: the contestants. Not Paula. Not Simon. And god knows it's not about Kara. Yuck.

On a somewhat related note, I'm pleased that two of my other favorite shows, Mad Men and Glee won Golden Globe awards last night! I'm such a sucker for shows with ensemble casts...

1.

It took a few days, but here is the first post of 2010. Unfortunately, the plague is still upon the Ross house, and we are now into Week #3 of our colds. I haven't left the house since Wednesday; Lauren since Tuesday. Unfortunately, we don't have much of a choice tomorrow, as it's back to the weekly routine of work and school/Grandma's. It could be a lot worse though - as least none of us have a stomach bug. *shivers*

I spent the last couple of days doing some long overdue crafting. Every time I have some extended time off I have this vision of wiling the days away creating all kinds good stuff, but it never happens. I almost didn't make my usual calendar, as I just wasn't all that much into it this year. When I started making calendars five years ago, it was a good way to use up scraps, but this year, I allowed myself cut up some of my "good" paper to make it a little more interesting. I also decided to feed the paper through my printer instead of using rub-ons, which made the process go a whole lot faster. And although I have a collection of 1000+ fonts, I picked the same old sans serif font that I use for everything.



I also finished sewing this elephant for Lauren. A few months back, she asked me to make her one. I found this pattern, and Lauren picked out the checked fabric from a old stash of mine. I worked on it sporadically since then, but decided today that the time had come to finish him. He didn't come out exactly as I hoped because I really stink at machine sewing. Lauren seems to like him, so I guess that's all that matters. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a positive trend, and I will get a lot of crafting done in 2010.

Other than that, I've been trying to think of things to look forward to in the coming weeks.

#1. American Idol starts in almost a week.
#2. MLK Day is in two weeks.

That's all I got.

All aboard.

Each year, I like to add a little something new to our Christmas decor. Last week while shopping with Mel C. at that den of evil otherwise known as Michael's, I came across this paper train kit in the Martha Stewart Crafts section. It cost $12.99, but since I had a 40% coupon, I only paid around $7.



Lauren, my little crafting co-pilot, was there on glue duty to help me every step of the way. The train was much easier to build than the advent calendar cottage or the haunted house, although the front of the engine car had me a stumped for a little while. I also had a few extra pieces left that I had no clue how to use.



Looks like my dining car is coming apart at the seams though.

The kit comes with a big tube of glitter, which was applied with a light hand because I was ready to wrap it up quickly after Lauren dumped glitter all over the place for the second time.

Since this kit was so much fun, I went looking for the Frosty Village kit that I saw last year but didn't buy. Unfortunately, it's sold out everywhere, and the last one that was up for auction on eBay sold for $79. Madness!

Come on baby finish what ya started.

I have a terrible habit of starting a project, taking it so far, and then putting it down for an extended period of time, sometimes never to be finished. This past month, I've forced myself to complete a few projects so that I can move on to new things with a clear conscience.

Take this little door hanger. It's based on a pattern in Sew Pretty Homestyle, a book that was given to me as a gift last Christmas. I started on it shortly thereafter as a Valentine's Day gift for Lauren. Even though it was quite a few months late, Lauren loved it just the same when I gave it to her in June. The "L" is in the Apple Chancery font, which makes really nice monograms. The flowers are based off of a Sublime Stitching pattern.



I bought this printer's tray sometime before Lauren's first birthday. It wasn't until almost a year ago that I actually started doing something with it. I decided that the theme would be things that begin with the letter "R." While I got off to a really good start, my enthusiasm for this project soon faded as I discovered that not only was it hard to come up with that many objects that began with "R," but it was especially hard to find objects beginning with "R" that fit in all those little spaces!

I was so relieved when I finished it this afternoon. Mark is hanging it in our den as I am typing this.

So can you guess what all these objects represent? Some of them can be a little tricky! To help, here's a close-up of the left side:



And the right side:



And now, the granddaddy of projects that I have procrastinated on, my bridal shower scrapbook:



This one is seven years in the making (My bridal shower was held on August 4, 2002). Because I loved the photos so much, it was the first project that I took on when I started scrapbooking in early 2005. After Lauren was born, I began to focus on scrapbooking her exploits, so my bridal shower album was put aside. I decided to revisit it in January of 2008, giving it a complete overall to a style that was more to my liking. Once again, I made great progress at first, but then grew tired of it and put it aside. Fast forward to June 2009 and voila, it's finally finished! Here's the inside:



Despite the fact that it took me forever to finish, I have to say that I love making 8 x 8 theme albums. I also made one for Lauren's first Christmas (which only took me about a year to complete). I'm definitely going to scrapbook more in this format in the future. Here are a few more sample pages:







And speaking of weddings, today is this lovely couple's 40th anniversary:



Happy anniversary Mom and Dad Ross!

Hello my name is Lauren, and I like to do drawings.

It's amazing how Lauren has changed in the last month. We continue to be stunned by the things that she come out her mouth, but now her drawings are becoming more and more detailed. In just the last couple of weeks, she's begun to draw stick figures. That's her in the picture above, holding an elephant.



Speaking of elephants, this is the best one yet. It really looks like an elephant!



And this is all of us holding elephants while standing under a rainbow.

While my daughter's artistry (TM Kara Dioguardi) is on the upswing, my creative energy has been ebbing. I have a couple vacation days scheduled this week leading up to Memorial Day, so hopefully I'll have a chance to work on some projects, as well as clean out my closet, find some furniture for our addition, organize my photos, find some new recipes to try, and write some long overdue e-mails. Oh, I did make some animals out of pipe cleaners this weekend. I picked up a Martha Stewart Crafts kit at Wal-Mart a couple of months ago and saved it for a rainy day. Yesterday was appropriately rainy, so out came the kit. They were a lot harder to make than they looked though - I was too weary to make the zebras. Lauren really likes them, so that's all that counts.



***Begin American Idol blabbering***

I admit it. It was me. I voted for three weeks straight. Many times. Yes, I am the one responsible for Kris Allen making the finale.

And I couldn't be more THRILLED!

Here's the deal. I love Adam Lambert. There aren't enough words to describe his awesomeness, so I'm not even going to try. I've purchased almost every one of his studio recordings from iTunes. I think he should win. However, I feel that Kris is what this show is all about. The guy who came out of nowhere, who kept plugging away week after week bringing solid performances. He didn't have a sympathetic back story like Scott, Lil and Danny. He didn't have the judges brain washing the audience week after week after week proclaiming that he would in finals. He had little to no exposure in the eariler rounds and on average poor placement during the performance rounds (Usually singing early). He made it here on his own merits and hard work. Kris is the story that Jason Castro should have been last year, if Jason wouldn't have ran out of steam. So it's only natural that I'm drawn to him - I love an underdog.

Kris caught my attention during the Top 13 round when he sang a very catchy version of "Remember the Time," but the only time I voted for him was when he stumbled during the week he sang "All She Wants to Do is Dance." That changed three weeks ago because he might as well have been wearing a sign that said, "Dead Man Walking" around his neck. On Rat Pack night, he didn't deliver the best vocal (Everyone but Matt Giraud pretty much outsang him), but his performance of "The Way You Look Tonight" was my favorite. That week, he survived a bottom 3 scare (with Adam), and went on to stand once again on shaky ground during Rock Week. I thought that the judges gave him a raw deal on "Come Together," especially when he pulled off that snazzy acapella interlude in the middle of the song.

This is off the subject of Kris, but we can't move past Rock Week without mention of Danny's "Dream On." When he unleashed that scream at the end of the song with the strobe lights flashing on his face like crazy - I was literally rolling on the floor laughing. It was just so silly and over-the-top. Poor Danny - even after that performance, the judges were very kind to him (With the exception of Simon, but it's his job to be the mean one.). Overall, Danny was a consistant performer, but the judges rarely called him on any of his weaknesses, and because of that, he wasn't given the opportunity to understand his limitations (Hence the scream from the bowels of hell). And that's the problem with the emphasis on the sympathetic back stories. How could the judges criticize a man who lost his wife without coming off as being a bunch of meanies?

Which brings us to Top 3 night. Now Kris is wearing a sign in flashing Adam Lambert Neon Pink letters - "I AM GOING HOME TOMORROW." Except, nobody told Kris that. Instead, he comes out onto stage all by his lonesome with nothing but his guitar, and sings a rap song. THAT took some guts, especially when the two guys he's competing against have such big voices. Kris's "Heartless" was definitely one of the "moments" of the season, and he pulled if off just in time. The only problem is, how can he possibly top that during the Finale?

So suffice to say that I will be pleased with whoever wins American Idol Season 8. I may just let the chips fall as they qill, but I do feel guilty that I've never voted for Adam. Maybe I'll vote once for each of them.