Wordless Wednesday ~ My Photography

Hey!!!!

Wow I can't believe I didn't blog yesterday.  We had a good weekend.  It was very low key & just us, but we had fun.  We spent a lot of time cooking on the weekend.  Which was great.  Saturday I cooked a whole chicken in the crockpot sooo easy.  Chris then turned it into home made chicken soup that turned out soooo yummy we ate it Sunday before taking jeremy out trick or treating.  Sunday we did go swimming, had the chicken soup Chris made along with home made dumplings, then it was out to with the others for trick-or -treating.  It was a fun time. 

 

On the crafty end of things I'm still trying to finish Jeremy's scarf...lol.  Every time I think I have it long enough he's like Mommy can it be just a little longer...lol.  I sort of worked on some hexies last night.  I mean I cut out the paper, got the pined onto fabric so tonight I can just baste them on.  Still waiting on more 'scraps' to come in the mail.  I have dish cloths to swap & the dish cloths are totally wanting to get in the mail & on there way...lol.

Just Going To Have A Massage Therapist Move In...lol

Fair warning I'm just going to complain.  So if you don't want to read complaining well you've been warned.  I just want to complain today.  Do you ever have one of those days where you just want to b*tch & complain.  Well today is my day.  So here I go:

 

~ Omg my shoulder & neck have been sooo sore for days.  It's caused from my cervical ribs i'm almost certain.  So I might have to check out more aggressive treatment.

 

~ That time of the month & well you know what that means PMS, food cravings, mood wings etc

 

~ Just being in pain for the past 4 days from above mentioned shoulder & neck pain is just draining.  Jeremy has been so sweet trying to massage my neck.  Saying Mommy I hope you feel better.

 

~ My place is untidy & i don't want to clean it ~bleh~

 

~ Still have to get Jeremy's Halloween Costume

 

~ Soooo very tired & that comes from the PMS & my shoulder pain just having a hard time getting comfortable.

 

I think I've complained enough.  I'm just going to have a massage therapist move in so that I & Chris can be massaged any time we need.  Hate food cravings I'm sitting here right now & I'd give my right arm for a Wor Wonton Soup or Hot & Sour Soup.  Yup so if you are near Wetaskiwin & can use an extra right am swing by with that soup & we'll make a deal.

 

There are so many other things I want to write about.  Like the use of to many products in the home, censorship, taking baby steps in cutting down on use of paper.  Did you know there are people out there who don't use toilet paper.  Well what do they use instead?  I'd also love to write more about crafting, knitting, quilting, photography (want to do more photography myself), art, painting (i need to paint more), thrifty christmas & my ideas for gifts.  These are things I want to delve into.  Instead I'm complaining, but that's where I am in my head space at the moment so I'm thinking I should honour that.  Or at least give it a voice & I'll return the regular scheduled posts when my complaining mood passes...lol.

 

Thanks for listening everyone.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Art Photo Rafters ~ My Photography

Ghost Hand Print Art ~ Update With Pics

Here is the craft project we did Friday (I posted about it here for instructions & such) of Ghost Hand Prints all hung up in their glory.  I love how they turned out.  I can hang them up each year :)

Here are our Ghosts:

Work & Cramps

What a morning so far.  I had this feeling when I woke up that I should try to stay home.  I wasn't in pain, but I had this feeling that cramps were coming my way.  YES that time of the month.  Then I gave myself a stern talking to, I wasn't sick, I wasn't in pain, & even during that entire lecture to myself in the back of my mind I was saying not in pain YET!!!  So I got myself ready & went to work.  Turned out to be a good idea as the Receptionist at Public Works called in sick so her phone is forwarded to mine ~sigh~  But now I do have cramps....lol...so I'm sitting in my chair at work with my little heater on (I'm always cold), plus I have a heating pad from a co-worker that I have on my tummy & I'm trying to not move to much.  Oh well it could be worse at least I'm not feeling sick to my stomach.  Just hope I'm not overly busy today at work so that I don't have to move around to much.

Happy Monday & Ghostly Hand Prints

I hope everyone had a good weekend & is making their way through their Monday.  My weekend was pretty great.  Chris was off Friday, Saturday & Sunday which is ALWAYS a special treat. 

 

Chris came out to my place Friday night & we made home made tacos for supper which were yummy.  Then Chris, Jeremy & I made these fun Halloween Ghost Paintings you can see examples in the picture here

 

  

instructions at The Crafty Crow.  We had lots of fun doing this project.  We each did one I'll post pictures tomorrow.  I loved seeing each of our individual artistic style come out.

 

Saturday morning we at breakfast at the Millet Skillet a great little family owned restaurant in Millet, before we took Jeremy to Cub Camp.  Jeremy was all excited for camp.  Chris & I then headed to Edmonton as we were going to the Tartan Ball.  We love to get all dressed up.  I wore a new 'little black dress' & Chris a new suit & wow he looked sooooooo good.  The event was being held at the Polish Center & the food was good.  The music could have been better, but we still danced a little & had a good time.  We always have a good time together. 

 

Chris & I slept in Sunday took Chris' roommate Sherry out to breakfast then back to my place last night.  Have to see it was a good weekend of being busy & still having time to relax. 

 

Tonight I'm going to re-start Jeremy's scarf I think.  I should have added a border as it's rolling & I don't like that.

ETSY Shop Review ~ Antoniettes

I thought this was such a cute little shop on ETSY called Antoinettes Whims.  This shop sells beautiful vintage items.  My favorite item okay okay it's over $600 & as always my eyes are bigger than my budget, BUT this item is sooooo unique it's this Victorian Figural Cat Napkin Ring With Yellow Glass Eyes Silver Plated.

There are many other lovely, cute, fun, & unique items that you'll discover in this shop.  Vintage stuff is GREAT.  Except when I saw the 1983 Harley-Davidson Belt Buckle ummm 1983 is vintage omg what does that make me...lol....hmmm I think I'll refer to myself as finely aged ;)

Some of the other fun items you can find at this shop:

~ Grecian/Roman Goddess Chalk Ware Cameo Wall Plaque  

~ Decorative Bird Cage

~ Vintage Boots & Shores

Well anyways check out Antoinettes Whims & let me know what you think.

'Never Thought We'd See This, Quilts Hanging On The Wall Called Artists'

'Never Thought We'd See This, Quilts Hanging On The Wall Called Artists' is a quote from a YouTube video on the Quits of Gees Bend.  I was just looking around YouTube the other day as I like to listen to interesting things while I'm at work.  I've listened to independent documentaries, news clips, history items, etc.  Well just a day or so ago I searched African American Quilts, and I discovered Gees Bend, and this video clip. 

Gees Bend is one of the poorest locations in the U.S.  I really enjoyed listening to these women talking about their quilts.  How they used just what they had on hand.  It's interesting that they never considered their quilts art, but just something 'used to keep warm.'  These quilts weren't just used on beds, they were also hung on the walls to keep the drafts out.  The quilts themselves are beautiful in the simplicity almost like looking at abstract modern art.  Just lovely.  I love the use of colour how they are done with just a few colours often one of the colours are bright.  These ladies are such inspiration of using what's on hand, reminding me how important it is to pass down quilting (and other hand crafts) & just the spirit to keep going on even when times are tough.

Thanks for reading...lol

Introducing Jeremy The Dragon Fighting Ninja Warrior

I'm so excited to get to see how Jeremy's Fantasy Portrait turned out.   I got interested in Nijji J's art by seeing the digital portraits she has created of Belly Dancers & fell in love with it.  I then had the great idea of having a Fantasy Portrait done of my son.  I'd love to link to her site, but her site says it's suspended :( I was very happy to get an email from her with what Jeremy's portrait looks like.  Here's what she created, and I'm very happy with it.  Jeremy's favorite colour is red, he loves dragons, loves playing ninja & loves pretending he's a warrior.  I should have the original by Monday or Tuesday she said woo hoo.

Jeremy The Dragon Fighting Ninja Warrior

Keeping up with my pledge to make more meals from scratch last night it was crock pot meat loaf.  I see the crock pot becoming a good friend of mine while attempt to cook more from scratch.  Last night was cubs so when we got back I spent the evening busily making hexies for my quilt.  Have a bunch more to go in that department.

Package In Mail ~ Lizard Patches Are Cooool

I got a package in the mail the other day.  It was full of LOVELY 100% cotton 'scraps' from Carolyn at The Vegetarian Hunter see what FUN fabric she sent me.

There's monkeys having fun in paris, frogs, lizards which my son loved (see below), and some great prints.

Funny that fabric got me soooo going last night.  Jeremy and I went for a walk in the early evening & he kept his arm around me the entire walk.  How nice is that!!!  He's still cuddly thank goodness.  I'll be sad when that passes.  We then did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen, play a little wii then Jeremy was off to bed and I got busy.  First thing I did was patch a pair of Jeremy's pants that I've been meaning to patch for a few weeks.  I was going to use a red fabric I had on hand as the before pic shows, but Jeremy took one look at the lizard fabric, and asked if I could use that to patch his pants with, and so I did here's the result. 

Before

After

At the moment I'm without a sewing machine.  So this is what I do is:

~ darn the hole with thread

~ cut out fabric in this case around the lizard

~  Aleen's Fabric Glue which REALLY holds well put it on the wrong side of fabric & then place over the hole

~ let patch dry

~ with fabric puffy paint I go around the edges of the patch to keep the edges from fraying.

Works really well, and washes really well.  After I patch pants they just can't go into the dryer which is fine by me.

I didn't do a perfect job with the puffy paint, but I'm happy with it.  Jeremy LOVED it, and wore them today.  I'm lucky that he doesn't mind wearing patched jeans.

After patching Jeremy's jeans I then got working on hexies with the fun fabric Carolyn sent me.  I think I'm going to keep track of all the different places I get fabric from that are used in this quilt.  I'm also for the time being going to keep these hexies separate from the others until I finish some from all the different fabrics Carolyn sent so that I can take a picture of them all done up.  Can't wait for my other packages to arrive...woo hoo.

As a thank you I did send Carolyn two hand knitted dish cloths.  If you'd be interested in participating in a swap of fabric for dish cloths please let me know leave a comment & I'll get back to you.

Blogging Followers/Following

I'm writing this as I want to write something, but I'm just not in the head space to write anything deeper...lol.

 

So I've been wondering this lately what draws you to follow a blog?  Me?  I like blogs & follow blogs for many reasons:

~ if they are funny

~ great pictures

~ talented artists doesn't matter what I follow digital artists, photographers, quilters, chefs, carvers, jewelry makers, knitters, crafters the list goes on...

~ if they have a green/fugual slant

~ or if they just strike me on that day...

 

I do find one thing I don't care for is music on blogs which I know is very strange.  I think it has to do with the fact that I'm listening to the radio, my own music, or a political clip on youtube & find music from a blog distracts me.

 

So what draws you to a blog to follow?

 

I'm feeling anxious & worried the love of my life Chris is feeling down & there is nothing I can do about it other than be there for him.  I wish I could do more in that regard to help him. 

Are You Up For The Challenge?

Yesterday afternoon I was rolling coin with Jeremy & I flipped to the Food Network.  Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food was coming on & I caught the first episode of a 4 episode series.  The show takes place in Rotherham, South Yorkshire where Jamie tried to inspire the residesnts to cook meals from scratch.  A concept that seems to be slowly falling by the wayside in our instant gratification society.  Jamie taught 8 non-cooks (& when I say non-cooks I mean NON-COOKS one delightful lady didn't even know what boiling water looked like...lol) some recipes & then they had to teach two friends, who then had to teach two friends etc.  I was touched by one mother who had a beautiful little girl & she had never ever cooked a meal from scratch for her little girl EVER!  It made me feel very sad.  It was very exciting to see how this same mom at first was so excited & turned out to be a good cook.  I was also struck by how negative some people can be about Jamie's message.  I had heard that Jamie wasn't always liked over in England, but I've never understood why I am still confused about that.

So the show got me thinking which is a good thing.  How much do I actually cook for Jeremy from scratch?  I would say at least two times a week I do & that would be completely from scratch.  The rest of the week we eat leftovers as I'm often just cooking for two of us we do eat our share of leftovers.  Then one night of package fresh pasta & sauce.  At least one night we eat out.  Okay not the worst menu, but there is room for improvement. 

So I'm going to challenge myself to cook from scratch at least one more night a week.  Not every night just one more night & with leftovers that will mean I've covered 6 days of the week & only have had cook 3 times.  That's not to bad.  Sooooo are you up to join me for the challenge?  How often are you cooking form scratch?  Think seriously about increasing it by one day.  There are LOADS of easy recipes online that don't take much time Jamie's site offers some, but one of my favorite sites for fast meals is from Clover Leaf Take 5, recipes with 5 ingredients & 5 min prep time that are yummy.  I make the tuna curry in a hurry & Jeremy really likes it.  Just some ways to get you thinking of cooking more from scratch.  Let's pass down this important life lesson to our children, friends, family & loved ones.

No Longer Loved Thrift Store Veil Adopted

Last night at Belly Dance class (yes I Belly Dance) another dancer brought in a bunch of veils she doesn't use.  Susan is a fun lady to dance with, hang out with & she's a wonderful thrift store shopper.  MOST of her performance costumes, performance jewelry & practice attire she was able to get at thrift stores.  I think she goes to a different Value Village than me a magic one where all the ethnic clothing ends up...lol.  I have been lucky in finding two veils at Value Village, but nothing like this BEAUTY

 

that I scored last night.  The picture doesn't do this veil justice the blue is much brighter & the copper/gold embroidery much more sparkly.  I felt bad for this veil it must have gotten separated from the rest of the pretty lenga or suit it originally was part of to have ended up at Value Village to begin with.  I'm lucky Susan saved it, but then it just sat in her closet poor veil.  However I'm happy that this pretty found it's way to me, & for the price of $4 I couldn't say no.  The class I'm taking right now is a veil class & the dance we are learning is perfect for showing off this beautiful veil.  Can't wait to enjoy many more hours dancing with this stunning veil.

Soooo Excited Dish Cloths For Fabric Seems To Be Working

So excited this morning when I was checking out the blogs that I follow to see this post at The Vegetarian Hunter first off it was lovely to see the beautiful quilt top she has finished, but then she also showed a pic of the fabric she's going to send me woo hoo.  Yes that's she's going to send ME!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm soooo excited.  I have the dish cloths that I knitted all ready to go with me so here's what I'm sending Carolyn. 

I can't wait to get that fabric & start making them into hexies for my 'I Have a Dream Quilt.'  I'll have to start stalking my mail box until the package arrives!!!

Thanks again Carolyn.  Anyone else interested in getting involved in the swap please check out this post on my blog & either leave me a comment or just email me.

Lack Of Creating

Last few days I really haven't been doing much creating & I hate that feeling.  Last night for example after swimming with Cubs I just didn't feel like working on any of my projects :(  I did read for a bit and I enjoyed that, but that's about all I did.  However going on like that I feel like I'm out of balance, and I hate that feeling.  So I think for me spending some time each day doing something creative, crafty or artsy adds balance, because when I get the charge of the muses to create it adds & feeds my soul for the next day. 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Art Photo Window Sill

I Had The Blues & A Great Weekend

Back at work after a great weekend.  We just celebrated Thanksgiving up here in Canada.  Chris & I were lucky to get to enjoy two wonderful Thanksgiving Dinners with friends.  The only thing missing was Jeremy, but its good his Dad had him all weekend, but both Chris & I really missed him. 

 

Saturday night Chris & I went to Rusty Reed's House of Blues Chris' music taste are wonderfully varied.  He suggested we check out Rusty's bar to hear Jack Semple my knowledge of this artist was nil, but wow what a great evening we had.  The bar was packed with a great mix of people & Jack is amazing to listen to.  Some of the stuff he played I hadn't heard before, but he also did some covers like 'Mustang Sally' so I was of course up dancing to songs I knew & even songs I didn't know...lol.  I just love to dance.  Chris & I had a great evening we danced, enjoyed each others company, plus we met another really nice couple.  It was nice to be able to get out for the evening, the music was great, but the company was priceless.

 

People In The Blogosphere Are Great ~ Mothers Always Worry

In my pathetic plea for fabric to add to my what I'm going to call 'I Have a Dream' hexagon quilt so far I have two wonderful fellow crafters & qulters offer their scraps.  How lucky am I?  I'm so excited (yes I'm a geek).  Please check out the blogs of these very generous ladies Karen at Bare Feet and a Free Spirit & Camille at Camille Creates.  I can't wait for these packages to come in the mail.  It's going to feel like Christmas morning getting these fantastic scraps.  I have some knitted dish cloths that I'll be sending each of these lovely ladies as a thank you. 

 

I'm a little worried my little man seems to be well not himself.  Last night he was saying he was tired, REALLY tired.  Then this morning he has a Pro-D Day & again was complaining about being really, REALLY tired saying all he wants to do is sleep.  I wonder what this is about growth spurt, coming down with something, something bothering him, just feeling lazy or could it be about his Dad.  He's been asking when he gets to see his Dad & miracles happened Mr. Special actually texted me yesterday that he'll be able to see Jeremy this weekend.  I told Jeremy & he seemed happy.  However lately Mr. Special seems to have a habit of seeing Jeremy for one night & then 'work calls.'  I'm not always convinced it's work.  So I'm wondering if Jeremy is feeling anxious possibly anticipating disappointment of only spending one night with his Dad.  I'm going to have to have a good talk with him about that.  If he's still this tired next week I'll have to get him into the Dr.  The worry about being a mother never ends...lol.

Natural Cleaners ~ Fabric For Dish Cloths

Ever since I was a little girl I've been sensitive to harsh cleaners.  I remember being at my Grandma's after she had shampooed her carpets & not being able to go into the living room as I wouldn't be able to stop coughing.  At home it was different due to cost my Mom made most of her cleaners so she used more natural ingredients.  As an adult when I started working cleaning Hotel rooms I developed very bad allergic reaction to cleaners on my hands, this was very bad eczema that would weep, ooze & cause me a lot of pain.  It was in dealing with this very bad eczema I cut out as many commercial cleaners as I could.  I'm lucky in that my eczema on my hands has cleared totally right up, but I'm not going back.  I love my natural cleaners.  Yeah sure they cost less, but that's not the reason I use them, though it is a benefit.  I use them, because natural cleaners means fewer chemicals in my house.  I feel better using my natural cleaners due to Chris' asthma & allergies.  I have no problem asking Jeremy to spray down the kitchen counter, because what he's going to use isn't toxic or harmful.  Not to mention I believe they work just as well if not better than any commercial cleaner out there.  I also get a certain 'stick it to the man feeling' knowing that's something I don't HAVE to buy...lol.  I keep my cleaners very simple & easy to mix up, because who am I kidding for me it has to be simple or I won't do it...lol.  Here are my very simple yet effective cleaners:

~ kitchen/general purpose cleaner ~ mixture of 50/50 water & white vinegar, two squirts of dish soap & about 10 drops of tea tree oil then put into spray bottle.

~ bath tub ~ just baking soda sprinkled onto a cloth & scrub works GREAT!

~ floors ~ very hot water, cup of vinegar & a squirt of dish soap

~ I also have norwex microfiber cloths that I love & work great on mirrors, but so does 50/50 water & vinegar

Let's Swap Your Scraps For Knitted Dish Cloths

I posted this yesterday Fabric for Dish Cloths please check it out. 

My Quilt Project Needs Your Help ~ Fabric, Scraps Recycled Fabric for Dish Cloths!!!

I'm in the process of making hexagons to put together a quilt top.  It's my dream to put together a quilt top something like this Water Colour Quilt that I'm in love with.  So to get the effect I want will require a lot of different fabrics.  I'm talking A LOT of fabric...lol.  I also don't want to buy new fabric for this quilt.  I want to challenge myself, my brain & the creative process to re-use & re-purpose fabric.  So in keeping with that challenge I want to use fabric that I have on hand as well as upcycle sheets, pillow cases, clothes, that are the right fabric.  So I've been wondering how I can get a variety of fabric into my quilt top?  I'm going to frequent Thrift Stores of course & look for pillow cases, sheets & fabric. 

But then I had another idea, & I have to admit I think it's a brilliant idea.  I'll put the request out there to other crafters, quilters, recyclers, fabric artists etc.  So here is your mission of you chose to accept it...lol.  I need fabric & for your fabric you will get hand knitted dish cloths.  This is my idea:

~ For about a Fat Quarter Size 18"x22" I'll send you two hand knitted dish cloths

~ If you think it's less than 18"x22" I'll send you one hand knitted dish cloth

~ Fabic Accepted:

   ~ any 100% cotton, or flannel

   ~ sheeting or pillow cases (washed please...lol).  In the case of sheets I don't need the whole sheet...lol...just a hunk....lol

~ Condition:

   ~ scraps will work but please, nothing smaller than 2" x 2"

   ~ used is fine as long as it's been washed & as long as it's not to worn

~ Colours:

   ~ any colour & all colours needed

Please help me with my quilt & I'll send you great hand knitted dish cloths!!!!!!!!

If interested please email me via the email link in my profile & I'll get back to you.  Thanks everyone!!!!

I LOVE Unique Jewelry

I'm like a lot of women I do love jewelry, however I love unique jewelry.  I love hand made jewelry.  I love jewelry made by true artists.  I love my pieces to be a unique statement of me & my unique tastes.  I'm so lucky that Chris supports me in this.  Chris has bought me some beautiful pieces.  I have a necklace that Chris bought me at the Scottish Highland Games one summer, made by a potter.  I have a necklace that's very VERY special to me that Chris' cousin Kristine a very talented photographer & artist (from Vancouver) made me it's a silver choker with two needle felted balls that she gave me on my birthday.  Chris has another cousin that lives in Winnipeg her name is Hillary Druxman she's a wonderful jewelry designer & when Chris came home Monday he showed up at my place with a t-shrit for Jeremy & this BEAUTIFUL bracelet for me that his cousin Hillary has designed.  I love it.  This pic doesn't do it justice I just found it awkward to get a decent pic of it while wearing it. 

Thank you Chris I love my gift. 

Decisions, Decisions

Here are the hexies I've made up to now using the english paper piecing method which is basting paper onto the wrong side of fabric.  These are made out of recycled pj's, sheets & pillow cases.  It is my goal for this quilt to be made out of all re-purposed fabric.  I have more that I've made, but I didn't include hexies made out of t-shirt jersey.  I'll save those for another project.  I'm anxious to start sewing some of the hexies together.  I know I don't want to do Grandma's Garden pattern.  I would like to do something like this water colour quilt   I think now after looking at that quilt again that I need to make more hexies before I start sewing them together.  Then I think the game plan will be to group them into colour groups then randomly sew the groups of colours together. 

 

What do you guys think?

Hand Knitted Dish Cloths

I gave these three beauties to a co-worker.  The pink one I love it's cotton self stripping yarn it looks so pretty knitted up.  I have only one complaint about this yarn is that the dye bleeds badly :( which makes me sad as I love my brightly coloured dish cloths.

Morning Affirmations/Rituals Revisited

I posted last week about wanting to add morning affirmations or rituals to my morning routine.  I wanted something where I took a few minutes before I start my day to make my intentions for the day known.  To put my intention for the day out there into the universe.  So it's been a few days & I have to say I find it actually makes a difference.  It doesn't take me very long.  Here's what I do it's very simple.  I light a candle & then repeat each of these statements three times:

      ~ Today will be a good day

      ~ I will be patient today

      ~ I will feed my body not my mood

 

After that I blow out the candle.  Simple right? 

 

There are benefits linked to doing affirmations.  I will list some benefits, but you can also check out the link above:

 

~ you use positive affirmations to direct your focus instead of negative self-talk

~ redirect your values

~ help formulate goals

~ conquer fears

 

Make sure your affirmations are self-developed, meaning they are ones you've come up with yourself that way they are more powerful, and will work better for you. 

All Crafty People HELLLPPPP!!!!!!!!

I'm working away on a hexagon quilt.  Well working away on making the hexies anyways.  I'm wanting this quilt to be a true reflection of a scrap quilt in keeping with the history of these quilts I'm using stuff I have on hand.  Right now I've used old flannel pajamas, old sheets, old pillow cases & fabric left over from making my belly dance bra.  I've also used an old t-shirt that is to big for me.  I have quilted before & when I was taught to quilt I was taught to use 100%, but in keeping with the history of these English Paper Piecing these would be made by whatever the quilter had on hand.  I'm wondering before I get to far into the project will adding cotton jersey type fabric affect the over all end result of the quilt?  I've been trying to find the answer online, but can't seem to.  Please all you crafty, artistic & handy people anyone have an answer for me?

Sweeten Your Bath or Shower With This Simple & Cheap Scrub

Brown Sugar scrubs are one of my most favorite things to do when I'm having a bath or shower.  I try to do this 2 - 3 times a week.  It's so simple & cheap.  I've seen recipes online like this one calling for brown sugar, salt  & oil .  You could do that.  I have tried similar scrubs & found that my brown sugar dissolved to quickly in the oil for my liking.  Maybe I just need to buy a coarser brown sugar for that, but I want this treatment to be simple & cheap so running out to buy 'special' sugar defeats the purpose...lol.  So all I do is take about 2 - 3 table spoons of brown sugar in a container & then when I'm in my bath or shower I scoop out a little at a time & then just rub the brown sugar by itself all over.  I pay special attention to areas that get more dry like my feet & elbows.  I also make sure to pay special attention on my hands & my back.  My skin feels so smooth & soft after.  The brown sugar is a great exfloiator.  However I don't use this on my face as I feel the brown sugar is to rough for the delicate skin on the face.

 

Here are a few benefits of Body Scrubs:

~ remove all the dead skin off your body and expose a supple layer of younger skin, making you feel fresh and rejuvenated

~ great way to prep your sking for a self tanner

~ a nice treat to just make you feel good & relax a little especially if you do it while in the bath

 

Do you have any cheap tips that you use as beauty items?

Saturday Shop Review ~ From Portland With Love

I thought this was such a cute little shop on ETSY called From Portland With Love.  This shop sells beautiful hand crafted paper flowers.  My favorite item listed were these little petite flowers made out of vintage paper they are so cute & only measure 1.5" in diameter. 

 

I love that many of the items in this shop are upcycled or vintage paper.  What a great way to turn these papers into something beautiful.

Some of the other fun items you can find at this shop:

~ Wedding bouquets for that truly 'green' wedding.  

~ Christmas ornaments 

~ Pendants

Well anyways check out From Portland With Love & let me know what you think.

Morning Affirmations & Rituals

What are your morning affirmations & rituals?  I need something & I'm not sure how to begin.  Would like to start off the morning on a positive note, with my intent for the day being a focus, but I'm struggling how to get that into concrete ideas that can then become action.

 

Any pointers or tips would be a great help.

How Do I Put Something Into Words When I'm Not Sure Exactly What I'm Feeling

I'm out of sorts & all over the place today mentally & emotionally.  Actually it started last night & carried over into this morning.  I was rushing to get supper & homework done so that I could make it to belly dance class.  That just left me all frazzled.  I didn't sleep well so that added to my frazzled feeling.  My place is all cluttered at the moment & not in order so that doesn't help.  I feel grumpy & selfish.  I hate feeling selfish.  I hate feeling grumpy.  I also feel all raw & sensitive emotionally.  I don't get it I'm at the end of my moon cycle if I didn't know any better I'd say it was PMS, but PMS towards the end of my moon cycle?  I think part of it might be diet I know I've been eating to much sugar lately.  I also know I didn't wake up today making the choice today that today will be a good day.  I think I should have some sort of morning affirmation that I should do every day that includes that.  I just hate starting my day feeling out of sorts & being snappy just makes me feel toxic.

Well I can make the choice that the rest of the day will be better & that choice I'm making now.

Birthday Wishes, Spinning & Knitting

I can't believe my little man is 10.  Yesterday was Jeremy's birthday.  He's double didgits ~sniff sniff.~ When did he get so old.  We just did a very small celebration just Jeremy & I.  He's having a birthday party at the local pool on Saturday so he'll have fun there.  But last night was nice, we had chicken, rice & veggies for supper.  I bought small mini cupcakes & put a candle in it & sang Happy Birthday.  Jeremy isn't a big sweets eater so the little cupcakes were prefect.  Not to mention I'm getting a BIG cake for Saturday...lol.  He then opened his gift some TechDecks & an alarm clock something fun & something practical.  Then we were off to Cubs right after that.  I'm volunteering to be Cub leader this year & I have to confess at the moment I'm not overly enjoying it...lol, but I'm doing it for Jeremy as we have 20 kids in cubs & NEED 3 leaders.  I'm hoping as the season goes on the kids will get into a routine & settle down a little. 

 

 

I WISH I had better pics this morning, but I don't :(  I LOVE yummy, rich, beautiful pics, but I was in a rush so I just snapped.  Wish I was better with pics.  Anyways the the two purple dish cloths are for Chris' room mate.  I love knitted cotton dish cloths.  I find they work better & I just get satisfaction out of knitting them & then using them.  I have LOADS in my own personal stash.  My only complaint with them is that they don't hold their colour :( seeing as I'm always drawn to bright colours I do find they lose their colour a little to fast for me.  Other than that they are FANTASTIC.  Every morning I grab a clean dish cloth to use for the day & it's one that I MADE!  Makes me feel good.

 

That odd looking thing behind the dish cloths is my first experience of spinning my own fabric yarn.  It is slow going as I find my fingers get sore, but other than that it's so far pretty cool.  This is the first step after I get all the fabric spun I then have a second step which is plying. I can't wait to get to that step.  That will be interesting as I can then at that point be able to add interesting fibers I have some metallic thread & embroidery floss give it some depth & interest.  I'm going to try to do an hour a night spinning, but we'll see how sore my fingers get.

Wordless Wednesday ~ My Chris

Spelling With Baking Soda ~ Using All The Senses

When I saw this idea I thought it was absolutely brilliant.  This mom AT 1,2,3...Come Homeschool With Me who home schools had her daughter practice her spelling words in a cookie sheet with baking soda on it .  I thought WOW!!!  That would work for me.  I try to get Jeremy use as many of his senses as possible with spelling.  He spells it out, says the letters out loud & now can feel it.  He was sooooo excited when i showed him how he was going to review his spelling test words. Jeremy struggles with school.  He tries really hard & works hard both  at school & at home, but it's work for him.  This year with cut backs the Learning Assistance Center was closed down & this is where Jeremy did his Language Arts & Math last year.  So this year I have to be that much more hands on.  So anything that can make it more fun for him, engage him more where he can get more involved I'm all over.  I will for sure be checking back at 1,2,3...Come Homeschool With Me that's for sure.

So Exicited

So I've been thinking about Christmas gifts early this year.  Early for me anyways.  I know people that have all the Christmas shopping, or Christmas crafting done in the summer.  Anyways I had this great idea for part of Jeremy's gift a fantasy portrait of himself done.  I decided to use Nikkij here is her site Artist Nikkji.  I really like her style.  She does lots of protraits for Bellydancers....lol....however I'm sure Jeremy won't look like a Bellydancer.  He's going to be a Sorcerer with glowing magic red balls & hopefully a dragon in there too.  I can't wait to see the first sketches.  I think so far I've sent her close to 20 pictures...lol.

I Haven't Made My Bed In Three Days...

Guess what it's a good idea that you take a day off, two, three, or even more of making your bed too.  There are actual health benefits of NOT making your bed.  So after you get out of bed in the morning & then make it right away you are providing the perfect atmosphere for dust mites to thrive.  They love the warm environment.  However not making your bed & letting in lots of natural light will drastically reduce dust mites in your bed.   Give your bed & sheets a chance to breathe.  Let some air circulate not only will the sheets feel fresher almost as fresh as when you put on clean sheets, but you will also sleep better.  Not making the bed also helps those that suffer with allergies & asthma.  Both allergies & asthma are things that are close to me as both Chris, as well as my best friend Lisa suffer from both allergies & asthma.  Even though like me you were probably taught to make your bed, don't let the guilt get to you, you will actually be improving your health & your sleep at the same time.  Now don't get me wrong my bed is still neat.  What I've been doing is first pulling up the sheet & blanket then folding that back neatly to the very foot of the bed.  Jeremy will love this lol.  I'll just have him the do the same thing, neatly fold it back.

Well a small miracle happened yesterday.  Jeremy's Dad actually called to see him.  Jeremy was so excited.  I packed him up took him over to his Dad's.  I even checked with Mr. Special if he was going to have him a few nights.  He said it looked that way.  Okay so we talked about school, what jeremy should be doing for homework etc.  I then got a call a few mins ago that Mr. Special has to go up North for 'work.'  It breaks my heart.  Jeremy just wants to see his Dad more than once a month.  Mr. Special sees Jeremy like once a month at the most.  Then instead of phoning to talk to Jeremy he phones me & has me tell him.    I'm always the heavy.  I'm mad at Mr. Special & sad for Jeremy.  Well Mr. Special will have to deal with it himself this time.  I'm going to have Jeremy phone him so that he can tell Jeremy himself.  It's not fair to put everything on me.  Okay vent over....lol

Monday Morning

Monday morning writers block?  Monday morning blahs?  Monday morning I still have this darn cold lingering & PMS? grrrrr....lol.  Well I seem to have some sort of writers block this morning.  I wanted to write a post about the 'sticking it to the man' feeling I get about using baking soda instead of shampoo, but I just couldn't get it out the way I want.  I don't know maybe I was over thinking it.  It for sure is a post I'm going to work on as using baking soda as shampoo works really well on my hair...lol.

Thrift Store Finds

So yesterday at Value Village Jeremy & I had a blast.  They have sooo much Halloween stuff out both new & used.  Jeremy had fun look at all the costumes.  I was able to pick up a few things.



 

Well as you can tell I got jeans for Jeremy for $5 all I have to do is fix the elastic in the waist band easily done.  Plus I got 4 red fabric napkins & 4 blue fabric napkins .50 each.  Chris has made the point many times that I need napkins when we eat, and he's right however my desire to use less paper & more reusable items I was looking for fabric napkins.  Not sure about where you live, but up here they are not easy to come by.  Then it hit me ~dush~ Value Village.  I was right they had LOADS.  Both the red & blue ones were brand new never washed.  I could tell as the fabric still had it's sizing on it.  So I did laundry last night & the blue napkins came out wrinkled.  I could iron (yes Chris I even bought an iron & ironing board yesterday), but I want this to be Simply Crunchy so ironing them would go aganist the 'simple' part of it.  Doesn't bother me if they are wrinkled the'll still work the same.  The red ones hardly wrinkled at all.

Now this I thought was a true find.  Jeremy brought home a little plant from Day Camp over the summer & I thought it needed a nice pot.  So for $5 at Value Village I got this.  The picture doesn't pick up how deep the greens are it's beautiful.  So we re-potted this little plant when we came home.

 

I also got some Halloween slippers & some fabric.  My slippers didn't fit my big feet so I'll have to give those away.  The fabric has already been cut up & is becoming hexagons.  Pictures to follow.

Up Early With Coffee

Well here I am up early again this morning.  Woke up coughing ~sigh~ it's this darn cold I'm fighting.  But I'm up early with coffee...sooo yummy.  Yesterday the love of my life my boyfriend Chris flew away to Winnipeg with is Dad for close to two weeks.  They are going to spend the time at Victoria Beach which I've heard is lovely.  Chris' Dad is in his 70's & it's soooo nice they are spending this time together.  They are staying with old family friends & Chris' Dad is able to socialize which is something he doesn't do enough in Spruce Grove since his wife (Chris' Mom passed) a few years ago.  It's sad actually, because Rodger (Chris' Dad) is a fun vibrant man.  He has some mobility issues with bad knees, but other than doing stuff with his kids he doesn't get out much with friends.  Chris has told me he loved his wife so much, they were each others best friends & seeing how Rodger just stays some what secluded now I believe that.  I think doing stuff around Spruce Grove & Edmonton just to many fresh memories.  I hope they have a fun & safe trip.  I can't wait for Chris to come home.


Last night I did some knitting, and made some hexagons. I'm finding the making of the hexagons fun.  I will post pics later.  I'm just waiting for the right light.

Hands ~ Art Photo

 
Oh my goodness.  At times it can be challenging blogging with an older computer ~sigh,~ but after a little patience & trying different things I FINALLY got this pic loaded.  For some reason blogger wouldn't let me upload directly from my hard drive.  So I put it on Picasa & was able to upload it from there.  ANYWAYS that's my son's & my hands.  The day ended up being to sunny so I only got maybe two useable shots this being one of them.  I did it in sepia tones as I think it looked better than the black & white.

Please tell me what you think.  I'm happy with it.  I would like to do a series of three maybe.

Plans For Today

Today is going to be a GOOD day.  I'm making that choice right now. I believe that's important we need to make the decision the choice a day is going to be good or bad.  We don't just wait to see what happens then we are always just reacting.  If i made the choice that today is going to be a good day, before it really even starts am I not then being proactive?  Wow that's a little deep for before 7am....I just finished knitting a dishcloth on my second cup of coffee.  I love coffee...lol.  Well Jeremy (my son) & I will clean up around here, make up our menu for the week & then our grocery list.  I find menus so helpful when planning what to buy.  Jeremy & I are going to go for a walk up to our old cemetery.  I'm going to take my camera & do something I've been wanting to do for months a photo shoot of mine & Jeremy's hands, just our hands.  I'm going to do them in black & white I think.  Today should have just the right light. I'm thinking they would make good christmas gifts for my parents & siblings.  not to mention beautiful art for my place.  I also want to head up to Edmonton (an hour away) & go to Value Village.  We love it there.  Going to look for pants for Jeremy how is it little boys always wear through the knees of their pants?  I want to see if they have a microwave.  I also need a bookshelf thing for my living room, but that's a want not a need.  I'm also going to look for cloth napkins to keep up with my desire to use less paper & be more enviromently friendly.  Then I will check over the fabric, bedding & craft items to see if there is anything I could upcycle.  Gees I'll have to make a list of what I want to check our at Value Village as well.

Up Early

I LOVE getting up early.  I love that hour or so when the place is mine, and I can enjoy my coffee, read or maybe work on a project.  This morning I'm going to work on knitting a dish cloth.  I want to finish this so that I can give it along with another to my boyfriend's roommate.  Also I told a co-worker I'd knit her some as well. I rented Letters to Juliette last night, but didn't finish it I fell asleep.  So I'll watch it this morning.  I tried spinning last night, but my hand was sore.  So instead I started making hexagons.  For some reason I'm obsessed that each one won't be the exact same size...lol.  They are fun to make, but going to take awhile I'm thinking.

Well I think coffee is ready so off I go mmmm coffee.

I’m soooo not in the mood.

I’m fighting a cold & have been for the past couple of days.  So right now I feel yucky L so I’m on strike tonight I’m not going to cook SO THERE…lol  Going to either get take out or something easy at the Grocery Store.  Plus I’ll pick up some videos to watch for my son & I.  Then we are going to get home & do a picnic in the living room to eat & watch a movie should be a good evening.  Then when Jerbear is in bed I’ll probably do some spinning work on my fabric yarn & I think I’ll start on some paper piecing.  I have a pair of flannel PJs that have torn so I’ll start making little hexagons exciting times let me tell you.

Product Review Cloth Mamma Pads

I LOVE buying stuff from ETSY.  I love the fact that you can buy handmade unique items.  I can buy supplies to work on my own creations & there are even vendors that sell vintage items.  Last year I tried running a shop myself, but I just found with my full-time job, being a single mom I didn't have the time to devote to it.  But seeing as I believe in buying handmade items, supporting smaller business, supporting women's businesses I decided that I will write about ETSY & shops that catch my attention. 



This morning I'm going to review, a great product & shop that I've actually used & have just made another purchase from Moms Crafts 4 U. Yes I use cloth pads...lol.  I first started using cloth pads about a year ago.  I wouldn’t be without my cloth pads now.  Veronica at Moms Crafts 4 U is awesome to deal with.  She offers fantastic colour choices.  Plus she has a wide variety of lengths.  She’s happy to do a custom order for you, for example Veronica is currently making me three 10” pads with PLU & I got to pick the fabric I wanted.  I love colour & love things to be bright & so my pads reflect that…lol.  Veronica offers lots of options she carries light pads/liners, medium/average pads, heavy/post-partum pads & variety packs.  If you are someone just new to cloth pads Veronica also offers great Starter Kits.    That’s not all Veronica sells she has cute key chains that she calls ‘Keypers,’ wallets/totes/bags, & of course wet bags. 

I’m really looking forward to getting my new pads (yes I’m a geek…lol) these will have the water proof barrier PLU which I’ve found that I need. 

Okay I’m going to try to do a quick FAQ about reusable cloth pads.  Keep in mind a lot of these suggestions are just what I do.  There’s many ways of cleaning & handling cloth pads.

Why cloth pads?
~ Well first off cost they are cheaper than buying disposable items.  I believe they are environmentally friendly.  Then there are all the chemicals & dioxins that go into producing disposable items that I don’t need to put in or near my body.  Plus disposable pads would rub & give me almost friction type burns OUCH…lol.

But wait cloth pads aren’t sterile.
~ No they are not.  But I have news for you, neither are the disposable ones…lol.  The commercial ones are white only because of the amount of chemicals used to produce them.

But you are using more water to wash them.
~ Not more than used to produce disposable ones, actually much less.

How do they feel when you are wearing them?
~ They feel great.  They are VERY comfortable.  Much better than disposable pads.  There’s no rubbing & I don’t get any skin reactions from the cloth ones.

Are they hard to clean?
~ Nope!  I rinse mine in cold water & then will wash by hand while I’m in the shower & hang to dry.  I’ll keep doing that during my cycle & then at the end of my cycle I’ll wash all the ‘clean’ pads when I do my regular laundry.

What about stains?
~ The ones from Moms Crafts 4 U are soooooo easy to keep stain free.  I think that’s because she uses cotton fabric.  I find my pads with cotton fleece take a little more effort to keep stain free, but some oxyclean takes care of that.

Do you just use cloth pads?
~ No I also use the Instead Cup, but this weekend I’m going to buy a Diva Cup.  I need both a cup & the pads it’s just the type of cycle I have ~shrug.~

I’m sure there are other questions/concerns I’m missing so if anyone has any please ask & I’ll answer as best I can.

Row Boats ~ Art Photo

I love this picture that I took.  It's my plan to blow it up frame it & hang it in my living room.  This was taken behind the Moyie in Kaslo.  The Moyie is an old steam ship that used to be functional on the Kamloops Lake & residents of Kaslo have worked very hard restoring the ship itself.  I spent part of a sunny day with my boyfriend this summer taking lots of art pictures on the ship & behind it where I found these row boats.

Pictures Bath Mat & Fabric Yarn

Woo hoo I actually brought the right cord to download my pictures.  On my camera were also some pictures that I took over the summer.  My boyfriend is really into photography & we spent one day on an old steam ship the Moyie which used to run on the Kamloops Lake.  I tried my hand to take some art pics I'm really happy with SOME of them.  I'll post some of them later.

Here are the pics of my rag rug.  It's made out of a recycled bed sheet.  I like the look of it & I love how it feels under my feet.  I am aware there is a misake in the pattern ~shhhh~...lol.  This was my first time knitting a cable & first time knitting with fabric so I didn't feel comfortable unknitting that to fix it.  I do plan on making another of these mats so I'm sure that one will turn out better.

This is all the fabric I bought to turn into fabric yarn at some point.  I used two & last night I started on my fabric yarn.

Here are all the strips that I pulled apart in two piles.  

I'm alternating between the two when spinning.  The actually spinning is being done on a size #15 knitting needle & it takes a bit to get the hang of it...lol.  So once I get that all spun I will then have to ply it.  I'll use embroidery thread that I have on hand & add some more contrast colour at that time.  This is not a fast process, but very cool. 

Yummy Pics, Stay Tuned

I love yummy, rich, delicious pics on blogs.  Not pic heavy, but pics that add to the blog & subject so in saying that over my lunch break i went home & took great pics of my rag knitted bath mat get back to work & didn't have the right cord to upload the pics to my work computer ~sigh~ part of this is because my home computer is so old that the usb drive doesn't work any more, but in my mind it is still functional meaning i can turn it on ~sigh~ stay turned i'll have the pics up tomorrow.  I really should get a new computer, but i find it hard to justify the cost. 

I also took a nice pic of all the fabric pieces draped over a chair that i plan on turning into fabric yarn so i'll post that one tomorrow too.

Field of Dreams & Fabric Yarn

Here I am second day for this blog, and as of yet I don't think I have any readers...lol.  Oh well as in the movie Field of Dreams, 'If you build it they will come.'  So I'm being positive that if I write it 'they' will read it...lol.  So on I write.  I was looking at different ways to promote my blog & the idea of Blog Carnivals I'm going to look into this a little more later.

On the creative front like I said I finished my rag knitted bath mat that I still need to take pics of & post, but I'm happy with it.  Last night I worked on my son's scarf.  Except I've used all the yarn that I have for his scarf, so I need to buy some more next time I'm in Edmonton.

Tonight I'm going to try something which to me looks fun.  I'm going to make yarn from fabric scraps.  I bought a bunch of large Indian fabric scraps from Value Village last Friday.  I'm going to see how that works in turning that into fabric yarn.  I got the idea from Mademoiselle Chaos' blog here is the post with instructions Make Yarn From Fabric Scraps.  I plan on using unused embroidery floss that I have on hand to ply it with & then knit it on my #15 needles to knit almost like a knitted necklace. 

I'm a very artistic person & always have ideas roaming around in my head.  I love to paint with acrylics & do abstract paintings.  I also love to make things. 

Right now I'm really enjoying knitting.  I also am very interested in recycling items & upcycling.   So last week it was pointed out to me that the bath mat in my bathroom was looking dingy.  So I did wash it, but it didn't get it as clean as I would like.  So I turned to google to see what I could find.  Well I discovered this blog Cocoknits with a Rag Bath Mat tutorial knitting a bath mat out of recycled sheets.  I had to give this a try.  I had an old double sheet, which I tore into strips & then made into a ball of fabric yarn.  I knitted this pattern as written.  Mine didn't turn out as perfect as this one, but I'm still happy with it & will post a pic of it tomorrow.  I thought this was a great way to pair two things I enjoy knitting & recycling.  I'm going to make another for my kitchen as I have enough sheets kicking around.

Launch

This is a new venture for me.  I plan for this blog to be a mixture of living green, reducing one's 'footprint,' & living more simply.  I'll also include stuff that I enjoy like reading, art, crafts, sports etc.