What to do with all this stuff???
We are moving soon, and I find myself with the daunting task of sorting through an amazing amount of stuff.  Looking through the amassed hordes of things we have accumulated in the basement, unused closets and rooms of the house I can't help but giggle. I think there are things that haven't been removed from their boxes since we moved to Columbus. That was five years ago. I think I can safely say that this purge will be good for us. I myself have an unending amount of items that I continually say that one day I will be able to wear again. Maybe it's because the item has some mysterious pull, be it the pattern, material, or shape. Most likely, in my case, it has sentimental value. Those are the hardest to part with. Like my old R.E.M. and Blind Melon concert T-shirts. These poor things have been worn lovingly for years, and I'm not ready to part with them. 

Most items have predetermined destines. They will travel to the new abode or to storage. If not, they will be sold or donated. There are those items that are just no longer useful in their current well used conditions. I couldn't sell them and would feel guilty donating them. There are also those items that could probably be worn again or can still be used in it's intended purpose, but there is something about it I absolutely love.  Clothing usually falls into this category as well as broken decorative items. I've been researching a lot of up cycling ideas as a way to stretch my household budget while doing a little bit to lessen the effect of this purge on the amount of waste that goes into the area landfill or worse yet just ends up in a box sitting in storage or the closet of the next place we live. 


So as I have been going through my stuff,  I have also been looking at up-cycling crafts that I can reuse my tasty and well, not so tasty items. I'm always looking for new techniques and ideas to pique my interest. The catch is that they have to be easy, attractive and useful. What is the point of investing you precious time to make something that will be novel for a while on the shelve but will so make to a drawer or closet. I don't have a lot of time to craft right now, and the house is in a stay of chaos. So for me to pull out my supplies or sewing machine it better be special. I have found a few projects I am looking forward to trying though.


I already melt down my old spent candles. I made quite a few simple candles using mason jars. When I ran out of Mason jars I got the idea to use these small copper Jello molds to make wax discs. They really turned out great, and will be useful when I want to make candles again. They're are also decorative. I love it when my supplies look nice sitting on the shelve. There are all kinds of tools and supplies that you can purchase to make candles. I have always just used old pots and utensils that I have in those boxes I was talking about.  I still have more to melt down and get in disc form, but with the weather warming up it is too hot to melt wax. Next rain I'm going to have to finish up the task. Next winter I'm going to have to make my self get this done during the cold months. But for now this discussion will have to wait for a rainy day.


What I have on the brain right now is felting old sweaters. This is a great use for those poor old wool, cashmere, alpaca or other animal fiber sweaters that have seen better days. If they were accidentally washed and dried before, then even better. Your almost there. So let's get ready to dig through those moth fill boxes and look for woolly sweaters.
Coming soon..Adventures in felting.

Autumn is in the air.

The weather in Ohio has taken a definite turn to autumn. I do worry that Fall is arriving so early. We had such a cool summer this year, I worry about how cold this winter might get. I just love global warming.

Yesterday was so nice that I received a little inspiration. I went through all of my scrapbook scraps and put together all the supplies for autumn paper crafting. I set up the whole thing on the back porch and spent the day crafting outside and playing with my son. We had a wonderful time. I sat where I could see him run all over the backyard playing with the dog and I could play with my toys. I would join them in the frolicking on occasion. We had a blast, well until he flipped a chair backwards, and went face first in to the stairs on the patio. I have never been so scared. His little face was scrapped and it left huge lump on his head. OMG, it broke my heart to hear him cry and I couldn't make the pain go away.

He's such a tough little guy. After a good fifteen minutes of sobbing. He sucked it up and wanted down. Walked over to the chair and step, looked at them and went back out in to the safety of the grass and played. I went ahead and called the doctor, but she didn't seem to horribly concerned. So I watched him like a hawk for the next hour, gave him some Motrin and let him nap for about an hour. He woke up like nothing happen. The resilience of children continually amaze me.

This is what little boys do, I hear.

Enough of the drama.......

I didn't realize how rusty I am. I haven't really done any paper crafting for over a year. I had an inspiration for a series of autumn tags. I finished the first in the series.

Each tag will have a unique shape, but the colors and techniques with be uniform throughout the series. I plan for the series to include grains, cornucopia, and pumpkins.

Finger Painting Fun.

I got so depressed yesterday when my son wouldn't come to me or kiss me. I know that this is a normal stage that children go through, but it is still a hard pill to swallow. This morning when we were doing our morning routine, I realized we had fallen into a rut. So I set out to have some crafting time with my son.

Sage just turned two. I have been dying to finger paint with him, but he puts everything in his mouth. I have been afraid to let him use the store bought finger paints. They tend to be aimed toward older kids and have chemicals in them. I am sure that the more reputable brands must be safe, but I feel more comfortable knowing what my son will inevitably digest. I found this recipe athttp://www.creativekidsathome.com. They have other recipes and even one that the kids can help make, but my son is not quite ready for that yet.

They are made with the same ingredients that I use in baking so there is nothing toxic to ruin my pots.

Homemade Finger Paint

Ingredients

1/2 cup cornstarch 3 Tbsp. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 2 cups cold water food coloring

Directions

In a medium pan, mix all the ingredients together to make the finger paint. Cook over low heat 10 to 15 minutes. Keep stirring the finger paint mixture until it is smooth and thick (a spatula works best at keeping the mixture from sticking to the sides and bottom of the pot). After the finger paint has thickened take the pan off the stove and let the mixture cool. ( I found that it took longer for the mixture to thicken.)

After cooling, divide the finger paint into storage containers depending on how many colors you would like. Add a few drops of food coloring to each container. Stir the coloring in to the paint to determine the shade of color. You're ready to finger paint! Cover tightly when storing.

We had so much fun. I think he was wearing more than made it to the paper. I was right about the digestion of paint, I was really glad I made it from scratch. No Picasso, but maybe a Van Gogh.

Three Sisters

As I walk into the garden this morning, the butterflies and hummingbirds were playing with the bumblebees amongst the corn. I watch for a while, then leave them alone to enjoy their frolic before the afternoon heat set in. I’ll come back later…. Pumpkins are ripening in the field and on the fence. The fence is cheap. Flimsy green coated wire used to contain tomatoes. I had it left from a project last year. I used it to keep Sage (my son) and Salvador (the dog) out of the garden. Nothing is more destructive to seedlings than a golden retriever and a two year old. I’ve been limiting my gardening spending this year so I utilize what I had. When the vines started to get long, I trained some of them to climb the fence. I didn’t think about the weight of the pumpkins. It is not vital at the moment but all the pumpkins are growing at the top of the fence. The weight will get to be too much soon. So I am in the process of building a support to tie the pumpkins to. They look magickal growing in the air. The sweet corn is really beginning to produce. At last count I have a witches dozen of sweet corn. A few ears are nearing harvest. I can’t wait for the day when I my family sit down to the table and enjoy the fruits of my labor. The stalks are tall and health. They will make a beautiful fall display on the front porch, especially with the Hopi Blue fruiting. Hopefully, the Butcher’s Blood will give me at least one ear. The butternut squash ripen and grow quietly and unassuming among the pumpkins and the corn, happily ripening in the sun. I have been harvesting green beans for a while now. Groups of six plants grow around each of the five corn circles. They are really going crazy. My family is not the only ones enjoying their goodness, but my friends having them for dinner also. I see canning in the near future. Holiday green bean casserole made with fresh canned green beans. Food that from seed, I grew harvested and processed myself. I can taste it now.

Cross Stitch...My first crafting love.

The winter solstice is alway one of my favorite times. I remember growing up we always made ornaments for our tree. My mother wasn't openly wiccan, but she had her tendencies. That could be why she steered me toward that path. I think she secretly wanted to practice the wiccan religion, but she was afraid to upset my grandmother. I grew up disappoiting people so it wasn't a delima for me. I digress..... Before I got pregnant with my son, I purchased the Crafters Corner Stocking kit. It just spoke to me. I always wanted to cross stitch my own stocking, but never could find one that I really liked. After finding the kit I set out on a journey to finish it. I didn't realize how hard it was going to be. I thought that it would only take me a couple of months. I couldn't have been more wrong. The first Yule came and went. I had barely put a dent in it and it was put away for awhile. During this time, I got pregnant so my mind went else where until I had to start staying off my feet. So I picked it back up for a while. By the time I had my son, I finished about a third of it. If you have children you know how crazy things can get. So it went back on the shelf. One day I was looking online at cross stitch patterns and found the one that I wanted for my son. I couldn't start it until I finished mine. So I pulled it off the shelf again. It took me another few months, but I actually finished by last Yule.