Meanderings on crafting, painting, charleston and especially the life behind Janetics Ink!
Courtesy of my new fav craft site Cut Out + Keep I found something else to do with felt (I never realized how widely available, inexpensive and fun felt is). They are called Geisha Flowers.
I have made about 10 that now embellish a plain top or my daughter or my hair. Her site even has wonderful instructional podcasts (i really need to look into that 'cause i'm still clueless to what the hell a podcast is). One of them taught me how to make the flowers. Have fun!
I don't buy magazines ever since i purged my library several years ago. I had magazines from 1995 for Christ sake that looked as if they had never been read (i am very anal about my books and magazines looking pristine). Recently i started buying magazines rather than stealing them from my doctor's offices.
Every month i purchase Cottage Living, Domino, Ready Made (every 3 months), Martha's new mag Blueprint, and now Everyday With Rachel Ray (which i like to call "Aww $hit That's Good Cooking" Magazine.
Her magazine has real fun and easy to follow recipes that new found foodies (by the way, i find that title corny) can enjoy attempting successfully. I recommend that if you love to cook and are intimidated by Gourmet cooking mags but want to flex their wooden spoons try it.
This month's issue has a section on Strawberries; and since i still have 2 pounds left over from the 6 i purchased in the spring chillin' in my freezer, i have to try her super easy Strawberry Sauce! It looks soooooooooooo easy and i have everything already in my pantry (which is good 'cause i'm broke as a joke). I'll keep you posted.
“Do you know how much money we’re saving”?! I exclaimed when I found out that we were having another girl. Registering for the second child is so easy. It took me all of 15 minutes to get the few items I do need. Last time it took me and a friend two hours.
This round, I registered for a double stroller (a must), a breast pump (would be wonderful), a Moses basket (not necessarily needed but would be nice) and few inexpensive necessities. We already have a bassinet, crib, swing, play- pen, bottles, toys, plenty of clothes, etc. What else do we need? I wonder if I can register for stuff I just want? Like that 30G ipod...lmao
** Registered under: Wilfong, Charleston, SC at Babiesrus. The same items are available at Target and Wal-mart. Via Amazon.com you can access registry for target, and babies r us (not walmart).
Not a thing on tv tonight. I succumbed and watched “You think you can dance” on Fox. I have a real distaste for programs like this. You know, the American Idol, Survivor, Great Race crap-ola (I know I’m one of the few), but I just love anything to do with dancing (no I do not watch that inane show Dancing with the Stars).
The show was certainly entertaining and not as mean spirited as I thought it was going to be. Some people had real talent....and some were, let’s just say trying out just ‘cause they were gonna be on tv. There was one dude who was a breaker and he almost broke his friggin’ neck. I have no idea what he was trying to do but he cracked his face doing a flip and knocked his yamaka right off his crown. Sorry, but that was HILARIOUS. He was in good spirits and Fox made sure to show an instant replay like 10 times after it happened.
There was the graceful punk ballet dancer- AWSOME
The divalicous gay dude in the mink- SAD
The 2 month sober dancer who is now on his way to VEGAS to compete- Gotta see how that’s gonna turn out
All in all, I think I may tune in. We’ll see.
Today was my last visit to the doctor in my second trimester. I start my last trimester May 30th! OMG I cannot believe that I am almost done. With that comes new anxiety.
I am now at the time that our first ladybug was born. With my first pregnancy I went into labor at 27th weeks and after a week of stalling (through drugs and hospital bed rest) the peanut was born weighing 2 lbs 6 oz. It was a scary ordeal, but I never doubted for a moment that she was gonna be just fine. Afterall, I was born at 28 weeks and look how I turned out..lol
Anyway, the doctor has requested that I visit every two weeks until delivery to make sure I haven’t started to dialate. Usually you do that around your 8th and 9th month. Let’s hope not. I have recently realized that I have had a contraction or two in the last couple weeks (more uncomfortable than painful). Needless to say, I’ll be taking it VERY easy until the end.
Since I bought that Alternacrafts book, I’ve been obsessed with making a new wallet that holds my cards and ipod. Do you know there is a whole craft movement out there for ipods!? I googled and visited Craftster for any ideas. Craftster had great concepts that I will try one at a time. Some were fuzzy. Some were made of felt or leather. No one provided an actual pattern/ template so I’ll have to leave it to trial and error. Apple were selling some that looked like socks.
So I got another craft project in the works. You know that crafting book I bought on Mother’s Day ? Well they had this cool project where you make little wallets using picnic table cloth, plastic report covers, piping and foil candy wrappers. Inexpensive; easy; certainly one of a kind and fun. My first attempt was ...ok, but an enthusiastic jumping off point.
The $8.65 spent at Hancock bought me ½ yard of cloth (enough for actually 30+ wallets) and 3 different colors of ½ “ piping (only use 24" per wallet). I had everything else in my crafting closet.
Hand sewing with floss is the suggested method assembling the wallet, but I found that 1, time consuming, 2, ugly and 3, sloppy. The sewing machine cut the task down to 5- 10 minutes!
So far I have made three. I’m still tweaking out the bugs. The size is perfect (not only does it hold all my cards and the little cash I carry but my Nano Ipod), but I think that there is some potential for something even better. As you can see in the picture above I embroidered an illustration of a peacock on felt as the cover instead of using a candy wrapper (I surprisingly do not have any wrappers in my home since I bake most of our tasty confections).
Once I get a wallet that’s near perfect, I’ll post the how to. Until then, please get the book! It’s worth the $20.
Thanks to my father sending me a belated Mother’s Day present, I pampered myself today. The hubby took the little one to the park and I got my hair braided in a style that I have wanted for a long time- two french braids (they called them Goddess Braids) with extensions that cascade down to my waist.
Later that afternoon I got a much needed eyebrow wax and pedicure. Even tried out a new color! I usually get french tip or just pain white polish but a feeling suggested the diversion. I felt like a girl again.
Typically I’m only bestowed the girly treatment when I’m back home in good ol’ DC, but since it’ll be a time before we venture back I decided it was time that I finally found a local hair stylist and nail spa. Ahhh. I love those massage chairs.
I haven't watched Will & Grace since the thrid season but was called to watch the final episode. I've gotta tell yha that the show- to me anyway- would not have been funny had it not had Jack and Karen. They were the stars to me because Will and Grace's relationship was exhausting and unhealthy. I mean, obviously the two only invested in their friendship because they were so hurt in past relationships so that they couldn't be so vulnerable again (please don't get me started).
The series finale ran about 10 minutes too long. Why couldn't they just stop it after Will and Grace ran into eachother 20 years later. It would of been perfect (but i know we had to find out what happened to Jack and Karen..that was LAME for they then became Will and Grace). I didn't need to hear "Unforgetable" (which is still stuck in my head) or witness the group smiling at eachother before the credits.
I do have to say that the friendship between Will and Grace was inevitable. I loved when Grace left Will's apartment that one last time and said "I don't live here anymore". OMG! that was deep..lol
There are times when we are very close with people we consider family, and then one day you break apart and go down your own paths because you simply don't "live there anymore"(something that i can relate to). Its time to move on. If you were ever great friends, you can pick up where you left off. Many of us pick up friends and lose friends in our lives. I know i have.
I rock the head scarves. I love 'em since my head can never fit in hats. Recently I have been making my own with 1/4 of a yard fabric (100% cotton, Poplin, etc) that I purchase at Hancock Fabrics and it costs me about $.99! So far I have finished almost 8.
What I do is get a 1/4 yard of fabric. I stitch a narrow hem on all sides (eventually i'll use a velvet piping too). It takes about 5 minutes start to finish. Try to stay away from the real silky fabrics for they slide too much even with hair pins.
I finally got to watch Something New. I only have been wanting to see it since Valentine’s Day (all day morning sickness called that date off).
I did enjoy the film and the dude certainly was yummy (looking all like Johnathan Kent from Smallville)..lol. Usually when there is a romance between a black woman and a whit eman you get something like Whoppee Goldberg and Ted Danson (hey, if that’s your taste, go ahead, but I’ll pass) with the exception of Guess Who.
Two thumbs up.
Yesterday was my second Mother’s Day. It started off like regular business (I cook breakfast; Sunday’s laundry; clean; chase after a toddler). Once the hubby woke, we jaunted to N. Charleston to Barnes and Noble where I bought a crafting book that I’ve wanted for a long time. Remember hearing someone yelling at you that you are leaving rings on their precious coffee table? I’m now one of those people and I want to make some coasters with the $30 worth of tile I never used (a mosaic project that never got started 2 years ago).
I got the idea of making coasters from Crafters Coast to Coast last year (the lady used photo transfers and a very porous type of tile imported from Italy) and the Crafty Chica site. I’m excited to try it but have once again become stumped to what art work to do. What a conundrum.
I finally wrote and mailed all my letters and goodie boxes this past week. I’m a great pen pal but sometimes I have a tendency to be slow on delivery. I’ll compose a list of who will get what, and then I get sidetracked once I can’t find envelopes or small enough boxes, run out of stamps, or it’s raining.
It’s so fun to get things in the mail! Who doesn’t love to open their mailbox and smile with great surprise a cheesy postcard or even a present from the amazon.com elves? I swear that is why I signed up with Netflix.
This week my writing investment has finally paid off for I have recieved letters from 2 friends who live in Washington and Iowa and a few things from my sister-in-law in Maryland! I can barely contain myself whenever I receive mail that isn’t a friggin’ bill.
My toddler is breaking in new molars and she’s making sure everyone knows it. I feel so bad for because I remember what it felt like when my wisdom teeth were coming in. Can you say ouch ? And pass me the sledgehammer.
I am a dumpster diver. Most of the contents of my home were orphans left to die due to such disposable times we live in. My dumpster diving is a trait that I inherited from my father who has been a proficient diver for many years now. He once found a coffee table scratched, covered in several layers of paint. Turns out it was a mahogany coffee table that just needed some restoring.
I use to be throughly embarrassed whenever he would stop his car dead in it’s tracks to pack away his new found treasure in the trunk. Now, my husband and I cruise around with our eyes open for any discarded riches. It’s amazing what people throw out...especially rich people. .lol
Recently, one morning, I went to the end of my driveway (dressed in rob sans shoes and my hair running array) to check the mail and in the distance was what seemed to be a stool in the distance. I quickly woke the hubby and made him fetch it.
What a find!
I plan on reapolstering it with a cloth fabric instead of the wretched vinyl that sticks to your ass if it’s hot. Paint the legs white and put it in my living room as one of those ottomon/ coffee table dealies that you can buy for like too much money. We’ll see. Wish me luck
I have 2 window panes I gotta do something with. I purchased them at the flea market in Ladson for $5 (both). Charleston is a historic town and has many buildings that are falling apart and vacant. Many people get their windows from the dumpster. I was thinking of painting a picture on the glass like ljcfyi;or maybe turning them into a frame for my quiling projects of the past. I don’t know yet. What should I do?
I made a delicious low fat dinner for my family:
How many eggs do you go through a month? Last month I went through 7 dozen (4dz from WIC and 3 dz from my in-law’s chickens).
My fresh eggs look so colorful with their brown shells and camdiam yellow yolks. There is something to be said about fresh ingriedents. We even got 60 pounds (out of 600 pounds) of unprocessed beef from a recent slaughter from them.
Yesterday the hubby (now done with his men-cycle) was bestowed Nic's first guitar. His parents bought it for him when he first took interest to learning to play. Legend has it, he locked himself in his room for a spell and taught himself based on a guitar notes poster and by ear.
With this guitar, now warpped but still playable for a beginner, my family will do the same. We are gonna channel Nic's skills...lol Our daughter has already learned to strum the freshly stung strings i just bought today at Purple Music/ Fishy Business (a store that sells fish and music for the last 7 years..weird huh) for $7.
I can't remember how to play Smelly Cat anymore, but when i remember, i'll let yha'll know.
Why is it the first thing a man says to a woman when she starts acting crazy is "are you on your period or something"? I would love to take this opportunity to express to the male sector of our species that "you too have your periods"...otherwise known as Assholeitis. My husband is presently on his period and has been for the last several days (i think it may be a week long cycle). The only thing missing is the craving for chocolate.
The symptoms are easy to spot:
Just call me J. I'm a full blown Picese that can't spell. I love to cook, craft, watch movies, paint, read,write, dance in my kitchen, long walks with my family and travel. Originally from Washington, DC suburbs now living happily ever after on Folly.
