Cheap Labor and Reusable Sandwich Bags

I might stink as a nurse but I make an excellent task master!    I am completely taking advantage of my husband being home on convalescent leave while he recovers from surgery.  

I have been thinking about opening an ETSY store for so long.  Every time someone asks me if I have a webpage I have to sadly tell them no.  My mind is not business oriented.  I can design, sew, and paint until my fingers bleed but when I try to research how to figure out sales tax or how to get a business license all I hear is Charlie Brown's teacher. 

Luckily, I have a husband with an MBA and he is trapped at home for a month.  He is completely dependent on me to drive him places. (insert evil grin)  So, while he is enjoying his time at home, I am encouraging him to do my bidding by figuring out all the rules and regulations of having a legit business.  He claims that he will send me his bill.

While he does the dirty work I am in my sewing/art studio making reusable sandwich bags, totes, and other fun stuff (gotta respect the earth).  Here are some  samples...

Easter Joy 2012

Easter 2012  was a blessing.  


We dyed eggs and no one knocked over a cup of egg dye.  I call that a successful egg dying experience.

 I think Gigi is begging me for one of my eggs.  No way!  I love dying Easter eggs and if I had the peace and quiet I could probably give Martha a run for her money.

 Gene had surgery on Good Friday and everything went fine but he was not feeling well enough to travel. Instead, we spent Easter afternoon with some fabulous military families.  It was perfect to walk across the street and share this important day with our friends. Isn't that how so many military families spend their holidays... with friends who feel like family?  We did miss church on Sunday because Gene was still on painkillers, nodding off at odd times, and we didn't want his arm to get bumped.  Anyhoo, isn't there some rule about not going to church while on drugs?  ha ha

The Easter egg hunt was very impressive.  Each family brought a couple dozen eggs so there was plenty for each child.  Sadly, Gigi ate almost all her chocolate before I got to raid her basket.

 Gigi and her buddy Max.  They play together everyday.

 Greta loves Izzie.  I can pretty much get Greta to do anything as long as I end the sentence with "Izzie does it."

Jesus' resurrection wasn't the only miracle.  The afternoon was so perfect that even sisters got along and shared some love.

Happy 85th Birthday Dad!!

Happy Birthday Gigi

Gigi is eleven years old now.  Eleven?  Eleven!

We always have two birthday celebrations - a friend party and a family party.   Gigi wanted a small party with just her closest friends at the house to play and eat dinner.  It was the best party.  There was minimal stress and lots of food and laughter.  Her family party was on the actual day of her birthday.  Per Gigi's request, I made fake mac 'n' cheese (mac 'n' cheese made with sweet potato instead of a ton of cheese) and alien heads (brussel sprouts).  Her cake was a "Better Than Gigi" cake - chocolate cake soaked in caramel sauce and layered with whipped cream and crushed Twix candy bars.  Yum!

Here is my Gigi summary:

Gigi is a super intelligent child with a wonderful sense of humor but is very messy and leaves a trail of destruction every where she goes.   She is Little Miss Sunshine and Pigpen all rolled into one.

She loves to snuggle and thrives on the approval of the adults who are important in her life.  She is able to shrug off the girly drama and is a self-proclaimed tomboy nerd who loves Pokemon and Skylanders. 

Even though she doesn't realize it, she enjoys competition.  Right now her passions are school, piano, softball, and basketball.   Her need to excel causes her to have a fear of failure and the unknown.  I am constantly reminding her that Gene and I don't expect her to be the best - just try her best.  She told me last week that she doesn't love one sport in particular... she loves the rush she gets during the game.  That is good insight for an eleven year old.

Thank you God for this kid.

My prayer for Gigi is that she continues to hold onto her inner joy and always remembers that she is brave and courageous.  Lions and Bears - G.

Something for myself - a new purse

Hard to believe, but I finally made something for little ol' me.

I bought this fabric months ago with the intention of making something for myself.  I love all the colors and the floral suggestion of the pattern.  When I want to shake things up with my sewing I go to Goodwill to look for items that I can upcycle.  A few months ago, this great military inspired green belt caught my eye.  My waist is not in any shape to draw attention to it by wearing a cool clunky belt but I thought it might make a neat shoulder strap for a purse.

A month or so ago I found the time and inspiration to create a new purse pattern.  I only cut out the body of the purse because... well, that is all I had come up with.  I didn't know how I would finish the purse, I just knew what size and shape I wanted.  Now that I have carried to purse for a few days I know that when I make this style again that the side pockets and the purse body would work better for me if they were deeper.  I carry around a lot of big stuff like books and water bottles.

This past week, Greta was sick and missed a week of school.  You might think that I had an entire week at home to create but not so... I was needed every couple of minutes to sooth and comfort a sick child.  That's my job.  On day five of being homebound, and Greta starting to feel better, I had an hour or so of uninterrupted time.  As a result, I am enjoying my new purse!

On a side note, I work in spurts.  I might sew for a week and then paint for a week.  Then I get bogged down with other distractions.  I like to jump from partially finished project to partially finished project.  Right now, I have an art journal page sitting open on the desk waiting for the last touches of paint and details.  Maybe I'll get to that today.

My next sewing project for myself is going to be a big weekend travel bag.  I have been snapping pics at the stores whenever I see one I like.  I want to remember all the little details.  Hmmmm, I wonder how long it will take to complete the travel bag?

Love Notes for Valentine's Day

Greta's teacher asked the parents to write a Valentine's letter to their child.  We sent it to her in a sealed envelope to be read as a surprise during class on Valentine's Day.  What a beautiful idea!  Sadly, the kids were home for a snow day today but they will get to hear about their special unique gifts when they go back to school. 

I try to remember to write little notes to the girls and slip them into their lunchboxes, under pillows, or in books they are reading.  So often I get caught up in correcting the little things they do wrong and forget to praise their good choices or beautiful spirit.  I was excited about this project and decided to make something  on chipboard that they could keep and enjoy.

Winter Days - a watercolor painting

I saw this picture on Pinterest and thought it would make a beautiful watercolor painting.

Lately, my main interest has been mixed media paintings but my favorite medium is watercolor.   Watercolor paintings can barely suggest a thought or they can be more structured and show as many details as the artist puts in the painting.  Plus, they involve a certain commitment... you can't go back and erase.  Where ever you put the paint is where it will stay, like it or not.

I have been wanting to experiment with masking fluid, which I really haven't used before.  I love it.  I always took the inexpensive route and used rubber cement to mask the areas I wanted to keep clean and free of paint.  It is amazing how much easier the real stuff is to use.  Masking fluid goes on like paint and stays where you put it but then it rubs off easily.  Rubber cement is a thick glue and goes on globby and is difficult to control.  It is also tough to remove.  I am sold on masking fluid!

Here is the initial sketch of the picture with the masking fluid applied (it is the yellowish areas on the paper).

It is almost finished.  I wish I would have taken a picture sooner but when I am painting I get in the zone and nothing else exists around me.  Hours go by and I don't even notice.

Here is the finished painting.   I didn't paint on watercolor paper (not too smart).  The sketch book I used was rated for lightly wet medium, uhmm, that's not watercolors.  So, the final picture was fairly warped so I... wait for it... ironed it flat.  It worked and nothing was scorched.