Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Aaahhh!

Okay, so it's not as bad as all that. Just didn't get enough sleep. I stayed up all night pretty much watching the second season of The Office on Netflix. So yeah, I fell asleep finally around 5:00 AM. Not bad. I can handle one night of no sleep, but anymore and I am asking for it. Two kids to take care of with no break or rest, yeah no good.

On another note, there's this great photography website you should check out. It's called OneADayPix Really great photographer, a friend of mine. He takes pictures of all things, really interesting. I especially like how dirty and real everything is, I think that's his strength. Anyway, check him out.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

It's been so LONG!

I have been very busy this past month. Almost every weekend we had a birthday party to go to, and so it's been a little hectic at the house. We celebrated my birthday a few weeks ago. One year older. Money has been a little out of reach too. Still, I managed to get a few things for the kids and packed it away in the closet. It's funny, because I remember my parents doing the same thing around Christmas.

Speaking of the holidays, I have been looking for a job. It is hard every Christmas. I always start to think, "how can I make some extra money?" This year the answer might surprise you but it's true. I am an Avon Representative. Crazy. I am a pretty shy person for those of you who have never met me. I am hoping to get a lot of sales online through the website, so check it out. It's www.youravon.com/carnold8821 If you spend over $30 you get free shipping.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

I Need To Find A Robot Cookie Cutter!!


I am currently planning my son's first birthday party. It has been crazy trying to find a robot cookie cutter. I finally found one at coppergifts.com I am not sure which cookie cutter I am actually going to order yet though. I really like the robot, but I also like the person, which seems a lot more versatile. They have different sizes too. I was also looking at a mini person cookie cutter and then they have another robot cookie cutter. I was really interested in the Williams-Sonoma robot cookie cutter, but everything that I've read says that the cookie dough gets stuck really easily. I was also looking at this robot cookie cutter, but I decided I wanted something else. I also was thinking about getting a spaceship cookie cutter. I already made the invitation for the party. It's pretty cute and it's based on this invitation. I also found this idea for a robot cake at the cookie website.
If you check out this link, you can see how one person made robot cookies. I am pretty sure the cookie cutter is pretty similar to one of the robot cookie cutters that you can buy at coppergifts.com
I will put up some pictures of the party after we have it.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Self Portrait

I made a self portrait on canvas not long ago. Mostly an experiment, it was done from a picture my husband took of me while we were on our trip. I was actually driving at the time when he took the picture, which I don't really do all that often. As you can see I am very seriously concentrating. It wasn't that bad though, really, but I do tend to worry more than necessary.

Anyway, he took this picture of me when we were driving through Alabama. The way I created the painting was by first sketching the under drawing on the canvas.
Then I figured out what colors I wanted to use. I used acrylic paint for this painting. I decided to go with a blue and yellowish-orange color scheme. Something very contrasting and bold. I painted the background first with a blue color that varied in tones.To finish the painting I had to paint the face. Even though my hair is brown I painted it black, since it looked very dark in the picture. Once most of the painting was done, I also added some colored pencil and some black ink to certain places I wanted to make stand out. I also smudged some of the colored pencils, to blend them into the canvas.All in all, it came out all right. I think my painting of skin tones can definitely be improved, but other than that I do like it.

Friday, September 11, 2009

New Jack O'Lantern Purse Pattern

I created a fun little purse for the Halloween season. I have the pattern up for sale in my etsy store. It is the first of hopefully many patterns I will create for sale. I think it is a very cute little purse. I like to wrap the handle around my wrist and swing it around. I think it would be the perfect bag for a child this season. Anyway, let me know what your thoughts are on it. It was very quick to make and if you want to make one for yourself, go to this site and buy the pattern. I will make sure to send the pdf quickly.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Back from the Chaos

Our vacation is over and we are back to the grind. My husband started work again after having off for two weeks. It's going to be hard around here for a few weeks more though, because he didn't have a paid vacation, so no paychecks for a couple weeks. Other than that our trip was a blast. We got to see lots of family. Not everyone on our list, but still it was a good time. We went to the boardwalk, a favorite destination. No skeeball, sadly, maybe next time. We really need to visit for longer than 6 days. I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation, ha.

My newest endeavor is going to be creating some patterns for my etsy store. The watermelon purse will be going up soon so look out for it. I even have some new ideas for other themed purses. I made one today, it needs some more work, though. I'll make sure to put up some pics when it's finished.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Vacation Time!

Today is the first day of our vacation! Yay! It starts off with a wedding. Yup. Today is the day that my husband's cousin gets married. I know she is going to look beautiful and I am very mucxh looking forward to seeing these two love birds tie the knot. I made them a gift, but I don't want to spoil it by posting it, so I will post a picture of it in a few days. After the wedding it's a lot of driving, yup you heard me right. We are driving to our destination. It'll probably about 1000 miles to where we are going, my home state of NJ. We'll have some real pizza, something we have long missed in Louisiana. Looking forward to seeing family and friends. What fun. It's a long ride though, in a cramped space. Other than that, I am so excited. I guess I need to finish packing. Au revoir!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

It has been done!


This past Friday and Saturday was the Watermelon Festival. It was hot!!!!! As is to be expected in July in my area, that is why I chose to have an interior space. Only problem was that most people did not know there was such a space, so I did not get as much exposure to customers. I ended up not even breaking even. It is not what I wanted but, I will not let it affect my progress. I have come a long way and I now have a lot of very nice items that are going up for sale in my etsy store over the next few weeks. I did sell a few things, and I had a lot of people looking and wanting to buy things, but very few actual sales. One of the saddest things was when a little girl came up to my booth and was looking at a hair clip. She wanted her mother to buy it and her mother said no, then the girl proceeded to throw a fit. I would have gave it to her, but once she started acting out like that, there was no way I could do that. I don't want to reward that kind of behavior. All in all, it was a learning experience and a reminder for me to keep moving forward! Oh yeah and in this picture, you can see I am nursing my son. I had him with me the entire time. It was a juggling act to say the least.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Busy, busy, busy

The festival is fast approaching. I have been working seemingly non-stop. Gluing, sealing, sewing, and crocheting. I am so busy that this is the only thing I can write. After I finish more items, I will write more about how I made them and put up pictures.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Watermelon Purse

Since I am planning on having a booth at the Watermelon Festival this year, I thought I would do some items with a watermelon theme. I used to make a lot of crocheted purses as gifts for people a few years back. I thought, "Hey why not make a watermelon purse?" So that's what I did yesterday and today. Here I show you the first watermelon purse. It may change slightly, but overall I really like it. I think my customers will like it too. Let me know what you think.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Peach and Watermelon Festivals

Peach Festival is this weekend. I am looking forward to it, but at the same time I am kind of dreading it, because I know it's going to be like 100 degrees out. We have been eating peaches everyday for the past few days, because my husband's mother took my daughter out peach picking the other day. So I probably won't be stuffing myself with peaches at the festival this year. However, I may try something if it looks interesting.

The Peach Festival has me thinking more about the upcoming Watermelon Festival more than anything though. That was a deadline I set for myself and my little business. I wanted to get a table and sell some of my handmade crafts, as well as have a portfolio of my artwork to show people in case they wanted to commission any work from me. I have been making caricatures and portraits already, but I also do graphic design and digital art. Not to mention my jewelry, hair clips, and other assorted crafts.

Needless to say, I feel like I am all over the place and I either need to focus on less or I need to separate these into smaller categories of one larger company. I think I will do the latter, because one company making jewelry or drawing portraits will not do well where I live. I know I would get bored and lose my drive very quickly when things get slow too. Overall, I think this coming week I need to get my butt in gear and start making products, put the money down for a table, and determine how I will organize this business.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Tomatoes from Soda Bottles

I was looking around the internet today and I came across a pretty cool tutorial on how to make something like the Topsy Turvy. I'm sure you've seen the commercials on tv about the upside-down tomato plant hanger. Well this is pretty much the same thing only you make if with recycled elements.

It's pretty cool, and now I have another project to add to my ever-growing list of things I would like to make. Check out the process here. It can be found at instructables.com, which is a really great site, and if you've never been to it, you're missing out.

Here's another person's take on the Topsy Turvy. It's a little more stylish and it won't drip all over the place. I think this would be a good option for someone in the city, or someone who has a small but stylish garden. Personally, I like the cheap one made from soda bottles. I also love to reuse things I already have, and I think I would have to buy more items for the second project. Still, it's pretty cool, and I wanted to add it just to show the variations on the same idea.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

A Movie Before Bedtime

Every so often, before bedtime we all watch a movie. Usually it's something animated like Disney, Pixar, or something by Hayao Miyazaki. A few nights ago I put on "Howl's Moving Castle". It's a classic. Every time I watch it I like it more, because it's so layered. Like an onion, no wait that's Shrek. My daughter seemed to like it too. It's hard for her to understand it though. She doesn't quite get that the grandma and the young girl are the same person. Still, she enjoyed the movie.

When we go out to Walmart, one of our favorite destinations, well there isn't much to choose from, we are always on the lookout for new movies to add to our collection of dvds. So, the other day we bought the animated flick, Igor. I had remembered seeing copmmercials for it when it was coming out in theaters, but my daughter was too young then for me to take her to it. (She just recently went to her first movie "Up" with her Nanny)

Anyway, we bought Igor and I think it's a cute movie. My daughter was a little scared, at the case. She said she didn't want to watch a monster movie. I had to reassure her that it was a funny monster movie and that she would like it. I think she liked it, I know I did. What did I like so much about it? Hmmm. It's hard for me to figure out exactly why I liked it, maybe because it's not like any other animated movie I've seen directed towards kids. There were times when I thought, "Oh, this is kind of twisted," but at the same time it was funny. It had a good, uplifting ending, which is always nice in a kids movie. I tend to throw up a little in my mouth if it's too cheesy or romantic, you know with the sunset in the background, and they live happily ever after. This wasn't that.

Good movies, always enjoyable!

Friday, June 19, 2009

New Dolly

I crocheted a new doll for my daughter these past few days. I never really new how to make doll hair, so I was a bit disappointed with all my past attempts at making a crocheted doll. I looked up so more tutorials on how to make a crocheted/amigurumi doll. I found a few different techniques that people use to make doll hair. So, I thought I would try it out. This is a fairly simple pattern that I created.

It is an amigurumi doll. Her head is made until you get to 30 single crochets. I then did five rows of the 30 single crochets. Then I just decreased until I had a row of 12 single crochets. The body is created until you get to 24 single crochets. Then I alternated decreasing and just doing another row of single crochets. This made the cone like shape. Then for the arms, I used an adjustable ring of three instead of six and single crocheted twice in each to get six crochets in a ring. I then just made five more rows of six single crochets. For the legs I started with a color for her shoes, I then made an adjustable ring and crocheted six into it. I continued with a row of 12 and then another of 12, then I slipstitched into the next chain, and I changed to the flesh color. I did one more row of 12 then I decreased one whole row, and continued with chains of 6 until I felt the leg was long enough, about three more rows. I also made a hat for the doll, this is crocheted until you get to 36 single crochets in a spiral. Remeber it is all just a multiplication of 6.

For the hair I took long pieces of a boucle yarn and tied four of them together until I had enough pieces. I pulled the pieces of yarn through the head. Some of the pieces toward the front of the face have more than one piece of yarn pulled through. I gave the doll two braids and even some bangs. I sewed two button eyes on to her. My daughter is almost three years old, so I thought I would try it. I also took some pink yarn and made her a mouth. Oh and the hat has a piece of yarn that is tied around it, so that it stays on her head, but can be taken off. I also tied little bows on her shoes to cover wear I changed the yarn. Just a tip, when you make amigurumi, make sure you leave a long piece of yarn when you are done making one of the pieces because that's what you used to sew the pieces together. That's about it, I stuffed the pieces, and sewed them together and out of came a pretty cute little doll. I think she kind of looks like a biker with the hat right now. I might still add some more things, but for the most part I think she is mostly done. Hope you like her.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Father's Day Comes Early for my Husband

I am so excited about the gift I got Garry for Father's day. It is awesome. I was trying to wait until Father's Day to give it to him, but I am not very good at that. He has to work then anyway, so we decided Father's Day would come early this year. I gave him his present yesterday. He started to open it up, and he was like wow, this is cool. It's a copper pen. I asked him a few days earlier what metal he liked best out of copper, titanium, chrome, and gold, because those are the metal options the guy who made it uses. Anyway, then he pulled the entire gift out of the case and freaked out. I was like, do you know what it is? And He said, "It's a pen with a circuit board in it."

It is really cool. I got it from this guy, Jim, on Etsy. His shop is called creativebark. You can visit his store at creativebark.etsy.com and see all the cool pens he has for sale. A very unique gift, one that is practical too. My husband loves his pen, overall it was a really good choice.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

October 2008 Baby Shower Post Updated


I finally added pictures to the post I made about the baby shower way back in October 2008. Added some pictures of the car seat blanket. It has the instructions on how to make it to. Head on over there, NOW!
If you want.

Inspiration in Strange Places

The other day I was looking around the house, trying to find something to use as a pattern for a little doll. I ended up finding a long cardboard tube. I thought , hmm, maybe. So I wrapped it in felt and pinched one end. That is basically how I came up with the shape of this little doggy I made. Obviously it has come a long way from a cardboard tube, and actually that was only the pattern template, but yes that's the basic idea. It's been shortened too. I think I'll make him some friends in a few days. I already have plans for a kitty cat, that will be for may daughter. I will also attempt to make a bear, owl, and panda, and anything else that pops into my head, or is requested by my daughter. The doggy is for my son, he likes to slober on it. He also likes to throw it on the floor so I can get it for him only to start the whole game again.

I want to make it!

One of the websites that I like to look at from time to time is makezine.com and they made something pretty cool recently. I think one of the reasons I like it so much is because a lot of times, they'll show you step by step. Here they show you how to make a digital tv coat hanger antenna and a steady cam. It's pretty cool. One day I will learn how to use power tools. Go to this site!

Friday, June 12, 2009

It's nice!

Lately, it's been kind of nice out, so on my husband's days off we've been able to go out more. The one problem with that is, our car doesn't have very good air conditioning. We have to aim for bumps to get it to kick on. Yeah, I would love to retire that car. It's his baby though, and we need to wait probably another year before we can actually afford a good alternative. That's fine with me. I can wait, I know that eventually we'll have something better suited to our family. As it is now, only the four of us can ride in the car. It is only a two door, and don't even ask about trunk space for a stroller. We have an umbrella stroller that we bought like two years ago for fifteen dollars that still gets used very often.

On another note, that ballerina pattern I bought is not my first attempt at amigurumi. For those of you who do not know what amigurumi is let me attempt to explain. Amigurumi is a type of Japanese crochet that is done in spirals instead of in rounds. It's really pretty easy with a few differences from the western version of crochet. One difference is you use an adjustable ring to start. You also use an embroidery needle to sew the extremities onto the body.

A while back I made a few different amigurumi dolls and animals. I gave most of them away without taking pictures of them. I took a picture of one of them that I made and gave to my daughter. Some of the other things I made included a little bear and a white bunny. Here is a doll I made for my daughter using the amigurumi technique. There is one thing that is not always used in amigurumi and that is the addition of felt, I like the look of it. You can use just regular old yarn or thread to make the eyes and other details though. I tend to not use buttons and other things that can fall off, simply because it's not recommended for children under three.

I think I used too large a crochet hook in the past. I am pretty confident that the ballerina will come out well, I just need to get the right yarn and actually get everything together so I can get to work.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

My Daughter loves Puppets


Lately, my daughter has started watching this show Oobi. It's a show where hands are the puppets. They have little eyes on there hands on a ring or something, and sometimes they have a little accessory like a hat or a bow. My daughter really likes this show so I started to imitate it with my own hand which of course she loves as well. Now she comes up to me and says, "Let me talk to Puppet," usually I am in the middle of doing something when she asks so I'll say something like, "Puppet's helping Mommy do something right now, hold on." It's really cute though.

Anyway, I thought since she liked these puppets so much it might be fun to make one for her. So, I came up with a little pattern for a puppet. I like to call it pocket puppet, for obvious reasons. It's small. I made it with just a few scraps of felt, cardboard, glue, and thread. I would imagine someone could make this in less than an hour. It is very customizable too. I'm probably going to make some more in different colors, genders, themes, etc.


Another great thing about it is that I can use it or my daughter can use it, so it's pretty versatile.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Cute Little Amigurumi Ballerina Pattern


I ordered a ballerina doll pattern from a shop on etsy last night. The store's name is owlishly. I always wanted to see what they were like. I'm a pretty decent crocheter, so I decided it would be worth it to give it a try. I think I'm going to make the pattern for my daughter for her upcoming birthday. She is going to be three and that's when she gets to start ballet school. She is always talking about when she gets to start dance school, so I know she will love this. The woman at owlishly makes a lot of really cute amigurumi crochet patterns.
Her blog is http://owlishly.typepad.com/ and you can see some of the other crochet projects she's been up to.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The family


This weekend we went to a cousin's house and I got some really cute pictures of my son and his cousin. They are both about the same age. So cute.

They are growing so fast. I can't believe my daughter is going to be 3 soon. My little girl got sick last night, poor thing. I think she is feeling much better now though.

Here is a picture of me wearing one of my newest hair clip designs. I crocheted some yarn and also used some silk flowers and a glass bead to make it. It's up for sale in my etsy store at steenta.etsy.com
I have been making a lot more items for my store. New designs and color combinations. I'll be putting them up for sale next week in my etsy store.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Wookies

This is so cute. Yummy Pancake on flickr posted a picture of some really cute little wookie cookies. You know, like Star Wars. They're really adorable. You gotta check them out. Wookie Cookies or check out her blog, http://www.yummypancake.blogspot.com/ She's got a lot of really cute handmade things. Crocheted bacon and happy toast anyone?

Saturday, June 6, 2009

New Barrettes!


I made some really cute Fourth of July hair barrettes yesterday. They are made out of felt. I just did some hand stitching on them then sewed and glued them onto the barrettes. They are imperfect on purpose, I think it makes them more special.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

My new camera!

I am so happy with my new camera! It came in the mail yesterday. Right when I got it, I started to charge the camera's battery, charging my old camera's battery used to take a whole day, this one was done in a little over two hours. I took a coupe of pics with it. I am so happy with it. I even re-did my etsy store. It looks a lot better now with the pictures I took. No blurry pictures. I haven't used it that much yet, but already it is a big improvement from my old digital camera.
Here is a picture I took of one of the bracelets I made. It is also listed in my etsy store for sale. Just go to
steenta.etsy.com

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

New Scrapbook Paper Yay!

I bought some new scrapbook paper and will be making some new necklaces soon. I will post them here after I make them. I can't wait to get started I just need some spare time. Even right now I am multi tasking. I am feeding my son and typing with one hand. It's the only way I can get things done.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

A Jewelry Box for my Daughter


I got the idea a while back to make a jewelry box for my daughter using magazine clippings and mod pogding them on to a plain box. I picked up a plain box at a craft store for less than five dollars and tore a few sheets of paper out of a magazine. I tried to make sure that all the pieces of paper were similar in color, but had enough interest. I ended up using about four pieces of paper of that had pictures of a nursery. I then cut the pieces of paper up width wise, due to the dimensions of the box I bought. The box is about 9 inches by 7 1/2 inches. Anyway I then just simply glued them down overlapping as I went. I used Mod Podge and a painting brush that I use just for gluing. Then after I covered the box, I went through some magazines that I have saved and looked for words that I wanted to use to decorate the box with. I have things like, "laugh, party central, dream big, baby steps, girl talk," etc. I also cut out the letters to write, "Adelyn's Treasures" on the front. I think it's coming out pretty good. It's not done yet. I still have to do the bottom and the inside, but I wanted to show how the progress of this jewelry box since I may have to hold off on finishing it for a little bit.

My Jewelry


Lately I have been trying to redo our family's budget, so it is only natural that I would also be thinking of ways to add to our family's income. That is why I have decided to start up my jewelry making again. I used to make jewelry all the time before I had children. I think it will be good to try to add some extra income. I love etsy.com and you can look for my stuff at steenta.etsy.com I only have one thing for sale right now but I will add more.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

A new digital camera

I was looking over some of the pictures I took of my children and decided it was time to look for a new digital camera. I have been wanting to get a new digital camera for a while now. I really wanted to get a DSLR, but I think I'll wait until I can buy it without feeling guilty. Our money is pretty tight right now. We just started a health insurance plan that takes $120 from our income every week. That's right I said week, not month, week! That comes to about $500 a month. That was the max amount of money we could save a month. I don't think we are going to be moving out on our own anytime soon, we just don't have enough money. So you would think that I wouldn't be crazy enough to buy something so expensive. Well, it comes down to the fact that I do have some money saved. And when I think about looking back on the pictures of my children, I want them to be blur free. A lot of thought went into the decision, with some help from my technologically gifted husband. And the winner is......... the

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX150S!

Congratulations!You have been selected to be our family's new digital camera. You have a lot of responsibility now, don't let us down.

Here's a review of it with pictures taken with the camera--->LINK

Friday, May 29, 2009

Where are my options?

I don't think it's the women who should change their right to decide if they want to stay at home to be with their children. I think instead we should be open to new solutions of integrating the fact that we are women and we do have children. One option is to put your children into daycare, but as they are now, most women don't feel that is a good option because the cost of a decent daycare is so expensive. Another option might be to have the workplace more open to allowing children and accommodating them. Telecommuting should be an option for women after there maternity leave is up. I'm certain there are other solutions out there as well, but people are too busy trying to make the women who decided to stay home and raise their kids feel bad about their decision. This is not the end of feminism. I feel that we should not just turn our back on the fact that many of us decide to be mothers. We should be able to be presidents of companies, and we should be able to raise our children. Check out the link it's on the same subject as yesterday.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

As A Mom

Some people may think that the role of a mother is easy. It is not. I sacrifice a lot for my children and my family. I didn't choose this life because I want to be taken care of. It's quite the opposite, since I am the one who takes care of everyone, with a lot of help from the people around me. Still, on my resume it does not say how I work at a job everyday with no days off for nearly three years. No it does not. It does show how in that time I started up school again, but the only thing someone at a job would notice is how I later quit without a degree. They would not know that the reason I quit was because I had a newborn added to the chaos of my life and could not dedicate enough time to school for that reason. No, everything is much more gray in my world, not so black and white as a job would like it to be. I don't like excuses. That's not what this is. It's just the truth. Don't label me a dropout! I am taking an extended break. I will eventually get back to my degree, but right now I have more important things that need my attention. They won't be little forever. I want to raise my children with both eyes open and remember as much as I can. This is a modern woman, a modern mother. At least it's the way it works for me.

In case you were wondering why I got so worked up check out the link.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Random Rant

I am getting really annoyed with my current state of leech. I know that I do add to my family but since I am no longer in school, I feel like I'm not working towards anything anymore. I still don't feel bored or rested in any way though since I am constantly busy with a six month old and an almost three year old. Still I am contemplating adding more, by getting a certificate in graphic design. It's pretty inexpensive, I can do it online through my local university, and until I can conceivably re-enter college and work towards getting a bachelor degree, I'll at least have something to prove I am somewhat competent. Now I just have to see if I can convince my husband or father to help with the initial cost, since I am a leech. On another note, I do have some interest in my artwork and have been commissioned to do some caricatures. I guess I had better get to work. I don't want to be a leech forever. Now my only problem is not enough hours in the day, oh yeah and a baby who sleeps only when I do.

Monday, May 25, 2009

My new Flickr account

I just created a new flickr account. In case anyone wants to see some of my pics that I haven't posted in my portfolio or here check it out. Just go here http://www.flickr.com/photos/steenta

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Awesomely Weird Art

I found this at another blog. It's a toothbrush and the bristles are tiny people. Crazy! The artist is Thomas Keely. Check it out Here!

Monday, January 26, 2009

For my Family and Aunt Yvonne

I don't know why God took such a vibrant person from our lives. And while I did not know her as well as others, I do know that she was an amazing person. I know that her life has touched so many people. I believe that she has taught us all in some way how to be better people. I myself have been changed by knowing her. I admire her for the way she lived and will always think of how she chose to consciously live every moment. Yvonne knew what was important. She put her family first. She was so giving she spent all her money on Christmas even though she was far from rich. That may not be the smartest way to live but it shows you a little bit about the person she was. I know she said she would have been happy if she could just take in stray dogs and take care of them. She was caring and funny. She loved my daughter, and my daughter loved her. She loved everyone. Not only did she love everyone, but she saw the person they were capable of becoming and pushed them to be that. She welcomed me to the family. I will always remember her as a beautiful, outgoing, loving, caring aunt. She IS my Aunt Yvonne, my family. I pray that Brandon, Miranda, Grandma, and everyone will find some solace in knowing that she is at peace. I believe that she lived a good life, she laughed as much as possible, and she loved everyone she met. We can learn a lot from her.
We live, We laugh, We love.
I love you all!

Friday, January 16, 2009

How to crochet a baby hat

I wrote these instructions at http://www.ehow.com/how_4532049_crochet-adorable-baby-hat-quick.html on how to make a baby hat with
  • soft yarn
  • crochet hook
  • scissors
  • tapestry needle
First, pick your yarn. If you know the gender of the baby, a blue or green color yarn is good for a boy, while pink and purple work nicely for a girl. Keep in mind, an itchy yarn won't be comfortable for a little one, so try to pick something soft. A yarn that is specifically made for babies is one way to choose your yarn.
Step2
Now, you can start crocheting. Take your yarn, and place it with the tail end pointing towards you. Put the crochet hook on top. Now, take the tail end and wrap it up and over the hook. You should now have the tail end pointing back at you, and the rest of the yarn pointing out away from you. Take the yarn from the ball of yarn and wrap it over the hook from back to front, then pull that yarn through the loop already on the hook. Pull tight, leaving a bit of room to continue crocheting.
Step3
Next, make a chain of three. Then you can decide to either Double Crochet or Half Double Crochet. Half double crochet will be thicker. Whichever you decide, you will do five more in the third chain away from the hook, or the first chain you created. This creates 6 HDC/DC's with the two chains acting as the first HDC/DC. Slip Stitch into the top of that chain.
Step4
Chain two. HDC or DC twice in every stitch, you should have 12 stitches altogether, slip stitch at the beginning to close.
Step5
Chain two. HDC or DC once in the next stitch and then twice in the stitch after that, repeat across. You will have 18 stitches at the end, slip stitch to close.
Step6
Chain two. HDC or DC once in the next two stitches, and twice in the next stitch. Repeat across. You will have 24 HDC's or DC's, slip stitch in the top chain to close.
Step7
Chain two. HDC or DC once in the next three stitches, and twice in the next stitch. Repeat across. You will have 30 stitches altogether. Slip stitch to close.
Step8
Chain two. This time you will HDC or DC once in every stitch. You will have the same number of stitches as the last row. Repeat this for two more rows, to add some length to your baby hat.
Step9
Now you can finish the hat by giving it a pretty edging. A simple edging for a boy is to do a single crochet around and slip stitch when you get back to the first stitch. For a girl you can do a simple ruffle edge. Chain three, single crochet in the next stitch. Chain three and single crochet again. Do this across. When you get back to the beginning, chain three, then slip stitch in the first chain you made.
Step10
Fasten off the yarn by taking your hook out and placing it into the loop facing the opposite direction. Now cut the yarn and pull up a loop pulling all the way through, nice and tight. Use the tapestry needle or the crochet hook to weave the yarn back into the hat. Trim the yarn down to about an inch and a half, you don't want to leave too much yarn, since this is for a baby. Remember to weave the yarn at the top of the hat now as well. Your hat is now finished.

Tips and Warnings
  • For a boy you might want to do a front post back post double crochet edge. Simply, chain two, then insert your hook into the front post and double crochet in it. The next stitch you would go through the back and do a double crochet. Alternate this around. Slip stitch when you get back to the first two chains.
  • Don't be afraid to add cute little embellishments or experiment with different colors of yarn.
  • Variegated yarns can make interesting gifts. I have noticed that a blue variegated yarn can work up to look like blue camo.
  • Try using two different colors at once.
  • Crochet a little flower and sew it onto the hat for a baby girl.
  • Don't add anything that could pose a hazard to a baby.
  • No beads or strings.

Makeup with Talc

I am not the kind of woman that wears makeup everyday. I do like to wear it every once and a while and I definitely wanted to wear some makeup for my wedding. I had always wanted to try the mineral foundations that so many brands had started making. Buy these powdered foundations with care. Make sure you read the ingredients. You do not want any type of powdered make up with talc in it. It is considered to be highly unhealthy if you breathe it in. Supposedly, it has been linked to cancer. This is very scary especially since it is very popular in make up. I did however find a few make up brands that did not contain talc. The first time I went to buy makeup though, I bought one with talc and had to go back to the store to exchange it. The brand I went with was Maybelline. I can not say that this is the only brand to get, nor can I say that this brand will always be a sure thing. All I can say is you should try to be as aware as you can of the all the chemicals you put on your body.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Wedding Cake


For my wedding, I took on the challenge of making my own cake. It might seem like a lot of work but with planning, it is something anyone is capable of achieving. It would be a good idea to make sure you have all the ingredients. I did not, so I had to have someone go to the store for me. Hopefully, you will not make this mistake.

On the day of the wedding, I made sure to get up early and bake the cakes first thing. If you have the time though, you can bake them the day before and let them cool overnight. This is a good idea if you only have one oven. When you go to bake your cake, you'll want to grease and flour(or sugar) your pans. I used sugar for mine.

I used two boxes of cake mix but looking back I think three boxes would have been better. I also used two cardboard rounds made for wedding cakes. You can find these at craft stores. These are also good for making diaper cakes for baby showers, but that is another project that I will talk about on another day. You may also want to have some sort of tier stacker for a wedding cake. I don't know the official name for this but you will know what it is when you go to the craft store and see it. You will follow the directions and bake the cakes accordingly.

I made a cream cheese icing for my cake, and I needed to have butter and cream cheese at room temperature, try to think ahead for things like this. If you don't you may find you don't have enough time to do all that you wanted to do. I guess what I'm trying to say is that planning is everything.

Make the icing while the cakes are baking if you can, but make sure you have a timer going so you don't forget about the cakes. When all the cakes are done baking you will want to turn them over onto the cardboard and frost them after they have cooled. I had one layer cake, but if you use three boxes of cake mix you can have two layer cakes. When you put the top cake on the stand you will want to ice the part of the stand that will hold the cake. The cake will be held in place by the icing and it's cardboard base on the stand.

I forgot to mention that the largest layer should be baked for the times given for the large rectangle cake directions. Make two of each, one mix can make the two 8x8 cakes, while you will need 2 large circular cake pans., not sure how big, maybe 10x10.

You can add a filling if you want. Something simple like a fruit filling can be added. I have used pie fillings on top of an icing. Make sure you ice both sides of cake that touch the icing though. This cake has to sit for some time and you don't want it to get soggy. Then you can ice the cake and decorate with little silk flowers that you cut, like I did.

You don't have to put the entire cake together now, especially if it has an ingredient like cream cheese that should be refrigerated. Just make sure that the bottom cake and the top cake are iced and decorated by the time you have to get ready. Then after you get married all you have to do is come home and put it together. If you are having the reception somewhere else then bring the cake with you when you leave the house or have someone else bring it. Make sure you have extra icing, though. You're going to need it.

I would recommend if you are going to try to cover the cake, make sure nothing touches it. I don't care it the film or wrap says it doesn't stick, it will stick to icing. Use a formed hard plastic cake cover if you must, but I wouldn't recommend anything else.

Good luck with your cake. Remember, it's all about making your wedding personal, so add your favorite silk flower, your cake topper, a favorite berry placed all around the cake in a pattern. It will be beautiful and save you a bunch of money for your new life together. You'll feel a sense of accomplishment as well, knowing you did something most people wouldn't dare try.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

The Clock Keeps on Tickin'

Well, it's been awhile since I wrote anything and much has changed. I had my son in the end of October 2008. Thanksgiving was crazy! Christmas was crazy! My family came to visit. We had a very rushed baptism and wedding and now I am getting back into college. That about sums it up. I made an ornament for all the babies this year, like I do every year. I even made a wedding cake. Not many people would take on that challenge. It was fun though and I love being able to say that I did it. I guess that's one of the biggest reasons why I craft.