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.