Kindle Cover

No project from Mom this week so I thought I would go it alone. Hopefully she will be able to catch up soon. I do enjoy her creativity.

Okay, I hear you moaning about yet another book project. I can’t help it, I just love working with books. I also love shopping for them at the many used book sales in the area. Although there are many books to choose from, finding a hard cover book with a

pretty cover that is exactly the right size as a Kindle has been a little tricky and I have been looking for a while. This particular book was so perfect for my project that my little hand just reached out and snapped it up before anyone else could get it. Like anyone else would want an old copy of Madame Bovary when they could pick up a Twilight novel or something equally as intriguing. What was I thinking? I really love the gold and muted red of this cover.

I have wanted to make a book cover for my Kindle for quite some time now. I feel it’s a nice mix of old and new technology. I did a bit of research before starting and found this great tutorial: www.unexpectedelegance.com if you are interested in making one for yourself.

Challenge Week #4

I asked my daughter to stop at a consignment shop with me last week-end. I thought a set of fresh eyes might help with my choice of project for the week. We went in the shop with no idea of what the next project would be. We wandered around for a bit not seeing anything very inspirational. My daughter picked up a set of wooden coasters as a possibility but I couldn’t think of anything to do with them. I did like that they were wooden and the center portion where you would place a glass looked perfect for framing something. Even though they were only $3, I didn’t buy them. I was thinking about the coaters as I drove home. Of course once I got home I had an idea and I headed back to the store to pick them up.

Challenge: Week #3

I’m feeling like my regular haunts are not putting forth any creative material for my upcycling projects. I was in a bit of panic because I couldn’t find anything. I was headed down to the Hudson Valley to have some fun on a wine tour and wouldn’t have time to do any of that type of shopping. Maybe stop at some yard sales along the way? That didn’t sound like much fun to me. Although add a little wine and I might see things in a different light!

When I pulled into my daughter’s driveway, I could see that one of her neighbors had been cleaning out their back room. Several artist canvasses, some still wrapped in plastic, were piled up next to the dumpster ready to be taken away. I was sure I could find a project somewhere among them so I gathered up a few and tossed them in the trunk to take home with me. Dumpster diving wasn’t included in the contest rules, but I don’t think Mom will mind.

Challenge: Week #1

Well we did it! Mom and I both finished our projects on time this week. When we talked midweek I wasn’t sure it was going to happen. A week isn’t a very long time to find a treasure and develop it into a project and we were both feeling some pressure. Time will tell whether or not we can keep up the pace.

My project began with a set of Smithsonian souvenir cookie cutters. The set includes a star, flag, airplane, elephant and dinosaur. When I saw them in the store I just stared at them trying to figure out how I could use them. My daughter stepped up next to me and tipped me off to an idea: use the cookie cutters as a stamp.



I spent a day or two trying to figure out which stamps to use and what to stamp them on. I stopped by a second hand shop and found a white cotton dresser scarf which was just perfect. I decided to go with a patriotic theme and chose the star with red, white and blue paint. The stamping was really easy and only took me about 30 minutes to finish. In the end, I decided to do a little spatter painting to add a little interest (those are the blobs you see!). I think it adds a little interest. Cookie cutters come in so many shapes and sizes and I think this idea would work well for personalized curtains, pillows and even t-shirts. There are so many possibilities to ponder.

Bottle Cap Coasters

While perusing the craft section at the Waterfront Arts Festival a few years ago, I spotted some coasters that featured beer bottle caps. They just screamed fun and good times. But it was such a hot day that it was all I could do just to keep walking let alone make a decision to buy anything. Of course once I got home and refreshed, I wished I’d taken the time to buy a few. Once a festival closes, you have no idea where to buy the wonderful things you passed by. Fortunately, I live in an area where there are LOTS of festivals and the hunt was on. From festival to festival we went in search of the coasters until I finally found them a year later at Canal Days in Fairport (a really nice festival if you are ever in the area!). Even though the selection was low by the time I found them, I did buy a few.

As I used the coasters I started to really look at how they were made and decided I wanted to try to recreate them. There were only three materials needed: resin, bottle caps and the container to act as the coaster itself. How hard could it be? It was much harder than I thought and the search took me several months. The resin was readily available at Michael’s and with my 40% off coupon was affordable. Because I wanted a real variety of bottle caps, I enlisted the help of my craft beer drinking friends. They really took my request to heart and always checked the bottle caps to make sure they were “cool” before making their purchase. Thanks, guys!

The real trick was finding the container. What was it? I searched on-line for petri dishes and that wasn’t it. I searched for stainless steel jar covers, no luck. I was thinking of giving up when I walked passed a display of jar candles at Big Lots. That was it! The covers on the jars were exactly what I was looking for. Now that I knew what I was looking for, I needed to find the source. Back to the internet I went. It took some doing, but I finally found a source and placed my order.

The process was very simple, mix up the resin, pour a small layer, and arrange the caps, let dry for 24 hours. This step is crucial because the bottle caps have a
tendency to float if the resin is poured to fill the entire form. Once dry, the bottle caps are adhered to the bottom of the coaster and another batch of resin can be poured to cover the bottle caps. I don’t think there is any way to avoid the little bubbles in the resin that are created from stirring. I used my hair dryer on a low temp to bring the bubbles to the surface so they could pop. Dry for another 24hours before using.

Mission accomplished! I think these little guys are adorable and make great party favors for a fun-loving group. I did puzzle over this project for quite some time. Could my brain power have been used to solve a larger problem than making beer coasters? Sure, but what fun would that be!

...more from the attic

In my last post I mentioned that we had dragged some odds and ends from Tom’s family garage attic. Among the treasures was an adorable chrome and red Formica table but no chairs. We pulled out two formal dining room chairs that were covered with goop and grime. My mother thought she could revitalize the chairs to match the table until we found the appropriate chairs to complete the set. She took the chairs home and scrubbed them up and painted them red so they would match the table. Before we could pick them up, I rescued some chrome chairs from the dumpster at work that I knew would match the table. The result? Two red dining room chairs with no purpose.

Unable to sentence them to the landfill, the red chairs ended up in my basement which is getting extremely crowded with all my treasures. As I walked on my treadmill, I would look at the chairs and wonder what to do with them. They have good lines and are very sturdy. Hmm, being in the Adirondack frame of mind, birch bark came to mind. My thought was to do a faux birch bark finish and pull the chairs up to the table in our new camp. I had an idea but not the experience to pull it off. I looked through some faux painting books from the library but there were no birch bark examples for me to follow. What to do? I called my mom who has been painting furniture for years. Even though she hasn’t done anything lately, I was confident she could help with my project.

I was fortunate enough to have my mother come and spend the week-end with me. I’m happy to say she was eager to help me with my project. It took a little bit of explaining to convey my thoughts to her, but once she got it, we were off and running. We started in the morning with two coats of white ceiling paint as a primer. By the time we got home later in the afternoon, we were eager to start the. faux painting part of the project and turn the chairs into birch trees. We worked together pretty well, me trying to explain my vision and her trying to teach me the technical aspects of the job. I worked on one chair and Mom on the other. Our styles are a little different but in the end, the chairs look pretty similar.

I’m not sure if the chairs are quite done yet, they may need a little detail here and there but I’m pretty pleased with them so far. Another victory for old furniture! The chairs are truly unique and will certainly add a little whimsy to our décor. I haven’t worked on a project with my mother for quite a while now and I have to say, it was a real pleasure. Thanks, Mom!

Knitting...again?

I don’t understand my obsession with knitting patterns. I am such a basic knitter that there really aren’t many projects I can attempt with any hope of success. Reading the directions is like trying to interpret a foreign language. Can you make sense of the following? Honestly, I just don’t have the patience.

PATTERN STITCH: (Multiple of 4 sts plus 3) With Color 1 cast on sts. Row 1 - With Color 2 K. Row 2 - With Color 2 P. Row 3 - With Color 1 * K 3, with yarn in front sl 1 as if to P, repeat from * across, ending K 3. Row 4 - With Color 1 * P 3, with yarn in front of work sl 1 as if to P, repeat from * across, ending P 3. Row 5 - With Color 2 K 1, * sl next 2 sts onto cable needle and hold in back of work, K 1 (sl st), then K the 2 sts from cable needle, K 1, repeat from * across, ending K 2. Row 6 - With Color 2 P. Rows 7 and 8 - Repeat Rows 3 and 4. Row 9 - With Color 2 K 3, * sl next st (sl st) onto cable needle and hold in front of work, K 2, then K the sl st from cable needle, K 1, repeat from * across row. Row 10 - With Color 2 P. Repeat from Row 3 for pattern.

Besides interpreting the pattern, you need to know about such things as gauge and various types of yarn. If you are off on either of these two things your project will not resemble the beautiful picture that enticed you to take on the project in the first place. You may remember my attempt to knit a scarf last year. I could not find the yarn called out in the pattern and used what knitting needles I already had even though the size was off. The result? An afghan-sized scarf that is more appropriate for use as a lap rug than a scarf.

Undaunted, I keep searching for simple patterns that will both satisfy my desire to knit and have some useful purpose. Enter Miss Guinea Pig. This adorable little pattern was delivered to my email (yes, I torture myself with a pattern-a-day delivered straight to my email!). I like this pattern because it says things like “Gauge is not important” and “If your stitch count is off it is really no problem”. How can I go wrong? True to form, I started with yarn I already had that was close to the required material. Big mistake! The result was a brown blob of ugly yarn. But the pattern was easy to follow and the project quick to create so I decided to find the right yarn and try again.


I have to admit that I am pretty pleased with the end product. This little animal is soft and fuzzy and has a friendly face. I know a little girl who has been feeling a little under-the-weather and thought my creation might cheer her up for a little bit. It looks like Miss Guinea Pig is just the right size for a little girl to cuddle and love. I have already received a request for another guinea pig. Maybe I have finally found a knitting project with a future. I’d better get started!

Book Box

Hey, everyone, it’s been a while and my projects just keep piling up! It’s time to get moving again.

This is an odd little project that I have been meaning to do for some time. Not because it has any apparent value to anyone but rather that I am intrigued by old books that end up at the $1.00 a bag book sale at my local library. Knowing that these books will only end up in the recycling bin, I don’t have any qualms about giving them a new life. I finally found a reason (translated: excuse) to move forward with this project.

I was helping my mom with her yard sale over the Memorial Day week-end. As I was shopping among all the “stuff” I came across this beautiful book. The book was in good shape and the cover was beautifully illustrated. As I flipped through the book I discovered that it had been a gift to my nephew over 20 years ago. My nephew is getting married this summer. He and his wife-to-be are both elementary school teachers. I had a feeling that this book would help me craft a useful and meaningful gift for them.

The supplies needed for this project are very simple: white glue like Elmer’s (I had Mod Podge so I used that), a paint brush, a metal straight edge, a box cutter and of course a book. What you will do is glue all the pages together and then cut out the center, creating a box out of the book.

Choose a page that you want to be the first one cut out, and save that page to be cut out at the end. Even if you don't want to save any pages at the beginning of the book, you must set one aside for a later step. I saved a few pages. One being the inscription from the original gifter of the book.

To start, mix a solution of white glue and water. Just enough for the glue to be runny and absorbed by the edge of the book's pages. Holding the remaining pages together, brush the edges with the glue solution. I wasn’t sure why I needed to add water but the diluted glue soaked into the pages making it much more effective at keeping the pages together than just applying glue to the edge of the pages.

Close the book up and set it under some weights (like other books) to dry. Once the pages are set, measure in about an inch from all edges and draw a line. Now it’s time to start cutting. Using your straight edge and cutter, gently cut out all the pages. Be careful not to put too much pressure on the spine of the book while you are cutting. I found the corners difficult. Try to keep them straight and clean as you move forward rather than leaving the clean-up until the end.

Once all the pages are cut, apply the water/glue mixture to the exposed cuts, close the book and set under weights. When dry, apply glue to the reserved page. When dry, use the cut pages as a guide for cutting out this last page. This page gives a nice smooth finish to your cut pages. Believe me; it can cover many indiscretions.


I’m really pleased with the finished product. The “box” will serve as a holder for a gift card for the happy couple. I will add a little filler and tie it all up with a ribbon. There are so many different books and titles that could serve as great little gift boxes for a variety of occasions. It takes a little time, but the cost is little and the presentation quite original. I hope they like it!

Hypertufa: Lightweight Artificial Stone Pots

Okay Martha Stewart let’s try it again. While looking through Martha’s Living Magazine, I came across directions to make these beautiful stone planters. The suggested materials and technique were meant to create a planter that looks like stone without the weight of stone. The molds pictured in the article appeared to create interesting and unique planters. My mother read the same article and wanted to give it a try.

Between the two of us, we gathered the materials: a variety of molds, cooking spray, cement, peat moss, perlite, rubber gloves and a mixing container. Common enough materials but it did involve a trip to Lowe’s and a very heavy, dirty bag of cement. Materials gathered, we read and reread the directions. Should the mix be the consistency of cottage cheese or cake batter? Martha said cottage cheese so that’s what we did. Filling the molds didn’t take much time. It was actually pretty anti-climatic, especially considering the time it took to gather all the materials. We packed the mixture into our molds with a minimal of fuss. Once filled, the pots were covered with a tarp to cure for 24 hours.

We waited the required 24 hours and then began to unmold our creations. The cooking spray had done its job and the molds released without a problem. In the interest of creativity, one of us (not me!) had filled the mold very loosely and these pots did not have enough strength to hold themselves together. We did hold out some hope that once the cement had fully cured, the stability factor would increase although it didn’t seem likely. The pots still had a few weeks to fully cure before we could really put them to the test and make our final judgment.

About two weeks passed before we checked our pots again. Now we could pick them up without any crumbling but they still didn’t seem very stable. Next it was on to the water test. After all, if the pots were to be useful they would need to hold plants, soil and water. I poured the water into the first pot and it drained right through the bottom without hesitation. As I picked up the pot it totally collapsed, creating a pile of soft, crumbled cement. None of the pots were successful, even as nonfunctioning pieces of art. I dragged them all up to the stone wall, dropped them and watched our creations disintegrate before my eyes.

I suppose we could use what we learned during this process and start over with new pots. But then again, I see Big Lots is having a sale.

Twig Frame

Are you one of those people who walk through gift/craft stores thinking that you could make the items for sale on the shelves? I’ll admit that I am one of “those” people. It isn’t that I don’t appreciate the creativity and time it takes to create, but some things just look so darn simple. In the end, I don’t purchase but go away thinking that some day I will make that such and such.

I was recently in a little Adirondack shop when some little watercolor paintings done my Suzanne Cavanaugh caught my eye. Now I know I can’t do anything like that (yet!) so I bought two of them. The paintings were matted but not framed. The subject matter was just perfect for a twig frame. Now those look really easy, don’t they? Back to camp I went to gather the necessary supplies. It wasn’t difficult to find birch bark along with birch sticks and twigs on the ground. I knew I would be bringing this all back to the Finger Lakes to work with so I tried to find a variety of sizes and shapes. It did seem a little silly to load up the truck with sticks and bark but birch trees are not as easy to find here.

Once home, I laid out my materials and started to think. Tom graciously made me a frame base from which to start. I have to admit that I had no idea what to do. I searched the internet for ideas and came up with a simple twig frame said to be suitable as a children’s craft project. If a child could do it, I thought I could manage. I measured the sides of the frame and cut the sticks a few inches longer. It was a little difficult to make the first tie and I wondered how little child fingers could hold it all together and make a knot at the same time. Maybe with an extra set of hands which I wish I had!

With all four corners tied, it was time to make a decision about the base. I thought it would look interesting to wrap the frame with birch bark. I didn’t have any pieces large enough so I soaked the bark in water and peeled it apart. There were several layers of bark in one piece. I didn’t know that. My one piece of embellishment was a band of small twigs across the middle. Not fancy but a nice little touch.

I am pretty pleased with my little frame but realize how difficult it can be to make simple looking items. I have a new respect for anyone who can craft Adirondack furniture and accessories.

Lavender

I’m sure that I have experienced lavender in some way over the years but I don’t believe I ever acknowledged that experience. My first real exposure to lavender came when I visited my local spa for a massage. I was in a peacefully decorated room surrounded with the most fresh and delicate scent. Of course that was the scent of lavender. I have been a fan of it since that time.

A few years ago I had an empty spot in my garden and chose two lavender plants to fill the space. They did surprisingly well and produced an abundance of flowers. Last year I left the blossoms on the plant because they were a pretty addition to the garden. Over the winter, I ran across instructions for making bath sachets using lavender flowers. The instructions were simple: place dried lavender flowers and Epsom salt in a little pouch made from cheesecloth. The cheesecloth is meant to keep all the dried flowers from clogging the tub drain. I waited all winter and spring before I could harvest my own crop of lavender for this craft project.

Once the crop was harvested, it was time to gather supplies. I cut the lavender and set it out to dry and then pulled the dried buds from the stems. It smelled great! Instead of making cheesecloth bags, I decided to recycle my silk teabags. I split them up the side, filled them with lavender flowers and sewed them back up. Of course they were too small to include the Epson salt but it shouldn’t be a problem just sprinkling that into the water. I was right, it wasn’t a problem. What a lovely soak I had with my lavender tea bags and Epson salts.

While I was thinking about lavender I decided to do a little research on the subject. I discovered that Queen Victoria of England made lavender popular across England. She used it to wash floors and furniture, to freshen the air and had it placed among the linens to freshen them. Queen Elizabeth I drank lavender tea to help ease her migraines. The French continue to send baby lambs to graze in fields of lavender so that their meat will be tender and fragrant. Lavender is actually a member of the mint family and is close to rosemary, sage and thyme in its characteristics. I have seen containers of dried lavender in cooking stores but have never thought to use it in that manner.

Curious about the culinary uses for lavender, I did a little research.
A lavender sorbet recipe immediately caught my attention. The recipe calls for sugar, water, lavender flowers, lemon juice and vodka (to keep the frozen mixture soft and smooth). It was a simple enough recipe to pull together. Oh my, what an interesting dessert. It seemed like I was eating pure sugar mixed with scented lotion. To give it a fair try, I nibbled on the sorbet over a few days. Give it a try if you have an adventuresome palate. It may actually be the perfect dessert because it satisfies your sweet tooth while soothing your senses.

As for me, I think I’ll keep lavender out of my kitchen and in my bathroom.

Watercolor Painting

I have long been a fan of the art of watercolor. Watercolor paintings have such a soft, dreamy look. The colors bleed into each other creating less defined edges that allow your imagination to see what is inside the painting and not just what is imprinted on the paper. Not a student of the fine arts, I wanted to learn how to work with colors and blending techniques without having to concentrate on fine details. Not to say that watercolor paintings do not have detail, but I was thinking of painting in a more abstract way.

Although an admirer, I had never tried my hand at this type of painting and when a series of art classes became available at the Phelps Arts Center I decided it was time to give it a try. “The Phelps Arts Center is housed in an 1850’s Gothic structure and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a significant example of early English Parish Architecture.” More recently, the building was occupied by the Phelps Community Memorial Library. Now, I ask you, how can you not be inspired to create in a building with that history?

There were three of us in the class which was held in the rear of the building. As visitors would come to view the exhibit in the Arts Center, they would wander back to the classroom and watch us paint as if we were part of the admission price. Now I know how animals at the zoo must feel! Of course one of the students was very good. He had been painting for years and really just stopped by for some tips. Visitors watched him in awe and amazement while they seemed to look at me with pity. You know a quick glance and look away as if they hadn’t looked at all!

The instructor taught me how to wash a paper with color, forming the base of the picture. It was so much fun mixing the colors and watching them blend together on the paper. Apparently most people are a little intimidated by this technique but I jumped right in. No reason to pretend I knew what I was doing or that I should be intimated by my lack of knowledge. My impatience proved to be a problem as I did not let the paper dry before I moved on to the next step. As a result, my landscapes got a little muddy. Lesson learned. I will need to be more patient and cautious as I move forward. It will be fun to paint these pictures again to see how I can make improvements to them.

While I haven’t painted anything “suitable for framing”, I have enjoyed my classes. I am proud of myself for achieving my goal of attending art classes and stretching myself to become more aware of the colors that surround me and how they all work together. So maybe I haven’t painted a masterpiece (yet), but you have to walk before you can run, right?

Paper Making

I have been creating scrapbooks and cards for several years now. As any scrapbooker will tell you, this craft generates a lot of paper scraps. I have saved all my scraps from various projects over the years. You just never know when you will need just a little bit of something. I also like to pick up a variety of papers for use in future projects. You may be surprised to learn that paper styles and colors go out of style fairly quickly. How else could paper companies sell more paper?

As a result, I have amassed quite a selection of papers over the years. Not wanting to throw them away, I thought I would start to create my own papers. The first step was to sort the papers out by color. It turns out that I have a lot of brightly-colored card stock. Not sure how I will use them, but I’ll worry about that later. Several papers are multi-colored so I put them in piles by their predominant shades.

The paper making process requires the use of a blender. I have been through a few blenders over the years and didn’t currently own one. I paid a visit to my local Big Lots and found a Hamilton Beach blender for a good price. (I’ll have to try it out on margaritas for Cinco de Mayo as a true test.) With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, I decided to make pink and red paper. I tore up scraps of paper that included solid pink and pink-based papers. The blender was filled about halfway with paper and the rest with water. I let the paper soak for about 10 minutes and then blended it on high speed for about a minute. The resulting pulp was dumped into a plastic tote. I added two pitchers of water for each pitcher of pulp.

The result of all this mixing was a tub of light pink pulp. I assembled my deckle and screen and dipped it into the pulp, lifting it up and draining. I then sponged off all the water I could by gently squeezing and pressing. I then peeled the new sheet of paper off and placed it on a towel to dry. The pink was pretty but I wanted to add a little more pizzazz by using red. Red is such a strong color that I only used about a quarter of a pitcher of red paper with the rest of the pitcher filled with water. As expected, I didn’t need much of the red to create a vibrant color.

The end result was six pages of new paper from about four full sheets of old paper. This may not seem worth the effort but the positive is that these six pages were created out of a variety of scraps which would otherwise have had no purpose. The new pages are all a nice uniform color and ready to be used in my next project.

Making paper is a little messy but it was a nice activity for a cold winter day. I look forward to experimenting with more colors and techniques. Now I need to find something to do with my newly-created paper. I’ll keep you posted on that one!

Knitting

I love hand-knitted sweaters, scarves and mittens. There’s just something so warm and comforting about bulky yarn. Maybe this feeling comes from the mittens my mother used to make for us when we were kids. Mom taught me how to knit mittens when I was young. I was never very good at it but it was very rewarding to take a skein of yarn and turn it into something that could be worn.

This brings me to my next challenge. From time to time (usually in January), I get the urge to knit. I seek out a pattern that seems fairly simple as my skills have not progressed much since I was a kid. My most recent efforts have been in the afghan direction. The picture above shows my latest afghan projects. The red yarn is chenille and it really did end up as an afghan. A very ugly one at that! As soon as it was finished, I tore it apart to destroy the evidence. I recently decided to use this yarn to make a scarf (pictured). It wasn’t too bad until I lost track of my pattern and created several holes across one row. This one will have to go as well!

I have six skeins of the brown yarn which is nicely variegated and bulky. I started afghan #1 with this yarn on straight knitting needles and it was way too cumbersome with 108 stitches across. I tore it apart. I restarted the pattern on some circular needles but they were too weird. I tore it apart. I started to think that there must be more to my problem than the materials and the pattern. I looked deep within my soul and decided that an afghan using six skeins of yarn and 108 stitches in one row is way too much of a commitment for me. Enter the scarf. A scarf is the perfect project for someone with commitment issues.

I found a basic scarf pattern from Martha Stewart and it was really quite manageable. I worked every evening this past week and voila: a scarf is born! I will call this project an afghan for my neck. As for the rest of the yarn, I saw an ad in the paper requesting donations of yarn for senior citizens. I think I’ll give them a call.