Just wanted to stop by for a quick "Hello"....so you don't think I've off and disappeared...again! No. I'm just busy. Good busy! Because thanks to a little miracle pill--VITAMIN D--I feel like a NEW person!!! I have a post floating around in my head about that...in the meantime, if you have NO ENERGY and perhaps are feeling a little blue and you can't really explain why, RUN (walk or crawl) to your doctor and ask to be tested for a Vitamin D deficiency! I can't guarantee that is YOUR problem, BUT if it is...you will thank me!!!
I soon hope to share the entire "D" story and several projects that I have been working on, but for now I am just trying to catch up on LIFE...since for the first time in YEARS, I actually feel ALIVE!! (as all these exclamation points bear witness to)! :-)
Until next time....
Blessings,
Sammi
***Recently I have not been receiving my notifications from Blogger. If you leave a comment (and please do!) and it is slow in being published (and responded to), I apologize in advance. I will TRY to remember to check my dashboard, but please bear with me as I add that to my routine. Thanks!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
My Christmas Toys
Yes, I know that I’m a little late, but I want to share what I received for Christmas. I wanted to share here, because I knew you would understand. When friends and neighbors asked what I got for Christmas, my excited response left them looking at me as if I were….uh…a little bit insane. They just don’t understand!
First up…
A color LASER printer! Most of you probably know why I am so excited about this baby. Ink transfers!!! And not just black ink transfers….but color ones!!! I had already made some rustic kitchen towels/napkins in anticipation of getting the printer. This week I created these:
(all images from my favorite online graphics source: The Graphics Fairy)
The towels/napkins are made from scraps of dropcloths from other projects. They are different sizes. Some are hemmed…some I sewed a tight zigzag stitch about a 1/4 inch from the edge and frayed. Perfectly imperfect!
Next:
A sock loom and knitting board. I have wanted to make socks for years. Two problems: 1) I can’t knit. I’ve tried and tried and just can’t seem to get it. 2) Though I CAN crochet, I couldn’t find a crochet pattern that I liked…at least not a small gauge pattern. So I bought myself the sock loom (hey, it was on sale!). Boy Wonder bought me the knitting board…as usual he was all “pick it out and I’ll pay for it”. He is SO his father’s child!
I’ve already made a pair of tube socks (which are NOT photo worthy…but I forgive myself since it was my first attempt). I’m going to attempt doing a heel and toe on the current pair. The one on the loom is already looking better than the first pair….amazing what a little thing like following the instructions can do. 
A little amusement…when I was working on those tubes socks, my Man walked in and asked, “WHAT are you making NOW?” (you know…in that tone). When I told him, he says, “You do know that they make machines to make those and you can buy them in the store.?.?” The “them” in that statement being the premade socks. Funny, funny man!
The knitting board and I are not getting along….yet. I have already started and removed 3 projects. One side keeps coming off the loom much looser….not quite sure what I’m doing wrong. And yes….I did watch the DVD BEFORE starting! Which reminds me…they each came with a DVD instructional video. AND the knitting board has optional extenders available to convert it into a weaving loom…that is on my list! The sock and knitting loom are from Authentic Knitting Board.
Last:
I hope Santa was as good to all of you as he was to me!
Today I am working on developing my word/theme for 2012. Did I mention that I am really behind? Right now the words “courage”, “beauty” and “intentional” are all speaking to me. What’s your theme for 2012?
Until next time….
Sammi
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
She’s Back…
…well almost. First the boring details of why I haven’t been around much…not even to READ other blogs. Short version: I was EXHAUSTED! Slightly longer version: I didn’t really enjoy Christmas 2011. Man and Boy Wonder bugged me until I put up the tree. (Maybe one day I’ll explain why they don’t do indoor decorating…for now, let’s just say…It is ALL my fault!) But all I have wanted to do, since before Thanksgiving, is SLEEP! I was sleeping 8-9 hours at night and still only had enough energy to do the BARE MINIMUM. I was sure that my thyroid had turned on me, and I wasn’t happy when the Endocrinologist’s office called to inform me that the appointment that I had to wait over a YEAR to get was being rescheduled! So I was a ZOMBIE through the holidays. I finally got in to see the doctor last week. She changed my brand of thyroid medicine even though my last tests a couple of months ago were fine. She also ordered some other tests. One of which was to check my Vitamin D levels. I already suspected that I was D-deficient and was taking a supplement….so imagine my shock when I received a letter from my doctor and a prescription for Vitamin D 50,000 iu. My numbers were less than 1/2 what they should have been. Now…I only have to take one pill per week, but that is still A LOT of Vitamin D!!! My apologies to my thyroid….as those numbers were in the normal range. I’m less than a week into my 12-week treatment, and I’m already feeling much better.
On to something more interesting ….at least, I HOPE you find it more interesting.
Before I introduce this project, just know that it was done in the middle of my Zombie stage. I was only 2 minutes into it when I was really wishing I had never started it. I pushed through….slowly and sloppily. I hesitated to share it, but in the interest of “keeping it real” AND it is a great idea (if I do say so myself)…. Next time I will make sure I have enough energy to give it the attention and time that it deserves!
I have had this paper lampshade for awhile. It came with a thrift store lamp. (You will see it in the “after” picture.) I was putting away some white tissue paper from Christmas, when I saw the lampshade and some toile-print tissue paper….and the gears started turning. I had been at a loss as to what to do with this lampshade, but suddenly (and at a VERY bad time) I had an idea. I was going to trace the shape of the shade onto the tissue paper and Mod Podge it onto the shade. Just one problem (okay more than one…but I digress)…the sheet of tissue paper was too small. These fancy smancy tissue papers come in small sheets…not the larger ones that you find the solid colors in. 
I almost walked out the studio (honestly, SHOULD have walked out….but once again, I digress.). Then it hit me….cut out the scenes and do the lampshade collage-style. So that is what I did.
So far, so good! Then I hit a snag…a couple of places where the tissue paper overlapped gunked up (for lack of a better description). What to do? What to do?
Camouflage! Well kinda….
I mixed some burnt umber paint with some water and antiqued the lampshade. Now it looks a little old and---dare I say??? dirty? But the “mistakes” didn’t bother me so much anymore. So….
Then I went to my handy-dandy stash of ribbon and trim to find something to glue around the top and bottom…..NOTHING! Not one thing that matched the look! Great! So until I can get somewhere (and REMEMBER!) to buy trim, I just custom mixed some acrylic paints to match the “antiqued” red and painted on some trim.
And here is the finished lamp….well, semi-finished.
What do you think? I think it turned out quite nice considering. And for the curious, I bought the tissue paper at Hobby Lobby about a year ago.
Until next time…..
Blessings,
Sammi
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