Category: Arts & Crafts

Rossi’s art installation and a desperate (and failed) attempt to save my furniture

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I love all animals but in weighing which of my pets have done the most damage through the years, that honor clearly goes to our cat Rossi (aka Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi). I don’t say this lightly. Two of my Labradors were chewers and one even ate his way through a paneled wall in our basement.

But, the cat still wins the award for most property destroyed. He has managed to claw his way through most of our furniture leaving behind shredded fabric and broken decorating dreams in his wake.

He seemed particular fond of one end of the couch so in my brilliance I hung a cat scratcher for him in the same spot. He opted to find another area of the couch to start clawing instead. I then bought him a cardboard scratching bed and redirected him there. He took a nap in it, and after waking proceeded to walk over to one of our recliners and claw the arm.

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Making a Fancy Trash Can from a Holiday Popcorn Tin

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The popcorn never tastes fresh and the flavors are questionable at best but somehow I’m still suckered into buying one of those holiday popcorn tins every year. At least I’ve learned to buy them after the holidays are done and the price drops by 50%. It still means I’m paying more than it’s worth but at least I feel like I’m getting a bargain.

The flimsy cardboard divider loosely separates the popcorn into three designated flavor sections: butter, cheese, and caramel. The cardboard never really keeps the actual popcorn flavors fully separated so in the end you get a generic blend of semi-identifiable flavors with each stale bite. Yet still, I can somehow get through the caramel section in its entirety in one sitting. Maybe it’s nostalgia. Maybe I’m just too attached to junk food.

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Every glass planter needs a hot pink crocheted basket to keep it warm.

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Crochet is having a moment. A recent Instagram search brought up almost 40 million posts with everything from crocheted bikinis to surprisingly varied plush turtles. The expansiveness of the crocheted projects I scrolled through in my feed is beyond anything I imagined although I shouldn’t be surprised. Creativity unleashed always leads to something amazing.

For National Handmade Day, I decided to dig out my crochet hook and try something new. While I love living in a DIY space, crocheting is not something I have done much of as an adult although I did have a prolific phase in my teen years. Between my obsession with rug hooking kits and attending one too many Artex paint parties with my grandmother, I did spend enough time with a crochet hook to make a decent granny square.  I was up for revisiting this timeless craft.

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Photo Challenge for March | Breathe

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I am not someone who is easily bored and lately I’ve been in creative overdrive. It’s helping to balance out the monotony of life under COVID-19 restrictions. I have a few projects that are taking up most of my time this month. I’m preparing for the April A to Z blogging challenge and will have my theme reveal post for that project on March 8th. I am also currently spending weekends fixing up a family beach house as we get ready to transition it into a rental property. We’re still in the fixing the broken stuff phase but I did paint some sample colors on the walls this past weekend so the fun stuff is getting closer. 

And, as I do every month, I’m working on my One Little Word® prompts. My vision board came together quickly for February and this month we’re focusing on developing a monthly practice. Last year I actually did two monthly practices – meditation and working on my blog. They both went well and I enjoyed them but this year I want to do something a little different. I loved the approach of the guest instructor Victoria Calvin which was to focus on tackling something light, creative and easy. I really want this prompt to have more of a creative connection to my word Breathe and not add stress to my life. Continue reading →

Q is for (Mainely) Quilling | I am in awe of these amazing paper creations.

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While my blog and digital photo books have taken over my hobby time recently, my heart is more in the realm of paper crafting even if it’s been almost a year since I tackled a project. The days are just too short to do everything I want to do, so sometimes things get put aside for a while. I know that eventually I will circle back to my paper crafts and put my obsessively over stocked craft room to good use again.

I have always been drawn to other crafters who excel in the field and have an entire bookcase dedicated to books written by fellow memory keepers sharing their tips and tricks. So, when I realized that there was a quilling artist located in Maine, I knew I had my letter Q locked up. I too have tried my hand at quilling, but on a much more simplistic and less successful level.

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