How Doth the Little Busy Bee Improve Each Shining Hour..

I've been a very busy bee this week and yet, still didn't tick off all that I had hoped to accomplish. I suppose I should be upset that I still have a gigantic To Do List, but I'm trying to be practical and not stress out. Everything on the To Do List has a priority level and most of them fall into the 'Nice to have Completed' category. More importantly, every week I get better at managing my time.

Time management is a habit that you have to create. When you are younger it's much easier, your parents, teachers and coaches guide you where you need to be, when you need to be there. Almost every part of your day is planned out, so goofing off time is actually pretty hard to fit into your day. But when you become an adult, that's all up to you. Most people don't have a job that dictates where they should be at any given moment; you're assigned tasks and it's up to you to have the discipline to complete it in the time you've been given. When you work from home, (I include Stay Home Parents as Work from Homers), it's much easier to get lazy and be distracted and that's the trap I fell into over the last year or so. Now it's up to me to create more structure and believe it or not having The Craft Adventure Venture has really helped me to improve that. It's been an unexpected bonus from starting this project.

And now back to your regularly scheduled program..

This week I completed two Craft Adventure Ventures and they are both gifts. Which is a little sad, because I am excited to share them with you. You'll just have to wait, though. The Birthday Guy & Gal haven't received them in the mail yet, so until they get to see them, you'll have to be patient. It's worth the suspense. And that means an update blog! That's a little exciting, right?

I can tell you that they are both Paper Silhouettes. Here is the link to the pieces that inspired the Craft Adventure Ventures this week: Handmade Silhouettes Etsy Store
(She has some really cute stuff by the way.)

My creations actually don't look anything like these, they are more of a tribute. (Sorry, I couldn't resist) Anyway, these charming silhouettes combined with using my friend Becca's Cricut machine last week were the jumping off point for the weeks CAV. I don't have a Cricut machine, so these projects were all done by hand with an Exacto knife. (On a side note, if you have to use an Exacto knife or other craft knife for a project like this, try and find one of those squishy pencil rest thingies. I thought of that pretty late into my projects, but it really helps with the pressure and cramping.)

Here are the basics of the project - 1) Find a character silhouette, or a picture of someone special, or a pet or pretty much anything else that is iconic to you.

2) Print it out in black and white and use the B/W picture as a template to cut out your silhouette.

Note - Not everything is going to look good as a silhouette and layout is very important. Simple shapes work best. Similar to the cake topper project, look at whatever your subject is as it's simple shapes. And unless you are super good at using an Exacto knife, try and start with something with out a lot of detail or intricate patterns. It will look cleaner and there will be less chance of you cutting something important that should have been left in place.

3) Glue your pieces to a background.

The nice thing about this project is it can be as simple or detailed as you want to make it. You can layer up pieces to create depth or add small embellishments. It's a really fun project and I'm already thinking of other paper silhouettes I can make. They make great gifts and frame up nicely.

All wrapped and ready for the mail.

My time management goal for next week is to be up as well as dressed every day by 9am. School is a little over a week away, and I have a lot to get in order before I start. I need to set aside at least an hour working on math everyday, and I need to finish getting some things around the house organized for my Dad. Finally, I need to set aside at least an hour a day to get the rest of the baby items ready and sold on Ebay, which should hopefully help to clear up the clutter around here. Next weeks Craft Adventure Venture will be a baby shower gift, but I'm also trying to finish the crib sheet project for Ms. Bean.

Lots of exciting new things coming up, buzz buzz buzz.

Here's the count for this week: Two (2) Craft Adventure Ventures brings the total to 8!

42.5 Craft Adventure Ventures to go!

How Did It Get So Late So Soon? Its Night Before Its Afternoon..

My apologies for posting this a day late. As my return to school becomes imminent my need for planning and good time management is rapidly moving from a nicety to a necessity. Adding to the challenges this week was the fact that I was just completely wiped out. I couldn't sit for more then five minutes without dosing off, so I felt it was in my best interest last night to go to bed early, (at least by my standards), and get some much needed rest. Hence my late posting of this blog.

On a side note - I am going to stop prefacing my blog with how busy my week has been. With all the things I have committed to, it really goes without saying. I just have to make a concerted effort to plan out my day and manage my time better.

This week I only had time enough to work on one Craft Adventure Venture, and I had to call in back up to complete it. I've known for awhile that I would be working on a wedding craft/gift for my aunt who is getting married later this month. I just didn't know until last week what that craft/gift would be. Turned out to be cake toppers. My aunt has a very small wedding budget to work with, so some of the things she wanted for her wedding had to be let go. One item on her wish list, was a sparkly, 'blingy' set of monogram cake toppers. If you order them off the internet they cost around $40. Not a bad price, but definitely not in the cards with everything else she still needed to account for. So I offered to make them for her.

Here's my thinking on cake toppers. You only use them for a couple hours and then you put them away somewhere and never see them again (or sell them at a garage sale). Really you just need the cake topper to look pretty for a little while and take a nice photo. Initially, I wanted to find wooden letters, but since I was limited on time, where I could look and transportation, I had to come up with another plan.

My wonderful friend Rebecca has a Cricut machine. I'd briefly seen what it could do when I was working on my own budget wedding invitations. And I have to say that it pretty much rocks. I totally want one of my own. It's big downfalls are they are heavy, they take up a lot of space and they are expensive. (Cricuts come in a couple different sizes/types, so some of them may not be as heavy or big as the one Becca has. And she got hers on a Black Friday deal with a coupon, so you might be able to get around some of my issues.) Other than that, they are really cool. And make crafting so easy, especially this one.

The only description I was given from my aunt on her cake toppers was - 'Bling, I want Bling.' We opted for a thick glitter covered card stock (We had wanted chipboard, but couldn't find it), and picked up some princess cut rhinestone stickers for embellishment. It took us a while to play around with the font and size that we liked, but after about an hour we had the letters all cut out and ready to go.

We were using thick skewers for getting the letters to sit on the cake, so we needed a good way to hide them between the two pieces of card stock. We tried puffy glue dots, but that didn't really work, so I ended up just hot gluing everything together. (Which if we had been using any other type of paper would have ended really badly) Then I used glitter glue in the same color as the card stock to fill in the gaps that were left behind. It wasn't a perfect solution, but then I remembered my theater/stage craft class. When you are building a set or even acting on a stage, (in most cases), the closest person to you in the audience is 30 feet away. In this case, when you are talking about wedding decorations, no one is going to be sitting right up on the cake and when they photograph the cake it will most likely be from the front.

That just left the bling. I rounded up every sparkly rhinestone I had and made a few practice runs on where and how to fix the pieces. I started hot gluing the rhinestones on, but when I got to the smaller pieces all I really was doing was burning my hand, so I changed to glitter glue.

I think the overall result is blingy, sparkly and just right for a wedding.

Craft Adventure Venture #6

Wedding Cake Bling

If I had to change anything I think I would have chosen a different color for the glitter card stock. I knew my aunt was going to put flowers on the top of the cake, so I think it will look lovely when it's all set up, but it's a little hard to see how sparkly they really are. Since I didn't know her wedding colors I was limited, and I thought the silver they had would have over shadowed the rhinestones.

I sent her a text picture of them and she seemed really pleased and I can't wait to see how they looked on her cake. Every bride should feel special on their wedding day and if cake topper bling makes my aunt feel special, well then it was totally worth the burns on my fingers to make these for her.

This was a super simple project. If you don't have a Cricut you can use your printer to either make templates or print directly onto the paper you are using and then use an Exacto knife to cut them out. That will add a lot of time to the project, but it's still easy to do. The nice thing about this Craft Adventure Venture is you can apply it to other party related projects. Scale them down and make cupcake decorations, scale them up and make a yard sign or yard decorations. And you don't have to use just letters, if you are doing a cake for a party and it's a character theme, print, embellish and cut out the character and then use a skewer (one big enough to hold the weight) to create your cake topper.

Even if you are working on a budget you can find a way to get the look or decoration you desire without spending a lot of money or time. You just have to look at things from a different perspective. Kind of like when you are learning to draw and they tell you to look for the simple shapes in more complex objects. Mickey Mouse is three circles and a square, you know that kind of thing.

Coming up this week, organization, organization, and Ebay. I still have a couple of Ms. Bean projects to tackle. But most important I have two birthday presents to make and a baby shower gift to complete. I'm going to be a busy little Do-Bee.

Final Tally for the week - 1 Craft Adventure Venture brings the total to 6 and .5 Bonus Quests.

45.5 Craft Adventure Ventures to go!

I Have No Idea What Day It Is - Frankenscarf Update

I was so excited that I finished my blog on time yesterday. A little disappointed to not have the scarf finished for a second week, but glad that I had something to show for the week. And as I drifted off to sleep my brain said to me, "You know it's Thursday, right?" The answer to that was nope, sure as heck if I didn't. I apologize if my internal calendar lapse caused any confusion.

So now it's Friday and I've already posted my blog for the week. I did finish the Frankenscarf last night and wanted to give a quick update.

Wrapped around Ms. Bean

My Albatross - Frankenscarf

I didn't turn out as bad as I thought it was going to. I managed to get all the way to the end before I ran out of white yarn. I can see how badly the stripes don't match and it's glaringly obvious where I messed up the knit pattern, but it's a passable scarf. It's warm and fuzzy, so when winter comes around it will be very nice to have, even if it is homely.

So there he is and I think I'm going to pass on the knitting for a month. Maybe a break will get my mojo working again.

Finally Tally for the week -

1.5 Craft Adventure Ventures and .5 Bonus Adventures; 46.5 CAVs to go!

Ah ! Well a-day ! What Evil Knits

I endeavor to keep this blog short, as I am very tired today. However, I am easily distracted and verbose so it may not happen.

The Scarf

That stupid scarf has become my Albatross. It's still not finished. I took it apart, re-knit the pattern and still managed to mess it up. Additionally I may run out of white yarn before I complete it. I flatly refuse to buy another skein of the white yarn, so I'll most likely Frankenstein something together. I have no idea what I will do with it after I am finished with it,(OH! I will finish that scarf!), since the pattern is a mess and it will have some random yarn at the bottom. I didn't even bother taking a picture of it this week, because I'm simply disgusted with the whole affair and couldn't bare to immortalize the lumping thing. Instead enjoy this photo.

Sad Albatross is Sad. And also he hates scarves.

It's really too bad because the yarn is really comfy and I made it extra long. Maybe I'll post it on Facebook and the 1st person to like it will get it. "Wonky Scarf Needs Good Home." I'll have to keep you posted on it's plight.

Craft Adventure Ventures

I did complete a couple of small projects. I was distracted by them while trying to finish finding something else and cleaning. Sometimes my ADD creates whimsical things and here they are.

Doodle Bobs

I need to make them chains or turn them into key chains, but for all intents and purposes they are completed projects. They each took less then 15 minutes, so combined they only equal 1/2 of a CAV.

Bonus Adventure #1

My friend Becca was wonderful and came & picked up Ms. Bean & I and took us to Micheal's. I needed to get some items for another Bonus Adventure I am in the process of making. (It's a gift for a wedding and I really hope it turns out as cute as I think it will. Can't wait to share.) While there Becca & I picked up random items to keep Ms. Bean occupied. On of them was a little wooden cat mask for Halloween. Ms. Bean is ALL about the cats, so she hung onto it pretty tight and didn't want to give it up. Consequently it came home with us. Since it's a distract Bean object, I suppose I could have left it alone. BUT I didn't so 30 minutes later I had this..

It looks better now that the glue is dry.

I'm still trying to get the hand of embrodery, but all in all I think it turned out cute. I don't have much in the way of tutorial, since I pretty much just winged the whole thing. I used left over felt, some embroidery thread, ribbon from the stash and a left over sparkly pipe cleaner. I embroidered the face, mod-podged everything to the mask, folded and hot glued the eye holes and ribbon and then I was done.

Ms. Bean seemed to appreciate it, at least until that flippin' Dream Lights commercial came on.

Distracted by the lullaby of commerce

Anyway, same rules apply to Bonus Adventures that apply to Craft Adventure Ventures. This project took a little over 30 minutes (I'm really slow at embroidery), so it's worth 1/2 of a Bonus Adventure.

It's been a rough and busy week. I truly hope to be finished with the Frankenscarf, but I've now said that 2 weeks in a row, so I'm playing it by ear. Despite everything I did create time to craft, even if it was only an hour, it's still something. I have a few Bean projects that need to be finished and I absolutely must complete the Wedding Bonus Adventure next week. Another busy week ahead. But I should have some nice items to share for next week.

This weeks tally is:

1/2 Craft Adventure Venture bringing me to 4.5 completed, 47.5 to go. Plus! .5 Bonus Adventures.

I should come up with an inspirational or funny phrase to end my blog. If you have any suggestions, comment below. If nothing else we'll all have a good giggle.

Gang Aft Agley*

(Part two)

It's been a busy week. My little one is transitioning from a two nap schedule to a one nap. Which means she's cranky as well as stubborn persistent and she's bored with being couped up in the house because of our lovely summer heat. In addition, my husband has been working really long hours, I'm trying to juggle not having a car with multiple errands & appointments, send in a voice over audition, get set for the Fall semester and prepare for both my brother's visit & my Dad's upcoming trip. *deep breath*

Finding time to devote to Craft Adventure Ventures as well as make time to blog about them has really been a trial. For instance I had set a goal that I would finish knitting the scarf, get it cleaned and have it mailed off by Wednesday. By Tuesday night I had managed to mangle the pattern completely and I still wasn't finished with it. I decided to set it aside so that I could finish my brother's gift and then I could tackle either finishing the scarf as is, or go back (pull all the stitches) and fix what I had messed up. Late night knitting doesn't agree with me apparently, at least when there is a pattern involved. Instead of trying to be superwomen and finish all the CAVs in a few months, I'm going to be more realistic about my goals. I have a lot on my plate, it's okay if I only complete one Craft Adventure Venture a week. I'll still hit 52 projects by July 2013, I have to keep that in perspective.

I was able to complete one CAV this week and it's a birthday gift for my Brother. Carrying on with the theme of Murphy's Law, I had anticipated only spending about 30 minutes creating my brother's gift. It turned into a 2 day ordeal because I didn't follow instructions. The good news is that it now counts as a full Craft Adventure Venture, the bad news is that I had to buy new supplies in order to finish the gift.

Project # 4 - Keep Calm T-shirt

I'm sure you've seen them around the internet and stores, the Keep Calm and 'Fill in the Blank' signs and items. While trolling through Pinterest I came across this charming picture. (Sorry, the link doesn't direct to an artist) I thought, that it would make a great shirt for my brother, who is an avid hockey fan and player, and so set out to create said shirt.

(Here's where the 'Keep Calm' thing comes from, in case you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Calm_and_Carry_On.  And I think the first person I ever saw wearing anything with Keep Calm on it was Rupert Grint at a Harry Potter movie premiere, but I digress)

If I had more time I would have tried the screen printing technique I had found on Pinterest, but I knew that wasn't going to happen this week, so I went with t-shirt transfer instead. I have used them before with great success, but I guess it just wasn't in the cards, because I had nothing but trouble this time out.

First snag I encountered was that I really didn't like the way the image from Pinterest looked when I printed it out. It just wasn't interesting enough for a t-shirt. Also I was limited to 8.5x11" which isn't really a very large image. So I created a new image and I liked it. But then I realized that I didn't think the words were quite right for my brother, so I changed those too. But in order to do that I needed a font that looked more like the one used on the poster. (If I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do it right) And low & behold I found this site - Free Font - Keep Calm Typeface : http://www.k-type.com/?p=2156. Isn't the internet great? On a small side note, this isn't exactly like the original because the originals were hand lettered, but this is the one that looked the closest to me.

Second monkey wrench in the works was when I learned that t-shirt transfers get old, and when they get old, they don't work as well. It turned out really neat and kind of vintage looking and then I ran my hand across it to fix a small snag and it tore. Not all the way off, but enough that it made a nice big hole and completely ruined it as a gift. (Hooray! Another night shirt, can never have too many night shirts. *sigh*) At this point my choice was, spend hours picking the transfer off the shirt, washing it and trying to use the fabric markers I have to finish the project. Or run to the store get a new shirt & start over.

I went with option two, new shirt (found a much cooler base t-shirt so that worked out nicely) and new transfers. You would think, I would have been more careful this second go round, but again, I didn't fully read the instructions and I printed the image improperly. However, before trying to affix it to the t-shirt I cruised through the guide and realized my mistake. In addition to finding out I had printed the damn thing backwards I also found out that the background would remain white, not transparent like the first set of transfers I had used. Which meant I had to go back and tweak the image again. (If you are keeping score at home, that is now the fourth time the image has been changed. So much for a 30 minute project.)

Even after reading the instructions the shirt didn't come out how I originally thought. Which is fine, because the way it turned out looks more like a vintage t-shirt image. All's well that ends well, I guess. Hopefully my brother will like it and wear it and not be confused about why I even made it for him.

Here's the finished Craft Adventure Venture -

I'm hoping it will soften up a bit more as it's worn & washed.

Another super busy week coming up. School stuff, prepping for a large consignment sale, helping get my Dad ready for his trip, and something else I can't remember right now. I know they say 'The Devil finds work for idle hands', but if he showed up around here, I'd be liable to put him to work.

My goal for this week: finish the scarf. I'd add more to this list, but it's a very hectic week and I'm being pragmatic. If by chance I am able to do more, it's the cherry on the sundae.

That about wraps it up, more fun with time management next week. Oh, and lest you think I have forgotten:

Go-Big-or-Go-Home Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

Brownie Porn

1 Craft Adventure Venture brings the count to 48 CAV projects to go!

 
*Actual quote/poem from Robert Burns: http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/32287.html

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men...

Just a short little note. My lovely toddler has been an ever increasing challenge this week and my brother is coming into to town (Yea!!), so I'm running behind.

I was not able to finish the scarf. In fact, in my very tired state, I actually messed up the pattern. That means I won't be sending it along to the intended recipient. (I'll just have to come up with another project for her. Oh well, it's already over half a year late. What's a few more weeks. *thuppt*)
Note to self for future projects:  If you are very tired, do not knit a patterned piece.

I was able to finish a CAV project despite being tired, distracted and busy. It's a gift for my brother and I'll be posting pictures of it, as well as the now mispatterned scarf on Saturday.
(After we handle removing, checking and possible replacing the starter in my car. Yep, just a little busy.)

Well, I really should get back to baking the 'Go-Big-or-Go-Home, Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies' for my Brother's birthday. (I'll have pictures of them as well. It's too bad the interwebs doesn't have smell-o-vision, cause they smell fantastic!)

GO USA!! I'm not a huge sports fan, but I really look forward to the Olympics. It's going to be a fun couple of weeks.

That about sums it up tonight. Pictures and another blog tomorrow.

A naked blond walks into a bar with a poodle under one arm...

Did you ever have one of those weeks where the starter on your car goes out, your baby gets 3 teeth all at the same time, you have to go to the IRS office, talk to the Financial Aid & Registration people at your school, take your cat to the Veterinarian and complete a craft project for your blog? Really? Oh good, for a minute I thought it was just me.

It's been a really hectic, not always productive week. And I'm fighting a summer cold, so you'll have to excuse me. Not to say I wasn't working on craft projects, I did. I even have the photo to prove it, I just wasn't successful in completing them. I'm still getting the hang of time management with a toddler and I endeavor to improve this issue for next week.

With that said, here is an Update, a Progress report and a Thought for the week.

Project Update -
Last week I showed you the cute box with my friend's birthday present inside. This week I'll show you what I made for her.

She was really happy & reportedly wore it the very next day.

It's a happy little dinosaur necklace!

It took me forever to find the tiny eye screw. I've seen necklaces similar to this at Claire's and Hot Topic, but there is no reason to buy them if you can make one for yourself in just a few minutes. Check coin machines, toy stores and garage sales for mini (hard) plastic animals. If it's not in a color you like you can always paint them, yes, even if it's plastic. Then visit your local hardware store for the smallest eye screws you can find, hit it with a little superglue & voila! You have a nerdy, whimsical necklace. *happy dance*


Progress Report -
I'm working on a loom knitting project. (Loom knitting is fun and easy to learn. And for me, less intimidating the traditional knitting or crocheting.) Like many of my projects for this blog, I am way past the original due date. This one was supposed to be finished and mailed last year before the holidays. I'm only like a half a year late. Sadly, that's a lot better then a couple of the projects out in the craft bin jungle.

It's a scarf. A warm fuzzy soft scarf. Seems a bit silly now in the 105 degree temperatures, but it will be a really lovely thing to have in a few months, I promise. Honestly, I'd be finished with it if I had remembered to bring my knitting with me to the IRS office. (Instead I sat and listened to a very disagreeable old man argue politics with his wife/girlfriend. It was delightful.) I am confident that I'll be able to finish it and have it mailed by Wednesday of this coming week.

Please ignore the mess around my kitchen table, thanks.

I'm just a little shy of half way done. When I finish all the rows, I'll tuck in the loose ends, give it a quick wash and send it to it's intended recipient. Who will more then likely be very surprised to receive it as I'm fairly certain she's forgotten all about it by now. It's the principle of the thing.


Thought for the Week -

I read an article this week about busy-ness. How most people dread 3pm because they only have a few hours left to knock out projects, To Do's, emails and what not before the end of their day. Lately, I have accumulated a large quantity of responsibilities and projects. It feels like as soon as I cross two items off, four pop into their place. The person who wrote the article sited a study that suggests that this busy-ness is mostly self created. That people pack their To Do lists with stuff, so they can feel like they are important. And the point the article was trying to impart is that we, as humans, need down time. Real down time, not TV or Internet time. Time to just clear our heads and make room for creative thoughts, solutions, etc. We need to leave room in our schedules to interact with people as people, not as part of our To Do list.

With everything that I honestly HAVE to do: take care of Bean, care for my cat, maintain the house, produce meals, am I adding things to my To Do list to feel needed or valued? You see, there seems to be an idea that if you stay home with your children, you aren't doing anything of importance. Which, when you think about it, is completely ridiculous. Raising a healthy little human is probably the only true thing of value most people will do in their lives. (And based on recent news reports, it doesn't seem like many people are capable of doing it well.) But because it's not a job attached to a pay stub it's easy for people to belittle and devalue it.

Am I devaluing my own contribution to my family? I don't think I've come up with a complete answer, yet. Like the rest of the things attached to my blog, it's a work in progress. I will say that I made more of an effort to appreciate the time I shared with my daughter today. She was being a bit of a pill, and I had to remind myself that she's growing so fast. In a blink of an eye she'll be headed out the door to school with her own To Do list and I will sorely miss the time I share with her now.

As for school, that is a necessity. We can't make one income work for much longer and in the current job market, I have to have more to offer then what I bring to the table now. I'll do what needs to be done for my family's well being.

What about the blog? I thought about this for a while. Is it really a good use of my limited free time? Here's what I think. A good portion of the Craft Adventure Ventures are gifts for people in my life. In that way each one is a way to connect with someone I care about. I was giddy waiting to see if my friend liked her present and couldn't wait to talk to her when she finally received it. Does that make me feel important? No, it makes me feel loved. And this blog is my way of sharing that love, reminding myself that it's out there and that in my own little way I made someone happy. If you ask me that's better then feeling important. So if the point of the article was to value your connections with people and make time for yourself to just be, I think I'm more successful than I first suspected.