Get Whale Soon card

 

Unfortunately, I had a get well soon card to make this week for a friend who's daughters both had small surgery's this week.  Since they are both under the age of ten though, I thought I'd make it cute.  Cute and simple.

Need:
Cricut Machine or access to one such as in a scrapbooking store
Cartridge - Just Because Cards
Cardstock paper in three colors [dark blue, light blue, striped or solid coordinate]
Craft glue
Hole punch
Wave pattern scissors
Ruler
Regular scissors

Directions:


To cut out the base of this card, cut out one 5 1/2 inch Whale in your striped or solid coordinate.  To make the whale cut out one layer 1 Whale-s (5 1/2 in) in dark blue.  Next, cut out one layer 1 Whale (5 1/2 in) in light blue.   Glue these together to make your whale.  Using your light blue cut out several circles using a regular whole punch.  Before gluing your whale and bubble to the front of your card, use your wave scissors to cut 'waves' down the side of your card.  This adds a nice touch to the front.  To make the inside cut out one word Whale (5 1/2 inches) in dark blue.  Then, cut out one square in light blue that is 5 inches by 3 1/4 inches using a ruler and scissors. Glue these together and then glue to the inside. 

I won!

I won a contest through one of the blogs that I follow, painted fish studio!  I was very excited when I found out because, 1. I rarely win anything and 2. I really liked the prize!  I received this little package in the mail this week: a painted fish studio post card featuring a Polaroid shot of some retro chairs, a nice little note from Jen herself, a fortune teller miracle fish, and a lovely big print of june pool.  I love this photo - it makes me think of summer - the kind of summer that involves lavender ice tea, big sunglasses, and a good book.  I think that I will hang it either in my office or near our front door.  Thanks Jen!  Like the photo too?  Check out the painted fish studio blog or visit the painted fish studio etsy page.

2 Peas In A Pod card

 

Lewie's Aunt and Uncle celebrate their 24th anniversary today!  They truly are two peas in a pod so a card stating that seemed fitting.

Need:
Cricut Machine or access to one such as in a scrapbooking store
Cartridge - Just Because Cards, Don Juan
Cardstock paper in three colors [dark green, light green, cream]
Craft glue

Directions:

Start by cutting out the base for the card using the Just Because Cards cartridge.  Cut one Peas in dark green that is 5 1/2 inches.  Next, cut out the scallop edge background using the same cartridge.  Cut one House in cream that is 5 1/2 inches.  Glue this to your dark green card base and let dry.  Meanwhile, cut one layer 1 Peas in dark green (5 1/2 in).  This will be the back of your peas.  To finish it, cut one layer 1 Peas-s that is light green (5 1/2 in).  Glue your top light green pea to your bottom dark green pea.  Once it is dry, cut off the third bottom pea, leaving you with two peas in your pod.  Next, cut out a word peas-s in light green (5 1/2 in).  Lastly, using the Don Jaun cartridge, cut out the number 2 and letters i n a p o d in dark green 3/4 inches.  Then just glue the remaining pieces (the pod, PEAS and your letters) to the front of the card.  On the inside I just wrote, Happy Anniversary! 

Father's Day card

 

Happy Father's Day!  

Families are forever so when I saw this phrase in my new Cricut cartridge I knew it would make a great Father's Day card.  Homemade cards are always better on holidays like this too.  An extra step to show someone how important they are to you.

Need:
Cricut Machine or access to one such as in a scrapbooking store
Cartridge - Just Because Cards, Wild Card
Cardstock paper in three colors [stripes, dark green and light green]
Craft glue

Directions:

Starting with the Just Because Cards cartridge, cut one 5 1/2 inch Bug using the striped cardstock.  This will cut out one card with a scalloped edge.  Next, cut out a 3 1/2 inch Fishing-s using your dark green cardstock.  This will cut out the oval that will be on the front of your card.  Lastly for the front, cut out one word-tree that is 4 1/2 inches in your light green cardstock.  This will cut out the phrase "Families are Forever".  Glue your green oval to the striped card and your phrase to the green oval.  Let dry.  On the inside using the dark green I cut out a phrase that says, "Happy Father's Day!" using the Wild Card cartridge.  It is under phrase-father and I did it at 4 1/2 inches. 

Summer/Winter - Knit Hat

The first day it really gets cold in the fall, I'm always like, "I wish I would have thought to make ----- last month so I'd have it today."  So, this summer begins my summer/winter knitting - knitting in the summer for next winter.  I always have the idea do it but now I have the ambition.  My first summer/winter knitting project I started was a nice simple hat that I made with the wonderful Peruvian wool I got in Flagstaff, AZ at Purl in the Pines.  I got the pattern from the blog, a Friend to knit with and I really love how simple it was, yet it looks pretty neat.  The complete pattern is also here.  Thank you Lesie and I love your blog!

Chunky Knit Hat 
via Leslie @ a Friend to knit with

Directions:

Yarn: Berroco Peruvia Colors
Color: Raku Glaze
Needle: Circular 16 inches Size US 15
Gauge: 2 stitches per 1"

Cast on 44 stitches.  Knit in garter stitch for 5 rows.  Change stockinette and knit until piece measures 5 1/2 inches, ending with a wrong side row.  Next row (RS) knit 2 together until end 22 stitches.  Next row (WS) Purl 2 together until end 11 stitches.  Next row (RS) Knit 2 together to end.  (On this row, on the small size, you will knit 2 together 5x, and have 1 stitch remaining for 6 stitches total)  6 stitches also remain for large size.  Cut yarn and run through remaining 6 stitches.

Next up is trying my hand at making mittens to match.  I have four months until I want them to be done so I think it's manageable.  ;) 

Update on Abby!

Abby's team made a post on her blog this morning saying that authorities had contacted Abby and she is fine!   Apparently, something is just wrong with her boat.  Hopefully they get her boat up and running again.  I'm so happy to hear the good news.

Fellow blogger: missing

Abby Sunderland with her boat

 Photo by Jeff Ayiffe Images

One of the blogs that I follow is about Abby Sunderland - a 16 year old who is trying to solo sail around the world.  I've been watching her since she left on her journey and today she was announced by her crew missing after sailing into a storm and setting of her emergency beacon.  Her crew and family on land has lost contact with her.  The nearest boat this afternoon was 40 hours away from her boat and was headed to help find her.  Please keep Abby in mind for the next few days as rescue teams set out to find her.  I've always enjoyed reading Abby's blog but this was an entry I wasn't excited about reading:

Update on Abby

We spoke with Abby early this morning and learned that she had had a very rough day with winds up to 60 knots and seas 20-25 feet. She had been knocked down several times but was handling things well. The wind had subsided to around 35 knots which she and Wild Eyes are quite comfortable with.

We were helping her troubleshoot her engine that she was trying to start to charge her systems. Satellite phone reception was patchy. She was able to get the water out of the engine and start her up. We were waiting to hear back from her when American Search & Rescue authorities called to report having received a signal from her emergency beacon (EPIRB). We initially thought that the signal was sent automatically from her water-activated EPIRB and that it had been activated during one of her knockdowns. As we pulled the paperwork from her EPIRB registration, we learned that the signal had come from her manually activated EPIRB.

We were referred to Australian Search & Rescue and while we were on the phone with them another signal came in from her handheld PLB (Personal Locator Beacon). Her water-activated EPIRB has not been activated so we are hopeful that the boat is still upright.

We are working closely with American, French and Australian Search & Rescue authorities to coordinate several ships in the area to divert to her location. There are several ships in her area, the earliest possible contact is 40 hours. We are actively seeking out some sort of air rescue but this is difficult due to the remoteness of her location. Australian Search & Rescue have arranged to have a Quantas Airbus fly over her location at first light (she is 11 hours later). They will not be able to help her other than to talk via marine radio if they are able to get close enough. Hopefully, they will be able to assess her situation and report back to us.

Abby has all of the equipment on board to survive a crisis situation like this. She has a dry suit, survival suit, life raft, and ditch bag with emergency supplies. If she can keep warm and hang on, help will be there as soon as possible. Wild Eyes is designed for travel in the Southern Ocean and is equipped with 5 air-tight bulkheads to keep her buoyant in the event of major hull damage. It is built to Category 0 standards and is designed to self-right in the event of capsize.

Thank you for all of your kind emails and calls. We appreciate your prayers and support.

We will update as soon as there is some news.

Laurence, Marianne and Team Abby 

CNN has been posting updates on Abby as well.  Lets all hope they find Abby soon and safe. 

Kitty felted balls

I received a big bag of wool from a friend who heard I was learning to spin.  Unfortunately, this bag of wool was a miss match of second cuts wool and my teacher suggested I make a few kitty toy felt balls with it.  Here's how to do it:

Supplies:

Old pair of pantyhose
Wool or wool lint
Washing machine
Spray bottle
Organic catnip
Filtered water



Directions:

Take your old pair of pantyhose and cut the feet about 8 inches up up the leg - this will leave you with one closed end at the foot and one open end.  Stuff each foot of the stocking with a bunch of wool.  Pack it really tight.  Very close to the wool, tie the open end closed.  Add these to your next cycle of laundry.  This will felt the wool into a ball.  After your laundry cycle is over let the wool balls air dry.  Take them out of the pantyhose.  Meanwhile, using a kettle brew 1 cup of hot water.  Add two tablespoons of dried organic catnip to the water to make catnip tea.  Let this sit for at least 30 minutes ( the stronger the better).  After the catnip tea has cooled filter it using either a thin piece of fabric or coffee filter to get the catnip out of it.  Put the catnip tea in a spray bottle and spray your wool balls.  Lastly, give to your cats for hours of fun.  Respray with catnip tea when the fun wears out.  Our cats enjoyed them so much I had a hard time catching them for a picture!

Flycatchers are flying!

Our momma Flycatcher that has been nesting outside of our door said goodbye to her babies this week because they learned to fly!  She had four babies!  Just thought I'd share some pictures:

Above: The Flycatchers getting too big to fit in the nest, momma Flycatcher, and the little guys out for their first flight resting on our blue spruce.

Late spring cleaning

This weekend was a time to clean clean clean.  I wasn't able to think will all the mess in my craft room.  A little sorting and organizing and now I can think strain.  Notice my coffee cup has a permanent spot on my cutting table, I guess that's ok though.  

Before & After

 Before & After

 

Of course, it was nice that I had a helper too:

"Something to Crow About" card

Our friends are celebrating their first year anniversary this weekend and it's something to crow about.  I thought I'd use one of the new Cricut Cartridges I got for my birthday called, Just Because Cards, and make an anniversary card for them. 

Need:
Cricut Machine or access to one such as in a scrapbooking store
Cartridge - Just Because Cards, Don Juan
Cardstock paper in three colors [cream, red, and gold]
Craft glue
Glitter (red, silver, gold)

Directions:

Using the Just Because Cards cartridge cut out one rooster 5 1/2 inches using the red cardstock.  This will be the base of your card.  Next, cut a 5 1/2 layer rooster in a lighter cardstock such as cream.  This will form the rooster shape.  Next, cut a 5 1/2 words rooster in the same cream color cardstock.  This will form the "Something to crow about" text.  Lastly, cut a shift words rooster in gold.  This will highlight the words Crow and To.  Glue the gold words on top of the "Something to crow about text".  Then, take craft glue and apply it within the area on the rooster where the feathers are - the Cricut cuts small guide lines for this.  Going in order I started with gold glitter, then silver then red and repeated down my rooster.  Tap off any excess glitter and let dry.  After dried, glue rooster and "Something to crow about" on the front of your red card.  For an added touch on the inside I cut out the words "1 year!" using the Don Juan cartridge.  Customize this card as you need to.

Glitter isn't exactly environmentally friendly, but it's certainly fun to work with.  I used Martha Stewarts Glitter in Tourmaline, Smokey Quartz, and White Gold for this project.  I haven't mastered using glitter yet, but I'm working on it!