creative little daisy

Random, disjointed, happier post...

You could call this a tossed salad post or how many nice things can I talk about post or just a post without focus. Either way, what it isn't, is a ranting hormonal post. Thanks for all your supportive and understanding comments. Someone who really is very helpful and quite busy herself was offended and hurt, not at all what I would ever have wanted, so I deleted that last post.
On to happier topics....like freebies, extras, unexpected little surprises. How often does WalMart or JoAnn's throw one of those into your shopping bag? Never? Me neither, but this week I received two different items I ordered online and found delightful extras in both packages.

First was my fabric order from Monkey Foot Designs.

As if this amazing fabric (on sale) wasn't enough of a treat. Love the birds!! Kris also included this reversible apron pattern. Check out Kris' blog for a link to her store that gives you 15% off your order.

Thank you so much Kris!

Then I received this very cool bookmark, ordered from Penny's Etsy shop,

and this was included!

I feel so spoiled! Thank you both so much!

I made an apron yesterday with an owl appliqued linen pocket.

I didn't plan to be wearing an owl tee shirt while making the owl apron. Just a funny coincidence. I don't think you can tell, but the shirt says "I'm a hoot." I just love it! Beth, the shirt came from Journeys, but I don't see it on their website.
On the subject of happy and tees, I found a couple on sale last week (really on sale- less than $3.00 on sale!!) that I'll share when they make it out of Mt. Laundry. More birds.

Anyone else watch Dancing with the Stars? The two finalists were my favorites and I would have been happy for either to win. Congratulations to Helio, what a wonderful smile and delightful personality! I'm just bummed that the season is over. What will I do with my Monday and Tuesday nights?

One more unrelated happy thing- I guess this post does have focus, loose focus, but focus nonetheless- happy things- and happy is always better than grouchy right?  Mitch got a ticket last week- not the happy part, it was for having an expired license tag. Hmmm....I thought I renewed that. Ooops. Anyway, he was N.O.T. happy.  ($150.00 fine)  He went to the courthouse yesterday, ticket in hand and proof that he has since renewed the tag, with hopes that the DA or magistrate or whicheverpowerthatbe would perhaps cut him some slack for this careless oversight on the part of his absentminded wife. It worked. Ticket gone, just like that! Wohooo!!!

Oohhh, while on the subject of happy, have you seen this very special, smile inducing bit of sweetness?  Welcome to the world, sweet baby boy. Congratulations Angela, Ryan and big sister Keely!!

Any happy thoughts you'd like to share?

DIY version of a bias tape maker

I have one of those cool bias tape makers. I'm sure you've seen them and the impressive results they produce. I bet many of you even have experienced such results. Not me. I've been a little embarrassed to say, I couldn't do it. I couldn't get mine to work. Then it happened. The proverbial light bulb went off and it became shamefully obvious why. You see, I have the 1/2 inch bias tape maker.

I expected to get bias tape that measured 1/2 inch when finished.
Pictured above is actually double fold bias tape. The neat little tool makes single fold tape. Now I knew it wouldn't come out of the tool looking like this. I knew it would be a strip with both sides folded in to the center, my problem was making the distinction between the terminology.  It may have been wise to read those directions instead of throwing them away. I had been cutting my strips the width needed for 1/2 inch double fold tape. I know, not very smart. Once I had my moment of enlightenment, I cut a strip around 1 inch wide (maybe slightly less) and whatdayaknow, the tool works beautifully! 
All that semi-coherent babble isn't intended to be a tutorial, since I'm sure you all understood how to correctly use a bias tape maker, or at the very least would be wise enough to read the directions first. No, the tutorial is for a less fancy, but nearly as effective DIY version of the bias tape maker, and you can easily adjust it to make any size bias tape you like.

All you need is an ironing board, a hot iron, a measuring tape or ruler, and a long needle. A strip of fabric would be nice too. It doesn't have to be cut on the bias unless you will be going around curves.

First determine the width you'd like your bias tape to be (single fold) . For this demonstration my strips are cut about 1.75" and I want the opening under the pin to be 1". This will give me 1" single fold bias tape or 1/2 inch double fold.  I am using little sewing gauge to determine the placement of my needle. Bring the needle up through the ironing board cover, go over 1" and push it back through the cover. The needle will run perpendicular to the ironing board.

Cut one end of your fabric strip to a point and run it under the needle wrong side up.

I am left-handed, so this probably looks very backward to you right-handed folks. Now you know how we lefties feel most of the time. I am pulling the fabric through with my left hand, going right to left. Do whatever feels comfortable to you. When you first start the fabric through, you will probably need to work it a little to be sure it is folding symmetrically.

As you pull the fabric through, press the fold in place. Be careful not to burn your little fingers. That's all there is to it.  Happy bias tape making, my friends!

Let me know how it works for you.

 

Good thing they're not Labs

I'd have to get a bigger lap!

This is our morning routine. I check my mail and a few blogs with my coffee. They nap on my lap.

Left Brain, Right Brain.... or is it half brain?

I'm not sure which it is that I am, the latter I suspect. I'm certainly not tech brained. That's why I've put off and put off doing something about my poor computer. It's been teetering on the edge of death for much too long. I did break down and buy an external hard drive to save what I could from the sinking ship with the plan to completely reformat or whatever the correct term is for wipe clean and start over. The wiping clean part wasn't hard. Starting over has been excruciating. One crucial little aspect anyway, connecting to the internet. Last night I was live chatting with Dell support and I swear, she left me. No warning, just left. I have to give her credit, she did spend a lot of time with me, and I still don't know if I sent her right over the edge or what. Without babbling on more and further solidifying what a dummy I am, I'll just say, I fear I need a new network adapter card or something like that.  All that blabbering about was to say, I was feeling a serious crafting mojo coming on and have been derailed by stupid computer problems. Bla!!!

It's cold here, so I'm going to make soup for dinner and tomorrow I'll play Scarlett and not think about my non-existent network adapter card.. or driver or whatever. I hope that  crafting mojo will still be around. 

For now, I'll think about some happy things, just a few of the many things I'm grateful for, like,

~friends (that would be you Kelli) who are tech brained and helped me with a temporary fix.

~I'm going to be a grandma- it's still sinking in and getting more exciting everyday.
I think it's a girl- just a feeling.

~Soup on cold days.

~Grey's Anatomy on the DVR for later tonight, cuddled up on the couch with a blanket.  General Hospital too. Yea, I watch GH- please don't think less of me. (do you think Nikolas really killed Emily?)

~Thanksgiving- can you believe it's less than a week away? My sister has her Christmas tree up already...crazy!

Sorry for the post w/o pix. Computer problems, remember?

Attention to detail... noticed and appreciated

Casey has a part time job at a grocery store. He called me yesterday to come to the store with my camera to take a picture of what he called the best looking displays he'd seen. It seems Kevin (one of his managers)  puts quite a bit of time and attention into his displays, and Casey appreciates his work.

(you probably guessed, it's not a health food store)

It couldn't be helped...

When I saw these precious little guys, nothing else was going to get done until I made one of my very own.

It seems owls are like potato chips. It's impossible to have just one.

Some things I've learned about tile installation...

(Mostly through observation)

It isn't quick and it isn't easy!  Tile contractors, (like Randi's husband) you guys earn every penny you make. I don't know how much you make, but even if it's right up there with Oprah's salary, it isn't too much.

Remember this post? The one in which I was so excited to have my kitchen in shambles? That was quite a while ago, and now... I've grown weary of the mess. Thankfully the end is in sight. Just around the corner. I can see the light.  Hallelujah!!!! I'm singing, and Mitch would be doing the happy dance, but he's in bed. Completely exhausted and every muscle aching from a week of installing tile.

I mostly watched from the sidelines as he and my cousin Ronald worked, and worked, and worked.

I did get involved when it was time for grouting. I wiped.

And wiped. And when I thought I would collapse from all the wiping, the tile dried to a cloudy haze and I wiped some more, which brings me to another lesson learned. Installing tile is no fun.

Just in case you don't believe me and think it would be fun to install tile in your kitchen, I won't try to stop you, but please let me warn you, (yet another lesson) don't trust the grout color samples. Not even a little bit.

Tell me, does that grout look like the Mushroom sample? No? I didn't think so either. Luckily, I actually like this color, even though it's not at all what I had in mind. I wanted something close to the color of the tile. Something subtle, not too dark, but dark enough not to show stains as easily.

It looked like Mushroom wet (on the left and bottom of the picture).

Who knew it would dry so much lighter? Not me, but now you do...just in case you are sadistic enough to think it would be fun to install tile in your kitchen.