ADHD Crafter

I was just taking stock yesterday in my mind of all the things that I have ruined crafted in the past and all the things that I want to get done before the holidays. Either for gifts (can anyone say "handmade Christmas?") or for decorative purposes. And it got me to thinking that I might have craft ADHD.
Here's some of the things I have tried or currently working on:

Quilting
String Art Earrings
Sewing
Scrapbooking
Crochet (my newest obsession)
Stamping
Painting (on canvas, on walls, on my face.)
Burlap Wine Bags
Tie-Die
Framing/Matting
Jewelry Making
Furniture Making
Upholstery
Tile Coasters
Stained Glass
Photography-I had hopes of printing a coffee table book some day. Of old barns. Have I ever taken a photograph of an old barn to date????
Wire and Bead work
And thanks to my friend Amy's patient mom, I had a 3 hour love affair with Knitting back in 2004 (Remember Misty?). But I'm a one needle gal!




....and the list goes on and on.



Are you a concentrated crafter? What is something that you wish you could learn to do? I really want to hone a talent. Maybe I'll try basket weaving. Yeesh!



(Kara H. and Laurel Q....If we ever have a craft night again....you might have to get me some Ritalin.)

Perfect Segway

WARNING! LOTS OF PHOTOS!

This week we took a trip with some friends to the Oklahoma City Museum of Science. (Formerly the Kirkpatrick Center....if you are old school like me.) And if you haven't been there since the early 90's like I'm sure it was for me; give it another go. There are lots of new exhibits and some throw-back crowd pleasers like the Echo Tube, the shadow room, and the aviation museum just to name a few. (All of these were there when I was 7! So cool!)

Our favorite (okay..MY FAVORITE) stop was the Segway Obstacle course. If you have never ridden a Segway, it LOOKS easier than it IS. I have seen Polo matches on Segways, but I was lucky to make it around in a circle without getting wobbly and falling off!

Isaac was excited to try it; and even let the Segway lady lead him around as he held on to the middle post. I think he was just digging the helmet. Here are a few pics and a video to prove his bravery:

Looks like an old pro!

"Dude...I got this in the bag!"

"Don't embarrass me, mom!"

"I could live at the miniature train place."

We could have spent a lot more time at the museum. We didn't get to see the planetarium, the Science Live show, or an OmniMax film. Definitely worth the drive and money. We will go back again!

And finally, because I like to find the humor in the mundane, I snapped a pic of a sign in the museum that had me giggling all to myself:

La Papier

Head on over to Kimba's and check out the other fabulous projects going on at her weekly DIY Day.

I feel like speaking in French today. Mon Cherie. Oooo... That's bad. Sorry for the ridiculous attempt...'round here we call it OkieFrench. (Mrs. Avila...I preferred your Spanish class anyways.)

As the title of this post suggests, I'm up to my elbows in paper. Now in my last crafty project I told all of the "Furniture Purist" to stop reading whilst I painted and disassembled a piece of furniture. Today I'm telling book publishers and authors to never come back because they'll hate this next gig. Seriously. Don't read it. Just go back to your Chaucer's and your Homers and your Hemingway's.

(Photo courtesy of Living with Lindsay, see link below)

This project posted by Living With Lindsay is what got me inspired to use some of the old books I told you about in THIS post. (Pretty cool story actually...go check it out.)

What I came up with is sort of Shabby Chic meets the Grinch that Stole Christmas. (Think Cindy Lou-Who)

Are you curious?

A Curly Paper Tree!

First I cut pages out of the vintage book The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table (sounds like a real page turner). Sorry Oliver Wendell Holmes. I will not be providing a book report on this one!

I believe I used about 20 pages. The pages are on the small side and I suppose you could use less if you made your curls bigger.
Then I started shredding the pages into strips.

I used a sharp pair of scissors to curl the paper just like you would if you were using ribbon on a package. Just be careful not to pull too hard, otherwise you'll rip the strip of paper. (Note: since this book was ancient....I got a lot of paper lint all over. Do this in an area you don't mind getting dirty!)

I then started hot gluing the paper on the bottom of the Styrofoam cone. Note: Hot glue will melt the Styrofoam...so be careful. I'm sure there's an adhesive product out there that would do a better job... but this is what I had on hand. (The Elmer's glue is there for back up.)I kept layering the paper curls around the cone overlaping as I went so there were no gaps.










At the very top of the cone, I used four curls and set them one on top of eachother at 12, 3, 6, and 9:00 o'clock. (The surface of the cone was flat at the top.)



I then hot glued the cone in the urn (half off at Hobby Lobby.) You could also use a dowel rod in floral foam or some other type of anchoring device. I bet this would be cute on a topiary!

Whala! A good start to my holiday decorating!

I'm participating in Just a Girl's I can Make THAT! Party

Frugalista

My Iowa buddy, Amy, has started a really awesome website called Housewife Hacks. This mother of 3 and knitting ninja delves into that realm of quantum space that I have not yet dared to enter; Coupon Clipping and living a more frugal life. I want to spend less and save more. I want to find good deals and I want to be a frugalista just like Amy, but I don't know how. So....join me in 'a learnin' and follow her as she shares her tips and wizardry (I think that's one of your terms, Amy?) on how to cut your grocery budget and only spend $75 a week on groceries.

Also, check out Amy's interview from Channel 13 in Des Moines that gives some great ideas on how to organize your coupons:
http://www.whotv.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=f8320c5d-c9eb-48c7-addc-e0572e4b817b&src=front (sorry I couldn't get it to load on the page...but the link should work!)

Add her button to your side bar! You'll be glad you did! (Hey...IT's FREE! I'm already learning!)