Weekend Fun - Makeovers

A few days ago my daughter gave me and herself makeovers.  Here are the results.  Enjoy.

FO - Mail Sorter

Blogger London Purple has a wonderful tutorial on making your own Fabric Mail Sorter.  I have been needing something like this for a while, and jumped at the opportunity to make it.  

I modified the pattern slightly (as always ), but not in any meaningful way.  I simply removed the bulk from some of the pieces to make the sewing up easier on my very old machine.  If you need to know how I did this, comment, and I will reply.

If you have been keeping up with this blog, you can see that the same fabric has been used in the past several posts.  This is an attempt to visually unify my craft area.  I will show you all the outcome when it is finished.

FO - Pin Cushion Caddy

Craft Magazine recently posted the Pin Cushion Caddy pattern from Anna Maria Horner's new Book Seams to Me.  As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make it.  Here it is;  

I love how it turned out, even though it is not exactly how the FO looked in the pattern.  I found after extensive ripping, measuring, and remeasuring, that the pattern did not correctly state the seam allowances for the exterior of the caddy, and as there are 8 pieces to the exterior, even slight seam allowance problems mean big problems.  I finally remedied the problem by using the stated allowance in half the seams, and 5/8" in half the seams, alternating the allowances as I went.  The suggested interfacing was not adequate either.  I ended up sing actual cardboard!  

Still, I LOVE  the outcome, and the pattern was free.  I plan to check out the rest of the book soon.  Amazon has a few pictures from inside the book, and another free project.

FO - Mouse Pad

Sew Mama Sew, an on-line fabric store with a terrific blog is doing a month of fat quarter projects.  These are projects that can be made with fabric pieces that are about 18" by 20" or smaller.  These are great ways to use small amount of expensive fabric, leftover fabric, or salvaged fabric.

They rencently posted a tutorial on making mouse pads with fat quarters.  I was reading this tutorial with my son on my lap, trying to keep him from banging the mouse against my bare desktop, and inspiration struck.

I decided to use a small piece of my favorite fabric I salvaged a few years ago from a pair of pillows.  I think the project turned out beautifully.

I did not directly follow the tutorials presented on Sew Mama Sew, and instead used them as inspiration for my own version.

First I bought a super cheap mouse pad.  It was about $3 at Office Depot.  I would have preferred to use an old mouse pad, but none were available.  I then attached one side of some double sided fusible interfacing to my fabric, and traced the outline of the mouse pad on the paper backing of the interfacing.  I cut out the fabric and interfacing, peeled off the paper backing on the interfacing, and attached the mouse pad by matching the edges.  I pressed the mouse pad on the fabric side with a damp cloth on top to produce steam and dissipate heat.  I then placed the mouse pad under some heavy books until it cooled (to keep it from curling).  When it was finished cooling I applied several coats of mod podge to protect the surface of the pad, and keep the edges from fraying.

The result inspired me to use this fabric as the inspiration for my craft area's color scheme, so you will probably be seeing more of it soon.

Fusing Plastic Bags

I have not yet tried to fuse plastic bags, but I intend to.  Despite the fact that I have switched to cloth bags, my pantry is overflowing with plastic bags. Here is a tutorial on fusing your plastic bags, so you can make them into something useful.

~Gerwerken

Monogrammed Napkin Tutorial

These pretty monogrammed napkins were a last minute Christmas gift for Mr. Incredible's grandparents.  I needed a quick present, but I wanted it to be nice too.  These napkins took less than 1 hour to make, with the exclusion of washing and drying the napkins.

How To

Materials:

Napkins, I used Iris Napkins from Ikea ($1.99 per 4)

A picture you want to put on the napkins

Iron-on transfer paper

A computer and printer

Iron

Process:

1.  Wash and dry your napkins as per their washing instructions to remove any chemicals present on the napkins.

2.  Create or find your picture.  I used photoshop to modify a font that suited my purposes.

3.  Using regular paper test print your picture, using all of the settings you plan to use in the final printing.  Make sure this test printing is the correct size and color, and is printed in a mirror image if your picture needs to be read.

4.  If necessary modify your picture and test print again, until the picture is perfect.

5.  Print your final image on iron-on transfer paper.

6.  Cut out your picture.  I use an exacto knife, and cut out all of the unprinted areas, leaving a small border on all sides.

6.  Then transfer your image based on the packages instructions.  Make sure your iron setting is not too high for your fabric.

Enjoy!

Mounted "Butterflies"

My Mother wants to collect mounted butterflies.  I find the idea of killing an animal to put it on your wall highly disturbing.  But thanks to Craft magazine, I found a middle ground in time for my Mother's birthday.

I used a Martha Stewart Punch to make the butterfly shapes out of a picture my daughter made with children's picture making software.  The butterflies are mounted on black construction paper (recycled from the kid's art projects) with foam adhesive.

The Peels

I told you I would let you all know what I did with the peels left over after making lemonade, and I have not forgotten.  I did, however, fail to mention that did not make just one pitcher of lemonade.  I actually made 3 rather tart pitchers of lemonade, leaving me with a LOT of lemon peels.

There are tons of things you can do with lemon peels, but I dried most of mine.

First I separated the peel from the pulp of the lemon, by running a small sharp knife around the white pith of the lemon.  The pulp can then be pulled from the peel.

The pulp was then composted.

Once the pulp was separated from all of the peels, the peels were set in the dehydrator.  An oven set on low or warm would also have worked, as would a warm, low humidity day or two.

I let the peels dry over night.  The next morning, they looked like this.

What can you do with a bunch of dried lemon peels?

• Make a potpourri with the peels, cinnamon sticks and cloves.  Set in a pan of water over low heat.
• Throw into a burning fire for an infusion of fresh lemony scent.  
• Add them to your recipe for apple cider or mulled wine.
• Grate into tiny pieces and to soap as an exfoliante.
• Include in an herbal sachet.
• Decorate a citrus/lemon scented candle.
• etc.

I also picked a few of the most perfect peels to make zest.

You have to get ALL of the pith (white part) off the lemon peel if you are going to make zest with it.  

First cut around the pith as close to the yellow zest as possible, and pull off all of the loosened pith.

Then CAREFULLY scrape off any remaining pith.

You should be left with nearly translucent zest.  It is difficult to see in the picture, but my fingers are visible through the remaining zest.

The zest can be used to add an intense lemony flavor to your favorite foods.  I will probably be using mine in some lemon cream scones! Yum!

Baking Bread

I love Harry Potter, and I am constantly finding ways in which the book mirrors reality (I know, I'm a dork).  The instances in which my life mirrors the book are few and far between. Believe it or not, for me, baking bread is one of those instances in which I feel like I am living the fantasy.  Some how, during mysterious alchemical processes (or perfectly understandable chemical reactions which I chose to ignore), water, flour, yeast, and a few other simple ingredients combine to make bread.

So today in potions......bread.

Doesn't that seem like magic?

The Calm after Battle.

It has been a harrowing few weeks for my family, hence the silence.  Two weeks ago I had a minor surgery that had me laid up for a few days.  Then last week my husband's dog attacked my dog.  Had I not been there, I doubt my dog would have survived the attack.  I am now fully recovered, but I cannot say the same for my dog. My dog has been with me for about 6 years now.  I adopted him from the animal shelter when he was a starved little puppy.  When I got him home I nursed him back to health, and he has been a wonderful loving dog ever since.  He is even highly tolerant of my children dressing him up and loving him to death.

My husband's dog came to us about a year and a half ago.  Someone my husband was working with picked him up off the interstate, and my husband, hearing the dog's story and knowing that the animal shelter was euthanizing every pit bull that crossed their door, took the dog home.  He initially intended to find the dog a new home, but upon taking him to the vet and finding he had heart worms, we decided to keep the dog during his treatment.  Well during that time we became attached to the dog, and decided to keep him.

He was a very loving dog, that was exceptionally gentle with my kids.  He was also a fully intact male, something we don't allow in our house.  After the heart worms were gone we took him to be neutered.  The surgery went well, but soon after the dog began developing a skin rash.

We have since taken the dog to several vets, and even a canine dermatologist.  None have been able to tell us what is wrong with the dog or give him more than temporary relief.  Still, despite the skin condition, he had been a wonderful dog till about 2 months ago.  That is when the first attacked occurred.

The first attacked was unprovoked and quickly stopped, but my dog came out of it with several puncture wounds, and a torn ear.  It also left me with the lasting impression that the dog was unstable, and potentially dangerous.  I believed that his skin condition had finally made him so miserable that even the slightest provocation could set him off.

Fast forward to last week.  My kids, my MiL, and I were playing in the yard with the kids, when my husband's dog again attacked my dog unprovoked.  My husband, who is a large man, had been able to stop the last fight with little difficultly, but he was not around this time.  I beat the dog with a metal pole that was in my garden.  I beat him until my hands were bloody, but still he would not stop attacking.  He had my dog's entire neck in his jaws, and I could hear my dog gasping for air.  Finally, I jammed the pole in the dog's mouth and wrenched it open.  Fortunately my MiL was there to help me pull the dog off, as he was not finished attacking. 

The outcome was the best that could have possibly occurred.  My husband's dog bit my own on the collars, and my dog ended up with only minor puncture wounds on his neck.  One leg had wounds numbering in the teens, but with care and antibiotics it is doing well now.  

My husband's dog is no longer allowed around my dog or my children, and we are at the moment trying to decide what should be done with him.  We have talked to a dog trainer in town that has little hope for him, and are in contact with a dog rehabilitation center, but his outlook looks bleak.

Sticking it to the Man - Making Necessities

In this economy many of us are looking for ways to reduce our expenses, but there comes a point when we can no longer cut out the extras.  Once we have cut out extraneous spending, we can shop sales, and buy cheaper products, but it is very difficult to further reduce spending in a meaningful way.  Necessities keep our bills at a constant level of expense.  We can't simply stop using them, as by definition they are necessary, however, we may be able to stop buying them. Below are links to products that those in the Western world often feel are necessary parts of their daily lives.  The links describe how to make these products for pennies per application AND without all of the harsh chemicals present in their commercial counterparts.  Just imagine, living a lifestyle of increased environmental responsibility while spending less.

Homemade Deodorant

Living Shampoo Free  Cleaning your hair without stripping it of it's natural oils, to create healthier hair and scalp

Toothpaste Recipe 

Synthetic Free Moisturizer A multi use moisturizer with only one ingredient

Homemade Laundry Soap/Detergent

Other Household Cleansers All purpose cleansers, window cleaner, mild abrasives, etc.

Soap Nuts Nuts that contain a natural soap like ingredient that can be used for multiple cleaning tasks

Homemade Dish Washing Detergent

My Own Formula for All Purpose Cleaner;

Add 1 tsp natural soap to 1 cup warm water.  Mix and spray on surfaces to be cleaned.  Wipe thoroughly.  As always test this cleaner on an inconspicuous spot before using it.

~Gerwerken

The Art of Lemonade

 

My grandmother has a lemon tree that grows giant sweet lemons (one of the benefits of living in Florida).  When we last visited her, she gave us a giant bag of lemons.  Rather than let the lemons spoil I used several of them to make lemonade.

While making the lemonade, I noticed that beautiful contrast between the bright yellow of the lemons, and the blue of our counter tops.  

My mother-in-laws truly old school juicer seemed to make the scene even more idyllic.

Later I will show you what I did with the peels.

Choffy

Simple Mom has just introduced me to a potential new love interest, Choffy.  Choffy is brewed chocolate, similar to coffee, but made from chocolate.  It is even supposed to be healthy. Check it out;

http://simplemom.net/choffy/

Doll Family Pictures

Christmas of 2007 Mr. Incredible and I bought our kids a doll house.  Since then the house has been virtually untouched, leading me to believe that the kids simply were not the doll house playing type.  However, Violet has recently developed a liking for the house, and as a result I decided to put a little extra effort into it and began the slow process of decorating it.

The first effort, as seen below, is a wall decoration in almost every house...family photos.

The Knit Kit

The Knit Kit. A multi-tool for knitters.  

I've got to have it.

Good Bye Blogger.

Dear friends in Blog land,

After much frustration with Blogger, I have decided to move on.  As of today I will be leaving this blog behind, never to post again.  My posts and I have found greener pastures on wordpress, and I hope you will follow me there.

I can now be found at http://gerwerken.wordpress.com

This new blog contains all of the posts that can be found here on blogger, as well as some new and (I believe) improved features that I think you will like.

I hope to see you there soon!

~Gerwerken

Welcome!

Welcome all of my blogger friends.  As you can see, http://gerwerken.blogspot.com has been replaced with this new, and I hope improved website. After much frustration with blogger, I finally decided to take the plunge and switch to wordpress.  I hope you enjoy the new website, and graphics.

Please bear with me while I learn the ropes of this new website.  While I do not understand all of the ins and outs of this new system, it seems very intuitive, and I should be humming along in no time.  Until that happens, please let me know if you are having any trouble with this site.  All of my old posts should be available, but I would like to know if you are having trouble finding anything.

In addition, the functionality of this site will change rapidly over the next few days and weeks.  I do not expect you to notice these changes, but if you do, again please bear with me.  It should all be running smoothly soon.

The Spoils of Christmas

I realize that this post is a bit late, Christmas now being about 3 weeks past.  My excuse is that I had some misgivings about posting about those gifts I was given in the first place.  Given the current economy I didn't not want to flout the fact that my family has not been terribly affected.  

I was especially fortunate in the present department this year, especially since my expectations were low.  I asked for little this Christmas, and got more than I cound hope for.  It was wonderful.  I decided to share my good fortune at the risk of upsetting others.

These beautiful handmade sock blockers, one sized for my husband, one for myself were from the Gadaboutknitter.  Her husband cut and sanded these himself out of some beautiful ceader.  I can't wait to use them, but until then they can protect my statsh.

These wonderful crafty books were from my parents, my sister in law, and myself.  You will no doubt be seeing projects from them in the comming year.A good friend of my husband and I sent me this book from his new home town, Austin, Texas.  This book stemed out of the Rhizome Collective, a sustainable living group local to Austin.  Many of the ideas in the book go way beyond what I had even considered possible in the city.  I fully intend to implement many of the in the comming year.I finially got my very own i-pod.  I have never had an mp3 player before (For that matter, I don't remember ever having a portable CD player, althoughI did have a tape player in college to recored lectures).  My husband hd been letting me use his old i-pod shuffle - the small kind without a view screen.  It served me well, except that I like to listen to books, and it was difficult to find the right place in the story if it got out of order.  My husband responded with this cool new i-pod nano in pink (my favorite color), inscribed with a personalized message.

This final present was from my sister.  He has been dubbed Sunny, and he is my new best friend.  My floors have never been so clean.  He even cleans under the couch.  If you live where there is dirt, you need one of these.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas too!

We're Back

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  I hope everyone reading this enjoyed social equality today.

Well the kids and I are back after spending the better part of the last week visiting my parents as my Dad's Christmas present.  When asked what my Dad wants as a present he always responds, "time."  This year we decided to take him at his word, and used the money we would have spent on a present traveling there and back.  

I have to admit that I was very tempted to give him thyme the herb as a bit of a joke, but I didn't think it would go over too well.

During the week there I got much needed rest allowing my mother to see to the needs of the children.  Since we don't get to see my parents as often as they would like, my mother often fusses about not taking care of the kids often enough.  I wanted to make sure that she got her fill while we were there, and I think we succeeded in leaving her in a state of happy exhaustion.

As a consequence of letting my mom watch the kids, I had a lot of time to work on my neglected Holly Jacket, and the knitting is nearly complete.  Hopefully you will see it soon!

Expanding the Garden

If you read my last post, you will know that one of my New Year's resolutions was to expand my garden, what you didn't know was that it had already begun.

Last year I planted a small garden bed that continues to provide my family with bell peppers.

  This year I plan on planting a much wider variety of vegetables, and enough tomatoes that a

 few can make it to our dinner table before my kid's devour them.  The first step was creating a raised garden bed that our dogs won't be able to run right through and trample our vegetables.

Here is what we did.  Keep in mind that we learned a few lessons along the way, and I point out what those lessons taught us below.

We created a 4' by 8' box, about 1' tall.  Mr. Incredible used 1" by 4" untreated pine (cull lumber).  He attached them with common sinker nails using overlap corners.

Next time we will use nails with a spiral or ring shank or wood screws because the sinker nails pulled out of the corners far too easily.

We then situated this box in a prepared bed (the soil had been turned to break up the heavy clay that lies just below the surface, and the soil had been leveled as much as possible).

We increased the height of the bed by installing 2" by 2" corner supports, and nailing the next level of pine boards to the supports.  He also installed 2" by 4" supports in the middle of the 8' spans to keep the wood from flexing or bowing under the pressure of the dirt.  In hindsight we probably should have made the entire structure before trying to stick it in the dirt.  Preassambly would have kept the joints from shifting and requireing clean up/trimming after assembly.  We may also use all 2" by 4" supports in the future.

He then trimmed off all the pieces of the supports that were above the top of the box using a sawsall.

He also ground off the ends of protruding screws to keeps hand from comming in contact with them while digging, as they could casue injury.

Then I layed landscape cloth in the bottom of the box, putting dirt in the corners to keep the cloth from blowing away.  The landscape cloth should help keep weeds at bay, slow water runnoff and erosion, and is deep enough that it shouldn't interfer with veggie growth.

After filling the rest of the box with dirt I layered on some compost (that was not quite as ready as I would have liked), then more dirt.  

Now I need to finish filling the box with more dirt, compost, and organic fertilizer.  Then all that is left is actually growing the plants.

~Gerwerken