Button Pendants

Update: The skunk smell is gone (I think)!!! I think all of my efforts yesterday to de-skunk the house and the dogs was a success. Thanks for all your comments, it WAS bad!!!!

I went into my craft room this morning to start a new project and got TOTALLY sidetracked by making button pendants.









I have so many beautiful buttons that I think would make incredible pendants. I made a few more that I couldn't photograph properly. I had such a hard time getting good photos of these!! I ended up taking some glue dots from my old scrapbooking stuff and making them stand up, supported by the glue dot.

I had my flash off and used the macro mode, it was just really really hard to get good photos. Any jewelry photography tips would be greatly appreciated!!!

Anyways, I hope you're having a super weekend. I'm headed out to go shopping and then we are meeting up with some friends for dinner.

Skunked!

I got up this morning, let the dogs out and one of them had a run-in with one of these:



I have spent my ENTIRE day trying to rid the house (and the dog) of the smell.

In case this ever happens to you, I found a recipe online for a de-skunking solution that worked really well.

1 quart 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1-2 teaspoons liquid dish soap

Make sure you google "skunk remedy" and read about it before using it, but really, it worked VERY well for me.

Honestly, we were fairly lucky. Even though it was a direct hit it just got the side of her face and a little bit of her shoulder. I think that I got it as bad as she did though because I was holding the door when she bolted past me into the house.

Now, if anyone has any hints as to how to get the smell out of fabric (couch, carpet) I'd love to hear it!!! Again, the smell is FAINT because we made the dog do a u-turn before she made it too far, but I can still smell it and even though I know it will dissipate, I want it gone NOW!

Oh, I even bought an $8.00 candle at the grocery store to mask the scent. Crazy.

MORE fabric!

My credit card owes Lera a great big thank you for all the light of day it's seen lately!!! Lera tends to find every great online store or sale and then proceeds to send me an e-mail telling me all about it. Sometimes I resist, other times I can't. This time I couldn't!!!!

Here is my LATEST Superbuzzy order.



I love it all, I just have no idea when I'm going to get to play with it!!!

On a less fun note, I want to thank everyone for all the well-wishes I've received for my stupid stupid tooth. I had the root canal done yesterday and for some reason this time it's only two appointments!!! Yippee!!! I have to go back next Tuesday to get the tooth filled and then that should be it!

secret sewing

I've been sewing up a storm lately but I'm afraid it's a top secret project and I can only provide a quick teaser:



Trust me, there are many more where that came from and I'll be sure to explain it in much greater detail in a future post.

Now that I've got that project done, I can't wait to get back to playing with my Gocco machine and the ton of new fabrics I've been purchasing lately but haven't had the chance to use.

Remember my tooth drama? Well, I've been very good at not using my blog to complain about my ongoing saga, but it's not over yet. Since having the root canal, things have still not "been right" with my tooth. Finally, on Monday I went back to see the dentist. After a quick examination, he determined that I need ANOTHER root canal on the tooth beside the one he just did!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even as I write this, I'm all doped up on Diazapam and I'm just waiting for Joe to come and pick me up to take me to the dentist. At least this time I know what I'm in for. I've had tooth pain since June. Believe me, this had better be the end of it all!!!!!!!

A quickie

I spent about three minutes at work today making my pushpins pretty.



How sweet are those?????

Gocco Part II

I spent the better part of last night worrying if I had cleaned the owl screen properly or not. Seriously, I did (worry). After a ton of Internet searching I discovered that a cleaning product called "Simple Green" was effective and gentle on the screen. So of course, this morning I went out and bought some.

I cleaned the screen again with the Simple Green and printed a few more cards to see if the screen was ok.



It was, thank goodness!! There are a couple of spots that aren't quite the same as they were in the first print, but I don't mind the look at all. (It's really not that different from the first run!).

I've put a set of the owl cards in my Etsy Shop.

Another thing I learned through my research last night was that it's a good idea to coat the cardboard frame of the screen with Aleene's OK To Wash-It glue. Since the frame IS made of cardboard, the layer of glue protects it when cleaning the screen. I'll be doing that from now on too.

I'll keep posting tips as I discover them.

I'm in love

My new toy arrived today. Actually, it would have arrived yesterday but nobody was home to sign for it so I had to go to the depot today to pick it up.

Here she is *sigh*



My new Gocco machine!!!!!!!!

I hadn't planned on using it tonight, I wanted to read the manual, watch the DVD that came with it and research it to death online.

Lera unknowingly talked me into trying it out tonight.

I was slightly prepared. I've been playing with some different designs anticipating it's arrival. I broke out the manual and decided to "go for it".

I carefully placed my original on the plate.



I then called Joe to see if he wanted to come and watch the bulb go off!! LOL!!!! He really wasn't too interested, but he humoured me and came into the room. All I had to do was press on the plate but I couldn't. Before I knew it I had talked HIM into doing it for me!!!! It reminded me of popping those Pilsbury dough tubes. I HATE doing that!!

Anyways, the bulbs went off perfectly.

Here is my exposed screen.



With one application of ink I was able to make 20 prints!



I freekin' LOVE them!!!

My only regret is that I really didn't do adequate research on how to clean the screen. I used the goop that came with the kit, but I sure hope I cleaned it well enough. If anyone has any screen cleaning tips I'd LOVE to hear them!

If you're thinking of buying a Gocco machine, do it!

Oh, I should mention I bought mine on Ebay. I paid a little more than the basic kit seems to be selling for everywhere else but it included two screens for fabric and some fabric ink too. It was worth it as far as I was concerned.

I can't wait to play some more!

*edit*

I just thought of two more things. I used watercolour paper, I didn't think that card stock was fancy enough. Is there a different kind of paper that I don't know about that I should be using? I can't remember what the second thing is. I'm too excited.

c-c-c-c-cold!!!

This weekend Joe and I went to GHAGAFAP (Golden Horseshoe Area Geocachers And Friend Annual Picnic). Joe camped out on Thursday night and Friday night to do some last minute preparations and cache placements. I didn't arrive until VERY early on Saturday morning.

The day went well. Fun was had by all despite the chilly temperatures.

I sold several of the geocaching kits/pouches that I had made up and plan to add some to my Etsy Shop in the near future.



I was pretty much glued to the OGA (Ontario Geocaching Association) table selling memberships and t-shirts, so I really didn't take too many photos. I did manage to persuade Joe to enter the three-legged race with my girlfriend's daughter. They even won the race (I think!).



After the picnic was over, approximately 100 of us ended back at the group camp site for dinner, movies under the stars and an amazing campfire where we were serenaded by some extremely talented musicians.

Now, it was cold. Believe me. Before we went to bed we could see our breath. We slept on an air mattress covered by a heavy-duty sleeping bag. I brought our down duvet and covered it with a quilt and ANOTHER down blanket. As we were falling asleep Joe was lecturing me on how to stay warm. Don't "break the seal" and let any air under the covers. Keep the blankets over your head (I hate that, it's way too stuffy). Before long though, my head was covered in blankets to stay warm. Around 3:00 am I had to use the ladie's room. Trust me, I weighed the pros and cons of the hike to the bathrooms before leaving the warmth of the bed.

When we woke up at 7:00 am (me with a TERRIBLE migraine), it was TWO degrees celcius, that's THIRTY SIX degrees fahrenheit!!!!!!!! BRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

I managed to hitch-hike with some friends who live a couple of blocks away from us since Joe still had hours of work to do before he could leave. I came home, turned on the furnace, had a bubble bath and went to bed!

Nice Matters

I could hardly believe it when Christy at Mama Said Sew nominated me for a "Nice Matters Award". I am extremely flattered, thanks Christy!!

I've spent the past couple of days thinking about who I am going to nominate for an award, and trust me, it's sooo hard to pick only 5, but I did.

1. Lera who writes The Sky is Pink has to be THE nicest blogger out there!

2. Chara of Chara Michele.

3. Mary Sarah of Crochique.

4. Sonja of Girl With Fabric (who needs to quit her new amazing job so she can be crafty again!).

5. Angela of Quilting in the Cornfields.

I could go on and on and on.

Anyways, thanks Christy!!!

Geo-stuff

Whew!!!!!

I've been a sewing maniac all week. I'm making zippered pouches for geocaching kits to sell this weekend at our year-end geoblast!!! The festivities unofficially start on Thursday night when Joe and a few of the other organizers arrive at the campsite for the preparations. I won't be arriving until Saturday morning. ONE night in a tent is enough for me, thank-you-very-much!!!!!

I've made 14 (with a few still to go) pouches. The pouches are for Geo-swag kits (pouches to hold trade items) and Cache-aid kits (with all the necessary supplies to mend a damaged geocache).

The photo is terrible. I had no energy AT ALL to be the slightest bit creative, so my apologies.



The sad sad sad part of this story is I have all this terrific new fabric that I'm ITCHING to play with but I have to finish up the geocaching stuff first. Hopefully next week I'll get to the fun stuff!!!

New Pouch

I finished this up tonight, I had started it on the weekend.

A simple zippered pouch made of linen and some patchwork.



Just a quick post. I'm having a grumpy night :) :)

more shopping and change purses

Joe and I went shopping "over the river" (in the States) on Friday night. While I was there I scooped two new magazines.

The first one is the Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts magazine. I really like it but I didn't realize that it wasn't just Christmas. There's a ton of Halloween and Thanksgiving crafts in it as well which I'm not so interested in. Apparently I can't read because it says right on the cover "Projects for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas". Oh well, I still like it, even though it isn't exacty what I expected.



The second one is the Martha Stewart Halloween Holiday issue.....LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!! I must say, I'm much more drawn to the "bad" half of the magazine.



I ran into Value Village on Saturday morning. I hadn't been there since before we went to the cottage. I was sure they were missing me. The only thing I bought was two pillowcases with a pretty winter print on it. It reminds me of spirographs.



I am thinking of making Christmas stockings for Joe and I using the fabric and embellishing it with buttons and red rick rack.

I finished up some more change purses. I had sewn all the buttons on at the cottage and just had to finish them up. Another WIP done!!! Some are for my Etsy Shop and some are for Christmas gifts.



In light of my recent shopping spree, I think I'm back in "Use what you have" mode!!!

shopping

I have nothing crafty to report. I've come home after work each day this week, made dinner and flopped on the couch. I've done absolutely nothing productive. I'm exhausted!!!!

For all of you who have been following the root canal drama, you'll be extremely happy to hear that it's finally over!!!! I had root canal part III today after work. My mouth is frozen so I can't tell if there's any pain, but I sure hope there isn't!!!

I'm extremely excited to report that my first issue of Marie Claire Idees has arrived!!!

It's absolute eye candy. I can't stop looking at it!!



I'm not a gardener, and I barely even like flowers, but I think this page is soo pretty.



And I just love this little guy, especially the buttons.



Before leaving for the cottage I went on a little shopping spree. I think the balance in my Paypal account is $1.37 right now, but I absolutely love my new Japanese fabrics. I totally splurged. Totally!!



And more...



Finally, I ordered the Snapsetter from eBay. I've yet to open the package, so I don't know if it will work, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.



I think I'm going to be in "Use what you have" mode for a while. My little spree was expensive, but completely worth it!!!

Back to School

The library underwent major renovations this summer. Thanks to our awesome caretaking staff at school most of the furniture and all of the boxes have been brought back into the library.

I walked into the library this morning and saw this:



I felt so overwhelmed that I ended up sitting and reading a magazine for about half an hour before I could even begin to think about where to start and how to tackle this mammoth job of unpacking. Seriously, admist all the chaos I sat and read a magazine!!!

Anyways, to my shock and suprise, period one a class appeared to help me unpack the boxes. I was very hesitant about letting them, but trust me, that was the only way it was going to get done!!!! Another class showed up later in the day and by the time I left work the shelves looked like this:



The books are a mess. They need to be put in order and straightened up, but at least they are on the proper shelves and I can tidy them up after everything is unpacked.

At this rate we should be completely unpacked by Thursday!!!!! Trust me, I can't wait!!

Anyways, I'm completely exhausted. Funnily, they don't let me take an afternoon nap when I'm at work. I have to go make dinner and then I think I need to flop on the couch for the rest of the night.

Labour Day

I'm back.

What a super week we had at the cottage.

It was a very busy place, we had tons of friends up, we at a lot of food (way too much) and had tons and tons of laughs.

I was so busy having fun that I barely even took my camera out of the case.

One of the days in between visitors I woke up early and started playing with paper. I was sitting in the kitchen making note cards. I spent about an hour cutting, folding and stamping.



I stopped to grab a ANOTHER cup of coffee (with hazlenut cream, of course) and I looked out the window and wished I could start every day just like that. Sipping coffee, being crafty and looking out at the breath-taking view.



I spent quite a bit of time playing with paper at the cottage, until my cutting blade went dull that is.

I love these new cards. I sewed them today in between loads of laundry.







Joe and I would love nothing better than to move to Northern Ontario, far far far away from any big city. I know I've said it before and I'll say it again, the only thing that I miss when I'm at the cottage is high-speed Internet!!!!!!!!!!

I have so many blogs to read, I've been taking my time and enjoying each entry since I've been home. I'm still in "cottage mode", not wanting to rush anything.

All that is going to change though. FAST!!! Tomorrow it's "back to school" for me. Labour Day is always such a sad sad sad day, the last official day of summer. Today I've done a MILLION loads of laundry and done a bunch of house cleaning. The first few weeks back to work are exhausting. It takes me so long to get back to a routine.