July 25th, Rudolph Day...

Another month has flown by!  The last couple of weeks have felt really busy, but I couldn't necessarily think of a thing that I have accomplished.  This summer's heat has been dragging me down.  It seems to get harder to endure every year.  Two more months before we start cooling off.  Two more months...

Now for this month's Rudolph Day project.  As you may recall, I am using the 25th of each month from now until Christmas to do something, either craft or chore, to be a little more prepared when the Christmas season arrives.

For this month's project I decided to pull out the cross stitch piece that you may remember from last year.  I worked on it while my mother-in-law was here visiting.  Only two colors, so really simple.

Last year I finished up all the cross stitch and then put it away.  I meant to complete and frame it before last Christmas, but...well...you know... 

This morning I dug it out of hiding.  I washed it, and ironed it.  I left it to dry thoroughly while I rounded up needed supplies and cut backing pieces and padding to fit the frame.  

I added the pearls to the cross stitch, cut off some of the excess linen so it would be easier to apply to the backing board and be less bulky in the frame, and zigzagged the edge so it wouldn't ravel.  Then I gave it another press to make sure there weren't any wrinkles from all the handling.  

I did my best to center the design on the padded backboard, and then carefully taped the fabric to the board before placing it into the frame.  Lastly, I added a piece of white cardboard to fill the frame's inset and give the piece a neater appearance.  Then I taped it in securely so there will (hopefully) be no shifting.  The only tape I had was clear packing tape.  Will it hold?  Not sure.  I may have to redo it sometime in the future.  But I figure the packing tape is still pretty secure on those boxes still left packed since the move six years ago, so...

I took this final photo from an angle to better show the dimension the pearls add.   The lacy snowflake designs and the pearls lend a simple elegance to this piece.  I'm happy with how it turned out.  And I'm really happy that it is complete and will be part of this year's Christmas decorating.

June 25th, Rudolph Day...

June 25th!  We are now at the halfway point between last Christmas and next Christmas.  Amazing.  And while I'm not a real fan of seeing Christmas everywhere so early, I do think that when you make things by hand, you have to get an early start, or things just don't get done.  

Pamela at The Lady of the House Speaking introduced me to the idea of Rudolph Day; that is designating the 25th of each month as 'Rudolph Day' and making ready.  That made sense to me.  I don't have to think about plans and preparations all month every month, but I can think about them on the 25th and take small steps to be ready(er).

So if you hate seeing Christmas pulled out mid-year, avert your eyes.  I am going to try to post one Christmas project on 'Rudolph Day' each month from now to Christmas.

One thing I have been wanting to do for awhile is to paint a canvas as a backdrop for our nativity scene, so this morning at 3:30 a.m. (yes, that's when I usually start on crazy things) I just jumped in.

This is an awful piece done at one of those wine-and-friends painting 'classes.'  They are fun to attend, but don't always render the best results.  I decided to paint over this canvas which heretofore has never seen the light of day.  (Frugal re-use!)

Did it turn out great?  Meh.  Do I want to re-do it?  Pretty much.  Am I going to?  No.  It is done, which is more than it was last Christmas, and done is better than perfect!

And it doesn't look too bad when set behind the stable made by my father in 1981 (which I dug out of the closet for this photo).  I think it will look even better when officially done up at Christmas.

Making it Monday...

Today was quilt day at the library.  I love quilt day at the library.  

I don't have photos of my progress, so I thought I'd at least show my fabric choices.  The image above shows the different prints in the Sea Life collection by Camelot Fabrics.  I will be including a dark gray solid.

This typed alphabet print will be the backing.  I think it is so cute.

And the binding will be from this narrow stripe.

I got quite a bit done today, but I'm not sure how much sewing will get done for the rest of this week, since I work through Friday.

Counting stitches...

I started a Christmas project last night.  It should work up fairly quickly, but I'm not at all impressed with the linen that I purchased from Joann's for the project...very difficult to count threads...and, no, it is NOT my aging eyes!  :)  I have had to pull out quite a few sections, as well as letting some mistakes that aren't too noticeable stay put.  The linen feels rather thin, stiff, and low in quality.  Not very fun to work on.

Other than that I've been cooking and trying to behave.  The former is so much easier than the latter.  :)  

My m-i-l likes the guest room very much, and the visit is going as well as expected.  Though I've been trying to keep the door to my office/craft room closed, she did take a peek in yesterday, much to my chagrin.  Why, yes, there is a "lot of stuff" (code for 'dumping ground') in there...I have a lot of hobbies.  It actually had been looking a lot better in there, but in the last push to straighten up the house a lot got tossed in there for the duration.

Cross my heart...

I saw a photo similar to this on Pinterest six weeks ago.  And since Kasey collects crosses, I thought if I could get a photo of the children forming a cross with their fingers, it would be a special keepsake.  I had hoped to have it done by her birthday last week.

Easier said than done.  

First off, it is nigh impossible to catch those five children in one place at the same time.

I finally found them all at home at the same time late one afternoon, but it had been raining for days, and the ground was wet, and the sky was gray and cloudy.  I tried lying flat on a deck chair and had them stand around me.  The height necessary made it uncomfortable for the little ones to hold their arms up while I attempted to get the layout just right.  They were troopers and got it done, but the gray clouds didn't look that great.

Finally yesterday we had a beautiful sunny day.  When we went over for Sunday dinner, Chandler wasn't there, but he was able to come back after a quick phone request.  

This time I was able to lie on the grass, which put their arms at a much better height for telling whose hands were whose.  And that clear blue sky is a brilliant contrast!

I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I've already printed it and delivered a framed copy.

Money pads...

I thought I'd show how I dressed up the boys' gifts this year.  Money is the same old, same old Christmas gift for them...but it's easy for me, and always happily received by them.  But just so it's not completely boring, I like for there to be some element of surprise as to how it's presented.  There was the year of the origame 'candy' box.  And last year I tucked Chandler's into a box of beef jerky, and Bobby's into a jar of candy.  

This year I thought I'd make a pad of money that they can peel a few bills from as needed.  I actually thought about it early, and went by the bank a couple of months ago for crisp, uncirculated $1 bills.  I also ordered padding compound...not sure the link is the one I bought, but it had a nice photo that shows the process, so I linked it.  The amount used is miniscule, so I'm going to have to make a lot of notepads or something.

I used some chipboard cut to the size of the bills to give it a firm back.  I just stacked the bills and the chipboard and clamped them with binder clips.  Then I painted the padding compound on the left end.  

After it dried, I cut some patterned paper a little longer so that it would wrap around the bound end, and I used double-sided tape to adhere the patterned paper to the back.  That way none of the bills were damaged, and the cover will stay on even after bills are peeled off.

 I designed the cover labels on the computer and printed them out in Christmas colors.  Chandler got his license this year, so I labeled his 'Ga$ Money.'  I cut an oval out of one cover so that George Washington's face from the top bill showed through.

I also knit each of the boys a cap.  I tucked their money pads into the appropriate kid's cap and wrapped them up.  

When they opened them, they were gratifyingly impressed with the concept of a pad of money.  They weren't sure it was real money.  I assured them that it was and that it would be accepted anywhere they chose to spend it.  

And they were all gracious enough to pose in their knit caps for a quick photo.  Uncle Jared (far right) got in the photo too since he was wearing the same cap which I made for him a couple of months ago.

In the land of chalk drawings...again...

Kasey's chalkboard that I love to play on is no longer in her dining room, but she hasn't had time to update it from a dining room motif.  (You can see its new home--in their new house--in the first photo.)

One of her best friends had a birthday today (a big one), so while Kasey was away from home at the party, I thought I'd surprise her by sneaking over and putting up some new chalk art for the new house.  I was inspired by the work of dirtsastudio in her Etsy shop...I first saw it on Pinterest.

This was definitely the most challenging chalk art I have attempted as I was doing it freehand while looking at the inspiration piece...and the audience (Beau) kept adding their two cents.

I like it with just the white chalk, but since I had ordered fancy colored chalk from Amazon, I added a little just for interest...the choice of states colored in has absolutely no significance other than I was totally copying the inspiration piece.

I added the heart in our part of Texas, and the 'Home is where the heart is' caption at the bottom.  I think I may go back and add a simple border around the edges.

I added a message in the corner at the last for Beau and anyone else who may think it's funny to point out its imperfection.  :)

Kasey called me after she got home to say that she really liked her surprise.  

I can mark another Pinterest project done on my 2014 goals list.  Now I need to put some chalk art on that section of wall I painted with chalkboard paint in my own house.