November 21, 2017

What I Did On My Summer-Not Summer Vacation


Okay, okay, I'll admit I haven't been the greatest about blogging lately.  Those of you who remember writing letters will remember the dilemma - I feel like I should write but I don't have anything really exciting to write about.  It's not that I'm not doing anything - I am!  I swear!  Proof:


Aren't those elephant buttons cool?  I'm on an elephant kick lately - even got one for my bedroom:


But I digress.  Besides the elephant bracelets (which are listed in my shop btw, if you're looking for a special gift for someone) and a stray dragon bracelet (also listed),  I've done several other "projects" like painting my not-niece's (not technically my niece, but she seems like one!) new (old) house.  Actually, my poor husband ended up doing most of the work since he runs the paint sprayer, but I was there every step of the way for emotional support and menial chores like keeping the paint bucket filled.  


 I also did random things like baking pine cones:


Which led to my oven conking out on me.  Well, it actually did the opposite of conking out (conking on?) because the bottom element came on full blast and would not shut off.  I had to kill the breaker to get it to stop.  It had nothing to do with the pine cones, really, other than they were what was in there (smoking!) at the time the thing went haywire.  For those of you just dying to know why I was baking pine cones, we wanted to put them on my daughter's Christmas tree and I'd read that you should soak them in a vinegar solution and then bake them on low for a bit to kill any critters that might have been living in them before you brought them indoors.  Anyway, I'm getting new appliances one at a time as the old ones die off, so I can't complain.

So, the tree!


Isn't it gorgeous!?!  We wanted a fuzzy, furry look and searched high and low for some sort of ribbon or garland and came up empty-handed.  After a lot of shopping, we found a table runner:


We pulled out the stitching and took the backing off, then measured off strips:


And cut it up to make the furry garland you see on the tree.  We're pretty proud of ourselves for that one.  It's exactly the soft look we were going for.  The pine cones got a coat of white paint and some "snow" on them to add to the white, lush look.  It's hard to see in the photo, but the "topper" is a mask that looks like it should be worn to the fanciest masquerade ball with glitter and crystal and feathers and draping ribbon.  Such a pretty tree.

So see, I have been busy!  And you know what else I did?  I got another class converted to a tutorial! 


The Drunkard's Path micro macrame bracelet tutorial has over 50 step by step photos and very clear instructions for all skill levels.  It helps if you have a knowledge of the basic macrame knots (like a double half hitch) but no worries if you don't.  There are videos here on my blog to show you how to do it!  

If this bracelet isn't the one that makes your heart beat a little quicker, you're still not out of luck.  There are fifteen other micro macrame tutorials to choose from!  Or heck, just go buy yourself something pretty that won't require any effort on your part.  You know you want to.  


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