Friday, August 10, 2018

French Bread

I've been meaning to post this for awhile, but life keeps demanding my attention.

Anyway, I've made this recipe a couple of times now, and it was delicious both times. I found it on pinterest, but you can get the recipe here.

This is how mine turned out:


It was really easy. The instructions are well written. And it's totally worth the effort.

Monday, May 21, 2018

Stitch Maynia......

Hey all!

Thanks so much for stopping by to see my Stitch Maynia posts. I know they came to a sudden halt, but I have experienced some technical difficulties.

My phone and computer have not been on speaking terms as of late.

They are currently in counseling and I think they're about to have things worked out.

Stay tuned..........

Friday, May 4, 2018

Stitch Maynia Day 3

So, we have here another project that I started last year but have not completed.

I'm starting to sense a pattern here ................ and I don't like it.

I have at least worked on this one between then and now, so that's a plus.


 

I have made some adjustments on the words to suit myself, which also meant I had to tweak the colors on the heart a little. But, it's all good now. I'm not thrilled with the fact that the 'd' doesn't show up so great, but it doesn't bother me enough to pull anything out and re-do it.


I made noticeable progress on it, so that makes me happy. I could have worked on it more when we got home last night, but I just wasn't feeling it. I really just wanted to go to sleep. lol

This is one of the pieces that is on my Year of WIPs list, which means my goal is to get it completed before the end of the year. That means that once Maynia has passed, this one will be coming out again......and it's got a LOT of white on white to be done. *sigh*

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Stitch Maynia Day 2

I was pretty pleased with the amount of stitching I got done on day 1.

Day 2...........not so much.

This was also a piece started last year. It is actually a birth announcement. However, I'm just going to leave the 'birth announcement' part off because I love the bunny and that fat, white bird.

But, as you can see, I didn't get a whole lot done last year, I only managed a little spot on the bunny's chin.


 

 This go round I managed to at least get the nose stitched. Half of it I got to stitch twice, since I used the wrong shade of brown the first time. Hooray....... 


I did decide that since she's got kind of a big pumpkin head that I need to outline it and then carry this with me in the car where all I'd be doing is filling it in. Then maybe I can get a lot accomplished on my ride back and forth to work (especially since we get to leave the office these days while the sun is still out.) Of course, I haven't DONE any of that yet, just decided to. Ha!

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Stitch Maynia Day 1

So Stitch Maynia started yesterday. If you don't know what it is, there is a Facebook group by the same name. On the first of May starts Stitch Maynia. There really are no rules. Everyone just focuses on their stitching in a way that suits them.

I will be participating for 18 days to coincide with the year. If I have not finished a project that was started on the same date from previous Maynia's I will work on it. If I have finished the previous one, I will start a new project.

So, for day 1, I worked on a little witch that I had started in 2017.

Here is a picture of the finished pattern. I'm not doing mine on a sweater........just some off white aida.

 

This is where I'm starting for this round of Maynia.


I actually had more time than usual to stitch yesterday, so I made some pretty decent progress.


All that green hair is exactly how I feel about my hair on humid days. Can anyone else relate?

Making pretty good progress (for me, anyway) makes me want to keep going on her. But there are so many other projects in front of her. Guess I'd better keep going on them.

OK, see you tomorrow for the next update.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Easter has come and gone

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter........and April Fool's Day.

My Mom got in on the April Fool's spirit. She used doughnut holes dipped in chocolate to make cake pops. Then she dipped some raw brussel sprouts in chocolate to look like cake pops. She put them all mixed together on one plate so it was luck of the draw when someone grabbed one to eat.

I'm not gonna lie.....it was pretty funny watching people's reactions when they got a brussel sprout.

It was a good Easter, too.

Here's some of our Easter-ness (That's a word, right?):

I made this cheese ball.

It's supposed to look like a chick.

If you close one eye, squint the other a lot, and concentrate, you can make out the chick.


The Easter Bunny still delivered baskets.


If you can see the llama in the llama basket, she is awesome. She's super soft and is wearing pink llama pajamas. If you'd like to order one of your own, I got mine from Polka Dot Pig Folk Art. She's got a lot of fantastic stuff.


I made these individual size apple pies using cupcake tins. I asked Abigail to use the left over crust to put decorations on each. She made Play Boy bunnies. Really?!


This is a final finish on a cross stitch piece I think I had shown previously. The pattern is from Bent Creek. It's the Easter Cracker. I stitched it up on a tan aida. I glued magnets to the back after I mounted it on a square board. The background is a piece of scrapbooking paper. The magnets on the back of the cross stitch piece are holding it in place. Then I made a simple bow from some burlap ribbon, which has a magnet glued to the back of it.  They are all sticking onto a black metal chalk board that I got at the dollar spot in Target.


I can change this out as often as I like...............if I can manage to get more pieces finished.

Anyway, it's an idea.


Wednesday, March 7, 2018

A quick crochet project

My sister-in-law is expecting her first baby in April. We're all pretty excited about it.

She had her baby shower last Saturday (March 3rd) and I decided to make something for the baby.

I got on Pinterest and looked at all my pins for crochet, but didn't see anything I liked for a baby boy. So then I decided to look on Ravelry.

Bingo!

I looked at several things and finally decided to go with the Hudson Baby Blanket. It's an easy pattern and was a pretty quick stitch.........especially for me since I seem to always have too much to do and not enough time. Oh, and add to that that I decided to do this in the middle of February, completely ignoring that March was just a couple of weeks away.

Regardless, I got it done.

 

The pattern calls for Bernat Baby Blanket yarn, but my closest store didn't have that in the colors I needed. Instead, I opted for Bernat Maker Home Decor yarn in Pebble Beach and Aqua and crocheted with the two yarns together.

To package it for gift giving, I used a cake box with the clear opening in the lid.


I think she liked it.

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Making coffee mixes

Sometimes, especially in the evening, I like to have a cup of coffee but I don't want to make a whole pot. That's why I love the General Foods International Coffees. (I think they're now Maxwell House coffees.)

Anyway...........

While I was online one day looking for a way to purchase the GFIC for a lower price, I came across this site with recipes to make a few of their flavors myself. So of course I had to give it a try. Since the Cafe Vienna is my favorite, that's the one I tried.



Here's the recipe from Top Secret Recipes

Cafe Vienna
  • 1/4 cup instant coffee
  • 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Coffee-mate creamer
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1. Grind the instant coffee into powder using a coffee grinder.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Store in a sealed container.
3. To make the coffee drink, measure 2 tablespoons of the powdered mix into a coffee cup. Add 8 ounces (1 cup) of boiling water and stir.
Makes 9 servings.



Now, with me being me and all, I didn't make it quite like the recipe says. It wasn't on purpose or anything like that. I wasn't paying attention and measured my first two ingredients incorrectly, then tried to figure out what I actually had done, then tried to adjust the remaining ingredients based on zero knowledge of what I did with the first two. Perfectly clear, right?!

Regardless, it still tastes pretty good. The next time I make it, I'll add more cinnamon, though. Oh, and I'll actually follow what the measurements are supposed to be. *sigh* One thing I changed (on purpose) was that I used Splenda instead of sugar. Even if I wasn't using the zero calorie sweetener, I would probably opt for powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar, just to keep my mix more consistent. 

If you try any of the recipes, let me know what you think. And if you change them up, let me know that too.

Monday, February 26, 2018

A finish

This year, for the second year, I am participating in a group effort of Year of WIPs. (If you don't know, a WIP is a Work In Progress. It is often confusing keeping up with what these acronyms mean in different areas of our lives.)

Anyway, at the beginning of the year, I chose 18 WIPs - because it's 2018 - in hopes of getting them all completed this year. I chose some that I knew would be no problem, some that will challenge me, and some in between.

Well, over the weekend, I got one of my pieces finished.


I started this in February of last year as part of a Facebook group, Freebie February. I made some mistakes that only served to frustrate me, so I sat it aside...........and mostly ignored it. I decided to finally push through and get it done as part of this year's challenge.

I'm thrilled!

This is my third piece from my YOW list to have completed. I guess I could take pictures and show the other two that I've finished. Duh! But what finishing three already means is that I'm going to run out of the easy-to-finish pieces soon. Eek! Then I'll just be left with my challenge pieces.

If you would like to stitch this, the pattern is free at here.

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Wait just a minute...................

How can I be out of yarn when I'm not done yet?


Isn't this supposed to work like not being out of money if I still have checks?

Saturday, February 10, 2018

It's a new year....

Okay, it's mid February. We are well into a new year, but still........

Each year, instead of resolutions, I like to choose a focus word. This year I've chosen 'DO'.

I spend so much time with ideas running around in my head and buying things to make those ideas a reality, and then they sit there.

Waiting.

Getting buried under the supplies of other new ideas.

And nothing.

I hope to change that this year.

So here I am............doing.........posting again.

I have been cleaning out my dungeon and have managed to DO a few things because I've come across the supplies again.

Huh!

Imagine that!

But it does cut into my cleaning time.

I made these earrings out of Bratz doll shoes:


I have no idea why this popped into my head as a must-do thing, but it did. So I finally got around to DOing it.

Honestly, it feels good.

It also feels good to be cleaning up my craft room. There is stuff in there that I question why I ever hung onto it. Am I the only one that does that?

I also finally hung a shelf in there. I've been contemplating it for ages and I finally just did it.

It thrills me.

Is this why people are known to say adulting is stupid?

Because a shelf being hung on the wall rocks my world?

I suspect it is.

I did have a huge accomplishment at the end of last year.

I finished my oldest cross stitch piece. It's a Norman Rockwell and it was 25 - 30 years in the process.

No lie!


Some of the detail:


Now that leaves the oldest unfinished piece in my collection somewhere around 24 years old. I guess I'd better get to it too.

Oh, and if you're so inclined, check out my videos on YouTube..... you can find my channel at Taryn Verleye