Sunflower Season

 

I took all my strawberry kitchen decorations down. I don't know... August seems like "late summer". Early Pre-Fall. Augtober. LoL  I was thinking what else could I do until Fall.... DUHHH Sunflowers... I have a couple sunflower things (a kitchen towel, a little vase with sunflowers in it)...  I had been wanting to do a sunflower basket like one I saw online.

This is the one I liked the best... 

I mean it's not exactly like it... But. I kind of like it! I felt like it needed more of the tall yellow flowers in the back, though... 

So I went back to Walmart and I got two more. I think it looks better. I don't even want to add up how much money it actually cost to make this. 

I also got this little sunflower decoration at Hobby Lobby. I put my little sunflower gnome next to it.

Then, we went to the Salvation Army on Saturday afternoon. I saw this little mushroom and I thought it was cute. My husband asked "What are you going to put inside it?" I said "I don't know, I'll figure it out later though." 😁 I decided the gnome wanted to be by the mushroom. 

I had bought some Red Heart Bitty Stripes yarn a while ago (the two skeins on the left). I know I posted about it.. But when we went to Walmart yesterday, I saw they had two more skeins in the "same" color. Well, it's not the same....  This is SOOOOOOO irritating!!!! Same dye lot, exact same numbers across the board. It's not the same. I wanted to crochet a poncho with this. No other place (except online) has Red Heart anymore, except for Walmart. And my Walmart hardly ever has this yarn. It's so irritating. And, it's not "cheap" either!! $9+ for one skein. Of Red Heart. 

We went to Target last night (don't get me started again....) There was NOTHING either my husband or I liked there. I did see these strawberry Crocs. But 1. I don't have anything that would go with them clothes-wise 2. They're $45.  So we left empty handed.  I'm getting so fed up with the quality of things and how expensive they are. Like the Bitty Stripes yarn...   I ordered some tea off of the Celestial Seasonings website, two weeks ago. It still has not shipped. I emailed them this morning and I got a reply from "Lisa- AI Customer Service Representative". WHAT? My enquiry is being handed over to a Human agent. WHAAATT????   It's the Twilight Zone. I do not want AI I think we need to get rid of it right now. Maybe AI is making Red Heart Bitty Stripes yarn, too. 😡

Scrap Summer Tote Update

My Purse Bangles/Handles/Whatever they're called, came yesterday. "Made In China"....  (Sigh) 

I thought I would have finished the purse by the time they came, but I haven't! I have been working on it, too. (Mostly weaving in ends.) I have three and a half rows to go. I started another row after the red, since I took this picture this morning. (Alert the Press....)

Today is my DIL's birthday! She is one month and ?? days older than our youngest son. If I was closer to them I would make her a cake. 🎂  I had an idea for a cake for my husband, but.... It's kind of crazy. We were talking about (well, I was talking about) how I was thinking about what kind of a birthday cake to make for Eon this year, and then I thought "Duh.... He doesn't live with us, I don't know how or if I should make him one..."  My husband said "You could still make him one maybe we can take it over there." Then I said "I don't even know what kind of cake I could do that would be any better than the other cakes I did... Not that they were great cakes, but I don't have any more ideas". He said "What about a truck cake?" (LoL) Because our son loves his truck.  Well, (back to my point...) I was thinking yesterday, "I could make Steve a Tonka Truck (kids') cake for his birthday".  Because he never had a childhood and his mom never did anything for them like that. To "relive" a childhood he never had...   We would have cake for months though. Since it's just the two of us.... So, I don't know if I will do that. (I probably will... 😂) Well, apparently, I'm not the only one who thought of it. The Pinterest title says "Dad's birthday cake"  My husband (actually) went to the doctor yesterday. His shoulder has been hurting him (must hurt bad, for him to actually go to the doctor 😔)  He has to get an ultrasound, and the doctor said possibly surgery. A ganglian or ??? (some other kind) of cyst, but he doesn't know if it's attached to the bone. My husband fell at work 11 ish years ago, and the bump appeared then. The doctor said it's not related to that (probably)....  (In the back of my mind.... "Doctors aren't always right, you know...") We'll see. I don't know how he can take time off for work if he does have to get surgery. He will have to use his vacation time. 

More Boring Plant Stuff

And just more boring rambling....I took a picture of my poor Jade plant...  You can see how the stem (?) on the right (a couple of them, actually) are leaning over. That's what happened with the one that fell out. It just leaned over until it fell off. This is after I cut the branches down. It was super tall! I want to cut it down more, but I think I should wait a while... So I don't hurt/shock the plant. I know it looks stupid with the turqoise yarn tied around it. I need to find a better way to keep it from falling over. 👀

These are all the pieces I cut off. The really tall one is the one that just fell out of the whole plant. 

Yesterday, I watered all my plants (Monday is watering day lol). I re-potted one (Christmas or Thanksgiving cactus). And I added some potting soil to my African Violet (it kept wobbling and you could see gaps in the side of the pot), my plant I bought when we lived in Colorado (it's an Arrowhead Vine Plant- I tried to prop mine up with popsicle sticks and tied the plant to the sticks, mine is all wilty and falling over), and I can't remember what other plants...  I think the African Violet looks better already. 😄I really need to get a plant shelf, so I can put all my plants by better windows so they can get better sunlight. I just don't know where I can put them. And, I know Eri would try and jump on the shelf and she would knock my plants off...  Sigh... It's hard enough for me to keep plants alive without Eri. LoL.. (That might actually be why my Arrowhead isn't doing good, because she gets in the window where I have it and she keeps rubbing on the pot and biting the leaves.)

This is my Arrowhead Vine... (Sad..) Looks nothing like the one in the site I posted a link to. OMG  I just read that it's toxic to pets... I better find a different place to put it so Eri doesn't eat the leaves any more! I think my plant might be the "Painted Arrow" variety.

And this is the cactus I re-potted. This pot is only about 1/2 inch bigger than the little plastic pot it was in. I just wanted to get it in a real pot.  

~Anyway~ This is my Scrap Summer Tote progress. I'm actually three rows farther than this, now. Only six more rows to go. I think I mentioned that I ordered some bangles... They should be getting here soon. I also ordered some tea (special "Christmas" tea that is only out in stores at Christmas time, BUT- I cannot ever find it anywhere in any stores... So, I ordered it online.) Candy Cane Lane. It was supposed to be here last week! Then, it was supposed to arrive yesterday. But it didn't.... No email or update or even anyway to track it. I'm about ready to call Celestial Seasonings and complain. Shipping was ridiculous, too. I paid almost $20 for one stupid box of tea. It's irritating.

Went off a little bit, there. Sorry. LoL...  This is how the tote will look folded up. I also want to sew a lining in it. So, I won't sew it together until I make a template to cut the fabric out first...

I don't know if I mentioned we got a couple rugs when we went to Walmart. My husband wanted to get one for the basement (the carpet down there is horrible). And he got one for the front entryway. Well ever since he put it down, the cats have been wrestling on it or laying on it. (It's so comfy, lol...) It's so funny that they wrestle on it. I said they think it's their new wrestling mat. There's fluffs of fur on it already. 😹

We tried the popsicles last night....  They are not that great (I only put Strawberry Greek Yogurt in them). Maybe we're too used to junk food with tons of sugar in it. I have been trying real hard to not eat sugar... (Except the Yasso bars, and when I make cookies..) This is one site I found on Pinterest with some homemade yogurt popsicle recipes. I didn't actually use one (except the plain yogurt idea).

Yesterday I decided to put all the strawberry decorations away. I don't really have any other "summer" decorations"...  Except the little vase with the sunflowers in it. So I went downstairs in the closet under the stairs and found all my "Fall" decorations..... (Sigh... I said I can't decorate, didn't I?) My husband said it's too early for Fall decorating. I said "It's Augtober..."  I don't know, I might stick these inside for another month. It's almost the end of August, though.  🙄 I want to get more for the top of the hutch. A big basket with sunflowers in it. I don't know what else...  I should go to the thrift store and look around...     If you are still awake and not bored to tears by now, ~Have a Good Day~

Just For Something To Blog About...

Well, I am posting these for some pictures to blog about. I don't know when I actually finished these. But I uploaded them on July 29th. Also, don't ask me what pattern each one is. LoL I am not organized AT ALL lately. I have been trying to link the patterns in each post because I go back (like with the Donna's Bangle/Camille bag/purse I posted about recently) and I don't know what the pattern was?....  At the time I was working on it, I did. But not later on. Anyway. I did these because I just wanted to crochet something and use whatever yarn I had laying around at the time.

I usually just make the one above, the pink one. But I wanted to try a different pattern. So I did this one. I'm not sure I like this one, the skirty is too holey for me. But it's still cute, and I like the yarn.

This one I kind of like. It's purple. And lacey looking. I also found a white one I had done, I don't even know when. I also don't know what I will even do with these. I was thinking maybe they would want them at the Infusion Center?   I don't know...   

I went downstairs to look for that purse (I know I had something I had started, in one of the bins I had all my fabric in, and I was going to see if I still had any of the bangles...) Well I didn't find the purse, or bangles. But I started to put fabric on the cubicles, and before I knew it I cleaned out both bins and a big garbage bag full of fabric downstairs. So all my fabric is on the cubicle/shelf now. (Well, except for all the fabric over by my sewing machine...)  At least I have that done. If I do a little at a time, maybe it will all get organized down there. The thing is, I start doing something and I get carried away trying to do it all and I end up doing too much/hurting myself. I can't do things like I used to. 

I am still in the mood to crochet a poncho, too. I had gotten the two skeins of RH Bitty Stripes (by the way, I thought I had another one that I got but I didn't realize at the time that it was a "new" yarn, and I thought it was the same color as the two I had just bought. Well I found it yesterday, and it's not the same color.) Anyway, we had gone to Walmart again last night to get some potting soil so I can re-pot my Jade plant..  I looked and they only had one skein of the same color Bitty Stripes yarn (I would need at least two more skeins to do a poncho..) So I didn't get any of it.    I was googling about Jade plants, because mine got super tall and I don't know what to do about it. Apparently it is not getting enough sunlight (I don't know what to do about that, because there is no way to put my plants by any of the windows in this house. I don't have any furniture to put them on...   But, I did cut the "legs" down. I hope it won't kill the plant. That's what the article said to do, so it will grow and fill out more horizontally than going straight up. I forgot to take a picture of it before I cut it down. Well, I'm glad I got more potting soil. Because now I am going to have about seven more Jade plants...  Unless I throw away all the cuttings. Which I don't want to do. Maybe Eon or some of his friends or friends moms and grandmas will want a Jade plant. Lol...

I did buy something at Walmart yesterday though. Some popsicle molds. LoL. I used to have a really old (half falling apart) Tupperware popsicle mold, when the boys were little. I know I bought a new one when they got a little older. But they all outgrew homemade popsicles, or popsicles in general. But, my husband and I have been buying the yogurt Yasso bars a lot lately. That's our "ice cream". I was thinking about how I used to make our own popsicles.... And I looked on Pinterest for some recipes... And I saw a big display in the middle of an aisle, with a bunch of different popsicle molds... It had butterflies, smiley faces... I just wanted a regular popsicle mold.. Well, they had some (at the bottom). And, they had a purple one. 😁💜  I washed it all out when we got home.

 I was going to wait to make popsicles, but then I just grabbed some of the Greek Yogurt my husband got on accident the other day. He meant to get regular, but he got strawberry. So I just put some of that in the molds last night.

We also went to the Dollar (Dollar Twenty Five PLUS) Tree. I needed another pair of reading glasses...  I saw a cute Stitch doll that I *almost* bought... But they wanted $7 for it!! 🙄  I had been thinking about Eon and Steve's birthday next month...  Even though Eon doesn't live with us anymore... I must still be in birthday planning mode... I had been looking for a new card idea to make for Eon...  One day I was looking for a cake and I said "Why am I looking at cake ideas???"  And when we went to the dollar store, I saw these little cowboy drink cups... I said to my husband,"If he was still little I would totally have gotten these for his birthday.."     I think I need some grandkids! LoL... I remember how he loved his little cowboy boots someone gave us, and I got him a little hat and crocheted him a "Clint Eastwood" poncho..  Funny. He still loves cowboy boots and hat. (And music.) 🤠

Random Things

Someone had posted "Show me your desk" like it is....  In a Facebook group I am in. I think I win a prize for the messiest desk. 😞 It was not this bad, before! My craft room, and the basement, have always been (well, my craft room- I haven't always had a basement) the last place to get organized. I am always trying to keep the main floor clean in case anyone comes over. (My Uncle just stops by every now and then, he doesn't even call or anything before hand... ) And, the carpet in the living room is (ugh) brown, and shows every single fluff of fur and speck of anything. I just vacuum and I already have to vacuum again.  Anyway, I also do not have any organizing cabinets/shelves, etc...   Or any organizing skills. LoL (Sigh...) Or decorating skills, either if I'm being honest. 

My  husband bought me these cubicles for all of my fabric. Which was all in random places. One laundry basket piled up. A bag with a baby quilt/leftover fabric from that. I also have two big rubbermaid bins with fabric in them.

Well (it looks bad to me.... Maybe I need to reorganize it/fold it better), I got all the fabric out of the laundry basket and bag. My organization tactic was: Quilts I am working on, Christmas/Holiday fabric, Fabric that is a weird texture, lights, darks, batting, and on the top left, that is Eons' projects he had been working on. I still need to go through the rubbermaid bins. But, I also put one of my yarn drawer/storage bin thingies in the closet down there. So that little area is a lot less cluttered. I still have about four boxes of stuff I don't know what to do with. I am not in any groups (except on Facebook) that I would donate things to charities to any more. And I have one or two boxes full of stuff I crocheted to send to one of the charities... (Sigh.)   Also a bunch of clothes that don't fit me any more...  I need to just have a big garage sale. (But I don't want to... 😭)    I also washed a window down there. (I only have to do all the rest of them. Sighhhhh... ) I cannot do things like I used to. I get so wore out and sore and I hurt everywhere. 

This is a Zinnia that we planted from seeds. There's a bunch, along this fence. And they are all this color!! I love them so much.. That's another thing I need to "organize" make better. My flower bed. But, it's a start. Maybe next summer things will slow down around here, and I can do more things that I want to do.   

Yesterday when I was trying to find that poncho pattern, I was trying to also find the pattern for a bag I had started (because it used the bangles that I am going to use for the bag I posted yesterday, and I couldn't remember if I ever finished that bag or what I did with it....). It was one someone posted on Crochetville. I went on there and I was trying to find it but I couldn't...  And the picture I posted on my blog was Via "Buzznet" and it wouldn't load...  So I don't know what it looked like. But, I was thinking how I (kind of) miss Crochetville. I miss the Crochet-A-Longs, and the swaps....  Well, (this is the point I was trying to get to, LOL) I got an email this morning about a new crochet community! I joined it right away. And I am using the same username as I did on Crochetville. I hope it will be fun. It's by Kali from the Friendly Red Fox.  Maybe there will be some charity groups on there that I can donate some of this stuff to. 

Update: I did some more searching (via Pinterest), and I am almost positive that this is the purse!! Although it's called the Camille Purse. But, her name is Donna! I am almost positive that is it!   Maybe I will make one now. And actually finish it. I ordered a set of four bangles, so I would have enough to do it. 

I Finished My Vest

I finished my purple vest! 💜 I was worried about it fitting me right. It is actually a little bit too small. Or maybe just right. 👀 I kind of love it.

It's hard to get a good picture of it. This is the most correct on the colors of it. I think I used just over a skein? of the darker purple (Bernat Super Value 7 0z skeins, in "Mulberry"). And not the whole skein of the lighter purple (same yarn/size skein in "Lavender".) That darker shade is my favorite color of purple. 

This picture the color is way off. But, you can see how it looks, laid out flat. I used this video tutorial, it's in Spanish but there's a voiceover, which also is not the best. But you can still make out what to do. I also bought the yarn a while ago to do the colors she has (the burgundy and sage). But, I don't know if those colors would look good on me. I might still do it because I love this vest. I am still working on my Hexi With a Twist Tee. (The link for that video tutorial is the same as the one to the lighter purple yarn, above.)  But, I started a new project (sigh... just accept it Tina...). It was in my Facebook memories from two years ago and I wanted to start it that day. I said "I'm doing it. Right now." It's another video tutorial, from a crocheter I follow on Facebook. But she also has a You Tube channel. When I was crocheting my vest, I was tired one day and I started one of the pockets in the darker purple yarn. (I finished the whole pocket and almost immediately realized I'm supposed to do the lighter purple...) I just left it and stuck it in my yarn basket. Well, I am using it for the scrap yarn tote now. 

I didn't even unravel it, I'm just crocheting as I go...  I need to get some handles for this, though. I might have to order them online. I used to have some a looooong time ago. I don't know what happened to them.

Last night we went to Walmart, because one of my plants (my Jade plant) fell over and a piece fell off (which I am propagating into a new plant...) It got super tall since the picture in that post... My husband said "It's too big for that pot." I didn't think so. But, we went to look for a new pot. The only other pots I have are plastic, or ones that were containers I bought the plant in from the store. This pot was the only one I (kind of-and I don't really) like... And, same with the yarn. I wanted some Red Heart Bitty Stripes Grapey. But this is all they had that I even liked (it has purple in it?) I got a couple skeins. I was trying to think what I could make with it. I will probably have to go get more of it. I should do that this weekend, before it's all gone. I was thinking about doing a poncho with it. It looks kind of "Fall" to me... And I am into making wearables lately. I was thinking about making a poncho like this one- but I didn't even post what the pattern was??? Unless it was the one in that magazine I posted. I will have to look if I have that still...  If not, I want to do a hooded poncho or a different one..

Update!! So, I went through all my magazines (OMG) and the Simply Crochet #25 issue is not the pattern I used for the poncho (It was a turtleneck poncho that I still want to make, though..) Then, I went through my folder and I found the pattern!!!! It is the Cowl Neck Poncho from the Lion Brand Yarn Company. The yarn is a bulky yarn. (Sigh....) So, I will either have to use the Bitty Stripes yarn doubled with a solid color, or make a different pattern.... with this yarn, I mean.)

Close up of the colors...

And, a picture of Eri trying to steal my crochet hook this morning. She wants to crochet. 😹 Actually, she just doesn't want me to crochet. And she wants to rub her face on my hook. 👀(Which is what she did right after I took this...) 

I have more to blog about, but I need to upload more pictures...  So I will save those for another blog post. 

Cards and Cookies

I posted about getting the birthday cake stamp. 😁🎂 I love it. I forgot I also got a blue ink pad. And I got some blue and silver and gold sequins to put inside...  

It came out perfect. (Yay....) This is before I colored it in.

I hadn't ever posted or wrote about how I did the other two shaker cards I made. So, I will try my best this time. I cut a clear cellophane bag that had some flowers in it (I think it had flowers..). Then, I wrapped it around the piece with the edges on the back. I flipped it over and put double side tape on one side. Then I folded the cellophane down. Then, I lifted the piece up and pulled it tight and did the same for the other side. Then, I cut the excess off so that I could fold the bottom and top down and taped those too. Then, I put double sided tape on the very edges all around the front of it. I put it on the desk and I took the card and laid it down on the piece (very carefully).  (Nerve wracking...)  I know that's not a very good tutorial and I'm sure there's better ones out there. But I didn't want to try and watch 80 videos to find one I liked. I didn't want the card to be too puffy to send in the mail. (Even though it still will have to be mailed in a puffy envelope..

I forgot, after I stuck the front onto the shaker part, I then cut a white piece out a little bit less than the front of the card, and stuck that over it to cover it. I'm not sure if I will also cut another piece out to cover the whole inside. I should. But, it will add more bulk to the card.

The finished card. It's just basic. But still kind of cute. I think.

Shaking it...  

That's for our (middle son's wife) daughter in law. I want to make some more birthday cards with that stamp, it's so cute..

Then, I don't know HOW I forgot. It was our middle son and daughter in law's first wedding anniversary a couple days ago!! Well, I do know how I forgot... (I have too much going on/on my mind right now).  I feel so bad I forgot. I went on Pinterest and googled anniversary cards...  This is the beginning of the card I made them...  I just punched two white and one black heart out. I held one white heart over the black one and drew the "Tux" part and cut it out. Then, I (very carefully) drew a little bow tie on black card stock and cut it out. I'm glad I bought the fine line glue. For pieces like this. 

Then, this is the white heart. I don't have an embossing folder to make it embossed. I do have an embossing (???) light box? It's not a box, it's just like this. But, I can't find my embossing tool anywhere. And I didn't feel like sitting there for hours trying to emboss a piece...  And I don't have tiny white pearls... So I looked to see what else I have that I can use...  I thought, what if I just stamped with embossing ink and powder and it would be a little bit raised up? Well.... I don't have embossing ink either. (Sigh...)

So.... I just used a light grey marker. That's the stamp I used. It didn't emboss very well. 

But, I still think it came out pretty good. I had to glue the "Happy Anniversary" stamp back on to the wood part. Hold it forever. Wait for it to dry....  I messed up on the first one I did. (I printed Happy Anniversary out on the computer-which also is a pain because I have to restart the computer, turn the printer off and on again, just to get it to print...)  Jeez everything is a pain around here. I had an edging punch I used to make the scalloped "lace" white part.  

When a nice card costs $8 at Meijers, it's kind of worth it to make your own cards now....   (Especially if you don't have to buy any new tools to make it.) Everything is getting ridiculous now. Don't get me started on how much Red Heart yarn costs now. 😡

~Anyway~ I know I posted about the Butterscotch Cookies I make, before. This is my "recipe". LoL  I just was writing it down fast when I was talking to someone on the phone (I am pretty sure it was my Grandma.... I thought it was my mom, but she said she doesn't have that recipe....)  

It made almost three pans (dozens) of cookies. Minus two. The third pan had ten cookies.

I put a cup of butterscotch chips in the dough, though. I'm not sure how many it would make, if the chips weren't in. My husband said he might like these better than chocolate chip cookies.

I have more to blog about but that's enough pictures for one day.