Cork board photo dispay

I like to up date photos on the walls, as I get new ones that I like. I dislike putting nails in the plaster walls, also I have to spackle and change where the nail is if I want to rearrange when I add new photos. So I use cork boards. I look for them at thrift stores but you can get them fairly cheep at a store like Target and Walmart. you can get decorative tacks or use photo corners stuck to flat tacks, if you don't want holes in your photos. you can also ads seasonal decor to the back round or paper back rounds. I like the plain. You can do this with photos of the out doors or other things and change them as often as you like with out taking up lots of room for storage.

These are a few of my favorit things

I just read a new profound quote.
It is never to Late or to early for Chocolate!
I am a chocolate snob. I prefer over 62% I only buy 72% or hire and I tend to get it with cherries & Almonds or nibs in it. From the Health food store or section of the store.
I will in rare cases also take a Hersey bar but it must have almonds. If I am having a bad day this can really do the trick for making me feel better.
That and my Ice tea. I use Steevia & even carry Steevia packets in my car. I have discovered I am allergic to all artificial sweeteners even Splenda I won't even use the Truvia because it has something in it besides Steevia and I just don't feel like taking the risk any more.:( I drink Decaf tea, because,I drink so much. If all of my tea is caffeinated then I get migraines. I probably consume 2 gallons a day of tea. I really need to whiten my teeth as they are starting to show the amount of tea I drink, big time. I also use a straw so that the tea doesn't touch my teeth as much. I remember I had this boy friend who kept a calender of my time of the month and he knew when I would be PMSing and so he would show up with a bag of Hersey's with almonds and a big 32 oz glass of tea ready for me. It is so amazing but it really did help. And while you may think it was sweet of him, it was really self preservation, as my husband will tell you. My other food I love is Pop corn. Let me tell you in my house this is a regular food. As soon as my DD hits the door after school the pop corn air popper is going and the non dairy butter soy substitute is in the microwave. On it's own this soy fake is not good but on pop corn it is really good, and this is coming from some one who won't eat margarine. Then the topping goes on. This could be powdered buttermilk ranch (the kind used to make dressing) or garlic powder and salt. or Parmesan/Romano cheese. I can only find hidden Valley Ranch powder. Which totally sucks because they use MSG so I have to be careful how much I use. McCormick use to make it but I haven't found it in a long time. (Another thing that causes Migraines in me there is a list I will make one day). I buy the pop corn in bulk in the bulk section of my Dierbergs' store. I use my hot air popper a lot. This is my 4th or 5th since I have been married. And I go though tea maker every 6 months. Anyway, these are my most favorite things to eat. When I get sick these are the things I want by my bed side. Well that and Cambles chicken soup, or fresh french onion soup. But the main 3 will do.

Wall of words and a new shelf

This is my wall of words. I like funny quotes.
"Don't talk to me when I am talking to myself."
"Don't clean this mess you'll ruin my system."
"Stop talking while I am interrupting."
"Be yourself everyone else is taken."
"I love to give home made gifts, So which one of my kids would you like."
The next photo is the shelf I just put together the other day. It was $25 at sears the bin on the second shelf is full of extra school supplies & the stack on top of the paper holder is more. I buy them while they are on sale because we always need them in Jan and Feb. The plastic bag has postage in it & some note cards. I sent all the rest of the packing supplies down to the basement. The bottom bins are for craft projects that I am working on. I can switch when the mood strikes & they have a home when they are not in my hands. This freed up 18 inches for me to slide the big desk down.
I moved the desk that was here into my DD's room so she has a place to do homework & a draw for her make up. Fitting also that her father did home work at that very desk when he was in HS

Reusable Snack Bags

I made reusable snack bags for My DD lunch. I hate using throw away baggies. these work great for dried snacks. like pretzels with peanut butter . or dried fruit. The flap wraps around to the back then Velcros closed. it works nice. I used a plastic table cloth from a dollar store.

Reusable Snack Bags

I made the next 5 longer but thinner so they fit in her snack box better.

Reuabable Snack bags

snack bag finished

Hair Clippies

My DD like Hello Kitty, I made these on blank clips I buy them at Jo-Ann Fabrics in the quilting department when ever they are half off. I used the cheep solid ribin that is 5 abd 10 yards ob the spool that I also bought on sale at the same place. I may or may not have gotton the shiny poka-dot there. the Hello Kitty Butons I cot on Ebay for .99 Cents plus shipping.
She very much like them. :)

Pewter casting the final count down!

here we have the finished pewter tokens. there is 81 in the pile. Then you can see a close up with a nickel for size comparison. and one on a stick. it was a whittled down chop stick to make it a drop spindle.

pewter finishing the pieces

here you see what the pieces look like on the sprue and then we cut that off and file the edges so no one cuts them self.

Pewter casting removing cast from the mold

the metal is to hot to handle so we use the wire cutters to wiggle it free from the mold.

pewter casting pouring the metal

clamped against the mold is a smooth piece of stone with the ladle the liquid metal is poured into the channel that was carved. It works like a funnel. we used clamps to hold the stone together

pewter casting

this is a cauldron you can see that the metal is already melted in it. I think he stores his metal in it. as we go on and cast we now and again redeposit the sprue we cut off of the cast pieces

pewter casting the mold

The soapstone you want is massive talc schist or massive saracite schist. Preferably a marbled green, grey, or red-brown. If it is all white, you're likely to run into trouble when you heat it - it will effectively decompose. The stone carves with any tool you can think of even your nail makes marks in it. we used wood carving and dental tools.

Perter casting 1

Pewter casting First the safety you are working with molten metal so safety is paramount. eye protection and welding gloves. you still feel the heat though the gloves but that tells you to stop and let your mold cool some.

Jester Hats for Pirate Fair

I a have been busy making these hats as well as the site tokens. Sunday night or Monday I will post the whole process of making the site tokens but till them I thought you would like to see the Jester hats I have been making these are tame I usually use loud fabrics but this is Pirate fair and so I wanted skull fabric.

My keep me busy bag

This is my keep me busy bag. You see I don't sit still well. I don't like to wait in line I hate waiting for Amber to get out of school I hate waiting in waiting rooms. well you get the point I don't like to wait. But, alas I like everyone else am forced to wait. So I keep myself busy with the stuff in this bag. I use to carry a book but I don't like to put them done once I start reading, and magazines take up too much room to carry around in my small purse. I don't see why kids should be the only ones with things to do. Parents are forever carrying things for them to do.
So the stuff in this bag has purpose too. Some of the things I am making are gifts. You can see That there is a kumihimo braiding wheel with more floss in a baggy, 3 small drop spindles with wool to spin, An embroidery project I am working on needles, scissors, my boy scout whittling knife.a spool of ribbon, a ball of cotton and my favorite bamboo crocheting hook. as I use something up I replace it so that I always have a choice of what I want to do. And no matter where I am coming or going to there is not bored me playing bubble breaker on my phone.

Magazines 2-3

The 2nd magazine I receive in the mail is Real Simple.
This has all kinds of things in it. It was though this magazine that I found a recyled packing box company. They sell boxes that were used abut are still good. they shipped them for free and I got tham as moving kits so there was tape, marker, news print paper and a tape gun included. I moved my whole house for $178 in boxes and I didn't have to drive back and fourth to get them.
They test things and tell you what every one liked and why.
They have some new clothing trends and where to get them and the prices. They also have new uses for things. I is just a cool read for the every day person.
My 3rd Magazine I receive in the mail is Readers Digest. I will never out grow this one this read. I say that because I spent long weeks grounded at my grandmothers and she had all the back issues, all the way back to 1958 I got to live the moon landing thought them. and everything. Which was cool as a kid. I also read all her Helpful hints from Heloise which explains a lot of other things about me too.

Magazines

This is one of the 3 magazines I get delivered. It is full of spinning, kitting weaving, dying, crocheting, and other fiber stuff. It is not always the most up to date with there information but I use it for ideas, and inspiration. They also put out a Magazine called Hand Woven.

A little off the beaten path

I love to read comics still. My favorite are not common and you should go out of your way to look them up. Some are classics that you know and love too. But I still miss Calvin and Hobbs.
Secret Asian man
Working Daze
Family Tree
Stone soup
Jump start
Frazz
Baby Blues
Between Friends
Edge City
Fast track
Funky Winkerbean
Luann
My Cage
Safe Havens
The Other Coast
Zits
Retail
Tina's Grove
And
Least I could do (web comic)

Car cup cozy

This is a car cup cozy. I crochet the first one with a small bit of left over cotton. Then I was making them to keep busy at my husbands High school reunion Pick nick. I had shoved one in my car cup holder because I hate the dripping water that pools in it and drips off the cup when I pick it up. Since my first one I have changed to pattern so that it is twice as thick. It work much better this way. I am currently working on sets of them as Christmas gifts. I also made single layer ones as coasters as a request from my mom. This one is made using the natural colored cotton that has flecks of green and red though out. I like this color because I drink tea and it hides stains better.

Bacon & Egg

While in New Jersey My cousin found out that I make Wash clothes and dish rags that are silly. one of the sets I make is Bacon and eggs. I crochet them with cotton yarns. The bacon is just adding and reducing so that it has a bumpy feel to it. I normally use a plastic scrubby for the center of the egg. The Deals store didn't have them so I used a sponge that was covered with a yellow scratchy material this time. But I am still on the look out for the yellow plastic scrubbies they next thing I want to work on will be green eggs and ham. but that will be a little while down the road, because I am still working on car cup coasters. they sit in the cup holder and absorb the sweat from the cup. They'er nice because you can also wash them in the washing machien if you spill your drink on them

The Guitar pick Bracelet photo

Finely she brought it home for me to photograph. I made this with 7 picks at first but it was too big and fell off her wrist so we took one pick off and this is it. It is still loose it could probably stand to loose one more pick I think if she lets me it would be the green one. Amber likes it with the writing side up the writing is in silver. It can be worn either way though.

My scissors

I hate not being able to find the scissors. Sometimes it is the biggest gripe that my husband and I have with our kids. I also hate digging in the Junk draw for them. I found a solution! We had to take our lawn mower to get the carburetor cleaned and the shop is around back of a What Not Shop. It is a shop that Jim and I have passed often and always meant to stop in but just never got around to it. And in this shop the has a scissor holder. well the only thing that could make this any better is if it had strawberries on it. as you can see it doesn't look garrish or out of place on the wall. I'm not done unpacking, even after a year here. I am still going though things and deciding what to keep and what to get rid of. so the wall collection isn't done. That is why the pictures look off balanced.
This is an area that is mostly completed. The stove Alcove. I took a wire shelf unit that I got for $25 bought some chain and screwed hooks into the ceiling and hung one of the shelves then I hang pots off it. I didn't want to pay $90 for a pot rack, But I didn't want a bike wheel either. I hang 5 pots up there and I put the lids to them on top. The folding wood shelf has spices and containers for my DD school lunches. I also have a basket on the fridge that has dry goods that go in her lunches. We just moved here one year ago Aug. We moved so my husband could be near his school. So buy buy house, hello renting. But our land lord ROCKS. Another day I will show you the paint job I did in my Daughters room here, and the room I built in the basement for my 18 Year old Step son.
I store my most of my food in the basement.