A Bit o' This and A Bit o' That

So I haven't been updating very often, but I've been decently busy. Luckily I have trained myself to take photos as I go, so I'm just writing about things afterwards. Lately I've been on this very odd bi-phasic sleep schedule. I'm not really sure why this happened, but if I had tried to do it on purpose, I couldn't have done it. Just seems like I can't sleep for more than about 3-4 hours at a time anymore. But it's a nice deep sleep, and splitting it up actually seems to be giving me more usable hours of the day--so long as I don't mind tip-toe-ing around to bake cornbread and spray paint things at 2 am.  I have been waking up in plenty of time for work, which is nice, and I do still get some awesome night time cuddles, plus day time hang-out time, too. The other reason it's nice is because it's flexible--so when I switch work schedules every two weeks, it's not really going to be a big deal. 

So what have I done? Well, I picked up a few little wooden holiday ornaments last time I was at Michael's and finally got around to painting them. Of course, you know my idea of "painting" is a little... well... yeah. They're clear coated, just waiting for that to dry before I flip them and spray the back side as well. I have a pair of stars I did with a paint pen as well, and a dozen or so clear glass globes that I haven't yet started to play with. I know Christmas isn't for a while, but this kind of stuff I don't mind doing in advance. No Christmas tree or lights until after Thanksgiving though!

after the metallic paint but
before the granite layer.
I'll repost when it's upstairs!

 Speaking of painting... This has been a sort of long-term pet project I've been dealing with for quite some time. I can't find the page now--I just looked for about 30 minutes--but I read about how you can use spray paint, painter's tape, and plastic bags to create a faux-marble finish on just about anything. The author had done it to her patio/doorstep and it looked fantastic. She also recomended it for garage flooring as well. I really wanted to try this, but I doubt the rental company would like that. I had an old bookshelf sitting down in the garage missing a couple shelves. I was originally going to turn it into an entertainment stand for the big tv, but we ended up just buying one from Big Lots instead. But, I had already gone to Home Depot and had them cut the new shelves I measured out. I figured I might as well keep the project going, although it took me weeks to crack at it a little at a time. For example, I started the black lacquer coat, found out the hard way that I was one spray can short. I picked up some granite spray to work with. I taped out a random square-based pattern--wishing now I had actually measured and marked it--and sprayed down the layers. Unfortunately though, the painter's tape [which isn't supposed to stick to anything really] pulled up the lacquer. Feeling a little frustrated, I decided not to redo it, but instead I just went over the lines with regular acrylic paint. I threw on a clear coat after that, and I might do one more clear coat just in case. Since one corner of the giant bedroom upstairs has kind of been turning into a kitchenette, I wanted to use this as both a counter [the coffee pot needs a solid place to live] and a wall/divider-type thing. Now my only delay is whether or not I'm going to wait until after laying down the tile flooring to bring it upstairs or get impatient and do it now. I wish I could find the floor in a different color, but I guess that one's not so bad.

...the letters are backwards because the glue is drying.

Another project I looked up, bought supplies for, and then ignored for a few weeks was the yarn-wrapping. These are just basic wooden letters, wrapped in yarn with a little bit of tacky glue. The only problem I ran into was zoning out and not realizing that I ran my way mostly through the red and white yarn. So it's not as solidly covered as I'd like, but I like the texture of it anyways. I'm not sure how I'm going to mount the layers onto the heart [I was definitely planning on the letters hanging over], and figure out how to hang it [thinking something to do with thick black wire, but not sure how to attach that]. The plus side of this project was having the epiphany that it would make a great gift for some other couples I know.

There may or may not have been
Amaretto in that mocha...

Last but not least. Snack Bar had long ago asked me if I would make homemade mac-n-cheese again. Again, I bought ingredients... and then... couldn't get around to making it. I finally had a day where I had the time and the motivation, except it was the same week of whatever most recent WoW expansion was released--there's no way he can raid and eat mac-n-cheese at the same time, that's just inconvenient! So I made up the chicken-broccoli-mac that he really likes, and got the brilliant idea to turn them into cupcakes! I sprinkled a bunch of cheese on top of course. The secret is to spray the cupcake pan with butter spray, and then cover the cups with breadcrumbs. They popped right out of the pan perfectly! I thought I had regular mac noodles, but I remembered incorrectly and had to stick with penne. Close enough. Definitely something I will make again!

Next Level Homemaker Maneuver!

I was hoping I'd finish a very special piece of art today in time to post, but it needs to finish drying and have a couple more layers worked out. I had a rather eventful day all said and done. Unfortunately it takes me about two hours to do the grocery shopping at Wally World because of the ADD and Fog, but you know, whatev. Overall it's been a good day. I can't remember half of it, but I feel good. And happy--definitely a new one for me. I didn't spend a single morning this weekend looking at the sunrise over a creek, so I guess I broke that part of the promise, but... walking back from breakfast yesterday, I really did feel happy. I had a big uncontrollable grin on my face. And it's been a year since I looked at a beautiful scene with someone whom I thought cared for me very much and felt absolutely dead inside. It's been a long, crazy trip since then, but I've come a long way. And it seems like things are continuing to move in directions that only indicate life will continue to improve as we move away from [un]lucky 2013. I would love to point to celestial bodies, but unfortunately I don't understand them enough to warrant an explanation.

Okay so anyways, moving on, I have pictures to share! As always, of course. They may not be of art in particular, but they are stuff I did.

 So, here is my bathroom door. Fun fact, it doesn't open in or out... it slides into the wall. Cool, sure, but I've noticed that when it slides into the door, the friction between it and the frame has been scuffing the paint on the door itself. I originally bought some fabric to mount on the door, but it got reclaimed by my tarot deck, so I went back to my original idea--painter's tape [I couldn't find any at the craft store, ironically]. So I lined the painter's tape across where the scuffs were starting to hit. I may do some stenciling or painting over the tape, just to add to the artistry of it. I also decided that I wasn't pleased with all the whiteness, so I lined the panels too. On the lefthand side you can see my "A Little Cracked but Still Not Broken" above my smallest bookshelf, and "Mo Anam Cara" next to the Godzilla collection [that's a whole 'nother rant, I should follow up on that!]

My other project for this evening only took me about five minutes! So, the kitties love to sit in this bathroom window. Unfortunately, one of them likes to nudge the orchids a little too close to the edge for my taste; also, I've found that they are getting too much direct sun in this window. You can see them to the very right, next to the Eucalyptus and Aliesha Larson's "Calavera Girl" [gorgeous art, she is a huge inspiration to me to 'keep at it']. Unfortunately, they always manage to run into the blinds. I'm a little paranoid since I left the apartment with a $1700 discrepancy, and now we already have to replace these blinds, as they've broken two slats already. But. There's a second-floor neighbor right across the way, so unfortunately we can't leave the blinds open all the time... so first of all, I picked up some spray-on window frost. All it really does is opaque the window a little bit, and theoretically I can clean it of with simple acetone when it's time to move. I also noticed that in their jumping onto the ledge--or perhaps off the ledge--aforementioned kitties are also scuffing up the tile or whatever. So I bought a small bathroom rug, the kind that's slightly grippy on the bottom, just hoping it would fit in the window. It fits almost perfectly, with just a small overhang that I was able to thumbtack in place. Now we have a wonderful kitty perch and much less damage to the rental.

Last photo. Over the past couple days, I've decided that I want to get into Bonsai. Well, sort of. Ideally I'd like to have a bonsai tree and integrate it into a sort of terrarium setting. Maybe a teensy tiny pond, rocks and pebbles, some moss and sand, ya know? Well, I found out that bonsai is less a type of tree, and more a style--sometimes a dwarf or a cutting, but the concept is to emulate or capture the whole of nature in a small, tabletop-sized pot. Although I stopped by a local nursery, I didn't find much. Most of the "kits" on Amazon are actually misleading, and start from seeds... which can take years to grow before you can even begin to work with them. I have a major soft spot for the super-red maples and whatnot, and although you can sometimes use them for bonsai-ing [yes, I made that up]. After coming up with not much at the nursery, I thought Wally World would be a long shot--and it was, until I found this little guy in the back corner. Technically a vine, something about a red sweet-potato? I don't know, but I love the color and the shape of the leaves. I should've picked one of the others that weren't so root bound, but this guy had a whole bunch of leaves, so I'm going to see how it goes. Of course, I don't have the proper substrate or the appropriate dish [my cheap fix idea didn't pan out because I can't figure out how to get drain holes into ceramic]. I plan on replanting it in the next couple days, so we'll see how it survives that.

Well. That about sums up my evening. I took my amiltryptoline for the evening, but it's kind of a slow effect, it's just been causing typos, not knocking me out. Signing off for now, good people. Do something today that makes someone smile, even if that someone is you. 

The Round Robin

Princess Lily and the Super Duper Round Robin Yarn Project.

I forget when the idea actually came to me, but I definitely pitched it to my girlfriends over Sarah's Montana Moonshine Lemonade. The problem? None of us have the attention span to effectively finish a blanket. And I want one. The solution? Teamwork! A couple of us knit, and a couple of us crochet. So we make [even number sized] squares that interest us, enough to supply each member of the group with one. Then we get together, drink, cook, do yarn, and trade. This is what we've got so far--hubby wanted to see the progress so I laid everything out randomly.  We're shooting for something that will fit nicely over a queen-sized bed; we'll need something like 2100 4" squares. Luckily I am bad with measurements. Another benefit is sharing yarn and patterns. So far it's working out wonderfully! More detailed photos are on my Ravelry, if you're into that.