Monday, June 28, 2010

A New Group Of Munchkins


These three will take on the names of Characters from the Freddy The Pig books. Did you ever read them? Well, of all the children's books I have read, these are not on the list. I did a quick Google search to see what I could discover about children's books with three characters to find some andventurous animals that may properly portray this new trio, and I came upon Freddy and his friends from the Bean Family Farm in Upstate New York. Just the descriptions of there events make me want to rush to the library and check out all 26 books that were published in the series. I think as I am working with these three, I may make a weekly, or bi-weekly trip to the library to pick them up, one at a time. I will try to find them all, and I will review them along with my munchkin posts.

For now I have chosen Freddy to be the oldest, a boy of 5 years old, he is spunky, creative, and full of spunk! Jack will portray the second and middle child, another boy, 3 years old. And Jinx will be the newest addition to the family, 2 month old baby girl. As I have yet to read any of the stories, I do reserve the right to change which character represents which child, although, I will probably just keep them the same so you (and I) don't become confused.

Here's to a new start with a new group of fun-loving munchkins! Happy Munchkin Monday!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Salty SoTW

Tuna and Crackers!

Easy as can be, good source of protein, crackers provide a nice crunch, and the snack is very filling.


To make the tuna, I just use whatever is cheapest, and I buy the ones that are in water, not oil or anything else. Then I mix in light Mayo (have you tried the canola mayo yet, it is supposed to be super yummy, and lighter than the real stuff), diced celery, and relish. You can use whatever crackers you have on hand. I like the Rice crackers. They are thin, crunchy, and lightly salted. You also get a ton of them per serving, so your hankering for a salty snack is sure to be filled without over-doing it!

Happy Snacking!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Non-Knitting FO

Wrapping Paper!

Why spend money on wrapping paper, when your town has a plastic bag ban, and every time you buy more than will fit into your re-usable bags, you get paper.

Here's What you do... cut the paper bag so that it will lay flat.


Choose no more than 5 coordinating colors, and get a ruler (unless you want to free-hand it)



Come up with a design.. Stripes are fun, and using a combination of different widths adds a new design element than just stripes. You could also do polka dots in different colors and sizes, or big swirly lines, etc. When you are doing something that isn't as rigid as stripes, it will take less time to color the paper.



I used the width of my ruler as a spacing guide, that way you can just roll it over and mark along the width of the paper. You mark with one color, then two times with the next color, that way you get the variance of wide versus thin stripes. Go back after and color them in.



Voila, you're done! You can use the paper for any holiday, birthday, wedding, or other gift giving reason.


Happy Crafting!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Sprucin' things up!

I just re-signed my lease for another year, and I love my little studio apartment for the most part. But if I could do anything differently, I would have a little deck to put an Adirondack chair or two and little table on, and I would have my bedroom be it's own room. However, sense I cant alter the structure of the building to add what I want, I will just spruce up what I have.

To make my studio apartment feel more like it has 2 separate rooms, I have the same basic colors (white, and espresso) in both spaces with red to accent the bedroom area, and orange to accent the living room.

In the past the main things that have kept these colors present in each space are the curtains. Now, I have added a painting above my bed that has the perfect neutrals in it, and a gorgeous red dress! My friend bought it for me as a thank you for helping her find all of the wall art (paintings, photo frames, and mirrors) for her new condo. She claims that if I were already an interior designer, she would have to pay me the big bucks to help her out, so instead she just bought me a painting that I pointed out while we were shopping. I love it, and I think it fits perfectly in the space!



A few weeks ago, I decided that while I don't have Charlie or Sheila around anymore, my place could use some more life. So to cheer me up, I bought this charming little tropical plant... the pot was more expensive than the plant itself, but it is a good fit for my decor. It is a tropical plant, that I don't have to water more than once a week, and it can go for 2 weeks without water, I just have to feel the soil so I don't over or under water it. I get quite a bit of light in my place too, so it gets all the sun it needs, and it gives the place a nice bit of life.



We'll see if these new changes are good enough to last a year, or if I'll end up adding more or less in the future. The next project is re-organizing and de-cluttering the place!

Friday, June 4, 2010

Baby Booties!

A finished object!! No, it isn't the sweater previously posted about this week-I'm not that fast of a knitter!

It's booties! One of the families that I work for on occasion just had a baby. She is the third child, and the first girl! First I found the buttons, and then I knew that I had to make her Mary Jane's! The pattern is a free one I found on Ravelry called, Mary Jane Booties, by Lucie Sinkler and the pattern is actually from TLC, found here.

The yarn was Debbie Bliss Cotton Denim Aran, in a dark Charcoal. I found these super cute buttons, and I knew that I had to do them in black or something dark gray so that I could showcase these adorable pink buttons. And the yarn was stash yarn...even better!


I knit it on Addi Turbo's.. some of my favorite needles by far. I did them 2 at a time, I find that is the easiest way for things that are pairs. It was a simple pattern to follow, and they were finished in no time at all! Baby knits are the best, not only are they super cute, but they are super quick as well!