Tuesday, June 26, 2012

My Boards Are Getting a Nip/Tuck!

Wow--my Pinterest pins are rather out-of-control lately--over 2000 before I started today.  Just by removing the pins of accidental multiples, completed projects and being realistic about what I'll really get around to doing, I'm down almost 500 pins.  Yes, five HUNDRED pins!

No wonder Pinterest goes down more often than other sites--I'm one person with less than 150 people following me.  What about the ones that have thousands?

I've added some more boards too, to make finding pins easier--like for mobiles, windchimes, bows, cork/magnet boards, etc.  I already had one for Flowers and for Book Page crafts, and doing this has helped me until now.

I'm happier with my new, lean pin boards!  Now, on towards refilling my empty and depressed boards....  LOL

Follow Me on Pinterest
Pin It

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Holy Crafts, Batman! Jewelry Edition

My son is on a serious superhero streak.  His favorites are Spider-Man and Batman.  He even loves the Batman tv show from the 60s with Adam West--hence the title of this post....  Although to be fair, I've loved superhero movies for years now.  Hancock, Unbreakable, Hellboy, Van Helsing, Ghost Rider are all favorites, in addition to the more recent Batman movies starring Christian Bale and the completely awesome Despicable Me.  Have you seen Despicable Me?  You should!  It's BOOGIE!!

Oh, wait, this is supposed to be about crafts...  First up is jewelry.  I've been on a real jewelry streak lately.

I have had this sterling silver bead necklace most of my adult life, and it's my version of a good strand of pearls.  The beads are about 7mm in size.  The problem is that it's way too small for me now.  I prefer 24" chains now, and this one is 18" at most.  My solution is the current trend of combining 2 or more necklaces with a bow or brooch as an accent.  I had the perfect "gunmetal" chain and flower brooch, so I don't even have to polish the beads anymore--woot!

I made this multi-chain bracelet using a tutorial from Flamingo Toes for a Chain and Pearl Multi-Row Bracelet.  I love her tutorials, and her taste in jewelry too!
The chain with the red bead in the center is another sterling silver piece I've had since 1999.  It was a choker back then, and I wore it maybe one time before deciding that only pets need collars ;P  The large chain on the bottom row is from Eve's Addiction, and it too used to be a necklace--and it was h-e-a-v-y!  The other 2 chains are nothing special, from the jewelry section of Michael's or Hobby Lobby.

I wanted to wear this bracelet all the time, yet be able to take it off for baths and dishes, etc.  I discovered that I could use a lever-back earring as a clasp, and it is working perfectly!  I've worn the chain every day for more than 3 weeks, and it's never fallen off--I love everything about it!

(pretend you can't see the pile of flowers in the background)
These cuffs are a work-in-progress.  I've used the Anthropologie Inspired Vintage Cuff Tutorial from Pink Lemonade for these, which I've had on my Jewelry Inspiration list for a looooong time now.  But I'm not happy with them.  In fact, I stopped in the middle of making them, hoping inspiration will strike me.  My main problem is with how they close; I may need to add a bead on one side and a loop on the other.  I love the ribbons, but it's impossible to tie a pretty ribbon with one hand.  So these are hanging out with my other supplies for now.














This next necklace is probably the easiest piece I've ever made: a blinged-out rhinestone button attached to the chain using jump rings; the most difficult part was in choosing which kind of chain to use!

I've made some Scrabble tile pendants using scrapbook paper and rhinestones and beads or buttons.  Excuse the messy background of this photo, but since I didn't take a lot of pictures, it's all I have to work with.

I used a Sharpie to color the edges, glued the scrapbook paper onto the tile with Mod Podge, then Jewel-It for the accents.  Last was the Dimensional Magic, which I love!

Did you see the new Mod Podge products that came out this week?  They have Dimensional Magic with silver or gold now--plus some new formulas of Mod Podge and tools too, like a brayer and silicon fingertips that glue doesn't stick to.  Cool!

I've also done a few experiments.  I love the "wax seal" pendants and thought I would try to create my own with tin foil and wood shapes.  It worked...kind of.  The foil looks great, and I put about 3 layers of glue / Mod Podge / Dimensional Magic on them, so I'm fairly confident the foil will stick to the shape.  The problem is that they're so lightweight they don't work as pendants at all.  Maybe a bunch of them on a charm bracelet would work...hmmmm.


I've seen these 3-ring necklaces on Etsy.  The best ones appear to be soldered together, so all 3 look like they've always been together such as this.  My version looks more like the Olympic Rings...which I didn't realize until my husband said "Oh cool, in honor of the Olympics this year!" when he saw it.  The Olympics are this year?  LOL - It looks like Mickey Mouse ears to me, so it was already destined for the "better luck next time" pile.

There's more, but I'm going to wrap it up now.  Look for crafts in my next post!
Pin It

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Books I've Read in 2012: 1-30

My original goal was 50, and it looks like I'll hit that by July 4th.  So I'm setting my goal higher--I'm aiming for 60 books this year now :)

This post has the list of books 1-30 - the sidebar gadget gets too crowded for me to leave the entire list up.
1. A Dirty Job: A Novel by Christopher Moore 4 stars--a subtle, intellectual humor--my favorite scene is Charlie feeding the Hellhounds kitchen appliances ;P I've already bought another book by this author.
2. Spin: A Novel by Catherine McKenzie which I received from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers. 4 stars and a fun read, reviewed here.
3. Frost Moon (Skindancer, Book 1) by Anthony Francis 5 stars! I love this book. My husband says I love all my books lately, but this is a great world I can't wait to get back into in book two!
4. A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler 3.5 stars--see my review here.
5. The Cubicle Next Door by Siri L. Mitchell 1 star, I did not like this one at all. I have nothing nice to say about it.
6. The Ivy by Lauren Kunze 1 star, and once again, nothing nice to say.
7. Hex Hall (Book 1) by Rachel Hawkins 3.5 stars Nothing bad, I'm just rather overloaded on the paranormal school storyline. I'm not going to get the rest of this series.
8. Shadowcry (The Secrets of Wintercraft) by Jenna Burtenshaw 5 stars; similar to Graceling by Kristin Cashore
9. Delirium by Lauren Oliver I like it, I think it's a great idea for a dystopian society. It's a little slow in the beginning, then you get hooked and can't put it down. 4 stars
10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Well, I hate to admit it, but I'm totally hooked. If you've been putting this one aside because of it's "over-hyped" reputation, read it anyway! It will be clear within the first 3 chapters or so why this book is destined to become a Hollywood blockbuster.
11. Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne CollinsVery awesome, but a little slow (yet this perfectly embodies Katniss's feelings in this book.)
12. Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Book 3) 3 stars :(
13. Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton See my review--5 stars!
14. The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King 2 stars
15. Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell Not bad, kept me interested; 3.5 stars
16. The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda which I received from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers. At times, the story was very exciting, but mostly it dragged. 3 stars
17. The Thirteen: A Novel by Susie Moloney which I received from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers group. I'm at a loss for words. This is not a book I'd recommend at all. 2 stars
18. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor This novel was on Amazon's Best Books of 2011, and I can see why. I was extremely into this book, but then it took a hard left turn and lost me. 3.5 stars
19. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty With this one, I don't know.... How can you forget all 3 of your children being born and growing up? I was curious enough to see where it lead, but it was just...odd.  3 stars I think this is a very talented author though--see #23!
20. White Cat (Curse Workers, Book 1) by Holly Blackwhich was very original, and I even enjoyed reading it a second time – 4 stars
21. Red Glove (Curse Workers, Book 2) by Holly Black which was interesting enough for me to want to continue the series, but I’m giving it only 3 stars
22. Poison: A Novel of the Renaissance by Sara Poole 2 stars for me, but I think it would be better for those more familiar of the time period and politics
23. The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty, an ARC from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers group - This book continued past where I thought it would have ended, and that additional part of the book was the better part (does that make sense?) I liked this more than What Alice Forgot - 4 stars
24. The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan was extremely awesome, with a twist I truly didn’t see coming, and I wish I had the next book already! Don’t you love that feeling? - 5 stars
25. Feed (Newsflesh Book 1) by Mira Grant This was slow going for me, and then my zombies drowned—my book got water damage, lol. So no rating....
25. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Re-Read)
26. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Re-Read)
27. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Re-Read)
28. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Re-Read)
29. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Re-Read)
30. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Re-Read)
Pin It

....And I'm Back!

Well, I didn't fall off the edge of Earth, or abandon my blog; we've been "off-line" at home for quite some time.  And it totally changed my life--but we've had both cable tv and internet for less than 24 hours and I've spent the majority of it ONLINE.

Granted, I have missed out on some craft ideas, and I'm not up-to-date on my new releases in books or movies...but I've gotten A TON of crafting and reading done!  I hope I can find a balance between media and real-life.....

I've completed a bunch of jewelry projects, but those pictures will be in another post.  I've read 15 books, including the Harry Potter books, some of which are the size of 2-4 books, but I'm not cheating ;P This brings my list up to 32 books that I've read this year.  My goal was 40, and it looks like I'll hit that by July 4th.  So I'm setting my goal higher--I'm aiming for 60 books this year now :)

This post has the list of books 1-30 - the sidebar gadget gets too crowded for me to leave the entire list up.
Pin It