Thoughts of a Grasshopper

I wanted to jazz up the mantle a little with something patriotic for Memorial Day.  If I can, I prefer to use what I already have rather than buy more things.  I was on Instagram and saw jars that were painted through Michael's.  I'm loaded with jars and I have a lot of acrylic paint so I made a mental note to do this sweet little project.  It took about an hour and half to get the three jars painted.  Add some flowers and it is a nice decoration that brightens up that area.   I will seal the jars before I put them away because the paint will scrape off easily since I used acrylics.  Hopefully if I pack them away carefully I will get many more uses out of them.  Then again, distressed is still a popular look.

I read about dryer balls a while ago and had some yarn to make them.  Dryer balls are said to cut drying time by 20% and they soften your clothes in the dryer so you don't need to add a dryer sheet.  I had read that you can put some lavender oil drops on the balls to scent them for the laundry but I didn't do that because not everyone in our house likes that scent. I had 3 skeins of each color and ended up with a dozen balls.  In order for the balls to felt, you need to use 100% wool .  I had some other yarn I was going to use that said it was wool but upon reading the label, it was 80% wool, not good enough.  It has to be 100% wool. After I wound the balls, I used a needle to thread the ends into the balls. Then I put the balls in the legs of some hose and tied between the balls with linen thread to help the balls hold their shape.  One place I read said not to use the wool yarn to tie between the balls because it would melt to the hose and be a has...

I've had this to share for a couple of months and didn't remember until today.  My husband made us this berry treat on a Sunday night a couple of months ago.  I think it would be a nice addition to a brunch, afternoon tea or a baby shower.  It was light, refreshing, and not overly sweet.  The pastry itself could have used a little more time in the oven to brown up, but what he did works too.  :) Berry Tarts 1 pkg. refrigerated pie pastry 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened 1/4C confectioners' sugar 1/4t almond extract 2C blueberries 2C raspberries 1/4C slice almonds toasted (*he omitted this for the kids) Preheat oven to 400.  On a lightly floured surface, unroll pastry sheets.  Roll each to 1/8" thickness.  Cut with a 3" cookie cutter to make 8 circles or shapes.  Transfer to ungreased baking sheets; prick holes in pastries with a fork.  Bake 8-10 min. or until golden brown.  Remove from pans to wire ra...

This is a total CASE.  The ribbon is different because I mounted my bottom layers before getting the ribbon on, so I improvised.  I loved this card mostly because it is white with splashes of color.  I'm usually drawn to cards that are white on white because of the clean, bright look.  I went to Connie Babbert's site to link you up to the card but I can't find it.  No search bar on the site that I saw.  I googled for it.  Alas, her card didn't pop up.  I'm surprised by that. Stamps:  Vivid Vases CS:  Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Crushed Curry, Basic Black, WW Ink:  Tuxedo Black Markers or Blendabilities:  Crushed Curry, Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana Misc.:  Strawberry Slush stretch ruffle trim, Rhinestones, flower punch

I've been wanting to try the bokeh technique since I saw a card using it.  I also wanted to use the Lotus Blossom set.  When I think of lotus blossoms, I think of McKee Gardens in Florida.  They had several ponds with lily pads and lotus blossoms.  I always thought that lotus blossoms sat low to the water but they can and do actually pop up on a stem above the water.  I wanted to use lotus colors, but also the colors in the pond.  Bokeh was a perfect way to go. Stamps:  Lotus Blossom, Sassy Salutations CS:  WW, Watercolor, Coastal Cabana, Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon Ink:  Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Primrose Petals, Strawberry Slush, Blushing Bride, White Re-inkers:  Mossy Meadow, Coastal Cabana, Lost Lagoon Misc.:  Lost Lagoon Stitched Satin Ribbon This next card is essentially a CASE from Mary Brown, just different colors. Stamps:  Best Day Ever CS:  WW, Watercolor, Tangerine Tango, Island Indigo, Pool Party ...

This is the second card I've made with this set.  The first card was very similar to the flyer advertising the 4 new Sale-a-bration items, therefore, I will not post it.  The only difference on the first card was that I pieced the letters instead of coloring them.  For this card I used the Fresh Prints paper pack from last year.  It was easily accessible and had print that was perfect for the letters.  An easy, simple card that looks nice with the designer paper. I've purchased from two Jamberry parties recently and all I could think of was mixing and matching the different nail designs when I was picking the papers.  I wonder if I'll think of designer paper when I do my nails . . .  Stamps:  For Being You Ink:  Tuxedo Black, Soft Suede CS:  WW, Soft Suede, Fresh Prints DP

We went right from piano to pick up a cake and then on to church to set up for the Blue & Gold.  I finished setting up the games right just before people started arriving and didn't have the opportunity to take pictures.  I have to use what my son took to share this event. I started off my morning making several batches of popcorn.  You can see in this first picture a quart jar of popcorn below the balloons.  I don't recall the flavor of Jell-O I used just that it was berry and it would have been blue jello.  I used a recipe from Our Best Bites for the berry popcorn.  I didn't have time to dig through my book for my friend Sharon's recipe.  I had to make extra caramel popcorn because that is a favorite for one of my girls and she wanted to be sure there would be some for her.   Two jars went on each table. The jail and trading post on the wall took an insane amount of time to make between sketching the buildings, drawing the letters a...