Frilly Scarves made with Red Heart Sashay

I have seen and loved these scarves. 

 I really enjoyed making them in the end more than I did wearing them. 

 They are so light and fun that even in Spring and Fall 
these will be a great addition to most wardrobes.

I don't know which color I like better, I have made 
about 12 - 15 colors for friends, family and co-workers.  
Fun to make and easy to wear for girls of all ages.    

This is Red Heart Sashay yarn which is a net style yarn.  
I knit most of them, but I am currently crocheting one too. 

These scarves end up about 2 - 3 yards long (give or take).

Beautiful - I have seen them being sold for about $10 - $25.

I think I just enjoyed making them more than anything else.

Blah, Blah, Blah ...... AGAIN ! ! !

Got a new full time job and let the 

Blog posts and the book reading and the review writing fall to the side.   

Hope that a new year (school year) will bring a new determination.  

Now that I have an idea of what a full time job entails I am hoping to manage my time better.  

Will start with some of the things that I have been doing just NOT posting about.  

Will try (I always try) to catch up.  

May or may not be able to catch up.  

Goals are bigger than time allotted sometimes but here is hoping.

As always, Wish Me Luck.

Book - I Remember My Circus

I Remember My Circus  by: Tom S. Figueiredo

Illustrated by: Sidney Falcai 
Originally written in Portuguese 
Tanslated by: Peter Lenny & Tom Figueiredo 
Kindle edition - about 50 pages 

  As a youngster always wanting to go the the circus, it was a dream come true when one appeared one day. Finding out all about the circus would be fun. Learning that the Cursed Morgana Torres would be there and transform into a gorilla right in front of everyones eyes was so exciting. Seeing Morgana in town didn't take any of the excitement out of watching her enter the center ring. Seeing her sad eyes and waiting for her to change was tough, but his mom was willing to wait - longer than most. Hearing the story later made the boy wish he had been able to remember what had happened for himself. Going back the next day, he found the circus gone. All but the Elephant swallower, Helder, had somehow packed up and left over night. The things he discovered that day just might change his life even if he never saw the circus after all. 

  What a truly original story, I Remember My Circus is a tall tale to tell, a lesson to learn and the story is broken into two different sections for the telling of it. The lessons that his mother teaches us is a touching and oh so common lesson needed for today's society, it is one that would be great for more to learn better. ("There's a time when all we need is a little kindness.") ----- The other lesson, is just as common and just as important, it is that of dreaming and imagination. Found myself reading and re-reading this one, then I read it with my kids - it is just the type of story that is so great to share. The illustrations on each page are beautiful and bring so much to the story with the detailed oriented yet simple drawings. Some of the wording was at times a bit strange to me, had to explain a few parts to my youngest, but I think some of that may be on the translation - the whole story was a bit out there, but that is part of what made it worth reading.

Running behind - - - AGAIN !

Trying to catch up with books and keep up with swaps - I am behind on posting my reviews.  I hope to do more of the crafting as well as tutorial style.

I have so much going on right now that I am not sure how well this is all going to go.  I will keep trying and working on it.  

Journal style maybe with a little bit of catch up mixed in.  

* I have started taking pictures of the process for making the hair bows that I have been working on.  

* I have taken only a few pictures of the few ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) that I have made.  Forgot to take pictures before I sent out the first 3 or 4, but I  hope to do better from now on.  

* I am doing more bookmarks.  Anyone that knows me at all will know that I do a lot of bookmarks.  I take pictures of some, but not all that I make and  send out.  I really should try harder to get the documentation of what I do.  

* I always enjoy exchanging bookmarks, now I am swapping ATC's, attempting to do Tangle Art (in the style of Zentangles) and even thinking about trying my hand at post cards, tea wrapper folding & friendship books.  

Wish Me LUCK & come back to see how I do.

Craft - Shrinky Dink Chip Bag

Yep, those are potato chip bag - 
only smaller!

Girl Scout leader was the first to point out this particular recycle craft project to me.  Thanks Christina ;)  

*Step #1 .....  eat - enjoy - empty the bags (make sure to get all the chips out, if there is a little bit of oily residue that doesn't seem to effect it, but the chips need to be all gone)

* Step #2 ..... Lay them out flat on an older cookie sheet (I say older only because as the chip bag shrink some times it leaves a little bit of residue on the cookie sheet that is hard to get off without scrapping.  I tried lining the cookie sheet with foil and it did NOT work at all.)

* Step #3 ..... Place in a oven that is set to 200-225 and watch closely.  After only a couple of minutes it will start to bubble and then shrink.  If they are taken out early they will have a crinkle look to them or they can be left in till they flatten out more completely. 

(Kids love to watch them shrink it is the magical part) 

* Great uses for shrunk down chip bags - my daughter used a hole punch and strung it on a chain, she wears it to school allll the time.  There are several exchanges and swap sites that I am a part of and I have used larger "Grab Bags" and put a ribbon in the corner to make it into a bookmark.  If the really small candy wrappers would work better, I would love to make a charm bracelet for my kids.  I have also used them for scrap-booking but they could be used for any kind of craft embellishment.  

Lots of options, a fun and easy idea.

Craft - Paint Chip Notebook

Paint - Chip Notebooks  

Found this great idea for using / up-cycling paint chip cards. 

What a fantastic way to use these color cards.  T
hese miniature notebooks are perfect for purse or pocket.  

Kids love the colors and textures of them.  

Each notebook holds 25-50 mini sheets of paper cut into short strips that are 2 inches wide and about 3 1/2 inches long (depending on the size of the paint chip card).  

Folding the paint chip card into a matchbook type cover for the paper.  
Then I take a mini hole punch to the paper and the cover 
(or you can staple the paper together as long as it is only about 10-15 pages). 

Using a 1/8 inch ribbon thread through the holes and tied in a bow, 
then glued down to keep it from unraveling.  

Fun and easy to make.  
The cover is easy to get hold of and it only takes a page or 2 of copy paper to fill the book out.  Great fun to see what kind of color combinations can be put together.  

I just had to share - I hope others like it as much as I do. 

Amy Plays the Violin

Amy Plays the Violin

By Julie Labossiere

Amy has been preparing for her first violin recital. Even though she has practiced, she is still feeling nervous about it so she goes to her family to see if they can help her prepare better for the recital. Asking her brother Aaron, he offers her to play his drums, but the sound is just too loud and not quite right for Amy. Maybe her sister Stephanie has a good idea. Stephanie plays the piano so well, but when Amy sits down she discovers that she plays the violin better than she could play the keyboards. Realizing that she just needed the confidence that might come with practice, Amy gets back to it. Finally the night of the recital comes around and with her mom in the wings, the rest of the family in the audience, Amy takes the stage and finds her nerves go away after she starts to play the violin piece that she had been practicing.

An inspirational story about being able to overcome nerves and follow through with a task that might scare you. Spending the time to learn the violin then to explore other instruments only to realize that she was better off with the violin. To follow through with the whole process of learning it and then being part of the recital really showed her courage. Even as scary as that thought was, she knew she had prepared for this night. The since of pride in herself in the end seemed to be worth all the practice time and even the nerves helped her to push through the practices. Practice and patience are really great lessons for anyone, this story is geared for young readers or for reading aloud, with it’s plain wording, large print and great pictures. This would be a great addition to any youth library.