Linus

Well, Linus (another snow storm) tore through the area on Monday, so we both had snow days again!  It's crazy stuff.  I looked over at my bunny (which I started a year ago) and declared, "I will finish this bunny today." 

 So I knitted in between netflix and playing in the snow and I eventually had a finished bunny!!  Here he is:

Look at his fluffy tail!  I love it.  I guess it's only fitting that the bunny be named Linus, since that's the storm that finally got him all finished and put together.

And now he lives on the top of our book case, next to my mallard and hipster glass head.  He's right at home.

Straight Masterpieces

Jeremy and I had crepes for dinner (and dessert) and then finished the night with some pottery painting on Saturday.  I did the same things with my friends in November and loved it so much that I had to take Jeremy.  We had a great time.

Jeremy made a light-blue-and-red-dots-ice-cream-dish and I made a light-blue-on-the-inside-and-orange-designs-serving-bowl.  I have to say, I think these are the best things that have ever come out of a painting date... we've come a long way.  We can't wait to get our pieces back!

target is all you need

my office is doing secret santa this year - which i just love! i think i created the perfect gift that is also incredibly easy. we had a $10 limit so this is budget friendly.  all you need is a target close by (seriously target is the best) and a cute tag.

i found the metal pail in the $1 section and figured it could be my container.  then i wandered to the scarves, because that is my favorite section and everyone loves a crazy scarf. am i right?  the scarves are currently buy one, get one 50% off!! so pick one out for yourself or someone else on your giving list, too. then i found myself looking at the nail polish because why not add a little prize in the bottom?  plus, since i got the scarf 50% off, i needed a little something to make it to $10.   

then i decorated the tag so my handwriting could not be detected (good thing ashley doesn't know this blog exists), and stuffed it all into the tin.  it's a tight fit, but i like it... it reminds me of a pot of flowers.  and there you have it, easy-peasy.

so maybe i shopped more for myself than her... but she's a girl in her mid-twenties.  we must be pretty similar.  hope ashley likes it!

snowflakes and awkward teenagers

our ward was in charge of a multi-stake youth dance over the weekend.  we had kids come from rhode island and new hampshire and all over massachusetts.  (sidenote: how is it that i still don't know how to spell massachusetts after living here almost 4 years? man... thank heavens for spell check.) we had a polar express theme.  we built a train photo booth and everyone wore pajamas.  i was in charge of the snowflakes, so i made lots of snowflakes over this past week (over 200!!).

the youth made a handful of them, so i wasn't completely on my own.  we strung garlands of them across the gym and put some in the game room and refreshment room (hot chocolate, cookies, and donuts!!).

jeremy came to help chaperone the dance and we made our way out on the dance floor a few times.  we had a blast. teenagers can be terribly awkward (and some just don't have manners).  i swear i was never that awkward.  it was pretty entertaining.   it was fun trying to pair up the wallflowers.  a dance is no fun if you never get on the dance floor.

i got asked to dance by a couple of the teenage boys.  the first time i said yes... rookie mistake.  as we were dancing he asked where i was from, i answered, and then i said, "i'm actually a leader."  his response, "ah, man." (ha!) i cut him loose to dance with someone his own age and scrammed to the kitchen to help with the hot chocolate.  later, i successfully deflected a dance request to a teenage girl that was in the vicinity. 

obviously, i would much rather dance, than chaperone while others dance. which is why i'm scheming away to have a low-key new year's eve dance for couples and families in the ward.  it's kind of in the works.  just need more people to jump on board so i'm not doing it by myself.  we'll see if it happens.

now that's a paperweight

remember my glass blowing class I took?
well, jeremy picked this gem up for me today...

and i love it!! i think i need to make one every year.  i'm keeping this one for myself, but maybe this can be my new go-to-gift.  i get to play with hot glass and give a unique personalized gift.  be surprised, family... be surprised.

hot glass

today i went to a glass blowing class and made a paperweight.  it was pretty awesome!  and super hot in there (it's a perfect winter activity).  they have these furnaces that keep the glass in a liquid state.  it was amazing.  Jackson helped me out and he is a genius with the glass.  he's only 14 but started private lessons at 8.

i loved it!  and totally want to go back.  i don't have the finished product yet (they have to cool it down), but i should have it in a week.  can't wait!!

Presenting...

our entry way collage!
Check out our bathroom one here.

It was our Sunday afternoon activity.  Our 101 free prints from Shutterfly came in the mail and we didn't know what else to do with them.  I love it.  I want to make it cover the whole wall and Jeremy thinks it is overwhelming enough as it is.  So glad we balance each other out.

pottery painting party

i had a fun night out last night with my co-workers turned friends.  we painted pottery and then had crepes for dinner at the cutest little cafe.  it was delicious!  lots of my favorite things were happening all at once. i mean come on, painting, crepes (gluten-free even!!), and great company.  i loved it.  it was so fun to catch up.  let's do it again soon!

my cold weather hobby

knitting season has officially begun!!

KP3

krafting party 3

we ditched the knitting for KP3 to make some spring wreaths instead. so for this party we are stretching the acronym a bit and the k stands for krafting. we also planned the crafting to happen on Pi Day (3.14) so we could have some pie.  yes, we are geniuses!  jeremy made the gf pie (even the crust is from scratch) while we shopped for the supplies.  he's a champ!

cassandra's wreath is on the left and mine's on the right (surprise, surprise).  jessie escaped with her finished masterpiece before we busted the camera out. they all turned out so different and all so fun and beautiful.  i hope our gusto for spring makes it warm up around here.

KP2

it all started friday afternoon when i was having a quick conversation with jeremy in between writing progress notes for my patients.  i mentioned that maybe we should have fondue this weekend (because why not?!) and cassandra looks right over at me.  her face told me that she wanted in and that the fondue was definitely going to happen.  earlier we had been talking about the need for another knitting party to practice our knitting skills so KP2 with fondue was born and planned for the next night.  good thing i share an office with such a cool girl that loves chocolate and crafting as much as i do.

milk chocolate fondue

bag of milk chocolate chips

3/4 cup of heavy cream

fondue is so easy it's almost criminal.  (try dipping potato chips for a fun twist.)  i can't believe i survived as long as i did without my own fondue pot.  that thing is amazing and my life is now complete!  hooray for perfect christmas presents.  thanks mom and dad. 

 after we were sugared out, we got to our knitting.
and chatting and netflix-watching.

cassandra mastered purling in the course of the night while i worked up the courage to start a bunny. it was a great time.  something about good conversation and creating things with my hands... it soothes my soul and makes me feel alive.

hand-sewn

this week's create project:

hand-sewn valentines for my co-workers!

so maybe you aren't thinking about v-day yet, or maybe you are and you don't plan on passing valentines out. sometimes i pretend i'm five and i couldn't help myself when i saw these cute things on pinterest.  i just want to help spread the love (and candy) this valentine's day.  i also thought it would take me longer to make 14 of them, which is why i started in the middle of january.  but alas, give me some felt, embroidery floss, candy... and BAM! valentines for my friends at work.  now i have to wait a whole month to pass them out. life is so hard.  i just hope i don't eat all of the candy in the meantime.

sidenote: it was less than $5 for the whole project, including the bag of starbursts, and it provided awesome crafting entertainment.  also, i printed the template at 150% so i could fit more candy into the felt hearts.

 

giving thanks #20

i'm thankful for knitting.

working on a hat while on the T today.  it makes the commute so enjoyable!

i love knitting.  it is definitely a seasonal hobby for me.  it's hard for me to keep it up in the heat of the summer, but as soon as winter comes knocking i suddenly need to knit hats, cowls, and scarves. there are so many perks to the cold weather.

 

a bit of whimsey

my parents gave me a 3 month subscription to whimseybox for my birthday and 

my first one arrived this week.  it had all the directions and supplies, and some little extras thrown in there, too.  here is the final project i made:

i hand-sewed this little pouch complete with snaps.  i plan to use it for my calligraphy nib holders and drawing pencils.  it's the perfect size!  so far i'm sold on whimseybox.  i may be adding it to my christmas list this year to keep the crafting coming.  nothing like a gift that keeps on giving way beyond the actual celebration. 

a cozy creature

all of my knitting last week amounted to this cozy creature:

a koala bear!

can you believe it?!  it's definitely homemade, but cozy all the same.

first entry in the book of sketch

where have i been?

around i guess.  just doing the school thing is my only excuse for the almost week of silence, which is pretty rare around here.  i guess i usually have a lot to say.  january was pretty quiet around here though. getting back into the routine of more school.  fun fun.  i am loving my classes this semester. i have good friends in each class so we are having a blast.  and my classes are way less overwhelming than in past semesters, so i am enjoying the lighter load.  i have also been making time for fun little projects. 

this is what i created this morning:

nothing fancy.  just cutting and pasting, which is awesome because it is foolproof and i felt like i couldn't mess up, so it was safe enough to have as my first entry in the sketchbook i got for christmas.  eventually i hope to get to sketching without restraint, but we are taking baby steps around here.  i have been wanting to do this project for some time so last night i just started cutting up an old magazine i had laying around.  this morning i cut out more and started playing with the words, putting it together (while trying to avoid the day of homework i had planned) until i came up with the phrases above.  the whole thing became a rather therapeutic endeavor. cutting out words and thinking of various possibilities of positive, motivating phrases seemed to heal my confidence (which can sometimes be chipped at while in the role of a student).  while i feel like the end result represents what i wanted to portray, the actual experience of the project was just as meaningful.  

bottom line:  if you are feeling a tad bit crafty but not overly inspired, cut up a magazine and glue some phrases together.  you will be surprised with what you come up with.  

and we've got stripes!

all in a couple days work.

i think i will make some more of these guys.
they are loads of fun to throw and kick around.
just ask jeremy.
 

just finished

i knit a ball.  

and stuffed it, too. isn't it the funnest thing?
i love it already and i finished it like 10 minutes ago.

not bad for my very first attempt at increasing and decreasing on such a small thing.  my next venture will be a striped ball, which may be tricky business, but i got to learn to knit stripes sometime. knitting toys is my new thing.

COW with an L

i forgot to share this little number i knitted over the break.  (that's actually what all of these are.  just different patterns and colors.)  it does wonders for keeping my neck warm on my commute. i can stretch it over half my face in the freezing temperatures.

now i am finally on to new knitting projects, not bigger... smaller actually. i will finish one soon... hopefully.

they will look great

a photo a day - christmas edition

day 4: we ran lots of christmas-y errands, celebrated a birthday, played christmas bingo, and made costumes for this year's nativity scene.

so easy.  here's the how to:

go to clearance fabric section at walmart

get a yard or two of everything that could work in a nativity scene

also get some cording 

fold the fabric in half (to go along the shoulders)

cut a hole for the head with pinking shears

put it on a little person and tie the cording

and DONE!

 hope that makes sense!