Wordless Wednesday

Sky - on the way to Auburn 12-1-07
Originally uploaded by crafty dad

Sky - on the way to Auburn (Indiana)12-1-07

Not bad for a photo taken from inside the mini-van as we made our way to Auburn.



EDITED: Yes, I realize it's still Tuesday. But...give me some literary license on this one and let's just call it "Wordless Wednesday", okay? Okay.

Nothin' says lovin'

Homemade pizza
Originally uploaded by crafty dad

...like somethin' from the oven.

Yummy. Yummy. Homemade pizzas on Sunday. Thanks Honey! You make the best-est pizzas in the universe.

Happy Tuesday

Another day, another drastic change in the weather here in Northern Indiana. I was pushing the snow blower at 5:00 this morning. Hope I didn't wake you! I'm sure there was at least six or seven inches of the white stuff on the ground. Yes, yes, it's 'pretty', but pretty don't get it. You know? It's a mess to drive in and … well, it's the end of February and it's time for ugly, dirty, muddy landscapes sunshine and warmer temps. This flaky stuff has to go!

On a brighter note: I know that I heard two Robins singing this morning. I couldn't actually see them, but I know they were out there. They have that unique chirp. You know the one? Next time I'll take my camera with me and capture them digitally.

Hope you're having a good day.

Now..go make something!

 

Chocolate banana bread

Chocolate banana bread
Originally uploaded by crafty dad

After seeing Jennifer's muffins, I had to check out the recipe and make some for myself. And...come to find out, my family doesn't really care for chocolate banana bread, so it WAS all for me. And I totally enjoyed it. You should make some of this stuff too!

Sick of Being Sick!

This flu epidemic in nasty isn't it? It seems everyone has been bitten by the ol' bug. And it's a bite that keeps on biting.

The whole month of February has been nothing but a time of germ passing at our house. We've all had just about enough of it, thank you very much.

Craft time has been almost nil due to other things [trying to get well, trying to stay ahead of projects at work (ha! good one!)].

Best wishes for a fun, crafty and HEALTHY weekend.

Vacation Day!

Yes! A vacation day. A day sans work. I {heart} vacation days. Especially the kind where I get to spend the entire day with my boys! Woo Hoo....

The boys have a 4-day weekend (President's Day Recess) so I took today off to spend some quality time with them. We went to lunch (Chinese food at New York Buffet). In case you don't know, I'm all about quantity and (quality too ) when it comes to Chinese food. There were tons of choices but we stuck with the basics:

• Chicken and broccoli
• Egg drop soup
• Terriyaki chicken (a/k/a 'chicken on a stick')
• Black pepper chicken
• Steamed rice
• Mei fun
• Lo mein

It was all very good and we all three ate for about $15.00. Not bad.

This afternoon we're going to do some house cleaning and homework. That will make mama happy. And when mama's happy, everyone is happy. :-)

Early this morning I started making a tote bag out of re-purposed fabric. I found a Vera Wang pillowcase at the Thrift Shop this week. We'll see how it turns out. If I get my house chores done in time, I'll make a trip to the Craft Corner and work on it. Stay tuned.

Hey: have a great weekend.

Now...go make something!

Craft Corner Update

As promised, here are some new pictures of the Craft Corner.

I'm not finished, but I've made MAJOR progress since the last photo I shared with you. Here's one of the sewing machines in his new 'home':

Shelves were installed on 2-2-08. I'm pretty much done with getting the pegboard permanently fastened, then the trim goes up. Then...we're 95% complete!

The Cub Scout Pinewood Derby is next Saturday. So..the Little Guy and I have been busy making his car. You can see some of our supplies on the left-hand side of this photo. We're keeping our fingers crossed on this one. I enjoy working with fiber media; however, derby cars are not my forte'. But we're getting there.

I was going to drill holes in the Formica(R) counter-tops, but changed my mind and did a much easier thing: I drilled holes in the pegboard and then fished the electric cords up, in between, the 2x4's. It works great and really doesn't look bad at all.

Thanks to my dad and my wife, this long-awaited area is coming to life. It's great to have a space dedicated to my hobby time.

Nasty Weather

Winter, winter,
why such sting?

Where oh where,
oh where is Spring?


I'm pretty much tired of the crappy weather here. Looking forward to a 'stay-at-home' weekend.

Etsy Shop - More New Items

More items have been added to the shop.

Stop on over.

And have a G R E A T weekend.

...go make something!

Etsy Shop

I've added a few new items to the shop. There are several other projects in various stages of completion. They'll be added soon.

Craft Corner Update

We are making some serious progress. Here are the two electric outlets I've been talking about. Funny how we take utilities for granted, isn't it? Oh well. I'm a very happy crafter. A big shout out to my wife for coming home early to let the electrician in. Al, you did a fine, fine job!

This is a 'before' picture of the craft corner. The 'after' pics will be posted soon. Dad and I worked several hours on Sunday and got the project WELL on it's way. I now have counter tops installed and the pegboard is 80% complete.



Here's a photo my little guy took. Ah....electricity. It's a good thing.

Getting all High Tech and Stuff

Man oh man! There are so many programs out there to make our lives easier. I've come across two in the last few days that I wanted to mention:


SnagIt



You can capture part or all of a screen of information. Including images. An example is shown above. You can purchase the program for about $40.00 or...do like I did and get a 30-day trial version. It's very easy to use.


TimeLeft



This little gem gives you all sorts of clocks, timers, etc.


In craft news, the electrician is coming over tonite to give us a quote on some electrical outlets for the craft corner. Hopefully, he's less expensive than the company I called earlier in the week. They wanted $85.00/hour + materials.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Updated at 7:39 p.m. See post below for update on the electrician's quote.

Google Docs and the Craft Corner Update

Okay. So...here's my first blog post using the Google document feature. Pretty cool stuff. I'm trying to think of how I can best use this tool.

I'll get back with you.

In other news, my dad came over yesterday and helped me get started on the 'craft corner' in our basement. I took some photos but haven't uploaded them yet. But...let me tell you, we made some GOOD progress. My wife and I moved tons of stuff out of the corner so we'd have room to work. [We installed new kitchen counter tops a couple years ago and we kept the old ones (for this project)].

After we moved all the stuff/junk out of the way, I laid out the counter tops on the floor to get an idea of what it would look when we are finished. It is going to be perfect. It's an L-shaped configuration that will give us a great surface to work on. We will be able to sew, stamp, sort through old photographs, etc., etc., It is going to be great.

I'm calling an electrician to see how much it will cost to have a couple lines brought in to the area. It's not that much distance from the breaker box to the corner, so hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg. I'll keep you posted.

Have a great day!


UPDATE (01.17.08): The electrician gave me a very favorable quote on the work I want to have done. He'll be over tomorrow afternoon to install the new electric lines. Woo. Hoo. I am a happy camper!

Dad and his Stocking Cap

Dad and his stocking cap 2007
Originally uploaded by crafty dad

Yes! Another finished item for 2007.

I finished my dad's stocking cap in time to give it to him for Christmas. It was a close call, but it was done and in the gift bag several hours before he opened it on Christmas Day.

Towel and Tote Bag for Kelsey

Towel and Tote Bag for Kelsey
Originally uploaded by crafty dad

Here' are two gifts I made for my cousin who is on the swim team. She wanted a hooded towel and a tote bag in her school colors.

I've made lots of hooded towels before, but this was my very first lined tote bag. It turned out really nice.

Is it just me, or does Christmas seem like it was several weeks ago? Where does time go?

Lazy Schmazy

One of my New Year's resolutions was going to be "post an entry to your blog every day". Ha! You can see that hasn't happened.

But...it's early in the year and perhaps I can make good on my promise yet.

I still have tons of Christmas pics in the camera and need to get them to the PC so I can have some visual aids. (What's a post without a picture, right?)

Okay, back to work. Have a great weekend! ~Do something crafty.

Oh...I almost forgot! My wife and I went to Menard's a few days ago and bought all the lumber I need to get my corner of the basement set up for a craft spot. My dad is going to help me install some walls, counter tops and the like. I'm excited! We are in the process of sorting through LOTS of stuff in the basement (job #1). Once we're through all that, we'll be stirring up some sawdust. I'll be sure to take before and after shots. This should be good!

Happy New Year

Blown Glass Sculpture at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis

It's not quite the same as the Time's Square, but if you ever get a chance to see this up close and personal, do it. It's amazing and 43 feet tall!. It's really stunning on a sunny day.

So many things to be thankful for in 2007. And so many new memories right around the corner.

Happy New Year.
Be safe,
Mike

Merry Christmas!

And may all your dreams come true.

Happy Holidays from the CraftyDad family.

Say A Prayer for Hershey

Our Chocolate Lab is very sick. She has spent the last two nights at the vet's office. She has a bacterial infection in her kidneys. Not good at all.

Her blood work is showing signs of slight improvement, but she's not out of the woods by any stretch.

So....please keep her (and her family -- we are all very upset over this) in your prayers.

We thank you!

--mike


UPDATED 12.21.07 -- Sad news. We had to put Hershey to sleep last night. She was so glad to see us and we felt SO, SO bad, but her kidneys are failing and there's nothing that could make them better. The boys were part of the process and I think it helped them put some closure to this. Oh...what a tough time.

A Very "Let it Snow" Kind of Weekend

The weatherman was right about this one. We got some major snowfall on Saturday and Sunday. My wife and I had a nasty drive home from my company's Christmas party that was held 25 miles from home. It was the stuff white knuckles are made of, to be sure.

I'm guessing there was about 18" of it in our driveway. Sure, some of that was from the wind making drifts of the pretty white stuff. But let me tell you that it was a TON of snow and it took us a very long time to get the driveway cleaned off.

Sunday was a great day to stay home, so we spent time making chocolate chip cookies (the best ones we've ever made). I also made up a big batch of sugar cookie dough. It's chilling in the fridge right now. Perhaps tonight we'll get out all the cookie cutters and get 'em done. The boys each have their own rolling pin. We got them at an Amish store not too far from home a few years back. So...the annual cookie cutting and baking tradition will continue at the Crafty Dad residence tonight. I promise there will be pictures.

Oh, and I've been working on my dad's stocking cap. And...I'm about 50% finished with a tote bag from my cousin who is in Swim Club. I received a request for one as a Christmas gift. Stay tuned for a photograph or two. It's my first official lined tote bag. So far so good. If you're looking for a great tutorial, go check this out. Thanks Mariko!