Fall Wreath

It has been years since I made a wreath, but I decided to be crafty today.  Did I mention it has been years since I made a wreath?

Yes, I am hinting at you to be kind about my efforts 😉

I also placed this entry under sewing because I don’t have a craft section and since I do crafts once a decade there really is no need for one 😉

The supplies (pardon the dark picture):  wreath, flowers, hot glue gun, wire, scissors, wire cutters and anything else you want on your wreath.

Before

Step 1:  Make loops with your ribbon (you can, of course, simply make a big bow)

Step 2: Attach loops using wire (and hot glue if necessary)

 

Step 3:  Attach “base” of arrangement, for me it was the leaves, but you can use whatever you want here.

Decorative stick – I bought 2

Step 4:  Decide where you want the sticks and attach them

Where we are so far

Attach flowers (I used the glue gun) and you have a wreath.  I also went back, as you can likely tell, and added some more ribbon loops.

The dark cream flowers look white (camera flash?), so IRL they blend much better than the picture!

(mine is not hanging right now b/c I thought I’d be smart and buy a snazzy suction wreath holder – yeah, it didn’t work and now I gotta go get a wreath hanger)

Next up — Christmas.  Oh wait, that will be two this decade!!

 

Steering Wheel Cover

First let me say I completely forgot to take pictures while I was making this.  In my defense, this was a real butt kicker for me!  I kept reading tutorials and all of them had you cutting the fabric AND the elastic completely different sizes (for a standard 46 inch steering wheel), so I went into this without a tutorial and did what I usually do – I winged it.

First it seemed me that if the steering wheel was 46 inches the material needed to be be a little bigger so it could scrunch.  I couldn’t figure out how cutting the fabric 1/2 an inch for seam allowance would work, so I decided to cut mine 50 inches.   I cut two 9 x 25 pieces and pieced together the two pieces of fabric.  Since I had a pattern to work with I lost about 3 inches by piecing it together where it matched so I ended up with a piece that was just over 46 inches after all.

I almost quit then and there.

Then I recalled that most of the tuts had these same measurements so I went with it.

So at this point I had ONE piece that was 9 x 46-ish

At this point I had to make a casing on each side of the fabric (long sides), so I folded down 1/4 inch, pressed and folded down 1/2 inch and pressed again on both sides.  I pinned them and sewed leaving plenty enough room for 1/4 inch elastic to push through

I cut a piece of batting that fit between the casings, covering the backside of the fabric and sewed once down the middle (I used liquid stitch to hold it in place  because that is what I had, but basting spray would work too) and down each side.

I then cut a 3 yard length of 1/4 inch elastic in half and put a safety pin at each end of both pieces

I inserted the safety pin and elastic, one side at a time, through the casing (this wasn’t exactly easy, lol, but it worked eventually).

I put the safety pin at both ends to keep the tail end from slipping through the casing.

I pulled and pushed the fabric until the gathers were even and then safety pinned the entire piece together and took it outside to the steering wheel.

I placed it on and pulled the elastic, carefully reworking gathers as I went until it “fit”

I bough the piece back in, cut the excess elastic from where I pulled and scrunched it, and sewed together where I had marked it, right sides together

After which I trimmed the seam and pressed it flat.

This is the part I messed up on.  You could visibly see the seam sticking up and I didn’t want a messy seam so I liquid stitched it open and flat (right sides facing up).  I could have sewed it had I not cut the trim so small.  Well, I probably still could have, but the liquid stitch worked great.

I have a feeling my instructions are as confusing as the ones I read, LOL.

Here is the finished piece — it is a little slippery.  I should have used a rubber backing (like you line shelves with) instead of the backing and when I redo it (and I probably will),  I will  use the rubbery stuff … AND I will take pics, one step at a time and try to make more sense!  LOL

 

Joining the masses!

I am joining the masses — I am going to write about Robin Williams.  Well, not directly.  I am going to write about depression.

I read a blog this morning that I think said how I feel more than any words I’ve ever read.  She said:  Until you’ve stared down that level of depression, until you’ve lost your soul to a sea of emptiness and darkness… you don’t get to make those judgments. You might not understand it, and you are certainly entitled to your own feelings, but making those judgments and spreading that kind of negativity won’t help the next person. In fact, it will only hurt others. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katie-hurley/theres-nothing-selfish-about-suicide_b_5672519.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063)

I am not even sure what I can add to that.

In fact, it will only hurt others. << —–  I can testify to that.

When I was at my sickest – when I was planning my own death – I was judged by someone who used to be close to me.  The words uttered by this person almost pushed me off the cliff that I was barely hanging onto.  I was hanging by a thread and the words said hurt me deeply.  They made me wonder if they were true.

Was I selfish?

Did I need to put my “problems” aside and think of my children and what they were going through?

These utterings made me feel like a horrible person.  What kind of mother was I?  Who would do this to her children?  Who would tell her children she wanted to die?   Only a selfish, selfish, SELFISH person?

These words made me feel like my choice was correct — I SHOULD die.  Not only did I want to. I SHOULD.

I honestly do not know how I held on (I do know – the grace of GOD).  I held on despite the words and how they made me feel.  I fought.  I fought hard.   Harder than I knew I could.

I fought against the words.  I angrily replied.  I angrily fought back.

Did my anger ‘save me”?   I put on a brave face.  I told this person that they were WRONG.   I said all the words that I’d read online. I said all the words that my therapist told me.  I repeated all the misconceptions to this person.  I fought back with words.

But I didn’t believe any of them.

I FELT selfish.  I felt like a horrible person.   I felt all the words said to me AND MORE.

If I could teach/share/get across just ONE thing about depression it would be THIS. It would be that words HURT.  Words destroy.

You don’t have to support someone who is depressed — that is a choice.   You don’t have to help someone who is depressed – that, too, is a choice.

But you also do not have to hurt them even further than they already are hurting.  You don’t have to pour salt into their gaping wounds.

If you know someone who talks about suicide — TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY.   Don’t call them names.  Don’t judge them.

There is nothing you can say them that they haven’t already thought of themselves …. but I am here to tell you … firsthand … that these words … Dear GOD …. these kinds of words are often the push a person needs to let go of that single little thread they are holding onto.

 

Bought some new plants and decided to “shoot” them

Daisies

Honey Bun Cake

This is what it is supposed to look like:

in about 30 minutes I’ll show you what it does look like …….. 😀

1st mistake:  I bought regular yogurt instead of Greek.  Apparently regular yogurt is more wet (like yogurt is SUPPOSED to be) and the regular (and good) stuff may not work in the cake.

2nd mistake:  Dumped all of the filling on top of the first layer. My bad. It was only supposed to be half.  But, since you had to “stick a knife in it and swirl” after both layers I kind figure (OK, hope) that putting it all in the middle and swirling like mad with that knife has the same basic result.

But I am thinking probably not.

3rd Mistake:  OK, I haven’t made that yet, but there’s time.  It is still in the oven and the recipe neglected to say how long to bake it for.  That’s a recipe for disaster.  Pun intended.

I’ll update once it is out of the oven, iced and cut.

That may be tomorrow.  🙂

Oh, wait.  There was a 3rd mistake.  Actually I suppose if we are going in order it was the 2nd mistake.  The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of cinnamon.  I had like 1.6644543 tablespoons ……

Meanwhile, said cake is still baking.  Let’s hope it is supposed to be.

and the next day ……

Mistake # *who knows* — yeah, I didn’t scroll down enough, there were further instructions.  Important stuff like how long to bake …. 😉

Because of mistake number “didn’t layer right” my cake doesn’t LOOK right, but Dear Jesus does it TASTE right.  Just like a honey bun …….. I may need to go to the gym for like 6 hours today.

Anyhoo, here is my full of mistakes cake 😉

Dang, the picture makes me want another hunk … slice, I mean slice.  OK.  Hunk.

 

Kindness

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”
― Plato

Buffalo Chicken Fries

or to be more exact – buffalo chicken bacon cheddar fries 😉

I found the recipe on Pinterest, of course.

They were really good & definitely NOT healthy 😉  Sometimes you just want ooey gooey good food that isn’t healthy, right?

I think most of us, at some point and time, have had cheddar & bacon fries, but I will say the buffalo chicken gives it a whole new – and good – flavor. It soaks into the fries just enough to give them the buffalo flavor, but leave them crispy too.

You can click the recipe above or simply:

Cook french fries as normal

Top with diced or shredded chicken tossed in buffalo sauce (I used diced that I stir fried just before cooking the fries)

crumble crispy bacon on top of the chicken

Add shredded cheese and broil until cheese is melted

(I didn’t add the scallions because the kiddo doesn’t like them but they would be awesome on it, but I did top mine with sour cream).

Just a couple flower shots ….

because my flowers are now mostly dead …. awwwwww.

Cut lillies have a long life though, so I still have two buds still to bloom!

A new project :-D

but I gotta say my kazillion pillowcases came in handy this week as I packed to move! They make great dust bags/protectors for purses 😉

I decided I wanted a table runner and off to Jo-Ann I went!   (this was my shopping trip to my favorite store I mentioned in yesterday’s post)

I found some red and white gingham I think will look great with the red curtains I’ll hand on the dining room doors (that lead to the back patio area), so I decided to buy it.

I’d been looking on Pinterest and Google for tutorials on how to make one, but all I could find were single sided ones with hems.

I wanted a double-sided one because I like the weight on the corners.

So I had to wing it 😉   I made it just like I made the burp cloths.  I cut two pieces of material the size I wanted (plus extra for the seams), laid them right sides together and hemmed all 4 sides, leaving a gap for turning.  Then I top stitched all the way around to give it a finished look and to close the gap on the one short end.

I could have gotten a second material – maybe a solid – for the back side, but I decided since this was my first one to go the less expensive route and use one cut of fabric (coupon is cut for one cut) instead.

This was my first experience sewing long/big pieces of fabric.  It helped me realize I COULD make curtains if I wanted to.

Anyway, about the runner — I like it!  It will help tie the red curtains in, I think.  I have some bits of red in my china cabinet too.

Like most first projects I learned a couple of things I’ll do differently next time.   I started off using the wrong seam allowance (smaller is needed to close the gap) so the stitching on one end is off a tiny bit and I need to pay closer attention to how I cut when there is a pattern!

I couldn’t put it on the table for a picture b/c the table has boxes stacked on one corner, so this pic will have to do until we move!