Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

Supplies Needed:

• Pumpkins
• Carving Knives
• Stencils
• Straight Pins (to hold stencil)
• Black Marker (to trace stencil)
• Scoop (to remove seeds)
• Shaped Metal Punch (like a cookie cutter, but for pumpkins - this is how the bat was made on the left)
• Mallet (to punch it through)
• Newspaper (to contain mess)
• Candles
• Lighter

My Problem

I've mentioned before that I have a problem finishing projects that I start. I can't tell if it's getting worse or better since I started this blog. I spend more time working on crafts, but once the excitement of a new project wears off, I get bored with it and start a new one.  Then, I don't want to post about something until it's finished, so I eventually finish it up and write about it several months later.  In order to embrace this habit, I've added a "WIP" list over on the left.  Right now, it doesn't look very bad - only 5 projects.  However, I'm pretty sure I've forgotten several.

I recently thought that I had all of my sewing projects organized in the basement.  I went upstairs to search the last place anything could be, and I found a backpack with two partially completed scarves from several years ago when I taught myself how to knit.  I started out with one skein of yarn.  When I got to the end of it, rather than learn how to join another piece of yarn or finish off the scarf (simple concepts, I've since learned), I apparently went out and bought a new skein and started completely over.  I even bought a new pair of knitting needles.  At least they were a different size.  I unravelled both of these scarves because I don't like the colors anymore, so maybe I'll start something else with them.

So let's see what happens when I have a list displayed publicly to the Internet.  My guess is it will get embarrassingly long and then I'll remove it.

Blast from the Past: Beaded Bracelet

My 5^th grade teacher was Mr. Wendel. The thing I remember most about him is that he abhorred little scraps of paper. You would think that an elementary teacher would just learn to deal with little scraps of paper, but he made us cut out paper in way that only left one scrap. If we made a mistake and had two or more scraps at the end of a cutting activity, we had to stay in from recess. To this day I still plan out my cutting so that I only have one single piece of paper to throw away at the end.

Anyway, the purpose of this post was not to demonstrate how well I can cut paper. Mr. Wendel also taught us how to make beaded bracelets. We started by coloring our designs in on graph paper. Then he had enough looms that we could each work on our bracelets while he read to us after lunch. Here is the design that I made.

I liked this activity so much that I convinced my grandpa to make a loom for me. He nailed three pieces of wood in a U shape, then made thin cuts in the two open ends to hold the string. I wound the string around the loom to create the base threads and then was able to weave in the beads. Here are some instructions to make your own loom that’s only slightly different than the one I had or you can also buy one on Amazon: Darice 1012-24 Bead Loom

Thinking back on this, it really seems like seed beads rolling all over the tile floor while Mr. Wendel was reading would have been at least as annoying as multiple scraps of paper created by 5^th graders.

Supplies Needed:

• Graph Paper
• Markers or Crayons for Design
• Beading Thread
• Seed Beads (Several Colors)
• Needle with Small Eye
• Scissors
• Bead Loom
  

Hot Shops

Last summer my husband and I visited Hot Shops, a local art center here in Omaha. The first area we went in was Loken Forge. They had an activity where you could choose up to seven pieces of metal and arrange them into a sculpture. I immediately got really excited and started picking out my pieces, and then looked up a few minutes later and wondered why my husband wasn’t picking out any for himself. I found six suitable pieces and designed this awesome structure.

Since this activity was actually planned for children (and I don’t know how to weld), the guys at the Forge actually welded it for me. I did get to look through welding goggles while they did it. We walked around the rest of the Hot Shops while it cooled and then went back to the Forge where they spray painted it for me.

The rest of the Hot Shops were also very interesting. They have just about every medium of arts and crafts there. The one area we didn’t spend a lot of time in the glass blowing area (it was August when we went). I see they have another open house planned for December 4^th and 5^th, though, so I’ll probably check it out then!

Supplies Needed:

• Steel or iron base piece
• 5-6 small steel or iron pieces
• Blow torch
• Safety goggles
• Spray paint