The Last Few Days

My beloved was home Tuesday - Friday (his days off), so I really did not get nearly as much done as I had hoped.  We spent a lot of quality time together.  We're both readers, so we always seem to be reading separate books "together".  Also, we celebrated our 3rd anniversary on the 25th.   Oh, one new thing that happened was that my beloved got interested in building a scale home out of sticks and such so now he has his own little tote in my studio.

I'm doing what I can to get onto his schedule so that our times together are more in line with his work schedule (and I can talk to him off and on throughout his work day).   This is day #2 of that, well #1.5 because I was up all day on Friday so I checked out about 3:00 am.

The new plan is to stay up until sunrise, get Liam up for school, and then gather up the ipod, dog leash *and dog*, and my trusty Mickey Mouse bag to venture out on a 2 - 3 mile journey through the neighborhoods.  As I walk, I pick up aluminum cans for the future father-in-law and I also pick up pieces that might end up in some of my work.

As of right now, I've been awake about an hour or so.  Time to go and figure out if my muse wants to come out and play in the studio with me. 

Altered Rolodex Card Monday

I challenged myself to spread my wings a bit and joined CindyB at Altered Paper Blog for "Altered Rolodex Card Monday".

My personal challenge was to only use things I found on my desk.  The only other items I could use were 5 bottles of paint - yellow, orange, Navy blue, purple, & black.  

This is my desk top about an hour and a half ago.  

As my project got underway, I realized I'd forgotten a few things; paint brushes being the main omission.  Not to be discouraged. I cut an old plastic ruler in half and used this to drag across the card, making a streaking sort of mess. 

I tried something new on the orange side of the cards.  I used a coffee filter to pull up some of the ink (after the smearing technique like I did on the blue/black side.) I rolled the coffee filter down with a marble rolling pin type thing and this made it look a lot better.  

Most of the items I used were stickers of some sort.  The first one you see in the picture below (High Spirits) was not a sticker!  This led to me searching for SOMETHING sticky that I could use to adhere the image to the card.   I found a bottle of clear nail polish (how did that get there?) 

The items on the desk were almost all for Halloween.  These cards are not up to my  personal standards but I made a commitment to show my work, crappy or not. 

Do yourself a favor and go visit CindyB at Altered Paper Blog

I'm back and better than ever.

I am not about to make excuses for why my blog has been dormant for over a YEAR.  I won't look back with pity, rather with joy as I know that I've crossed a hundred miles in that time.  Here I am, the real me, the me behind the mask.

My art has changed from a crafty style to more of an art style. I hope you will join me and I delve deeper into my frugal art life.

27 Thing Fling - Days 9 - 12

I have been sick off and on all week so I did not get my items gathered each day.  Today I sat down and started going through scrapbook paper.  I cannot believe I have so much!  I barely touched the tip of the iceberg here.  I got 108 pages together so that counts for Days 9 to 12 (I am a day ahead!)

27 Thing Fling - Days 7 & 8

I was feeling under the weather yesterday so I gathered double items today.  Ribbons and other things that really have a good use for someone, right?

I am beginning to think that I may not be able to finish this challenge.  I am running out of things to go through.

27 Thing Fling - Day 6

Today I got rid of a mishmash of things: an atlas, a box, some necklaces, wooden hearts, 2 Scrapbook albums, a filoflex file thing, etc.  Most of the stuff is junk I was holding on to "just because".

This has been difficult.  I'm cleaning out things I "knew" I'd need some day.  Honestly I probably would just end up buying the items again because these were packed away in a closet.

Oh well, these items are going off to various places in the next week or so.

27 Thing Fling - Day 5

Today I removed 27 pages of stickers from my stash.  Actually I only went through one of the three drawers of stickers that I have.  I'm sure there will be more stickers leaving during this challenge.

27 Thing Fling - Day 4

Today's 27 Thing Fling is made up of small items. There is pearl chain, rosettes, a crochet rose, little bows, and charms.  These were sets you could use to make collage pins.  Obviously, I never made them!

More things moving out of my house!

You know, I am finding that I have a lot let "Stuff" these days.  After giving away so much back in 2008 - 2010 and then dealing with the loss of most everything (flood and divorce), I honestly have my house pared down quite a bit.  However, on the other hand, I'm amazed that I have so much that I know I won't ever use.  I feel blessed to be able to pass things on to others.

Four days down, Twenty Three to go.  You can still jump in and join us!

Check out Cathy's post.  She is the lady who started this challenge.  heART life

Day Three - 27 Thing Fling

Today's items were pretty simple to come by.  I gathered up some stuff from my studio.  Some of the stuff I really don't even know where it came from, to be honest.  I've now got a nice sized bag of stuff heading out the door.

27 Thing Fling - Day 2

I made it, just barely!

I started cleaning out the top drawer in our dresser and this is what I found.  I also added the things that were in my bedroom "give away" basket.  I promise there was not a whoopie cushion in my drawer!


I did count each of the little bars of soap.  Those to a friend who is donating them to a charity.   The rest of the stuff is going to be offered up on Freecycle.  So far, I listed the speakers & the cables.  The other items will likely wait until I have more to offer. 


I hope someone out there is joining in on the fun.  Post a comment if you are!

27 Thing Fling - Day One

Today I gathered together a bag full of trim, bias tape, pins, a scarf, and a few other miscellaneous items from my sewing stash.  I have offered the lot of it up on Freecycle tonight.  If not asked for by Friday, I will add it to the stack of stuff going to the thrift store. 

I'm excited about gathering more items we no longer use and passing them on to people who can and will enjoy them. 

Let's Get Rid of STUFF!

A friend of mine issued a challenge to make the house "thinner" over the next 27 days.  The goal is to get rid of 27 things each day.  I decided to take the challenge as I have some things that need to go.  I have a lot of paper that needs to go and a garage full of things to take to a thrift store.  I will start this in tomorrow and will try to post updates as I go.  If you're interested in joining, please do so.

Life as we know it.

Money is finally flowing into our home once again.  Having regular paychecks will allow us to budget and keep ourselves afloat.

I have been looking at where money goes.  I am most amazed by the areas where we don't spend money.  We don't pay for cable/satellite television.  We don't go to fancy restaurants.  I don't spend a small fortune on crafty items.  Jer does not have all of the latest xbox games.

Even without these items we are happy.  We have internet access, netflix, and lots of free music & games online.  We have a nice house, good food, and a lot of love.  We're far from suffering.

We have a long couple of months ahead of us.  We have to dig ourselves out of the pit that is debt.  If I start to complain about the lack of funds, remind me that we really have it pretty good.

Freeze!

Jeremy drives an 18 wheeler over the road & is out for 8 to 10 days at a time with his new company.  These new home times and a larger refrigerator in his truck mean that he is able to eat more meals in the truck.  This saves a TON because 2 to 3 meals out each day, mostly at a truck stop, add up to big bucks quick!

I'm going to start cooking daily (something I don't do since it is just me at home - I tend to eat the leftovers from a meal for days before cooking again) and freezing a portion or two for him.  We have a vacuum sealer and plan to borrow a single electric burner from J's dad so the initial expenses won't be very high.

This week he did store bought "heat and eat" kind of meals just to test things out.  He enjoyed the meals but they are expensive and are full of sodium and other things he really does not need in his diet.  We're hoping that making these meals will allow for some savings in our budget.

Forgive me...

I know I've not been posting.  I really want to.  My life has just been a little on the chaotic side.  Jeremy was working for someone (contract labor) and they did not pay him for 3 weeks before he quit.  It took another 2 weeks after he started his new job before his first payday.  In all, we went 6 weeks without any income.  This depleated our savings and if it weren't for my family we'd be even deeper in debt.

We're on the right track again.  I'm able to pay my parents back at a reasonable rate each week and still start putting some money into our savings.

Instead of posting and working through some of the problems, I hid.  I tend to do that...I'm like a turtle hiding in my shell.

Anyway, I'm back and ready to start posting again.

Food Waste Friday

This week we had a bowl of mashed potatoes that inadvertently got left out of the fridge.   Other wise, my beloved has been home all week and has taken care of the leftovers.  Next week, we'll be back to "normal" with photos and all.

Don't You Hate...

...when life throws you a curve ball and you are left floundering?  Yeah, that has been me the last few weeks.

Life is getting back on an even keel.  I'll be back posting this coming week.

Food Waste Friday (on a Sunday)

It was a crazy few days around here so I'm just getting time to post my food waste for the week.

First up, we have the pizza dough.  I tried to make it and it failed.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong but this happens every time I try.  I think I'll just stop trying. 

Secondly, we have the celery that was slimy in the middle.  We washed and ate the good stalks.  These are just the ones we tossed. 

Check out The Frugal Girl for more Food Waste Friday!

Frugal Crafting

I found this great tutorial to make a wrap bracelet.  I waited until I found a piece of ball chain & then went through my stash to see if I had the other items needed.  In the first one I made, I improvised by using embroidery floss instead of waxed linen cord.  In the second one, I used colored hemp & pearl bead chain stuff.  I really like how they turned out. 

Why am I even writing about this??  

I want to show that one can recreate something at home using materials on hand without breaking the bank at the craft store buying things that can only be used once or twice.   

I try to be true to my belief that things should be used up, reused, recycled or upcycled whenever possible.  

 

I want to try my hand at altered books. Things are SO expensive for the hobby if you buy all of the latest products.  Instead I want to recreate these looks for less.  Keep watching this space to see if I'm able to achieve my goal.

Food Waste Friday

This week we have nothing to report.  Yay!
The boys have been amazingly good about eating leftovers this week.  We do have a few things that have to be eaten within the next week, including lettuce & potatoes. 
Wish us luck as we try to make it two weeks in a row!
What about you?  Check out The Frugal Girl for more!