Simple Life

I'm contemplating stuff again. I'm guilty of bringing home more stuff lately. Even if it is things I want like a tart burner or a book, I feel that through it all, this is just stuff. Stuff that can get in the way. Stuff that causes clutter and messes. I have the things that I use daily like my computer, my art supplies, my iPod and then I have the things I don't think I will ever use like the vase of dried roses or the Winnie the Pooh collection.

I think the time has come once again to start thinking about stuff. I need to determine what we want in our lives and what we are willing to give up in order to have the live we desire.

This, That, and The Other

Another week has passed and while we did not get rid of many items this week, a few were moved out the door. Our total for the first month of 2009 is 446 items!

Getting rid of things makes our lives more simple. I find that I am finding more time for my creative endeavors. There is nothing in the way of my art now. This is a good thing!

Speaking of art, I've joined up with the iCiNG Transformation Challenge. My goals for the month of February are:

1. Daily Exercise: I'm hoping that physical activity will help me. I have FMS that is pretty bad and I've been told that at least stretching would help. I am willing to take on this experiement for one month just to find out.
   
2. Daily Creativity: This is to be done in any form. I can create a desert or a creative journal page. I can make runes or work on digital photography. Whatever it is, I must be willing to put the creativity first instead of putting it on hold for everything else in my life.
   

Perhaps you'd like to come join in the fun?

Project Purge 2009

We are just 27 days into the new year and already my family has surpassed our Project Purge 2009 goal. We decided on 365 items, figuring 1 item per day for the year was a good number. As of last weekend, we hit 396 items!!! Following is the list of items that made their way to someone else's home:

Qty		Description
21		Movies
5		Movies
2		Laptop Chargers
2		telephone cords
1		4 port USB adapter
1		Motorolla headset (stereo)
1		Zippo Lighter
1		Pink Nintendo headphones
1		Este Lauder Romance
1		Victoria Secret Golden Dreams Lotion
1		Victoria Secret Body Spray
3		Make up bags
1		Exfoliating brush
1		hair clip
1		strand of chunky beads
1		makeup mirror
2		perfumes
2		lotions
2		sheets of stickers
3		Barbie dolls
17		Barbie Accessories
3		Barbie dolls
17		Barbie Accessories
1		Pirate costume
2		small wind chimes
1		large wind chime
6		lace doilies
31		gel pens
20		Sharpies
6		Packages of "eyes"
4		Packages of "noses"
33		gel pens
1		Halloween Flashlight
30		Foam Circles
1		Teen Mug
2		Zenith Remotes
1		Wok
4		scrapart
2		photo albums
1		empty container
1		frog stamp
1		mini box of beads
1		box with clipart
1		stapler
1		bunny statue
12		marbles
1		magazine
2		glue sticks
2		brushes
3		pens
2		pencils
30		Foam Circles
6		place mats
6		cloth napkins
1		table cloth
1		set of henna stencils
1		Remo drum head
1		key lock security chain
12		6x6x8 boxes
1		plaque board
2		Craft books for kids
1		grapevine potted plant holder
1		package of beads
1		stack of cardstock
1		box of paper
1		coloring book
1		notebook
13		candle holders
22		Women's Clothing Items
5		prs of pj pants
1		bag of cat food
1		stick of 256mg DDR ram
3		baggies full of plastic beads
16		Sheets/Pillowcases
3		Purple window curtains with pockets
1		Nice frame
1		Dragon/wizard print

Upcycled Photo Tutorial

What do you do with the boxes of pictures nobody wants? Not the family heirlooms but the more recent pictures with funny faces or blurry shots. I found a large bunch of these in the trash recently and wanted to find a use for them. After searching the internet for ideas, I came up nearly empty handed. I say nearly because a friend directed me to a site. This person modified her pictures but kept some of the background. For my images I did not want to see the background so I made up the rules as I went along.

This is my first tutorial so bear with me.



Start with a picture you want to modify, a tray of water, and a piece of sandpaper.



Leave the picture in water for just about one minute. This softens up the inks.



Use the sandpaper to roughen up the photo. In this example, I sanded quite a bit leaving just the underlayer of colors. I have also done some where I left some of the picture visible.



Wipe off the goo left from the removed colors. You may want to dip it back in the water to clear it off a bit so you can see if you want to sand it again.



Gather your supplies for decorating the picture. Bleach is nice for bleaching out bits. What I forgot to photograph was the automatic lead pencil that I used for doodling on the picture. It is one of those with the metal tip. I used it without lead so I was actually scraping off the paint. Alternatively you can scratch into the picture itself.




Spread on the first layer of paint. I ended up wiping off much of the black for the finished example.



Layer the second layer of paint. I chose a dark red color.



Blot away the excess paint. I don't use paper towels so I blotted with an old flannel rag.



Get creative! You can add as much or as little detail as you like.



Another example. This one has "love" etched into the back. I left this one in more of a rough state.

Filtered

COFFEE FILTERS

Coffee filters...who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

2 Clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.

3. Protect China . Separate your good dishes by putting a coffee filter between each dish.

4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.

5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.

7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.

8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.

9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.

11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.

12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters. Not sure how this works!!

13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. Soaks out all the grease.

14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

Uses for Old Photographs?

I freecycled out a few photo albums that I found in the trash. I took out about 75 4 x 6 pictures. These are of people I do not know so keeping them is not my concern. I just have a hard time tossing this much potential crafting material.

I'm scouring the web right now looking for a creative use for old photographs. If you know of anything, please comment!

Crafty Days Ahead

I am determined to have a craft filled weekend. There are many things that I would like to try to make. If it works out, I'd like to have a give away here on my blog. However, I don't even know if people here would be interested. I am not sure I even have regular readers. That being said, please let me know if a crafty giveaway would interest you!

2008 Wrap Up & 2009 Challenge

We managed to get rid of over 4,500 things in our 2008 "55 Week Fling"! I was so proud of our efforts. When we started on December 1, 2007, I thought getting rid of 208 things would be difficult. We just kept going and going. It was amazing to see. Even when I thought there was nothing left to get rid of, I would open a drawer or get a box out and see even more things I did not need.

When we took out the tree and decorations, I ended up getting rid of tons of stuff. We had enough extra stuff to do a second tree easily. Of course, I kept enough ornaments and lights for a six foot tree even though we currently have a four foot one. I figure it is better to keep enough than to have to go out and spend money (gasp!) on more stuff!

This brings me to the 2009 Challenge. This year I encourage all of you to join in on Project Purge! Consider getting rid of just one item per day. that is 365 items in a year! My family is donating most items to our local FreeCycle group. This year, as with last year, we are not counting items thrown away.

If you chose to follow along on Project Purge, let me know. I'd love to cheer you on!

More Holiday Crafts!

I made a really cool gift last night for a swap I'm doing today. The recipient is a knitter so I make her some stitch markers. I think they came out quite well. One set has larger rings and smaller leaves in dark green. The other set has smaller rings and larger leaves in light green.

Yuletide Gifting

I wanted to share a child's gift that Hubby made this year.

I requested a child's toy that is something of quality. I wanted something a young boy or girl could play with, use their imagination, and have for a long time. It needed to be sturdy and work without batteries, flashing lights, or noise. While watching Matty play, I realized that blocks might be well suited for all ages of children. This is a gift that can be added to, should another person be so inclined.

Hubby made a set of really nice blocks in two sizes. There are some that are stained and others are just covered in a sealant. The first set of 4 needed for this year has been made. I guess the true test will be seeing what the young recipient thinks of them.

We're doing quite well with the home made gifts this year. I'm grateful that I have the supplies for much of my crafting available to me here so the cost is much less than it could be. After work today, I need to finish up some gifts that I'm making and plan out some baked goodies that I can give to the menfolk who I don't know well enough to buy for. Everyone likes food right? ;)

Check it Out!

I guess I am, in a way, stabbing myself in the foot here, but I encourage you to go visit Confessions of a Craft Addict's 2008 Christmas giveaway. It's a great one!

The rules are pretty cool. All you have to do is mention your favorite charity. It's a great way to get to know about other people so read the comments if you'd like!

All of the crafty goodness over on Sew Mama Sew has me so inspired!

I think that I will try to get some pictures uploaded of my own crafting here. I've been trying to make some gifts for our holiday celebrations.

Check back here in the next few weeks to see some of the things we're making.

Giveaways Make Me Happy!

Check out this great one at Mommy & Beyond!

Go Forth & Grab Them!

Sew Mama Sew if hosting Give Away Day. Go check them out!

Go check out this give away at Suzie Button Creations!

Let's Talk Turkey!

Hubby is working a bit of overtime today and once he is done working he will stop at a grocer's in the neighboring big city to pick up a turkey and sweet potatoes. The regular chain here in this area has turkeys for 59 cents per pound. This "fancy" store where hubby is going has them for 39 cents per pound. Needless to say we are getting turkey at the "fancy" store.

Generally we will buy two or three turkeys each year. Heck, at 39 cents per pound, we cannot beat the price. We cook one now and freeze the rest. We will, of course, have tons of leftovers from the first bird for the usual array of foods including carcas soup. Some will be frozen for later.

In the spring we like to smoke a bird and have tons more meat for yummy things.

By doing this we can save a lot on our food budget. Last year we did not have the money to get extra bird. I'm grateful that we can do that now!

Holiday Cards

When sending out your holiday cards this year, take one card (or more) and send it to the address below. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get.

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

Winter Holidays Will be Here Soon!

I feel a sense of shock when I realize that the year is nearly over!

My birthday was a quiet affair this year. No presents from immediate family but that was expected. My mom bought me bras which was my request. We got a great deal at Lane Bryant by combining coupons. We each got 3 new bras and only spent $66, that makes them $10 each plus tax!

A friend made me a faerie house. It was so thoughtful of her, especially since their finances are shaky at the moment (more so than most I'm afraid).

I'm thinking forward to the holidays now. This year I have many more people that I wish to honor in a small way so I'm looking for items we can make that won't break the bank.

Hubby is making blocks for the young children in our lives. The two sets will cost less than $8 and will be a gift that will last a long time.

I am thinking of making some sweets to be given out in paper bags decorated with holiday decorations painted on them. This is festive without breaking the bank.

Hubby and I are doing stocking items only for each other this year. The girls (14, 16, 19) will get their piece of silver jewelry that I purchase each holiday. I also plan to make the 19 year old a special cookbook of her favorite comfort foods that her father & I have made over the years. Since the children are at their mother's house and don't have much contact with us, we are not planning to have tons of stuff for them. Even if we buy them gifts, their mom does not allow them to take the gifts home (or has not in the past) so we're better off saving our precious funds for other endeavors.

If you have any holiday gift ideas, post them here or post a link to your blog if they're posted there. Thank you!

I need to get my list started so I can get gifts made and wrapped and stored.

In other news, my "55 Week Fling" is still going on. I've managed to eliminate over 4,200 items from our home, not including food products given to families in need or paper clutter we've sorted and disposed of. I loved keeping a list this year because it allows me to feel so accomplished. I will be doing this in 2009 as well.

Cool Giveaway

Check this giveaway out!

Who Wants A Clean House???

I am feeling pretty messy lately. My house is not to it’s normal level of clean. Granted, I’ve never had a spotless house but it has generally been tidy. This is frustrating to me because I KNOW that I can do more than I have been doing around here. November marks the new year for me and I don’t want to enter my 34th year in disarray.

That being said, I have 5 days to get my stuff together. I will concentrate on one room per day. Each room will be worked on in small 15 minute bursts of “energy” as that is all I can offer!

Monday – Kitchen
Tuesday – Living Room
Wednesday – Bathrooms/bedroom
Thursday – Office
Friday – Kitchen AGAIN!

I will do one load of laundry per day as well. If anyone wants to come clean at my house, you’re more than welcome.

Would anyone like to see before & after photos? I’m a bit of a voyeur when it comes to messes. I like seeing pictures of messy rooms and then seeing them all cleaned up and pretty. If anyone shows an interest, I will post those pictures this week.