AMANDA'S BASKETS: REMEMBER!!!

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

REMEMBER!!!

"And another one bites the dust..."
No, not the flower above but the Trump Administration!!!

Remember me telling you about a hobby that I rediscovered because I could make beads...felting? I am still making beads and they are getting better and better. But, my hand cramps up holding the bead so it does take longer than expected.

Well, I remembered a friend who created a felted landscape and I thought that might be fun. I tried my hand at an underwater scene. The vegetation looks great but the fish have a long way to go. I am still working on it.

I wanted to tried something a little more abstract and this is what I created...

...I really like it. I think I will 'quilt' it using gold thread first and then I'll see where I go from there. I felted this to a piece of white felt using the felting needles on a thick piece of upholstery foam. I had to lift the piece often so that it didn't get too imbedded in the foam. It sure is different from the rest of my techniques!

I also began another project today. Remember - that seems to be the theme for the day - the quilted containers that I made for the Holiday Party that didn't happen? I thought I would make some with a spring theme. I cut out four using two different color schemes...

I want to get these finished this week and mail them out in time for Spring Celebrations. They will be perfect to hold some eggs or candy.

Well, we are supposed to get another nor'easter beginning around midnight with rain but quickly turning to snow. And it's suppose to snow all day tomorrow. I was going to look at more houses but tomorrow may turn into a soup and reading day. Sounds good to me...

Thanks for stopping in...
Talk with you tomorrow...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?