AMANDA'S BASKETS: Best Intentions Once Again Gone Astray

Monday, June 7, 2010

Best Intentions Once Again Gone Astray

How are you at keeping your 'best intentions'? There are some days when I think I have to be the worst at keeping them!!! I promised to get my studio done this weekend, right? Right! Unfortunately, life intervened and I am still not done! And, I am getting just a little bit fed up with the whole thing.

I have been tempted to just put the stuff back on the shelf without sorting. And just when I am ready to do it, I think, but what is that going to accomplish...not much!! So back I go to sorting and giving away stuff I know I will never use again, etc. And then I think that I will never get done and back to creating stuff...anything...even a doodle on a scrap of paper...

Well, I am getting desperate and now have a definite deadline. As we have to travel back to Manhattan this Wednesday, I want the office done by Tuesday evening!!! Hopefully!?!?! Please???

One thing that I have discovered is that I like to try a lot of different things. Sometimes, I continue with the craft and do more. Other times I just want to try it once and that's it. It's not that I didn't enjoy doing it once...whatever the craft...but once is enough and then I am on to another type.

I don't feel this is a bad thing, but rather a way to stretch my imagination and test out new ideas and techniques. Unfortunately, one of the outcomes is that I have a lot of things around that I know I will not use again in any serious fashion...thus the sorting and giving away.

How about you, do you like to try out new things just to see if you like it? I hope so, because the experience will expand your horizons. And you may find a way to apply a new technique to an old craft or vice versa.

Well, I have taken enough time from my sorting and cleaning...so back to the studio cleaning!!!

Thanks for stopping by...

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?