AMANDA'S BASKETS: WEEKEND REST, ADDING BEADS TO ORNAMENTS, THANKFULESS

Monday, November 21, 2016

WEEKEND REST, ADDING BEADS TO ORNAMENTS, THANKFULESS

Grant us the grace to change what is easy,

The courage to change what is difficult,

And the wisdom to see the need for both.

WEEKEND REST

How was your weekend? I decided to take Sunday and truly rest. Kept on my pj's and the daybed in bed mode rather than seating mode. I watched football games (bonus, my Vikings won), read, colored in a Christmas coloring book given to me by my daughter, hand stitched ornaments, played in Pinterest, munched on homemade popcorn. (The type you make on the stove, not in the microwave.), found new blogs to read...I haven't spent a day like that in ages and it was fun, relaxing and just plain enjoyable. Guess I am getting geared up to this week's holiday.

The forecast is for rain on Thursday. Hope not because going to the parade in the rain isn't fun, but there are lots less folks around. Have to see how bad the rain is. If it's raining buckets, then I guess staying home is an option.

ADDING BEADS TO ORNAMENTS

One of the ornaments I was working on this weekend was the yo-yo Christmas Tree...

When I made the first sample, I added the beads after the tree was assembled. It was definitely difficult. So I am adding the beads to each yo-yo...

Five beads for the largest two, four for the next two sizes and three for the last two. If you do this type of beading and don't have a beading tray to work with, I have a trick for you to use. I get a heavy cereal size bowl, fold a terrycloth washcloth and slip it inside, then add the beads.

Make sure the washcloth is a different color than the beads. This makes it easy to see the bead holes and your needle can go into the washcloth with no damage to get the bead on. Check this out...

A great bonus, it's really hard to tip the bowl over and lose the beads.

Another tip...do your beads get full of static electricity and jump all over? Mine did. I keep mine in a plastic box designed to hold a variety of beads. If you place a dryer sheet over the beads which is thin enough to still allow for the top to close securely, the static electricity stops. Gotta love those dryer sheets!!!

THANKFULNESS
So, tell me have you thought of what you are thankful for today? If your like me, there are some days when the political news is so depressing it's hard to be thankful for anything. But, then, I realize that I did wake up this morning after a wonderful night of restful sleep. I had plenty to eat, the lights are on, etc., etc., etc. So, yes there is still plenty to be thankful for and today I am thankful for my cats - Chip and Dale. They drive me crazy at times, but they always snuggle with me and keep me warm.

That's all I got for today...
Thanks for stopping by...
Talk to 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?