Leggings are not pants.

So Sunday morning started early as Luna got right up in our faces and sang her "pretty" songs like usual. I'm not gonna say it was easy getting up for church after our late Saturday night recording songs together in the living room. I might or might not of heard and comprehended the entire sermon that morning.

Yes, Saturday night my husby and I tried recording a couple songs. This was AFTER I came home and told him he looked attractive in his "artsy" outfit and new grown beard stubble. ( which feels like glass shards at the current length. I haven't figured out a good kissing method yet.) That is when we decided to get dinner write some songs. So, after I changed into some much needed comfy, not the most flattering pajamas after a long days work, my husband kind of looks at me and says "I'm not trying to say anything mean, but just so you know, sometimes it helps to look nice and artsy when you are about to record music".

Yes. I was not artsy enough. SO i put on the most artsy outfit I could muster. Black leggings, gray scarf, black turtle neck, black vesty thing. artsy hat.

And I went to Meijer. in leggings. With a shirt not long enough to justify wearing only leggings. I was wearing leggings as pant. Big no no.

He rushed me into it and I regretted the outfit choice as soon as I walked into the sliding Meijer doors. Oh well. At least he looked good.

After attempting to record two songs, we were less motivated and slightly depressed at how our songs were turning out and just ate the gallon of ice cream we got at Meijer.

Then the legging pants had to come off. They got too tight.

So our fun sounding artsy Saturday night turned out to be kind of a bummer. Oh well, maybe next time. Let this be a lesson to all...legging are not pants. I should know. I tried it.

Spoon Hanger

SUPPLIES:
~2 paint colors (main color for bottom, and a color to dry-brush top)~any craft store
~Floor board~Lowes, oak base $6.56
~Small nails~ Ace Hardware, 15x3/4" nickel plated bracket nails $3.00
~Old antique spoons~ Flea markets, antique stores, garage sales
~Hammer~
~Drill and small drill bit if possible~
~Paint brush~
~Saw tooth hangers~ Hobby Lobby, $1.47












These are pictures of the finished product. I also knitted a dish cloth, which I am not very good at so I am not giving instructions on how to knit. My idea was to hang this in my kitchen so that I can hang dish cloths on it. Want to make one? This is how!













You will need to start with a can of paint ( or a tube of acrylic) and a basic floor board. First, you paint the base color on the floor board.




















Next, Make sure your base board is completely dry, and your brush is completely dry. Than, dip the brush into the color you want to brush over the base coat. paint on a piece of scrap paper to get almost all the paint off your brush, then lightly paint over the floor board. This produces a weathered look and is called "dry brushing".
















Grab all the spoons you want to use. I found mine at a few Flea markets and Antique stores. I suggest using an odd number of spoons, because it is more appealing to the eye when it is all said and done.





















Here is where it gets tricky. In the end, you want two small holes in the spoons. One at the very end of the handle, and one right in the middle of the cupped part of the spoon. (they must be small enough so that the nail head does not go through when hammering the spoon to the base board!) I tried hammering the holes first. I found it extremely hard and tiring because of the thickness, so after breaking my dads small drill bit, I asked my neighbor who had a small drill to drill the wholes. This is the best way to do it if you can. USE A DRILL. When the holes are in place, bend the spoon as best you can to form an arc so that there is room to hang things from it.



















After all the spoons had holes, place them on the floor board and spread them out how you want them, and simply hammer the small nails into the holes. The nails will go through the back of the board, so you will need to hammer them flat against the back so they are not sticking out. When this is complete, line up the saw tooth hangers on the back ( I suggest using 2) and hammer them in. Now you are finished!!

Homemade Soap!

SUPPLIES:
~Glycerin soap~ Hobby Lobby, $14.99
~Fragrances~ Hobby Lobby, $2.99 each
~Coloring~ Hobby Lobby, about $ 3.99
~Moldings~Hobby Lobby, about $ 2.00
~Spices,cornmeal, oatmeal, anything you want to experiment with
~Drying rack~
~Microwave safe bowl~
~Extra virgin olive oil~






















I would highly recommend a "Soap Making 101" instructional book for beginners. This one had some really great ideas and a very large variety of soaps.



















These were the first two, which were done by the basic soap making process....2 cubes of soap in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time until melted, add 24 drops or more of fragrance, and pour into mold. Then I added coloring drops in four corners and left it there, and it made a sort of tye -dye effect.















Oatmeal and Cornmeal are great for your skin. The cornmeal is a natural exfoliate and the oatmeal softens the skin. They also make great texture in your soap and come out very nice. They have a distinct natural look to them.



















These are the finished soaps. There are not many step-by-step instructions because of how easy it is to make soap! The more natural, earth toned colored ones you see here are made through a "hand-milled" recipe. That is simply 2 cubes of soap in microwave for 20 seconds at a time until melted, and then 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 1 Tablespoon of water, and then add whatever you want to it to get the smell and look you want.

*TIP****** Cinnamon, and Peppermint oil are great fragrances. They are strong enough to over-power the smell of the glycerin.That bright blue soap you see is made with peppermint oil. It clears out your sinuses and has a very clean crisp smell.

Signs of the seasons

These boards are from Lowes, isle 16. the shorter/ fatter ones are
$ 1.99 each, and the skinner/longer ones are $1.45 each. Aspen wood, the cheapest.

If you would like to see the finished products, scroll down past all the instructions.

Anita's Acrylic Paint : Hobby Lobby, $.67 apiece. Not bad! It's the cheapest you can go.

Have a large rang of paint brushes ready. I have collected them over time through out my crafting experiences. It's always good to keep a stash on hand.

Get creative and try out some fonts before you paint. I always measure out the letters and spaces in between as well as write out in pencil what I am writing before I paint. Then you can just trace it!