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Jul 29, 2010

Garden Expansion

My garden has expanded since the last update. I haven't planted anything new, my pumpkins just started taking over the yard. Every few days I have to turn the pumpkin vines back in towards the garden, I hope they don't outgrow their area again.
garden

So far there are a few pumpkins that are a bit larger than my hand.

pumpkin

There are also more pumpkin blossoms popping up all the time. The bees love these pumpkins!

pumpkin blossom

Unfortunately these pests also love the pumpkins. I thought I had gotten rid of them all, but they are back.

pumpkin pests

The watermelon are doing pretty well too, their vines aren't quite as out of control as the pumpkins though.

watermelon

The tomatoes have grown enough to tell which is which. I was wrong with my guess; they are Green Zebra, Belize Pink Heart, then Lollipop. The Green Zebra tomato plant is the smallest of the three varieties, I am not sure if it is this particular plant or if they generally don't grow as much as other tomato plants.

green zebra tomatoes

The Belize Pink Heart tomato plant was the largest of the three plants at first, but the Lollipop tomato plant is possibly larger now. They are both way too big for their cages.

belize pink heart tomatoes

Some of the Lollipop tomatoes are ready to be eaten. I was going to pick the two yellowest of the bunch last night, maybe I will eat them in my lunch today.

lollypop tomatoes

The corn is getting so tall and they have tassels! When I first noticed the tassels a few days ago, I thought they were infested with bugs. I was definitely relieved to see I didn't have another bug problem and quite pleased to see the pretty red pollen grains.

corn tassel

I am so excited my garden is doing so well!

Jul 27, 2010

Headbands

Lately I haven't been able to not think about headbands; I am a little bit obsessed you could say. Winslow loves them too, headbands and ponytail holders are his favorite non-toy toys.

fabric flower headband

I bought some fabric flowers on clearance about a week ago and finally decided to use them to decorate a headband. The only problem is these fabric flowers have clips attached to them that I am not quite sure how to remove them.

clips on flowers

I was thinking I could just cut them off, but am afraid that little piece of felt is the only thing holding the flowers together. I decided to just clip the flowers onto the headband which worked fine until I tried to take it off and my hair got caught in the clips.

flowers clipped to headband

Maybe I will get a bit of courage and just cut the darn clips off so I can just glue the flowers on. In the mean time I have been looking at other headbands I can make. While perusing my feed reader for tutorials I found these lovelies that I may finally make: Rosette Headband from P.S. - I made this and Ruffly Headband from Heart of Light.

Another headband I have been thinking about making since posting the nautical items is a sailor knot headband. I just picked up some books from the library last night and am practicing my knot tying. No photos of knots yet, I think I am getting better at untying knots than actually tying them.

Jul 22, 2010

So Much Rhubarb

The other day I walked out into the back yard and noticed that there was a lot of rhubarb and it needed to be harvested soon! A few days later I finally figured out what I was going to make to use it up and went outside to harvest it.

rhubarb harvest

After bringing it inside I spent a long time cutting it all into small pieces. I mixed some of it with some cinnamon and sugar and added the mixture to spice cake mix.

rhubarb spice cake mixing

I ended up making two rectangular rhubarb spice cakes and took them into work so I wouldn't eat it all. My coworkers loved it, there was just a tiny piece left in the pan at the end of the day. Why are people reluctant to take the last piece?

rhubarb spice cake

Here is a slice. The rhubarb sort of blends in, but if you look closely you can see a few pieces. Most of the rhubarb was at the bottom of the cake, that area was extra moist and quite tart - so yummy.

rhubarb spice cake slice

I set aside a little bit of the spice cake batter before adding the rhubarb and made a round spice cake for my sister since she doesn't like rhubarb. (I am a really nice sister.)

spice cake

Here is my leftover rhubarb. It is in the freezer right now, I think I should be making some rhubarb something soon to use it up.

leftover rhubarb

What are your favorite rhubarb recipes? I think this rhubarb bread pudding has been my favorite so far.

Jul 20, 2010

My Photo 365 Update

It has been a few months since I last posted photos from my 365 project so I thought I would share my progress. Here are a few of the 130 pictures I have posted.

day one hundred and twenty five

day one hundred and ten

day ninety seven

day ninety two

day eighty eight

day eighty six

day seventy three

You can see them all here on my flickr.

Five facts about my photo 365:
1. I missed one day, was very upset about it and Kari told me to set a daily reminder alarm.
2. There are two underwater animals.
3. There are three pictures of sewing notions.
4. I am in four of the pictures.
5. Five pictures were taken from my front door.

Jul 15, 2010

Foam Coasters

In December I participated in a loom-along from Craftzine and knit these wrist warmers. There were prizes and I won a Cricut cutting machine from Provo Craft. If you couldn't tell from the lack of scrapbook or card projects on here, I don't really do many paper crafts unless you count the stiched paper bags which I try and make every chance I get.

I have cut out a few things with the Cricut, but these coasters are my first real project and I haven't figured out how to get them right yet. These blue doily shaped coasters were my first try. The blade just scored the foam and I ended up using a not-exacto-knife that was difficult to use and wished I had an exacto knife.

blue doily coasters

After working on these I decided to go buy the deep cut blade and housing for the Cricut. My next attempt with the new blade cut through the foam, but the settings I used were wrong and the cuts were more like tears.

green coasters with flowers
green coasters detail

After making the above green coasters I started adjusting the blade depth, pressure, and speed. I also thought the smaller, more intricate cutting designs probably wouldn't work in the foam so I changed the design again.

black coasters with flower

These black versions have been my most successful attempts yet. I am beginning to think that when using foam you will never get a perfectly smooth cut. The rough edges are slightly reduced in the black coaster on the left compared to the one on the right, but they are still there.

I am going to work on these coasters some more; try adjusting the settings a little, maybe switch to a different material. Have you had any experience using a Cricut for cutting foam? If you have any suggestions on ways to get a smoother cut or ideas on what other projects I can use the Cricut for I would love to hear them.

Jul 13, 2010

There are snickerdoodles inside!

Since it is the second Tuesday of the month I made a treat. And since I said so on Thursday, it is made with ice cream!

snickerdoodles and ice cream

While at the grocery store I saw some mini snickerdoodle cookies in the bulk section and had to buy them because snickerdoodles taste great and tiny versions of things are cute and fun! I decided the cinnamon in the cookie would be complimented by vanilla ice cream and ended up making this ice cream cookie layer thing in loaf pans.

in the pan

Here is what I did if you are interested in recreating it:
  1. Gather your materials. You will need cookies, ice cream, and a pan or two.
  2. Set out the ice cream and wait for it to soften.
  3. Create a layer of cookies on the bottom of the pan and top them with a thin layer of softened ice cream.
  4. Continue layering cookies and ice cream until they are all gone.
  5. Freeze your creation until solid, at least two hours.
  6. Eat your yummy treat!

a slice

Jul 8, 2010

Jul 6, 2010

Coaster Project

Here is a preview of the latest project I have started.

coasters

I am making more coasters and will share with you next week.

Jul 1, 2010

Stars & Stripes Pinwheel

Happy July! This month I have made a free pinwheel printable for you to celebrate Independence Day.
pinwheel

For this project you will need to print the stars and stripes pinwheel, scissors, some glue, a straw, and a paper fastener.

view stars and stripes pinwheel
download stars and stripes pinwheel.pdf