Wordle Myrtle: My Friday Find

A few years back (2010) I discoverd the Wordle site and really had fun with it for awhile.  This week I discoverd my Wordle file along with this wordle that I have no recollection of making. But, clearly I did make it.  Finding it made me laugh out loud. 

I realize it probably won't affect you the same way. Ha!

Because you may not have ever read the book Piggle or may have not played "Piggle" with your kids.

 

 

 



If you have someone young to read to, I think you would really like Piggle.
 

Really.

 

Tilly, Milly, Hilly, Willy, Gilly, Lilly, Pilly, Billy

 

Silly.

Wednesday, Not Quite Wordless

 

The cold this week may not be too pleasant, but the light snows we've been having are beautiful.

:pause:
:enjoy:

 

 

 



Roots

 

 

 

 

I've yet to grow carrots or potatoes.  Think about it every year.  I did try beets once, but it didn't go well.  So, maybe this year?! I was about to peel these for supper and was thinking how satisfying it would be to grow my own.

I really enjoy peeling and cutting up vegetables. I guess it's the color and the texture that appeals to me. 

 ~::~

And, speaking of carrots.....

If you have time and weren't around here in 2009, heck, even if you were, maybe you'd like to read this again because it still makes me laugh!

 

 

I'm linking up with Kim for Texture Tuesday.  The above image was textured with "allard".

Friday Finds

I didn't have a post for today until I walked to the kitchen and caught sight of this glorious light reflecting on the wall in the living room.

The light was perfectly framing Joseph and baby Jesus (who are in a vintage bubble glass frame) almost like hands cupping the image.

The light was coming from way across the house through one window, reflecting off another window, and then streaming through a windowed door.

Just 3 minutes later it was less intense and moving off.

And, four minutes later, nearly gone.

A great find indeed.

Or maybe, it was more of a gift. 

BFFs (Big Fat Flakes)

It snowed for awhile this morning with some pretty big flakes.

Soooo.... I made a GIF from pictures take out our back door. 

(I saved it running 5 times, so if it's not moving, you need to click on it again.)

Texture Tuesday: Light

Last weekend when we ate at King Fong's, we of course, had tea.  The mood and lighting in the restaurant was warm and it was such a nice time.

 ~my daughter's hands~

I textured the photo with Kim Klassen's texture "Sanded".

This week the theme at Texture Tuesday is "Light"

Texture Tuesday

Saturday Digest

►Inspired by Alisa Burke's "Rustic Valentines", this was my card/token gift to my husband for Valentine's Day.

When I saw her post, I knew I already had log pieces cut just waiting for a project so I only needed to scrape off the bark and do the wood burning.

This led to more wood burning (a post for a later date) and put me on a quest for a better wood burner.  One that gets hotter and stays hotter longer.

►From the publishers of Mollie Makes comes Hoopla...get a preview here.  This magazine is promising!  I hope I can get it in the states.
►The preview above introduced me to this artist, Lucky Jackson.  I love her embroidery!!
►This book and puzzle combination looks to be most creative and clever! It's for kids, but wouldn't the adult with them love it too? (You have to look at all the images to see how the puzzle pieces are used.)

  ~I hope you are having a nice weekend~ 

I've had sick kids again so my weekend will be laying low and resting.

Friday Finds: Cozy in the Cold

After our visit to the Durham I posted about on Monday, we ate at a favorite restaurant, King Fong's which is almost 100 years old. I've only been there once in the past 20 some years and was excited to introduce my kids to it. The restaurant is upstairs in a very old building in downtown Omaha and when we left, it was beginning to snow lightly.

Now, that everyone is older, I enjoy dropping back behind my family if we walk somewhere.  To take them all in so to speak.

The city at night is a treat.  Just for a different experience from our more rural life.

This book store is next to the restaurant, but of course was closed.  Looks promising!  I've never been in it.

So true, right?  Never Enough Books.

Of course shooting pictures this way requires a slow shutter speed but the effect is nice actually.

The little blur is my granddaughter between her dad and her uncle.  She just tripped along as fast as she could between them thinking it was great fun.  

The bigger blur is my 8 year old who was loving how beautiful it all was along with me.  She just swooned over how striking the Woodmen was, take a picture she said!!

Sure! Although I edited all of these pictures, I didn't color correct much so the warm glow in the photos before is from incandescent lighting from the street lights.  However, the woodmen must be lit up with fluorescent lights as it had no yellow in it.  Just interesting I thought.

It was cold that night, but the lights, the height of the buildings, the snow, and the cloud cover made for quite a bit of "cozy" and I loved it!

Linking with Kim again this week:

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!  I hope the warmth you may find in this day spill into the week...the month...the year....

This day is so much more than a day for couples.

Texture Tuesday::Love

Kim's theme this week is "love" for texture Tuesday.  More paper dolls and hearts. You really should make some. :)

These were done with half of a doll and half a heart drawn on the accordion folded paper.

I used Kim's texture "Black and White" on the above image.

Linking here with Kim for Texture Tuesday.

Art Deco. Inspirational.

This past weekend, my family and I celebrated my birthday in "the city".  We visited the Durham Museum. I had forgotten how incredible this place was!  

It is housed in the restored Union Station in Omaha

and the Art Deco elements are inspiring to say the least.

They have quite a few bronze statues with recordings of conversations that may have happened "back in the day".

It's so easy to romanticize how wonderful these days were.  We toured the trains and it was so fun to imagine traveling on them.  It sounds great, but was probably hotter/colder/bumpier than my imagination lets me think.

Get your ticket.  What a great word.  "Ticket".  Infers you are about experience something wonderful doesn't it?

After seeing most of the museum, we stopped for an ice cream treat in the old time ice cream parlor.  

And, for popcorn....

The new traveling 1968 Exhibit was wonderful and if you are local I'd recommend it.   I really only took in a fraction of the information as my youngest girls did not share my enthusiasm for walking down memory lane, ha!  My legs are tired, when are we going to eat?  Sound familiar to any of you? We maybe should have stopped for ice cream sooner....

They wouldn't allow photography in the traveling 1968 exhibit so then I didn't take too many pictures after that.  I did stop to take this picture of a home scene from about the 1940s.  Loved this!  It's like the chair in my sewing room.

We have visited Union Stations in St. Louis and Kansas City. Omaha's is smaller yes, but still absolutely worth visiting!

My family sure thought the ceiling was grand, at least most of them, anyway!

Happy Monday to you!

Decorating with the Daily News and a Scissors

One of my girls is going to do a presentation for 4-H on how to make a string of paper dolls. While I was prepping her paper and figuring out how she could do this, I started messing around with hearts.   And, while the kids played the Wii (snow day from school) I kept cutting.

This was fun!  Then I thought maybe I would make a blog post about it.  So took some more pictures.

Cut a strip of a newspaper about anywhere from 2" -4" wide and use the full width of the paper.

Then accordion fold it. You really don't have to worry about this being too perfect at all. Just make the folds as close together as you can.  If the hearts vary a bit, it just makes them look better in my opinion.

Then either free hand cut (which is what I did) or draw yourself a heart, connecting the heart to both sides of the folds.  I  used a marker so you can see; I recommend using a pencil, so it won't show up later.

Holding the stack of paper tightly, cut out the heart.

Now, fold your heart in half.

Draw another, but smaller, heart inside the first one.

Cut it out.

Arg! Out of focus, but you get the idea. This is what you have now.

Open it up! 

I kind of like all the clippings too. :)

A couple of rolled up pieces of tape on the back of each end and they are hung in place.  Until the kids quit playing the Wii and admire them.  "Oops! I tore one Mom!"  More tape.

I think they look really neat at night.  

How about dolls and hearts together?  See my instagram photo.

Newspaper works so much better than copy paper because of the length you can get and it's easier to cut.  Especially if young hands will be cutting.  I think wrapping paper would work really well too!

It may be cathartic for some to cut up the daily news too!

And, do you love the irony of turning the news into the iconic symbol of love?!  

I do.

Linking with Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.

Staring It Straight in the Eye

This Sunday, I will turn 50.  

A couple of weeks ago, I was going down the rabbit hole of links on the computer and found myself at BHLDN.  It's the wedding site associated with Anthropologie.  I clicked on the sale tab and here were the most beautiful candle holders on clearance for $2 a piece.  I thought, hmm...who could I buy one for and then saw that the only numbers left were 0, 4, & 5.  Well, that left out my kids. Granddaughter for coming years?  And, then it hit me, 50!  Me, I could buy them for me.

And, I did.

Click, click, click, they were bought and on their way without me second guessing myself.

So, they've been sitting out for me to enjoy and contemplate this milestone birthday.

I'm not sure I have anything profound to say about it except that I'm grateful.  So very grateful for e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g in my life.  And, I'm happy to be celebrating another birthday.

A dear friend told me that I will never feel any older in my mind than I do now and I believe that is true.

How about you?  Any thoughts on growing older? 

Texture Tuesday

The above image was textured with Kim Klassen's "Epiphany" texture.

Download-Cut-Cut Again-Paste-Play

I found this web site, Caravan Shoppe, selling adorable prints and toy downloads before Christmas.  

And, I purchased the Olliblocks download to make for my grand daughter's upcoming birthday.  

Cute, yes?

My little girls pooled their money to buy the download of the smollhouse foldaway dollhouse.

The rooms are really cute!

I also thought I'd surprise my girls with the minifolk clothes for peg dolls.

I ordered (in bulk) the blocks and the peg dolls.  I finally got to the project in this past month.

It was not as easy as it would seem.  Now, that it's all said and done, I'm glad I did it but I thought I'd share my experience with you.

Things to be careful about or to consider should you try something similar:

► You can't just pick certain pages from a pdf to save and download.  You must send the whole file and tell the printer which pages you want printed.  I didn't want to pay for printing of instructions, etc.  

►Pay close attention to the instructions:  Ex. I had it all printed on card stock and then realized way too late that the peg doll clothes needed to be printed on regular paper. The instructions did say this. I missed it.  Card stock was way to heavy. (I realized this after I had fussy cut out all those clothes!!)  ugh.

►All the pieces need to be cut slightly smaller than they are printed.  Missed that too.  Had to cut many pieces a second time.  Even the full sheets need to be cut smaller.

►The full sheets for the dollhouse had to be mounted.  Cutting mat board takes a long time when you have a dull blade.  Even when you have a sharp blade.

►A mat cutting board and rotary cutter/exacto knife with a ruler are very handy here.  I wouldn't do this without those tools

►Mod Podge is messy, very messy when trying to adhere the clothes neatly to the rounded peg dolls.  Cut a lot of slits to let it overlap. Keep a bowl of water and towel close to keep cleaning off your fingers.

►I used double sided tape to mount the house pieces on the mat board.

►Ask if your kids even want the clothes.  Much to my dismay at first and then pure happiness after I did a couple----my girls were not excited about having the little peg dolls dressed and absolutely did not want faces on them.  "Sometimes we have them cry, sometimes they are happy"....I was told.

This is the first time, I've had a PDF professionally printed and they were so nicely done!  I am ready to buy more prints, just not so sure I want to do too much more cutting and Mod Podging....The instructions did recommend printing on sticker paper, but that would that have been very expensive.

Happy Monday!