What an amazing little clip! Peace!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Newest Brigid's Cross
Ok, here's the one made out of wheat stalks. It is a bit more difficult than using pipe cleaners! I made 2 of them. Here's some tips to make it a bit easier:
1. Soak your wheat stalks ALL day...no kidding. I put mine in a turkey roasting pan with water in the morning & left them there until 5:00. The longer the better or you'll end up breaking them.
2. Put three butter knives in the bottom (two on the ends & one to support the middle) of the pan & lay the wheat stalks on top. Weight down the wheat stalks with 2-3 more butter knives. So you're kinda making a butter knife & wheat stalk sandwhich ;)
3. You'll need a total of 14 stalks....two are straight...the rest will need to be folded in half. DO NOT FOLD STALKS AS YOU GO LIKE IN THE VIDEO ABOVE. This is VERY important! Fold them in half all at once & put them back in the water. Otherwise you'll be super frustrated as it will be almost impossible to hang on to the cross & folk wheat stalks at the same time. It may work if you had someone help you or if you're one of the Hindu gods with lots of arms.
4. You can just bend it in half in one spot...but I folded it several times over & over...each time right next to the last so that it softens it up. This makes it so the bend is not so sharp. It ends up being kinda squared. Did I say that right? I think I'd really have to show ya what I mean, especially if you're a visual person like me.
5. So once you've got it all together you'll need to fasten it. At this point make sure everything is nice & tight. You can let go of trying to hold it all together & just hold onto one arm of the cross. Now take a rubber band to fasten it...make sure it's real tight. Now do that to all the sides. It will look 'ugly', but that's ok because you'll end up cutting the rubber band part off...if you want.
6. Now decide how long you want your arms to be. Mine ended up being 8 1/2 inches long. I cut the arm where I wanted it, then I tied it with fake sinew. It's kind waxy & really strong so you can really tie it tight. It should make the ends fan out a little bit. Now if you didn't want to use sinew, you could use rubber bands & then tie pretty ribbon around the rubber bands to hide them. You'll still need to rubber band all of them first & then cut them to size & then rubber band them again. It will work better this way. It will just keep everything together while you're working.
7. Fresh reeds would be really nice to use. Maybe I'll have to make some of these in the Summer.
OH, I almost forgot...you take the heads off of the wheat stalks before you put them into the water. I'm saving mine to do something crafty with....like maybe a charm to hang up in the kitchen. Also, I got 2 crosses out of the wheat bunch I bought at Micheal's...with enough left over for half of another one. The bunch cost $5.99.
1. Soak your wheat stalks ALL day...no kidding. I put mine in a turkey roasting pan with water in the morning & left them there until 5:00. The longer the better or you'll end up breaking them.
2. Put three butter knives in the bottom (two on the ends & one to support the middle) of the pan & lay the wheat stalks on top. Weight down the wheat stalks with 2-3 more butter knives. So you're kinda making a butter knife & wheat stalk sandwhich ;)
3. You'll need a total of 14 stalks....two are straight...the rest will need to be folded in half. DO NOT FOLD STALKS AS YOU GO LIKE IN THE VIDEO ABOVE. This is VERY important! Fold them in half all at once & put them back in the water. Otherwise you'll be super frustrated as it will be almost impossible to hang on to the cross & folk wheat stalks at the same time. It may work if you had someone help you or if you're one of the Hindu gods with lots of arms.
4. You can just bend it in half in one spot...but I folded it several times over & over...each time right next to the last so that it softens it up. This makes it so the bend is not so sharp. It ends up being kinda squared. Did I say that right? I think I'd really have to show ya what I mean, especially if you're a visual person like me.
5. So once you've got it all together you'll need to fasten it. At this point make sure everything is nice & tight. You can let go of trying to hold it all together & just hold onto one arm of the cross. Now take a rubber band to fasten it...make sure it's real tight. Now do that to all the sides. It will look 'ugly', but that's ok because you'll end up cutting the rubber band part off...if you want.
6. Now decide how long you want your arms to be. Mine ended up being 8 1/2 inches long. I cut the arm where I wanted it, then I tied it with fake sinew. It's kind waxy & really strong so you can really tie it tight. It should make the ends fan out a little bit. Now if you didn't want to use sinew, you could use rubber bands & then tie pretty ribbon around the rubber bands to hide them. You'll still need to rubber band all of them first & then cut them to size & then rubber band them again. It will work better this way. It will just keep everything together while you're working.
7. Fresh reeds would be really nice to use. Maybe I'll have to make some of these in the Summer.
OH, I almost forgot...you take the heads off of the wheat stalks before you put them into the water. I'm saving mine to do something crafty with....like maybe a charm to hang up in the kitchen. Also, I got 2 crosses out of the wheat bunch I bought at Micheal's...with enough left over for half of another one. The bunch cost $5.99.
Well That's Cool!
Got this in my email today. It's from Schmap.
Hi Karmen,
I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo
has been selected for inclusion in the newly released sixth
edition of our Schmap Seattle Guide:
It's for Volunteer Park
Here's the picture. It's of the conservatory at Volunteer Park in Seattle WA. It's from our family vacation there in August.
Hi Karmen,
I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo
has been selected for inclusion in the newly released sixth
edition of our Schmap Seattle Guide:
It's for Volunteer Park
Here's the picture. It's of the conservatory at Volunteer Park in Seattle WA. It's from our family vacation there in August.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Making A Brigid's Cross
So since Tony's going to be blacksmithing, I've been looking up some info about The Goddess Brigid (or St. Brigid). She is the Goddess of blacksmithing, among other things. February is Brigid's month & her holiday is called Imbolc, which is traditionally on February 1st. So...I thought due to the timing of Tony getting his blacksmithing tools & Imbolc being just around the corner, that it would be the perfect time to make a couple Brigid's Crosses.
Following along with the video below & using pipe cleaners like my friend Crystal suggested, I managed to make this Brigid's Cross in under 15 minutes. This was my test run, so now I'll try it with wheat stalks sometime this weekend. Stay tuned to see how those turn out ;) Really though, I don't think the pipe cleaners look all that bad & would be a great way to get the hang of it. With a little help, it would be simple enough for the kiddos.
Following along with the video below & using pipe cleaners like my friend Crystal suggested, I managed to make this Brigid's Cross in under 15 minutes. This was my test run, so now I'll try it with wheat stalks sometime this weekend. Stay tuned to see how those turn out ;) Really though, I don't think the pipe cleaners look all that bad & would be a great way to get the hang of it. With a little help, it would be simple enough for the kiddos.
Tony's Been Busy
Last Thursday we took off on a little adventure. Tony found blacksmithing tools, forge, anvil, etc. for sale in the paper. So after breakfast, off we went. We had to go to Naples, which is North of Sandpoint by quite a bit. So we bought everything & now Tony is fixing up the little red shed for his shop. Here's a picture of the mess he's making in the back yard. Actually, he did clean it up & took it off to the dump...but only after I salvaged some of the wood. LOL
Monday, January 5, 2009
Wisdom on a Starbuck's cup....
This is another quote from Starbuck's, The Way I See It quotes on their cups.
Why are we inspired by another person's courage? Maybe because it gives us the sweet & genuine surprise of discovering some trace, at least, of the same courage in ourselves.
--Laurence Shames
Why are we inspired by another person's courage? Maybe because it gives us the sweet & genuine surprise of discovering some trace, at least, of the same courage in ourselves.
--Laurence Shames
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Shining Stars Are Everywhere
Last night I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep...no such luck! These words popped into my head & kept repeating...so after the tenth time, I got up, ran downstairs to the studio & wrote it down. So here it is....There are people in this world,
Who shine bright...
Not to make you feel small,
But to be a shining star to lead the way,
To show you the possibilities,
As if to say,
If I can,
So can you.
Take a look around...Who are your shining stars? Think on this...YOU may be someones shining star. Even in the smallest ways we are all shining stars to someone, in some way, on any ordinary day....You may be shining & not even know it!
Many thanks to all of my shining stars out there who's brightness has inspired me in so many ways! Now I bet you're wondering who you are? Is it YOU? Stay tuned!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Snow, Snow, Go Away....
...come back another day...or maybe just come back next year......It just won't stop snowing! Since I don't snowboard, ski, ice skate, snowshoe or do any other outdoor winter activity, I'm so ready for anything but snow. So far we've gotten over 5 feet of snow & it's still snowing. At least I have tons of projects to do in the house. Now that the holidays are over, it's time to get crackin'! Here's the latest pictures of our winter wonderland.
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