So the day started out very hopeful, full of organization with my little chair, painter’s tape, stencil, paints, you name it.  I taped the stencil onto the top portion of the very tiny chair and thought, this shouldn’t be too tough.  I had the right tools, the right attitude and the stencil was tiny, maybe six inches of daisies.  Six inches of pure unadulterated pain is what it was.  I couldn’t do one thing right.  The daisies looked like a five year old had stenciled them and even though I taped the stencil in place, it looked like crap.  Crappy, crappy, crappy.  I was almost crying by the time I threw in the towel on the project from hell.  I have no idea how a stenciling project could have turned into a paint splatter problem, but I had paint from my chin to my elbows to my wrists and of course, covering my hands.  They were actually raw by the time I got the paint off of them.

I felt like a failure and it brought back the memory of my one other stenciling from the 1980’s when I decided I could stencil my mailbox.  Back in those days people stenciled walls, doorways, mailboxes, you name it.  I thought “how hard could it be?”  The answer is clear.  Stenciling is hard to do and do well.  I even did the stenciling with a stencil brush this time and I should have just free-handed the daisies as I think I could have done a much better job.  I was so embarrassed by the mess, I just took a towel and wiped as much of the paint off as I possibly could.  Almost all of it.  The chair is back to being blue and I’m over stenciling.  My new plan is to take paint markers and paint the image in and make it look like whatever kind of flower I can muster.  I may even try to use some of my stamps and some Staz On and ink the stupid chair.  I’m so downtrodden over this project, I’d like to burn the stupid thing.  The worst part is I think my girlfriend was relieved to see the chair go back into my car (and she never really saw the big mess I made on it.)  I hate to admit defeat, but this chair has me ready to scream “Uncle.”  What the heck makes people do that?  And who came up with it anyway?  I’m just too tired to find out.  Maybe I’ll be inclined to check into it tomorrow.  For now I’m going to bed and hoping I forget all about the stenciling debacle and that some day I produce a chair that’s not a total embarrassment.  Until then, I’m hoping I develop amnesia about the whole day and never mention it again.  Sometimes crafting can really stink.  Today was one of those days.  Uncle!

Garage sales today were so much fun.  I found some great things to make unique small wreaths with and have been thinking about how much fun it would be to make little wreaths with small pine cones or berries or buttons on them.  It’s something that’s been really brewing in my brain.

I also started working on a small chair that I bought a huge mum to set inside the seat.  The seat was wicker that was woven and coming apart, so I cut it off and sanded the entire chair.  It took forever to get it semi-ok, and I’m not totally thrilled with it but I spray painted it a sea-blue color and then tomorrow my goal is to stencil the top of it and put the mum inside and bada-bing, instant cute chair/plant stand.  (Or ugly total failure.)

I’m not sure about my stenciling skills as I haven’t tried stenciling on wood since the 1980’s, and that was a total complete 100% horrible failure.  I’m pretty worried about it especially when I might have to do the stenciling at my girlfriend’s home if I run out of time waiting for the paint to dry.  So far the paint is just tacky and I know I won’t be able to stencil over it so I guess, tomorrow is another day.  I’m still very worried, but am keeping an open mind about it.  This has disaster written all over it.

I started my day early, 4AM, because I had misplaced the opening segment to one of my videos and just could not sleep until I found it.  Luckily it was on a memory card that I thought had another video on it, so was able to go back to bed relatively quickly.  Rich put a video up today and has several more that need to go live as well.  At this point I think he has eight videos waiting to go up.  I think if he actually knew the number of videos awaiting him, he might just quit and I’d be looking for a new editor/husband.  He’s a really great sport about this whole process.  He knows I’m doing this to keep myself occupied and to allow other people with similar health concerns to find an outlet for their creative side.  Luckily he also loves technology and the computer, two things that are mandatory in creating videos (at least that’s what I’ve been told.)  My total video experience is based around using the camera and creating the video content.  Once I do that, I hand Rich the memory card and we are off and running.

I’m really excited about the quality of the videos I’ve just done for Rubber Stamp Tapestry, the Peg Stamp people.  They sent me their new red rubber stamp line and I wanted to do their product and their company justice in my video introducing their new line and how I will store them.  I also did a second video that showed the stamps in use.  Both of those videos will be the next to go live and we should see the first one tomorrow that introduces the stamps and shows storage, then on 9/4, we should have the other video live that is a demonstration of use of the new red rubber stamps.  These are really high quality red rubber and are so deeply etched, that I don’t use any foam backing and show how I do use them in the Misti.  I’m thrilled that they trusted me to allow me to introduce their new line of stamps along with Lindsay, the Frugal Crafter, who is their official YouTuber.  I’m excited that they put me in the same league as Lindsay (ok, maybe it’s only in my mind, but that’s how I’m choosing to see it.)  So please check out the new line of red rubber stamps from the Peg Stamp people as they are perfect to use with their traditional peg stamps and on their own.

I’m making a few videos with pre teen and teenagers based on the projects they want to do.  Peyton (who is 11) wanted to refurbish old cowboy hats and turn them into hats she and her friends could wear to a country western show at our local fair.  She chose the hats, the ribbons and accessories and was not very interested in talking or being seen on video.  She used hot glue to glue her ribbon and feathers in place and used a safety pin with three beads on it as the accessory.  I apologize for the lack of sound and the fact that it was difficult to se what we were doing as she wasn’t accustomed to working with the project facing the camera.  All in all, she did a terrific job and I hope she likes her video.

I buy my chocolate wafers at A C Moore usually on sale for $1.99 a bag.  I buy dark chocolate but they aren’t bitter like a normal dark chocolate, and have a nice chocolaty taste.  I put the wafers in a microwave safe bowl and microwave them for 30 seconds at a time then stir and microwave another 30 seconds and stir.  You should have completely melted chocolates within 1 1/2 minute at the most.  I buy Dole raspberries and if they are large, cut them in half.  Don’t wash the raspberries or they will break down, just wipe them with a wet paper towel if they need it.  I take a teaspoon and put a dollop of melted chocolate in the bottom of my ice cube tray, then drop in a raspberry and then cover the rest of the hole with chocolate and use a spatula to level off the top.

Your tray should have a silicone bottom so you can pop out your chocolates.  Regular ice cube trays are difficult to use for this technique.  I found these trays for $2 each at a kitchen supply store.
After your chocolate has filled the tray, take a paper towel and wipe off the edge of the tray and make sure you get as much off as possible for a better finished look.  Put them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours until they are hard.  They will get soft very quickly in a warm environment (like summer), so make sure you don’t take them out of the refrigerator until you are ready to eat them.  If your bottom edges look rough, simply use a dry paper towel and gently rub the edge and the excess chocolate will come off,  You can use dried fruits as well. I like dried cherries, blueberries and raisins.  If you use a smaller fruit like a raisin, simply add more fruit to make up for the size difference.
If you have ever purchased chocolate covered fruits, they can be quite expensive.  I recommend you giving these a try to save yourself a significant amount of money and impress your friends and family with a great dessert treat.  These are really addicting and I hope you’ll give them a try.

I was a crafting fool today.  I decided I should use my new Rubber Stamp Tapestry red rubber stamps, but wanted to show them and how I was going to store them first.  Video number one, in the bag.  Of course my next video was using the stamps, so I made a card for a friend who is recovering from gall bladder surgery.  That video took a little longer, but the card was pretty great when I was finished with it, in my opinion.  We went out to supper with friends and when I got home, I had a text from Peyton (the cowboy hat video) saying that she enjoyed her video and was ready to make more.  I had to laugh because it took absolutely everything I had to get her to talk on camera and she did not want to be seen on camera either.  Wow, how things have changed in a  very short amount of time.

I was thinking about reading, but had been wanting to do a video on a back-to-school composition book makeover video and decided to tackle that instead.  My great nieces and I had done this project while I was in D.C. and we found there were a few tricks to doing it properly and that all composition books were not created equally in dimensions, so they aren’t exactly simple to cover.  I made the video and had more mistakes doing it myself then when I had done it with the teens last weekend.  You’d have thought I would have learned something from making the exact same project twice before, but no, I had to redo a lot of the process as I kept making mistake after mistake.  In the end, it came out fine, but my tripod had been bent at a weird angle so all of the videos I made today were too close to the subject matter and I had things out of frame and you know how I absolutely HATE that.  I finally figured out my tripod problem about five minutes before the end of the last video.  I guess I’ll never get this process down pat.  Maybe if I do, it won’t be any fun anymore, but I’m sure we’ll be waiting a very long time to find out for sure.

Since starting my YouTube channel, I have made so many really wonderful friends.  Almost from the very beginning, I met one of the owners of Rubber Stamp Tapestry aka pegstamps.com, named Rebecca.   Initially she wanted my input on her stamps and how they work for the crafter with physical limitations.  She sent me some sets and I was amazed that 1. she found my site as it was really new, and 2. that she cared what I thought.

Rebecca has kept in touch with me and given me a lot of valuable advice along the way.  She understands the goals for my channel,  as I’m not looking to sell anything, I just want people like myself to have a voice on YouTube.  So today in the mail I got a package from her.  I’d ordered some inks and another flower stamp (I can’t pass up any of her open flower peg stamps.)  Inside the package was a note from Rebecca, (there always is), thanking me for my order, asking how I was doing and what I thought of her new line of stamps.  They are branching out into a line of red rubber stamps that are on a sheet and work perfectly with their peg stamps.  There are baskets and barrels and tubs and bicycles, perfect for filling with her other line of stamps.  I think they are absolutely beautiful and can’t wait to make a video using them tomorrow.  Of course, Lindsay, the Frugal Crafter will be making one as well, but I’ll just link my video to hers and my viewers can use her promotional codes for discounts.  Rebecca offered my own promotional codes but I wouldn’t feel like she is getting enough bang for her buck with my site and she deserves the kind of audience that Lindsay can bring to her.  Of course I am absolutely thrilled to be part of her “family” of crafters, and can’t wait to see her stamp sets take flight.  I’m thrilled for her and her new venture and hope you’ll check out the videos and the new line of Rubber Stamp Tapestry stamps that you can find at http://www.pegstamps.com.  I can’t wait for you to let me know what you think in the comments on my videos.  You know I always love hearing from you!

Today is a travel day involving at least a six hour drive home.  I dread long drives especially in a lot of traffic.  It did take us almost eight hours as we got into a construction zone, so we were exhausted by the time we got home.  I was ready to get back into my own routine again and starting by falling into bed at 9 PM.  Life is good.

Crafting with teenagers frankly makes me feel old.  I had to laugh as I was riding around with our two great-nieces, as I had almost no idea what they were talking about.  The terminology they used made me feel like I was 100 and I was beginning to think I’d entered another dimension.  One thing that stays true, though, is the good hearted nature of teenagers when they are on a mission.  They were completely focused on the job at hand and made great crafts and were a joy to hang with.  Is hang still a word?  I learned so many words I was using were incorrect that now I’m not sure what’s right or wrong.  I had a terrific time though and got three pretty terrific videos in the end.  I realized there’s such a huge difference between my first video with an eleven year old where I couldn’t get her to speak up or turn her project so the camera could capture it, to working with 15 and 17 year olds who were old hats (definitely not a saying that is used any more) at making videos.  They were so much fun and wanted to do more and more things and had terrific ideas along the way.  It was such a great weekend spent in DC, I was sorry to leave the family behind.

Our last video involved shrinking #6 plastic into small art, and it worked great, but we thought we were using number 6 only to find we were not.  Long story short, it’s number 6 or you have a long curled piece of plastic on your hands.  Funny, but not usable.