I have three big dogs so we go through a lot of toys.  Here’s an easy toy that takes seconds to make.  You can use white socks if your dog eats toys like this.  I take a women’s knee sock or a man’s tube sock or longer white sock of any kind, and place a water bottle with the top of the bottle facing down, into the sock.  Pull it as far as you can until it can’t move and then tie a knot.  You should have enough room to tie at least one more knot and possibly two.  This toy is great for one dog to chew and two dogs to pull. It is also long enough for you to pull with your dog.  I found my knee socks for a quarter at a garage sale and the water bottle costs almost nothing, so you’ve got a really inexpensive toy.

Happy 4th of July!  I had a terrific day.  I saw one of my college friends and gave her the coloring “books” that I had made for her and our other good friend from school.  She said she had been thinking of buying herself coloring supplies so I was really glad that she hadn’t.  It was great to spend time with her and we went to an art gallery/pottery store that’s in a refurbished old barn.  There were a ton of different types of arts there and it gave me some really good ideas for YouTube videos.  One project in particular that I really liked, was a jar that had layers of different beads inside, as well as a leather strap wrapped around the top of the bottle with a few charms on it.  The jar was a diy bracelet, and I thought the idea was really terrific.  And so easy to make!  I’ll have to keep this idea in mind at Christmas time, because it would make a sweet little present for a pre-teen or teenager and would be something that they could make while they are off for Christmas break.  I hope I don’t forget about this project and do try to keep a list of things I plan on making on video, but currently, don’t know where I put my journal of YouTube video ideas.  It’s not really a great idea if you can’t remember where you keep them.

We went to dinner with close friends and then tried to go to Hobby Lobby, but they were already closed, as were Michaels.  Oddly enough, Kohls, The Dollar Tree and Target were all open.  Sadly, we didn’t get to do any craft shopping, but I did enough of that a couple of days ago.  I really wanted to go to Michaels to pick up a pack of their white 110 pound cardstock.  It’s a really heavy paper and much nicer than the Georgia Pacific 110 pound cardstock that you can find at Walmart.  I’m not sure how they determine 110 pounds, but the Walmart paper is really flimsy compared to the Michaels version.  I just used the last (finally) of the Georgia Pacific paper and although I have some Neenah 110 pound, I like the Recollections paper better.  I have it in cream, but would really like to get the white.

All in all, it was a great 4th of July, I always enjoy spending time with the people I love and I hope you had a lovely day as well.

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I’m spending tomorrow with a very old college friend and am really looking forward to it.  She has a stressful job and I’m going to make her a small gift.  I know I referenced this before, but I  thought it would be fun to make her a small coloring set.  She and another friend from school work very close to each other in Pittsburgh and are able to get together often and I’m sad I don’t get to do the same.  They are both in stressful positions and I thought they would both benefit from a portable coloring collection.  I bought them both a set of dual tip (very inexpensive) markers from A C Moore.  I’m going to stamp on some small paper that I’ll include with the marker and using an O-ring (I’m pretty sure that’s what they call those circles that hold papers), I’ll attach the stamped papers to the markers so they can color on the go.  I thought it would be nice since they both ride the bus for thirty plus minutes and this should give them something to de-stress along the way.  By the time they get home, they should feel a little better about their jobs and life in general.  I’ve never asked them if they like to color, but you never know until you try.  I hope they like the gift and give coloring a whirl.

Sometimes when I blog, I can’t remember if I thought of something I want to talk about on the blog or if I’ve already talked about it.  If it happens that I am repetitive, I really apologize as it’s definitely not my intent.  I’m hoping this stays as fresh as possible, considering I try to write on it, in it?, daily   Isn’t it strange that I don’t really understand the terminology for a blog.  Am I writing in it like a journal, or am I writing on it, like when someone posts something on Facebook.  I’m kind of confused by this.  Whichever is the correct terminology, let’s all assume I’m using the correct version and go with it.  I hope it’s a plan we can live with.

We are going to Rich’s brother’s house for a fourth of July party and I’m really excited to go (for all the wrong reasons.)  There is a brand new really large Hobby Lobby within five minutes of his house and I’m going to leave Rich with his brother and spend some quality Sandy time at the craft store.  There’s nothing more relaxing than browsing around a huge craft store and I rarely get the chance to do it.  Our closest big stores are an hour away and I’m not (in my opinion), the best driver on highly travelled four lane streets.  It’s best that I avoid those driving situations and stick to ones less congested.  So I’m going to have some Sandy fun and am excited for the opportunity.

I forgot to mention I was at a garage sale a few days ago and found a lady getting rid of her soap making supplies. She uses the kind you melt and pour.  I used to make soap bars for co-workers a really long time ago and thought it would be fun to get back into it.  I was looking online for recipes and found one for a dog shampoo and thought that would be fun to try and it works well with my “going to the dogs” series.  I’m looking forward to playing with soap again and think I even have some of my old molds. Several molds were included with the supplies I acquired at the garage sale as well.

I’m not sure if every crafter knows what to do when their alcohol markers start to dry out,  so I thought I’d do a little tutorial on it.  All you need is 91% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) and a eye dropper (that you only use for this purpose.)   Using a pair of tweezers, remove the larger nib and then using the eye dropper, squeeze 4-5 drops of alcohol into the opening of the marker where the nib was.  Replace the nib and let the marker lay on its side overnight.  It should work fine.  If it’s still not working, I’m not sure what else you can do beside buying a re inker for it or a new marker.  Lindsay, the Frugal Crafter recommends denatured alcohol because it is stronger with less water which is why I use the 91%.  Other crafters have use the cheap alcohol and it’s worked for them.  I thought by using the highest concentrate of alcohol, I was close enough to Lindsay’s recommendation and I’ve never had a problem using it.

I had my garage sale today to get rid of the rest of my scrapbooking things that just needed to go.  I did pretty well with the crafting supplies but of course, the bigger items are still lingering.  I think I’m going to be living with that Cuttlebug forever.  I’m proud of what I did get rid of though, and am glad that it’s finally over.  I packed up everything (except the Cuttlebug) to donate to a local family charity and have virtually de-cluttered some of my mess.

First thing in the morning, Rich put up the signs and it started to sprinkle.  Within thirty minutes, it was a total downpour and we were freezing from the temperature change.  I had dressed for it, but it was still really cool.  The people kept coming throughout the morning and then about noon, the people just stopped.  We waiting another hour (still raining) and then took down the signs (which had already fallen), and packed everything up. The minute we took down the signs, the rain stopped  and the sun was shining, naturally.  As soon as everything was packed, people started coming.  We actually had people going through the bags and boxes we had packed because apparently, they were in need of a deal.  I’m glad we had the sale, but Lynn and I agreed that they are a lot of work and we end up donating about half of the items anyway.    We should just skip the garage sale step and go right to donating in the future.  It was a sound idea.

Our two older retrievers needed to go to the groomers for their summer hair cuts.  Our old groomer moved out of the area, so we have a new groomer.  I spoke with her on the telephone and she wanted to know exactly how to cut their hair.  I said I thought I wanted their hair to be short, but I didn’t want it shorter than a Labrador Retriever.  (There’s a reason I’m writing this blog, trust me.)  So after our conversation she was completely confident that she knew what I wanted (as was I.)  Unfortunately, when our dogs got home, Honey barked at them because she didn’t recognize them.  They got a buzz cut (like in the military.)  The groomer didn’t cut the hair on their heads or the lower parts of their legs or some of their tail.  Since I’ve been doing the “going to the dogs” series on YouTube, people might not even realize these are the same dogs.  They look a little bit unusual to say the least.  I guess the next time they go to the groomers I’ll tell her to cut their hair as short as the hair on their faces, and maybe they won’t be bald.  Poor things, they aren’t very attractive, that’s for sure. They remind me of sheep after they’ve been sheared (I’m pretty sure that’s what it’s called.)  Anyway, I think we’ve all had a bad hair cut in our lives.  I remember one bad hair cut and hearing my mother say that I shouldn’t worry because it will grow. Poor dogs, don’t worry, it’s going to grow, unfortunately not before they’ve been videotaped on several occasions for the whole world to see.  Some bad hair cuts live forever.

I want to do a card a month on video to help create a bunch to send to our men and women who are serving our country overseas.  I have a local group called “Project Support our Troops” that I have volunteered with for many years.  They send 60-70 boxes of “goodies” to our troops overseas every month and several hundred for Christmas.  If you would like to participate, you can mail any cards for them (without glitter or foil for their protection) to
Project Support our Troops
c/o Laurie’s Embroidery
283 North Street Plaza
Meadville, PA 16335

You can send cards that you make for the troops to thank them, which is what I am doing on the videos, or you can send cards that you make for them to send home to their friends and families.  Both are truly appreciated by them.

I used white 110 pound Neenah Solar White paper for this card.  It is one-half of a sheet of paper cut on the long side, so it is 5 1/2″ long and 8 1/2″ tall, scored at 4 1/4″ to make it an A2 size card.

I used Real Red ink from Stampin’ Up as well as Night of Navy ink also from Stampin’ Up.    The stamps that are patriotic are from Stamps Defined and the set is called Celebrate America.  I also used some small star stamps from Rubber Stamp Tapestry and really recommend their stamps.  They are so easy for me to use and I love the owner, Rebecca, who is so helpful and lovely to work with

Sometimes I get into a zone and go crazy making videos.  I just came out of a big streak where I uploaded four of them, all completely different from each other.  I wanted to make sure I had a patriotic card for 4th of July to send to the troops overseas, done.  I am consumed with making my “going to the dogs” series and finished the first of the dog toy videos.  I had to re-wet an alcohol marker so I thought I would do that on video as I’m not sure if every subscriber knows how to do that, and finally, I made the graduation card for our great nephew.  Geez, great nephew, that makes me seem so old.  If only I had some mental maturity to match my age.  Luckily, in my head, I’m pretty immature and that works for me.

So let me tell you a little bit about my videos.  The patriotic card was really a one sheet wonder, but I think it came out great.  I found a set of acrylics stamps on Ebay that were perfect for sending cards to the troops.  I used the sentiments from that set and then used a couple really cute stamps from Rubber Stamp Tapestry that made the card stand out and not just look like a single piece of cardstock.  I tried to make a card using Gelatos, but that did not go well, so I scrapped it.  I thought I could make a card using punched stars as masks and then put a stencil over it and Gelato through the stencil.  It did not go well, so another Gelato fail.  Darn it.  As for the graduation card, I’m sure there are tons of graduation cap cards on YouTube, but I wanted to make my own including a handmade tassel.  The tassel came out pretty well and would have been a lot easier to make if I had my bow jig but couldn’t find it.  Of course, as soon as the video was done, I found the bow jig and I’ll probably forget where it is when I need it the next time.  I can look right at something and still not see it.  Geez!  I’m really glad the graduation card is finished as I felt pretty bad that I hadn’t made it closer to his graduation.  He’s already left for college, so now I have to get his new address.  He may not get his card until Christmas at the rate I am going.

I have a lot more ideas for my dog series and think it’s perfect for summer.  Once I get a few of them online, I’ll start making old things new again.  I think that will be a great series and will help me stay on top of things I want to get done.

All in all, a great crafty day.

I have girlfriends that have very stressful jobs and need some sort of break from their routines, in my opinion.  I’ve been there and feel their pain.  I decided I’d like to do something for them.  I’m sure this is out there on YouTube somewhere, but I’ve never looked into it.  I’m going to make them their own small travel coloring book kit.  I’m going to make a folder that will house smaller coloring pages and have a pocket for their coloring medium.  I may buy them some Crayola markers or some good, inexpensive colored pencils for inside.  I’ve really started liking the Crayola markers as they are really juicy and inexpensive and have a ton of colors.  I may even do a tutorial on the project including coloring with whatever medium I choose.

The coloring craze was not in (by many years) when I was working, and I really wish it had been.  I needed something to break me out of my angst and stress, and allow me to shut my brain down for a few minutes.  So with as much love as I can muster, I’m doing what I can to help my friends to have a few moments of pure nothingness in their workday, because that’s what friends are for.