I can honestly say I’ve been working like a little beaver on cards.  In the last few days, I’ve made a fun fold that’s kind of confusing, but turned out great, a cute shaker card using the Valentine’s Days sets from pegstamps.com, and one that I made up as I went along. They all turned out really cute, and I have a few more that I’d like to make before leaving on vacation.

Speaking of vacation..they’re never fun if you fret about your animals, and we have found a woman in her mid-twenties that the dogs really like…She stays with them the whole week, so they are never alone and Rich bought me Blink cameras for Christmas…one for inside the house when we travel, so we can look in on the dogs…we will make sure to tell our housesitter that it’s there, so she doesn’t think we’re spying on her, as that would be a little weird (to me.)

Back to crafty things…I’m also working on some more covered note pad videos..I love making them, because they’re useful and fun to make.  A win, win…

On a side note, I seriously need to clean my craft room.  It looks like crafts exploded in there.  But once I’m in the room, I see something, and think, I should make a video on that craft, and the cleaning…

I came up with an idea of what to do next in my art journal.  I bought a big Prima stamp of a woman’s head with long flowing hair in a halo around her head…I thought maybe I could use different colors of embroidery floss in small circles to create ringlets..Maybe dip the floss in Mod Podge and then put it onto the image…We’ll see how this goes, but it sounded like a good idea…We never know until we try….

The stamps included in this video are pegstamps.com spring release.

I want to thank Rebecca Walton, owner of pegstamps.com, for sending me all of these wonderful stamps. I really enjoy using them and think they are terrific additions to any stamper’s collection. I love using these stamps because they are made to be easy to hold, and are particularly great for people with hand/wrist issues like myself.

As a reminder, you can always purchase individual stamps from the sets they sell, instead of buying the entire set, if you’d prefer.

Valentine Sets:

To My Valentine link: https://pegstamps.com/product/to-my-valentine-2/

Follow Your Heart link: https://pegstamps.com/product/follow-your-heart/

St Patrick’s Day Sets:

Luck of the Irish link: https://pegstamps.com/product/luck-of-the-irish/

Shamrock and Clover link: https://pegstamps.com/product/shamrock-and-clover/

Beer Garden link: https://pegstamps.com/product/beer-garden/

Spring Sets:

Go Fly a Kite: https://pegstamps.com/product/go-fly-a-kite/

Field of Tulips: https://pegstamps.com/product/field-of-tulips/

Hummingbird Patio Set: https://pegstamps.com/product/hummingbird-patio/

Cherry Tree in Bloom: https://pegstamps.com/product/cherry-tree-in-bloom/

Easter Set:

Easter Blessings link: https://pegstamps.com/product/easter-blessings/

Individual Stamps:

Butterfly Artistic link: https://pegstamps.com/product/butterfly-artistic/

Butterfly Landing link: https://pegstamps.com/product/butterfly-landing/

Butterfly Mottled link: https://pegstamps.com/product/butterfly-mottled/

Star of David with Chai link: https://pegstamps.com/product/star-of-david-with-chai/

Rain link: https://pegstamps.com/product/rain/

Yarn Skein link: https://pegstamps.com/product/yarn-skein/

Knitting Needles link: https://pegstamps.com/product/knitting-needles/

Bicycle with Basket link: https://pegstamps.com/product/bicycle-with-basket/

 

Yesterday started out a little bit scary…I got a call around 5PM the night before from my doctor’s office, saying the mammogram had a difficult time with the “density” of my breast tissue and could I come in and have another scan done the next morning at 8AM.  I don’t know about you, but as soon as the nurse skates around a diagnosis like this, and sets a follow-up appointment so quickly, I start to panic.

As soon as I entered the suite for the mammogram, the technician asked exactly how my doctor had described the results of my first mammogram to me.  I told her about the “density” issue, and she said, I think they were trying not to worry you….Something in this mammogram result is clearly different from last year’s results…Now I’m thinking the worst and trying not to cry…She says they need to capture the image a different way and it will require more squeezing than normal…GREAT!!  I know we all hate to hear those words, since we already believe they do a good job of squeezing for a normal exam.  She took a few images and squeezed a lot more than normal, so holding my breath (as they always ask me to do) was not a problem, as I had a hard time breathing at all.

As soon as she was done with the mammogram, she said a doctor would immediately be reading the results.  She also said it happens more times than not, that the doctor will ask to have an ultrasound if there’s something he wants to see more clearly.  I know it’s standard language for them, but for me, it meant “I saw something wrong in the mammogram and am preparing you for the next steps,” even though she never said it.

They sent me to a waiting area and I waiting, and tried to be brave.  I didn’t have them talk to Rich, as I didn’t want him to worry any more than I was, and if nothing was wrong, he would be worrying for nothing.

I’m not sure how long I waited, when she came back, she said the doctor said it wasn’t anything, and I need to come back next year for my normal exam.  I was SO relieved, and thanked her profusely.  I’m sure she is relieved when she doesn’t have to give someone bad news, and can’t imagine how hard it must be for her when the news is bad.

I took Rich out for breakfast, then my girlfriend and I went shopping.  There’s not a lot to do in a small town in the winter, and she and I normally spend a lot more time together during garage sale season.  The town’s only department store is going out of business, so we spent some time there, and then went out to lunch.  It’s always nice to catch up with friends, and by the time I got home, I was ready to hit the craft room…

I made a couple of gnomes for my cousin…One that has stuffed animal stuffing inside rather than rice, and another traditional one.  I also had pieces of socks left over from my Christmas gnomes and basically gave her pieces to cover the body and hat of the gnome to make it a Valentine’s gnome.  I would have showed it in a video, but didn’t think I did a good enough job to share…I hope she can decipher my idea for the body and hat, and that she likes the idea.  She told me her friend was making different gnomes for each holiday and I wondered if you could use the same gnome and cover the body and hat with temporary holiday-inspired outerwear.  We’ll see what she does with the pieces and embellishments I sent her.  I hope she shares them on facebook so others can decide what they think of them.

I made a haul video with the peg stamps I just received and am thinking about what to do to for a collaboration video with the owner of Peg Stamps, Rebecca Walton.  I’m really looking forward to creating something fun.  Last year, she and I made a rabbit card for Easter using a stencil for the rabbit outline and using her stamps for inside the stencil.  I loved how different each of our cards turned out, and hope this year my card isn’t a disappointment.  Her new stamp sets are awesome….There’s a Hummingbird Patio set that’s really fun…It looks like this. 

I love how she included two hummingbirds, one pointing left, and the other pointing right, but each a little different looking from the other…I also liked the “flowers” she included in the set, as they are basically little dots that you can stamp randomly around the branches to give the impression of flowers….Such a smart idea.

I’ll make sure Rich puts at least one video up in the next day or so, as it’s been too long since I’ve uploaded anything.  I’m really behind with my projects, and I’m sorry that I’ve been so distracted.

 

I started the day yesterday, by getting my annual mammogram.  I know we all dread getting them done, but also realize how necessary they are….Then today I got a call from the hospital that they didn’t get a good enough image, so I have to go back tomorrow to have it done again…It’s not bad enough to have to do it once, but a second time in less than a week isn’t something I’m thrilled to do.  I hope I get it done and everything is fine.  Crossing my fingers that it is.  I’ll keep you in the loop…

I spent last night working on a card using vellum and a large Stampendous peony stamp.  I colored the back of the vellum with alcohol markers, and then didn’t like the effect, so used hand sanitizer and a rag to wipe some of it off.  I have to say, I like the end result a lot better since removing some of the ink.  I’m not sure why alcohol ink reacts like it does on vellum, but it doesn’t seem to blend as much as layer on it.  The layering makes it so that the ink becomes streaky and blotchy, so I had to do something to save the card..otherwise, it was going in the trash.  I think I’ll add a frame to the card front and a sentiment and call it a day.  I wish the results were more impressive, but sadly, not so much…That might change when I put more effort into the card.  Sometimes you can turn something that’s iffy into a masterpiece (or at least something that’s not bad), but don’t hold your breath that it’s going to happen with this card.

I got an email from a company that sells diamond paintings, wanting to send me some of theirs.  I chose five projects, and made sure to choose a variety…..I’m doing a notebook front, a luggage tag, a passport cover and two diamond paintings.  I figured a lot of people don’t want to try (or see) more diamond paintings, but if they know that you can do more than wall art with this craft, people might be more inclined to give it a try.  I can’t tell you how relaxing I have found this to be.  The other people I’ve spoken with about diamond paintings say the same thing…They really feel stress-free when doing this.  I can’t say I feel like this about any other craft I’ve done.  I’d like to get more people interested in the art form, and maybe if they are putting “diamonds” on a notebook, they might consider giving it a try.  The people I know that do the wall art, once finished, they are either giving them as gifts, or rolling them back up and putting them back in the boxes they came in, and are putting them in a closet, which is a real shame.  But honestly, if you don’t have anywhere to hang them, or don’t like the idea of hanging them in your home, what else can you do with them?  That’s why I’m trying non-wall art projects….I figure it might help people who are on the fence with deciding to try a smaller project…one that has a useful purpose.  That’s just my two cents on it.  I think it would be an amazing stress reliever for people that need to reduce their stress..

Today, Rich and I and another couple went to see “Bad Boys For Life” with Will Smith.  If you like the old Bad Boys movies, you’ll like this.  It’s full of action and comedy, and is one of those movies where you don’t do any thinking….it’s pure entertainment.  Our girlfriend said she thought it would never end, but I didn’t feel that way at all.  She’s not a big action movie fan, though, so that could have been the issue.  Rich and I go to movies to be entertained, not to figure out a really deep plot, so if you think you’ll find us watching foreign films or intellectual films, you won’t…

 

The weather here hasn’t been the greatest, so I haven’t been out much in the last week.  I think the winter and my inactivity really add to my chubbiness…I don’t think I eat that much, but then again, I do almost no physical activities…thus, more chubby.

Yesterday, we met with a close friend who is our family’s funeral director, and made prearrangement plans for our funerals.  I know that sounds morbid, but since Rich and I don’t have any kids, it will be up to us to make all of these plans, and I’d rather make them now when there’s no stress on us.  I don’t plan on dying for a long time, but my dad died at 64, so you never know when your time is up, and I’d rather not have to think about it later.

On a brighter note, I finished the big diamond painting and thought I’d share a photo of it with you.  I’m disappointed that the diamonds weren’t all the same size, so the rows aren’t perfectly straight….The photo below shows some wrinkles in the design, because I had to fold it to work on it in my small craft area.  Since it’s 50 x 70 cm (almost 3 ft long), it was cumbersome to work with once the top portion was complete.  I’m going to flatten it with heavy books and run a rolling pin over it, and if I still have wrinkles, I might run a warm iron over a towel (on top of the design.)  Otherwise, I’m not sure what to do to fix it…and if anyone else knows, please give me some ideas.

I was fretting about the dog in the diamond painting, because I kept working on it and still didn’t find the dog…it was almost like “Where’s Waldo,” until I got almost to the bottom and his little white body materialized when I saw his face…It’s a good thing he was also wearing a blue shirt, otherwise I don’t think anyone would be able to easily find him when looking at this.

I’ll be giving this diamond painting to my sister (who really wanted it) and once it’s hanging in her house, if my nephew and his bride want one, I can make a second one for them…but definitely will be buying it from another company…one whose diamond quality is better than these.

I tried to find the planner on the Dollar Tree website, but couldn’t, but they are still available in the stores.  It’s called a “Weekly 2020 Planner.” 

Using 12 x 12″ designer paper, fold it in half (from side to side) to determine the center of your paper and then lay the planner inside, so the left edge of the planner is laying on the center fold. Try to make sure your planner is in the middle of the paper (from top to bottom.) Fold the bottom edge of the paper up and make sure the left edge of the folded paper is lined up with the left edge of the rest of the paper (and that will ensure your paper is straight on the bottom of your book.) Make a good crease so the fold stays in place, but don’t put the planner inside yet. Then fold the top paper down to meet the top of the planner, and make sure the left edge of the paper you’re folding down, lines up with the left edge of the paper  and make a crease where you’ve folded it. Put the planner inside and fold the left side of the paper so it’s almost up to the left side of the planner and crease the paper…Do the same on right side but add about 1/4″ to the folded paper so there’s 1/4″ more paper on the right side of the planner. The outside of the planner is done.

Bookmark.  I used a sheet of white Recollections 110 lb heavyweight cardstock and folded it in half on the 11″ length. Using a ruler, from the left side, make a mark that is    2 3/4″ from the left edge of the folded cardstock. Then from the top, make a mark 1/4″ from the left edge and on the left side, make a mark 1/4″ from the top of the cardstock. On the 2 3/4″ side, make a mark on the top 1/4″ to the left of your mark, and on the right side, make a mark 1/4″ from the top. Take a pencil and connect the 1/4″ marks so you have an angle on the top left and top right sides and it makes it look like a tag. Make a mark 4 1/4″ from the top of the paper so your bookmark is that tall…I ended up changing this measurement, so in the end, I cut it to 4″, sorry.  Cut out your bookmark, following the lines and making sure you don’t cut the top fold.  I lined the white cardstock with designer paper that is 3 3/4″ tall by 2 1/2″ wide and made my top cuts to match the angles of the layer below. I added a sentiment to my top layer with Stampin’ Up Bermuda Bay ink and used Brutus Monroe Icicle embossing powder to heat set it. I used a micro brush to fix the ink error… I added two small magnets under the top designer paper layer about 1″ from the bottom edge. The magnets I used are 3mm wide by 1mm thick and I bought 100 of them from the following link: https://tinyurl.com/utlpy8s for a little over $1.00.. I used four magnets and drop the entire pile onto my scissors so I know which side is the magnetic side, then put Glue Dots on the white layer of the paper before adhering the designer paper layer and lay a magnet on the Glue Dots then adhere the second magnet to the right of the first magnet, then add the designer paper on top….To adhere the second set of magnets, close the bookmark and drop the magnets so they stick where the other magnets are adhered to the back layer…put glue dots under the magnets and add the designer paper layer.

Back to the planner. I cut designer paper to go inside the front cover of the planner. Measure the paper on the left side of the planner and cut it to the size of the paper. For the back inside cover, I cut the paper to the size of the paper when you open the planner and are using both sides for your measuring. (since all planners are a little different size, you’ll need to measure the paper in yours and it’s why I didn’t give measurements for mine.) I added tear tape to the backs of these papers and added wet glue to adhere them to the inside of the planner… To make a belly band to hold the planner closed, I used Stretch Ribbon I found in the jewelry making supply department at Walmart. I used black stretch ribbon and wrapped it around an orange hair tie I bought at the Dollar Tree and then hot glued the end of the ribbon after wrapping it around the hair tie. I took it and wrapped the stretch ribbon and the hair tie around the planner, then wrapped the other end of the stretch ribbon around the other side of the hair tie and hot glued it in place making sure the stretch ribbon was tight enough to hold the planner closed when not in use.. I hot glued two blue brads (after cutting off the backs of the brads) to the stretch ribbon on either side of the orange hair tie..

The big news is, I am one day away from finishing the big diamond painting.  I can’t believe it’s almost done.  I promised my sister that I would give it to her, and if my nephew and his bride decide they want one, I’ll make another one for them.  I have to say, I’m disappointed in the quality of the diamonds in the kit.  I was told that I should have much better quality diamonds than I did with the first diamond painting I did with the snowman.  I thought that this website, https://victoriasmoon.co.uk/, that sent me the customized diamond painting, would have terrific quality, but sadly, I’m not happy with them.  Some are smaller, some are thicker, and some were actually round.  Since I got the square diamond painting, finding round diamonds seemed to be a big mistake on their part.  I’m not sure if I should just give up diamond paintings, since mine never seem to line up straight because the diamonds are not all the same.

I’ll show you the finished project so you can decide for yourself if the quality is poor or not…

We’ve been having so much fun watching animals eat at night on our Blink cameras.  The cameras are set to record in five second increments, so we get a lot of small clips of animals eating.  It’s fun to watch rabbits eating with deer, and a family of four raccoons eating…We have two bucks that come to eat together every night.  I didn’t know male deer hung with each other…I thought only the females did that, so I’m learning a lot about animals.  I also didn’t think rabbits would be comfortable eating a few feet away from deer, but they don’t seem to mind at all, and act like they don’t notice any other animals are nearby…

Yesterday, we went to see “1913,” a movie about World War I.  If you get a chance to see it, you definitely should.  It’s not your basic war movie, more about two men who are given a task to deliver a note to the front line, and how they carry out their mission. It keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end, and I hope it wins the Oscar for best film..  As most war movies, it has some down moments, but it’s a really great film.  I didn’t know the two lead actors, but they did an amazing job.

Rich is almost done with the last video he needs to upload, and it’s great that this video corresponds with the timing to finish the diamond painting so I can get back to making other videos.  I’m relieved that it’s almost done, but with the results were better.  I still think my sister will like it…At least I hope she does.

You’d be amazed at the progress I’ve made on the huge diamond painting of my nephew and his new bride and their dog…..I can’t believe how far I’ve come.  When I began working on it, I thought it would literally take me months to complete, and now I’m looking at finishing it possibly in the next week.  I know, it’s crazy!!!

I thought I’d need to have Rich help me to complete it, as I would never have the endurance or commitment to finish it on my own, and when you see it in a video (and you definitely will), I think you’ll be surprised at not only that I finished it, but also how truly large it is.

For Christmas, Rich bought me a Blink security system…not really for security, but more because I’ve always wanted to be able to watch the animals that we feed corn to every winter.  He bought a three camera system that you can talk through (here’s the link in case you’d like to buy one for yourself….I’m not an affiliate and make no money from this, but thought others might have an interest in it too.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MMZF2BF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

He finally installed the cameras….one at the front door so if we aren’t home and someone rings our doorbell, we can talk to them, one in the backyard to watch the animals and one inside to watch the dogs when we are on vacation.  He hasn’t installed the indoor camera, as we don’t want to use the batteries until we need to..and we spend most of our time with the dogs, so don’t need to watch them on camera when we can simply glance over at them any time we want.

Last night we got several alerts from Blink on Rich’s cellphone.  It alerts whenever there is movement in the camera’s sight line.  I think Rich needs to figure out how to change the alert to larger shape movement, because we got one notice when a rabbit came to eat, and another when a raccoon came to eat.  We got a bunch more for deer, and that’s more what we want to see…or the bear and her cubs that comes by each fall and spring to destroy my bird feeders.  Maybe we’ll catch them on camera before they get to our bird feeders and stop their progress before they there.  Since we can talk to them through the cameras, I’m hoping we can discourage her from getting closer to our house.  Maybe she’s used to these security systems, and when we talk through it, she’ll just ignore us….It would be great if I could outsmart the bear, but I find it highly unlikely.  Much like the mice in the garage we built to hold Rich’s 1966 Mustang.  They have found ways to live in the Mustang, even though we’ve tried everything we can think of to stop them…When new products come out, we try them….If you’ve heard about the peppermint and cinnamon oil products you can buy to deter mice, don’t buy it.  If you’ve heard that moth balls discourage mice, that’s not true, and the one we really believed, the electronic devices that mice supposedly hate, not so much…We have one in every electric outlet in a small garage, and we probably have more mice than devices residing there at this point.  I think the last thing we’ve tried (consistently) has been putting drier sheets inside the car…All over the inside of the car…in the trunk, the glove compartment, under the seats, you name it.  And still, last year, when Rich took the car out for the first time, he had three passengers (that he knows of) as one jumped out when he opened the door to get in, and another one jumped out when Rich got out of the car at a car parts store (looking for yet more mice deterents,) and finally, the last one, that rode with him through the entire trip, to jump out when he pulled back into the garage (apparently it knew it was home and the ride was over.)  I told Rich that I might not be willing to go anywhere in his car until he got the mice situation under control….

We could put poison or traps in the garage, but that’s a very last option, as I hate the idea of animals suffering for long periods of time, or being caught in the trap, but not dying, and laying there until they die.  It’s too cruel for me to consider..

I’m sure you know that we live in N/W PA, and the weather here in winter is not exactly fun…until today.  It’s not sunny or visually attractive, but it’s almost 60 degrees and you have no idea how great it feels to not be bundled up just to go outside…Today’s the kind of day you want to run errands in and we definitely will.  It’s really windy, but a warm wind, and I don’t mind that either.  It makes me believe that spring is on its way…and I, for one, can’t wait.

 

 

 

 

I have seen these gnomes on YouTube, but I couldn’t make them the way I’ve seen shown, as my hands don’t have the strength to make them…So, I modified the technique to work for me.

Tools Used:

Fiskars Easy Action Scissors….on sale at Joanns now for $9.99 here’s the link: https://tinyurl.com/tzlqfwy These are great for people with hand issues and are recommended by the Arthritis Foundation.

A fuzzy Dollar Tree sock, link: (these will work as well couldn’t find the fuzzy option online at Dollar Tree) https://tinyurl.com/tjjwxfs

A short women’s Dollar Tree black sock link: https://tinyurl.com/srolvrg

A White mens Dollar Tree sock: link https://tinyurl.com/v8d8xrn

Simpliity Wolf Faux Fur 4″ Trim from Joann’s link: https://tinyurl.com/s97a2mw I use about 3 to 4″ for each gnome.

Hot glue gun, Mine is a Gorilla Glue Gun and I love it link: https://tinyurl.com/wjfxdkb

A cup large enough to fill with rice and your white sock.

Cheap white rice…

White string, can be embroidery floss or simple white string

LA Colors Shimmering Loose pink eyeshadow from Dollar Tree link: https://tinyurl.com/thxqq48 and a small brush to apply it with

Decorations…I used a jingle bell and twine and a styrofoam ball To make the gnome.

Start by putting the white sock into the plastic cup and fill it with rice…After you’ve filled the sock to the level you want (mine are 6″ tall), you’ll take the string and tie off the top of the sock right where the rice ends. I tie one knot then wrap around to the other side and double knot. This is easier for me because once you wrap the string around to the back, the knot doesn’t open (like it would if you tried to do a double knot the first time.)

Nose. I take a length of string, 18″ and make a lasso looking circle with a single knot tied in it. I put the string around the spot on the sock that I want the nose to be, (very close to the tied top) and pinch as much as I can of the sock and the rice…the more you grasp, the bigger your nose will be. Pull the string tight and wrap the string under the nose and knot it again, then back to the top and double knot it, as this will ensure your string won’t let loose and you shouldn’t have a problem with the string breaking either. Take 18″ of string, and tie it around the middle of the gnome. Tie it tight so you create a girdle and your gnome will stand up straight. Tie a single knot then wrap the string around to the back and tie it again, only this time, tie a double knot, then cut off the excess string. Take your black sock, cut it off right below the heel, and put the foot of the sock on the gnome like you would a kids’ sock (by folding the sock down so you can easily start it on the bottom of the gnome,) and make sure the toe is on the back of the gnome..Pull the black sock up to the nose, and hot glue it right under the nose so you can’t see where the black sock ends. You only want the sock to come up to the bottom of the nose, so trim off the excess if you have too much sock left under the nose..Pull the black sock up on the back of the gnome and hot glue it in place, and pull it as high as possible on the sides and glue it. You should use your scissors to hold the sock in place after hot gluing it so you don’t burn yourself. Take a brush and your pink eyeshadow and coat the nose as much as possible (as it will wear off with time)..Blow off any excess.

Hat…take your fuzzy sock and cut just below where the heel starts..since mine was striped, it was easy to cut across at the change in color. Then turn the sock almost inside out and put the styrofoam ball (1″)  at the very top of the toe of the sock, pull the sock tightly around the ball and take your string and tie it so the ball is tightly surrounded by the toe of the sock…knot it then take some twine (18″) and wrap the end of the twine with scotch tape that you fold over to create a point. Cut the tape so it makes it easy to put the twine through a jingle bell, then wrap the twine around the string at the base of the styrofoam ball and make a bow or a knot, and cut off excess twine. Glue the beard in place first, and then add your hat.

Beard. I cut through the backing of the faux fur, don’t cut the fur, put the tip of your scissors right under the backing but not under the fur..I cut a 3 1/2″ long piece. Trim off any backing you can see at the top of your fur (the top is the opposite end from where the long fur is)..Cut out the middle at the top, a spot for your nose, cut under the backing so you don’t cut off your fur. Trim the sides if it’s too wide, and use those pieces to make a moustache or goatee. Round the bottom edges and trim away excess backing as you don’t want it to show. Glue it under the nose and hold in place with scissors until it’s set, then glue the rest to hold it in place. Glue the hat to the top of the nose then pull down as much as possible in back and glue in place.

 

I’d like to say that I’ve been doing something beside working on the diamond painting, but since I’m making such huge progress on it, I can’t.

I am going to make a traveler’s journal out of a Dollar Tree placemat that I’ve seen in every DT I’ve been in…so at least I know you’ll all be able to recreate it if you want.

At the end of 2019, I made my girlfriend two re-covered 2020 calendars and showed how to cover a Dollar Tree one that’s really cute.  Unfortunately, it like the other three videos I’ve made, it’s a long one, so it takes Rich a few days to edit it.  Before he puts that one up, he’s editing one I made for making sock gnomes when you have limited strength in your hands.  The normal gnomes you see on YouTube have several small rubber bands holding them together, and I can’t handle rubber bands..they beat me more times than I beat them.  I think it’s the size of rubber bands that are used on gnomes..super small…I can’t get them to stretch to the size of my hand, so obviously, needed to come up with an alternative and I was really happy with the results I got with regular string instead of rubber bands.  I hope people will enjoy the video and are able to make gnomes if they haven’t been able to do so in the past…

I’ll bet viewers will be so happy when I finish this diamond painting, as I can’t seem to figure out how to store it somewhere while I’m working on a video, as the diamond painting takes over my entire work surface plus additional space.  It’s going to be massive when it’s finished.

Today, Rich and I are going to Erie, the closest large town nearby, to return some Christmas gifts that didn’t fit and to spend an afternoon out of the house.  As our weather hasn’t been great the last few days, I’m getting a little stir crazy from being stuck inside, and need to get out of the house.  If you live anywhere with snow, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.  It never happened when I was working, because I was interacting with people, but now that I’m limited to talking on the phone, and weekly visits with my girlfriend, I sometimes need to run away…Today’s the day for that.

On the third, my girlfriend and I went “shopping” in my hometown, and that was short-lived, because her thirteen (almost fourteen) year old grandson just told her that he needed to volunteer ten hours by the upcoming Thursday….so that gave us six days to find somewhere for him to volunteer and get him ten hours of volunteerism at a non-profit.  He knew he had this assignment for at least three weeks, but failed to do anything about it until the night before, when he broke the news to grandma….So instead of shopping, we went to every place we knew we had contacts to beg for volunteer hours.  Luckily the senior center had four hours to give him and our local food bank had the rest, but only if my girlfriend volunteered with him, as they needed adult supervision for people filling the food bags.  That also meant that he would be out of school on Monday, as that’s when the bags needed filled.  I have to say that I was really frustrated that he’s put it all on his grandmother and did nothing to acquire his own volunteerism, but I guess that’s how kids do things today.  She will end up putting more time into this project than he will, and that’s a shame.  I really hope that he learns something from this, but I doubt that he will.  When did it become so easy to be a kid?  I don’t like the term entitled, but if I had told my mother and/or father that I had to have ten volunteer hours, they would have said “good luck with that” and let me succeed or fail on my own.  I know if they had contacts at non-profits, they would have volunteered that information, but never would have done the footwork to get me the hours.  And if I’d waited so long, they NEVER would have let me miss school to accomplish the goal.  How do kids today learn to fail if someone always is there to do the heavy work for them?

Sorry for the big rant, but it’s been something I’ve been thinking about this week and wondering how we’ve gotten so far off track.  I know it has to do with the parents/grandparents enabling kids, but it must go way beyond that, to teachers and other people in positions of authority that also allow it.  How will we create leaders in an environment of followers?  Sad…