Henthorne Handmade

Begin, Again

2011-10-01T11:42:00.001-07:00

I know, I know. I’m awful at starting something and not finishing!

I’m, also, really bad at taking on much more than I can handle. (Hence the lack of time to finish what I’ve started!)

This week I plan to do some serious soul searching. I will be writing down all that I’ve gotten myself into, and then figuring out what’s truly important to me.

As some catch up: I went off my self-medication for 3 months for the doctors to do some tests with nothing in my system. Not only did she waste $200 bucks of my $15,000 lifetime allowance by classifying the visit as reproductive related, but she didn’t even do the tests! I started hemorrhaging, again, due to being off my meds. So from then til now, I have been taking them, again, and trying to rebuild my blood loss (without another blood transfusion!)

We have, also, moved into a cabin the size of our former master bedroom! And Travis lost his job! This has been such a difficult several months.

I decided it was finally time to come back to the blogging that I love so much. I will be freshening up this blog, and I am starting a new blog about our tiny house journey. (livingonafootprint.blogspot.com) I would love for you to check it out!

Thank you to those that checked in on me in my absence. I’m sorry, for the unexpected disappearance. Please, don’t give up on me!

Also, I may not be reviving the facebook page, as I am fairly certain I will be leaving facebook completely.

Egg #2-Rovi

2011-04-04T19:31:00.001-07:00

Tonight’s egg is named Rovi. I named it after one of my fav phone games. The game is made by Rovio, and I think you can see why I picked that game. (Angry Birds)

Rovi has some “battle wounds.” After all, an empty eggshell is easy to break. But she is still solid enough to last until Easter.

If you want to know why she is so angry, it is because little eggy, green pigs destroyed her egg babies! (The nest above was destroyed by the wind and the 5 eggs that were in it came crashing down.)

So after that, she followed the 3 little pigs example and left her straw home for a wooden one.

But that home was taken over by a wasps nest (from last year.)

Now, Rovi flies in-between the living room and dining room of a brick home. (A home with evil cats that are keeping their eyes on her.) I wonder where she’ll fly off to next?!

Of course, inside her are seeds that birds love…sunflower seeds!

If only you could see how silly I look with her! The feathers flap in the wind. So when I brought her in, I was running around the house like a little kid helping her fly! LOL

The feathers came from a boa I used to wrap golf clubs to make pink flamingos for my un-birthday party. The eyes were from the pack I bought to put eyes on silk flowers for the same party.

Good News and Crafty Goodness-Egg #1

2011-04-01T19:06:00.001-07:00

Let me start out by ~~saying~~ typing that NONE of this is an April Fool’s Day prank… Shall I continue?

Ok so maybe by “was going thru an emotional time” I should have said “was, AND STILL AM…”

Since my experimental, self-medication to stop my hemorrhaging, and further self-med to give me a more regulated cycle, I have ovulated 3 times!!! I am so excited! (and scared!) So let’s celebrate: (I hope I’m not premature in my celebrations…)

So as a celebratory act, I decided to make a dozen “Easter” eggs! Doesn’t sound like much, huh? Well, I’m not simply dying them. I’m giving them a more creative wardrobe! I got the idea from a project in Family Fun Magazine. They had a project similar to today’s egg. (Which I named “Scuba Steve!”)

Of course, as usual for me, I didn’t follow the tutorial. I just looked at the end result and made it my way. In the end, the only real difference is that I gave mine a swim cap, more colorful goggles, and mine is filled with California Giant Zinnia seeds that were handed out at a local event!

Yup! Ya see—I’m not Christian, therefore, to me, “Easter” is more a day of celebrating spring with a planting frenzy! But half of our family is Christian, so I end up doing the fabulous egg hunt with them. So here’s my mix of the two.

BTW—I am not affiliated in any way with Family Fun Magazine! I just really like it! If you DO decide to subscribe, here’s some words of advice:

DO NOT PRE-PAY!!!

I liked their mag so much I bought both of my sisters gift subscriptions for Christmas last year. For the first time ever, I pre-paid! Neither ever got a single issue! And when I emailed them, they sent me a robot message stating that in order to help me, I had to give them the blah, blah, blah number from the back of my sisters’ magazines! How can I get a number from a magazine that they never got?

I’m Baaack!

2011-03-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

I’m sorry I disappeared! I was going thru a rather emotional time, and I felt it best to take a break. And what do ya know…I end up taking the opposite of a break! LOL

A dear friend of mine threatened that if I didn’t help her make costumes and props at the theater… Oh who am I kidding! LOL All she had to do was ask!

The baby pictured was the first one. The straw coming out the eye was supposed to enable the actress to drink “blood” from the bottle stashed inside the webbed baby body. In the end, I think they decided to forfeit that idea.

I didn’t photograph everything. (I know, shame on me…) There were multiple versions of the goggles. Most of them looked fabulous, but were not light enough for stage activity. I’ll do better next time.

Most of it was winging it, and creating the patterns as I went along. The darker brown jacket had to be made twice! Ugh! But didn’t they turn out fabulous?

The play was a Steampunk version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Both jackets are the same pattern except the sleeves.

So there’s some of what I’ve been up to. The rest will be gradually updated soon.

Valentine Theme Week-Day 4

2011-02-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

Today’s project is another classic Valentine gift. Well, technically, it is a classic gift for most occasions. After all, who doesn’t like a darling little teddy bear?

He was originally going to be bigger and somewhat different, but he kinda morphed himself into what he wanted to be.

He is made from stretchy velvety material that used to be a shirt!

I was, also, going to make him like the Mad Hatter, but then Travis mentioned how much he looks like a mouse, so instead I made him into the inebriated mouse from the tea party.

Tea Party Mouse

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What a big mistake! He has gotten completely out of hand! He’s been partying to all hours! I tried to have a talk with him about it, but he just scurried off in a spiral, and passed out!

Valentine Theme Week-Day 3

2011-02-09T15:36:00.001-08:00

Well, my ADD took over again! LOL I did finish 2 projects for days 2 & 3, but one of them is not what I started yesterday! Let’s start with the one I did start yesterday:

Valen-time Capsule

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I am limited on time for me to work on surprises for Travis. It is hard to hide works in progress from Travis and our destructive cat at the same time! Technically, it wasn’t finished by the time I took the photo. I am waiting for the development of old photos that we hadn’t seen in a while. Once they are in, There will be a ribbon around the top. Not everything in it was photographed. Most of the stuff wouldn’t make sense to anyone but us. To everyone else these things are senseless trash, but for us, these things are treasures from different points of time in our history together. I have:

a dated broken pool stick tip
a dated red-orange golf ball
a fuse
a paper football
an old car key to a car we don’t even have anymore
a little plastic pirate coin
old tickets and wristbands
and lots more priceless, crazy treasures!

Also included is the second thing I finished today:

What better for a bass guitar player that works in construction/restoration, than a trio of guitar picks made from a sample of Formica?!

Since he plays bass guitar, I should have known that the sushi guitar picks would be too thin for the thicker strings. He played til he broke them! LOL So now these are thicker, stronger, and less feminine.

If you are wondering how the picks fit the theme: They are handmade Valentine’s gifts that were made with love!

PS: Most of the graphics can be found on the Graphics Fairy blog!

Valentine Theme Week-Day 2

2011-02-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

As I said I would make something every day this week; I have in fact been a busy bee today. Two halves do make one whole, right?

I won’t give away too much, but I will give a sneak peek into “day 2’s” & “day 3’s” projects that were both started on day 2, and will both be finished on day 3.

You may be asking yourself why I started the second project before finishing the first, today. I started with the sewing project and my back got sore from all the hunching over while sewing, so I had to stop. Well, half a project wasn’t good enough for me. So I figured: two halves make a whole!

To be honest, much of my problems today revolved around poor time management. That seems to be an ongoing problem with me.

I don’t regret all of it, but I do feel really bad that I caused my best friend to miss a lecture he really wanted to attend. We bought him dinner to say sorry, tho.

However, we wouldn’t have found these cool masks or paper valentine’s dresses if we were on target.

Valentine Theme Week-Day 1

2011-02-07T17:36:00.001-08:00

I decided to make up for missing week #4 by making something every day for this week’s theme! I begin with a small project. Just some hair clips I made from the flower decorations from my unbirthday party.

I only took a pic of one of each, but both of them have a matching pair. I thought in my poorly lit house, that taking a pick of just one at a time would make it easier to see them.

Aren’t they cute, tho? I thought they looked too cute to just waste them, and a classic Valentine’s gift for ladies are flowers. The pink ones are actually backed with flowers I got off a lei that I’ve had for a long time. (I’ve gained quite the collection of leis.) The petals don’t look even because they are curled, but they are even. The beads in the centers were in a pencil sharpener I found. Weird things are often left in weird places. LOL

Handmade Earrings For My Sis

2011-02-05T20:37:00.000-08:00

Let me start off by saying that I changed my mind about offering more gifts for the time being. 7 are yet to be claimed on our Facebook page, so I think that is a good number to stop at for now.

So anyways…

My sis gave me a ring that would fit my tragus because I my old ring wouldn’t work right since my surgery in spring 2010. Since then, my hole closed, but I re-pierced it at my unbirthday party on January 29th, 2011. (The day after my actual birthday.) She gave me a replacement hood ring, too. (Technically, they were a pair that I chose to separate since my tragus and hood wear the same size.)

Well, I agreed to trade her a handmade pair of earrings for the pair that she didn’t want from her new 6 set. And here they are:

I had a hard time photographing them. This pic really doesn’t do them any justice, but it was the best I could manage at night in my low light house. (She actually gave me that polish in my birthday present, too. I don’t paint my nails often, but I love the color!)

The earrings are glass and metal beads. I really wish yall could see them better.

I am surprised at how much I love these! I knew I wouldn’t finish them until I liked them, but I’m not usually a big fan of yellow. Yet, I seem to be drawn to purple and yellow this year! Odd me!

They weren’t made of recycled stuff like my sushi box to guitar pick earrings or my recycled glass bead earrings, but I think they were worth it. The purple thing is a piece of a birthday card envelope glued on a piece of thin cardboard stuff that was folded over a sticker that I found.

I hope she likes them!

Week 5? What Happened?!

2011-02-04T18:06:00.001-08:00

The theme this week applies to the garment as well as the missing week #4.

In case you are wondering. My un-birthday went so-so. But the week prior and week since has been hell! (I’ll spare you the details.)

I would start this post off by showing you my “failed” Alice dress for week #4, but I only failed in time constraint. However the dress itself is still on the right track and will be finished and presented later, so I don’t want to spoil the surprise! But there will be a make up garment soon for the missed week #4.

So this week’s garment was actually not what I was planning on refashioning this week. This one is less of a “refashion” and more of a “save from a landfill!”

My sis gave me a bag of clothes for fixing, refashioning, and some she just didn’t know what to do with. One of the garments was a knitted top that had many popped stitches and large runs. I wasn’t sure I could fix it, but I set to work….

I surprised myself with how well I did at recovering all the damage! I thought it looked better with the belt than just thick and boxy like before. Like my new earrings? (It was a birthday present-so I still haven’t used ANY of the $260 USD budget!)

For those that have “liked” Henthorne Handmade on Facebook: More gifts will be posted tomorrow! Sorry for the delay! The PC’s and handmade gift sign ups are still open! Check previous posts &/or the “Discussions” area on our Facebook fan page!

52 Week Wardrobe Refashioning Community

2011-01-27T13:56:00.000-08:00

I decided to create a community blog so that others may participate in the 52 Week Wardrobe Refashioning Project, too! And if they must pledge, then so must I! :)

I, ANKH, pledge to join the Henthorne Handmade 52 Week Wardrobe Refashioning Project by turning to my refashioning skills and turning old and boring into new and exciting. I am happy to be part of the 52 Week Wardrobe Refashioning Community where we can encourage and inspire one another to be green, frugal and creative.

I agree to follow the rules, and understand their purposes. I further pledge to at least contribute inspirational goodness once a month (or more.) And to show fellow contributors the same courtesy I would like to receive from them. Including sharing my positive thoughts in comments.

Signed,

ANKH

Week 3: Wishful Thinking

2011-01-21T19:24:00.001-08:00

Although I love the cold weather, I do wish now could be spring! I’m preparing plantings and looking at all the seed packets with all the beautiful colors. I keep thinking of all the pretty dresses I want to wear this year since I’m not bedridden or wheelchair bound this year! (Knock on wood!!!)

I am drawn to a different color every year. I don’t know why. I just am. This year I can’t stop thinking about the color of most of the pansies that I am seeing all over the place. I wish I had some! I never thought of myself as a purple kinda gal, but this year I just can’t seem to get enough of it!

This week I captured a bit of that in this dress. I know I should’ve had a better shot, but I was so busy goofing off in it that almost all the pictures came out blurry. I like the dress. I do need to tighten under the arms a bit, but otherwise I am very happy with it! Sorry, no previous picture. It was just a plain broom skirt. Isn’t the umpire waist awesome?

I bought some red dye, too. I probably should have done a purple project during the Amethyst month and a red project during the Garnet month. Oh well!

Some Good News

2011-01-17T17:13:00.001-08:00

Sorry! No craft for yall today. I have been uber-busy all weekend! There are just some things I felt like sharing:

I finally got more reliable internet! I am so excited! Since Travis’ pdaNet quit working properly, I have noticed one thing after another blocking me from doing…well…one thing after another! LOL

The last straw was finding out I could no longer blog! Oh, uh-uh!!!

So we had our own line hooked up! While we were waiting for Monday to come, I found out I couldn’t comment or reply to comments! YIKES!!!

But all is now super groovy on that front!

For those that don’t know:

I was a Christmas Warrior for an orphan with Down Syndrome in 2010. Well, I signed back on as his New Year’s Warrior for 2011! If you would like to help Sheridan find his forever family, you can:

Donate to his adoption fund on Sheridan’s page on Reece’s Rainbow.
Donate to his adoption fund by mail to avoid PayPal fees by mailing a check or money order payable to Reece’s Rainbow DS Ministry, and don’t forget to make note of Sheridan (38). Don’t forget the (38). It lets them know which orphanage he is in.

Reece's Rainbow

PO Box 4024

Gaithersburg, MD 20885

And a third way you can help is by FREE SEARCHING! All you have to do is download Sheridan’s free benefitbar search bar, and use it like you normally would any other search bar!

Download Sheridan’s search bar by clicking here!

The last thing I am going to mention tonight is…BABY DUST!!!

This past Saturday, I started another round of fertility medication! This time it is something new with great reviews!

LOTS OF BABY DUST WANTED!!!

We want a boy and a girl so we don’t really care if you give pink baby dust or blue baby dust! All baby dust is accepted! LOL

(Yes! Even TWIN DUST!!!)

Week 2: Couch Potato

2011-01-14T20:06:00.000-08:00

I’m a little later than I wanted to be in posting this week’s refashion tonight. Travis’ pdaNet quit working. So we had to go find Wi-Fi to post.

This week has been pretty chaotic, and yet, I bit off a huge chunk of a challenge! (Almost too ambitious for this week!)

And here it is:

My new leather jacket! And it was refashioned from this:

Forgive the crappy jacket picture. The pile was photographed in the daylight, and the jacket was at night. I don’t know why part is absorbing the light and part is reflecting it. Maybe it is the way I have my arms. I saw a jacket in a magazine that was one of those “not supposed to close” kinds, and I loved it. However, I’m not as excited about my version. I have more leather left, so I will probably be RE-refashioning this one. I think I like how the cuffs tie. I might keep that.

Overall: Not bad for an experimental pattern used on leather that used to be a COUCH! (The title makes more sense now, huh? LOL)

The leather cost me nothing since it was given to me some time ago by a friend of mine whom repairs furniture. Therefore, my $260 for the year has remained untouched!

Silly Holidays: Play God Day

2011-01-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I found a website about silly holidays. I found some to be just plain dumb, but others were humorous. Imagine every day being a holiday! Bye bye, sanity! LOL

So what holiday is it today?

PLAY GOD DAY!

How insane is that?

So me reading into it what I want to read into it, I determined it must be telling me to play Travis’ new God of War III on PS3!

Play I did! I whooped some Olympian butt! LOL And found that thru the beautiful brutality of it lurked inspiration! The animators were very creative with their designs. Most of them provocative and many simply mesmerizing. What inspirational pieces for a little cosplay!

WHOO HOO!

So how many of you gamers out there still haven’t realized that Kratos is wearing a skirt?! LOL

Like silly holidays, too? “Like” Henthorne Handmade on Facebook for more silliness as the holidays come and go! It is, also, a great way to keep up with all the latest posts and news about Henthorne Handmade and 52 Week Wardrobe!

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Week 1: Comfort the Sickies

2011-01-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

Here we are. At the start of a 52 week long project of refashioning frenzy. Thank you to anyone who has joined my support team. And thank you to those that have helped me thru this rocky start despite my being extremely sick! Now on with the show!

Some of you may have guessed what I was making by the theme. Other’s may have guessed based on Wednesday’s sneak peek. Here’s a refresher:

The starting material for this project was a dark grey blanket. I, also, used some “barberry red” bias tape that my MIL passed to me in a treasure trove of Great Grand’s old crafting supplies. I had the thread for it. So all together, this week cost me $0 of my project budget! Such a spender, huh? LOL

And here are the PJ’s:

Yup! You guessed it! PJ’s! I didn’t make a top to go with it, because I knew I wouldn’t wear it. I always wear Travis’ t-shirts with my PJ pants. For the waist, I used the same bias tape to match the mask. There is elastic hidden inside to keep them up.

Not bad for week #1, huh?

As of this morning, I am on antibiotics. So as soon as I feel better, you’ll see me “hit it like a hurricane!” (And return to my beloved kitchen!) Keep coming back Friday nights for more of the 52 Week Wardrobe! And catch bonus refashions as well as other randomness along the way!

I snuggle up in my PJ’s to some classic rock (old rock) as I leave you with a project that I found online that I really felt matched the theme. It would be a great project to try next time I am robbing my bean bag toys for beans for hacky sacks! LOL

Click here to check out Stuffed With Love Animal Scarves at Crafty Schemes.

ERROR FIXED! :)

New Project Intro and Sneak Peek

2011-01-05T20:35:00.001-08:00

I wanted to post the introduction to this year’s major project sooner, but I’m off to a rough start due to being struck with the PLAGUE! Everyone in our household is sick! I’ve been struck with the worst of it. Travis started having symptoms on the 4th. And the fur-babies even have it!

But sickness or no sickness, I was determined to not launch this new project on a bad note!

I’m calling it my 52 Week Wardrobe.

In the 52 weeks of 2011, I will be replacing my wardrobe one refashioned outfit at a time. I will even be making some shoes, purses, jewelry, and other accessories along the way as bonuses! I am giving myself a total budget of $260 for the year. (That comes out to $5 per week. Yep! That’s right…an entire outfit for $5!) By the end of 2011, any remaining money in the budget will be donated to charity. (The exact charity is to be voted on by you in December!)

Every Friday, I will be revealing the refashioned outfit of the week. And look for bonus refashions throughout the remaining week days.

The first week’s theme: Comfort the Sickies!

And here’s your sneak peek:

Not much, yet. Just an eye mask. Come back Friday to see the rest and what it was refashioned from!

Random Goals for 2011

2011-01-01T06:54:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Here is a very short list of random goals for 2011. Think I can stick to them? LOL

~Refashion more stylish clothes~

I can’t say that I will keep up with the trends and styles that will be popular, but I do want to dress in ways that make me happier and feel more confident. What I wear definitely affects my mood. What woman doesn’t want to feel like she looks nice? I do want to make rather than buy them. (Keep an eye out! A new project for this year will be announced soon!) Plus, that will leave me more money to put towards this next one!

~Wear more shoes that make me happy!~

At risk of sounding commercial-ish, I must say this anyways. I found this fabulous online shoe store. I’m hoping to drop some hints to Travis for my birthday. I’m not 100% sure how it works, yet. But I get the impression that you take a quiz (which I have already taken), and their stylists send you shoe pics based on your preferences which you can buy for $40 a pair with free shipping. You are able to rate styles to help the stylist better pick out shoes for you, too! (Or you can just buy the ones you pick out yourself…)

~Become Healthier~

Travis got me (for Christmas) a Jack LaLanne juicer that I’ve had my eye on for a couple years. I am so excited. I am hoping that juicing will help me include more natural vitamins and minerals into my diet. Hopefully even enough to correct the deficiencies that an American diet is prone to. I plan to use juicing as one step towards trying to fix my body and become more baby-ready. I’ve long given up the sodas, but bottled juices are often not really juice at all.
Do keep an eye on Henthorne Handmade for future recipes for juices as well as the pulp. (Why waste those vitamins, right?)
This includes working out. An adequate work out plan is yet to be made, tho.
I know I’ll be adding to this list, but for now I wanted to try to limit myself to a small list so it doesn’t seem so overwhelming.
If you make a post about your 2011 goals, I would love to check it out!

Time Capsule Ornament

2010-12-31T12:11:00.000-08:00

Time to put away the holiday decorations!

This post is actually way over due, but hopefully you’ll forgive me anyways!

Every year, Travis and I write a little holiday love letter to each other. However, the love letters are not to be read for a whole year!
These letters will more than just profess love, they may also mention how grateful we are to have each other, and clues as to what stage of life we were in at the time we wrote them. Perhaps even mention of a holiday memory that we don’t want to lose.
These letters are put into a handmade ornament to wait out the year with the holiday decorations in storage; just to be found when it comes time to redecorate. (The picture was taken on the day the ornament was made. Not all of the final contents are shown.)

This year’s ornament was made from all recycled components except the label. We used:

Mentos gum container (If you scrape the surface of the sticker with a blade, the painted surface comes off like a lotto ticket, leaving behind a glittery, holographic-looking background!)
A ribbon scrap to hang by (saved from making bows for presents)
Foam letter stickers left over from Halloween to make the snowman
Gift tag label the March of Dimes sent me

It hangs on our tree, slowly collecting random embellishments, stickers, ideas, recipes, and such to be used next year. It will be packed up in the first week of January with all the other holiday decorations. Then it will sit in storage until Black Friday when we decorate again. At that time, we will read the letters (and scrapbook them), use the ideas to come up with a theme, use the embellishments to make gift tags, ribbons to make bows, and so on. Just to start the whole process over again for the following year!
This year’s favorite throw in is a little heard of organization called Christmas Commandos. We found out about it too late to participate this year, but we would like to see into it next year. Christmas Commandos are escorted by police at midnight, Christmas Eve, to the homes of children spending their first Christmas after the loss of a parent. While Santa is stuffing the stockings, the Christmas Commandos hang presents from a tree in their front yard (or in case of no trees, places them on the porch.) Isn’t that neat?
If you do this project, I would love to see it and hear about what you filled it with!

Kitchen Fluff

2010-12-30T17:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this is a mix on the last project.

Instead of using 2 sponges, I used only one small, thin sponge. It was used to keep kitty toys straight in the packaging. Instead of throwing it away, I made a mini bath time fluff with it, and used waterproof glue and part of the ribbon to attach it to the end of a thick chopstick. Now it can clean where my hand can’t fit!

The picture was taken while the glue was still drying. The ribbons will be removed after the glue is dry. Isn’t it nifty?!

Bath Time Fluff

2010-12-29T17:00:00.001-08:00

How was your holiday? Mine was nice. A little more stressful than usual since we had to celebrate with both families on the same day this time. Travis and I have decided that will not happen again. Next year, if the Henthorne’s celebrate on Christmas Day again, then we’ll just celebrate with them the following year.

So anyways…

I told my mom about my favorite lotion. (Actually, I told everyone about it! I was determined to drop hints until I got a refill! LOL) So one of my Christmas gifts this year was a hand arranged basket, from Mom, with the complete Vanilla Lace collection from Victoria’s Secret! AHHH!!!!! Lotion? Check! Hand cream? Check! Body spray and perfume? Check and check! Body wash? Oh so fabulous!

So now, all I needed was a fluff of fabulousness! So here’s what I did:

I picked 2 new sponges out of my cleaning supply drawer. (I bought a bag of mixed sponges and scrubbers when we moved.) One is very dense, and would likely be great at polishing my skin. The other was very porous and fluffy, so I thought it would create a great lather.

I used my straight edge pocket knife to cut the dense sponge into 4 equal pieces, lengthwise, and the porous sponge into 5 equal pieces, crosswise. Then arranged them in a checker board pattern with the mid-section of every piece lined up together (like in the picture.)

Then I wrapped a scrap piece of ribbon around the middle, tied half of a square knot, and pulled tightly before completing the knot. As a last touch, I tied the ends of the ribbon together for it to hang by in the shower.

And, yes, it is just as fabulous as I hoped it would be! YAY!!!

Santingo-Free Christmas Game

2010-12-22T17:09:00.001-08:00

This is my first post using a new blogging method called Windows Live Writer. I am hoping it will allow me to create my posts offline, and then post the finished work at a later time when I have internet access. If anyone has any hints, tips, or tricks for offline blogging, please do share them with me!
Ok, on with the show!
I created a game that I thought I would share. I named it Santingo. Ya know…a mix between the names Santa and Bingo. I don’t know if anyone else has thought it up, too. It is so simple, I wouldn’t doubt it. The cool part is that it is really 2 activities! The first activity is having each child assemble his/her own game card. The second activity is actually getting to play them!

Directions (Activity One):
1. Print a Santingo game card and clipart set for each child.
2. Supervise each child as they cut out his/her game card and clipart blocks. (Or cut it out for them.)
3. Provide glue sticks for each child to glue the blocks in the order they want them on their card.
4. Allow to dry, and the game is ready to play!
How to play (Activity Two):
· Ride around a neighborhood with lighted decorations.
· When you see a present decoration, mark out the present icon on the game card. Do so for each icon as you see them.
· The goal is to be the first to get a straight line up and down, left and right, diagonally, or each of the 4 corners. Then call out “SANTINGO.”
· To mark out the icons, you can use a crayon.
· If you laminate the card, you can use stickers to mark the icons. The stickers can be removed after the game is over, and the cards can be reused!

This game would be great to play if you have a local Festival of Lights like we do. It would also be fun to play in a different town than your family is used to, but it can be fun in your own town, too.
We will be playing on Christmas Eve with Travis’ parents and little sister. What better way to tire us out in time for Santa to come, huh? LOL
Please do let me know if there are any problems printing this game!
Happy Holidays!

Update for Everything

2010-12-05T14:44:00.000-08:00

I know it seems like I fell off the face of the Earth...it was the shoulder not the face I fell from. LOL

Let's begin with Morgan:

On Nov 24th, she got the "Okay" from the docs to go back to school, but since many of the kids in her class had the flu, she had to get a flu shot and wait 2 weeks first. She can finally be picked up under her arms, but only gently. She is recovering quickly! Thanks for the prayers! :)

As for me:

I still don't know where my health stands. I still have something going on, but all the docs I can find are incompetent. *sigh*

I was replaced at work shortly after I left. I thought I was okay with it, but now it has really been getting to me. Word of advice to all: Never mix family and business! Which brings me to why I haven't been online in a long while... When I lost my job, I lost my internet. My back up internet place lost their internet for a different reason before I lost mine. And the only other place I could access internet is at a coffee shop. And since I can't have my beloved coffee anymore, I didn't think it wise to go there and tempt myself with blood thinning gold! LOL

I miss the blogoshere. I am trying to figure out mobile blogging on my phone. I hope I can figure something out without adding a mobile data package. I think I have the email part figured out. So I can reply from there I think. I still have to figure out mobile posting and my rss feed reader thingy. So if this post is followed by some weird posts, now you know why. LOL

Well, off to figure somethings out!

XOXOXO
~ANKH

PS: I didn't receive my winning package from the Stashbusting September Craft Challenge. :(

And thru fundraising, donations, adsense, and the benefit bar we have raised $143.19 that will be added to the existing donations of $143.00 and $70.00 that are already in Sheridan's Angel Tree Fund and Adoption Grant Fund respectively! That is $356.19 total!!! Yay!!!!!

Morgan is having heart surgery (UPDATED)

2010-10-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

My niece, Morgan, went in for her heart surgery today. Please pray for her! She's such a fighter. I just know she's going to pull through just fine, but it is still nerve wrecking! Her poor little 19lb body being cracked open like that is unsettling! We weren't certain if it was gonna be postponed again. That's why I've been kinda silent about it. But she went in at 5:30 this morning, and the surgery started on time at 7 am.

Anyone that has my number: If you want to be kept up to date as soon as we know something, then text me. Include your name since I have a new phone and the old numbers did not transfer over.

Also, Anyone with crafty, colorful, or happy blogs: If you have a facebook page tied into your blog, I would love for you to leave the url in the comments so I can surround myself with happy things! Urls to sad or angry blogs/facebooks will be deleted!

Here is Henthorne Handmade on facebook for those of you interested!

UPDATE:

Morgan's surgery began on time at 7 am. She came out of surgery about 3 hours later.
Her heart started itself back up. Which means she won't need a pacemaker like her sister!
She also didn't need artificial walls like Brooke did. They were able to use a piece of her own heart tissue to close the hole. So there is no risk of her body rejecting it!
Her breathing was erratic from the anesthesia. But that is a common side effect.
She couldn't be seen for at least another hour. And we still don't know when she can be held.
She will be in recovery for longer due to them breaking open her chest for the surgery, rather than going thru an artery like they hoped to do.

So it was a successful surgery! But she has always been prone to complications and infections! So please continue to pray for her!

The Flower Town in the Pines

2010-10-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share a little info about my little town. I've heard many people (mainly from northern states) respond to the name, Summerville, in ways that express the longing for the summer sun. The name sort-of gives a fantastical daydream of sun-swept fields and romantic cuddles on the local sandbar. Then you hear Flower Town in the pines and you are taken to playful frolics through a forest to collect the abundant rainbow of Azaleas.

Being in the South Carolina Low Country, you may be aware that our Autumn lasts about a month or two. We sometimes have a winter. Our spring lasts about two weeks, and summer is king for the rest of the year. What you may not know about is the extreme humidity. South Carolina is a state of forests and swamps. To the country, our state bird is the Carolina wren. However, if you ask a South Carolinian, it is the mosquito! Which brings me back to the name "Summerville."

For those those that don't know where Summerville, SC is: Summerville is only a hop, skip, and jump away from Charleston, SC. And with good reason. Summerville wasn't named for the royal rule of the sun. Summervillians were actually Charlestonians that sought higher, dryer land in the 1700's and early 1800's to escape the mosquitos and the malaria that the hot, wet summer brings with it. Not quite the perfect setting you were imagining, huh?

Then in the early early 1900's people from as far away as France started flocking to Summerville when the International Congress of Physicians declared Summerville as one of the two best places in the world for the treatment and recovery of lung disorders thanks to the turpentine scent of our pine forests. Proud of Summerville's environment-based heritage, a "Tree City USA" flag from the Arbor Day Foundation adorns the pole in front of Town Hall along with Old Glory. It's no wonder the motto on the town's official seal is "Sacra Pinus Esto- The Pine is Sacred".

The little forest town has exploded in the past 30 years from a population of 3,000 to 33,000 people seeking a quality of life that cities have lost. How long do you suppose until Summerville loses that quality, too? Many of us believe that loss has already begun. People come from all over the world to see our annual Azalea Festival (also known as the Flower Town Festival.) It seems like those in important chairs are making efforts to be more like our parent city, Charleston, than like the Flower Town we all know and love. Futuristic visions are starting to overshadow the the 700 historically registered buildings.

Maybe it is just jealousy of the attention that Charleston gets by stars like Charleston native, Darius Rucker, whose newest album released this year (2010), "Charleston, SC 1966" consists of videos shot in the brick and cobblestone streets of Downtown Charleston, and at the surrounding Charleston plantations. Or maybe it is mover's regret for leaving Charleston before the city sinks into the Atlantic.

(Click here to take a "tour" of Charleston with Darius Rucker!)