Wired For Noise

I don’t really have a good tip this week for Works For Me Wednesday. But I did find a great one so I’m passing that on instead.

In case you didn’t know next week is TV Turn Off week, one we’re going to try to join in. I’ve been reading a bit on others pledging to go a week without the boobtube and saw this great post at Unplug Your Kids. It’s on making a “Mommy, I’m bored…” box. One you can pull out when the kids start whining.

The box is simple. Decorate a shoe box and fill it with slips of paper. On each slip is a suggestion for something to do. Read a book, put together a puzzle, have a scavenger hunt. Whatever fun ideas that you kids can do. Then anytime they start with the “mommy, I’m bored” whining you just point them in the direction of the box.

I loved this so much that I think every parent should have one on the counter all year long. Use neon colors, set a flashing arrow above it, buy a voice activated alarm that goes off to the sound of the word “bored”. Anything to direct the kids towards the almighty box of ideas. You might find they can be happy without the TV. If you’re feeling gutsy you might cancel the cable account and put that money into savings accounts instead.

Tags: parenting, TV Turnoff Week, TV

I thought I would also share the top searches and top hits for my jewelry shop too, because I’m vain like that. The top searches were men’s jewelry, handmade beads, and green necklace.

And the most viewed pieces were

• Tween Girl’s Bracelet
• Silver and Blue Earrings
• Midnight Necklace

I keep hoping to have more jewelry up soon, but no luck. I started the surfer necklace but it just did not turn out like I had hoped. Now I’m trying to rework it to find a way to make it look like it should. That got me so frustrated that I get the beads aside for a bit and did some sewing instead. Like my new shirt and a little stuffed monster. I’ve also refashioned a skirt from a couple of old shirts that I need to write about soon.

Tags: crafts, jewelry

Like it? See how I made it here.

Tags: photo, sewing, crafts, Wordless Wednesday, clothes

Help a mama out.

I’ve been hunting everywhere for a button to put on the purse I knit a few months ago. The bag is hot pink and black, very “punk princess” looking. I have been searching for a big funky button with a skull and crossbones on it in hot pink and black. I’m dying to finish this purse!

I’m also looking for some good books on being thankful and grateful. Something a preschooler could understand, not religious, and not packed with shame and guilt. Maybe that doesn’t exist, as all I’m finding are either straight out of the bible or dripping in shaming kids into appreciating what they have.  Got a good book suggestion? Let me know!

A knitting pattern for something small yet fabulous. I won 42 gorgeous yards of wool yarn from Sew Spun and I want to make something I can wear and show off.

More great suggestions for my vacation post. If you haven’t added your 2 cents run over and do so now. Everyone is pushing camping, which I love. But Dearest wouldn’t be caught dead more than 5 minutes from cable TV and refrigeration.

Tags: blogging, knitting, crafts, vacations, books, kids, parenting

I lost track of time this morning trying to make jewelry. I had planned to have several new things up in the shop by today but my order still hasn’t arrived. I’m out of hooks for necklaces and bracelets, both of which I had planned to make. At least I did get one bracelet done and a pair of earrings done.

I made this fun little bracelet small enough to fit a young girl or tween. I could have gone larger and made it for an adult, but a friend commented last night that she has trouble finding cool jewelry for her daughter that isn’t Disney princess inspired. It’s funky while still being girly. And I used my last hook on this instead of on the surfer necklace I had planned to make, that shows how much I liked this.

I also finally made these earrings. I found these blue beads and just fell in love. They’re the color of the sky, so gorgeous I almost hated using them. The silver teardrops are light with a great pattern across them, almost like tiny spider webs.

I had hoped to have my spring earrings up and ready also but didn’t get them done yet. I spent most of the time this morning putting one together before quitting to go outside and play. It’s such small pieces, so much bending and looping wire, so many small beads that my hands ached after doing just the one. I’ll try to get the second one done tonight and get them up in the shop. They may be the most expensive items just because of how difficult making them has been.

After this I’ve got a surfer inspired necklace with a huge glass pendant that is too cool to miss, a spring necklace that will be almost similar to the earrings, and a couple funky bracelets for the eclectic jewelry lover. Whew, I’m jewelry out right now!

Tags: jewelry, crafts, beads, wire

I was thinking of creating a unique logo for the jewelry shop. Something that sets it apart from this blog, just a bit, and that gives it more character. Plus I’ve been told repeatedly to get some cheap business cards to send with the pieces. So I stayed up far too late last night playing with creating a unique logo design that I could use.

I had a bit too much fun playing over at LogoYes.com, a fun little logo creator that I found. There is a free demo that I probably wore out my welcome on last night going through the options. You choose what style you want to go for, then an inductry, and then dig through pages of basic logos ready to be taken. But they have a lot of functions so that even if you use the same image as someone else it doesn’t have to look the same. You can play with the color, size, direction, position, pretty much every thing about it. You take their image and shape it like play dough to fit what you want from it.

There were quite a few images I could have used. Some fun jewels that would have fit, but i just didn’t think they captured my style. There were these really cool fountains and dancing people and moons that all looked awesome, but just not what I’m looking for. One thing that I loved about the free demo, you can just flip back to where you were and change your design without having to start all over again at the beginning. As many changes as I made again and again that came in very handy.

After too much playing with it I think I finally found something cute. I’m not rushing out to buy business cards right now, especially not high priced ones like these. Though, they saying is that you get what you pay for so if you’re looking for great quality this is probably the place you want to go rather than the free sites. Plus you buy the image files for your logo, something you don’t get with the free sites.

OK, I’ll quit babbling and show you my idea. Any comments? Suggestions? Have I lost my mind? Wait, don’t answer that last one.

Tags: logo, business card

How many of you drink milk? Do you buy it in the big plastic jugs? What do you do when you’ve finished off the milk in the jug? You could just through it in the trash or you could recycle it into something new. Here are 5 things that you can do with your empty milk jugs to reduce the amount of trash your family is creating.

1. Make a bird feeder.  They’re not the prettiest, but they are functional. Cut out a small hole along the side, about an inch and a half above the bottom. Then fill the bottom with some bird seed and string it from the handle to a tree branch. The plastic can get hot so you’ll want to hang it in a shady spot, especially if you live in a warm weather area.
2. Use them in your garden. Cut the bottom off and stick the top half over young plants to act as small greenhouses. While you’re at it use the bottom part as a place to start your seedlings in. Or leave them intact, fill with water, punch a few small holes in the bottoms, and sit them in your garden for a slow trickle of water onto your plants. You can clean and store these easily during the winter months and pull them out again each spring.
3. Make a container. Cut the top off at an angle so that the handle is in place and you can use them to hold things in. Clothes pins, small toys, you can even use this in the kitchen to hold your scraps for composting. If you have animals that reguire a lot of food this can also be used to scoop up their feed.
4. Use the sides. Cut large circles out of the sides to use for freezing burgers. If you mike to make a lot of burgers and freeze them for future use you can stick the plastic circles in between. It’s better than wax paper as you can reuse them again and again.
5. Save water. Fill empty milk jugs with water and stick in the tank of your toliet. It will automatically become a low-flow toliet, using less water with each flush. Of course less water also means a lower water bill each month, that’s my favorite part.

I’m sure there are hundreds of other great ideas for reusing your empty milk jugs, but these are some great places to start. For other great tips gor check out the Works For Me Wednesday post this week.

Tags: recycling, reusing, milk jugs, works for me wednesday