a little sparc

2012

2012-01-01T00:00:00.002-05:00

The sun has set on 2011... and is now rising on 2012! Have a blessed new year!

Bird Watching

2011-10-17T18:38:00.025-04:00

swooping swiftly
from the pale
and cloudless sky
a jay alights
upon the ground.
robed in a lustrous coat
of royal blue
glowing aqua
and frosty white
accented with
bold black details.
its slender gray talons
grasp the splintery surface.
its gracefully-shaped beak
and regal tufted crown
add to the splendor
of this elegant-looking bird.
but exquisite beauty
can be...deceiving.
its pleasing looks veil its
heart of greed.
in contemplation
its small dark eyes
do seem rather shady
and everyone knows
beady eyes belong only
to crooks.
a short poem by a little sparc

Note: My"Words from A-Z" project is temporarily "on hold." Been quite busy lately, and haven't had much time for Dictionary skimming. Will try to resume soon.

Word 13 - Minikin

2011-09-22T06:00:00.010-04:00

minikin - a small or dainty creature

It's simply fascinating to watch a tiny bird flit from place to place, and land gracefully on a fence, just long enough to have its picture taken.

Word 12 - Lambent

2011-09-21T06:00:00.011-04:00

lambent - softly bright or radiant

A tiny gleaming flickering light is always a happy sight...

Word 11 - Kaffeeklatsch

2011-09-20T06:00:00.010-04:00

kaffeeklatsch - an informal gathering for coffee and conversation

And a croissant isn't a bad addition. Mmmm!

Word 10 - Jabberwocky

2011-09-19T06:00:00.009-04:00

jabberwocky - meaningless speech or writing

This is just one of many nonsensical quotes from A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh. I, however, do not think that Pooh's quotes are 'meaningless.' He just happens to be a bear of very little brain...

Word 9 - Inkling

2011-09-16T06:00:00.006-04:00

inkling - a slight indication or suggestion; a slight knowledge or vague notion

Leaves indicate much. These leaves suggest fall, as they gradually change from velvety green to pale crisp brown.

Word 8 - Heptad

2011-09-15T06:00:00.001-04:00

heptad - a group of seven

My friend Roy G. Biv gave me the idea for this photograph. He suggested that I use seven colored pencils held by seven hands in the seven colors of the rainbow. Genius!

Word 7 - Gewgaw

2011-09-14T06:00:00.001-04:00

gewgaw - something gaudy and useless; trinket; bauble

Even a lime green coin purse sprinkled with bright orange seed beads can be a nice accessory when paired with complementing fabrics... but this, I would certainly consider a gaudy combination.

Word 6 - Frap

2011-09-13T06:00:00.002-04:00

frap - to bind or wrap tightly with ropes or chains

The rough scaly rope slithers across the splintered porch, its tan threads bleached by the sun. Nearby, an unsuspecting wooden pole lazes in the shade. Suddenly, the rope lunges and winds itself around the pole. It soon realizes, however, that the prey is not satisfactory.

How a rope actually came to be twisted around an old, broken pole and how it came to rest on our back porch may always be a mystery...

Word 5 - Egress

2011-09-12T06:00:00.002-04:00

egress - the act or instance of going out; a means or place of going out; an exit

Going out... departing... fading away... so many meanings to a single word.

Word 4 - Driblet

2011-09-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

driblet - a trifling or small sum; a drop of liquid

When a single dew drop, however large it may be, is compared with a tall glass of sparkling crystal clear water, its sum is certainly small. Though ants may think otherwise...

Word 3 - Crepuscular

2011-09-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

crepuscular - of, pertaining to, or resembling twilight; dim; indistinct

Mist is always filled with mystery...

Word 2 - Bibelot

2011-09-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

bibelot - a small object of curiosity, beauty, or rarity

I don't know about you, but I think rocks are rather rare things... (You thought this post was about the frog, didn't you?) Take this particular rock. At first glance it may seem rather dull and ordinary. But if you examine it closer, you will see that it is shaped like a heart. There may be other heart-shaped rocks in the world, yet none is, or has been, or will ever be exactly identical to this one. I consider that an exceptionally rare thing. Each and every rock was created unique...

Word 1 - Arcane

2011-09-06T06:00:00.002-04:00

arcane - known or understood by very few; mysterious; secret; obscure; esoteric

Few know what lies beyond locked doors...

Words From A to Z

2011-09-05T06:00:00.005-04:00

26 days. A word each week day with an accompanying photo. An array of interesting dictionary words. Some familiar. Others entirely new. In any case... not everyday words. This is simply a fun challenge combining vocabulary and my passion, photography. Join me if you like!

Almost Autumn

2011-09-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

Summer is beginning to fade... Though the leaves have not yet changed from emerald green to glowing orange, vivid red, and brilliant yellow, autumn is in the air.

Have a radiant and golden end to the summer! Happy September!

Yarn Along - Soft As A Cloud Cowl

2011-08-24T04:34:00.001-04:00

I am not an experienced knitter or an avid reader, but I've been wanting to participate in the yarn along hosted by small things. Typically not one for large and lengthy knitting projects, I have recently been working on a cowl. This is only my first project on circular needles, so it hasn't been a quick project so far. It's from the book More Last Minute Knitted Gifts called a soft as a cloud cowl. There were actually several pattern variations to choose from. I chose the open mock cable and spiral rib cowl.

The yarn used in the book was a beautiful cashmere yarn, but of course I wasn't going to spend a fortune on a project that I'll probably only wear a few times this fall and winter. I chose a gorgeous aqua-blue superwash merino, wisps of black intermingled with the blue. The color is called Southwest Gem. The yarn is Frolicking Feet from Done Roving Yarns.

Reading-wise, I've been filling in a mixed crossword puzzle book. Exciting, right? I'm a take-my-time kind of reader, so if I pick up a novel, I want to read something really intriguing. The last novel I read was Pride and Prejudice. Very romantic!

Fiery Flowers

2011-07-28T15:39:00.012-04:00

I was pleasantly surprised that these photos turned out so well. Red and orange are two of the most difficult colors to photograph. They always become so washed out or bright that you lose a lot of definition. It's hard to go wrong with Zinnias, though. They're always so pretty.

Sparkle

2011-07-07T15:08:00.003-04:00

Unfortunately, these are not fireworks. Just sparklers, though they still make amazing photographs. All the intricate patterns... Hope everyone had a fantastic 4th of July!

Embroidery Headband

2011-06-30T09:43:00.029-04:00

Following several months of busyness, I have finally begun to craft again. After reading (well, skimming) Alicia Paulson's book, Embroidery Companion, I was inspired to try my hand at an embroidery headband.

Though a headband is a small accessory, it was by no means a quick project. At least for an inexperienced embroiderer like myself. In the end, the headband turned out much better than I anticipated. I did, however, somewhat alter the original pattern. Obviously the colors are different, but I also changed the style of the flowers.

The most difficult part was finding 'decorative elastic' for the ends of the headband. Having no idea what decorative elastic was did not particularly make my search easy. Finally ended up buying some gorgeous shimmery, blue-green, fold-over elastic from Etsy, and whip stitching it to both ends.

I've also been attempting to make some embroidery bracelets using the same type of elastic. More on that later.

A Little Light Painting Tutorial

2011-06-18T15:00:00.012-04:00

writing with light...

Well, the 'endless creativity' on this blog seems to have stopped dead in its tracks. I'd say it's about time bring some imaginative content to this page. Today's creative endeavor... A light painting tutorial.

You may be wondering - What in the world is light painting? Well, in short, to 'paint' with light, means to point a light source of some sort (a flashlight, for instance) in front of a camera, and then take a photograph with a long shutter speed. To 'paint' with light, you will first need to be in a dark room. (Outdoors at nighttime is preferable. You will get a better background, and light from other parts of your house will not be as distracting.)

Here are some things you will need:

SLR camera (point and shoot cameras can be used, but some may not be capable of long shutter speeds; certain point and shoot cameras [my old one for instance] have a fireworks setting in which the shutter is open for about 5 seconds. SLRs are still preferable for this activity because the shutter can be opened for an extended amount of time.)
Some kind of light-shining object i.e. flashlights, glowsticks, plastic lightsabers, Christmas lights [would need extension cord for this], or really any other kind of portable light source.
Black or dark sheet for background or as prop in the photo (optional)
White or light sheer for creating a 'ghostly' figure (optional)
Mirrors for reflecting light (optional)
Tissue paper or translucent colored plastic (optional.) This is for changing the color of your light, when using a flashlight. To achieve this affect, you simply hold a piece of tissue paper or a piece of see-through plastic over your flashlight (or tape it) while creating you picture. (Note: The little red disc in the photo is just a cheap plastic magnifying glass from a kids meal at a fast food restaurant. Anything like this can be used.)
Tripod (If you want clear photos, this is mandatory! Hand held light painting works too, but most likely your pictures will be blurry from camera shake.)
A little creativity (It's the best way to get fantastic photos.)

Things to do before you begin:

Wear black or dark clothing (preferably clothing that does not reflect light.)
If possible, make sure that light from other areas of your home is not affecting your 'light painting studio.' You want the room (or backyard) as dark as possible. Unless of course you want the 'effect' of other light sources.
Set your camera on a long shutter speed. Most cameras have a wide range of shutter speeds. You will need to have a capacity of at least 5 seconds. Some cameras have a 'bulb' setting, which means that you can hold down the shutter button for as long as you would like. (Please note that the longer the shutter is open, the longer you will be waiting for your camera to process the photo.)
Set your aperture. Aperture is a big word for how much light is let into the lens, determining how dark or light your photograph will be. Aperture is measured in 'f-stops,' another odd term. The larger the f-stop, [f-22, for example,] the darker your picture will be. The smaller the f-stop, [f- 3.5, for example] the lighter your picture will be. Most likely you will want to use a larger f-stop.
Attach the camera to a tripod (unless of course you want to hold the camera, but a tripod is highly recommended.)

Note: You can have a friend help you out with this, or you can use the self timer on your camera. If you use the self timer, you will probably want to set it at an interval of about 10 seconds so that you have time to position yourself in front of the camera.

This is an example of moving the camera around in circles in front of a stationary light source (kitchen clock)...

A flashlight covered with blue tissue paper...

Patterns of fiery light...

Kid's lightsabers work very well...

This interesting effect was achieved by using a flashlight to trace around someone's feet on the floor, turning off the flashlight as they step and then continuing to trace...

Fun with Christmas lights...

Much of this tutorial is based on the light painting section of the book Photo Jojo. An odd title, but a very fun book, full of creative things to do with photography.

So get out there and discover!

Spring

2011-03-21T16:52:00.005-04:00

Tiny golden wands emerge from,
Fragile snow white petals,
Gently affixed to slender, sturdy branches,
Extending from the bountiful flowering bushes,
Of spring.

(A short poem by alittlesparc)

Hmmm... It's been a week since Heart Day...

2011-02-21T16:12:00.001-05:00

It has officially been a week since Valentine's Day. Maybe I should post about it. Yes. I think that's a good idea. December 23rd was a long time ago...

Here's what I've been up to...

My Valentine cards this year were very similar to last year's. I took a couple of plastic animals, set em' up on a decorative paper and snapped a couple of photos. Then I had this crazy idea that I could sell them at my co-op. Ha! I printed out at least 16 sets of 5 and only ended up selling three. I wasn't very prepared anyway.

Here's a couple of close ups...

I basically had four different sets of animals: Woodland, Wild, Farm and Dog. Woodland was probably my favorite.

Packaging was a little tricky. I tried wrapping the sets in tissue paper, wrapping paper, ribbon, yarn... None of it worked. Finally, I found some little celophane jewelry envelopes. They ended up looking very nice. Professional was the look I was aiming for.

Hope you had a Heart Day filled with love!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-12-23T08:00:00.001-05:00

This is another of my attempts at crafting...

I used waxed black thread, and tiny, little, red seed beads. The second photo of the large red bead is actually supposed to be the clasp for the back, but it can be worn in the front as well.

Happy Birthday Mom!

The Winner!

2010-12-20T20:00:00.001-05:00

Thanks to all the bloggers who stopped by my giveaway post! I was delighted to recieve so many comments.

And the winner is...

Lindsay Conner from Lindsay Sews

Congratulations!

Thanks so much to all who commented. I loved reading your creative adjectives. Come again!

Another Giveaway Day!

2010-12-11T10:51:00.001-05:00

I had so much fun participating in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day last winter! Last year I gave away a little Westie! This year, I'm giving away ...

... a little bracelet made of embroidery thread and beads. When I have the time, I really enjoy crafting. I made several of these bracelets and am attempting to create enthralling sounding names for the colorways. This particular bracelet reminds me of the ocean. So this colorway is Atlantic.

If you're interested in winning this little piece of jewelry, all you have to do is comment on this post. Usually, bloggers hungry to win a giveaway prize will simply write whatever pops into their head first... "How sweet!" "How cute!" "So pretty!" etc.

So for this giveaway, my challenge to you is to conjure up some vivid, descriptive adjectives for your comment! Use of thesaurus is permitted. Have fun!

A few important notes:
1. This giveaway will be open from December 13th through December 17th.
2. The winner will be chosen at random on December 20th, and will be notified via email. If your email is not linked to your blogger/typepad/other profile, please include it in your comment. I will post the name of the winner by December 21st.
3. Sorry. This item will not be shipped Internationally
4. Because of the small beads, do not give this bracelet to children under 6 years of age.

Enjoy commenting, and maybe even winning!

Pick up the Phone!

2010-11-01T21:09:00.002-04:00

My blog has been calling me for over3 months. Maybe I should answer? It's simply amazing how busy I've become. Sometimes it's nice just to head out into the crisp weather, and take photos...

Happy Fall!

A Really "Fun" Weekend

2010-07-27T23:22:00.001-04:00

Weekends are so much "fun" when you have a cold. Headaches, sneezes and coughs abundant enough to supply you for the whole year. Such fun! Runny noses, requiring half the tissues in your house. What glee!

Since I haven't (cough, sniff) been out of the house for a while, I have been occupying myself with reading Pride and Prejudice...

And having a little fun with Photoshop Elements. Recently I have been trying some new effects on my photographs, such as emphasizing an object by making it in color and the rest of the image in black and white...

And some artistic effects such as making silhouette-like outlines.

Finally

2010-07-04T15:16:00.001-04:00

My blog has never quite lived up to the phrase on my header, "endless creativity." I should really rewrite it to say, "creativity that seems to have ended." But even that phrase wouldn't be accurate. I am writing a creative post right now! But all this is besides the point.

The photograph above is my idea for a "look-alike" scene. There are a series of picture books entitled "Look-Alikes" that are actually quite fascinating. The books are made up of photographs of everyday objects arranged into different scenes. There are parks, shops houses, and even some famous structures like the Eiffel Tower.

My photo is of a little bedroom. If you look closely, you will probably recognize some objects. The mattress is a journal, with little cotton balls for the pillows.

a thimble wastebasket...

a spool of thread for the table, a playing card for the rug, buttons and an acorn cap for the lamp...

Mary Cassatt stamps---uh... I mean "paintings" for the graph "wallpaper"...

a sweet little stamp card (with a little trick inside)...

and lastly a mirror on the wall. Is there anything odd about this photo?

Kitchen Concoctions

2010-04-20T17:55:00.001-04:00

Recently I made a dessert for a tea at my church. In one of the the Martha Stewart Food Magazines there was this delicious looking Lemon Mousse with blackberries on top. I decided to try it, though I had a few mishaps. (I'm not very adept in the kitchen.)

Here is a 'slightly different' version of the recipe:

A few things to remember before you begin:
. Take out the ingredients whenever you remember that you need them for the recipe
. Clean everything up after you can't see the counter

For the Lemons:
1. Squeeze 2 1/2 fresh lemons
2. Start to squeeze the last half, and accidentally tip over the bowl of lemon juice. Spill it all over yourself and the floor. (Make sure that the lemon juice has not been strained yet. It's a lot more fun to clean it up when it has all the pulp and seeds in it.)
3. Squeeze a new batch of lemons

For the Gelatin:
1. Don't look for the amount (in teaspoons) contained in each package. You must scoop each teaspoon individually. Find out later that each package contains 2 teaspoons.

Next:
1. Mix lemon juice and water in small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin on top.
2. Pour mixture into saucepan and heat on stove until you smell it burning.
3. Prepare ice bath, making sure that there is too much water and not enough ice.
4. Pour gelatin mixture from saucepan back into the bowl it was in before.
5. Freeze your fingers in ice water as you hold the sides of the bowl in the 'too-much-water-not-enough-ice-bath. (You don't want the bowl to fall in.)
6. Take out bowl from bath.
7. Thaw out fingers.

For the Whipping Cream:
1. Whisk 1 carton of whipping cream with hand-held beaters.
2. Take a quick break. (Hold the beaters in the air while doing so.)
3. Absent-mindedly press the lever while beater is pointed upwards.
4. "Aaaaahhhhhh!"
5. Turn it off the beaters and clean up the mess.
6. Realize you could have been using the beater that 'does it itself.'
7. Skip a few steps, (this is getting boring!)

Until... You're done! Except... You forgot to double the recipe!

As you may have picked up, that recipe was a major hyperbolie, though the lemon and whipped cream scenarios were pretty much true. Overall, the recipe turned out alright. I myself wasn't thrilled with the taste, but several people said they liked it. At least they looked pretty in the shiny blue cupcake tins.

Emerging

2010-03-20T16:10:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that winter has actually departed.

The melting ice and snow...

the robins flying in from the south...

the flowers beginning to bud after the long gray winter...

Spring.

Valentine Sweets - Beautiful, Edible, Love - able!

2010-02-17T17:03:00.003-05:00

Happy (late) Valentine's Day to everyone in blogland!

I was pleasantly surprised when I received some flowers from my parents! Some miniature roses and whitish-yellow lilies (they hadn't bloomed yet in the photograph.

A few days before Valentine's Day, I attempted to make some 'lacy chocolate hearts' to 'place daintily on little cupcakes.' In the Martha Stewart Living magazine, there was this really fantastic looking cupcake with a little chocolate heart on top. It looked relatively simple, so I decided to try it.

They worked relatively well, except that they began to melt after they were taken out of the fridge. There was a lot left over, so a made a ginormous chocolate heart!

This year for Valentine cards, I took some photographs of little plastic animals.

For my monkey/chimpanzee/gorilla loving little brother.

For my mom.

For my actually 'lego loving' brother, but he likes polar bears too.

For my 'used to want to be a herpetologist' brother.

For my dad.

Hope everyone had a day filled with Valentine Sweets!

Valentine Cards

2010-02-11T13:52:00.002-05:00

For Valentine's Day (in 4 days, by the way,) I have edited a few photographs in photoshop elements.

Hopefully I'll have time to make some hand-made ones too!

Experimenting

2010-02-07T17:00:00.003-05:00

Today I was experimenting with clay animation. If you read any of my early posts, you will see that I made a little man and a little dog. Now for a little mouse...

If you didn't notice, he winked at you near the end.

Originally, I wanted to have him talk and have more body movements, but that was a little ambitious. Hopefully I will get better, though.

Scotties and Beagles and Rushing, Oh My!

2010-02-05T17:04:00.003-05:00

Hello to all those in blogland! After my measly 2 posts in January, I am going to try to better this month. So far in craft world I have been making some clay puppies.

These little guys were supposed to look like Scottish Terriers, but ended up looking more like black mutts. As you probably can tell from the hearts, I made these for Valentine's Day. I had intended to set up an Etsy shop, but with only 9 days till, I doubt that will happen. All the dogs are completed, but I haven't made the boxes, or figured out what to send them in. Correction. I have started making the boxes, but I don't think any one would like to receive one, considering they are lopsided and would probably collapse on the trip.

I have also been making some beagles (a mischievous little dog)...

You can see it in their eyes. The good thing about these is that if I do ever get a system set up to sell them, they don't have to be for a certain holiday.

Slacking

2010-01-22T17:39:00.002-05:00

I have been slacking with my crafting for many months now. I completed a few measly creations during the holidays, for a few family members, but that's about it. Here is my tiny list... For my brothers, I sewed them each an i Pod case. One on them is green+black, and one of them is red+ black. (I may or may not show photos of them.)

I also tried to make some felt rings with ideas from several different craft books. Here is the first one that I made.

You can wear it this way...

or this way, with the stitching up...

I have made three others, a black+red one that was too large, a brown+green one for my mom, and a brown+orange+magenta one for my grandmother. The problem is that the felt I have is very thin, and can stretch out easily, so it's hard to judge sizing.

Another of my endeavors was a Noro Silk Garden Scarf. The photos which I took may not be in complete focus, because the lighting was low. The yarn is absolutely gorgeous, with a mix of pink, purple, green, black, brown, and a beautiful blue-aqua color.

Though these pictures are a bit blurry, you can still see the color and texture. Lastly, I have been making a lot of little clay dogs recently, particularly for Valentine's Day. I'm hoping to set up an Etsy shop, to sell a few of them. I may have photos up later, so stay tuned!

A Taste of Winter

2010-01-05T21:02:00.003-05:00

Ahhh winter! Though we are early into the season, there have been a few light snows so far.

When you step out into the frosty, white world, make sure to have a pair of warm, new boots...
things to do...

identify unknown animal tracks (rabbit, I think)...

make some of your own...

watch the buds on the trees going into hibernation for the winter...

photograph everything!
Can't forget sledding, snowman making, and snowball fights.
And here are a few small remnants of the previous season...

a weed, (yet very photogenic)...

more elaborate weeds...

a lone herb peeping through...
So much to see even when it's covered with snow!
*Hot Chocolate or Coffee is a necessity after return from your backyard hike!

One last thing... Happy New Year!

The Winner!

2009-12-07T16:53:00.001-05:00

Thanks to all who commented on my giveaway post. Wow! 73 comments. Usually I get about 1 or 2. To get to the point, today is the day that I randomly choose the winner! Drumroll please... and the winner is

Michele from Nostalgic Cafe

Congratulations! I have already emailed you, so please respond within 48 hours. As I said before, I wish everyone could win, but I'm only giving away 1 puppy!

Giveaway Day!

2009-12-01T23:45:00.004-05:00

The Sew, Mama, Sew! blog is hosting a Giveaway! Every blog participating is giving away a handmade item. Here's my little creation...

Entering - If you are interested in receiving this little 1-inch puppy, simply comment on this post. I will leave it open for comments from December 2nd to December 6th.

Winning (the best part) - The winner will be chosen at random from the list of comments. I will be posting the name of the winner on my blog, as well as contacting them at their email address.

*Important notes:
1.This is NOT a TOY. This a decorative item and is very delicate. It should not be given to children under 6 years of age.

2. Sorry. This item will not be shipped Internationally.

I wish everyone could win, but I'm only giving away 1 puppy!

Sculpting - Part 2: A Taste of Christmas

2009-11-28T16:02:00.003-05:00

Now that Thanksgiving is past (hope everyone had a great one, by the way,) we go onto... Christmas! Here are a few Chocolate Labs I made for the Holidays...

3 drooling dogs
1 candy cane (pre-licked)
1 candy cane (half eaten)
1 slimy dog bone

Won't their master be thrilled with these generous gifts!

Make sure to stay tuned for a giveaway!

Sculpting - Part 1

2009-11-27T15:43:00.003-05:00

I love to make crafts, especially small ones. A while back, I had started making some 1 inch tall, miniature clay puppies for a board game. After a while it morphed into simply making them for fun. My favorite type of dog is a Westie (West Highland White Terrier.) Here are the four that I made...

pink bandanna puppy...

blue bandanna puppy from the back...

green bandanna puppy (my personal favorite) ...

yellow bandanna puppy (so you can see the size.)

I'm hoping to try to sell a few of them, but I have to figure out all the specifics.

Color #7 - The Mystery Color!

2009-11-07T12:00:00.001-05:00

Today's color... the mystery color!

Drum roll please... and the color is... Silver!

the flash dish (if that's what it's called) attached to one of the many old cameras of my mom's collection...

a small pair of scissors...

the top of little flashlight...

*Note - though the photographs in today's post were converted to black and white, all of the items were silver.

Here we come to the close of color week. I hope you have enjoyed it!

Color #6

2009-11-06T16:59:00.002-05:00

Today's color... Purple!

more doodling...

some dye from when I made Tie-Dye T-shirts in the summer...

this was a photograph that I took of a butterfly in a blossoming tree. I edited it in Photoshop Elements so that it would look like a print...

one more color... the mystery color is soon to be revealed!

Color #5

2009-11-05T16:58:00.001-05:00

Today's color... Blue!

the double chocolate cake that my friend made for me, mmmm...

some interesting cafe chairs...

sewing...

Two more colors in color week!

Color #4

2009-11-04T16:30:00.001-05:00

Today's color... Green!

coloring...

a tiny glass frog which belonged to my Great Grandmother...

some bright chairs outside a little store...

tomorrow... my favorite color!

Color #3

2009-11-03T16:56:00.001-05:00

Today's Color... Yellow!

a summer memory...

a texture photo...

one of the many fish in its so called 'habitat' where he is watched almost every day...

Tomorrow's color still to come!

Three Cake Birthday/ Color #2

2009-11-02T16:39:00.002-05:00

I had an unusual birthday this week... Three Cakes! First of all, my considerate father, who is not exactly a whiz in the kitchen, (no offense dad), toiled away to make me a lemon cake. Thanks Dad!

Secondly, a friend of mine from church heard that it was my birthday, and made be a chocolate cake with mnm's. I was really surprised. She is so sweet. Thanks Shelly!

And last, but not least, another friend of mine, this time from my homeschool co-op made me a cake. It was more like a bar, with tons of chocolate chips! Actually I think her mom made it. So, thanks also to Julie and her family!

And now... Today's Color... Orange!

a pumpkin from a local farm...

an interesting angle...

the intricate veins of a leaf...

Stay tuned for color #3!

Color Week/ Today's color - #1

2009-11-01T15:40:00.001-05:00

Welcome to a little sparc's... color week! Each day, I will put up a new post with three photos. Every day will be a different color.

Sunday - Red
Monday - Orange
Tuesday - Yellow
Wednesday - Green
Thursday - Blue
Friday - Purple
Saturday - Mystery Color!

Today's Color... Red!

an old stamp from a collection at a tag sale...

some gorgeous fall leaves...

more leaves!

Hope you visit this week!

Systematically methodical... semi-organized... utterly confused?

2009-10-13T17:49:00.001-04:00

When you enter a corn maze, you start out with the map. You mark off the paths you have already covered, and circle the areas where you need to go. Fifteen minutes later... you are bit confused, yet still on track. After an hour... you are utterly lost. Aimlessly you wander through the monotonous rows of corn stalks desperately searching for an exit. Suddenly, when all hope seems lost, you turn the corner and see... the end! You are finally out!

(this may not look very tall, but it was more than twice my height!)

Maybe I exagerated just a litttttle teensy bit. OK, a lot. I really did have a good time. I even took a gorgeous leaf home to press.

A longgggggg time ago in a land far away ...

2009-10-04T17:41:00.001-04:00

Hello out there to all of those who read my blog! As you can see from my last post, which was in August, I have not posted for a while. (A long while.) Anyways, in August my family and I went to the east coast to...

The Beach!

the crashing waves... (this was the first time I had ever been to the beach in the summer, so I actually got to 'swim' in the ocean. It was the first time I ever tried boogie boarding too!

footprints in the sand...

don't forget the birds...

intricate seashore buildings...

and at the end of the day, a scenic walk at sunset.

Of course there were countless other things to see and do there, but if I mentioned all of them I could be writing all day!

Deja - vu

2009-08-05T11:01:00.003-04:00

I just unpacked from camp, and I'm already packing for vacation! I've also been making a lot of crafts too. Just like my last post. Weird. Anyways, I've had a few crafting successes, and a few crafting mishaps. Here is one of the mishaps.

For this craft, I used a circular hole punch to cut circles out of paint chips from several different home improvement stores. Long story short - Two years ago when I re-did my room, I wanted it to be teal. (It used to be a little boy's room- with yellow on the top half of the wall, blue on the bottom half, and a thin line of teddy bear wall paper in the middle. Yuck!) So we went to the store and got a whole bunch of teal paint chips, (which may not have been the best idea, considering I am usually indecisive.) After I had re-done my room, I still had all the paint chips, so I decided to make something with them. I was planning on sewing a few chains of circles together and hanging them over my door. It didn't work out because my sewing machine, doesn't work very well. The back kept getting knotted, making big loops everywhere. Now onto the crafts that worked out better.

The next thing I made was an i-Pod case. Actually more like a purse. It looks like a case for an i-Pod nano, but I actually made it for an i-Pod shuffle, which is smaller. It would need to be longer for a nano. The idea for the straps came from Amy Karol's book Bend the Rules of Sewing.

Everything is slightly different than in the book, (the size obviously being one thing.) I made it 3 in. by 2 1/2 in, but I wish I had made it a little bit bigger. The ear buds don't fit in it very well.

I did have to hand stitch the top edge, which was kind of a pain, but overall it is a very easy project. I am definitely not an experienced sewer. I could even mess up a straight line! Here is one other project a little bit like this one, which I actually did a long time ago.

The blue and green tie dyed fabric that you see in the picture above actually continues in the back, down to the bottom. What is seen a flap that goes over the bag.

(This is the back.)

In the photograph below, I used another piece of fabric in the middle of the strap because it wasn't quite long enough.

The i-Pod case that I made is just two rectangles sewed up at the sides. This bag has sides and a bottom, even though it may not look like it does in the photographs.

Packing and Crafting

2009-07-09T10:10:00.001-04:00

Three days till camp! Just one problem. I have barely packed anything! As you can see from my suitcase, I'm not very organized when it comes to trips.

I have also been making a lot of crafts this week. A few days ago, I made sun printed bandannas.

For my birthday several years ago, I received a Sun Print Kit. I have not used it for a long time, so I pulled it out this week. What you do is paint a piece of fabric with special sun paint. Next, you take the fabric outside, lay it down in a sunny place, and place your objects. You could use really anything as long as it is able to make a shape. (For food, it is good to only use hard things: pretzels, uncooked pasta, etc. I used leaves for one, and buttons for the other. First I decided where to place them.

After everything was dry, I took off the shapes. They didn't quite turn out how I had wanted. Some of the prints were barely visible. It works better when the paint is darker, but the paint I was using was a bit old. My next project was tie dye T-shirts.

Yesterday a tie dyed 5 T-shirts before lunch! That may not seem very amazing to many, but for me it was a record. (I often start projects, and never finish them.) It was a pretty messy project too, so there was a lot to clean up. (I have also been known to make things, and not clean up the mess after.) I'm glad I wore rubber gloves when handling the dye because last year when my family and I made tie dye T-shirts we didn't wear gloves. Our hands looked like rainbows!

Notice the sticks in the photograph next to the dye. My mom wouldn't let me use kitchen spoons, so I found some sticks to stir with. The only problem was that several sticks broke and some pieces fell into the dye. Here are the T-shirts I made:

(Sunshine Orange.)

(Kelly Green. This is against a window, so it looks like it's glowing.)

(Royal blue.)

(Sunshine Orange and Fuchsia - Swirled.)

(Kelly Green and Royal Blue - Swirled. This was also against a window.)

So all of these I made before lunch! It took a long time, and a lot of work, but now I have five new colorful T-shirts.

Something Missing?

2009-07-05T14:45:00.001-04:00

As you can see, there is a slight problem with this cake I baked. Take a good look. You may just need to glance at it. Or maybe you were so enthralled with it that you didn't even notice. (Just Joking.) In any case, I'm sure you noticed that it only has 12 stripes. (Not quite enough room on the cake.) Don't even pay attention to the blueberries on it. There are definitely not 50 stars. (Actually none on this flag.) Nevertheless, it was still a pretty good tasting cake. I used a lemon box cake, and covered it with some Cool Whip. (The cake, not the box.)

Torture Instrument

2009-06-30T15:05:00.000-04:00

(definitely not one of my great photos)

Before I begin to write, I have just one thing to say: Orthodontists - DO NOT READ! This object that you see in the photograph is an ancient torture instrument, that was outlawed in the Middle Ages. It was jammed into the victim's mouth, and tied behind their head. It was then pulled back as tight as it could go, and left that way. (Just Kidding.) It's really, as many people with braces already know, headgear. (For people with an overbite.) Many people have said that I will get used to it, but I don't know. I do know that I should be wearing it more, but it gives me a headache after it has been on for a while. (Maybe that's why they call it headgear.) Now that I have written this, I suppose I have to wear it.

Just in Time

2009-06-20T20:15:00.001-04:00

Just in time. I thought I was'nt going to have enough time to make even a card for my dad, but I put together a little something. Here is another little slideshow for you dad!

A bad daughter

2009-06-20T15:58:00.001-04:00

Ahhhhhh! Father's Day is in eight hours! It's Saturday afternoon and I have not even made a card for my Dad! For his birthday I made a little clay animation slide show, but I have done nothing for Father's Day. Here is what I created for my dad's birthday.

Do I hear an old man snoring?

2009-06-10T17:36:00.001-04:00

When will it ever stop raining? It has constantly been raining around here! Some of my parents friends are going camping soon, so hopefully the weather will change soon.