Things to Come

So I have had plenty of things on the to-do list that I have accomplished, but there are also plenty of things I have been putting off and more things added! Yikes! On the bright side, some of those things that have put aside are also things that have been altered or re-imagined. My busiest weeks of the summer are upon us. I need to get started on a lot of things before I head off for my real vacation.

Where to begin... Let's start with things that have been altered or taken on a new direction. The curtain project is no longer in effect! It hasn't been finished, it hasn't even been started really. Due to our utter disdain for the woman the owns and manages this property, we are not staying past our lease. Since we have less than 9 months left, we feel it would be stupid to put the money into making curtains we would either leave here or throw out because they probably will not fit a new place. So the new plan of action is a privacy screen! I briefly mentioned this project a few weeks ago.

The whole thing has really been rethought out. The first major change will be using old pillowcases instead of decorative paper. We were given a sack of old granny style pillow cases with retro applique and embroidery. The plan is to dye them and cut them to fit that rectangle openings. I feel bad because these are someones old/retro bed sheets. I feel bad destroying heirloom bed linens. I am thinking about saving the nice embroidery section from being dyed and putting them in as is.

Inspired by the cheap frames that we got for the privacy screen for the house, I came up with a plan to minimize foot traffic and maximize privacy for the property as a whole. We have a small pathway between our house and the parking lot for the health department clinic. The gravel and general litter from their clients/patients etc. constantly falls onto our pathway. The other day I was weeding and decided that something needed to be done. I am planning on getting two or three more frames and a vine of some sort.

Ideally, I want to get these two project and one more (that I'll talk about in a minute) before leaving for California on the 15th. I really just want to the privacy screen for the office done because I don't want our nosy ass landlady peering into our home. And I want the plants in place so they have some time to grow and establish rooting on the frames before foot traffic really increases as the school year draws near.

The last project to get done before the trip is one that absolutely needs to be done by the time we leave. I know eight different women that have been pregnant this summer. Most of them aren't popping the kids out until the fall. Some of my closest friends are having their kids within 3 weeks of each other. For one of the babies, I am making decorative wooden initials. They will be safari themed. This is the first time I have ever attempted anything like this, so hopefully it will go smoothly. If it goes well, I may just post the pictures of them, or even try to make a penny or two from them.

Another project I am working on is my sister's Wedding Website. I have never really done a website before so this is a new venture for me. The majority of it is put together, I just need to do a lot of data type entry. People's bios, ceremony and reception site details, driving directions etc.

So that is the plan for the next month or so. If crafts aren't your thing, and/or you just want my recipes, Don't Worry! I will be posting as many of those as possible!

A New Project

So the curtain situation has been looming since moving into the new place. The biggest hurdle has been the disjointed, uneven and thrown together windows in our office. Of the five there, only two match. They also huge. So if you are on the front porch you can see straight into the house. When Port was here, that is how our landlady knew. She came in and looked through the windows. I plan on going on trips and I don't want creepers coming up on my deck and scamming what I have.

But this broke college girl, doesn't have all the money to spend on curtains for the whole area when the windows are all different sizes. Also during the evening, the sun sets through those windows and lights up the whole house. I don't want to block all that light but I want privacy. Call me a nudist, but I want to be able to not worry about who may be on my porch when I get out of the shower. I don't want to have to carry a pile of clothes into the bathroom and carry another pile of clothes out of the bathroom.

I recently found a solution to the problem. I have always loved those old fashioned folded dressing/privacy screens. I have never seen them for less than $200 each. I cannot justify

spending that much money. Well, while shopping here in town, I noticed the shopkeepers had made some room dividers of similar look from smaller door frames and old doors. This idea seems perfect to accomplish privacy without compromising the light source.

So after looking at a building supply/salvage warehouse, I found wooden frame that inserts on

a glass door to create a look a grid of "muntins". Its pretty much inserted to create a false look of wooden holders for panes of glass. Anyways, for $15 I got three of these frames. They are lightweight and would be perfect for this project. The next thing is to find hinges for the screens. To fill in the open space, I am thinking about using sheets of handmade paper, or some other kind of decorative paper. I am really excited about this project!! And if it goes well I may even make more!

One Down, Many to Go

In the past few days, a lot has gone on. I don't even know where to start. I suppose I will start on Friday, since that's when most of my creative took place. The "In-Laws" came to visit and BK and I decided we would provide dinner. But before any of this began, I had Port this weekend and picked him up at 8am.

Around noon, I began preparing my Crockpot version of Chicken Makhani or Indian Butter Chicken (recipe to be posted) as it needed at least 6 hours to cook. Cutting chicken into cubes while a German Shepard, who is as tall as the table you are working on, looks on is quite a fun thing to do. Thankfully, my two year old is well behaved. Port watched me very intently as I gathered all of the spices. Once the chicken was seasoned, and disappeared into the pot, he decided I was not as a fun as his new squeaky toy.

While the chicken was simmering away, I started another one of my projects. As I mentioned last time, I decided to take an old sheet and make it into a door curtain. The bedroom and office had their doors removed long before we moved in here. To help combat outside light, mostly due to the sun coming up around 5am during the summer, we needed some kind of privacy curtain. Originally I wanted to find one of those tri-fold privacy things. But those are all outside of my budget. It will be something to consider in the future.

So I laid out the sheet in the front room to measure it. As soon as it was flat, Port made himself very comfortable. Every time, I needed to move he gave me this snide little glare. It took me about an hour though. After measuring the door frame, and the sheet, I marked the lengths. I folded the extra over and used quilters safety pins to secure a two inch section for the curtain rod to go through and a second section to hold down the rest of the extra fabric.

I chose to use safety pins for this one because it was a perfectly good sheet prior to this project. Since moving, I no longer have a twin size bed, and therefore, I no longer have a need for twin size sheets. For the rest of the curtains, I will be using an adhesive. I wish I had a sewing machine though. That would make this whole project much easier.

Once we hung the curtain up, I noticed it was about 3 inches from the floor. So somewhere between Berkeley measuring the length of the doorway, to me measuring the fabric we made about a 2 inch error. I am okay with it being a little short as opposed to too long. All in all, I am very pleased with how this one turned out for how fast I did it and my limited assortment of supplies! What do you all think?

Crafts to be Finished

I realize I have posted 3 times already, but I make good on my promises. If you request something of me, I will try to accommodate my readers as fast as possible.

So another aspect of this blog is my crafts. I have several things in the making and on the "to be started" list. Awhile back I started a Altered Book as a remembrance project for my Grandma Lana who passed away in 2004. I made great progress on it until I needed pictures. I can't finish until I have pictures or else nothing I started would be right.

Another project in the making is the CURTAINS! As many of you know, we moved into a home with LOTS of windows. Right now, in the bedroom we have sheets for curtains. Not cool! Especially since one is tan and the other is red flannel. Not matching with the rest of the house, besides the comforter we have on our futon mattress couch. The office needs curtains to block out the heat from the setting sun. This past weekend was in the upper 90's. The house was ROASTING. It was bad. Trying to cook was even worse.

Also, we only have three doors; the front door, the bathroom door, and a closet door. So we need some sort of room dividers. I am thinking about taking some old twin size sheets and making them into curtains for a bedroom door. They are a green and brown paisley. It will be a nice contrast to the rest of the bedding in our room which is a chocolate brown suede down comforter and a lime green and black quilt. The upside to using a bedsheet for that is that it is already hemmed and matches perfectly with most of the house. It will also keep light from the front room out of the bedroom.

I am looking forward to more money coming our way so I can get home warming stuff taken care of. I think finishing these curtain projects will make this place more like my home.