Nothing
basket related today, just a cool photo of me taken at
Explora, the Albuquerque Children's Museum. Here I am looking through a mirrored prism while my children take my picture.
Yesterday I went to a wonderful
scrapbooking crop that Naomi hosted. Thanks Naomi. You can see her work here.
http://www.naomiockerman.blogspot.com/At the crop I worked on my recipes. I made a pretty altered recipe box to hold them. It is so nice to have all my recipes organized where I can find what I want. It also helps make menu planning a snap as I just pull out the recipes that I will be making over the next week. I have them all in protective photo
sleeves so I can just take them to the grocery store with me to get my ingredients.
Tonight we are having chili in the crock pot. Yummy!
Have a blessed Sunday,
Love,
Nancy
The above picture is the January kit of the month. I've had people ask, "How did you make those curls?" "Are those
curlie Q's made from reed?"
Yes, those curls are made from reed. I used 11/64" flat reed and rolled it around a 1/4" dowel rod. Soak the read well first, 15 minutes at least. Then secure the end of the reed to the dowel with a clothespin and just keep wrapping. Secure the other end with a clothespin as well. Let the reed dry completely before removing it from the dowel. You can then pull on the coils slightly to give them a springy look. You can do the same thing using round reed as well for a pretty look. Once the reed is removed from the dowel rod, cut it into desired lengths and wire to your basket. Try using several colors or a color with natural for a pretty basket embellishment.
Happy
Basket Weaving,
Love,
Nancy
I thought the embellishments were so cute on this basket. It is a cell phone, jeans, and a laptop. The embellishments came from
Walmart and were actually little Christmas ornaments/decorations that I wired on my basket. I wove this basket for my oldest daughter who is 15 and into all these things.
Happy Weaving,
Love,
Nancy
She is energetic, a hard worker, and watches for bargains.
She works far into the night.
--Proverbs 31: 17, 18
With my New Year's resolution of 'Keeping Ahead of the Game', I have been focusing on being a keeper of the home. I want my home to be an extension of my personality. I want all who enter to feel comfort and love and I hope you all don't mind if I share from time to time ways in which I try to achieve this. Keep ahead of the game basically is like the scout motto of "be prepared." I try to keep ahead of the game when it comes to things such as meal planning, or holidays or other special events. It drives me nuts to be rushing around at the last minute trying to complete a project or find a lost item such as car keys. I really want to do weekly meal planning and try to limit my trips to the store to only once a week. No more do I want to start cooking a recipe to find I need to rush out and buy a key ingredient before supper can be completed.
Every month I try to really deep clean one area of my home. During this January I've been focusing on my kitchen. I've completely emptied my pantry and scrubbed it clean. I've also cleaned above my kitchen cabinets when I took the Christmas decorations down. Now I am working on deep cleaning inside all my cabinets and drawers. It sure is good with each shelf I clean to see it looking fresh. It hasn't been so overwhelming to deep clean the entire kitchen knowing that I have allotted myself an entire month. I've used baskets in my pantry and in the cabinet to store little loose items. It looks pretty and the clutter is gone.
I'd like to challenge you to one room of deep cleaning and decluttering during the month of January. Feel free to post your accomplishments in my comments. If you have a blog, I'd love to know about it and stop by.
By the way, the the blessings journal covering in the photo above is one I made with scrapbooking paper scraps. It is a calendar and I try to write at least one blessing in it each day. It helps remind me of all the wonderful gifts our God has given me and to remember and always put Him first.
Baskets of Blessings,
Love,
Nancy
This basket has an interesting rim. I used #6 round reed as a filler and then coiled on 11/64" flat reed around it, lashing it to my top row of weaving. The design on the front strip that goes over the handle is a rubber stamped image. I also rubber stamped directly on the handle itself. The stamping was done before I stained the basket.
Happy Basket Weaving,
Love,
Nancy
This just floored me when I read this sign. This picture was actually taken in November. I was on my way to a scrapbooking crop when I took a wrong turn. I went one block to turn around and couldn't believe the street sign. I had to get out of my car and use my cell phone to take the picture. They are building houses on this street. How ironic would it be if we were to build here? hehehe My husband would just be shaking his head if that were the case. Actually we live in a very nice home and I wouldn't think of moving, but seriously though, how cool would it be for ME to live on this street.
Love,
Nancy
It doesn't feel at all like winter today, but my little basket with the snowman wire handle and snowman ceramic slide puts me in a winter mood. January is my month for deep cleaning my kitchen and pantry. Yesterday I did 2 upper cabinets. Today, 2 upper cabinets and started on the pantry which was really needing to be emptied out and wiped down with some good hot soapy water. I'm on a roll. Today I also finished with some health care forms. Yuck. Glad to have that finished. Now I just have taxes to look forward to.
Ok, I was listening to
Zig Zigler this morning on my
iPod. He said attitude is everything. Guess I need a quick attitude check here when it comes to thinking about filing taxes. Another positive note, yesterday, I finished all the office filing so at this point our files are in order which will help make the tax filing process as easy as it can possibly be. Have a wonderful day everyone.
Love,
Nancy
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year. May 2009 be a year of happiness, good health and many blessings. I didn't weave the basket in the photo above. It is from
http://www.vardachocolatier.com/ This company makes some incredible chocolates and truffles. I just thought the photo was pretty and really showed New Years off well. Just think what fun things we can put in our handwoven baskets to give to others. Not only do the
recipients get a thoughtful gift, but really they get two gifts because the basket is a gift in and of itself.
Please remember that everyday is a gift from God and to take a moment each and everyday to be thankful for the blessings we do have. When we look at our blessings, big and small, we can see that our baskets truly are already full.
Love,
Nancy
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Posts
Nothing basket related today, just a cool photo of me taken at Explora, the Albuquerque Children's Museum. Here I am looking through a mirrored prism while my children take my picture.
