Tackling Homework February 9, 2010
Posted by hollyspinner in Clean and Organizing, Life, Tackle it Tuesday.2 comments
This is a tackle for me and the daughter, and to some extent her teacher. We are all very casual about homework and next year this will not be the case. I have been focusing on Math primarily, but know there are other things she should be doing and is not. Her teacher sometimes checks some things, and if they are not done at that time then a note goes home, there is great yelling and crying and the next day everything is back to the way it was before. I remember when I was in fifth grade – I had a similar problem. This was solved by requiring me to fill out a homework log. So with her teacher’s cooperation I came up with a handy-dandy homework sheet. I would love to have some lovely artwork on it, but this is just a plain Jane form.
I created a more generic pdf of the same form for you to download free:
Eye Candy Friday February 5, 2010
Posted by hollyspinner in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
A little summer in the winter.
Grandma’s Grape Wine February 3, 2010
Posted by hollyspinner in Grandma's recipes, food.Tags: food
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In my great cleaning adventures (chronicled on Tackle it Tuesdays) I found a collection of my grandmother’s recipes. They are handwritten in her own hand. I am putting these on the blog for anyone who might have an interest. Some have a little history included which I will replicate.
Grape Wine
20 lbs of grapes or other fruit mash in stone jar
Add 5 qts boiling water
Cover jar and let stand 3 days
Strain juice through a cheesecloth bag
Return juice to jar, add 10 cups surgar
Cover jar and let stand until fermentation ceases.
Remove scum, strain wine, bottle and seal.
Tackling Project Office Space February 2, 2010
Posted by hollyspinner in Clean and Organizing, Tackle it Tuesday.Tags: clean, organize, Tackle it Tuesday
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Project Office Space
This was a really big tackle, a family sized tackle. I did not really mean for this to happen this weekend. It was definitely on my radar but not for this weekend. The husband got a bee in his bonnet and away we went. Here is the whole process step by step.
I have too much stuff, it tends to turn rooms to piles. I am working on this little problem
I cleared out the pile – a tackle for another day.
We purchased a new desk and bookshelf from Ikea.
The husband put together the desk and bookshelf with some help from the daughter and the little guy.
We restocked the desk and bookcase.
I love the desk, there is room for the computer with a little extra room for working on projects.
Cleaning out clutter one thing at a time.
Motivation Creation February 1, 2010
Posted by hollyspinner in Craft, Life, Paper.add a comment
I heard somewhere that it takes 30 days to form a habit.
Lately getting up and getting going in the morning has been difficult (to say the least). So I have come up with 4 things that the daughter can do the night before to make mornings easier. I made a list, but not just a list, a list with a countdown calendar on it. When the daughter completes her tasks she will get to put a star sticker over the number. Since we are starting on Feb 1 the numbers correspond with the date (well until the end). If she successfully completes all 30 days she gets a DVD or video game of her choice (within a certain price range).
While I was thinking about this little project I happened upon Gingersnap Creations a fabulous little blog about stamping and papercraft. She has regular challenges with prizes no less. This project is for challenge GC40, Random Redhead Challenge #40 NUMBERS. So without further ado here is my incentive chart/list/calendar.
The nitty gritty:
I used a 12×12 piece of scrapbook paper over a heavy duty piece of cardboard (recycled packing material).
The ribbon is stapled to the cardboard.
The list numbers 1 – 4 are from recycled flashcards.
I used the computer to print the words.
The stars are hand drawn with gold and silver pens.
The numbers are stamped with gold pigment.
Eye Candy Friday January 29, 2010
Posted by hollyspinner in Eye Candy Friday.Tags: Eye Candy Friday, photo, quote
1 comment so far
Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone,
Kindness in another’s trouble,
Courage in your own.
~Adam Lindsay Gordon
Silver Wire Fusing January 28, 2010
Posted by hollyspinner in Craft, book review.Tags: book review, jewelry, silver
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Here is the second of the birthday books. I am super excited about this one. I have been contemplating jewelry making for some time now. The idea of making jewelry springs from a place of thrift – it is cheaper to make it yourself. There is also the idea that if I make it myself, it will be one of a kind and it will be perfect for me, because, hey, I made it. Now there is all different techniques to make jewelry: stringing, cold connections, soldering and fusing to name a few. This was the first instructional book that I have seen on fusing and I was curious to see what it was all about.
Silver Wire Fusing by Liz Jones is wonderful. I love, love, love the projects. I want to make them all, but it is the technique and the simple, easy way that it is explained that I am really fired up about (pun intended). It looks like magic. Fire, silver and a little imagination and viola beautiful jewelry. The way the author describes the process in the beginning of this book is perfect “It’s a no-mess, no-fuss version of silversmithing that anyone can learn and enjoy.” I am taking Ms. Jones words to heart. The book is laid out in the usual fashion of instruction books. It begins with laying out the basics tools and workspace, then a basic tutorial in fusing with some practice exercises. The bulk of the book is a cornucopia of beautiful projects. It appears that the later projects build on the skills learned earlier in the book. Each project clearly lists the necessary tools, materials and skills (along with the pages that explain that skill in detail). Clear step-by-step instructions along with illustrative photos and hints provide a clear picture how to construct each project. The last few pages include an inspirational gallery, basic jewelry making techniques, a resource page and index.
I would definitely recommend the purchase of this book.
Knitting for Baby January 27, 2010
Posted by hollyspinner in Knitting, book review.Tags: book review, Knitting
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I had a package arrive on my doorstep, a late birthday present from my awesome brother. He had picked a couple of books off of my Amazon wishlist. Here is a little birthday book review
The first book I pulled out of the box was Knitting for Baby by Melanie Falick and Kristin Nicholas
I love the layout and the aesthetic of the book. It has simple lines and a modern feel. There is a very informative how-to basic skills sections in the beginning with easy to follow drawings illustrating the text. The projects are arranged in order of complexity. All of them have great pictures, with clear instructions. I tried to pick just one favorite and it was really hard. I made the “beginner booties” which went well and would definitely make again. I really love the “baby’s first ball” and “baby’s blocks” which are both basically the same idea, but one is a cube and one is a sphere. There is a great variety of patterns. There are some sweaters, both for baby and mommy, toys, a diaper bag, mitts and booties. At the end of the book there is a list of yarn sources. Overall I think this is a well done book and would advise adding it to your bookshelf.
Tackling Project Desk January 26, 2010
Posted by hollyspinner in Clean and Organizing.Tags: Tackle it Tuesday
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Project: Desk
We have a really bad habit of picking up furniture that we really like (usually for free), that really is just too big for our cozy, little house. This is the case with the desk. It kinda sorta worked for a while because it was the only piece of furniture big enough for our computer monitor (clearly the monitor was also too big). Since we got the laptop a smaller desk has done quite nicely. So the desk needs to move on down the road. However it was being held back from its long awaited journey out the door by the metric ton of stuff on and in it.
This is what it looked like before
and even after I cleaned all the stuff off the top there was even more inside.
But it has been tackled…totally clean inside and out, up on freecycle (hopefully someone will love this desk enough to take it, otherwise it will be kicked to the curb on Friday). Desk update – someone is hauling away the desk tonight!
Cleaning out clutter one thing at a time.
Birthday Haul January 25, 2010
Posted by hollyspinner in Life, food.Tags: events
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I had a fabulous birthday yesterday. It certainly beats last year, but hey it takes a really bad experience to make just the regular kind look pretty darn good. My best gift was from my children. I asked for happy, obedient children and for the most part they delivered. I also had a fabulous lunch at Benihanas with my family and later dirt (in lieu of cake) and ice cream.
Beside the great feeling and company I got some stuff too…
and one experience I am so excited about:
