Yardstick Frame

I'm back! I have had surgery on both hands this summer and now it's all done! I will be getting the stitches out of my left hand in a week and then I just have to build my strength back up in them. But I'm just glad it's over!

I hope all of you have been enjoying your summer. There were so many things I wanted to do on this blog this summer, but not being able to use my hands was a definite drawback. It will still be a little slow until the hands are fully healed, but at least I can type now. And take pictures. And do easy projects if I'm careful.

So the first one is a yardstick frame. It's simple and easy and you can make them for gifts or for yourselves. Start with two yardsticks. I was making mine for a 5x7" photo, so I cut my yardstick in these lengths: 4 pieces 8" long and 4 pieces 6" long.

I got my yardsticks at Lowe's and they were wider than the ones I use for measuring, that I've had for years, so you have to go by the width of your yardsticks to get the right measurements. Say you are framing a 5x7" photo. You subtract 1/2" of each measurement, giving you 41/2" and 6 1/2". Then add the width of the yardstick and cut your pieces that long. You will need 4 pieces of each measurement.

Now you will need a square, which is a tool for making sure your corners are square. You can use a protractor if you have one, or you can use an uncut piece of paper or cardstock, which should be perfectly square. Lay down your first long piece along one edge of the paper and then lay a short one along an adjacent side. Make sure they are perfectly aligned and square, then lay another long piece and short piece. Notice they make a pattern when laid right. 

Now you are ready to place the next layer. I will use the above picture as a reference. The piece at the bottom of the frame goes all the way to the corner of the square, while the piece on the left does not. It butts up next to the first piece. In your second layer, the piece on the left will go all the way down to the corner and the piece on the bottom will butt up to it.

This makes your frame strong, by overlapping all the joints on the two layers. Glue them together carefully, making sure they stay squared up. I put wax paper under them to keep any stray glue off the table. Use Elmer's Glue or wood glue, but DO NOT use school glue or hot glue. They won't hold!(This is the voice of experience talking.)

Lay a big heavy book on it to hold it in place until it dries. After the frame is glued and dried overnight, cut a piece of mat board or poster board to the back. Glue only three sides so you have a space to slide your picture into the frame.

I drilled a hole in each upper corner and tied on some jute to hang it, and added a jute bow and some buttons for decoration.

It still doesn't feel finished, but I'll leave it alone for now. When I come back to it, maybe I'll change some things. I do that sometimes. Walk away and let it rest, and then when I see it again, I know just what it needs.

Well, that's it for today. I don't know when I'll post again. I'm not keeping a schedule right now, but it will be soon. When school starts again, I'll get back to a schedule. For now, hold your head up high and don't be afraid to try new things. You can always re-do them if you need to. Love to all,

Photo bookmarks

We made bookmarks yesterday. I saw these cute photo bookmarks all over the Internet and decided to try them with the kids. We took several photos before we got one that looked right, so I'll tell you the secret: give them a water bottle to hold and make them put their hands way down to the bottom so the bottom of the bottle doesn't show (the top will be cut off) and then make them stretch on their tippie-toes really far. If they make a face or lose their balance, that's even better! You'll see what I mean in these photos.

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Hally actually has one foot in off the floor as she starts to fall over, which makes it really look like she's hanging in mid-air, while Cameron has his tongue sticking out, which makes him seem to be hanging on for dear life! And none of that was planned. I just happened to capture it in the photos.

Print out you photos. I chose a 5x7 size, but you can choose your own. Then cut the kids out. Don't leave any of the background when you cut, because that will ruin the illusion. Glue them onto cardstock and cut them out again. I left an edge of cardstock around mine so there would be a little of the bright color showing on the front. And I just used a glue stick, because the next step takes care of keeping it in place. Cover the bookmark, front and back, with clear contact paper, and cut out again, leaving a little edge of contact around the edge to keep the bookmark sealed. Punch a hole at the top of the hands and put a tassel or piece of ribbon through it, and !Voila! When you put the bookmark in a book, they look like they are hanging from the ribbon or tassel. The kids love theirs, and I bet yours will, too.

Aren't those cute? I think they would make cute little somethings to send to all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. You could make Valentine's out of them, too. Teacher gifts, etc. etc. etc. Have fun with it. We will probably make a bunch more, using different pictures. If you make some, send me a picture and I will post it here on the blog.

Just one last thing. Crackers had to get in on the fun, too!

You can see how I made it look like the rope is around her foot. Now go take some pictures and have some fun. Crackers and I will be waiting for some photos! Love to all,

Camping and fishing....

Hey everybody! It's been a while since I posted, I didn't realize how long! Life has taken over and I have really been enjoying the summer. We went camping again, this time to Lost Creek Lake, and it was so nice. Here are some pictures:

We had a few visitors there. This one was enjoying the shade sitting on our Styrofoam cooler.

Cameron is turning into a great little fisherman. He caught the most and the biggest! Not enough to have a fish fry, like we were hoping, but he got to eat his fish. After he cleaned it, of course.

Hally learned how to clean a fish, too. I thought she would be too squeamish, but she chopped that head right off without blinking an eye! I was so proud. =)

Right behind our campsite was this really taaaaaall pine tree that Cameron decided he had to climb before we left.

 

That dark spot on the right is Cameron. He was dressed in black or you might not be able to see him!

Well, that's it for today. Short post, I know, but I'm trying to catch up on some things and get some projects done for you to see. See ya later and love to all,

Happy 4th of July!!

I hope everybody had a great 4th. We did. The guys and the kids went fishing in the morning and stayed for about 4 hours, so us girls had a movie fest. We watched The Woman in Black, with Daniel Radcliff (Harry Potter). It was pretty good. Kind of sad, but good. Then we all went to the fireworks show at the Jackson Co. Fairgrounds. It was great! Of course, there is always the show before the show, but it wasn't too bad. They had a live band, that supposedly won Last Band Standing, but I'm not quite sure how, there were some giveaways for the kids, etc. Then we finally got to the good part. The fireworks. They lasted for about an hour, and were set to patriotic music. Here's a little sample. This was the finale, set to "Proud to be an American" by Lee Greenwood.

We did our own fireworks and sparklers when we got home. It was almost midnight, but none of the neighbors were in the complaining mood. The 4th will do that, you know.

Andy light sparklers for the kids.

Grandpa and Andy set of fireworks. Yay!

This our dog, Molly, with her glow necklaces. She didn't want to hold still,
because she was afraid of the fireworks.

Anyway, it was a good day for us and I hope it was for all of you. Love to all,

We're Back!!!

Hello! We're back! I know it's been a long time, but things are better now. The surgery on my hand went really well and now I'm just waiting for the doctor to say it's time to do the other one.

I never posted any photos of our trip to the coast. We had so much fun! We went to a place called Brookings, Oregon, and stayed in an RV park right off the beach. It was great. The view was super and we only had a five-minute walk to be on the beach.

This was the view from the pet run at the RV park. The picture doesn't it justice, but you can see the ocean.

This is Crackers' very own seat in the motorhome. She sat there the whole time we were traveling. She was a very good duck and never once asked, "Are we there yet?" We took her to the beach and on walks. She had a really good time.

Hoirrible, horrible picture! I took my hat off to get rid of the shadow on my face and I have hat-head, big time.

Helping with the crab trap.

With Miss Hally, the mermaid.

Checking out the big gull. This one was kind of ugly. Brown and white spotted.

And now the gull is checking out Crackers!

And getting closer. I tied Crackers leg to the fence just in case the gull decided to do more than look.

It was a long way down to the water below.

We went to the kid's park. It was a lot like the Dragon Park in Missoula, Montana.

We went to Azalea Park, and it was Azalea Days that weekend, and the park was in full bloom! It was absolutely gorgeous!

Not all the flowers were Azaleas, of course, but they WERE all beautiful!

There were ferns all over the place. They seem to grow wild all over Oregon! I love it!

There was this big tree with a big fat branch that grew out of the side of it. We all took our pictures by it. Or on it, in the case of Crackers.

Gramma G and hubby Chuck

Andy, Kristen, Cameron and Halena

We had a really good time. The kids loved going to the beach, and since it was so close, we could just walk over anytime we wanted. We got to explore a little more than we did last time, and I'm sure we'll be back to do more sometime.

It feels good to be back sharing with you. Hopefully, I can gather some readers and followers someday, but until then, the few of you who read are enough! I love all 3 of you! I have some new projects in the works that I think you'll like, so watch for those, and I'll see you again soon. Love to all,

To blog or not to blog......

That is the question. Hello out there in blogland. I have been taking a little time off, trying to decide whether it's worth it to keep going. I love blogging! It gives me an outlet for writing and for sharing - my life, my hobbies, my family, the things I love to do. When I first started blogging, I knew it would take time to grow my blog and my readers and followers, but I didn't really care. I was sure that I would have them by now! I wasn't really consistent in the beginning, but for the last year, almost two, I have been writing pretty consistently and doing tutorials and projects. But to no avail.

So, I have to look at why. Why don't I have readers? Why don't the few people who do read become followers? Why don't I get comments? I even tried a giveaway and a name-the-bug contest - nothing! I tried joining some linky parties and got a few lookers and a few comments, but no followers or repeat readers. Is my writing bad? Or boring? Are the projects not interesting?

I have been thinking long and hard about all these things, and I've decided not to give up yet. I know it can take time to create a following (unless, of course, you're young and cute and witty and have a thousand friends who immediately become followers) so I will give it some more time. I have never really asked my family and friends to even read my blog, because most of them would just say, "What's a blog?" Maybe it's time to do something about that. Get them involved. It's a little scary, because I know I'll get their honest opinion, and if they think it stinks, I know that will hurt. But at least I'll know, right?

I will give it another few months to see what happens. Maybe I'll give it up in the new year, but I really don't want to. I have never been a quitter! Why start now? Blogging has become part of my life. Everything I do and see becomes ideas for a post or two. I've finally gotten into the habit of taking photos of everything so I can use them in a post. I'm just not ready to give up this part of my life yet.

With that said, I will come back to blogging, but it's going to be really spotty for a while. I will be having surgery on my hands this summer, starting with my right hand in few hours. I'm not a very good one-handed typist, and especially when the hand is my LEFT one! So there will be a post here and there, but nothing regular until my hands are working again.