January iWhatever Calendar and Desktop

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable time ringing in 2015 last night!  We were quite the party poopers, welcoming the new year from the sofa while watching "Guardians of the Galaxy." I'll settle for living vicariously this year. Our son Cole is in Auckland, New Zealand, the first major city in the world to welcome 2015. The new year began for them at 5 a.m. Missouri time!

This month's calendar features a section of the quilt my mother-in-law just made for us. I took a picture of it to use as the background. Isn't it beautiful?! The colors are a little off because it was cloudy the day I took the pictures. Of course it was cloudy! I think we had three--seriously, THREE!--sunny days the entire month of December! Anyway--it was cloudy and I just couldn't get enough light in that room, so the center of the quilt looks like a deeper blue than it actually is but the colors around the edges are pretty close to the real thing. The quilt is called "Storm at Sea," which makes sense with all the different shades of blue and the criss-crossing wavy lines. Lori is meticulous with the details on all the quilts she makes and it pays off. Each one is a work of art!

OK. So--here is a background for your desktop with lots of space for all those pesky icons that pile up on you:

And here is one for your phone if the big one up top is too big. Did you try the smaller one in December? How did it work for you? Let me know if I need to tweak anything else. I'll get to it eventually. ;)

If you would like to design your own calendar, here are the days and dates I started with...

...but why go to all that trouble when there are such pretty ones here, just waiting for you to click and save?

That's it for now! I think it's time for a nap. I mean, geez, I did stay up past midnight last night!

Thanks for stopping by!

Totally Trash to Treasure!

In my Andy's garage is a stack of about 40 corrugated plastic campaign signs. You know--the kind that you might order if you lost touch with reality and decided to run for the school board. They come in really handy sometimes.  I used a couple of them when I upcycled an old foot locker. (I was told that the term "upcycle" is much cooler than "recycle" or "repurpose." So there you go!) The signs are about as thick as a good piece of corrugated cardboard, but being plastic, they are much more durable. I have a  plethora of projects for them knocking around in my brain! One is ready to share with you today.

We spend most of our vacations on a beach, reading, dozing, enjoying the local beverages. I read almost exclusively on my iPod. Yes, iPod, not iPad. I enjoy my iPad, but I like the size of the iPod for reading. It probably sounds strange, but it's kind of like water skiing on one ski instead of two. No one believes it's easier until they do it. But I digress.... The one drawback to the iPod is the glare on the screen when you are in the sun. Since we will be on a beach again very soon, I decided to eliminate that problem by purchasing a Nook Simple Touch. It has an e-ink screen that looks like a printed page, even in direct sun. I chose it over a Kindle partly because it will open library books, while Kindles need a program to convert library books to their format, and partly because I already have 30 or 40 books in my Barnes & Noble library, as opposed to 4 or 5 in my Amazon library.

Of course it needs a cute protective cover, so before I even loaded it with books, I came up with a plan.

I've made covers for iPads and other tablets before, but they've always had three sections. Two sections fold around the tablet and the third works kind of like a flap on a purse or satchel to hold everything closed. 

This one really only needs two sections--a front and a back. 

I traced the shape of the Nook onto a sign two times and cut out both pieces. 

Then I dug out an old ripped out pair of jeans that one of the boys thought I could salvage (could or would?) and cut pieces big enough to wrap around the plastic. 

I basically sewed two pockets with a one inch wide strip of fabric between them. The plastic slips into the pockets to protect the Nook, but can be removed easily so the cover can go through the washer and dryer.

I used strips of clear vinyl sewn into the corners to hold the Nook in place. Some covers have fabric corners, some have elastic, and I've even seen some made with ponytail holders, but I like how the clear vinyl almost disappears. I used the same vinyl on the iPad cover I made over a year ago and it has held up very well. 

Next I got to "cute-ify" the outside. I didn't want to make it too foo-foo-ey because Andy will probably want to use it, too, so on the front I used an iron-on "P" that's been hanging around my craft room for years...

 and I made a pocket for the back. It's just the right size for a room key so we don't get locked out of the room. Or some cash to tip the housekeeper that lets us in if we do get locked out. In the rain. At night.

Not that that has ever happened....

I've been told that I should try making some video tutorials to put on YouTube. I think one of these covers might be a good project for that. They can get pretty complicated if you try to do silly things like have the hem of the jeans line up at the edges of the cover, but I think I can simplify it so it's not so confusing. If I decide to give it a shot, I'll let you know. In the meantime, if you would like to have a go at making your own cover (for any device) and want some nice sturdy plastic to slip inside it, leave a comment or send me an email. I'd be happy to share!

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time!

This is Why I Don't Bother Planning Posts Ahead of Time

So I was sitting on the sofa this morning ironing 64 half inch wide strips of muslin with a mini flat iron and watching Hoda and Kathie Lee. It takes a LONG time to iron 64 half inch wide strips of muslin. Did I mention that the strips are torn instead of cut? They're for wedding invitations, of course! I'll show you one after the wedding if Brittanie doesn't mind. Anyway...I ran out of tv before I ran out of muslin, and when I pulled up the guide, I found HSN celebrating National Craft Month!
They were in the middle of telling about a kit to make cards similar to this one, but with a heart instead of a circle. I'm sure there are tutorials out there, probably even on Splitcoast, that tell how to make a card like this, but I had a pretty good idea about how it could be done as soon as I saw it. It was easier than I thought it would be and you don't need a lot of supplies! Paper, stamps and ink, and some Nestabilities. I used the Lacey Circles and Standard Circles. Other shapes will work as long as they are symmetrical. Other brands will also work--you'll just have to adjust the "sandwich" for cutting.

Start with a 4.25 x 5.5 card base and a 4 x 5.25 mat. Line up the mat on the front of the card, stick it down with a tiny bit of adhesive (you're going to pull it off in just a minute), and mark the center of the mat from top to bottom. 

Center the nestie on that mark. 

Sandwich the card and mat between the B and C plates, placing the edge of one cutting plate along the center mark. You want to cover the right hand half of the circle (the half furthest from the fold)  and run it through the machine. I like to use a little blue painters' tape with Nesties. They're so light and tend to shift easily, and that holds them in place without tearing the paper. Plus it's cheap!

 

Only the part with the plate on top will cut, so you only cut half a circle.

Now you'll want to run the mat through again by itself to cut the entire circle. If you do it this way, that first pass marks everything and makes it easier to line up. (Learned that one the hard way!) 

Score the front of the card above and below the circle on the center line. 

 When you fold the front in half, the scallops will complete the circle.

Cut the mat in half from top to bottom and adhere the left half to what is now the front of the card.
Adhere the scallop circle to the base, lining up the scallops. 

Here is a different angle that shows the way the front is folded a little better. I used a stamp set from Crafty Secrets. They have the most beautiful vintage designs! The mat is a discontinued Stampin' Up! paper and the  image is stamped on SU! Baja Breeze with Early Espresso ink. I liked this so much I had to make another!

I just love this little girl! She's also from Crafty Secrets. I wanted to put a banner with "Wishing You Bouquets of Joy" but it only fits inside. 

See, it's not that hard, is it?! I don't know why the card on HSN grabbed my attention, but I'm glad it did. Now I want to use some different shapes. Wouldn't a square turned on end like a diamond look neat? I have a perfect Fleur de lis die for that! 

Hmmm.... Gotta go!

Thanks for stopping by! See you Friday!