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Yarn Bomb & Tahoe.

 Today we were walking in Downtown San Mateo and we came across this really cool Yarn Bomb.  I just love the little guy on the bicycle.  I can't imagine how long it took to do this, it takes me awhile to make one scarf.  I just love it!!

 Last weekend my daughter invited us to go to Tahoe with them  So of course we jumped at the chance.  Phil and I went up a day early just to have a couple of extra days off to the weekend.  And it was just beautiful up there.  Love the snow!

Of course we had to stop at our favorite places while we were there.  Our first stop was Cabela's.  And I could not believe how empty some of the shelves were in the store.  You know, the ammo shelves.  It's just unbelievable how in one year you can go from having stock in certain items to nothing at all.

 Here's a picture of us driving into Kings Beach.  I just love the lake and just the calmness of life out there.  I don't know if it's just cause we're on vacation, or if it's just the attitude of people out there, but I know someday I'll have to live out this way.

 Especially since rush hour traffic in Reno was like this:

 Here's a photo of Phil and Alex in Cabela's. 

 And of course we had to eat at our favorite place, Lanza's.  LOVE their deep fried ravioli.

 This is their deep fried mozzarella cheese.

 My most favorite dish that they make is chicken marsala.  Can you say YUM?

 Here is the cabin we stayed in, it's actually a townhouse.  It was so nice to stay there and relax.  No worries at all. The one bad thing was not being wired to the internet.  But that was kind of a good thing cause we all got to sit around and talk to each other.

 This is the view leaving the cabin.  It's absolutely beautiful!

Queen Anne's Lace Scarf

 Lately I've really been into crocheting.  I saw some things that I really like that people have made, and I really wanted to challenge myself to read patterns because I was SO confused by them with all their abbreviations.  They really looked like a different language to me.  So, I started out watching videos, and then decided to jump in on a few patterns.  I made a baby blanket for a co-worker's new baby.  That was a challenge for me because I had to concentrate on one pattern for a long time.  LOL  (Of course I forgot to take photos of the blanket).

I have crocheted different scarves.  And of course, no photos.  The Knifty Knitter loom is really fun to use, and I made a few scarves with that.  But this just caught my eye the other day, the Queen Anne's Lace pattern.  And I just had to try it.  The pattern I found  on Pinterest through 1craftyboy's weblog. 

I don't know why I tried a pattern without photos, but I did.  And I used the Red Heart Super Saver Camo yarns cause I just love all the different colors. I've always loved lots of colors as a little kid.  So this is how they've turned out:

The above photo is the "Urban Camo" yarn.  Love the grey/blue colors.

But I really love how the Platoon scarf came out. Love the different shades of brown. 

I'm working on the "Camoflage" yarn right now, and have a purple shimmer one as well.  Will post as I go along.

Felt Fortune Cookies

 So on pinterest, I saw these really cool felt fortune cookies from the Martha Stewart website.  They looked so cool and look easy to make.  So of course I pinned them, thinking they would make a really great favor or something, and I should check them out later.

So, the day after Valentine's day, one of the guys at work asked if I had some construction paper in my office.  Well, no, but I had some scrapbook paper in my car. And of course, I had to know why he wanted to have some construction paper.

He had actually made the felt fortune cookies, and wanted to cover the Chinese food box with the colored paper!  Luckily for him I also had some heart templates in my car... (Don't ask me why I have those things in my car, but I do).  LOL

I think he did a great job on the "Fortune Cookies" and at decorating the box.  What a great gift!  And the Slim Jim chopsticks are pretty cool too!

Great job Dan!  :)

Go Niners! and scarves

 It's been awhile since I've posted, and a lot of things have been happening in my world.   Most importantly the Niners are going to the Super Bowl!!  I'm so excited.  My family has been 49er fans since forever, so this is so very exciting for all of us in the Bay Area.  Of course the day they won the NFC Championship, I was on my traditional trip to Sports Authority to buy my shirts to wear the next day to work.  And I wasn't the only Niner fan who was excited that they won...

These guys came in cheering and jumping around.  It was so very cool!  They even posed for a photo for me.  :)  Only bad part was the store we got our shirts from only let each of us buy one shirt and one hat each.  Normally I buy for my folks, sisters, and niece.  But this time only I got the shirt.

 I was a bit bummed at the fact.  But I saved a bunch of money by waiting.  Since I have to mail out stuff to my sisters, I could get theirs at a different store.  Hmmm, maybe I'll do that when they win the Super Bowl??  LOL

I found this shirt at Walmart last night:

 I just LOVE Kaepernick.  Yep, I do.  So I was SO excited when Phil saw this shirt at Walmart.  Of course I had to get one for me and one for my mom.

 This is the front of the shirt.  And of course, I went back today and they were sold out!  I'm so bummed. I shoulda woulda coulda bought everyone's yesterday.    Oh well.  We'll see what happens next week!

So my new thing is that I've relearned how to crochet.  I've seen so many cool scarves, so I thought I could actually do this.  I started researching and watching videos on youtube.  The internet is such an amazing thing.  I can't read a pattern worth a darn, so the videos have been so very helpful.

 Here are the ruffle scarves I've made with Sashay yarn.  They're so easy and quick to make.

My niece Heather on her way out to New Year's Eve in SF, wearing the scarf I made for her.  She said she's had a bunch of compliments on it.  :) 

So I'm still in crochet mode.  Will have to check in again with more scarves I'm making.

Hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Wireworking..

I have wanted to do some wire working for awhile now.  I like how you can shape your own elements for jewelry and do even more creative things than the pre-made items from the craft stores.  We found a block of stainless in the garage for me to work on, so I made a trip out to Michael's today to purchase a set of jewelry hammers.  And this is what I came up with today:

 

 I love swirls and I saw a pair of earrings I liked on pinterest that used pearls with this shape.  But I liked crystals instead. 

 And this is my first try at making matching swirls. Need to do a bit more work at that, but I think these didn't turn out too bad.

 I made this pendant for my sister.  I forgot that she doesn't wear pierced earrings, and I don't have copper clip ons, so I made a pendant for her.  Her non-profit organization is called Raining Hope, and I found this bead from Kenya with the word "HOPE" on it.  How perfect, right?  Hope she likes it!

 Here's a close up of a hammered heart.  I used some thin wire that they were going to throw out at work, I think I need to buy some thicker wire to do more pieces with.

I just love the unevenness about hammering wire, and just to let your frustrations go is awesome too.  Need to make more soon!

More Earrings

 Here are some of the earrings I made this weekend.  Above is a pair made from fishing spoons.

 I love finding earrings to take apart and make into something new.  I found these black and clear earrings and took them apart to make 3 new pair of earrings!  Here are two, and I'll make one more soon.

 Love these little medallions.  They're just so pretty!

More Necklaces

 So I realized I needed to make more necklaces, so here are a few of the ones I made tonight.

Working on more stuff

 I've been working really hard on some gifts for the coming holiday season, and of course I'm procrastinating cause I just do.  

 So I was working on necklaces yesterday.  I have a tough time trying to figure out when I'm under pressure, how things will go together, but I think that I did ok with these. 

 I like the look of chain, so I'm using a lot of chain in my necklaces as opposed to just beads.  And I think it's a bit more sturdy than wire and crimping.

 I also love the dangly beads, so I'm making a few of this type.

And I had a ton of bangles, and I noticed people have been putting beads on bangle bracelets.  So I'm going to see if anyone likes those.

Tonight will be earring night.  I have made a bunch already, I just need to get more creative and get some more ideas running through my head.