Etched Glass

I thought it would be neat to etch this design on a glass. It's the same one I used on the shirt I shared yesterday. 

Until the next time. . . .

Giveaway

I truly enjoy creating things and sharing with my friends and family.  To show my gratitude, I'm doing a small giveaway. This handbag is handmade by yours truly. 

So head on over to my Facebook page and enter my giveaway. Thanks again!

Until the next time. . . .

****UPDATED WITH GIVEAWAY WINNER****

Bringing Some Culture Into My World Of Crazy Fun

I'm having so much fun incorporating Yup'ik into my crafts. Here are two shirts I did using my Silhouette and fabric paint.

When I was little and living in the village, "Aipaqluk," was a saying used frequently by most kids. The literal translation is "let's be partners/friends," but it was commonly used to say, "let's hang out." One might hear, around kids exposed to more English, "Let's Aipaq." I wanted my shirt to be all in Yup'ik so I chose the saying I remembered using as a child.

For this shirt, I wanted something that represented my culture, and dance is a huge part of it. I haven't designed a female fan (caribou with woven sea grass handles) yet so I used a male dance fan for my design. Yupiaq means real person in Yup'ik. 

Until the next time. . . .

Yugtun

I haven't learned many of the crafting skills of my culture, but I thought I'd incorporate Yup'ik, my language, in my own way, into my crafts.

I've been into making signs lately and I thought it would be perfect to make some in Yup'ik. This one translates into, "you can."  I've seen many inspiring quotes/sayings/affirmations lately and have heard many in Yup'ik as well, but when I mentioned my project to some family and friends, one of them said to me, "piyugngauten," as to encourage my efforts, and I knew right there and then that I would be using this for one of my signs. **Edit: unfortunately I got ahead of myself due to my excitement and misspelled piyugngauten on the sign, so I'll be redoing this sign with proper spelling.**

I shamefully admit that I haven't taught my children to speak Yup'ik, but there are several words and sayings they do know. One of them is, kenkamken, or I love you. I took this cheap frame that used to be gold, spray painted it white, and cut out my saying. I used the negative of my cutout as I wanted it to be patterned. Because I couldn't find the color I was looking for for my background, I took some spray paint and sprayed a light layer to get the color I wanted. This will sit in my daughter's room and although she doesn't know my native language, she'll always know what this says.


Until the next time. . . .

Earth Day Share. . . Recycled Projects

Ever wonder what to do with some of the garbage in the house? It drives me crazy because my family seems to produce so much garbage. Recycling isn't as convenient up here and the items they accept at the recycling center are limited. So I was determined to find a use for a few things like the plastic containers that our apples and salad mixes come in. What better day to share my recycled projects than today, Earth Day?

I decided to take the Costco plastic containers and use them as my seed starters. I filled them with dirt and planted some seeds. The plastic containers when closed act as sort of a mini green house so you do get good growth, which is perfect for me because I don't have a green house.

The whole apple containers are shallow so if you wait too long to transplant, your plants won't do well.

I sewed juice pouches together to make planters so that I could transplant my flowers that I started in my plastic containers.

A Different Way To Eat Green

So it's not exactly eating green, but it's a great way to avoid use of plastic sandwich bags.   

With Earth Day just around the corner, these reusable sandwich bags would be a great way to show your support for our Earth. If you're interested in one of these bags, feel free to email me. My daughter is selling them to raise money for her Spain trip.


Until the next time. . . .

Water The Cure For Everything

Once again, my girls were struck with a nasty virus over Easter weekend.  I took them to get their throats cultured for strep, but all three came back negative. The doctor's advice. . . . drink LOTS of water, which is what I'm constantly telling them.

I send them to school with water bottles, but am always hearing excuses about why they couldn't drink their water. Well, no more excuses for my kids because I made this awesome insulated water bottle carrier and will be making at least two more. They will have their water bottles with them wherever they go.  I saw this a while back on Pink Chalk Studio and have been wanting to make it for a couple of years now. I'm excited about the idea and hope they prove successful in more water consumption and those nasty cold/flu bugs stay away for the rest of the year. 

Until the next time. . . .

American Girl Doll Headband

My younger girls still play with their American Girl Dolls, which I absolutely love. They aren't obsessed like they once were, but all it takes is a new outfit or accessory for them to be all over their dolls again.  

So I just had to make my baby's doll a cute knit headband.

Isn't it adorable? I'm thinking I'll make some newborn ones in the near future. 

Until the next time. . . .

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All I Want Is A Real Spring and Summer This Year

Technically it is Spring here, however, if you saw how much snow we have, you'd laugh. I'm not posting snow photos. I've seen enough of the white stuff for a while, but if you're curious, check out photos at the Anchorage Daily News site. Since we've reached and broke the record snow fall for the Anchorage area, I'm now ready for a real Spring and Summer with above 40 degree weather, sunshine, flowers, and green grass. It's going to be a while so store bought flowers will have to do. 

Hope ya'll are having a beautiful Spring where ever you are! Until the next time. . . 

I'm Back!

Well sort of anyway. . . . I've had absolutely no interest in blogging or blog stalking lately, not really sure why. So much for my New Year's resolution to keep up this blog. Oh well, good thing I don't have many followers or I'd be feeling guilty. Perhaps I'll become one of those super bloggers who makes money off my blog someday and I'll actually keep it up, but I hardly think that'll happen. In the mean time, let me tell you what I've been up to. 

I have been knitting. During my stay in Seattle, while my Dad was recovering from open heart surgery, I picked up knitting again. I had only known the basic knit stitch and a how to make a dish rag. I had no idea what the stitches I used were called.

While I was at the Fisher House, they brought in a volunteer to do a knitting circle. I took advantage of the knowledge presented and learned one new stitch, that's right one! I know it wasn't much, but I learned the pearl stitch, and it was enough to perk my interest in learning more. So when I got home, I looked online, watched YouTube videos and made a couple of hats, not shown in any of the photos.

Then I decided to try out headbands or head wraps, as they are the big rage around here. I tried out a couple different knit patterns for the wrap and tried out several flower patterns, which I crocheted. The pink one here was my second attempt. It is shown without the finishing buttons. 

I've seen these sold at many local shops, but most sold at the popular shops are mass produced in China and sold starting at $28. 

I ended up making several for my daughter to give away as birthday presents, sold a couple, and have even been asked to make custom wraps. 

So while I've been absent from the blog world, I've been having fun with fibers.

My next goal is to make smokerings and scarves out of qiviut, my all time favorite fiber. Who knew knitting and crocheting could be so fun and relaxing!

Until the next time. . .