Junie Moon: April 2011

Friday, April 29, 2011

Blessings Friday: Balcony Retreat

I’m in the midst of giving final exams; the spring semester ends for college faculty on May 5 after we submit our students’ final grades. I am very much looking forward to free time sans essay grading.

Our master suite has a small balcony overlooking the backyard and pool. I’ve installed swivel rocking chairs and a small table. The pottery lamp was a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law and is fueled by a can of sterno—the wee fire is lovely at night.

At the other end of the balcony, I placed a small potted rose.

It’s a beautiful rose, isn’t it?

Five coconut-lined planters were found at Lowe’s and installed on the balcony railings. Since I’m not too sure what plants will work, I simply bought some on sale. We’ll see how they do.

I’ve no idea as to the names of any of the plants other than marigolds, ivy, and rose. This green-and-white plant in my photo is a mystery.

You can see the mounting brackets in this photo along with part of our neighbor’s yard. I’ve decided not to worry about how the brackets appear. My balcony retreat is prepared—I’m ready for the peaceful, lazy days of summer!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Blocking Wires Kit

My blocking wires are still in Tucson. One of these days, my husband and I will manage to get all my stuff here. In the meantime, I need the wires to block some of my finished knitting projects. Instead of buying a new set, I decided to make my own blocking wires using wires purchased at a local welding shop.

I cut some wires in 36-inch lengths and some 18-inches long. There’s more to the process of making the wires, but you can find free tutorials online and there’s no sense in my repeating someone else’s work. A box of T-pins and a yardstick were added to my arsenal of blocking tools.

In order to keep the wires from getting bent and to provide a way to store them, I sewed flannel bags with a twill hanging strap.

Source: Amazon.com

Interlocking play mats found at Lowe’s work great as my blocking pads. The mats may also be found at Amazon.com.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Pottery Yarn Bowl Project

I’ve been admiring beautiful pottery bowls being made to hold knitting yarn. Thoughts about purchasing one flitted through my head until it dawned on me such a project would make for a great learning adventure. I immediately signed up for classes in handbuilt pottery at Full Circle Gallery.

This photo depicts me putting clay through a press to get the shape and thickness needed.

One of my bowls in process.

After drawing a freehand spiral, I carefully cut it out. Looking at the picture, I realize the spiral is more like the letter “J”. Hah—it’s a Junie Moon bowl!

The bowl is going on the shelf to await glaze firing.

Here’s my first bowl. It’s a tad lopsided and has a rather wacky rim, but it will work.

More bowls are in process to use as gifts—hopefully more uniform in shape as I gain in experience. Working with clay has proven to be a good way to relieve stress and give me something to do to stay out of mischief.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Knitted Easter Bunnies

The Knitters Guild at my church has been busy the last couple of weeks making little bunnies. I’ve not made bunnies before, but it was a fun project to do with my friends.

We made simply tons of hoppy little bunnies. Each child attending Easter service will receive one of our little handmade cuties.

Happy Easter!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Project Life

This year I’m trying to be more mindful of all my activities by making the effort to photograph and document them on a regular basis instead of waiting until the task is overwhelming.

I’m giving Becky Higgins' Project Life a try for 2011 and chose the Turquoise Edition (currently unavailable). I’ve already stashed the Project Life - Amber Editionaway to use for 2012.

The divided photo pages and journal pockets make it easy to quickly record moments in my life I wish to savor. Although traditional scrapbooking is also fun, Project Life has made it easier to keep current as there is no worry about designing special page layouts. I simply print my photos once a week, journal my activities, and pop everything in the binder. Done!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Organizing My Craft Space

Much of my small amount of free time last week was spent organizing my stash of craft supplies. The huge extra closet off our bedroom suite is perfect for keeping what I consider to be essentials to my life.

I first saw this storage system when visiting my sister’s new house in Tucson during my spring break. She has a wonderful craft room in which these components were installed to organize her stained glass art materials. Thinking it a fabulous idea, I followed suit here in Florida.

The white magnetic board hanging on the wall to the left above my Cricut machine was purchased from my friend Paula Flores, a Creative Memories consultant in Tucson. I also have a smaller version still in Tucson.

The storage modules were purchased at Michael’s in Destin two weeks ago when they were 50% off. The top is still too cluttered with tools for my comfort, so I’m saving coupons to purchase a few more storage units.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Spring Cupcakes

Our college hosted two visiting poets this week: Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno and Frank X Walker. In addition to events surrounding their work, a reception was held last night featuring readings of works by students published in this year’s college literary magazine.

When asked to bake cupcakes for the event, I envisioned butterflies flitting above flower cupcakes. So butterflies were made using one of Martha Stewart’s punches.

I glued each butterfly onto a 4.5-inch lollipop stick, bending the butterfly wings slightly to emulate flight.

Wilton’s flower cups are lovely, but do not bake in them as the sides spread and lose their form. I baked lemon cupcakes in plain white baking cups and inserted them into the flower cups later.

Vanilla-flavored buttercream frosting was made and piped on using a 1M tip. The color is a combination of Wilton’s Rose and Burgundy coloring gels.

My test cupcake—I quite like how it looks.

The cupcakes were packed in Cupcake Couriers and the butterflies ensconced in a large mug to carry to the event site in another town. I drove over there about an hour before the event, set out the cupcakes, inserted the butterflies, and zipped back to my town to teach a class. I hope the attendees liked my springtime offering.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Sedona

The last part of our springtime itinerary was visiting Sedona. We’ve been there many times before but always enjoy the gorgeous views.

In 1956, the Chapel of the Holy Cross was built right into one of the area’s mesas on Coconino National Forest land. The site is one of Sedona’s famed vortices. One side of the church features a tall cross set in a glass wall which provides a view overlooking the city of Sedona. The other end of the building has a glass door and windows showcasing the red rocks.

This is the view from the cross-side of the church. The building and observatory tower you see in the foreground is a private home.

I love this little sign seen in the gardens at the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It made me smile along with the flowers.

After seeing everything possible in Sedona, our last visit was to Tlaquepaque, an arts and crafts village on the banks of Oak Creek offering the works of amazingly creative artisans of all types. Tlaquepaque means the "best of everything”. This sculpture of a frog blowing a kiss was found tucked into a corner. I appreciated his little kiss as we said goodbye to Sedona and the end of our little road trip.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Canyonlands National Park

About five minutes from Moab, along Potash Road (Hwy 279—also known as the Potash-Lower Colorado River Scenic Byway), you can find sheer cliffs beloved by rock climbers. We watched a number of people climb for awhile, but I felt myself getting overly anxious for their safety so we moved on to view the petroglyphs in the part of the rocks walls off-limits to climbers because of the carvings.

According to the historical marker, these petroglyphs are purportedly created between 600 A.D. and 1300 A.D. by Indians of the Southern San Rafael Fremont culture. Dinosaur footprints are also nearby; we skipped visiting those as we headed back to the hotel to rest before visiting Canyonlands National Park which is also near Moab.

This photograph was taken at Grandview Point in Canyonlands National Park.

Canyonlands National Park has two rivers: Colorado and Green River. In this picture, we are standing at Green River Overlook. The beauty and immensity of the landscape are amazing.

The park’s Visitor Center is located at Island in the Sky. After getting the park’s stamp for my National Park Passport, I used their microscope to examine various plants, rocks, and bugs. I’m nosey like that.

Because I’m somewhat weird, I decided to earn my Junior Ranger Badge (generally reserved for children). After getting permission from the rangers, I was issued a book of activities to pursue in the park. If you are over the age of11, you only have to complete 6 requirements. Forget that! I completed every single activity in the book. Ranger Mike Townsend signed my Junior Ranger Certificate and presented me with my badge.