I Do Too Much

Busy, busy, busy.

So, I have neglected a lot of things for awhile. All online things. I have been working a lot, working on things, and trying to live day by day on 4 hours of sleep daily. I hate 7 am school buses.

But, I have gotten a lot done. Right now, I am in the process of writing out a pattern for a Sailor Moon outfit for 18″ dolls since I failed to do so as I made it.

When my daughter got this doll last year, she named her Serena after the Americanized version of Sailor Moon, and I figured that she needed a proper Sailor Moon outfit, but I couldn’t find a pattern for one.

Our 8 month old puppy, Ben, was given a blanket when we brought him home and he got it very dirty, so I washed it twice to get it super clean and he carried it like this after I gave it back to him. Now, when the lights turn off at night, he grabs his blanket and cuddles up with it.

I found some dead bugs fully intact and tried to use resin for the first time with homemade silicone molds. LEMME TELL YA HOW I NEVER WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN. It was super hot that day, I chose to do it outside to avoid making a mess inside and making everyone ill…which turned into the resin setting VERY quickly and S M O K I N G. My bugs ended up floating up to the surface and the molds wouldn’t pop away cleanly

This dragonfly was a beautiful green and blue before this.

Nothing else too exciting has happened. I broke my toe doing laundry, we got some minor flooding in my town; our house didn’t get any rising waters, just extra we mud, Ben assured us of that, I made Sidney’s class little pumpkins for their goody bags for Halloween, and I have been working and struggling to get to sleep at night. I have been going on 4 hours of sleep because I have to wake up at 6:30 am to get Sidney ready for the bus and once I am awake, I am awake.

Here is my kid showing her great fashion choice for the risen water at her great grandma’s house.

When I get the pattern written up, I will post it, I swear.

Also, WHY IS THIS WEBSITE SO HARD TO WORK. Seriously! I have had to add the same photo 5 times because when I went to add a caption, it would make the photo vanish. And I cannot fix the one caption to not wrap around the photo.

Hey all!

Sorry for being gone for a really long time! The surgery went very well! I had minimal pain, despite having all but 7 teeth cut out. I healed quickly and the first real food I got to eat that wasn’t pasta or ice cream was a whole rack of ribs. And I still had stitches in.

I went into my main dentist to get my first impressions done. THAT was a trip! The measuring guard thing for the top plate got stuck in my mouth and I nearly fell out of the chair. When the paste was placed on the top half of my mouth, my nose decided that NOW was the perfect time to start draining. I almost threw up on the poor tech. We all had some laughs, I left there with paste caking my face. Good times. I go back in a week or so to get a second impression done.

OH! July 4th!!! I fell. I went to cross over a pontoon onto another boat that was next to it and assumed the barrels were attached to the pontoon. My right leg stayed on the pontoon, but my left leg slid down the side of the floating metal structure and I was standing half into the water. My leg didn’t hurt. Not immediately. No, I was upset that I smashed another finger that week.

Later that night, I started to notice that bending it was becoming a challenge. This was that result. I will spare you the graphic looking progression of the healing of it, but let us just go with that it wasn’t pretty. To top that off, it is nearly gone, and I discovered that I may be having an allergic reaction to the healing part of big bruises.

Oh, and our puppy caught it yesterday. It is literally just a scratch, tis a scratch but those sharp puppy claws caught the bruise. Man, I really thought Kenny was going to black out on me. He doesn’t do so well with the sight of bodily fluids outside of the body.

Other than all that train wreck, here are some other things I have been up to!

My daughter starts kindergarten this year and I think I am going to stick with the tradition to make her teachers something school related each year. Last year, I made her teacher a banner with her name on it, this year is a cute little pencil keychain I had found on Ravelry. I had purchased a pack of 100 clear safety eyes a few months back and finally got them in. This pencil’s eyes are holographic sparkle.

At the beginning of spring, I planted a whole bunch of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. I forgot I had planted sunflowers behind our garage and I haven’t been taking care of them. They are blooming and really tall.

Ben, Benjamin, Das Bein, BB, Benecio Flair, Baby B, our Pitbull puppy showing off his radicalness.

Sidney and I showing off our opened back shirts I made. I am really, really terrible at sewing, but I managed to do these perfect!

Some coasters I made for one of my brother’s and his girlfriend who took over our mom’s home. They couldn’t locate the 50 million coasters that woman had, so I figured I would make them their own.

And finally, Sidney asked me to make her Totoro from My Neighbor Totoro. I also made her some play food like a pie with little apple slices, little Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, and a rainbow cake.

Right now, I am trying to finish up a wedding gift for one of my cousins. It is the virus blanket with Lion’s Brand Mandala in Chimera and I chose the pattern and color as a sort of memorial of his late grandmother, my aunt. She was really into the hippy scene and I thought this would be perfect for them. I also became a great aunt in June! I have yet to meet him, but it is still exciting to be a great aunt at 27. (for reference, my nephew is 16 months younger than I am, so it isn’t some weird stuff going on. Just that I was born to older parents while having siblings old enough to be my parents. NBD.)

Busy, busy, busy

Sorry for the lack of posting. I have been trying to set up and prep for a dentist appointment next week.

I finished the baby blanket on time and they loved it, I even had time to make a backpack for my daughter’s last field trip this week; we went to the zoo. Her first time. I also whipped up some popsicle holders for the summer.

I don’t know when I will be active on her again. The 24th, they will be surgically removing all of my teeth because they are all broken and falling out due to my pregnancy 6 years ago. I put it off for so long because no one wanted to help me due to my insurance. I finally found someone who fought my insurance with me to get me the help I need. Hopefully, I can still get replacements after. I am scared and excited. I have been in excruciating pain for so long. I cannot smile without judgement. Eating is a chore since I have to be careful what I try chewing. I can’t even drink juice. It burns. I can’t eat fruits, they burn and get painfully stuck in my teeth.

Thank you all for understanding. I hope to be back soon. I’ll try to get pictures of my recent works up for you guys soon, too.

Rice Krispie Eggs?

So, we tried making these Rice Krispie Eggs filled with Sixlets, but something went wrong somewhere.

First, we used Peeps instead of regular marshmallows.

Added our butter, melted and stirred as we went.

It all went down hill when we realized we didn’t have orange. So, I used jumbo campfire marshmallows and food coloring.

They didn’t melt down like the Peeps did.

When the cereal was added, all but the pink seemed to set right.

Next, we put them in greased eggs.

After an hour of them sitting in the fridge, they collapsed and stuck to the eggs.

We ended up putting the rest in a square pan and decorating it.

This was a kitchen craft fail. Haha.

Mema’s Chicken Salad

My fiancee, Kenny, had a grandma who made the most delicious food despite not having a sense of smell or great taste buds. When him and I got together nearly 8 years ago (holy cow!), she made this super delicious chicken salad. Normally, I hate chicken salad because some have fruit in them and it makes them too sweet, or there are nuts and the extra crunch hurts to chew (by the way, I have very bad teeth. Boo), but hers had none of that. All basic things.

Then, she passed away about 5 years ago. Never once writing her recipes down or really telling anyone how they’re made. You learned to make it if you helped her make it.

Today, I had a hankering for some of her chicken salad. So, I made it by taste memory. Enjoy.

2 cups of fully cooked and shredded chicken breast

1/2-1 cup of mayonnaise (I used a whole cup and store brand)

1/2 cup or two stalks of celery, diced

2-3 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1 onion, diced (I used a sweet onion)

Salt

Pepper

Yellow mustard

Once your ingredients are all prepped, put them in your bowl or container and mix. Add salt, pepper, and mustard to fit your taste.

From ball to skein

I don’t know how many of you hate chasing down the ball of yarn while working on something, I know I do. I saw on Facebook awhile back of people using a ball winder to wind their loose yarn up, but like I stated above: I hate balled yarn. I have a puppy and a 4 year old that like to take off with the balled yarn as I’m working and I have to untangle the webs they created throughout the house.

My second, messier skein in Red Heart Super Saver.

The first one I made, it was with the Bernat POP! and it worked way smoother than Red Hearts Super Saver yarn.

Things you will need:

small clip or tape
kebab skewer or a thin dowel rod
a drill
yarn

To start, you will need to put the skewer into the drill, I put mine in pointy side in since I have no grace and can see myself stabbing myself with it.

Binder clip holding my pull out strand on the skewer

Next, pull about 5 inches of yarn out from what you will be winding and clip it to the end of the skewer. This will be your pull out strand when you are finished.

Start the drill slowly, as to not fling the clip off or knot anything up. Also, make sure to go back and forth while it is winding or you will end up with a blob that is super heavy and will break the skewer or damaging the drill.

Wound towards the drill

Wound away from the drill.

Continue to wind it until the end. Half way through, it should look something like this.

Mini Skein! — Half way through making the new skein.

Don’t worry if you have some “gutted” pieces, it seems to happen that way with the stiffer yarns than it does with the softer ones. If you want to, you can reverse it until it is fixed.

When finished, take it off of the drill and pull from the flat side (or the side that wasn’t attached to the drill. It seems to come off easier that way.)

Partial hiatus. 😅

I apologize for starting this blog and then not posting much. I am working on a plaid baby blanket for my nephew’s son due this summer. I’m going to be a great aunt at 27. 😏

We also got a puppy. His name is Sir Benjamin, but we call him Benjamin or Ben.

I hope everyone has been great. Physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. Hopefully, once everything starts cooling down, I will get back into posting again.

Thanks for understanding, frands.

-Stephanie.

18″ doll scarf (checkered)

Sometimes, the cold bothers her a bit.

Elsa is not a good model. The lighting was all wrong and my phone died after. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You will need a G6 (4mm) hook, 2 or more colors [I used 3], darning needle, and scissors.

This pattern uses US crochet terminology.

Terms used:

Ch=chain

Dc=double crochet

Sc=single crochet

R=row

I used aqua, light blue, and white.

Starting with your dark color, ch 11.

R1: dc in 3rd ch from hook, dc 3; change to white, dc 3; change to dark color, dc 3; change to white for the finish of your dc of the dark color; ch 2

Joining of white onto dark color (blue) in the middle of a dc

R2: dc 3, with white; change to light color, dc 3; change to white, dc 3; change to your dark color for the finish of your dc of white; ch 2.

Joining of light color (light blue) to white in the middle of a dc.

R3-***R61: Continue this sequence until you end with dark color, white, dark color; change to your light color for the finish of your dc of your dark color; ch 1

R62: sc all the way around; finish off.

Sc border around the scarf in light color (light blue).

Optional: fringe on the ends. ❤

The Goodie Box

I am a parent of a very outgoing preschooler. Recently, though, she has decided to show some dominance with her father and I. This includes biting, spitting, and hitting us when we ask her to do simple things as: putting on her shoes, getting a bath, and bedtime.

Nothing we did seemed to work. If we got angry, she got even more angry. It was a never ending cycle of “QUIT” and a sigh of defeat.

That is, until we remembered how she was potty trained. She was so into it, but only for show. She wouldn’t do anything on the potty or the toilet until my mom had her sit there until she went, then gave her a boxed Yoo-Hoo. She was all for going after that. We don’t have to use Yoo-Hoos now, since she can tell us when she has to go.

This got us thinking: if she was willing to do good for a treat, what else could we get her to do?

Thus, the Goodie Box was created. If she cleans her room, cleans off her bed, eats her dinner, brushes her teeth, bathes, uses the potty without us asking or her not giving us grief over it, she gets to pick from the box. If she wakes up in the middle of the night and uses the potty, resulting in waking up dry in the morning, she gets two prizes.

The box includes: toys, snacks, a few pieces of candy, fake glasses (because you can’t be a mommy without those, apparently), crafting supplies, cheap makeup, and books.

Since the box has been in place, her attitude has changed immensely. No more screaming at everyone when she is asked to stop doing something, no more hitting people or things when told to get ready, and best of all: she finishes dinner.

18 inch doll scarf (vertical stripe)

Dolls get cold, too, right?

I made this pattern because I couldn’t find one I really liked (or one that wasn’t a broken link. ☹)

It is in US terminology and uses a foundation dc.

G6 (4.0 mm) hook

I used Walmart’s Mainstays Basic Yarn for the yellow and the taupe. The orange was some old stuff from my mom’s stash.

Terms used:

Ch=chain

Dc=double crochet

Fdc=foundation double crochet

Sc=single crochet

Sl st=slip stitch Fo= finish off

Cc=change color

Row 1: Ch 112 (or 110 fdc. If using this, you will cc before finishing last fdc and ch 2)

Row 2: dc into the second ch from the hook, (if you used fdc, follow from here) dc 110 to the end, cc like in row 1. Ch 2.

Row 3: dc 110 down until the last one, cc, ch 2.

Row 4: dc 110 down until the last one, cc to border color, ch 1.

Row 5: sc 109, 2sc in the 110th stitch, 5 sc, 2sc, 109 sc, 2sc, 5 sc, and sc in with the first sc to make it 2sc. (See photos above)

Row 6: fo with a sl st.

You can sell what you make, just credit the creator, please.