Thursday-10am

Good Morning!

Just to show you why up here we say things like..."Don't like the weather?  Give it time."  This was the blue sky with white clouds we had yesterday afternoon...

...and this was the white out condition we had less than two hours later.

Miss Karma wasn't feeling that good during the night.

Barfed up food (no grass and she hasn't been eating Phil and Fern anymore) in two places on the carpeting yesterday (which I covered up with rags so that none of us would step on the scrubbed wet spots) and a big one on the rug by the door.

So big that it needed washing, right?  Well, you might remember how there was almost no backing left on those two rugs and I bought this carpet tape to put on the back so I wouldn't break my neck on the slippery rugs, right?  I can't wash that rug anymore.  But I did have a spare that has been rolled up in the storage area lo these nine years since I moved across the river to Fargo.  I bought the rugs when I lived in Moorhead--needed three over there, but only two here.
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So--I rolled up the gross old one that won't clean up well and went down to dig out the spare.  Now they had all been used for six years in Moorhead, right?  Well, it's downright amazing what another nine years will do to a rug--ROFL!  Here's the back-taped old one in the kitchen... 

...and here's the spare unrolled by the door.  Can't really tell?  Here let me really show you...

They look like two different rugs--LOL!  One is light cream and one is tan.  One is falling apart and one still has rubber backing--intact.  One is thin and flat as a board and one has pile!  

I actually forgot these ever had pile--LOL!  Dagan and Leah noticed it the minute they walked in last night.  Still makes me smile in wonder every time I step on it.  Ahhh!  The little things in life, eh?
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I guess I have gotten my mojo back!  Putter!  Putter!  I had to go through and take the seals off the tops of all the rest of the new Dick Blick liquid acrylic bottles.  

You know how sometimes the seal comes up but you're left with that film of paper left behind?  Every one of them.  So, messy--but all done.  (And my sciatica was quite patient with the process...I am whispering...don't want to jinx myself.)  
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Then I started the new cover for the binder insert I saved.

You can see how I was using those new brass strips.  LOVE THEM!!

Took me a while to decide where the covers should end up as far as the flowers on the print went.  (Darn--didn't really think of that before I cut a hunk of fabric--duh!)  Then I penciled in where to glue the boards and where to cut in nothing flat!

Got out my PVA glue...

...brayered them down...

...grabbed my clump of used waxed paper, stacked some heavy boxes on top, and left that overnight. 

Meanwhile...the fauxdoris.  (Faux Midori travelers notebooks)  I cut the leather piece I bought off Amazon and it was large enough to cut a large and a smaller cover...just like I hoped!!  Remember the Midori rubber bands I bought?  I tried them out and they will work great on these!

I folded the covers in half and stacked a bunch of books on top of them and left those overnight, too.

Unlike the nice flat binder cover pieces...the leather didn't really enjoy the book pressing.  The bigger one is close, but the smaller one wasn't anywhere near cooperating.

I got an idea.  I wet one of the tiny scrap pieces of leather, folded it, bulldog clamped it, and left that to dry all day yesterday. 

It worked beautifully!  The water did not ruin the leather, but the clamp did leave marks and weaken the fibers at the fold a bit. 

So--I am thinking.  I will figure out a way to wet them, fold them, and maybe just book press them without ruining my books or leaving marks on the damp leather.  So waxed paper or butcher paper won't work because it creases and crinkles all up when wet--trust me, I know--and would leave marks if directly next to the leather.  I am going to search for something smooth and plastic, I think.  But the fauxdori project is coming along quite nicely!
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I'm having more trouble trying to figure out how to make the inside piece for the binder cover that will include a pocket.  The sewing machine will be coming out soon, I think.  If I mess this up terribly...I can always start over.  I have a lot more fabric and chipboard, so no problem.  (These are the things I tell myself so I can take plunges into the unknown--LOL!)
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Dagan and Leah came over last night with food from Arby's!  (I sent fresh bread home with them.)  Leah worked on her sample for her baby shower thank you cards.  

There was enough dark brown paper when she was shopping Monday night but Leah had to ask them to order a stack of the green paper.  It's from our local K&Krafts shop and they'll call her when it comes in.  They're just great about doing special orders.

We all like the simple style.  Hard to see--here's a close up.  The green paper is textured.  Kind of linen-y.  

I was Leah's assistant last night as we experimented with the new Christmas card stamps and blue ink pad colors.  We just LOVE these winter scenes!!

They are even prettier stamped up than we expected!

They will have a sentiment stamped along the bottom.

So happy we have found something we all love that are really simple for us to make!  We can actually make up four years worth of Christmas cards to have on hand!!  Awesome!  And if we want to make other cards in the meantime any given year--we can (and probably will).  But we will know we will be set for four years!  Talk about taking the pressure off!  Nice!  Whoohoo!! 
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Dagan brought back my old TV computer box.  Remember it sounded like the fan was going crazy or something?  He hadn't had a chance to mess with it--plugged it in--turned it on--and it seemed to be silently working just fine.  Another mysterious repair by the tech fairies?? 

So, he re-hooked it up last night.  Left the cover off just in case, but it appears to be working??  And I have volume control again--TaDa!!  Happy me!
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And again--just in case--the other computer tower is standing by.  ;)  We'll see how it goes.

When they left last night the TV computer was busy doing some kind of re-setting itself up.

When it was finished...it said there was no connection.  I called Dagan.  Just had to shut it down and start it up again and it was fine.  I haven't tried to turn it on yet today.  I better check, actually.  I have been putting off starting the final episodes of Breaking Bad (and have managed to not know how it ends, so don't tell me, please!) and I am about ready for a relaxing TV marathon day.  (If you can possibly call visiting Mr. White and Jesse relaxing--ROFL!)
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Aha!  Looks like I can start watching Breaking Bad today!  Whoohoo!  But first...I wonder if I can find some smooth plastic...
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Have a great day!!  :) :)
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"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."
Lao Tzu