Patio Paver Crafts

It has been awhile since I last posted, and this is the first time attempting to do so on my tablet.
Last month I did a couple of painting crafts both on my own and with my grandson.
The first are some ladybug pavers that will be crawling around one of the trees in our yard.

I got the inspiration here.

Here are hers.

And here are mine.

I had one patio paver left, so my grandson and I worked on this one together. At first he wanted a cow, but when I showed him a picture of a tractor, he decided on that.
I drew the shapes we needed and outlined it, and he filled in the colors. He placed his in his mother's (my daughter) garden next door.

He did a great job!

Just this last week, I did a couple more painted paver crafts.
The inspirations came from here and here.

Their versions...

And Mine.

So, here's the method I used for these painted pavers:

First the individual ones.

1) Clean the pavers and brush off most of the dust.

2) Paint a base coat of your main color with acrylic craft paint. (actually, I painted the caterpillar with spray paint, Rustoleum 2X, but I think the acrylic paint may end up a little cheaper to use and easier to fill in the crevices.) You will probably need 2-3 coats to cover well, depending on the color you use.

3) After the base coat has dried, paint on the faces, markings, etc. with the other colors. Again drying between any coats needed.

4) Allow to dry thoroughly. I usually let them dry at least overnight, but the tractor I did the same day and it went ok. Don't worry if it looks dull, the sealer will give it a good gloss.

5) Apply a coat of Concrete Sealer. I used this, which I got at Menards.  Let dry and repeat at least one more coat. This is the same sealer I used on my stamped patio several years ago and it has held up well. Even though the gloss is now gone, the acrylic paint has been protected and is still there. I still have about 1/3 of this left, as it is thin like water and a little goes a long way.

6) For the caterpillar, or any shape you come up with that needs to be glued together, the process is the same except that FIRST you will glue the pavers together with landscape adhesive. Again, I got this at Menards. I had asked one other blogger what she used to glue hers together and she said she used E6000 glue. She said it worked well, but after a couple of years they fell apart and had to be re-glued. We'll see it if this lasts any longer.

It did not say on the tube if it was paint-able or not, but I contacted the company and they said it is. They suggested waiting 24 hrs. before painting and using acrylic paint, so it moves with the product. My Bad, I sprayed it before finding this out (Too impatient to get my project started!) I did wait 48 hrs., though, so I was good there. Once the adhesive has dried well, sand or grind off any "ooze outs" and again brush off the dust before painting. It's probably best not to use too much, because any "ooze outs" on the bottom side are going to be flattened and smooth, as opposed to the crevices in the paver.

Here are pics of my creations in their ?final? (who knows) resting places.

Guarding my grill flower cart

Crawling through the weeds

After a couple of rains

Around the box elder tree

P.S. I may have started this on my tablet, but finished it on the desktop. Things just did not move around the way I liked on the tablet, but the pics uploaded easier, so I guess a combo of the two worked pretty slick.

Enjoy!

BEDROOM INSPIRATION

If you enjoy reading my posts, leave a comment at the bottom.

I really like getting feedback and respond to every comment or question.

So please, won't you leave me some footnotes!

@www.decoration.luxury-ideas.com

Do you think a bed in the corner takes up too much space.

Interesting headboard  @www.houzz.com

No headboard, just stencil on wall @ www.houzz.com

eclectic bedroom design by other metros interior designer Catherine Sands

Another cool headboard @ www.houzz.com

Check out these "painted on" headboards found here:http://exoticinteriors.wordpress.com/category/bedrooms/page/2/

Wow, a room divider as a headboard.http://exoticinteriors.wordpress.com/category/bedrooms/page/3/

And the next one at the same page.

That is so cool.  A tufted headboard that's not a headboard.  I like it.

Crochet Hat {P}inspiration

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I really like getting feedback and will respond to comments. 

So please, won't you leave me some footnotes! 

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Girl's Hat With Lacy Earflaps

This is the hat my daughter put on one of my Pinterest boards for my granddaughter.

Cute, but no pattern. 

Not even a link to the page the image came from. 

All I got was redirected to different ad sites.

This is a hat that I liked the earflaps on.

Again, no pattern.

The link takes me to the LoveAndYarn site, but no amount of searching found me a pattern.

So, when the internet gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Or in this case make my own pattern.

A closeup of my version of the earflap 

So here's the pattern:

Girl's Hat With Lacy Earflaps

Supplies

 4-ply yarn - less than 1/2 a skein of the main color and even less of the contrasting colors *

*(this is not an exact science, I used yarn I had left in my stash from other projects)

This is the type I use

 Red Heart Super Saver

Size I crochet hook

Large needle to weave in any ends and sew on flower

Size

Child - I made it to fit big on a 5 year old, so I would imagine it will fit up to a teenager, possibly. It fit the circumference on me, stretched, but did not go down enough to cover the ears.

Stitches used

ch - chain

sl st - slip stitch

sc - single crochet

hdc - half double crochet

dc - double crochet

dtr - double treble crochet

Pattern

Round 1 - With the I hook and main color, ch4. sl st into 1st ch, to form a circle.

Round 2 - Work 10 hdc into circle. (10 stitches) Mark end of round.

DO NOT JOIN

Round 3 - 2 hdc in each st around. (20 stitches) Move stitch marker.

Round 4 - * 1 hdc next st, 2 hdc next st. Repeat from * around. (30 stitches) Move stitch marker.

Round 5 - *  1 hdc next st, 1 hdc next st, 2 hdc next st. Repeat from * around (40 stitches) Move stitch marker. 

Round 6 - *  1 hdc next st, 1 hdc next st, 1 hdc next st, 2 hdc next st. Repeat from * around (50 stitches) Move stitch marker.

Round 7 - *  1 hdc next st, 1 hdc next st, 1 hdc next st, 1 hdc next st, 2 hdc next st. Repeat from * around (60 stitches) Move stitch marker.

Round 8 - 13 - Work even in hdc around, moving stitch marker at end of each round. 

Round 14 - 15 - Attach next contrasting color and work even in hdc around, moving stitch marker at end of each round. You can crochet your ends in as you go, or weave them in at the end. I prefer to crochet in as many as possible right away, so there's less weaving to do at the finish.

Round 16 - Attach next contrasting color and work even in hdc around, moving stitch marker at end of round.

Round 17 - (Earflap round) hdc in next 9 st. *sl st in next st, sk 3 st, 10 dtr in next st, sk 3 st, sl st in next stitch* (earflap made). hdc in next 24 st. Repeat between *. hdc in last 9 stitches of row. Move stitch marker.
Round 18 - Attach main color again and hdc in next 9 st, *hdc in sl st, 2 hdc in each dtr, hdc in sl st*, hdc in next 24 st. Repeat between * hdc in last 9 st. Move stitch marker.
Round 19 - hdc in next 3 st, move stitch marker (this is so your color changes end up in the back), then sc around to marker. sl st to next st and fasten off.
Weave in any tails you have left.

Flower

Large Petals:

Round 1 - Using H hook ch 4. sl st into the first ch to form

a circle, ch 2. *1 dc into the circle, ch 1. Repeat from the *

5 times. sl st into the top of ch 2.

Round 2 - ch 2, then dc into the same st.  2 dc into every st

and ch all the way around. sl st into the top of ch 2.

Round 3 - Ch 2, then dc into the same st.  dc into the next st. *2 dc into the next st, then dc into the next 2 sts. Repeat from the * all around. sl st into the top of ch 2.

Round 4 - Ch1. *sc into the next st, dc into the same st. In the next st 2 dc.  3 tr in the next st.  2 dc into the next st. 1 dc in the next st and sc into the same st. Repeat from the * all around. sl st into the top of ch 2.

Fasten off, and weave in ends.

Medium Petals:

Round 1 - Using H hook ch 4. sl st into the first ch to form a circle, ch 2. *1 dc into the circle, ch 1. Repeat from the * 5 times. sl st into the top of ch 2.

Round 2 - ch 2, then dc into the same st.  2 dc into every stitch and ch all the way around. sl st into the top of ch 2.

Round 3 - Ch 1.  *sc into the next st. dc into the same st. 1 dc into the next st, then tr, dc into the same st, dc in the next st, then sc into the same st. Repeat from the * all around. sl st into the top of ch 1.

Fasten off, and weave in ends.

Small Petals:

Round 1 - Using H hook ch 4. sl st into the first ch to form a circle, ch .14 dc into the circle. sl st into the top of ch 2.

Round 2 - Ch 2. *1 dc into the same st. 3 dc into the next st. dc in the next st, ch 2 and sl st into that same st. sl st into the next st, ch 2. Repeat from the * all around.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Finishing

Place small petals on top of medium petals, then on top of large petals. Going through all layers, sew to one side of the hat with yarn and a large needle. Before cutting yarn, attach a button to the center of the flower and secure on the inside of the hat and fasten off.

Braids

Cut (12) 36" lengths of yarn for each braid. Fold 12 pieces of yarn in half and using a large hook, pull the fold through a space at the bottom of each earflap from the backside, to form a loop on the outside. pull the rest of the tails through the loop and tighten. Split the tails into 3 sections and braid almost to the end. Wrap a length of main color yarn around the end of the braiding and secure. Trim ends of the tail to about the same length.

My grandson was kind enough to model this hat for me, but I'm afraid I did a poor job focusing. Darn this getting old and having to hold the camera farther away than my arms to see if I got a good pic or not!

Here's my granddaughter modeling it after her birthday.

And of course these two had to get crazy for the camera. Even though it's not a great pic, I decided to throw it in here anyway.

Creamy Tomato Soup

 

Creamy Tomato Soup

Yield 4 ½ cups

Ingredients

3 ½ tablespoons butter   
½ cup chopped onion
1 clove of garlic (minced or put through a garlic press)
3 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon basil
2 cups chicken broth  (I use 1 TBL of chicken soup base added to 2 cups water)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned)
2/3 cup half and half
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion and basil and cook until onion is translucent. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk to make a roux. Slowly add the chicken broth and continue to whisk as the mixture thickens. Cook for at least  1 minute, following the boil; then add the sugar and tomatoes and just bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes (longer for fresh tomatoes). Just prior to serving, add the half and half. Refrigerate leftovers and reheat as needed.

YUM!

Photo Book - San Juan, PR

I'm been gone for a bit.
1st - Getting ready for our trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico for our son's wedding.
2nd - The trip and wedding themselves.
3rd - Recuperating from the "vacation", plus another short trip to Chicago thrown in there.
4th - This is one of the projects I've been working on concerning our trip to San Juan.

It's a photo book of our vacation!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to create your own Shutterfly photo book.

I hope you enjoyed this book. I am currently working on another book of just Old San Juan, because there was so much to see there. So much, in fact, that we could have used another day at least to see more things and do more things. When that book is done, I'll share it as well.

By the way......I got a great deal on this book through Groupon. They had a deal to get an 8X11 book for $15 and an 8X8 book for $10. I got the 8X11 for this book and hubby is getting the 8X8 for the Old San Juan book.

               Have A Relaxed Day!                 

Card Wallet

I have all these cards in my purse, over and above my debit and credit cards, which I keep with my checkbook.

So these include store reward cards (cards you use instead of having coupons), library card, AAA card, and the like; you get the picture.

Previously I had these in one of those photo holders. You know the kind, thin, plastic, that comes with a wallet. Anyhoo, it has been worn out for a while now from putting the cards in and out. I mean seriously worn out as in most of the pockets were ripped and my cards and pics would fall out when I was trying to get one of the cards out.

So, enough was enough, when I realized I had lost one of my store cards and had to get it replaced.  I got the inspiration and tutorial from Pinterest of course. 

Here’s the pin on my “Things I'd Like To Make Or Just Find Interesting” board if you’re interested: http://pinterest.com/pin/83105555593591545/ While you’re there, why don’t you become a follower? I’ll always follow back at least one of your boards that interest me.

You can find the tutorial for this card wallet  at Nancy's Couture. I didn’t do another tutorial, because I think she did a wonderful job of it, so she gets the credit.

So, here’s my version

                                           

I didn’t add the snap, because this is always in my purse, so I didn’t feel I needed one. As you can see, I don’t have enough cards to fill it, so I finished it out with pics of my grandkids.

On a side note, I used a couple of my Christmas and Birthday presents to do this project.  These were both from Gary. The first is my new self healing cutting mat, which you can see in the background of the above pics. It is 24”X36”! I have a little dinky one that just wasn’t big enough for a lot of the projects I do and I have a larger cardboard sewing mat that you just can’t do any cutting on except with a scissors.

This is the kind of mat I got.  As you can see it is black on the other side. You can buy it at Amazon.

 

The second gift I used is a 12”X8” carpenter square. I’ve been wanting a smaller square for some time, but whenever I would go shopping I would forget to either put it on the list or simply forget about it. Outta sight, outta mind as it were. As you can see it is not very expensive at Amazon; although he got  it at  the local True Value hardware store.

So that’s what I did this afternoon. It only took a couple of hours, including writing on the blog about it. In fact the writing probably takes longer, since I write, read, reread, rewrite and so on, until I get it just the way I want.

Have a great evening!

Betty Crocker 11 Piece Decorating Kit

My daughter and her family got me this for Christmas. I guess she thought I needed some more decorating paraphernalia, since she recently borrowed some of mine and I do seem to be missing some pieces. Anyway,  I had seen decorating tubes like this on the web, but was reluctant to get them, because I thought they might be more difficult to clean.

                                          

Now, it says it is 11 piece, but in actuality, there are 23 pieces, plus the instruction booklet. They count each bottle, with all the pieces to the cap as 1 piece. Most things you buy nowadays, the cap is considered a piece of it’s own, but potatoes, pattatoes, makes no difference to me.

This is what’s included:

 

3 accordion style bottles

1 tall, smooth bottle                                                                                            

4 (3 piece) caps, which include the bottle cover that screws on, a tip retainer nut, which also screws on, and a tip cap which snaps over the retainer nut

1 spoon spatula

1 flexible angled  spatula

5 decorating tips, including a round #2, leaf #67, open star #16, open star #32, and petal #104

1 instruction booklet

I used it, for the first time,  for a New Years treat of cupcakes. Filling one of the accordion tubes as full as I could, by tapping it to settle the frosting, I could do 5 cupcakes in a spiral style. That’s maybe only a couple less than using a bag, but I did not have to worry about frosting coming out the top, which I tend to have, because I probably am not doing something quite right with my hold.

So, to fill the bottle, use the spoon spatula and start scooping frosting into the bottle, scraping off the spatula on the side of the bottle. Tap the bottle several times on the counter/table and repeat process until you can’t get anymore in.  Screw on the bottle cap, put a tip on, and screw on the retainer nut.

You are now ready to start decorating with one hand holding a cupcake and the other (dominant) hand holding the bottle. Place the end of the tip on the edge of a cupcake and start squeezing the bottle, as you rotate either the cupcake or your bottle hand, whichever feels most comfortable to you. Spiral in toward the middle of the cupcake, keeping the rows tight and stop in the middle and then lift off.

I thought it worked quite well, but here are my pros and cons.

PROS:

Can frost using only 1 hand; I generally use 2 hands with a bag.

Don’t have to worry about frosting squeezing out the top.

If you need to chill the frosting, you can just put the cap on and put the bottle in the fridge for a bit.

Can store the leftover frosting right in the bottle and use it up in a few days, so you don’t have to throw any out or save such a small amount in another container. I used it on donuts a couple of days later.

By soaking it in warm, soapy, it was no harder to clean out than a bag.

CONS:

The flexible angled spatula is pretty useless for scooping up frosting or even doing any spreading. It is just too flexible and I will stick with my metal ones for major decorating. It did; however, work good to scrape out the pleats of the accordion bottle when I was cleaning out the last of the frosting for my donut; not completely, but good enough.

Would have been handy to have a large round tip for cupcakes, but I already have a couple, so that was no big deal.

The biggest drawback I had was that you cannot use larger diameter tips for bigger open star decorating. What I mean is that I like to use the following tips (4B, 8B, & 1M) when decorating cupcakes, because I have to make less spirals and it is more dramatic looking. These have a larger diameter opening at the base and there is no way to secure them to the bottle. With a bag, you just have to cut a larger hole.

In conclusion, I give this a thumbs up!

I think it will be handier for doing star decorating on cakes where you have a lot of little stars to pipe. I will definitely be using it on my next decorating project. I wonder how writing will work with it. I can’t wait to try it on a cake.

Have A Sweet Day!

Crock Pot Swedish Stew

I was trying to come up with something different for dinner, and was kinda hungry for stew. We’d just had a tomato based stew, so I wanted something different. We like Swedish Meatballs, so I thought why not try that type of sauce in a stew. It smelled great, but the real test was that Hubby said he really liked it and that the recipe was a keeper. I figured I better get the recipe typed up and recorded somewhere, so I don’t forget how I made it, the next time we have it. (I tend to do that; make meals by adding different concoctions, and then forget what I did.) I served it with a slice of buttered rye bread and it was delicious. I hope you like it too!

Crock Pot Swedish Stew

1 1/2 pounds beef roast or round steak

Small amount oil for browning

Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

1 can cream of celery soup

1 cup baby red potatoes, quartered

1 cup frozen peas and carrots

1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickle

Cut beef into bite size pieces. In a skillet, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, brown the beef in oil, seasoning with the salt pepper, and garlic powder.  Place the quartered potatoes in the bottom of a crock pot. Add the browned beef next, followed by the cream of celery soup, dill pickle, and peas and carrots. Cook on low  for 7-9 hours or high 4-5 hours. Stir to incorporate anytime after halfway through the cooking cycle.

Alternate ingredients: You can use regular medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1”size pieces. You could also use fresh peas and carrots, but then put the carrots in the bottom with the potatoes, since they will take longer to cook.

Enjoy!




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