CRASH! and The Tax Man Cometh

Sorry folks, I know it's been a long time but my iBook finally died. Apparently the logic board wasn't meant to last more than 6 years. Sadly I cannot justify a thousand dollars to get another Mac. *sniff*

The good news is that PC netbooks are the much better now - portable, small, and still powerful. Actually ANY netbook would blow away my old G4 that didn't even have a gigabyte, a gigahurtz, or a giga-anything. It will definitely be an upgrade for me, and with all the Google apps out there I don't think I'll be missing my iCal or my .mac account for that matter. I am dreaming of this ASUS here which is the next step up from what a friend of mine bought recently which has the N270 processor.

After today's visit with out tax guy, I am even happier to find the necessary funds to get a netbook, soup it up and get back to my online word of this blog, my etsy shop and millions of other neglected hobbies.

Stay tuned!

Aloha, ~Su

Snowflakes in the window...

Quick pics: some shots of our front window - not very good because of the glare. Well actually more like an almost-mirror-like reflection. I tried to do an arch to frame our Christmas tree when the blinds are up, and I used white copier paper and light blue translucent paper. I pretty much winged it, so some of the first ones are square.




Here are some close-ups. Some are folded so there are 6 prongs, some are 8. I put the tape on the holes and not on the outer edges so they would look like they were floating.

Hope this inspires you to do something crafty for your Christmas decorations!



Aloha, ~Su

And in line with the snowflakes...

My newest blog I'm following had this tutorial on snowflake garlands. I want to make tiny ones to put on the tree! You can make them too by going here to download the pdf. Thank you Holly!

Still Christmas Decorating!

December came and we immediately went and got a tree - 5 feet for $19.99! This is a far cry from past years of searching around last minute for ANYONE who was selling a tree. A big thank you to Koolau Farmers in Kaneohe for having a great tree guy who gave suggestions and held up every tree I asked! We were the only ones there, I love it!

And so the decorating began. We got plastic "glass" ball ornaments at the dollar store at Windward Mall. All their Christmas goodies were 20% off. We were especially glad they were plastic because of the kids - Baby #2 just turned 1 and loves to grab everything and shove it in her mouth.

I guess I was influenced by the white paper ghosts I put in the window for Halloween back in October... Or maybe it was this month's cover of RealSimple which sported a big glittery snowflake? I am such a sucker for this magazine.... So I cut a whole bunch of snowflakes and Baby #1 helped me tape them up to frame the tree. Turned out cute. I'll try and get a pic up later.

We also bought a little poinsettia plant for $5 while getting the tree, and when I got it home I thought, gee, it's so little and I only have one. So sad for me!

Anyway, in my browsing I found this pattern for a poinsettia pinwheel!

So I'm thinking I'll do a bunch of them and stick them into the potted plants out front to liven up the yard. I'm thinking of picking up some red craft foam so they'll withstand the wind and rain. Thanks so much to Heather Bailey for the great tutorial. Her blog is a great place if you're feeling crafty, or just wanting to live vicariously through her craftiness!

Aloha! ~Su

BRB... return from the back burner

WOW! Last time I blogged was JULY??? Well, quick recap....

The family got well, I got busy at work, then got back to working my way slowly toward nursing school by signing up for a Chemistry class. As a result, the jewelry enterprise got put on the back burner :P . Then I got the flu, and just when I thought I was better I caught a cold with the two kids. We are reduced to the sniffles and are almost well. Almost.

This Chemistry class is the first step in updating my science credits. MAN! My brain was rusty, but I was determined to do well. So far I've made it through one quiz a week and two midterms with an A average. I've definitely surprised myself, especially considering I have mommy brain x2.

Anyway, during my hiatus from jewelry I was still surfing my favorite creative inspiration site, Craftster.org, and dreaming about things to do. I decided I needed something creative to balance my Chemistry class. This is something I used to do in college so I wouldn't burn out. I decided to make a Poppet, something I've been wanting to do since they were born back in 2007. Once I set my mind to start I couldn't stop, and so once a week, as a reward for passing the weekly quiz I would work on bringing my very own Poppet to life.

It took a month worth of weekends and one late night when I just couldn't stop before I was done. Don't be afraid - it only took so long because I sewed the entire thing by hand and crocheted her hair and dress. We (the girls really) have named her Kat... because she's a "cat". The simplicity makes so much sense, reminds me of being little myself and how I named the things around me (Beary the bear, Camoolie the camel.... I kid you not!).

So here she is, and I must say, I haven't completely cured the urge. She has her own thread here. And here is the Long Awaited Poppet-Along if you'd like to get sucked in... uh, I mean inspired. Hehe. Many thanks to ghilie for emailing me the pattern and all the other poppet folks on Craftster.org for all the help, support and inspiration. I've started to cut more pieces so I can sew up more of them because I can't help myself. Just waiting for school to end so I have more time. Incidentally, it would probably take less time if I got my sewing machine fixed, so that's another thing I need to get done.

By the way, if you're one of those who wants a Poppet badly but just haven't made one yet, I'm taking a poll.
Is it because:
a) I need a push, I'd buy a Poppet kit with all the pieces ready to sew and stuff.
b) I don't sew or don't sew well, I'd buy a Poppet "blank" to embellish with eyes, hair, clothes etc.
c) I think I could make the Poppet but clothes and hair? Don't think so...
d) I'm truly intimidated and would buy one ready made or have one commissioned.

If any of these are you, please let me know. I'm thinking about adding Poppets, kits and accessories to my shop at subringas.com if there's a market out there for it.

Aloha! Susan