Putting a bow on 2016

As I’m staring down a stack of papers representing my taxes and contemplating meaning in a world gone insane, I’m clearly procrastinating. Because instead of finishing either of those two necessary tasks, however noble or banal each is, I’ve cleaned every surface in my house and also decided “yes, I should catch up on my journaling from 2016.” Because priorities. 

 

New this year: stickers on the book!

 
So 2016 is all scrapped up and ready to go sit on the shelf with his buddies: eight other Farmer’s Alamanc planners and three rando planners I used before the OFA became my clear go-to. They represent over 10 years of hoarding papers. 

 

Some of the randos with the final version of what is basically a really lazy memoir

 
Or at least, 10 years of putting my paper hoarding to some sort of creative use. 

I can’t let go of paper. Ticket stubs, business cards, wedding invitations, even those little tags on tea bag strings. For years they sat in envelopes waiting for…well I didn’t know what. But finally after years of stacks of papers sitting around, I finally found a way to scrapbook/journal with all of that crap. As a result, I can get rid of most of the papers but keep the key elements that remind me of something that happened on a particular day: cards and notes, wristbands, ribbons, parking passes. They all go on their appropriate date page. And then I can throw the rest out. It’s still really weird, but at least now I have a hold of it. 

And as a bonus, I have a solid book of alibis* going back years. So that’s nice. 

 

alibis stacking up

 
*h/t to MBF for coining that. 

Tiara break: final week until December

Well, this week broke me. Figuratively and mostly literally too.

After the road trip, I had to report back to road trip ground zero for work. So back I flew, with the week’s tiaras ready to go.

Two lessons learned here: headbands are not tiaras (no matter how much I stretch the use of the word), and hot glue is not a decent adhesive.

a pic of the whole bunch. most are necklaces turned into headbands I thought to myself: I’ll take a pic of all of them before I wear them, since I find it onerous to take selfies every day. Ugh. Some days, I remembered to take pics.

Not pictured at all is a ribbon with black stones glued on, which was so ugly I was _glad_ when the stones popped off, giving me good reason to take it off.

this, i liked. this and the purple one were both broken necklaces tied as a circlet with a ribbon. this was after i hurt my back but before it told me it was hurt

a bathroom selfie is all this pink headband with beads threaded through a ribbon deserved. fail.

modelled by a wurstfest reveller. ribbon with feathers, rhinestones, and an acirn cap hotglued on. tied around my head or hat. worked well!

Not pictured individually were a strand of beads from a fake-hair attachment I got at bellydance camp, tied and hot glued to a black elastic headband, which worked pretty well actually; a leather rectangle I made at camp one year as a hair stick, but which never worked as one. Tied with elastic silver thread it made a nice headband, but my friends called it a cheater tiara (correctly). And created but never worn due to pearls popping off the hot glue is the blue ribbon one. Looked ok but it was a fail for hot glue issues.

So that brings me to yesterday. I flew home and a couple things happened. 1) I decided not to wear the ugly tiara with the failpearls. 2) My back started telling me that it was serious and this shit wasn’t going away. According to the first doc I saw, I injured a disc and sprained my SI joint. Today, I’m flat in bed, after seeing my fourth doctor/healer/physical therapist. I am realizing I have to take it easy. I am realizing I also signed up for NaNoWriMo and should really get back on that. And I am realizing that after taking pain pills and muscle relaxers Friday, the words per day dropped way way down. Like to zero.

All to say: no mas tiaras until the November novel is done and my back is cool with sitting at a work table again. Both things have to occur. I want to wear tiaras for a year, but I want to enjoy making them. I also want to write a novel this month. These are not going to happen simultaneously.

Great American Roadtrip tiaras

The week passed me by like a car on the highway! After the wedding, I had crafted a few tiaras for the road, and cobbled a few more together while in transit. Beading ain’t easy in a moving car, either.

Backwards in time, we have generous use of the stretchy silver cord. I knotted it and strung beads on three lengths of it, and braided it some.

made in vegas for the final day’s drive

also made in vegas, but on arrival

This one was an in-transit make. Like the Vegas headband, I wrapped stretchy silver cord around it and threaded beads onto it like I was making a friendship bracelet. You can almost tell that this was on a broken section, whereas the Vegas band was between two loops of the hard plastic headband.

stretchy cord wrapped around a broken headband.

Halloween tiara

Simple. And I think my favorite so far.  Super fun. I love how these guys look like they’re having a little party on my head.

 

Craft Hope’s softie project for kids

Hello world and fellow geekcrafters! Would anyone else like to join in Craft Hope’s “project 19”, softies for Hurricane Sandy kids?

Since the deadline is January 10, I figure maybe I can whip up a few murlocs. The project doesn’t specify toys-only, and I think a fun monster hat is both useful and … um, fun.

Heck, maybe this will finally spur me to write and post that murloc hat pattern. Yikes, that’s been too long!

via Project 19 :: Dolls, Animals, and Monsters. Oh My!.

Renfest costumes

My friend and I made leather amazon costumes for the last day of Sherwood faire today. I kitted two other friends out, too, and MBF reminded me I also made his pants. 5 people clothed for nerdfest. Not too shabby, Nimmers.

Winters in Durotar | Geek Crafts

 

Man, check out this awesome hat from Geek Crafts and Craftster. Dag. I need to get knitting again! (As a side note, I’m loving EVERYTHING I see on Geek Crafts. Le sigh.)

Link: Winters in Durotar  | Geek Crafts.

Mayan calendar veggie tray

(a fail) Note to self: when preparing a plate to predict the end-times AND feed a crowd, use a larger platter and more structural foods.

Google socks at #LavaCon

The short answers are:

No, I don’t work for Google.

I got them at Maker Faire when it came through Austin a few years ago. Google was a vendor. (Maker Faire –> MAKE magazine –> O’Reilly media.)

Yes, I agree they are awesome. 🙂

The feet say “google sketchup: it doesn’t stink!”

Now my question is: has anyone ever taken a pic of his or her own foot that doesn’t make it look like the end point of a cankle??

We interrupt this rant for stupid iPhone tricks

I’ll go back to being a serious-pants soon, but for now, stupid iPhone trick. If I had real time to waste, I’d make each image a pixel and write a note. But I don’t so I wont.

you’re welcome.