Thanksgiving Scraps

Ok, again...NOT the best photos, someday I will actually take the time to take a good photo. Well, seeing how this week is Thanksgiving, I thought I'd write a bit about some things on my mind, and share this layout I created. When we lived in Barbourville (for three months...stick with me, I know I lead somewhat of a gypsy life) I turned one of the unused Sunday School rooms at the church into a scrapbook room for myself. Selfish, I know..BUT I didn't want to waste such a great space. I made a few layouts that I thought (somewhere in the back of my brain) that I would sell in my etsy shop (no, I'm not posting the link because it's not open right now!) once I got it re-opened.

Well, I truly do have a lot to be grateful for. Sure, life isn't exactly as we had planned it. Absolutely NOTHING has worked out since we've left Phoenix. But, my family has been provided for, we've had a roof over our heads and food to eat. On top of that, we've had some great quality time together as a family. I don't know what's in store for us, but I know who is in control...and thank goodness it ain't me!

We now have temporary jobs (I say temporary, because neither job is something we would like to be doing long term...but we are so thankful to have them!) We found a house that we will be moving into next week (No more living in a camper...can I get a Woot-Woot?!?!) And, our marriage is still great, even after this rough couple of months of transitioning and feeling at times like we were not only wandering through the desert, but stranded in it as well.

I'm so excited and so thankful.

I wanted to post the layout, because it made me think of my friend Beth. We met when I was in high school, and she was a college student. We were both working at the movie theater in our town. We hit it off right from the start, and even though I haven't seen her in over 10 years, we still remain close. I kind of attribute my love of paper crafting to her. Once, I got this strange idea to make a from of a scrapbook out of an old book (now scrappers would refer to this as an "altered book" I was way ahead of my time, and didn't even know it.) I had pictures glued in, and quotes that I liked (this was all before the whole "acid/lignin free" revolution.) Anyway, one day I took the book in to work, and when Beth saw it she said "Erin, what are you thinking? You can't do that to a book! It's destroying LITERATURE!!" But, after she looked through it, she told me she thought it was a really neat idea, which made me feel real good, and if someone else appreciated my work, then maybe it would be worthwhile to share with others. I have been making cards and scrapbooks for people ever since.

I still have that book somewhere...maybe in storage? We'll see next week, when we finally get to unpack our things!!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

Hoppy Birthday!

All of my crafty supplies are still in storage, so my projects are very limited, which has left me with a desire to create something. I'm not sure if it's because I really feel the desire, or if it's just because I know it's something I'm not able to do right now...kind of like when I'm supposed to be eating low carb and the only thing I want to (shove in my face) eat... is spaghetti. Anyway, a few days before Jonathan's birthday (Oh my goodness, I just realized I didn't post pictures about that...well, I'll save that for tomorrow...) my mother in law and I decided to make birthday cards for him. We stayed up until almost 2 in the morning having a good time creating two very special cards for him. It was really fun and satisfied the creative itch I was having.

This isn't the best picture, but this is the card I made for him...with all the hard work I put into it, I know he really appreciated it, even though he didn't seem like he did, when he rapidly ripped the envelope, looked at the card for .7 seconds, threw it on the table, and reached for his next present...deep down, I know he loved it....

Unraveled

Back when we lived in Phoenix, I stumbled upon a blog of a lady who unraveled sweaters for the yarn, I attempted some, but didn't stick with it and recently, when a friend of mine said she had spent her day unraveling sweaters, I thought, I must get on this bandwagon again! So, I found this helpful tutorial, by a lady who is a genius, went to Goodwill, spent $5.00 on two sweaters, and this is what came from it:

Pardon the equipment, I just used what I had! I found this sweater, the tag said 100% Wool. After looking at the pictures, I did feel a little guilty shredding this fine piece of art...but the pictures make the sweater look nicer than it was. I was saving this thing from the landfill, trust me. It was stretched in places, and had holes in others. I started off ripping the main seam, as the tutorial said to look for the "good seam" I did, and then separated the sweater into sections. Then, I started unraveling the sleeves. I wrapped the yarn around a shoe box, then tied it in four places. I repeated the same steps with each sleeve, then the front of the sweater and finally the back. Almost two hours later, I ended up with a little over 1650 feet of gorgeous wool yarn! (The last pictures shows what I was left with, I still need to soak the bundles in hot water to release some of the waviness!) Time well spent I think! Now, what to make out of them???

Anyone have a mitten crochet pattern??!!