Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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A Couple of Quick Projects

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To keep myself from going insane after oh-so-many days here at MHC (we only have one car at the moment and Don has been using it for work) I finally got around to a project that had been on my mind for a long while. A simple one, really, but one that for some reason I just kept ignoring.

The lamp shade. We keep this lamp on our kitchen counter. Please ignore my tiled countertop with the awful dark tinted grout – someday it will be replaced. Anyway, the lamp used to be closer to the stove, hence the various stains on the white lampshade. I’m too cheap to replace the lampshade, so yesterday I went through my fabric and found a cute pattern that I thought would do nicely.

Scissors, a glue stick and voila!

I can’t believe the transformation. And I can’t believe I didn’t get around to this sooner!

In the studio cabinet, I added a piece of lace to the edge of one of the shelves:

I want to find another piece similar in design and width for the top shelf. How nice that I left the glue stick right in the middle of this shot.  I’m always doing things like that, though the culprit is usually my lens cap.

I’ve been reading like a madwoman but there are times I just need to create. Even if it’s something fairly simple – it makes me happy.

What Is It With Me & Glue Guns?

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Before I launch into my glue gun adventure, let me say that I do not plan on receiving a new camera for Christmas as some of you have suggested. Oh no. We are on a tight budget here and our gift exchange will be meaningful but far from opulent. I am going to have to save my pennies for a new camera and that might take quite a while. Meanwhile, I’ll keep researching and dreaming. And visualizing.

Now, on to the glue gun problem. I bought a glue gun earlier this year at Michael’s. I brought it home and plugged it in. Nothing. No heat, no anything. It was very inexpensive, so though I was frustrated, I wasn’t out much money. The other day I got the idea in my head to make something, inspired by this post. I didn’t want to decorate the stairway the way I had in the past, with faux pine garlands, etc. It just seemed to be too much for this particular Christmas. I thought maybe a wreath would look nice. The ever-popular coffee filter wreath.

Off I went to Michael’s to buy a wreath form and a glue gun. This time I went with a more expensive model, thinking that my cheapness with the previous purchase might have given me what I deserved. I could hear “You get what you pay for” ringing in my ears. I set up the craft table, armed with a stack of coffee filters, glue gun, and wreath form. For a bit, all was well. Glue was melting, filters were being made into a wreath. Then… a problem. The trigger would no longer push the glue stick further into the gun. I had to manually push it, and then it would pop back out. No hot glue. I found myself trying to hold the filter in one hand while trying to manually push the glue into the nozzle with my finger, and when that didn’t work – a stick. Since I don’t have 3 hands, this quickly became hopeless.

Sick of the whole thing, I turned to my trusty Quick Grip glue and proceeded to glue many, many, many filters to the wreath form. Then I spent the next 3 hours peeling glue from my fingers.

I think the universe is telling me I am not supposed to work with a glue gun. Ever. Between the glue on my fingers with this project and kneading biscuit dough later in the evening, the theme for the day was Messy Fingers.

Here’s the finished project:

I like it. I know this project has been everywhere in blogland and I’m rather late to the party. However, better late than never.

So, here’s my question. Am I the only one who has a problem with glue guns? Please tell me it’s not just me. Have any of you glue gun stories to tell?

A DIY Garland Project

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I knew you’d understand the Christmas blues. My hope is that all of us somehow cope with them and find joy in this Christmas season. Thank you for each and every comment. I can’t tell you how much they mean to me.

I may not be in the Christmas decorating mood quite yet, but I continue to be in a crafty mood. You know all about the obsession scarves, of course, which are ongoing. I have the pattern memorized and the other day as I was crocheting away, a thought struck me. I had an idea for a project that involves just the flower portion of the pattern.

I started out with these:

These are cones of Peaches & Creme Cotton that I had in my stash. I once had this in several colors – I used P&C to make dish cloths. The reason I chose P&C for this project is the texture of the yarn. It’s a bit stiffer (in a good way.) More on that later. I crocheted about 12 of the flowers – 6 in each color.

There they are. Then I found some ribbon that I liked and strung them on the ribbon.

I tied a knot in each end and hung my little crocheted garland on our living room cupboard.

I’m not sure whether this will stay on this cupboard; more likely it will move upstairs to the studio. The cupboard seemed like the perfect place to hang it for this post (and it’s sort of yummy with the pottery on top of the cupboard.) Wait a minute – maybe I’m talking myself into leaving it here. The flowers certainly look like snowflakes. Perfect for Christmas. You could crochet these in white and hang them in your window or as a garland on your tree. That’s another reason for the Peaches & Creme with its stiffer quality. It holds the design nicely, almost as if the flower is starched.
If you want me to post the pattern for just the flower, let me know in a comment.
This makes me smile. Maybe all this crafting is quietly gearing me up for a bit more Christmas decorating. I know one thing: I’m headed out to the porch to hang some lights.
Edited to add: It’s too cute on this cupboard, so staple gun in hand, I stapled the ribbon ends to the inside of the door. Now we can open and close the door and it will stay in place.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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