Squidoo Hopping 8/7/14

Welcome to Thursday.
I look forward each week to doing this post and seeing what is shared in the linky.

How are you liking the new design on the squidoo pages? I was worried about some of my things going away, but the ones I looked at seem to look great.
I had thought that maybe my stuff wouldn't disappear as the lens I used to get my codes was called html for squidoo.
I can say this....Ive ended up liking the change. It means that all of our lenses look the same. No more competition with the lenses that were so fancy looking when I didn't know how to also make mine look like that.

I've been back to my daily updating this past week and even built a new lens. So far my lenses are staying out of WIP status.
Does anyone recall how many lenses we are required to build in a year to maintain Giant Squid status? I'm thinking 4. I have more than that this year, just want to make sure I don't mess it up next year.

I'm going to continue to share on the here 2 lenses that are just below the 85,000 ranking.
By my count I still have 67 out of 147 lenses to give an update to before starting over. A few I've been working on more as they had several photos for me to add or the like.
I'm having fun and that is part of what it's all about!

I look forward to what you choose to share this week.

An InLinkz Link-up

WIP Wednesday 8/6/14

Even this post has been a WIP this morning around watching 5 grandchildren, having to run and get gas and then a trip to the grocery store, and then fixing the kids lunch before I could finally sit down  and type it.

I spent the majority of my time this last week working on cutting fabric for lined bags.
I started out seeing if the size I had in mind for my Christmas bags would work out:

It looked good, so I used what other Christmas fabric I had the right size and kitted up 25 more bags:

I then went on with the fabrics I had out to make as many kits for the regular sized lined bags as I could.   I made up 11 kits:

I got the cute kitty cat print bag made-----and then found out that it was spoken for already as well as the blue bag with flowers:

I found out that the soscrappy rainbow challenge color this month is green--brights and lights especially---so I did take a little bag break to get out my green hexagons.  I was able to work on them just a bit last night too.
I have 100 papers pinned on....can I get close to making all 100 of these by the end of the month?  I sure will give it a good shot around other things!
You will find the button to the soscrappy blog at the bottom of this post.

Here is my current UFO list: (not including the hexies)
Rectangle quilt
challenge wall hanging
GoodNight Irene quilt/wall hanging
Yo-Yo Table runner
Hexagon table topper
Emerald Island Fusique table runner
Sunflower table runner and matching placemats
Five and Dime quilt
34 Hot Pads
Christmas bags (total of at least 25)

I am linking up with these blogs:

sugru-- form &fix The future needs fixing. (Review)

 sugru   The future needs fixing.

Have you heard that of sugru?  It's a self-setting rubber that literally has thousands of uses!!
It's like a modeling compound for adults---and it's very addictive.

I got in my 8 mini packs 
and then didn't know what I wanted to do with them.   I did know that I wanted to repair a chair at the kitchen table that's been broken for along time.
I did repair the chair and can happily tell you that the repair is holding up very nicely!
Yes, I left the colors of yellow and blue the same.  The color wasn't as important to me as having the chair finally fixed.
I used 3 packages to fix the chair.

 
sugru comes in black, white, yellow, red, and blue.  The 8 mini packs that I received came with 2 red, 2 blue, 2 yellow, 1 black, and 1 white.

I want to make a note, that I didn't have to leave the colors as they were on the chair.  Instructions are given to make lots of different colors on the packaging.  For example, 90% yellow and 10% black would have made brown. 

I had a bit of a problem.  My youngest daughter and her friend were here when the sugru came in.  (They are 17 years old).  They grabbed it fast and started making things for fun.
They shared a package of blue.  Her friend made the flower shown in my picture and my daughter made an octopus.  Unfortunately my daughter got her octopus out of here as part of a gift for another friend before I got a picture of the cute creature.
The other item in my photo was also made by my daughter....a little elephant.

Here is a picture of what sugru looks like before you start working with it:

 Now that I have used sugru I want more and more.  As I stated the possibilities are endless on just what you can do with sugru.  I could type for days and not tell you everything there is to do with it.
I want to make protective corners on my cell phone (it's bouncy).  I want to place it on a pan handle that always gets hot (it's heat resistant).  I want to repair a shelf in my refrigerator.

Each package of sugru  stays fresh in it's pack for 13 months from the day it's made.  If you keep it in the fridge then this time triples.
Once the sugru is open you have 30 minutes to use it before it starts to dry.

I want to share this youtube video with you.....you will be in awe.



sugru is available at Michael's craft stores--just put in your zip code HERE to find the store nearest you.
You can also order it online HERE.
Find tons of good ideas on the sugru pinterest boards.
You will also find sugru on facebook and on twitter.

Once you get to using sugru, or if you already do, send them the photos of your fixes and hacks.
Each month they select a "Fix of the month" and that person wins 5 free packs of sugru as well as a t-shirt!

It's time to get your sugru on!

Frugal Friday with Marsha 8/1/14

Welcome to August! Can you believe it's here already?
School starts back here on August 13. Which reminds me that I need to get out the school supplies that I bought to donate to those in need.

We got our new windows put in this week. The windows, unfortunately, aren't frugal as it was $3800 for the 3 of them we had put in the living room.....on a loan with 16% interest....ouch!!
They say we will save quite a bit on our heating and cooling bills since the thermostat is here in the living room. It will have to be a lot of savings.
We have turned the air to 80 degrees, but not because of the windows. It's cooler out this week so we are enjoying the new windows and being able to easily open them for fresh air.

In the garden I've picked two more cucumbers and still more are growing.
Last year I planted some potato eyes then never did anything when they grew. A few of those grew back this year and I planted a few more eyes. I went out and dug them up since half of the plants on top had turned yellow. I pulled up several small potatoes. Just enough for hubby and I to share at a meal.
I'm going to study again on growing potatoes and plan to plant a lot more next year. I know one this is to keep the dirt loose for their growing, which I hadn't done.
I see what we have a few cantaloupe growing too from seeds that were in the compost pile. One of them is open on one side, so it's a no go, but maybe with any luck the other 2 that are growing will continue to grow.
I also picked several more tomatoes and have those cut and in the freezer for winter meal making.

I didn't work on my coupons at all this week. After being away for the weekend at the Women's Encounter (which, btw, was a wonderful experience), I'm having an even harder time getting back in to my routines than I was before. I will get there though!


How has your week been?

An InLinkz Link-up

Squidoo Hopping 7/31/14

Here it is, the last day of July. Let's get squidooing!!

Ok, mostly that is probably for myself. I've visited lots of lenses this past week, but haven't done any updating to my own. Surprisingly they are all still out of WIP status.
I have my binder out and ready to get some updating once I am done with this post.

It looks like I had one small sale this past week. Of course payday for it will be in September at least. That's ok, every bit helps me get to that $25 payment threshold.

Last week while updating I ran into a lens that I had trouble getting to 100%. It was down for low quality content. I went through it adding words in the amazon module for the books that we have, or have checked out from the library. I put more words under the pictures. I even put words with the youtube videos.
This lens has a lot of allposters. I removed one of those and it finally went to 100%. I actually thought it still had too many so I took out a couple more as well.

How is your squidoo going?
I look forward to visiting your blogs and lenses this week!

An InLinkz Link-up

WIP Wednesday 7/30/14

Good Wednesday!

My main 'sewing' project this past week has been my attempt to get my sewing/craft room back into 'working' order.
As ashamed as I am, I'm going to show you the before picture.  Of course this is only one section of the room, mostly my crafting desk and the area in front of it.
It already looks so much better.  I actually have the desk cleared off and my cutting mat, 2 sewing machines and my tabletop ironing board back in place.
I also put away a trashbag and 2 boxes of fabric into their places.
I also hammered nails into the wall all down one side and in a few other places and have my projects hanging in bags.   I will get there!!

I was gone from Friday afternoon until Sunday evening at a Women's Encounter.  I took my red hexagon flowers with me figuring I could at least work on them on the bus there and back.
I did work on them on the way there and back, but didn't get a whole lot done.
This is for the scrappy rainbow challenge with the soscrappy blog.  You can find the button at the bottom of this post.
July's color has been red.  I look forward to what next month's color will be.  It's really motivating me to keep working on my hexagons.

We have another WIP going on with our house right now....new windows in the living room.  Poor guys are out there working in the rain.

Here is my current UFO list: (I have removed all of the finished projects from the list)
Rectangle quilt
challenge wall hanging
GoodNight Irene quilt/wall hanging
Yo-Yo Table runner
Hexagon table topper
Emerald Island Fusique table runner
Sunflower table runner and matching placemats
Five and Dime quilt
34 Hot Pads
 
I am linking up with the following blogs this week:

Frugal Friday With Marsha 7/25/14

How has your week been? It's been a hot one here in Kansas with triple digit temps.

I picked up some Irises from the freecycle list. I cleared an area in the front garden and planted them. I already forgot what colors she said they were so I hope to be surprised next season.

I picked more tomatoes from the garden. We ate a couple of them with supper. I cut the rest of them up into 2 bags and put them in the freezer for cooking this winter.
I have more in the window now. There are a few more out on the 2 plants in one planter. I have 2 stray tomato plants in with the strawberries and cucumbers, I assume that grew out of the compost. One of those plants has a tomato and the other one is just now flowering, so it looks like we may still end up with more.

I'm leaving later today and going for the weekend to the Women's Encounter. I hope to enjoy the weekend away and that the time away will motivate me and keep me going.
I hadn't been looking forward to going because of worry of too many things I should be doing instead. Now I'm actually looking forward to going.
My way was paid by scholarship. Even it hadn't been, it's only $100 to go on the trip. Considering that includes the bus there, 2 nights, and all the meals and snacks, that is a super decent price!

This past week we hit an estate sale. We went on Saturday, the 3rd day of the sale, and the last 30 minutes of the sale. They were really giving deals trying to get rid of more stuff.
I had spotted 5 boxes of fabric. Each box was marked $14 and $15 each. When she asked if there was anything I was interested I told her the fabric. She told me all 5 boxes were mine for just $5!!!
Another good deal that I got was a box of stuff for the grandkids--crayons, markers, chalk, farm animals, building toys, a game, and 2 frisbees for $2.
I also picked up a shoebox full of notepads and such for $1 and another box that had glue sticks, ribbon and things to make earrings for $1.
Then......hubby said he would love to have the organ.
They had it marked $200 and told him $25. You guessed it, we now have an organ! It's pictured below. It's a Hammond.

I can't wait to see what you all have to share this week.

An InLinkz Link-up

Squidoo Hopping 7/24/14

I hope this week I find you all doing well in squidoo land.
I wonder what day the CSS will disappear?  I know I went a little crazy when I learned about it and did several of my lenses up with colored backgrounds and such.

In fact, just the other day I was in on of my book review lenses and the review itself just wasn't standing out.  I put a border around it.  Nothing over the top, just so that someone would actually spot the review.  Now that is going to be gone!  Back to square one of trying to figure out how to make it stand out.
Is there html that will do the same thing?  It all looked like html to me!   I didn't know what CSS even was until I looked at the examples.

hhmm   maybe text modules above and below the review with the squiggly line html......if those codes are html.

Anyway....I have kept all of my lenses out of WIP since last Friday so that's good.  I continue to update a minimum of 3 lenses each day and make notes on different ways that I can update each one.
I still have lots of my 146 lenses that I've not gotten to at all.

Question:  What are you best suggestions for updating the lenslets?  We are limited to modules.
Last night I updated one, but what I did was change out an amazon item for something else.

I can't wait to see what blog posts and lenses you share with us this week.
I'm going to continue sharing 2 of my lenses that are hovering the 87,000 ranking  (is it 87,000 or 85,000 the lowest it can be for ad revenue?)

An InLinkz Link-up

WIP Wednesday 7/23/14

It's been a pretty good week.  I didn't get anything done except some hand stitching.
We bought an organ at an estate sale, which meant a lot of work taking out the large computer desk from the living room.
If you recall, I had turned that desk into a sewing station bringing one of my machines in here so that I could sew and still watch tv.
Now my sewing room is even a worse disaster area than it was.

The organ isn't all we bought.  We went to the estate sale on the 3rd day and 30 minutes before closing so they were giving good deals.
When asked if I seen anything I was interested in, I told them yes, the boxes of fabric.
Actually there were 5 boxes of fabric and each was marked $14 or $15.   I actually had gone through them and picked out one that I was going to see what she would say on it.
I didn't even have to ask.  When I told her I was interested she told me to take all 5 boxes for $5!!!

I have lots of work to do to get my craft room in order.  It's not easy to work when you aren't organized.   I already had at least 3 boxes and a trash bag of fabrics that had been given to me plus 2 or 3 trashbags of sheet sets that we got from my husband's mom's house.
Yes, I do have my work cut out for me!

I finished the sunflower table runner and I barely have a start on sewing the binding down on the place mats.

I completed a couple more hexagon flowers in red for the soscrappy challenge of red for July.
I'm off this weekend to a Women's Encounter.  I don't know how much time I will have to work on them there, but I fully intend to work on them on the bus trip there and back home.

I also worked more on the hand sewing on the hexagon table topper.  I'm not sure you can see much in the photo, but if the pin is out then that hexagon is sewn around.

Last but not least, I got all of the backs cut for the 34 hot pads.  It's a must for me to get that sewing room back in order and get to sewing.
I'm so glad to still have at least 4 yards of the polka dot fabric as it will be awesome for the lining of the fabric bags that I also need to get to work on.

I've decided to remove the NewFO portion of my list.   I still have the list in word and will move those things to the WIP portion if and when I ever get to those.  I really need to concentrate on what I already have going over starting yet another project!  I'm also removing the projects that I am finished with.
UFO's:
Rectangle quilt
challenge wall hanging
GoodNight Irene quilt/wall hanging
Yo-Yo Table runner
Hexagon table topper
Emerald Island Fusique table runner
Sunflower table runner and matching placemats
Five and Dime quilt
34 Hot Pads




Boy that is still a lot, but looks like a lot less with the finished taken off!

I am linking up with the following blogs:

#Spellbinders Celebra'tions Collection Review and Giveaway

Introducing Spellbiners Celebra'tions by Richard Garay.
He was inspired by his passion for paper crats, event hosting, and handmade greetings to design his like to help you achieve beautiful results every time.

All pieces in the Spellbinders Celebra'tions collection is coordinated, cheerful, and bright.
The collection includes dies and stamp sets, paper, and inks.
Create one-of-a-kind cards, gifts, scrapbook layouts and more.

I rec'd 2 kits for the purpose of this review and giveaway---Celebrate Party Hat Card and Best Day Every Treat Bag.

My 17 yr old had an 18th birthday party to attend for a friend.  She and her friend put the kits together.
You can see in my photo that my daughter put her own personal touch to making the card.
Her friend made the bag.
It actually wasn't until they were done that my daughter told me she wanted to use them for gifts.  We chose a small bottle of cologne to put in the bag as part of her gift as well.

Every day is the perfect day for a celebration!!


One lucky Marsha's Spot winner will win the Spellbinders Celebra'tion clear polymer stamp set shown below.
Just enter using the rafflcopter form.   Good luck!

Disclosure:  The Spellbinders brand provided me with a sample of the Spellbinders Celebra'tion Collection in exchange for a product review.  However, all opinions expressed are my own.  They also provided the prize that I will be mailing to my winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway