Katie Did It Today

see you later

2010-11-24T19:47:00.000-05:00

this venue did not work out for me.

so if you are still interested you can look here

http://realgoodkate.wordpress.com/

it is not as frustrating to use.

sea monstey

2010-10-03T15:26:00.003-04:00

sometimes i still make things.

i haven't really felt like it

i am getting back into the swing of things.

i just needed a couple months of laziness.

it is ok.

the french knots are coming in handy, serving the sea monstey well as his tentacles.

L

2010-08-30T07:16:00.003-04:00

L is for lion.

P

2010-08-29T15:19:00.001-04:00

i am drawing again.

realization

2010-08-26T10:21:00.002-04:00

i love when, in cartoons, a person gets an idea and the light bulb goes off. joey didn't think it made sense for a chupacabra to have an idea. i don't think it is unreasonable...

everyone/thing has ideas!!!

yet another....

2010-08-19T15:13:00.002-04:00

a trait that my brother and i share is our tendency to go overboard, get obsessed, ect. for example, we both are known for playing our favorite songs at least five times in a row, a marvelous trait inherited from papa. my husband is not impressed. i wonder how danny's ladyfriend feels about it.

danny's current obsessions are wake-boarding and badminton.

mine are making owls and cooking meals in the toaster oven.

progression

2010-08-17T07:11:00.002-04:00

i really love seeing the progression of work. especially in video format. i have been working on this beaded/embroidered canvas for many, many years. it is time to start finishing projects. that is my goal for the next few weeks. get things finished! it is really hard for me though, i always think of something i would rather make...

barn owl

2010-08-15T15:10:00.002-04:00

the owlies are increasing in numbers!

for today i discovered another.

living in the house that joey and shawn built!

a barn owl! taken out of his natural environment to come and live in my house!

captured!

2010-08-01T13:39:00.006-04:00

i was outside this morning. when i spotted a beast hiding under the forsythia bush...

what a glorious beast!

following in the steps of the man with the yellow hat, i took this beast out of his natural habitat and brought him home to live with me.

i took his photograph.

and introduced him to some friends.

owls and french knots.

2010-07-30T17:56:00.004-04:00

completed today.
the first completed of the new series of gilled/feathered beasts...

owl and french knots.

2010-07-30T17:35:00.006-04:00

this owl beast was finished in the morning.
the feet are always my least favorite part. i always save the worst for last.

like peewee saving the snakes last!
"this boy is a hero!"
"this boy is under arrest!"

(what gives with all the movie quotes lately?)

this fellow is the first of the finished of my lastest fascination...
gilled animals.
feathered in this case, if you want to get techical about it.

feathers and gills are the same thing anyway.

so productive!

i learned, with the help of youtube.com how to embroider french knots. i really appreciate all the help youtube.com has offered me over the years. i appreciate the laughs too. youtube.com is a real pal...

this detail is of a soft frame i made around a little mirror. i am not sure if i really like it yet. i thought i would at least share the living proof of my newly acquired skillz!

happy birthday alex!

changing gears. GEARS!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

2010-07-29T17:38:00.004-04:00

what gear are you in?

i am changing my mind about things.
i did my first cape cod craft fair.
it did not "fair" well! hahahhaha. sheesh!

for a while, i am going to take a break from making things that i think others would want to buy. i am making things to live in our house.

i am making things while listening to my favorite television shows. intervention. obsessed. losing it with jillian (a poor substitute for the biggest loser) hoarders...

i am taking my time. no rush. these beasts can live with me for a while. like piglet living with winnie the pooh when owl took piglet's house when his blew down on the wicked blustery day in the hundred acre wood...
owl is kind of an a-hole.

get with it katie!

2010-07-08T17:20:00.011-04:00

i am.

here are some things i have been working on since i last posted.

and...

i successfully ran two and a half miles! (in a month i went from not being able to run for a minute straight, all the way to 25 minutes straight)

and interviewed for a job i did not get. (i am not crying about it though)

i went to birthday parties! (3 glorious parties)

i made eggplant for papa for father's day. (and he got a chupacabra, one of the boys featured above)

i had my first anniversary! (the best year of my life)

i met my b. and i.'s new kitty. (olive)

i visited and was visited! (poor guests, i was a lame sick host)

i watched three fireworks from my backyard. (we were too sick to see real ones in public)

i had a week of vacation and spent it being sick. (sheesh)

i gave my husband and my papa terrible colds. (i am not proud of that though)

i got a job teaching arts and crafts to youngins! (not the one i did not get, i applied for two in one day and was 50% successful)

i started a quilt (i will show pictures later, pandora is sleeping on the pieces now)

Here They Come! Here They Come!

2010-06-01T18:35:00.003-04:00

Sooner or later I will get sick of making the Saskies.

Obviously, that day has not yet arrived; although some new ideas have been swimming around my brain...

progress

2010-05-21T17:23:00.003-04:00

running,

making sentences,

sleeping,

eating,

making things,
being happy because May is the best month of the year.

fotos of things made in may. descriptions are found on my flickr page. i don't want to be too redundant.

saskies.

2010-05-10T18:21:00.005-04:00

the saskwatch making continues.

i am having a hard time sticking with one project.

half-way through something, i think of something sooooooooo awesome to make.

so i leave many projects half finished.

in order to feel somewhat accomplished, i have been making, and completing "plant saskies." this most recent one is a sad bodybuilder.

oh school vacation...

2010-04-26T14:16:00.001-04:00

so much was accomplished in a short period of time. many bigfootbeasts and flowers were created, many walks were taken, and many dreams of quitting the day job were dreamt.

back to soft pictures.

2010-04-20T07:51:00.005-04:00

A few years ago, I was really into making soft pictures by embrodering felt onto canvas or what not.

Well the old girl is back at it.

The flowers are not selling on etsy. I am blaming that on my shitty pictures I took. Soooooooo I needed to do something else before I go back to the flower business. Don't get me wrong, I will go back to it, I am thinking of doing craft fairs in the summer months when the tourists are swarming.

(As for etsy, I have taken new pictures of new work, but I just need to figure out how to rotate them on Joey's PC. PCs make everything a little more difficult.)

mama's haircut

2010-03-12T16:29:00.007-05:00

so Uncle Jim sent me this picture of maam from back in the day. i really liked her hair-cut, so i decided to chop off 7 inches to get the same look.

it looked awesome the day i got it. but i always forget DO NO LAYER YOUR HAIR KATIE!!! holy crap, it just does not work for me. so next time i talk about getting a new style, remind me, that layers are not for me.

success!

2010-02-11T14:26:00.000-05:00

i did it!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/katiedidcrafties

my first success in my goal to stop making excuses for not getting stuff done!

Broken Computer, New Work!!!

2010-02-09T15:41:00.004-05:00

maybe i would have made more updates but, alas, my computer passed away one evening whilst i was enjoying a podcast about prison workers. sheesh. i was even trying to learn and be good and so on and so forth.

i have yet to bring it to the mac store. mac stores don't live near my house. we don't have play dates often i am afraid.

i am thinking it may be time for a PC. i don't like the mac man, or how expensive the computers are. even though, way down in my heart, i know the truth. the truth is i would certainly buy a new one if they were reasonably priced...

i don't really need to find fault with the mac guy.

i have been making flowies! i am going to work my way over to etsy.com to make my first listings! let's hope i don't get too frustrated and put it off for another month or five.

happy vallingtines to you and your beloveds!

two ones

2009-12-01T15:47:00.002-05:00

my mum always referred to twins as "two ones."

i am now working on a series of "two ones."

i finished the owls (when i should have been packing to move into a new glorious house) and am now working on the kitties. they are soft, but heavy enough to be used as bookends, or door stops, or whatever...

Blankey

2009-10-22T15:36:00.002-04:00

i am wondering if i am really cut out for this business.

i don't like the pressure of having to update a blog. i don't even like the word blog.

i have been liking quilt-making. i made this blanket quilt as a gift. a gift for sam and ben's baby. sam seemed pleased, i hope the baby will be too!

bat-wing owl

2009-08-27T14:13:00.004-04:00

despite the bat wings he is sporting, this simplified owl came out just fine!

i have been working on big projects and i needed some quick gratification, so i made a morning project. bat-wing owl is the result!

bear and owl

2009-08-15T09:47:00.005-04:00

i was thinking that i would start making families.

not necessarily of the same species, but of the same fabrics.

i started with these brothers, the bear and the owl.

new animals!

2009-08-05T15:27:00.004-04:00

This summer I have been good about making new things, just not good about posting new creations. I made a mouse, and a rabbit. I have been making lots of rabbits! I get frustrated when making little creatures like mice. I need to practice I suppose...

I also need to get to work on presents for my pregnant friends! It seems that having babies is the thing to do these days!

Boston Terrier

2009-07-12T08:29:00.002-04:00

This little guy was made for my stepmom for her birthday.

bear

2009-07-02T16:49:00.002-04:00

i kicked it up a notch and my result was this bear.

i really like this guy! he is made with some super soft fabric, which i had been saving for a special occasion.

Vacation Work

2009-06-25T10:25:00.003-04:00

While on vacation from school, my job is to make animals.

In the morning, I have been waking to find the little animals I've made scattered throughout the house. Perhaps they are alive and are exploring their surroundings? Maybe the gingercats are practicing hunting real animals for when they figure out how to escape to the great outdoors?

Logistics tell me the answer is the latter option...

I am enjoying myself quite a bit, this is much more fun than my real job.

Wedding Cranes

2009-06-21T07:43:00.003-04:00

I spent the winter and spring making cranes for my wedding. I became a crane master making 1000 little guys to hang up as centerpieces.

Yokey took many glorious pictures at the event, including this one, which not only features the cranes, but also the wedding banner!

wedding banner

2009-05-31T19:08:00.004-04:00

Next weekend I am getting hitched!

I am finishing the final touches for the big party and I am very excited to be marrying the first person I had a real crush on (13 years ago) I am very lucky!

I made this circus-type banner to make the party extra pretty! I forced my future husband to take his life into his hands and crawl up on the roof to take pictures.

I am pleased with the results. I am also pleased that in the picture, you can see a picture of the black kitty who goes on walks with her owner and her dog brothers. Seriously, she doesn't run away, he stays with the man and the dogs! I am impressed!

necklace

2009-05-30T10:10:00.002-04:00

in the middle of nowhere in a small town of New Hampshire, my mom found a glorious bead store. We went there in the winter and I was very hesitant about going inside. When I said the middle of nowhere, I truly meant it. I felt like I was walking into somebody's house. Alas, I was pleasantly surprised to see it was an actual store, with glorious prices! Mum bought me a bag of "leftover" beads for one dollar.

Here is the result.

mad mad mad

2009-05-28T17:51:00.003-04:00

whenever I try to make something, I get soooooooo mad!
I have not been making many things because I can't take the stress lately.
In the summer, I will be better about these things. I will be working less than part time (20 hours a week!!!! awesome!!!) so I will force myself to be good and make things.

but in the summer, I will be distracted by the beach and bike rides.

so yeah.

we shall see...

sunshine, lollipops, and birdies!

2009-05-19T19:58:00.002-04:00

today i enjoyed a mental health day off from work and accomplished a great deal of fun things!

1. i cleaned my work space (half-heartedly)
2. made a new birdie, while watching online cartoons.
3. worked on a quilt i have been working on for months and months.
4. started a brand new project out of old felt.
5. worked on my banner for the glorious occasion.

i like working for myself.

Purnima's Green Paw

2009-05-13T16:12:00.002-04:00

Purnima and her sister, Pandora are my naughty orange kitties. I love them, but they are so bad. Their favorite activities include, chewing expensive wires, chewing house plants, loudly meowing at night, begging for food (a dog's job), scratching furniture, and scratching at window panes. I have been told that I am not good at discipline, perhaps it is true, or perhaps my kitties are devil's spawn...

Purnima helped me do some re-potting today. My New Year's Resolution last April (I make New Year's Resolutions at any given point in the year) was to be better at keeping house plants alive. It is working! I bought six plants to practice with and only one died! So today, Purney and I replaced the carcass of the plant which didn't survive with a clipping that I stole off a classroom tree! I hope that I let the roots grow enough and it will survive in its new home.

Maybe Purney will be more respectful of house plants, knowing the work it takes to care for them...

Whale

2009-05-10T20:06:00.003-04:00

I liked this guy inside out better.
I am practicing making whales before making the masterpiece of my dreams, a Narwhal! I have a way to go...

Dress

2009-05-09T14:37:00.002-04:00

Today I am proud because I made a dress! I had been putting it off because I figured that it is something way to hard for me to do, and I do not like to challenge myself because I am very easily frustrated and I give up too easily.

The dress itself is not very flattering on my not-so-slender figure, and is a little see-through, but the fact that I made it will force me to wear it every day, until nothing is left but tattered rags...

I Love Friday and Birds

2009-05-08T20:23:00.002-04:00

To celebrate the end of the week, I took myself on a date after school to buy some fabric. I am working on several projects at once and thought that some new materials would help get me a little more motivated.

The projects are as follows,

1. A duvet cover quilt to hide an ugly, but warm and nice blanket.
2. A new dress! I am learning how to make clothes! It makes me a little nervous, with all the rules I have to follow...
3. The Flowey Bouquet
4. A banner for the glorious occasion. There are actually many projects pertaining to the glorious occasion, but the banner will be the most fun and interesting looking.

Here is a new bird I made this week while drinking beer after a god-awful day at work (there were actually many of those days this week)

Sad Bunny

2009-05-07T18:07:00.002-04:00

This new bunny is the first I have ever made, and makes me sad to look at. I think it is his mouth's fault.

The Sad Bunny is going to eat the Rag Flower for supper tonight.

Rag Flower

2009-05-06T17:33:00.003-04:00

I was considering making my very own bouquet for the glorious occasion with fabric flowers; but I ended up buying actual flowers to decrease from the amount of things I need to do in the next month.

In time, however, I will finish the fabric bouquet.

Hopefully, by then I hope that we have purchased a new camera With each new picture posted, you can watch my camera slowly succumb to the Grim Reaper.

Blue Bird

2009-05-05T19:40:00.002-04:00

Spring time is inspiring me to make all sorts of birdies!

Awful Vandals

2009-05-04T18:29:00.003-04:00

I have always wondered why a lady, using a public restroom, would decide to profess her love, graffiti style, on the bathroom walls. Using the bathroom is the least romantic thing there is, so why write "i love (special someone's name)" on the walls while doing so?

This kind of bathroom graffiti is MUCH more appropriate! Notice the clever use of yellow crayon on brown walls. Of course I would never do something like this... Too horrific!

sonic boom butterfly

2009-05-03T16:19:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Joey and I went to the Science Museum for a day of learning.

Having not been in over 15 years, I realize now that the main galleries leave something to be desired. They didn't even have the musical stairs anymore, what gives? Nor did they have the robot you could tickle, punch, hug, fondle, ect. and then gave the appropriate reaction to each kind of touch.

Now, if it weren't for the Butterfly Garden, and the Froggie Exhibit, we would have been sad children. These shows, however, were magnificent! Plus, the fact that I got in for free (teaching perk) was pretty awesome as well.

I took many pictures of the butterflies, and my obsolete digital camera certainly doesn't do them justice. They were very magical and it was very peaceful in their garden, until it got overcrowded with onlookers. I was lucky enough to have a butterfly friend land on me!

Joey loves froggies. Joey's love for frogs, is equivalent to my love for kitties. It was his idea to go to see the Frog Exhibit, it was just a magical coincidence that the Butterfly Garden was there at the same time (or maybe it is a permanent fixture, I never pay proper attention to anything) There were frogs from all around the world. My pictures of them did not come out so well, cursed glass cages...

On our long drive home from the big city, we were so inspired by our visit, that we wrote a song, Sonic Boom Butterfly.

Banana Bread

2009-05-02T08:58:00.003-04:00

Today is going to be eventful! Too busy for making big projects, soooo, I made Banana Bread for breakfast instead.

I only like bananas when they are mostly green, once the first sign of ripeness comes along, I make the bread.

I don't remember where this recipe came from, I made some slight alterations so we can almost call it an "Original Recipe"...

Ingredients

4 ripe mashed bananas
1/3 cup of melted butter
3/4 cup of sugar
1 beaten eggy
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1.5 cups of flour

Preheat the oven to 325 farenheit degrees. Mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, eggy, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour the mixture into a buttered 4 x 8 inch loaf pan (I don't have one, so I chose a baking dish that was close...) Bake for an hour.

Don't eat so much that you get a belly-ache, as I always do!

Here We Go

2009-05-01T14:10:00.000-04:00

I have been interested in starting a blog for quite some time now. I have always been a little hesitant, but hey, why not?

I like to make things. A blog is a good way to share. We will see how it goes...
My goal is to make something new everyday, and share it blog-style. I often fail at my goals, but I am very forgiving of myself.

Today I am sharing an owl I made, using old shirts. My plan is to make some friends for him, he is the prototype, with very long legs.