Whimsy Stamps: Hippo Fun in the Sun

When I saw an image on Whimsy Stamps' Hippo Fun in the Sun set, I had to have it. If you are of a certain age, you will probably be reminded of this Coppertone Ad:

Here is the stamp set and the first rendition of the hippo and puppy image:

I haven't decided how I will use the above image. It might go on a card or in a scrapbook. I colored over over the back of the bikini top in the above image and masked out the hairbow to make this a boy hippo in case I wanted to use this for my grandson.

Shortly after finishing this, a neighbor revealed that she cracked her tailbone. I used the image again in a Get Well card, but this time I masked out the dog and altered the bikini bottom to be a bandaid. I made the front of a card a window and placed the hippo inside the card.

The color is true in the first photo. The green background in the view above appears washed out but is a nice paper from Lawn Fawn's Dandy Day collection.

Unrelated to this, I made my second Hello Fresh meal, teriyaki pork chops (boneless) with roasted carrots and jasmine rice. I'm happy with this recipe also.

It looks like I threw the food on the plate a little carelessly, doesn't it? I wasn't just hungry, I was hangry! Those are sesame seeds on top of the pork and scallion greens on top of the rice. Some of the sesame seeds were browned in butter before adding the water, rice, and scallions whites which was a nice touch to the side dish.

Hello Fresh meal kits

I've been in a rut when it comes to making dinner. I can't blame it all on shopping, being alone, or other aspects of restrictions under COVID but all of that has made the rut deeper and longer. I've considered meal kits for months, did research to figure out which would best suit me, and talked to friends who have tried them. A neighbor has been happy with Hello Fresh so that is what I chose.

I made the first of three dinners last night. Each of their meal kits serves two people so three kits will make 6 dinners for me. I don't mind having leftovers so I will stagger the meals (cooking and then reheating leftovers) and see how this goes.

Last night's dinner was Creamy Dreamy Mushroom Cavatappi. The directions said it would take 30 minutes to prepare and that is exactly what it took. I supplied the utensils, water for cooking the pasta, butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Everything else was provided in the amount required. Here is the amount that I served myself in front of the recipe from the kit. My mushrooms seem to be hidden in the bowl but are visible in the pan. It appears I didn't evenly divide the amount because what remained looks like more than I consumed, but it truly was plenty and very good.

Here's to eating better and getting out of my rut!

I'm tired of bullies and herd mentality

The incident that sparked this post is going to remain vague in my description because I am not going to name the troublemaker and give her any more attention. The crafting community is mostly very generous by nature. Sure, each designer and manufacturer hopes you will purchase their design but most don't run each other down.

The key word in that last sentence is "most". Someone with a history of attacking other designers is trying to paint a well-known figure in the craft world as a racist. Her story didn't ring true and is being discredited by many who are in a position to know, but that is only part of what angers me. There have always been people with agendas and that isn't likely to change.

Perhaps worse than the people making false accusations are the herds who follow them. Why do so many people believe something because they read it online? We've all fallen for a few falsehoods that seemed plausible but most people that I know have learned from those experiences. We've all seen phishing emails that look legitimate until you read closely and see that the sender's email address is not from Amazon, it is from Almazon; Facebook posts that tell you that Bill Gates will donate $1 to a worthy charity each time a post is liked or shared; and stories that tell you not to buy a certain nationally known product because hidden in their logo is a secret message for a subversive group. If a person thinks "huh? That doesn't sound right" they investigate for themselves or at the very least, they don't perpetuate the rumor.

Why do so many believe outrageous stories? It doesn't help that we currently have a narcissist in the oval office who labels anything that favors him as the truth. In the past, when the country as a whole was hurting, presidents have set an example by speaking to all of us, assuring us, telling us at least part of the plan to get through the turmoil and be okay again. I am appalled that he continues to make comments that widen the racial divide in this country. I am angry that he granted clemency to Roger Stone who committed 7 felonies. I can't fathom that he discredits military experts and scientists. I am sickened that he is ramrodding the opening of public schools amid a pandemic that he still isn't taking seriously. With this as an example of leadership and what is morally right, I shouldn't be surprised at anything and that is very sad.

Making birthday invites, thank yous, and candy wrappers to fit a theme

The theme was Rainbow Six Siege, something this grandma doesn't play or begin to understand but as his Gigi, of course, I was willing to try! This image was used to create invitations that were handed out to his friends. I've removed his name and age in this photo, along with the address and RSVP info. I didn't use anything fancy to do this. I'm still using this free image editor for projects like this. They have many fonts available and this one looked right to me. After searching for the image online and saving it, I created a canvas within the program, inserted the photo, and added the info. After cropping and resizing it, I saved it and printed multiple invitations on white paper which I cut and attached to black cardstock.

Birthday favors and decor were a bit more difficult. Favors weren't an issue when my sons were the age of my grandkids and children did not have a birthday party beyond immediate family and cousins every year. When children reach a certain age, choosing a favor that is age-appropriate and not terribly expensive is difficult. I found the Game On! favor bags online and doctored another Six Seige image to include my grandson's face. To do that, I used Face in Hole, another free site. 

Favors included silicone bracelets that had sayings that were related to gaming in general, not this particular game. Among other a few other things, I included three Hershey Nuggets with these logos on them. I used Avery Labels 8160 and created a page full of labels with Six Seige images.

The same images were used to create these picks that went on cupcakes. I used circle punches to cut out the print image and a two larger black circles to mount them on and use on the back to cover the top edge of the cocktail forks.

Four months later....

Coronavirus hit Michigan hard this spring. No one in my family has had it but I did lose one friend to it and know of others who have had it, and a few who didn't survive. I don't usually speak of politics but the president has shown no leadership at all in this. Trump refuses to wear a mask, still holds rallies because this is an election year, and says the virus is going to disappear one of these days. He is a despicable person at best and that is all the space I will give him here. Numbers of cases are spiking again, restrictions for our safety are returning, and I can't guess when we, as a country, will be finally on the other side of battling coronavirus.

All of this and a divorce in my family have been the reason I haven't blogged in so long. I still made things, mostly cards, but didn't feel like talking about anything. I know of only a few people who read my blog. I appreciate them and this entry is written to explain the absence.

The reason for this blog has always been to catalog what I've made for my own purposes, including details that might interest another crafter. I will be entering many posts that are dated to reflect when the items were made rather than when the blog entry was written or shared.

Blogs aren't read the way they once were. I'm just not an Instagram gal, partly because I do a lot of posts from my PC and Instagram is a mobile device product.

So.....what am I working on, thinking about, and what am I reading currently?
I am crocheting an afghan that will be a surprise gift for someone. I hope to have that done and photographed soon.

I am thinking about kindness. I try to always be kind and perhaps set an example. I have no problem avoiding those who are spreading negativity to the point of hiding and sometimes unfriending some people on Facebook, even relatives. I know I'm well past the halfway point of my life. There will always be problems and difficult people to deal with, but I can choose who I spend my free time with in person and on social media. It is a kindness to myself.

I just finished reading The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Wow. I love a novel that makes you think and this is one of those.

No longer sweater weather, but a new photo won't happen until
after a haircut (finally!) in four more days!