Wooh!... Bug Collection done.

Hi! Today I didn't get much crafting done, instead I watched X files (yay, Mulder and Scully) and finished making my bug collection pretty.
As I am generally quite proud of the amount of work I have put forth I have decided to put a picture of the almost final (I'm missing a boxelder bug that's in my trunk in a mason jar).

Whee, all neat and shiny!
And you may I'm sure it'd have taken less time had I known I only needed to identify to the family. I identified about 95% of it to (assumed) species-- some of them were very easily identifiable although others were not (Bibio  ---------, for example. I still have no idea which one it was, and there are many species of bibio hanging around when and where I found it).
Anyway.
I liked doing this, and now I need to get ready to go out. Maybe even start readings for tomorrow... though I don't see that going so well.

Good Night, and don't let the bedbugs bite!

Raindrop Tee Shirt

OH! I've been done this for almost a week and I forgot to blog about it until this very moment in time. I even wore it.
 I bleached a shirt with a gel bleach pen, but it just plain didn't work. So, I decided that instead of throwing it away, I was going to just use scraps and sew them over the bleachy mess. Here's a picture to prove it:

Plus some hubby hands. He tried so hard to get his hands into every photo I took that I just had to give him the popularity.
So, number 10 is also done. 
HAAHA. I thought that I was falling behind and not finishing anything, but didn't realize that I was acually doing stuff on my list.

Wooh! Mini and regular sized handmade folders!

I made my own little envelopes, à la #5. I even took pictures of the process. I don't know how similar it is to the original link, as I just went by my own understanding of how these guys work, but... here you go.

1.Draw a rectangle (square, potentially even triangle if you want to figure out the interesting flaps). PS: the lines don't really even have to be straight. I'm against rulers to some degree while working in my front room. Mostly because then I'd have to carry them.

 2. Draw side flaps, one about half of the original rectangle. Draw the second a little bit bigger than half the size of the original rectangle.

 3. Draw a cute little flap on the bottom. Also for the top flap. I like them to be slightly different sizes so that I can differentiate, and because the small flap usually goes on the bottom. It seems more professional.

 4. Glue your flaps together and the bottom on. You can erase the pencil lines, or if you want one specific size of these, make a cool stencil. Take a picture of your knee and hand in the process.

 5. There you have it! Now, use bokeh to exacerbate lame stuff that really needs no explanation. Note the different sizes- one is totally cute!

#15: Snowflakes (check)

Yay, I had a friend over, and I created snowflakes. I actually don't know that I'll paint them. I rather like the colours- they're blues and greens and some grays and whites. These, in my mind, are christmassy colours. As a result, I may make some more, and then paint them later.
Also, I added buttons on both sides to serve as a base.

Kind of lame colours, as I took it with my webcam (too lazy to get up and get my camera).

I also finished a quilted centerpiece for my inlaw grandparents. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, considering that I've never quilted before. I don't think that I had a picture though, and I'm kind of saddened by this.  :(

Anywho, #15: Completed!

Somebody needs to rethink this font...

I'm not usually this coarse but this killed me this morning:

http://www.bluerodeo.com/forums/#

Ahahahahaahaha, maybe someone should re-think that font.
The more I look at it, the more I see "click play" but the first time I glanced at it, that was NOT what I read.
Maybe I'm just having a bad day.

Gold books and things

I painted one of my books gold- with gold paint. It was easy. I'm not sure I like the colours, though. Too heavy on the citrus-ness. I think I'll make a purple cover on the next one and try it again.
Anyway, #2 (Gold dipped books) is completed today. (well, technically yesterday, but I went to Oshawa and went shopping. I'd like to clarify that I didn't buy much, anyway).

It sure is shiny, though.

October 3, 2013

Wooh, Finished one thing today! Photo Evidence:

Blood Drip earrings... # 6, done!
They weren't for me. Initially, I was only going to make one pair, for Steph who always wears awesome earrings and has a great disposition around H-ween at VV- one of the most horrifyingly busy places during the orange and black season- so I promised her a pair when I saw them at first. Then, I thought of Robyn, who is also very cool and excited by H-ween and also works at VV. So, I made them each a pair.
 As a consolation and excuse of why I didn't finish more today, I also made a bday cake with real homemade buttercream icing -flavoured with cocoa, and went to Scottish Country dancing, and went and knitted at a local craft store (at Crop Circles in Peterborough Square) with a lady named Kathi who is just a gem. I learned to do a knit-purl interaction today. It was cool. Looks neat, but it's hard to remember what you're doing- a knit, or a purl. I also fixed a wreath from the hubby's gparents that had fallen apart--but did not count it as #18 being done because I wanted to make a specific wreath, from scratch.

What did you do today?

October 2, 2013

It's just out of September, and I have a goodly majority of my stuff for xmas made/purchased.
That's not the point of this post though.

No, no, no.

I am going to make a list of crafty things to make, based on my pinterest account's pins.
I don't really have a due date for these, as I am working around crazy school homeworking and reading crap, and let's be serious, this is not a time to forget about school.

So:
1. Washi Tape edging on journal/books

{Link}

2. Gold-dipped books

{Link}

3. Shapey paper quilt

{Link}

4. Finn hat

{Link}

5. Homemade embellishments for scrapping- eg tiny envelopes

{Link}

6. Hot Glue Blood drop earrings

{Link}

7. Pretty, decorated tea container/releaser

{Link}

8. Lace letters on a sweatshirt-school shirt

{Link}

9. Upcycle shirts -okay, this one's not off of my pinterest. Basically, I want to take this:
  And make this... ish:
10. Sewn on raindrops (earlier, failed trial for bleach pens)
again... not from pinterest. Sorry guys. I'll just upload a picture when it's done.
11. Sparkly keys!

{Link}

12. Cutout cards/tags for xmas

{Link}

13. Rickrack xmas tree shirt

{Link}

14. Pearls wired on to bobby pins

{Link}

15. Xmas puzzle piece ornaments- need puzzle pieces.

{Link}

16. Pac Man Shirt
  Okay, also, I've wanted to do this for a very long time. I actually don't have a picture for it. Sorry.
17. Mod Podge Halloween lamps

*Unfortunately, the link site has been shut down. :(

18. Wreath(s). For whatever reason. Out of stuff and things.
  Also, no picture reference. Sorry.


Can you complete my list before me? Are you going to alter some of my concepts? Good Luck!

I've been thinking...

... That I don't have nearly the opportunity to do what I thought I would have had as an adult. I gained a tonne of weight, because I'm suddenly strapped to laundry, stupid household chores, homework (and also tech that I never really cared for previously).
As a result, I stopped going outside and just being there. Although as an alternate factor, I seem to have lost the naivety about safety after dark in cities, when I started reading stories about people being stabbed, raped and molested in the town that I moved to.  And, realistically, I stopped playing rugby when I realized how clique-y the people were up here. All of these combined to create... lazy me.
I don't have access to some of the equipment I once did (my mom and dad have a lot of stuff, like a sweet canoe, par example); and I haven't got the company with whom it would make it all a little more pleasant (many of my friends have left this town, or have bred and now are unable to get away at the drop of a hat, and the hubbs is a house-bound computer geek-sounds cool, 'till you realize that he's the reason you can't go sleep in a random forest: "I just don't see the point of hiking for three hours to sleep outside. Was that noise a bear? If you go by yourself, you'll get eaten, stabbed, lost, injured, etc...").

I guess I'm just really down lately as a result of all this lack of awesome stuff. The best times I've had since I moved to Uni were those where I got out and did stuff on my own, camping and hiking. I finally found a hiking spot near school that is worth it; especially during the fall and early spring-- the number of people frequenting it are nil. Now, all I need is a dog-- which most housing here disagrees with, since it's all student housing. *sigh*.
I guess I'm just frustrated.

August 31, 2013 or "Eating Slightly Better"

Today I went to the farmer's market. I never used to go, but I have a friend who lives near the big one that's on Saturdays, and I live near the little one that's on Wednesdays, so we tend to go at least once a week to one of them (since she's on mat leave and I'm... employed temporarily, part time, and school hasn't started yet).
It's nice to walk around, even when I don't intend to buy anything (in fact, I believe that today is really one of three times I've ever purchased stuff-the other two were radish sprouts) because it's SO expensive. I'd love to say that I care about the pesticides blabber blabber blabber but really, that stuff is worth washing off when I can get everything so much cheaper from a regular (cough, discount) store and still have money to wash my clothes at the end of the day. Seriously, it's priced up that much.
Today, though, we bought as a group and split stuff, and it actually turned out cheaper than it would have otherwise. Not terribly cheaper, mind you. But, I got 12 fresh (tasty) corn cobs for 4$, since we split two dozen (and I've already frozen it for later eating and kept four cobs for dinners. I also got a bunch of peaches (that I've eaten three of today) for what, 6$ I think? So worth it, because the peaches at grocery stores are awfully hard, bitter AND expensive. These ones are melt in your mouth amazing.
I also got six apples for $2.50, because the old man selling them looked so lonely that I felt bad that no one was at his stall and therefore had to buy his apples. His pies looked amazing (he had a peach and custard pie that sounded like I'd eat the whole thing right then and there and an apple pie that was perfectly coloured), but I couldn't afford $7.50 for a pie that I could make for next to nothing with his $2.50 apples. Plus, I'm trying to eat more healthily, and a pie between two people is like a pizza between to people: really hard to avoid eating half of.
I also bought this funky squash because it was shaped funny (funnily?) oddly, like an alien saucer. That's how I pick my food apparently. "Oh, man, look how weird that thing looks. I wonder if it tastes as weird as it looks?"

Tell me you can't see this being mistaken for a UFO.

Apparently, it's slightly like zucchini but less strongly flavoured, the guy selling it said. Which is bad, because I hate zucchini. Passionately. It's always bitter and almost always slimy. But, whatever. It looks cool. Maybe I can chop it into a smoothie or something.


So, anyway, my whole point of this post was that if you take a friend, split the foods-and the costs. It's slightly cheaper, and it makes shopping more fun.

Stupid School. Stupid Bureaucracy.

Every year, I hate going back to school. I love school itself. I love being in it, I love learning, I love going to class and I love reading about things and being forced to think about stuff that I might never have considered otherwise.
But oh, how I hate the bureaucracy that Ontario universities make you jump through to get to school. Heaven help you if you need a loan or got one out in first year that you used up to pay off the dorm fees, since OSAP didn't cover enough. Now the problems extend to banks and companies, and all the issues are doubly harder to deal with; issues like costly proof of enrollment from the school (no, my student timetable does not appear to count) so that the bank does not charge me for the line of credit even though I'm clearly still a student.


It all makes me want to spend the whole day crafting, just to while away my anger. Perhaps I shall.



In the meantime, here are some photos of the camping trip* that my three sisters and I took:

Because that's what sisters do behind each others' backs.

Charlie- looks really old here. Like, preteen at least (she's not, though-Yet).

Drinking keeps us together.

This picture is kind of funny, because I came back from the washroom to her going "I'm a wookiee, I'm a wookiee, I'm a wookiee..." I asked if she even knew what a Wookiee was. To me:  Chewbacca=

*Photo not from camping trip. Actually from here: link.

The hairy one.
Sadly, she did not know what I was talking about, even when I made Chewbacca noises.
We have a Star Wars marathon coming up over the Christmas break when I go home.

My youngest sister and I. Again, what sisters do to each other when the other's not looking.

For some reason, I believe in really raw, realistic pictures of kids. Altered, set up or faked ones are too cliche for me, I think.

Food was a major part of the week, mostly over the campfire. We only used 1/2 of a little propane tank in 6 days.

Picture Heavy-- Hiking/Biking

Today I went Biking/Hiking/Biking and while hiking I also caught bugs for my upcoming entomology class... and I also found another friend:

 This guy's name is Rana pipiens. He is a Northern Leopard Frog. He's a pretty big frog, and he was just sitting out on the trail.

 I saw this great ivy climbing a tree; the only issue here is that eventually the ivy will overtake the tree and kill it by stealing nutrients. Poor tree.

 At some points, these trees were so thick that you literally could not see the forest through the trees. Hahaha.

 This is one spot that the area opens out onto the local river. However, you had to step through a partially made trail and globs of mud to get there--luckily, I constantly wear my boots while wandering trails since my herpetology class this summer- I learned my lesson the first time it rained and I was in shoes. My runners made very good lakes, though.

 This field-y area was picturesque.

Yeah, hiking and biking! Bug net on my hat, long white sleeved undershirt, and top layer shirt buttoned up to the top hole, can you tell the mosquitoes were awful in some parts of the forest? (Namely, the spots where the trees were super thick; it's cooler and consistently damp, as well as dark, making it perfect mosquito habitat).

Finally, my summer vacay from school...

... In August, after the 7th.

Hahaha, so sad that I only get three weeks of summer vacation, really. But, such is the life of a student. I also say only knowing that I only get three real weeks of vacation because I am currently unemployed.
Earlier this week I went to the park with a friend and her mostly-new baby, that was fun. The baby mostly just slept outside once she got used to the outside (Squee- so squishy cute, but bah, so... boring. Man, I can't wait till the baby is a little bit older and she can respond to things better).

Yesterday I made bannock,

 to test it out before I go camping with my sisters in August, since I don't want a meal to be gross because I didn't try it out-- it's going to be a side to both chili and stew, on different days. I'm pretty pleased with it, but I feel that adding salt is silly since the baking powder already tastes like salt. Adding jam is really nice though.
I'm pretty stoked about this trip. It'll be me and my three little sisters, who are all young enough and inexperienced enough that I feel like the whole trip will be like teaching central for things like: how to start a fire, how to make chili on a campfire, what to do when you are dirty, how to paddle a canoe (we're totes canoeing), and why the turtle sits in the sun (courtesy of my herpetology class earlier in the summer).
I've been fishing this summer a few times, off the banks of the river here in town. It's no good, all I get are three-and-a-half-inch red eyed rock bass. They're lame. I can't even eat them.
Hopefully we'll catch some fish on the Grand River when we go camping. It will be awesome.

July... 18, 2013?!

Holy crud, this summer is flying by. Maybe because I have to keep ripping parts of my car off and putting new ones on, maybe because I have no job and therefore am enjoying all of my time too much.

Went to the zoo with the hubs and the MIL. Wooh! Zoo Zoo Zoo. Fun word.

I started keeping my account on calorie counter up to date this week. I have a lot of extra time on my hands, aside from naming and collecting bugs, fixing my car and going to dance, which is now over for the summer. I did a bunch of homework. I seem to be suffering from either really bad eye strain, or really weak conjunctivitis. I can't tell. Either way, I took my contacts out and have been in glasses all day for three days (ugh). I'm considering going back to contacts because the glasses are so irritating and my eyes haven't gotten any better overall (though they do get betterish when I'm not on the computer or playing video games.
While writing this, I decided to call telehealth ontario and they told me it was going to be a 40 minute wait to speak to a nurse! Holy crap, not a good service. I can walk into a walk in clinic in that time. Thanks, I know it's one of two things, I'll just keep waiting until I get eye goo to be sure.
Which is why I'm not sure: my eyes are red and itchy, but they haven't got eye goo, and they get worse when I stare at a computer screen.
So here I am. I made awesome soft pretzels last night from Tammy's Recipes (here) and they are the best soft pretzels that I have had in a long time. I think that they need a kick or something maybe, but they were awesome otherwise.
I identified a species that I caught yesterday, this morning: The Punctured Tiger Beetle (link is to bugguide.net, I highly recommend this site for those bug enthusiasts. Some of the pictures are awesome and a great number of species are up on the site. You can also submit good pictures of species that you cannot identify yourself for others who are pros to ID. I actually ended up using this site to ID it: Tiger Beetles of Ontario since I had been looking at pictures of beetles all morning and the metallic green one looked the closest to my specimen, except that mine wasn't green. I assumed it was a tiger beetle, then searched brown tiger beetle, et voila!  

Cicindela punctulata! (I hope).
Hmm.. I came on here to write something specific, but I can no longer seem to recall what that was. Oh well. More for tomorrow, I guess.

Cheap make your own paper holder/ July 3, 2013

I decided that it was about time to stop piling all of my paper up by my door in my computer room. I am too lazy/cheap to buy special shelves, and my "bookshelf" is so full that I am stacking two layers high and three layers deep, but they're all books that are important to me (like, series and favorites, plus a few textbooks from school).
Anyway, after deliberating what to do with the smaller paper I have for scrapbooking, I finally came across a box from a grocery store box-bin that I thought would fit the 8x11.5 papers perfectly. Sure enough, I cut the box flaps off and put them through slits I made in the side with a boxcutter, and the fit was perfect. It is by no means measured, so there is a slant to the box. Maybe, eventually, I'll paint it or something, but for now I'm looking for utility over aesthetic.

It was so easy, I'm just going to show you pictures of the semi-final stage (not including painting/design on the outside):

I imagine that with a 12x12 top, or a 12x12+ box you could also make one for 12x12 papers.