Current Projects in Progress

The nice thing about being able to stay home as a "domestic engineer" is that I get to do things that I like doing, when I'm not doing the things that I don't necessarily like doing.  Like dusting.  I hate dusting.  And you can tell by the fingerprints in my 1/2" layer of dust on my furniture.  Anyhoo, in this post I just wanted to record some of the fun things that I've been keeping busy with, that is, when I'm not doing the unfun things.  (I know, that's a word that probably won't be found in the dictionary, and I'm pretty sure it's not acceptable to use in a legitimate game of Scrabble either.)

Today I finally went to the quilt store and bought a yard of fabric to use for the binding on Steph's quilt.  Here is Kiska posing with it.  I interrupted her nap.

I chose a shade of brown that I thought would be a good contrast with the back panel, and that would also match the browns on the front side.  However, I'm not sure when I'm gonna get to work on it cuz, as you will see, I have other projects going on at the same time.  

Like making my Easter treat boxes.

I always like to make treat boxes with the holidays, but I always tend to go overboard and overwhelm myself.  Whenever I see the seasonal candies in the stores, I can never resist buying all different kinds, and after get them home, I look at my huge stash and wonder "how am I going to box all of these in time?"  I like to mail them out to a few "select" friends and family members that I know will appreciate them, and always underestimate the time it takes to make so many of them.  So I am getting a head start on the Easter boxes this year.  The little treat bag is a new toy that I am playing with.  I just ordered that mini treat bag die from Stampin' Up!, and am having fun with it.  Still not sure if the top of the bag is supposed to be folded towards the front, like I have them here, or if they're supposed to be folded towards the back.  Anyone out there know the proper etiquette on that?  So far I have been using designer paper which works great for the boxes, but a tad stiff to work with as far as these bags go.  So today I bought a roll of gift wrapping paper because it's thinner and more "flexible".  It's worth a try.

Another project that I'm working on is an anniversary card for a couple at church who are going to be celebrating their 50th in May.  Somehow I was "drafted" into making the card, and I have to somehow figure out how to put pages in it for people in the congregation to sign.  This is what I have so far.

I am nervous about being assigned with this job because, whatever I make is going to be a reflection on me personally.  So I really hope that this will be okay.  They suggested that it be 8x5 x 11" in size, but that seemed ridiculously big to me, so I down sized it to 8.5 x 9".  Hopefully, that will be okay.  I still have to guess at how many pages I need to insert into it, and how I'm going to do it so it looks nice.  I have an idea, but so far it only works in theory (in my head).  I'll have to play around with it.  Luckily I have plenty of time to get it done, but I'm glad I started on it right away cuz it'll be nice to have this job behind me.  I was going to have a shade of blue as one of the colors, but decided that neutral colors would be easier on the eyes, and would also somehow keep it more "elegant".  So I went with Brushed Gold, Very Vanilla, and Sahara Sand (for all you Stampin' Up! people who are familiar with their colors). I still have to come up with some words to put on that rectangle block in the bottom right corner.  I hope I didn't make it too busy with all the leaves.  When I have to make something for a large group of people, I get extra critical of myself, and question (and doubt) EVERYTHING.

So between this card and my Easter boxes, I go back and forth.  Since they both have a deadline, the quilt is put on the back burner for now.  But at least I have the fabric at hand, so I'll be able to work on it at the very moment that I decide to.

Oh, by the way, I finally made that macaroni and cheese using the soy milk, and it worked perfectly.

It looks a little weird because it's not your traditional mac & cheese.  The little cubes you see are actually little cubes of butternut squash and it has quinoa noodles in it.  The only cheese that's in it is sharp cheddar, so this turned out "good", but I think it needed more flavor.  But it must not have been "bad" cuz I just made it yesterday and it's all gone already (it made an 8 x 8 pan).  I will probably make it again sometime, but I'd like to spruce up the flavor somehow.

Well, that's all that's happening in my hum-drum life for the time being.