When I was younger I my Aunt taught me how to crochet.  I haven't done it in years. I had heard and seen knitting looms and thought it would be interesting to try them.  So I bought the Boye round loom set.  They were $16 at Michael's and I used a 40% off coupon.  Yarn was also on sale so I bought two skeins of yarn.  Total investment less than $15.

The set comes with 4 round looms in various sizes.  I've only used the orange loom and the purple loom so far.  The also come with a plastic needle and a hook.  They come in a plastic carrying bag.  The bag is nice but its suppose to have a slider lock on the top which mine came broken.  I still use it to store the looms when I'm not using them.  I've made several hats already and it was really easy.  It took me a little while to get things started the first time.  Once you get the hang of it the process is really easy and I can do it while watching tv. I'm going to be making hats for the work project that I talked about in my last post, Caps for Cancer.  I'm really glad I made this purchase and several of my co-workers have already asked me if I can show them how to do this.

My work, AAA Milwaukee, this year has come up with a community ambassador project that anyone can participate in. We are going to be collecting hats, scarves, booties and plush stuffed animals for cancer patients. I bet that if you ask anyone, they can think of someone who has been affected by cancer. We are going to donate these items to our local area hospitals where cancer patients will be able to pick out an item of their choice. If you would like to participate we are looking for items for all ages and both male and female. Items must be new if bought, please keep the tag on when you send it. Also we welcome handmade items. In both cases, new and handmade, try to choose soft materials, no wool please. We will be collecting items all year. Spread the word and tell your friends. Items can be sent to AAA Wisconsin, 4433 S. 27th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53221. Attn: Caps for Cancer. We appreciate anything you can donate. I will be making some hats myself and welcome any left over yarn you may have have.

Update:  I am so proud of my co-workers and the community I live and work in.  At years end we were able to donate over 768 items to our local cancer center.  The hospital has been so appreciative of our donations.  Everytime we dropped off a box they were so excited because they said they were almost out.  I think there is a bit of a misconception that people think these cancer centers get this kind of stuff all the time when if fact they never have enough.  My workplace has decided to continue to collect itmes this year as well.  Every little bit we can give helps.  Thank you again to everyone who has sent donations. 

I've been very busy making these earrings.  I'm going to be participating in a art/craft fair at my local botanical gardens in December and need to get some inventory up for that show.  I've been very pleased with the results.  One can actually produced 6 completely different looking earrings.  Plus its they are fun to make.

My husband and I visited Lakewood zoo in northern Wisconsin this past weekend.   We have a cottage near this family zoo (animal rescue).  This past August we visited and found out they had some baby tigers.    The one in this picture is only 7 weeks old so she can't be touched yet.  She has 3 sisters. 




The other 4 were born 3 weeks before the one above.  As of September 24th you are able to touch, pickup and play with the first set which is now 10 weeks old.

Yes I'm kind of on this recycling kick.  Of course that is not a bad thing.  My work is giving out water bottle this week to people that come in.  Alot of empty bottles are ending up in the garbage  and I thought, what a waste.  So I took some home and thought what can I make out of these.  Well here is my first attempt at flower.  I used oil paints to color the pedals, which really took very little paint to coat.  I wanted retain some of the clear transparancy so I didn't want to completely cover the plastic in paint.

I like to call them re-inCarnations.

Yes these are made from aluminum cans.  The only new thing on these is the brad in the center.  Otherwise I used an empty can and some spray paint my husband had left over in the garage.  I put a clip on the back of one that I can use as a pin.  I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the other one yet.

Update:  So I tried to make some more of these.  I used the same method but this time I tried to paint the pieces before I put them together.  I think I put the paint on too thick because as it dried it started to crack on me.   Good thing is I didn't have alot invested in the materials.  The other problem is I painted these outside as it was starting to get dark.  As they dried the crackling in them actually added some character so I'm going to use it.  I did find a better coloring material.  Alcohol inks !!.   I've had a set of these that I used like once on something and didn't like it.  My co-worker suggested I try them on the aluminum.  Oh my,  I'm in love with alcohol inks now.  Went out and bought 2 more sets of 3.  I now have 9 colors.  I bought the the little stamper thing for the inks and found that they use simple felt stuck to the velcro on the pad.  So I bought a big sheet of white felt and cut it into squares to use on the stamper.  Cost me $0.25... much cheaper than the $4.00 they charge for the pre-cut ones that Tim Holtz packages.  I can't believe anyone would buy those.  I also found out that you can use punches on the aluminum as well.  Its a bit hard but if you put it on the floor and push your knee into the punch it goes right through. 

For those of you who are stampers, there is a really unique new company that I learned about today.  They are called Raisin Boat.  I don't really get the name but the concept they came up with is an excellent idea.   They have a really great assortment of original stamps that you have the option to buy straight out or you can rent them.  Yes I said rent them.  Just like Netflix.  They have different rental plans that you can sign up for and the shipping is free to you and back again.   Its great for people who don't have alot of room to store stamps or if your like me, you just can't see investing in a stamp set that you may only use for one project. 

Here is their website if you'd like to check them out.  http://www.raisinboat.com/

My co-worker asked me if I could put names on some re-usable water bottles she bought on clearance at Kmart.  Her and her girlfriends are going to have a girls weekend up north in July and everyone brings something.  She thought it would be neat to have everyones names on the water bottles so they wouldn't mix them up.  So I did that for her using outdoor vinyl so when the bottles sweat it wouldn't fall off and of course then they would be washable.

My father passed away a little over  a year ago.  Although I miss him so much I am so gratefull to have my Father-in-law.  He has been really great and treats me like I am his daughter.  This is the card I made him for Fathers day this year.