IronElite 115th

I almost forgot.

Harley Davidson 115th Anniversary.

I was able to help with a T shirt table at one of the offsite celebrations.  And the Davidson's stopped by the booth!!  Pretty exciting!

Mr Davidson has the black hat on, and his wife has her hand on her hip.  They are really cool people.  They spoke with everyone that stopped, and took pictures with everyone that wanted one.

I didnt have curtains for this window

I have this window......in the shower..I put the iron holders up; went and got the curtain rod (and shelf).

Then I was thinking, hmmmm...you cannot really hang a cloth curtain, even if I made one.  I was pushing it with the wood shelf.  So far though, it is high enough that the water does not get there.

But the rod looked so plain.  I took the shower curtain holders and hung the poofs.  It makes me smile...and no one can see them with the shower curtain closed.  It is my fun little secret.

Travel Altar

I made a travel altar.  It helped to have it with my fathers passing.  Just knowing it was there.

 I would like to redo, or paint that pentacle.  The air-drying foam was a little harder to work with than I imagined. 

 That is a doll house miniature broom, and a small incense.  The candles came with those cool holders to insert into a cake. 

I made the challis and offering bowl.  I think I hit all of the elements.

Solar Light idea

 I did this last weekend.  It was so warm for November, and I figured it would brighten more area if it were up higher than just on the ground.  And I was right. 

 This is the area that will be lit up.  Below is the summer view.  I originally had the lights down in and amongst the daylillies.  The flowers covered most of the lights when they were grown in...is that a term?

I took pictures of the fence all lit up, but they arent on my phone, they are on the Ipad so I will have to upload them when I get a chance.

Been gone again.

My father passed, and it has been harder than I imagined.  He had cancer, so we were expecting him to pass years ago.  But he died of a medical mistake, from a surgery that was supposed to improve his quality of life.  Then we had to make the decision to pull the plug.  Then the hospital found the DNR and stopped helping him, after resuscitating him, and such.  HORRIBLE.  Even though we knew what he wanted, it was hard making that decision after we knew he was planning on living longer.

I love you Dad...and will miss you very much.

Wire Fence Chandelier

 I set out to make a wire fence chandelier.....above is the finished (almost) product.  I have to figure out how to hang it and what to use for the lights

 So I had this fencing laying around.......

 And I like to make things I can use to decorate my yard.   I saw one on pinterest, and thought it would be nicer with the rounded edge on both sides.  

 So I started creating one....how hard can it be.    I took some of the fencing and made a circle that I thought would be a nice size for my chandelier.  I cut another piece to match the first length.  I dont know how long it is, and each one should be cut to the size the person wants, so I didnt add any lengths here.

 I was going to add either candle holders or tea lights, so I used these for size guides.

 NOTE:  I tried to fit them AFTER i completed the chandelier, so I am saving your life here....LOLOLOL.

 There was not enough wire to wrap around either piece...and it was held up by pressure,  a good stiff wind would bring them down---not good. 

So I decided to make hooks out of each of the wires instead.  But you have to construct it first.

 Bend all the wires, on the end that is supposed to go into the ground, 90 degrees. And lay them out like the picture above.

Then overlap them like this:

 So they look like the original fence but with the "lace" on the top and bottom and the hooks in the middle

 I used 8 zip ties to hold it all together.  Important step before trying to connect the 2 ends to make it round.  It makes it more solid.  If you only use one layer, you dont need the zip ties at all.  I cut the ends off, one of them ran along the wire and I could have left it there, but you dont know what color it will end up after being out in the weather for a while.

 I cut them like this because I thought it would be easier to match.  Not so.  You can make them match no matter how you cut them.  This way caused more twisting than needed if I had cut them straight down the middle.

I also tried to match up the 2 ends and then bend.  That did not go as well as planned either.  but if you make these hooks, it will be much easier.  The hook will hold it in place while you twist everything in place.  I simply had to close the hooks and was pretty well attached.  It was more square than I hoped for, but a little manipulation of the wire and it became round.

 I tried adding lights.  Without the flash, you could REALLY see the green wire on the white fencing.  I am going to make a green one and add lights.  This one will be strictly candles. 

 And it is done.  From the hooks I think I will make some really small mason jars hang from the hooks....and if I can find some white wire lights to string on it as well.

 I want to figure out how to hang this candle holder and maybe just hang something else from the hooks.

 Any Ideas????

Sigh.

There are so many things wrong with this.  Is this supposed to be motivational?  Is it supposed to make you feel better about yourself, your life, your current situation?  This would assume that there is some per-determined plan for your life.  If there is free will, and you choose to be with people that do not hurt you, does that change who you were meant to be?  Does "God" explode because you are not the person "God" meant you to be?

Then there is this one---

Lets you hit rock bottom????  What kind of "God" sits at the bottom and waits for you to get there?  How does he choose who gets there and who doesnt?, or even who gets to fall?   Is this encouraging hitting rock bottom to get to discover "God"?

What about free will again?  Is free will just a cop out for all the religions to explain the inconsistencies within their teachings?  What if you decide NOT to hit rock bottom because of free will---does that mean that you dont get to meet "God"?    But if you did hit rock bottom you would?  Seriously....is this supposed to make ppl feel better?   And if I put my nose to the grindstone, behave like a good little girl, and do what I am supposed to do, why dont I get to meet "God" ?  Why doesn he care about me as much as he cares about someone that hits rock bottom?  Why are we rewarding bad behavior with the ultimate human experience---meeting "God"?

Should I throw everything away and blame it on hitting rock bottom to be able to "discover God"?  No?  Well why????  I want to be treated special too....I think I am special enough to meet the powers that be.......why does there have to be something wrong with me to get what others get, so I dont have to work so hard---to get nothing!!!!

EXPLAIN IT TO ME!!!

When did this become ok?

When did growing the color out of your hair become a cool hairstyle?  Women used to be embarrassed for not caring for their roots to the point where they had to be grown out.  This used to show a lack of grooming and now it is a popular style.

Sigh.

I dont get it.  People have to have their own minds.  If you are actually trying to grow it out, color it the same color as your natural hair.......

Why do I have to be different?

Now....why would anyone think that depression is a flaw?

What is wrong with people?  How does this not make everyone sad that even one person might think this?

The best find on the planet---except for that one (lol)--for me at Goodwill.  Let me clarify....Almost everything I get is from Goodwill.   I LOVE Goodwill.  And IKEA but I never get to go there.

I got this buffet for $19.  One of the legs broke off of the bottom left front corner.  But was still there.  I mean in the drawer there.

Looks darker than it is.  I did get a new camera.  I will have to take better pictures.  It also depends upon whether or not I am using my camera or my phone.

To continue.....One day I opened one of the doors, and the panel fell out.  I wish I thought to get a pic of that, but I did not think of doing my blog this way till about a week ago....so.....I dont have one.  No big whoop.

I have been trying to get color into my LR since I painted the ceiling.  I have been trying to do the peacock decor thing for a few (3) years now.....before it was popular....lol...(I am such a trailblazer).  My daughter always says that we like it first then EVERYBODY has to do it.  All of a sudden it is popular.  AFTER we spent hours and hours looking in vain for stuff and finally make it or do without.  THEN it becomes available in stores all over the place!!  LOL....she is right though.

ANYWAY....I had this fabric laying around that Daughter #2 (for birth order, she spoke above)...found in Joannfab that looked peacocky before they came out with all the stuff.  So I bumped out the other panels....very easily I might add.  WAY easier than I thought a nice piece of wood furniture should be to get out a main part of the door. So I thumb-tacked pieces of the fabric into the opening of the panel.  I kept the panel pieces jic I change my mind and want to put them back.  I have been pondering putting it in the DR and using it for what it is supposed to be used for. (dangling participle or whatever...ending a sentence with a [insert correct term here])  But we dont care because everyone is not perfect.

I was going to add something, but I forgot.  Here is what it looks like now.

I remember.....it does not seem to change the integrity of the doors....they still seem solid.  I am not sure I like the seethroughness of the material (I know it is not a word)....You can see all my Partylite candles.  It is nice to be able to spend the money I save going to goodwill on important stuff.....like expensive candles...LOLOLOLOL.

I hope to post all kinds of things....not just crafts.  Have a great day!!!

I am going to try---

There are many many craft blogs out there, and I must admit, I am almost addicted to Pinterest.  But, as many others have found, completing those crafts and recipes as perfectly as the pictures suggest can be daunting.   I often hear "It doesn't have to be Pinterest perfect", so why even show it in a fashion that no one can achieve?  Didn't we already go through that with Martha?

With the world crumbling around us, do we really need to actually see that we are flawed to confirm what we are thinking?

I would LOVE to be the voice of reason.  I am not interested in making anyone else feel bad either.  I dont think any attempt at a task is a "fail."  And even though those can be funny, doing a "fail":to prove someone wrong is just as bad, IMHO, as doing something just to get a "fail."

I would like to post the real attempts, as I go through life.  I craft to escape the crap that occurs in my life.  It gives me a place to go, and something that produces something that may be a fail, may be pretty to me and not to someone else, or may turn out perfectly.  Just hoping that maybe it will help someone else as I attempt to heal my soul from some of the pain I endure on a daily basis, imagined and/or real.

Lets give ourselves a break, it doesnt have to be perfect.  And here is what I did along the way.