Weaving Sticks

This is such a fun and easy project with great results.
Great project for the Kids. Easy to learn and a lot of fun.
Make fun scarves and by adding several woven strips together you can make all kinds of wonderful things: purses, wallets, blankets, eye glass cases, the list goes on and on
This set comes 6 sticks with instructions
Measures: 6 inches x 5/16 inch

This is a great project for children and adults. This is unfinished wood with no varnish or coating added.

Available at Yooper Up Studio on Artfire

Glass Carving / Etching with my Dremel

One Recycled beer bottle

One Dremel

One Diamond Tip Bit

One hour later

My first attempt at carving/etching recycled glass 

Hand Spun Wool Shawl

One of my passions is spinning fiber and than creating something wonderful out of the resulting yarn.  This shawl is one of my favorites.  I used the wool of one of my favorite lambs who has no passed away.  His fleece was always one of our finest and one I truly loved spending time spinning it up.

With this shawl I used a very Victorian looking crochet stitch and truly love how graceful it is.  I kept the wool in its natural color which is a soft off white so that it can be worn with anything.
Shawls make a great cozy wrap for cool winter nights at home or out on the town.
This shawl can be purchased at Lil Acres Farm on Etsy

Snow

Started the day with a little of this and than a little of this......Pretty isn't it...

and finished with this:

What happened to the Trees?????

I received my First Gardening Catalog of the Year !

I received my First Gardening Catalog of the Year !
It's that time again.  Time to dream of warmer weather and planning this years garden.
Every year I love to add a new veggie I would not usually grow. 

I think this year I will try Artichokes, they don't usually do very well in my area, but I'm going to give them a try anyway.
I have loved gardening since I was a child.  My parents always had a small veggie and flower garden and I have continued that with my children and grand kids.
I have 10 acres to plant whatever I want.  Not really, 7 of it is alfalfa / grass mix for livestock, 2 of it is the house, holding pens, sheds and a barn, leaving me with about 1 acre for flowers, trees and veggies.
The last few years I have only used 4 raised beds for veggies and spread perennial flowers, bushes and shrubs everywhere else.
I'm no expert in gardening, although I have been doing it for years, I've read several good books throughout the years, but I guess my mind just doesn't want to retain all that information.  I have to go back to my books every year to help me decide how to lay out my raised beds for the season. I love watching everything grow.

I am a big fan of Square Foot Gardening, they have a great book available and lots of information on their website.  I have had a lot of success following their guidelines for raised bed design and planting.
Well, time to dream away in my gardening catalog!

Quiche Easy ? Yep

Don't let anyone foul you, Quiche is very easy to make

Prep time is about 10 minutes
Cooking time is about an hour

I love quiche and I love mixing up the recipe to use up leftovers.
Today I made my quiche with left over ham and cheddar cheese

Here's the recipe:

2 prepared pie crust
Bake for 10 minutes at 425

Reduce heat of oven to 325
Combine
1 cup chopped ham
1 cup shredded cheese
Spread on the bottom of your pie crust evenly

Mix
4 eggs
2 cups half & half
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Pour this mixture over the ham and cheese in your pie crust

Place in oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. 
Quiche is done when you stick a knife in the middle and it comes out clean.

Quiche takes some time, but really is very simple to make.

Happy New Year !

"If You Leave Toys on the Floor the Puppy will get them"

"If You Leave Toys on the Floor the Puppy will get them"
I don't know how many times a day I have to remind the kids of this.  Our 6 month old Doxie, Ruby, thinks everything is hers if it's on the floor.  The kids just don't get it, she doesn't know the difference between her toys and their toys. 
Today she found a self inking stamp from a art kit and this is what was the end result....

We now have a Teal Nosed Doxie ! Her tongue matches... lol

Taking a Sick Day

I am sooooooooo sick today.  It's really hard to get into a Merry spirit when your body is fighting with you!
I will get some new giveaways up in a few days.

Thank you for the SNOW Lily !

How To Make Cord on a Lucet Instructional Video

This is not my video, it was submitted by peridot1454 on YouTube.com

Many people have contacted me about our Lucets available at Yooper Up Studio

Most people have never heard of a Lucet and question the simplicity of the design and what you can do with them.

I found this great video on YouTube.com and thought I would share.

We do have several styles of Lucets available, ready to ship.  They make great stocking stuffers.

Happy Holidays

Crochet Puppy Dogs

These two little ones are the result of some minor changes I made to my Crochet Dachshund Pattern.  All my PDF patterns are available for sale at Ravelry

Hammered Metal Ornaments - Searching for some feedback

Do you have another idea for a Hammered Metal Ornament?  I'm searching for more ideas to add to this ornament collection.  Please leave a comment with your ideas.  THANKS !On Sale Now at

Copper Llama Studio

Carpal Tunnel and Knitting

Carpal Tunnel and Knitting, will they ever get along?
I have suffered from severe carpal tunnel and nerve damage for many years and my love of knitting, weaving and crocheting can cause me a lot of pain.  I am consistently on a search for anything that will bring some relief.  I will never stop knitting !  I have discovered some of my own little tricks in reducing the pain, but I'm not a doctor or expert in the field. After surgery on my elbow for nerve and tendon damage my doctor fitted me with some HUGE wrist supports that I must wear each night to get any relief from the pain. 
When I knit, it is not always comfortable to wear such HUGE braces, I use compression wrist supports and less bulky braces.  Sometimes I feel like the braces cause more pain than help. When using smaller needles, the braces get in the way and I have a awful time with the thinner yarns getting tangled into them.  I am more comfortable using bulkier yarns and larger needles, but I love doing lace.  I have to limit my use of small delicate yarns and stitches to once or twice a year.  It takes me that long to complete the project!
Anyway, I thought I'd share some information I found doing my latest search on carpal tunnel.
Disclaimer:  I am only sharing this information and not making any kind of recommendation or diagnosis.

Below is some information I found on Our Health Network, I have tried the suggestions and they do seem to help relieve some of the pain.

• Try to prevent your wrist from flexing and extending when doing chores. The Carpal Lock will do this for you.
• When using tools, make sure the handle fits your hand, and you can grasp the tool with your whole hand, rather than grasping with the tips of your fingers or thumbs.
• Reduce the speed your wrist and hands work at.  
• Exercise your wrists and hands regularly at work. Take a one minute break every 30 minutes to perform some of the exercises shown below.
  

1. Range-of-motion exercises: Clench fist tightly for 5 seconds, then release, straightening your fingers all the way and keep them straight for 5 seconds. Repeat 5 times for each hand.
   
2. Stretching exercises: Using one hand, bend the fingers of the other hand gently as far as you can, stretching the fingers and wrist. Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 5 times for each hand.
   
3. Isometric exercises: Clench fist with palm facing up. Use other hand to push down on fist, while providing resistance with the fist. Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat with palm of clenched fist facing down. Repeat 5 times for each hand.