Hairspray and Terrorists!

Have you ever wondered what my voice sounds like?

Sorry to burst your bubble, but your aren't going to find out today.

Because the voice you get to hear in this latest ShootIt video

is my best 'news anchor' voice, and frankly, I don't think it sounds a thing like me...*coughs*

Anyway,

if you are having a case of the Mondays, watch this video!

I just love the skit in this episode, I laughed so hard.

AND...the cute guy who does the Fun Fact sequence?

That is my amazing photographer brother responsible for all my Refashion Runway pics!

By the way,

just thought you might be interested in knowing that,

according to these tests, White Rain hair spray was the most flammable while Aussie was the least. 

This made me happy, since I love Aussie products!

 

Thanks for watching, tune in later this week for more goings on at Gladness of Heart!

From the Bogus News Network, signing off, this is Blair Loudly. ;)

Lights, Camera, Action!

Sooooo,
a little something happened back in November, that I kinda forgot to share with you.
Yeah, well...I made it onto the big screen!
Ok, maybe not really.
But my brothers did wrangle me into playing a role for their show on YouTube called ShootIt.

My three oldest brothers (all younger than me, but they are the oldest boys...make sense? Ok.)

are aspiring film makers, they have made several shorts,

entered a few contests, and one of their commercials even won first place.

They are still small, but you have to start somewhere, right?

Well, in this video you get to see me in rare form...seriously,
keep in mind I was acting, this is very out of character for me!
Or at least out of character when it comes to what I let the public see. :)
 So please, don't judge me based on my performance here...
truth be told I'm a bit embarrassed and nervous to share it with you,
but, you know, you gotta support the boys and I've put it off long enough already!

So really,

this whole post could be summed up quite fittingly...The Things We Do For Family!

Enjoy, or just...err...don't disown me! Haha!

DIY Crochet Hook Clutch

I crochet.
Didn't know that?
Well, I haven't showcased many of my projects yet on this blog,
but I have been crocheting since about 10 years of age,
and have crafted a myriad of projects.

I have my mother to thank for teaching me the craft,
and this Christmas I wanted to give something back to her,
which is why I decided to sew her a clutch case for her various crochet hooks!
This was one of the projects I was really excited about making,
but couldn't share with you back in November.

Through, where else, but Pinterest,
I found this wonderful tutorial from  Little Birdie Secrets.
All the measurements are there for you,
even a breakdown of pocket spacing for each hook size.

My Changes:
-I did make my pocket size for G and H a mite smaller,
going just under 1/2 inch.

-I made my clutch a tri-fold.
 I liked the size better and felt it helped to cocoon the hooks in more securely.
This does affect the placement of the button,
so bear that in mind when considering which version you want to make.


I used leftovers fabric from this project and a multi-colored striped shirt in my refashion pile
to craft my version of this hook case.

See those lovely colors?

I knew this would partner well with the coral and robin's -egg- blue of this gorgeous floral print.

It lends a bit of whimsicality, don't you think?

The stripped fabric became the sheaths for the hooks.

Following along with the instructions,

it came together very nicely.

You can see here that my button placement is different than the original.

Just fold your case over as many times as you would like, in this 'case' (sorry), 

I folded mine over twice, then the rounded part folds downward. 

How you fold it will determine where the button and closure fall.

Doesn't this button match perfectly?!

Would you believe it was the original button from the huge coral blazer I refashioned?

It is hard to tell in this picture,

but it just so happened that many of the lines I stitched to create

the hook pockets correlated with the pattern stripes!

At any rate, they made excellent guides for a straight stitch.

Here it is all finished!

The biggest problem I had?

Sewing this darling up without mom knowing!

My sewing area is in the middle of the house, a high traffic area,

so there is no hiding what you are making...unless..yes...that was it!

I would make it in one morning while mom was away at Bible study!!

It was perfect...she would never know...I'd clean up every trace of evidence...

there wouldn't be a single thread on the floor...the perfect crime surprise...mwahaha!!!

No joke. 

That's just how I felt.

Like some mad scientist whipping up an end of the world concoction in his lab,

I was giddy with delight that I pulled it off, a complete and utter surprise!

"I've done it!! I've created a masterpiece!"

It still gives me thrills just thinking about it.

And she was...

completely surprised.

Looking Back: September

September...

where have you gone?!

My goodness...in all honesty, I can't believe we are already done with this month!

Since being chosen to participate in the second season of Refashion Runway,

I have been busy, busy, busy sewing and planning, and posting! Oh my!

The time has just flown by.

 

Looking back,

it has been a good, full, roller-coaster of a month!

 

Speaking of rides...

here are some funny shots from my first Refashion Runway project, the plaid dress.

These pictures didn't make the first cut,

but I thought I would share them with you now.

 

 

 

 

Just for fun, I was told to pose with our Gator while we were

out in the woods taking pictures.

 

 

 

Yeah...I could sell this...

 

 

 

I kind of love these next few pictures....

we were driving through the bumpy field path,

and were coming up, rather quickly, on a large terrace (big bump!)

and my brother wasn't slowing down!

While steering with one hand, he held the camera in the other,

and just started snapping away...he wasn't even aiming!

 



 

*See the bump*

 



 

*Assess the bump*

 



*Fear the bump*

 



 

*Brace for the bump*

 

*Scream*

 

 

Don't worry we survived.

And actually, we were still in tact enough to take this pretty cool shot right afterwards.

 

 



 

Big Texas Skies.

Or, pretend you are on an African safari...

both work.

 

 

 

September was also the month of my birthday.

Sorry, we didn't take any pictures.

But here are a few lovely things....

 

 

 

 

This is the pattern on a new scarf I got!

I love the ethnic print on it and the colors!

It looks very fall to me, which has me excited.

 

And then...

 

 

 

 

...my new cast iron tea pot!

I love this little dear!

Seriously, the colors, the weight,

the fact that it is cast iron and will probably outlive me...awesome!

I bought this beautiful item at World Market, one of my favorite stores!

I'm registered with them, and apparently, they give you a spending gift card for your birthday!

How wonderful is that?!

So, this is what I chose to get.

 

Sadly, I have already had a rather painful lesson in using her.

 

Steam burns.

Bad.

Like, really, really bad!

 

I was being lazy and didn't grab a pot holder to hold my

tea pot lid on, and decided to pour my piping hot water anyway.

Bad, bad idea.

The lid slipped, releasing an angry, billowing cloud of blistering steam...

right...on...my...fingers.

 

I couldn't just drop the kettle, because, it is after all heavy cast iron and full of boiling water!

So I had to endure the brutal elapse of time it took to purposely set it down.

It was really only a few seconds, but it felt like forever.

So yeah...that is how I got some nasty second degree burns on my right-hand pinky and ring finger.

Seriously, I felt a little bit like a witch, they were all blistered up and nasty looking on my birthday

(which was last Saturday, by the by).

Thankfully, they have now progressed to the really itchy, dark red, hard crusty skin stage.
TMI, I know, sorry.

 

And there you have it, my September in review!

How was your September?

What special sort of things happened in your life?

Vanquisher of Icky Things

There she is.


Lurking through the grass....

waiting....

watching....

ready to pounce.



Hmmm, sounds like a cat, right?


Nope.

It is me.

I was on a mission....
for a day I was....
a bug assassin.

*Dun-dun-DA-DUN*
(dramatic music)


While watering my poor little herb garden the other day,
 I was distracted and let the water run off a bit.

As my gaze followed the meandering rivulets, I saw them pouring into
small little holes in the ground.

Low and behold, it wasn't long and a big, ugly Mole Cricket popped out of its soggy home.

If you take a moment and image search these little guys, you will understand this next sentence

.....

I killed it.


They are ugly, and destructive, and I certainly don't want them
under foot near my plants.


Looking around, I noticed our poor dry, soil was pitted with oodles
of these little monster dens.

So what did I do?

I took my hose and proceeded to flood every. single. one.

Armed with my long hoe, I happily disposed of six of the ugly little fiends.


But I was in for an icky surprise.

It turns out there are other creepy crawlies that live in those holes.

Like, say...oh....six inch long centipedes!!

I'm talkin' gross...this thing looked it crawled out of that one Star Wars movie!

Eww!

Needless to say....

 it died too.



I have picture proof of my brave exploits.

I would show you.

But I don't like bugs.

You probably don't like bugs,
I mean, who really wants to see ugly pictures of hacked up icky-ness?

Right.

Not many.

And so, you will just have to take my word for it
and feel better knowing that I have rid the world,
or at least my immediate part of it,
of a few ugly little creatures.

I know my garden appreciates it. :)