Before and/or After

So Spring is here, and we've had lots of rain- which results in weeds. Luckily we had nice weather and I had some extra time last weekend, so I bit the bullet and worked outside for a little.

We didn't do anything to the front porch area when we moved in, except that my mother-in-law (MIL) transplanted some flowers from her yard and Ben and I bought some pretty red mulch.



Thank goodness we didn't use the whole bag- I used it up this last weekend after pulling weeds. What a difference! I forgot to take "before" pictures (but believe me it was not pretty), so these will suffice as my "before" pictures, as I plan on doing a little bit more to the yard.




I ran across some shepherd hooks on sale at Hobby Lobby (spring items on 50% clearance!) and was set on a hanging basket. My MIL suggested moving some of the hostas that came with the house and/or placing more mulch to cover some of the dead/weedish areas in the corner.



I'm still figuring out my gameplan, but I am also thinking about transplanting some of Grandma's peony bushes.

Decisions, decisions.

First and foremost: I'm buying gardening gloves. I have a few battle scars from pulling weeds.

What a find!

Right around the time Amber and I became infatuated with finding the right Christmas tree decorations, I also became obsessed with finding creative and elegant ways to wrap gifts. Unfortunately, much of what I found that I loved from Better Homes and Gardens and Martha I had to dismiss as too expensive and time-consuming for my taste.

Even though I am an artist and feel that presentation is important, I am also a Skelton and don't find it practical to spend money on something that is going to be ripped and thrown away. (At least we can rotate the gift bags from person to person each year.)

Then I found the following:

Featured on marthastewart.com, the above picture is of gifts wrapped in tissue paper and then wrapped again in a glassine paper. I'll go the easy way out and let you read about it on wikipedia.

I searched for this glassine paper everywhere, it seemed! I called places in Lincoln, looked online for a good place to order from--and finally found it at Dick Blick in Omaha. I was so ecstatic when the salesgirl said she had it; and then I was floored at how inexpensive it turned out to be.

I have a wedding this weekend to attend, and here is how the gift turned out:

The card is simply two layers of cardstock; the "bride and groom" is printed on a regular inkjet printer; and I wrote a short note for the card on the backside. Because the glassine is wrapped over the tissue paper and card, the card cannot be accidentally separated from the gift.

I just love the look of the layers/folds of the paper.

I'll be expecting my check in the mail

This was not meant to be a blog based on Martha Stewart projects, but I have to say that I have to mention the domestic role model once more. I opened my mailbox this afternoon to find the Martha Stewart Living magazine--titled "Color for Everyone." I can't explain how excited I was to A) get mail and B) have it be something that is useful and entertaining, unlike credit card bills and other junk mail.

I'm still not completely clear why I received it, but I do know it was actually addressed to me and not just "resident." That was thrilling. I'm thinking maybe it was Martha's way of saying "thank you" for utilizing her website.

Regardless, I plan to post more projects or inspiration that are not just "good things" but that stem from other creative centers. I figured out how to "subscribe" to other blogs via RSS, and so my blog list starts to grow from MLC friends' pets/marriage/recipes/daily observations/humorous essays and dooce to include some other blogs for daily inspiration and color.

This means, first of all, that I will spend less time bringing up each blog in separate tabs; secondly, it means that the saved time will instead be spent compulsively clicking "Check Feeds" between Facebook and projects and e-mail.

Getting it right

So I found a recipe on-guess, where, else?- Martha's site for Wasabi Deviled Eggs. And I really, really wanted to try it out. It didn't matter that I had never made deviled eggs. What fun this would be! Turns out it's pretty simple, but you have to get everything just right. I should know, considering I have made the eggs three times in the last week.

Here is what I have learned each time:

Easter Sunday is an ideal time to make the deviled eggs; goes with the theme; but when traveling in the car, make sure you position the dish (especially if it doesn't have the friendly egg-shaped indentations) so the egg whites do not get squished and deformed. I thought they turned out great the first time, but I decided they were a little too salty, and my husband thought there was too much wasabi. What? No such thing.

I prepared the eggs again for a picnic; once again, though, we had to travel. The eggs did not get squished, though. I learned from mistake the first time and placed the eggs in the car myself, instead of letting my husband take care of them. However, letting someone else put them in the fridge, and then that person also placing the bagged filling on top of the eggs--all this resulted in squished eggs again. I omitted the coarse salt. When I tasted the filling, I thought it was great, but later decided it needed the salt. Also, the eggs were considerably harder to peel, and there was a bit of grittiness from a leftover layer.

Finally, two days after the picnic, I provided the eggs at a family potluck. I heard people in line show interest in trying them out, but I didn't actually hear any compliments later.

However, this time I added some coarse salt. And, in attempt to get rid of the grittiness, I allowed the eggs to boil longer than the previous time. This was the first time I shelled the eggs right after they cooled, instead of letting them sit in the fridge for hours, so I don't know if that made a difference or not, but they were very easy to peel.

From hot to cold

Don't judge a gift by its giftwrap

I love wrapping gifts; unfortunately, time and budget constraints can often limit how extravagant the final job turns out. Many times, a Dollar Tree bag and tissue paper must suffice. BUT creativity can never be hindered...even checking out what the internet has to offer can add some fun to the gift-wrapping process.

I opted out of the glue, though, and created an extra layer/pocket for the ribbon to slide through by sewing the corners of cardstock together. Love the textures of the two papers and the ribbon, all over the flat patterned giftwrap.

I love the texture!

Thank you, Martha!

I needed a creative way to give a monetary gift for a wedding; a regular card was not going to cut it. I found on Martha Stewart's site several ideas for presenting gift cards or cash. It took longer than I expected, and of course I waited until the night before the wedding...but it worked! And it was a very relaxing craft.