Missing in Action

It seems like forever since I have posted, I am sorry. It has been soooo hot here in Oregon this summer and I am afraid the heat has just taken the wind out of my sails. I don't deal with extremes in weather very well. That has never really been a problem in the past but the last couple of years have been miserable. Normally Oregon has pretty agreeable weather- as long as you don't mind months of rain and gray skies. This summer we are having a heat wave and I absolutely hate it! I have lost track of how many days over 90 (Fahrenheit) we have had already but most years you can count those on one hand.

Anyway, I haven't disappeared I have just been trying to deal with the heat. I have also had a couple of migraines that I am pretty sure were the result of the weather too.

One of the things I have been doing when it has been too hot to do anything else is to watch Youtube videos. Those things are downright dangerous! I have added several new toys to my craft room. I am not sure if I will be finding any mini uses for them but I might do some blog posts over on my general craft blog when the weather gets cooler.

After I ran out of craft videos that interested me I switched over to makeup and beauty videos. It was there I discovered something that I am hoping will help to keep me organized and on task in the future.

You see one thing I have been struggling with for this entire year is getting organized. I had made up my mind last December that this year I was going to keep up with a daily planner type thing. I didn't find anything at the store that I liked that was reasonably priced so I have been printing off various planners each month- some I found online for free and some I made up my myself. I just wasn't finding anything I felt like I could use on a daily basis and stick with. I am sure I have spent a fortune on paper, binding supplies and ink by now. Not to mention the time involved in the process.

Then on a couple of the makeup and beauty channels I discovered the Erin Condren planners. Now I know they are expensive but when I look at how much I have spent trying to come up with my own over the last 6 or 7 months the price is looking a lot better. These planners are made to be decorated with stickers and stuff. They have different color schemes each month and there are a ton of stickers that are made for them

My new planner will be here in a couple of days and I was wondering if any of you would be interested in following along as I get into this? So let me know if you would like me to blog about the planner- I would probably do those on my general craft blog rather than here but I wanted to ask all of you if it was something you would like to see. So let me know- should I blog about it or not bother?

Another question: how do you guys deal with the extremes in weather? We don't have AC and I just don't see that happening anytime soon. We do have several fans and they help a lot but they just can't keep up with near 100.

So help me out- post your favorite ways to cool off-

Dollhouse Miniature Bird Bath

Watch the video here.

I have been asked so many times over the years about the bird baths that I have placed in a couple of my outdoor scenes. I had not been able to find the wooden shape I had used for the basin portion for a long time. On a recent trip to the craft store I ran into a display of these again.

I have misplaced the label but I believe the part that use for the basin is called a plate. They are about 1 ¼” to 1 ½” in diameter.

I also used three of the small wooden spools and a wooden disk.

I have also used the small wooden plant pots for the upright post where I used the spools this time. They both work really well it just depends on what I have on hand and how I want it to look this time.

I am positive you can find other parts that will work just as well as what I show you today.

When I use the spools I usually add a short piece of bamboo skewer or a piece of a skinny dowel to give some added support.

We start by gluing the parts together with some Tacky glue (or whatever glue you have that you know will hold wood together)

Really this project is not one where you need to go out and buy a ton of stuff. Just use what you have and make it yours. I love relaxed projects in the summer.

After the glue dries give the project a base coat of craft paint. I use a brown on the wooden disk base and a gray on the rest. After the paint is dry coat the gray part with Matte Mod Podge (or a thin white glue) and coat it with some sand. I used a bag of kind of course sand from Dollar Tree this time but any sand will work. We are just adding texture to make it look like a concrete type piece. If you want your bird bath to look like one of those pretty ceramic ones skip this step and paint it a beautiful color instead.

After the sand application is dry give this area another coat of gray paint. Allow to dry.

Now coat the base with some thick glue and coat it with some dried (used) coffee grounds- our standard “dirt” and allow to dry.

Make sure the gray paint is completely dry and then add your “water” to the top of your birdbath. I usually use Crystal Clear Gallery Glass but use whatever you normally use for water in these type of things. I think Triple Thick would do well in this too.

Clear Gallery Glass goes in white but does dry to a clear after time. Mine this time is taking forever to go to the clear state. I am pretty sure it is a combination of the fact I put in a bit too much at one time and the high humidity we have right now. Normally when I make things like this I put them under my lights to speed the drying time. With our high temps I haven't been turning on extra lights.