"They say that time changes things..."

"...but you actually have to change them yourself." ~Andy Warhol

To coincide with spring's arrival, I have a few changes coming to my blog. A big, noticeable one will be evident sometime this weekend. I have a lot of ideas percolating in my head so I don't want to give it away. Another change that you may notice soon is my attempt to post more. Traditionally, I enjoy writing lengthy posts and sometimes this makes it harder for me to post more often, even though I have plenty of ideas. Therefore, beginning sometime next week, I will be embarking on a Blog Blitz (I don't know if this idea already exists out there but I am commandeering it). If you've even read just a couple of my posts, you'll see that I do (as advertised) write about many subjects. Some are personal, some are work-related, craft-related, food, etc. But I think this fails to cover the sheer number of ideas that are popping into my head fairly consistently as well as the numerous on-going projects I have. This Blog Blitz is going to showcase as many of those ideas and projects as possible. In smaller, separate posts. Sounds crazy, I know. And a little bit like spam. But enjoyable spam. Or at least I think so! This also rather serves as a "to-do" list for me. I am still very good about completing projects but I need deadlines. I LOVE deadlines. I work so much better when I have an end in sight from the beginning. And you, my readers, will hold me accountable.

So get your reading glasses all shined up and ready to follow my every move next week. I'm also in the spring changes mood and have finally started hitting the gym again, which helps my mood considerably. I'm still doing yoga at home since my favorite class was changed and I'm trying to fix my left knee. My left leg is weaker than my right leg (possibly also from my sacroiliitis) and I think that's been causing my knee pain when I run or overuse it. Since the doctors couldn't come up with anything, I've been strengthening it on my own and it seems to be helping. I would love to be able to run the 10k Great Race in Pittsburgh in September. But I'll think small...my first goal is a half mile without pain!

"A page of history is worth a volume of logic." ~O. W. Holmes

If you didn't catch this news article a little bit ago, here's a link to a story about a letter we received from a donor. By "preserved by archivists", they mean me. You can see the Hansch's signature on the back here. A very pretty 300 yr old letter anyway.

The first order of business was to deacidify the paper. Though it is in fairly good condition, the cotton rag paper is starting to yellow. We need to prevent it from becoming more brittle. This little spray bottle to the left has a formula that works wonders (see Preservation Technologies' website) and no worries! It won't harm the paper. Spray a fine mist on it, about 6-12 inches away, let it dry, and flip it over to repeat.

Once the letter was nice and dry, it's time to encapsulate it in polyester film (or Mylar for those of you who prefer that term). There is no adhesive involved. The edges are sealed with our ultrasonic welder and it melts them to seal it. We decided to seal it on all four sides to keep it from air, dust, etc. The air has been forced out from in-between the layers of film using weights before welding the edges. This also keeps a suction seal inside and the pieces cannot slide around (right now, it's one sheet of paper but there is a small tear in the middle). You can see in this picture that it is lying between the sheets of polyester film and the weight is lying on top of it. This final flap will be folded over, leaving only a small edge of polyester film to be welded shut.

Ta da! All four sides are sealed and it's time to trim the edges. You can see a close-up of the sealed corners here on the left, particularly if you click on the picture. Usually, we seal both of the longer sides first and then finish up with the shorter sides (if we are completely enclosing it). If the item was extremely large and couldn't fit into the welder, we may resort to using archival double-sided tape to seal the film. Luckily, this letter was a nice and easy size. Because this letter is exceedingly rare and valuable, I don't want to risk trimming the edges on our large guillotine-style cutter. (I must find you a picture of it). Instead, I trimmed the edges very carefully with scissors. I left a little bit of room on the inside bordering the letter just in case we need to open it up again. If necessary, we can re-use the same pieces of polyester film and weld them shut again.

I then had to decide if I wanted to put it back in its archival folder or do something special for it. All that had been requested was to deacidify and encapsulate it, but I couldn't just rehouse it in its sad little folder. I didn't have time to create a custom cloth portfolio, so instead a created a very thin tux box, custom fit to the letter. No glue is needed, just folding, creasing (with a bone folder of course!), and adding some double-sided tape to keep the two pieces together. When it's all finished, you have a four-flap enclosure that opens up to reveal the letter in the middle.

But this still wasn't good enough, I thought. The 20 pt board of the enclosure is a good step toward protecting the letter, but it's not stiff enough. Solution: Secure the tux box inside a pamphlet binder using thick strips of double-sided tape. PVA could work also, but then I'd have to sandpaper the pam bind to get a rough surface, let it dry, etc. Double-sided tape is quicker and isn't touching the letter, so I'm happy. I chose one that is a perfect size for our tux box and leaves a little space around it. It's a little dark in the picture, but you can see that it is secured inside the binder. All done! I feel a bit better that it's in nice, protective set of coverings. And we scanned it of course. This is the 21st century after all.

Apologies if any of the layouts of this post come across as wonky on your browser. I switched to the new editing software that Blogger has and though it's supposed to be easier, it really wasn't. Especially with putting in pictures and getting the text not to look too weird.

"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time..."

"... a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic."~Adrienne Cook

Happy St. Patrick's Day! And what a beautiful day 'tis. It's a sunny 60 degrees and perfect for partaking of green beer, some Irish karaoke, and a little jig.

I promised you pictures of my little shamrocks that I would decorate my office with, but sadly I didn't get very far. I still only have my prototype half finished. The baby shower gift from my previous post has taken up much of my time. But no worries, I'll have to make the little shamrocks just because they are adorable.

Do you have plans for St. Patrick's Day? I couldn't attend the parade last week but I'm wearing my green and Celtic jewelry! Maybe someday when I start learning step dance I'll be able to BE in the parade. For now, I prefer the Irish Festival in September. All these thoughts of Ireland have me dreaming about our eventual visit. The Irish branch of my family is from Northern Ireland (County Tyrone: Cookstown and Omagh) but they have been here for about 200 hundred years, based in Ohio. I am eager, however, to visit these towns regardless of how long ago they lived there. And to see Ireland in general! It may warrant its own trip, separate from the rest of Europe. My family is also from Germany (Kappel Am Rhein in Baden) and Slovakia; it will be very exciting to someday visit these places but I would prefer to explore for weeks at a time!

Although my shamrocks aren't done, I can share with you the other little project I made for my friend's baby shower. It's green! Her nursery theme is going to be Super Mario Bros. 3 and I wanted it to tie into that. I had a bunch of ideas but ultimately, only enough time to make one. And of course, while I was working on it, I had great ideas to make it better. But not enough time! I constructed a stuffed Yoshi egg pillow from felt. It's stuffed full enough to make a firm pillow but it can also be tossed around. I originally wanted it a little more 3D, but decided to keep it flatter like a pillow since I didn't have much white felt. I also thought it would have been neat to make it more 3D, add a small zipper to the side, and have a little stuffed Yoshi inside! Maybe eventually I'll make another one. I traced a picture of a Yoshi egg that I had enlarged enough for an appropriate pillow size. I had first blown up a print-out on a photocopier, but that ended up not big enough. I then used that blow-up and took a picture of it with my webcam. On the laptop, I increased the size until it was about the size of my screen (a little bit bigger actually). I traced it directly off my laptop screen, adjusting the paper to scroll down for the rest of my image. I used my tracing paper just like pattern cutouts, pinning them to the fabric and cutting them out.

There were four spots in all. To attach the spots, I decided black thread would pop nicely. I used fabric glue to stick them down and then a running stitch around the inside edge of the spots to keep them secure and add a nice little detail. I didn't take any pictures of the blanket stitch I used to secure the two sides of the egg together. I decided to blanket stitch the two exterior sides facing each other and then flip them right side out. You can sort of see the black stitching, but I liked the effect since this is a prop from a video game (this is slightly visible in the finished picture on the top of the egg). And then I stuffed it using polyester fill, tiny little pieces that wouldn't make a lumpy pillow.

It was a lot of fun (I like using creative prompts, like the nursery theme, because it makes me come up with my own ideas to get excited about. I need parameters and deadlines!) and fairly quick. I pretty much finished it in one evening. And now to finish the other gift!

"When we begin life, we are all given a puzzle..."

"...each one very different, yet special. As we continue through our lives, we meet people and have some type of affect upon their life, as they do on ours. We share with them a piece of our puzzle and they share a piece of theirs, with us, in return. No matter what type of impact they had upon our life, we still carry along with us, a piece of their puzzle. Meaning that everyone we encounter has a special impact upon our lives, because they have shaped us into what we are today. This is called the puzzle of life. Each puzzle growing and changing throughout our lives, but always becoming better and always having the same foundational pieces." ~Erin Bridget Doyle

I know this quote is MUCH longer than the ones I usually dredge up. But it really seemed apropos for the post I wanted to make. None of the other puzzle quotes really worked (I certainly have no reason to discuss the NYT crossword puzzle since I'm more of a Sumdoku gal--and no, that is not a misspelling). I've been a bit silent online these past couple weeks because I'm working my fingers to the BONE trying to finish a gift for a friend's baby shower coming up this weekend. Which I'm also helping to host. And doing a million other things at the same time, of course. Of course! A horse is a horse...

OK, back on topic. I do love making and creating things, as you know. And this dear friend from high school usually receives homemade gifts from me, so how could I disappoint? I can't tell you exactly what it is (lest I spoil the surprise for her) and it's not finished, so it's not like I'm really keeping anything from you. This little lovely to the right is a sneak peek at what I'm making. There is probably no way I will actually have it finished for this weekend, unless I take the next few days off work and don't sleep (not that I wouldn't want to spend my days and nights crafting!).

I've had constant thoughts of how each little piece of this will add up into one "bigger picture" like a puzzle. A puzzle that I am hand-sewing piece by piece, much to the detriment of my joints. And this quote reminds me that not only are each of these fabric squares a smaller piece of the puzzle, but I am also a small piece of the life of my dear friend. And soon, her baby will be introduced to all of these pieces. I'm glad to be a part of your puzzle, Nicole!

"Smile..."

"...it is the key that fits the lock of everybody's heart." ~Anthony J. D'Angelo



I have a (mild) obsession for a variety of objects, mostly the type that have a history attached to them. Books, clocks, vintage furniture and fabrics, old cameras, etc. But I really love old keys. Especially decorative (authentically antique) ones. I don't really like newly reproduced ones because they don't have a history; however, the jewelry pictured to the left is not antique simply because I'm able to find them more easily. I have keys on jewelry, on clothes, rubber stamps with keys, decorative papers, etc. You get the idea.

Most of the time, though, I prefer to acquire old keys as I encounter them. Don't get me wrong, I'll look for them if I'm in an antique store. But I usually just stumble upon them, rather than go searching online. It makes them more special, I suppose.

One of the dilemmas I've encountered is how to use them as part of my home decor. I don't agree with collecting just to collect, having them packed away to never lay eyes upon them until I need to downsize and discard them. I came across this excellent post over at Design*Sponge with great ideas. I really like the framing idea and I'll have to try that next when I come across a few new ones. But I thought I'd share how these keys grace my walls, artwork, ceilings, etc.

This extra large key was purchased at a craft store and I knew it had to be placed in a unique position on the wall in our bedroom. I have mostly limited the keys to the master bedroom, but because they are small (this one being the exception) the design element doesn't feel overwhelming. This celtic knot poster was one I drew in high school (we have an Irish theme to our bedroom) and the key seemed to be the perfect accent. Some day I'll need to re-mat and frame it, but until then, the key fits perfectly over-top it.

When we moved into our house three years ago, we replaced nearly all of the ceiling fans and I wanted unique pull chains for each room. While it's not an actual antique (it's just been aged to appear like it), this key was a perfect pull chain for the fan in our bedroom. You'll also notice that the walls/ceiling in our bedroom are white (and if you know me, you know I detest white). Sometime this spring, we'll be painting the walls a nice green "Amazon moss" color when we refinish the wood floors. I'd prefer wallpaper (which I love), but the walls in here are textured. It'll take us forever to scrape it and I don't feel motivated to do that this year. So paint it is!

Finally, I have my collection of loose keys. For the longest time, I had nowhere to put them and I arranged them loosely on my dresser top. But just a couple of months ago, I came across this metal hanging basket at Goodwill for $1. I knew it would work perfectly for my keys AND take up blank wall space. The silver key on the bottom (middle) was the first one I collected. I came across it at the silversmith shop at the Renaissance Fair. Love at first sight! Some have come from other festivals we've attended or craft/antique shops. The cluster in the upper left corner came from a friend who knew I loved old keys. The long hook dangling from them was for Victorian women to lace up their tall boots with ease.

While I'm running out of room on the walls of my bedroom (I have a spot here or there I could use. I don't like a lot of decorating clutter), I can't wait to try the framing idea. And because we bought a Victorian house with the original interior doors (with skeleton key locks), I might incorporate the Victorian keys by dangling them from a lock or two. And no, none of the keys I own work in the locks. I've tried. :( But they do fit inside the lock, they just can't turn them. I guess these ideas mean I'll just have to keep collecting them!

"Spring is when you feel like whistling..."

"...even with a shoe full of slush." ~Doug Larson

Hehe. That quote makes me giggle. And it's true! I know it's not spring yet, but we are having high temps near 60 and, even though we'll have snow next week, I can pretend that spring is almost here.

In fact, I can do more than pretend! During the warm weather streak we've had, I decided to take down the lights and tinsel I still had strung up outside our house. While tromping on our frozen flower/vegetation bed in the front yard, I noticed this wondrous site.

As you can see, our sedum plants are already sprouting new shoots. Um, what? Considering that two days before this photo, it was negative temperatures, the ground is frozen still, AND there is snow on them....how can they be growing? Shouldn't they be dormant? Well, according to online information, they might start growing in late winter. I'll take it as a sign that spring is near! Now I just hope that the snow we have coming doesn't damage them.

"I like not only to be loved..."

"...but also to be told I am loved." ~George Eliot

Happy Valentine's Day! Whether it's a holiday you love or dread, who couldn't use a little more love and appreciation? I wanted to share the photos of how my cheery strand of crochet hearts has brightened up my office space.

I recently started redecorating my office area since I was very tired of the dull grey shades that pervade it. I, of course, can't paint the walls or anything of that nature, so I have to do what I can with accessories. And no real plants (we ARE preservation!) so you'll only see fake flowers. The hearts turned out to be PERFECT for adding a sweet touch to my bare white wall. I tire of having my office look like a college dorm room with posters taped up but there is little else I can do. Luckily, these hearts have given me new inspiration. I'm already working on designing a strand of shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day. If you look closely at this photo on the left, you may notice an orange splatter-like stain on the grey backboard. I can't help but notice it and it's the unfortunate result of hosting a open-door event that serves hot cider. Hot cider that was allowed to boil over onto the backboard, wall, and desk. Also, it dripped into my purse and ruined a number of items. That was two years ago and there is no way to remove the stain from the backboard. My newest solution is to buy a piece of fabric that I can cover it with (removable still, of course) and voila! No more grey and no more cider stain! You'll get a chance to see it if my shamrock strand turns out.

I've also added in my papasan chair for comfy lunch breaks and a window ledge that is far from blah with a few knicknacks and some of my own artwork (you'll see my glass blown pumpkin and the birdhouse that I haven't shown to you yet). The bookcase/table on the left is one I will take home eventually to add new shelves and paint.

Hubby and I celebrated Valentine's Day this year by spending some time together, having a lovely dinner (and I discovered an EXCELLENT wine of which I had to immediately order 2 bottles), and exchanging gifts both purchased and homemade. Some years I'm not much in the mood for being "forced" to celebrate my coupledom, but this year I was more than happy to. I've also suddenly developed an obsession for hearts... The clothes I will be donning for the Lady Gaga concert in two weeks has many hearts incorporated into the outfit.

And for those of us who've been suffering bitter cold temperatures (this past week reached below zero temps again and caused many school delays), the week is starting out with 50 degrees and sunshine! I can't think of a better way to start the week. Oh, and plus the cupcakes I baked for work. :) All this greenery in my office has me longing for spring.