Tag : T Tuesday

343 posts

T Tuesday: behind the scenes edition

This post was meant to be published last week. That just didn’t happen so I’m presenting it this week for T stands for Tuesday. I must also confess that I’m scheduling this as I will be on a college visit with J. AAAHHHH…did I just say that!?! My first born can’t be ready for this right?!? Time…whoosh.

Anyway….back to the post.

I wanted to share a journal page that I started with the intention of fitting a challenge theme. I quickly took a sharp left and did my own thing.

I used a preprinted background in purple and gold….everything else just seemed to happen over the top.

Little bits of this and that…napkin, ribbon, trim and found text.

In the end even though my creativity went in a different direction I was very happy with the result.

Shortly after taking the photos of my newly created page I turned around and spied this…

Now you know the secret of my backdrop. It’s a barn wood frame I picked up at a garage sale. It is a perfect backdrop in my opinion for the majority of my projects.  

Currently the barn wood frame rests on the bottom of the plant cart…and Marvin rest upon it.  Soon the frame will have to move as I will be starting my seeds. I can’t wait for gardening!! We got a new LED grow light in the mail the other day that should help immensely with a full spectrum set of bulbs. I’ll likely share that in a later post. 

Until then Marvin is enjoying his new found sunning spot. Just look at those whiskers!!!!

The other thing I managed to do over the weekend was the reorganization of my primary work zone. I won’t show the rest of the area right now because it’s still kind of crazy! And frankly will be until at least next weekend…did I mention my craft room is my laundry room? My washing machine is on it’s very last leg…as in, I’m afraid to wash another load. Mr. G has replaced several parts over the years to keep it in service but alas this last repair would cost nearly what a new machine would so I have ordered a new one…delivery on Thursday.

So as I’m off visiting a college campus…what are you doing?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: catching up edition

Gosh it’s been a while…11 days since I’ve posted anything. I guess should should give a little recap of what’s been happening around here.

I missed last T stands for Tuesday because I wasn’t feeling well. I had some crumby virus that had me feeling wiped out so I decided to skip it to get more rest.  When I was feeling better I decided to go get a haircut and brighten up my blond a bit.  I got almost 7 inches cut off!! And it’s still below shoulder length! It was down past the middle of my back. I was feeling frumpy with dishwater blond hair. Now I have a fresh new (still low maintenance) cut and my blond is back, baby!

I’ve been working on a couple of paintings…switching back and forth between them as I wait for things to dry or inspiration.

Just a few works in progress. #artadd #cantstopcreating

A photo posted by Halle Gustafson (@halleshobbies) on

I’ve also been working on writing an article that will be published this summer. I was a bit surprised by the focus but am having fun with it. How’s that for a tease. I promise I’ll share more when the time comes but for now I just need to meet my deadline.

Over the weekend we celebrated a birthday. J turned 17!!! I’m still a bit shell shocked from that. Just one more year of being a minor. Next year he’ll be able to vote, serve on a jury, register with selective service…yikes!!!!! More grey hairs. But for now we still just get to have fun as witnessed here as he tried out a new game.

Yesterday we watched the Super Bowl and ate a bunch of greasy junk and had beers. Today it was back to gym and a green monster smoothie for me.  If I’m being completely honest..this was the first time at the gym in 2017 for me. I’ve been attempting to workout at home but I think attempting is the key word in that sentence. Time to renew my efforts.

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: shopping edition

Another Tuesday is upon us. I swear that Monday is a lost day for me. I have great intentions of getting something ready early but something seems to get in the way.

Yesterday was a teacher workshop day so the kids were home. Mini-me and I went to the mall to spend some of her Christmas and birthday money. She’s such a thrifty shopper…I love it. Goes straight for the clearance racks like a pro. Not that she doesn’t ever pay full price but it’s got to be the thing that she wants/needs and can’t wait for it. I am happy to say that isn’t the norm…more like the exception.

Did you know that indoor shopping malls were born here in Minnesota? The very first one was built in Edina MN which opened in 1956.

Here’s an excerpt from an article on MNopedia.org:

Southdale Center was built at a cost of $20 million and had eighty thousand square feet; it opened with seventy-two stores and two anchors, Dayton’s and Donaldson’s. Seventy-five thousand people attended the gala opening on October 8, 1956. Another 188,000 visited the complex the following weekend, most taking advantage of the mall’s five thousand free parking spaces (organized into lots identified by clever animal symbols—an innovation, like the mall itself, that would inspire countless imitators). What did visitors see? Gruen’s interpretation of the best of European cities: “streets,” cafes, two department stores, and many smaller boutiques surrounding a “town square” with a garden court spotlighted by an enormous skylight. A fishpond, mature trees, and a twenty-one-foot cage filled with brightly colored birds. In short, a prototype for the malls that would fuel suburban growth throughout the country. 

Then, of course, there is the monstrosity called Mall of America built across from the MSP airport. Most Minnesotans hate the thing. I haven’t been there in well over 10 years even though its less than a 20 min drive.

I’m not really sure how I got off on a tangent about shopping malls but there you have it.

This was my view a little earlier this morning.  Lunches were made, everyone was up and moving on their morning routines…it was time for a cup of coffee and a little browsing on my iPad before moving forward with the day.

I wish it were light enough to take a decent photo of the journal pages I completed the last couple of days but we’ve had nothing but grey skies so I have to wait until later in the day to get any natural light.

Today I’m planning to do a bit of crafting and continue work on our taxes. Fun stuff…blech.

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: TIL edition

TIL you ask? Today I Learned.

While looking through photos to put this post together I saw a burst photo series that I thought would make a cool animation…the only problem was that I had no clue how to make that happen. With a quick search I found a great tutorial that walked me through the process step by step.

Not too shabby for less than 5 minutes worth of work.

I did finish my quilt…you can see the full post about it here.

And created an art journal page for AJJ…full post here.

Today consists of some taxi driving….J to school as the roads are pretty slippery from a glaze of ice and Mini-me has an appointment this morning. Nothing like having to drive on the ice. YUCK!

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: sneak peek edition

Last week I worked on a piece for possible publication and sent it off to meet a deadline. I wish I could show the whole piece because I was so happy with the way it turned out.

This is just a piece of a corner.

I’ve also been working on my scrappy quilt again. I decided to change how I am doing the binding so I needed a solid border around the whole quilt. I got that finished yesterday and started making the binding. I’ll share my quilt progress in another post.

I also had to share my traditional gift to my neighbor for his New Years eve birthday. They generally have a party with all the neighbors invited. It’s really great since it’s right across the street. No driving required.

Each year I give him some sort of beer but in recent years I’ve been trying to be clever about it. Last year was Rein-beers.

And this year I got him some Canadian beer…of course, it’s cold there so they needed some hats to keep them comfortable.

I’m still chuckling at the little hats although I am easily amused.

Today is more sewing, laundry and cleaning. And shoveling. It’s currently snowing and we are expecting 2-4 inches. Hopefully it will stop and the roads will get cleared before the teen has to drive home from school. It was bad enough that he took off for school as the mess was beginning. The grey hairs have started from worry with a kid driving. Glad I’m blonde…..I should be able to go gracefully into grey. HA!

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: rum cake edition

This year for Christmas we changed things up a bit.  In the past several years we’ve had a Christmas brunch and it worked out very well since the kiddos weren’t too great at waiting to open presents. In those days I think they would have preferred everyone spend the night and get up at 6am.  Since they are older now, we decided moving back to a more traditional time for our family was best. That meant we’d need a dessert.

I decided to make a rum cake. I’d made this one before and it was so yummy. The recipe comes from a cookbook called Booze Cakes that I checked out from the library.  The first time I made it I used a standard bundt pan in the classic bundt shape. This time I decided to get a little adventurous and use my fancy bundt pan since it looks a bit like Christmas trees.

rum cake

As it was baking, I was realizing that the tree pan was smaller than the classic pan…I kept watching it in fear that it would run over as it baked. I was lucky…

rum cake

Look how beautifully it came out of the pan! I took a lot of time preparing the pan in hopes that it would work.  So cute!

rum cake

Remember I mentioned this was from a cookbook called Booze Cakes…yeah…that bottle was full when I started and I wasn’t sampling. I don’t even like rum in drinks…but I sure do in cake!!!

Just before serving I dusted the entire cake with powdered sugar giving it the appearance of snow. I totally forgot to snap a photo though. You’ll just have to take my word for it. It was yummy and boozy.

The kids head back to school after winter break so I’ll be all by myself for a change…well I’ll still have Marvin to keep me company.

Marvin

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: Wednesday edition

I’ve fallen a bit behind with T stands for Tuesday in both posting and visiting. I blame it on the holidays and birthdays this time of year. Time seems to slip through my fingers like sand through an hourglass.

I did finish up an art journal page on Christmas morning while we were trying to determine if we’d have to delay our family get together due to the sheet of ice covering everything. Instead of worrying, I created. grateful heart

The words reflect what I was feeling.

grateful heart

I even included a coffee cup as each morning I start my day with that as well.

Today will be spent on laundry, sewing, maybe a bit of shopping and quality time with my girl.

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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