Jennifer's California Trip, Part 1

Alexis and I went out to California for a week together in September to see our favorite band and to visit my brother, Daniel B. We met up in Chicago and flew into Los Angeles together. We rented a car (sweet deal, by the way) and definitely got our money's worth out of it.



Jennifer & Alexis in our rental car in LA

We stayed in LA for the first couple of days, so we cruised around town, checking out Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Rodeo Drive. We didn't buy anything on Rodeo Drive, though.

  

 


Rodeo Drive sign

We stayed in Calabasas at the Good Nite Inn for the first couple of nights. It was a nice, quiet area, and the price was right. We recommend it if you're out that way. We also went to the Santa Monica pier.

Incidentally, we ate at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurants on both ends of historic Route 66 in 2011. We ate at the one in Chicago when Alexis visited in May.



View of the pier from the beach

Beautiful sunset over the boardwalk



The view of the hills in the distance was lovely



View of the shore from the pier

Next, we went to Las Vegas for a concert. More on that in Part 2.

Knitting: Success!

Well, I don't know why it took me so long, but I finally taught myself to knit. I did it with the help of a kit called "I Taught Myself Knitting" (book and supplies included in kit), which I got at Michaels with a 50% off coupon, so it only cost me about $7. Online videos were also extremely helpful, since I didn't know anyone who could show me. This site is very helpful.

Once I figured out the knit stitch (aka garter stitch), I made a swatch.

Then I figured out how to purl, so I made some more swatches.


Stockinette Stitch



1x1 Rib Stitch



2x2 Rib Stitch

Then I was ready to take on my first project. I made a scarf for Ed in garter stitch. It's a nice neutral gray yarn. The scarf is about 60" long, so I folded it up for the photos.


Garter (knit) Stitch Scarf (my first project!)

Once it gets cold enough (which should be soon), I'll get an action shot of Ed wearing it.

Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to try increasing and decreasing so I can make something other than squares and rectangles! I've been keeping busy knitting, though. I'll post more projects later. Stay tuned!

Love Cards, Part 2

Here's the second card I came up with for the heart punch. I used the same red, shiny paper and punched two small hearts for this one.

I adhered the hearts to the inside of the card so they could show through the circle cutout. I really like this color combination, which is what gave me the idea to make this card. This was so quick and easy to make that I made several of them. I've actually already sent one as an anniversary card (I just added a sentiment).

Details:

• packaged cards and envelopes with pre-cut 1.75" circle (Studio G brand from Michaels $1 bin)
• red foil paper (Martha Steward punch pad)
• Creative Memories Sweet Heart Maker punch
• Aleene's Tacky Glue (to adhere hearts to card)

Love Cards, Part 1

I like to make cards, but I like to keep them simple. I just like the clean look of a simple design.

I sort of got on a card-making kick this summer. In fact, I made about 100 Christmas cards (will post closer to Christmas), and I actually contemplated starting an online shop of handmade cards/stationery, but I talked myself out of that (for now).

Anyway, I challenged myself to make different cards with the same heart punch (Creative Memories Sweet Heart Maker punch). The punch actually makes two hearts at once by using the negative space in the larger heart shape to make the smaller one:

This is one of a few I came up with. I'll post the others separately.

I got the idea to make this card after seeing a book cover that had the same color scheme. It's a little hard to tell, but the letters are glittered alphabet stickers. It was a pain in the butt to put those on straight and centered (they're still a little off-center), by the way. I've got to come up with a better technique for that if I'm going to use the rest of the alphabet stickers I have.

This could be used for a wedding, anniversary, Valentine's Day, or just as a love note.

And because I always want to know when I see other people's cards, here are the details:

• red cardstock (Stampin' Up Bold Brights), 8.5" x 5.5" (scored and folded in half to make A2 size card)
• white cardstock (Recollections brand from Michaels), 5.25" x 4"
• sparkle alphabet stickers (White Blossom brand from Michaels)
• red foil paper (Martha Stewart punch pad from Michaels)
• Creative Memories Sweet Heart Maker punch
• Scotch brand double-sided tape (to adhere white cardstock to red cardstock)
• Aleene's Tacky Glue (to adhere heart to paper)
• white copy paper liner (for inside, not pictured)

Tinker Swiss Cottage

We visited the Tinker Swiss Cottage in Rockford this summer. Robert Hall Tinker (1836-1924), a Rockford businessman and mayor (1875), built this Swiss-style "cottage" on a limestone bluff overlooking Kent Creek in Rockford in 1865 after an 1862 tour of Europe. Tinker's family were the only occupants of the house (75 years), and they left it to the Rockford Park District, of which Tinker was a founding member. It was opened to the public as a museum in 1943.

We went on a Saturday afternoon in June and got a guided tour of the house. Admission was $6/person. We took lots of photos, but here are some highlights. 


View of the house from the front



In the sunroom



A bench made of tree roots



Several pieces of furniture in the house were made from tree roots.





Dining Room

Most of the walls and ceilings are covered in wood panels (real wood, not veneer), with hand-painted or burned designs and mini-murals (you can see an example on the wall in the photo above and the hand-painted border near the ceiling in the photo below). There are also several pieces of art. Tinker was also an artist, so he did a lot of the artwork in the house.





Spiral staircase in the library

We really liked the library. It was kind of small and octagonal-shaped, with two stories of books and other artifacts. Jennifer's favorite part (besides the books, of course) was the spiral staircase.



Master Bedroom entry

There are also several other rooms and a basement, which includes a study, pantry, and laundry facility.



Wrap-around Porch



The porch goes almost all the way around the house. Our moms would love it.



Ed & Jennifer standing on the suspension bridge over Kent Creek

We crossed the suspension bridge over Kent Creek to take some photos from the back side of the house. There were also some flower gardens on the other side.



View from the back (limestone bluff and creek below house)





(Ed takes the best photos!)

Well, that was just a brief description of our visit. There's much more to see. So, whenever you're in town, if they're open and the weather's nice, maybe we can take you there.