A Post A Day

November is a month dedicated to more than eating turkey, shopping, or football watching... it's also a month set aside for writing! This month, I'm participating in NaBloPoMo hosted by blogher.com. NaBloPoMo is National Blog Posting Month. The challenge is to publish a post every day for the entire month.

What am I going to write about? I'm not sure. I have a few ideas... and trust me, some of them are better than others!

Video of Completed Expansion

At long last our expansion is done! From start to finished front window, I've stitched together a series of videos and still shots. The background music is "Neanderthal" by Kaki King.

I hope you can stop by one day soon to see the transformation in person.

A Little Help

On a recent twirl around the interwebz I came across a picture tutorial for a braided bracelet that I thought was wonderful! I remembered that somewhere in my jewelry box I had the main ingredient for the project... and old curb linked bracelet.

Fast forward to later in the day. I'd chosen my material. I had my computer open to the picture, and was all set to go, but there was one little problem. I couldn't remember how to do a french braid! I struggled. I started over. I confess, I swore a couple of times, but I wasn't going to give up.

My friend Beckie came to my rescue!

When she came in I was just about to toss the project aside. I'd been taking pictures, and my starts were fine, it was just the braiding that had me stuck.

"Hey, Beckie! You have hair!" I declared.

She laughed at me, and agreed, she does indeed have hair. I asked her if she knew how to braid. My hair has been short for such a long time, I've forgotten.

With me holding onto the bracelet while she braided it, it began to take shape. Beckie's deft fingers made a project I'd struggled over for nearly an hour come together very quickly.

At one point I asked her, "So, how many redheads does it take to make a bracelet?"

We had a good chuckle, and I've been enjoying the results of our labors ever since.




Ingredients::

• 1 Curb link bracelet
• Ribbon, or cording of your choice (I used satin cord in four colors)
• Two pieces of wire to act as needles
• Scissors
• Wire cutters

How to do it::

• Cut cording into eight equal lengths of 18" each. (better too much than not enough)
• Tie all pieces together in a single overhand knot.
• Separate colors into two groups.
• Place one section of strings under the first link then take it to the left.
• Bring second section over the top of the first section, then through the link from the bottom.
• Repeat with all links in the chain.
• Finish by adjusting all the threads, and chain to be smooth, and the first knot is firmly against the chain.
• Tie an overhand knot with all the threads on the last link.
• Trim ends to desired length.
• ... give the friend that helps you a big hug!

Thanks for the assistance Beckie! I think I might be able to make the next one by myself.

The 3/50 Project

There's a grass roots movement making its way across the country. It's the brainchild of Cinda Baxter, a retail consultant and speaker. Based on events in early 2009, she wrote a post to her blog on March 11, 2009 that went viral.

The rest, as they say, is history.

The premise of the project is very simple. Choose three small businesses in your town that you don't want to lose. Then commit to spend $50.00 per month amongst them. Yes, you can choose more than three.

There's a reason for shopping with your local brick and mortar, and it has to do with your dollar. According to the Civic Economics stats for 2008 for every $100.00 spent in independently owned businesses, $68.00 returns to the local economy through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures.

Spend the same amount at a national chain, and only $43.00 stays in the community.

Spend that same amount online, and nothing comes home. Yep, that would be $.00. Zip. Zilch. Nada dime.

Cinda goes on to explain that "if half the employed US population spent $50.00 each month in independently owned businesses, their purchases would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue. Imagine the positive impact if 3/4 of the employed population did that."

I'm picking three!

Care to join me?

For more information visit:: the350project.net

Yesterday's Project

Yesterday, I mentioned I was working on a project, and that I'd be sharing the instructions.

The pictures are taken, the instructions are written, however... I still need to get the two together.

In the meantime, here is a close up of the bracelet I made using seed beads, and 3mm crystals.  It sparkles very nicely.