HATS EVERYWHERE!

This fall I am investing my time into crocheting hats. I only have one head, so... if y'all want one, ask. :)

This might be my shortest and weirdest post so far. I've come a long way.

PS! So far the TV season has had it's ups and lows. I'm almost disappointed in few of my favourites. Sad face.

Rex

From Bookmarks to Pincushions

So today I have arrived on a new plain - pincushions. I have spent most of today making 8 different types of pincushions and I will probably spend tomorrow the same way. I'll keep this post rather short because I am suffering from a serious case of dysgraphia at the moment, so typing is a serious pain in my bottom. I'll just add some pictures of my creations for your amusement and maybe I'll check back soon to give you some pointers or general information on how I made them. Not difficult, surely not interesting. But I might add some of the patterns I used so that you can maybe make your own. It's not like I plan to sell them on etzy or somewhere else. Not yet anyways. 

And for some FYI - my Instagram will be full of them tomorrow when I join the WiFi area at work. It's sad that they don't allow much interaction with your account whilst on a PC. 

R.

Addicted to the Needle

I have a small problem with an addiction to using the needle. And by the needle I don't mean Arya Stark's sword. I mean a regular stitching needle I use to make cross stitch bookmarks or other small projects. Yeah, by looking at the title, you might have thought this was going somewhere else, am I right?

I have this addiction to arts and crafts, that has completely taken over my everyday life. I mean I change the basic variables every year, but the main problem remains the same. I like to create things with my hands.

Last year I was really into crochet and making scarves and whatnot's. The year before that I was into knitting. This year it's time for stitching. I have created quite a few bookmarks and/or other small items I usually give away. I will add some examples for your judgement:

Basically I am addicted to annoying myself. These little pieces of "art" take time and patience. I am not a very patient person in general. I can't do one thing all that long without doing something else to distract myself. And this is not a cheap obsession. 

I have bought several books with patterns or techniques in them. My mother has bought some for me as a present, because she supports all my insane hobbies. Here's the bookmark I made for her:

I'm also addicted to Pinterest where I can spend hours upon hours searching for cool patterns or ideas to create. I have a whole dropbox folder full of patterns I probably will never use. And I like to use this online pattern maker to make even more patterns I never use. 

My stitching addiction as gotten so bad, that I am already thinking about this year's Christmas cards and what I might do with this new-found obsession. It's April for Heaven's sake! 

Is there are group for this? It seems as if there's a support group for about anything in the world, so why not this? My Instagram is a complete arts and crafts corner. I do enjoy the attention they are somewhat getting from complete strangers. People seem to like my little works and I feel as if this validates my addiction. 

Anyways, I will stop ranting about my needle works. You can follow me on my Instagram (yipsusrex) and see fro yourself if you are interested in them. I really should get going now, I haven't hold a needle in my hands for about 30 minutes, I'm showing some slight withdrawal symptoms. 

Don't prick yourselves,

R.

How To #3 : Christmas Cards of 2014!

It's that time of the year again, when I make my own cards and send out Christmas joy with them to all my loved ones. I had 15 cards to make, 28 people to wish merry Christmas to. And this years I had to out do my previous ones. Last year I made kind of stamped out white cards. They looked simple, but were a bitch to do. 

This year I made cards using my crochet skills. Every card got a crochet snowflake and a small lace trim. They were all differently written into and I made them all personal. The envelopes had all small little angels on them, I stamped them on myself. Here's the pattern for the snowflake: 

It might seem like something very difficult, but it's actually simple. Just some chains and towers. Nothing backbreaking. 

For the lace trim's I just let my imagination run wild. Everyone's were different. I don't like to repeat myself. 

The snowflakes were blue or light blue and the trim was red. Christmas colour. 

I have no images of my cards, because I was too excited to make them to think about making evidences. I will however be able to post evidence on my Instagram after I go home. Probably on Friday then... I will make an edit to this post then.

These cards were a little bit more expensive to make than the previous ones. I don't really know the exact sum, but you could say I spent at least 15 euros on supplies. That does not include the postal feeds for stamps. That was 9 euros to be exact. So about 24 euros. Which is quite a nice sum. I hope they are appreciated. 

So, WHY AREN'T YOU MAKING YOUR OWN?!?!?! Get off you butt and make your people happy. I usually get some Facebook thank yous afterwards. Not very special, but at least I have forced them to think about me :D

Merry Christmas my fellow On-line peeps! 

R.

How to? #2

Breaking my normal broadcast to give you guys another how to blog. Since the holidays are upon us, I thought I'd share how to effectively shop for Christmas presents. It's too late to do any decent Christmas shopping, but most points can also be taken into account when birthday presents are needed. I'm going to use the gist I made/bought my mom as an example. 

Step 1 Simple and yet also the hardest. You have to know the other person well. Best gifts are those that come from the heart. It's no news, I know, but it's still a big and hard thing to do sometimes. Mu mother needed and actually asked me to give her a special keyring. She had a cool one, but it broke. So I set out to find something amazing. I shifted through some secondhand stores, because she loves them as much a I do. Maybe even more. But this time I failed. So I went to this cheap new stuff shop and found a keyring, that was nice, but not my mom at all. So I noticed some earring next to the keyring. They weren't too pricey, so I picked a pair. Big nicely detailed hearts. I made sure they were easily adjustable and bought them. 

Step 2 Make it yourself! I try to do at least one present a year on my own. It's hard when you don't have the funds or means to do it, but when you do, you can make that present unique and special. With the keyring and earring I did just that. I removed the original keyring decoration (a big O with stones on it... Nothing special, means nothing to my mom), bent some chains and then broke one of the earrings. I removed its clip or whatnot and attached it to the keyring. Now it looks like it's store bought, but in reality it is somewhat handmade. And even if my mother doesn't see it, I know that I made an effort to make this gift special. 

Step 3 If not enough for presents, send a card! That's what I did. I sent out 6 cards to 6 special friends. One of them received a present, but that's because she's K and I love her. I drew the cards myself, tried to make them festive. I also did a lot of research to get the addresses. Some where received through honesty, some through deceit. Never mind the means, the end result is what's important. For my mom's gift I will make a small name card. I will make one for every gift I make. 

I will go home tomorrow (25th Dec) and then we will change presents. I bet my little sister will get hers today and she will give them theirs. It's the first year we are not all together and opening presents. Last year I was lucky, I got off work and was at home on the 24th. This year I'm glad I get to go home at all. I took some mean bitching to achieve my goal. But as usual, I was victorious. 

Some Estonian news too: we have a new idol. Rasmus Rändvee is the 5th one to win Estonia's Idol. It's clearly a knockoff from that American TV show, but hey! Our superstars are as good. Some of them at least are. Rasmus is 17 (young) and he's in the 10th form at my old high school (PSHG). I hope he continues on with school. PSHG is an awesome school to attend, the life lessons one learns at that school are priceless. I hope to one day maybe teach there. The kids are gifted and more invested in studying. They behave better, there aren't those usual public school problems. Oh, and the key incentive: the teacher there get more money. 

Movies I'm going to see this week: 

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

2. Hit and Run

3. 10 Years

4. Struck by Lightning

5. Total Recall

Regina

How to #1

How to relieve stress?

As I feel constantly stressed out thanks to work and school, I've discovered some simple ways to help me calm down and not go completely insane. Here are some ridiculous ideas or tips on ow you too could help you sanity to remain the same. 

1. and this is very simple indeed. I sleep more. I skip sometimes classes so that I could sleep and rest. It's vital to us feeble humans to sleep. And I need at least 6 hours of sleep per night. Some nights I have to work and therefore I do not get that precious break. I have to sleep it out afterwards. So I steal from whatever lecture seems the most pointless. If it happens that your stress levels are too high to sleep, maybe step 2 could help you achieve step 1 better.

2. Alcohol! I know it's bad for my health and mental capacity, but it does help with sleep deprivation. the only side effect I personally have, is that I have to use the toilet a lot more than normal. My kidneys are very good when it comes to destroying my internal organs. Of course I do not endorse underage drinking, so if you happen to be either under 18 or 21 (as the legal age happens to be), don't try this at home. I really don't want to be responsible for any sort of trouble some of you might get into thanks to my advice. 

3. the Internet. It is the simplest and cheapest way to get your mind off things. I use it all the time. When I know I've done everything I have to and I still feel like a nervous putz, I simply surf the web for some nice comedies or films. Or I do the 9gag thing. That has happened less and less, but I guess my TV loving has grown and that might be why I don't go to 9gag everyday anymore. 

4. A good book. Something fairly simple, but not cheap. I do download books and spend hours reading them on my lap top, but buying a book on paperback is so much better. For my eyes especially. There is of course the option of lending a book from a friend or from the library. Either one works perfectly. If you are suffering from stress, I recommend an easy book. Something less deep and more wow! that was fast. Try some of N. Sparks novels or if you like fantasy, there are a bunch of books I could recommend. Just ask and you will be answered. 

5. Video games or PC games, either one works. They are very good in killing time and they completely drown out those worrisome ideas that might linger in your brain. Seriously, you should play something really easy and non-stressful. I for instance play Fairway Solitaire. Stupid time consuming game that really is addictive. 

Those are the first five ideas that popped into my mind. I was very stressed this past week, so I pretty much used all of them. I think I didn't have time for numbers 4 and 5, but the rest were all in the game. I survived this week without any breakdowns or depressive ideas. Good for me! I will probably feel stressed out until December 14th. So, I might be off a lot more and I also might not be as cheerful as usual. Bare with me and I guess I'll talk to you whenever I have time. 

xoxo Regina.

Personal "Notebook"

 

I have this little blue notebook that I fill with all the random ideas, pictures and what-nots of my life. I don't know why I needed to start something like that, but it has become something very dear to me. I fill it with my darkest of secrets, my saddest poems and stories and most of all, o´f course, my insanity. I write down lyrics of my favorite songs, I draw or use someone else' art to get my emotions across.

 

The reason why I even first thought of this, was that I saw one my aunt or mother had once done. It was thick and full of stuff. It wasn't as much of original pain filled emotional stuff, but it was interesting and gave some image what her life was at that moment. And I thought it would be something I would really enjoy as I get older. Imagine this: I'm 66 years old, living with my husband on a farm and I can't really remember what my youth was like. I can take out that old blue notebook I had and read it. It will paint me the perfect picture of what my life was like.

 

So, what I really wanted to get through this post was: why not make one yourself? It's honestly addictive and so good for your mental health. Just go to the store and pick out one notebook (mine' hard covered, plain blue, because then I can easily decorate the cover myself, and white pages). Just write down the first thing that pops up in your head and it's perfect like that. Then scribble something and maybe even cut out that extra funny comic strip you saw in the paper that morning, glue it into and highlight what was personal to you.

 

Maybe this idea sounds stupid, but I think it might be worth a try. And it's not even a big deal if you forget to do it every week. I skip months with it. It's meant to be filled with important stuff. If you want to write down every day and the emotions of that day, you need a journal or a diary. This "notebook" is meant for artistic feelings.

 

xoxo Regina

 

P.S this might well be the most useless blog I've written. Forgive me if it took time out of your precious life.