Pom Poms! Book review, party and my big whoops

So I threw a little party to celebrate the brand new Poms Poms book by Sarah Goldschadt and Lex Walters Wright. There was much fun had. After discussing it with a few people, we decided to make the pom pom hedgehog paper weights on the cover. Hedgehogs are awesome and they are so cute it was irresistible.

Everything was in place. My daughter cut several pom pom makers using the pattern at the end of the book out of scrap packaging cardboard. Quirk Publishing was kind enough to provide supplies and give books to each of the party goers so we could have a fun time crafting. I got yarns, and felt in nice natural colors for people who wanted that and blue of course for my daughter.

We had donuts and coffee and laughed, went through the book discussing the various projects. I'm absolutely charmed by the big tulle pom pom head band. I told everyone about making the coffee filter pom pom then not being able to resist throwing it at my husband.

I took TONS of pictures. Of the felt, the yarn, cutting the pom poms, the really adorable hedgehogs. We made small ones, but my friend Teri made a big one with crystal eyes and a shiny crystal tear drop nose that was just made of cute.

Then I got home, and when I got ready to write this post, I found out that I didn't have a memory card in my camera.

That's the big whoops. This amazingly fun time that was just a great break from all the work that all of us have been doing on various things and at our jobs? Yeah, not one photo. Because I didn't make sure my memory card was back in my camera from when I took the photos of the moose on my way to Michaels to buy supplies to make the hedgehogs.

The hedgehogs are adorable.

The book includes projects to make all sorts of accessories and decorations. If you've seen tissue paper pom poms and liked them for wedding decor, you'll love the coffee filter ones with a hand dyed effect done with food coloring. The pom pom hedgehog paperweights are adorable. A scarf made of pom poms is fun and I think a great way to celebrate all sorts of things. You could make them for holidays or to show school spirit.

Making them with friends is the most fun and the projects would be good for tweens and on up. The simplicity of a pom pom, made using a few different techniques works for all sorts of projects and this book will just get you started. Full color photographs and well written instructions along with a complete pattern section including templates to make the pom pom makers make it easy to create the projects shown. No fancy techniques, just lots of fun.

The first part of the book is the projects. 25 and all of them are simple enough to do in an afternoon and some of them can be done in an hour. I like instant gratification projects! The end of the book covers the various techniques for making pom poms and for stitching things that need stitching. Even better? There is a whole section on wrapping styles. So you can make pom poms that are dotted, striped, speckled or half and half. I want to try the "beach ball" effect to make big rainbow pom poms that I can wear in my hair. (I will get a photo of that when I do it.)

Go like Quirk Books on Facebook, and check out the completely free sampler e-books (Quirk Books D.I.Y. Gift Guide and Quirk Books Entertains Your Kids) they have available on Amazon. 

Here are the photos of the moose that caused the whoops.






Full disclosure- Quirk Books sent complimentary copies of the book for review purposes and for my party guests. They also paid for the supplies. This is my honest opinion of the book. All Amazon links are my affiliate links and the money that I make from them helps pay for this site and my book addiction.

Magpie and Moose (and a squirrel just because)

We went to Best Buy to pick up Supernatural season 8 because it's Show 2 in our home (Doctor Who is Show) and on the way, in the wooded lot by our house, I saw a moose. So I ran back in the house to get my camera.

So right before I snapped the photo above, we watched a magpie land briefly on the moose's butt then fly off. Michael and I laughed about it. When I take photos, I'll usually take a few, and choose the best one. The second photo that I took was this one.

Does it look like that magpie was looking for a landing spot? It was there with a couple of it's buddies. They were trying to look innocent but watching the moose carefully.

We saw a magpie land again on the moose's butt, then fly off. I missed that photo. But we stuck around as the moose ambled off into the woods to see if it would happen again, if this was a game the magpies were playing.

Sorry for how blurry it is. But yes, that's a magpie. On the moose. The magpies followed the moose into the woods. They really kind of reminded me more than a bit of Rosemary, who is one of my very dearest friends. She loves sparkly things, and also is a fan of Supernatural and her favorite character is the one they sometimes call "Moose".

This photo was taken yesterday, and has nothing to do with the photos above, except I was able to focus more carefully and wasn't laughing while trying to take the picture.

Moose Mandala to color

MOOSE!
We get them in our neighborhood so often. Generally cows and calves. Alaska is the home of the biggest moose, alces alces giga. My husband has had to call in "moose" to work in the past, because he's not messing with any animal bigger than our car who just wants to hang out in our driveway.

So since moose make me think of Alaska, this is kind of an Alaskan themed mandala. The center represents the North Star, the flowers which are completely not in scale represent our state flower, the forget-me-not (forget-me-nots are tiny in real life. Moose are HUGE), and the sunrise/sunset for our midnight sun in summer when it only gets dark for about an hour then we have a 3 hour long glorious dawn starting about 2 am.

Click on the images below for larger versions to color. Print and color!

Small JPG version:

Large transparent PNG version:

Moose Photos!

Click on the images for larger versions. Only 2 this time.

Funny true story-  I said to Michael "This would be a good place to spot a moose." and he said "Or a space bear." since you hardly ever see things after saying something like that. Then we saw that moose. So we stopped so I could take some pictures. He said "Okay, so where's my space bear?"

Recently, a Menchie's opened up here. Menchie's, if you don't know, is a California based frozen yogurt company. They have lots of flavors of soft serve frozen yogurt and toppings. You go in, grab a bowl, fill it with what you want, and top it how you want, then pay by weight. Michael says it looks like a yogurt themed Sanrio shop. All bright colors and merchandise based on their logo of a happy swirl yogurt. We took the kids on Valentine's Day and they were both thrilled. So many choices! They have a couple circular chalkboards that people write on, so my Doctor obsessed daughter wrote on one.

Michael and I like it, I prefer my yogurt to taste more like yogurt and less like ice cream, but liked that they had fruit available and had a vanilla yogurt with peaches and berries. Michael had vanilla with hot caramel and chocolate candy bits. The kids, not even sure what all they mixed in their bowls. It was fun, and since they are in walking distance, it's going to be a fun treat this summer.
TG loved their spoons. A little heavier quality plastic than most disposable spoons with the happy yogurt character sculpted on top. They are brightly colored and she gathered all our spoons to bring home.

Potter's Marsh July 16

We went out to Potter's Marsh to try my new camera recently, I'm going to have to learn a lot more about it, at this point, the colors turn a little weird on some shots. Like this one of a seagull harassing a bald eagle.

I liked this photo of an eagle coming in to land a lot better.

Fortunately, Michael was with me and he was taking photos with my HS10. A lot of his photos didn't turn out either because it's unfamiliar to him, but some turned out lovely.

In order, a sandhill crane, moose (cow), red necked grebe and a bald eagle.

Yesterday we also picked up a cake at my favorite local bakery for the Turnip Girl and my b-day (since we skipped birthday cake in May with everything else going on) and dad came over for cake. The rest of the day, the part we weren't having cake or being at Potter's Marsh, we spent outside. The kids worked on the garden and I crocheted a bracelet.

For her actual birthday, she asked for, and got, a shopping trip at a local thrift store. She got a big bag of cheap acrylic yarn to use in her knitting, fabric for her doll making, and some clothes. We also found a bag full of shell necklaces, you know the sort? Super touristy, strung on plastic long shell necklaces. The bag was 1.99 and I also picked up a bag full of ball ends of size 30 cottons. One of the balls was blue, and in my button box I found a button that matched the blue. So I made her this bracelet while sitting in the sun.

I'll be posting the pattern on Beadwork at BellaOnline.

Today, after a very busy week, we are just relaxing. And planning what we are going to make next!