Hello August 2019

July zoomed by very, very quickly.

It was super duper hot, so I stayed inside and did a lot of reading, movie watching and crafting.

July is also my birthday month, so a lot of that crafting involved birthday themed items for my Etsy store. And then running around town, redeeming free birthday coupon items at some of my favorite stores.

I’m currently reading Becoming, Michelle Obama’s memoir. I had put it on my library waitlist when it first came out, and it became mine early in the month. I really like doing that – I just add books to the list when I see them, knowing there will be a long wait for a best seller. By the time I make it to the top spot in the list and I get my email that it’s ready for pick up or download, I’ve usually forgotten about it, so it’s a nice surprise.

Video wise, I’ve been bingeing The Marvelous Mrs. Maizel. I don’t normally have an Amazon Prime account, but when I went to order something very ordinary and boring for the house they offered me a free trial, so I’m using all the benefits I can before it expires.

Big plans for August?

NFL pre-season starts up soon, and I have a craft coming up for Red Fridays for Kansas City Chiefs watching.

It’s also the usual end to the heat waves of a MidWest summer, although there are usually a few hot days yet to come. But more cooking out, longer bike rides and maybe even an open window or two are coming. The downside is the darker mornings, but that means something great is coming – my favorite season of all is definitely Fall!

August 1, 2019 by Now

Cool Off With A Paper Fan

Beat the heat with an easy to make paper fan | suzerspace.com

I grew up in West Texas, so you’d think I’d be impervious to hot weather. It wasn’t just “fry an egg on a sidewalk” hot there. It was so hot that Dad kept a pot holder in the car so he could grasp the silver metal transmission lever and shift out of park when the car had been sitting outside in the sun for a couple of hours.

It didn’t bother me as a kid, nor as a teen-ager. But I moved away, to several different climates, and over time I’ve really begun to more than just not like the heat. Hate is an ugly word, but I’m close.

Two choices here – be unhappy all the time, or stay inside and do a little crafting! A paper fan is an easy choice for a hot afternoon project.

This paper fan is super easy – no special cutting machines or real talent involved. If you can fold a sheet in half and use a staple gun, you are all set! (Or as you’ll read below, even if you have a little trouble with the staple gun, it will all work out OK).

CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR FAN
July 23, 2019 by I made this In the Craft Room

Beginner Zipper Pouch

For this month's Pinterest Challenge, I used a tutorial from Shinny Happy World to conquer my fear of zippers. I ended up with a great beginner zipper pouch.

It’s the third Tuesday of July, which means it’s time for the Pinterest Challenge. The purpose of the Pinterest Challenge, hosted by Erlene of My Pinterventures is to encourage everyone to actually try out one of the many pins they’ve saved on all those Pinterest Boards.

I took the “challenge” part this month pretty seriously. I’ve been sewing off and on since I was in my early twenties, which means that I’ve also been afraid of trying to sew a zipper since my earlier twenties.

I realize that sewing a zipper into clothing is going to be way above my skill level. But a beginner level zipper pouch looked like a great starting point.

To give myself a chance at getting this to be successful I’ve gone with a few steps that have proven helpful in the past.

I read a gazillion blog posts and watched their video tutorials.

I pinned several beginner zipper pouch projects that seemed to really be at the beginner level. So many Pinterest Pins are full of beautiful but really tricky projects and I wanted to start small.

I sourced materials that were zero cost to me so I’d only be out my time.

CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW THE ZIPPER POUCH COMES TOGETHER
July 16, 2019 by From a Tutorial I made this In the Craft Room In the Sewing Room

Create a Shaped Sticker From An Image

Create a Shaped Sticker from any image using the Print and Cut feature of Silhouette Studio | SuzerSpace

If you’ve been down the planner/planner accessory rabbit hole on Pinterest lately, you are probably aware that planner stickers are a big thing.

Buy the cutfile at suzerspace.etsy.com

It’s super easy to make your own if you have a cutting machine, and once you know the process for making a shaped sticker, you can make one from just about any piece of artwork you can create, find or buy.

In this tutorial, I’m using the free version of Silhouette Studio software.

I’m sure Cricut users can do the same thing – you’ll just need to look around in the software to find the matching menus.

CLICK HERE TO KEEP CRAFTING
July 9, 2019 by I made this In the Craft Room Using my Silhouette Cameo

Hello July

Hello July!

June historically is a super hot and humid month in Kansas City, but we sort of caught a break this year with some nice cool temperatures at the start. And right about the time I was thinking “Gee, we are saving a ton of money on our air conditioner bill,” the air conditioner completely stopped working.

We kind of knew this was coming, in that we’ve lived in this house for more than 20 years, but like most people, we also didn’t see it coming. After the sad trombone noise that accompanied the realization that were were not going to be saving money this month, and two nights camping out downstairs under a box fan, we were able to see the bright side and get bids for a new air conditioner AND a furnace since we didn’t want to repeat this experience on the coldest day of winter, too.

The new system came with a fancy WiFi thermostat, and while I originally thought they were just a shiny gadget, the fact that I can make the house comfortable from upstairs using my phone means that I don’t have to get up in the middle of the night and find my glasses and turn on lights and go downstairs. I can also cool down the house right before I get in the car for the commute home, so that’s a plus, too.

Other things I’ve enjoyed in June:

I used to really like a certain brand of frozen Chinese egg rolls, but all the stores locally appear to have dropped the vegetarian version. Apparently I was the only one buying it? Turns out they are embarrassingly easy to make. I didn’t actually use this recipe, but it’s a good starting point if you like instructions. Instead, I made a batch using bagged coleslaw mix and oven baked them, then froze them so it’s like having my own version ready and waiting for me. Double bonus – these are baked, not fried, and I know exactly what is in them.

It’s Iced Coffee season.

The Stanley Cup ended with the St. Louis Blues winning for the first time in history. Kansas City doesn’t have an NHL team, but Fox Sports Midwest shows all the Blues games all year, so I’ve been a fan for several years (it’s easier to pick a team you get to watch vs. picking say a West Coast team that is only on TV every once in a while and way past my bedtime).

Coming Up in July:

July is my birthday month, and the rule here is you get to celebrate the whole month. We call this one SuzerFest (obviously) and it’s full of special treats like breakfast out, the restaurant of my choice for dinner and I always take my birthday off from work as a vacation day.

July 1, 2019 by Now
I'm a Pre-Press Super Hero by Day. A mild-mannered nerd at night. The SuzerSpace is my place to showcase all that I enjoy and want to share.

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