Mar 25, 2014

Where in the World would you find The World's Largest Easter Egg?


 Lillian the Domestic Engineer
 Get EGG Cited

  
The World's Largest Easter Egg is found in little old
Vegreville Alberta, Canada!

The Vegreville egg is a giant sculpture of a pysanka, a Ukrainian-style Easter egg. It is the largest pysanka in the world.[1] The work is built of an intricate set of anodized aluminum two-dimensional tiles congruent equilateral triangles and star-shaped hexagons fashioned over an aluminum framework. The egg is 31 ft (9 m) long and three and a half stories high, weighing in at 2.5 t (5,512 lb).[2]
 Click Here for more 



To Build a Pysanka: Professor Resch, computer scientist at the University of Utah,was responsible for the entire Pysanka concept which required the development of new comptuer programs. The Pysanka is really an immense jigsaw puzzle containing 524 star patterns, 2,208 equilateral triangles, 3,512 visible facets, 6,978 nuts and bolts, and 177 internal struts. The Pysanka is recognized around the world as not only a unique artistic masterpiece but also an achievement of nine mathematical, architectural and engineering firsts. The design represents the first computer modeling of an egg.
Symbolic Meanings: This Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg) symbolizes the harmony, vitality and culture of the community and is dedicated as a tribute to the 100th Anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who brought peace and security to the largest multi-cultural settlement in all of Canada.

More INFO HERE!












If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers 

Easter Egg Craft

 Happy Easter! 

 Chances are good that you already have what you need in your kitchen to create beautiful Egg-citing creations!


Happy Easter Crafts
Materials Needed:Eggs
Dollar Store Delights = Hats, Eyes, Pipe Cleaners, Beads, Flowers, Feathers, Mini Puff balls, Glitter, Glue, Fabric Paint, acrylic paint, mini stickers, pom poms.
Egg Paint (recipe below)


The ultimate Easter Egg Paint Recipe
  • 1 Large Egg (raw) separated -Use Yolk only
  • Food Coloring (3-4 drops of food color) per yolk.
That's it. Mix them together and you are ready to paint. 
 This paint is non toxic.
Only mix up the paint that you will use at one sitting
 as the paint does not keep well.




Mix the paint up in a small nappy or dessert bowl. Experiment with colors and intensity by adding more or less food color and or by mixing the color dyes.
The colored paints can then be placed into the cups of a Styrofoam egg carton container and placed in the center of your work space for use by several Artists at a time.
 Use a small paint brush or your fingers to apply the paint to your creature or creation.

Prepare your EGGS.
Hard boiled Eggs are perfect for the young ones because they are easier to handle, less breakable than a blown hollow egg and can always be sent in their lunch bags for lunch the following day!

Easter Craft
Easter EGG
Hollowed Eggs
To hollow out the Eggs poke a small hole in the top and a slightly larger (small) hole in the bottom of the egg. I used a darning needle which is a bit fatter than a regular sewing needle. You may have to poke it two or three times to make a hole large enough. Don't go too big or you increase the possibilities of the egg cracking.
I then shake the egg in an effort to break up the yolk inside which does help to make it a little easier to blow out the content.

To blow out the egg put your mouth over the smallest hole and blow hard and steady. The egg content should flow from the larger hole out of the bottom of the Egg.
Once all of the contents have been blown out, carefully wash and dry the egg before painting.
The wooden stands were a perfect fit. They are candle holders that I found in the second hand store.


Get Crafty with Easter  EGGS

 EGG Citing Creations
 This Crafty Caterpillar was made with 5 hollow eggs that were painted and then hot glued together. 

A band of Gold Glitter Fabric paint was applied around the glued seams to conceal any glue that was obvious.

The antenna was made by folding a pipe cleaner in half and carefully inserting it into the large blow hole on the egg head. A drop of hot glue was applied before the insertion to ensure it stayed in place.


Caution must be exercised when handling hollow eggs.

His eyes are glued on and the mouth and nose were created with Fabric Paint after the yoke paint had dried. Mini Pom Poms were applied with a drop of hot glue to the bottom of each egg creating the caterpillars feet.

The driftwood was  perfect  for displaying the Crafty Caterpillar. He was glued to the base and the entire creation was then sprayed with an acrylic sealer. A cute keepsake to be sure.


Easter ART
 For ease of painting the hollowed egg shell,
 I created the coat hanger holders as seen in the picture.

The hook on the Coat hanger was straitened out to become the Egg holder itself. The egg is placed down onto the wire
The hanger bottom was then bent to create the stand itself.  It took a few bends to get the hangers to stand properly.






 I then put a damp cloth onto the hanger part that sat on the table itself. The extra bit of weight assisted in keeping the frame standing upright and also served as a handy wipe for the artists hands.

  For best results let each color dry before applying the next.

We employed colored glitter glue and glittered fabric paints directly on the dried painted Eggs.
 Finally each character was sprayed with an acrylic seal, giving each project a nice sheen and a protective coat.
Aren't you EGG-cited to get started?



I recently purchased a concentrated icing color at the bulk barn for use in cupcake icing for a recent summer celebration.
 Just a drop of this corn syrup based colorant provide the deepest, richest icing colors I have ever seen.
This great colorant is also very effective in cake batter itself.
I think the results could be stunning with this colorant added to the egg yolk paint.



Use your imagination when displaying your creations. I purchased the beautiful candle holders at the second hand store. I thought they made beautiful displays. The great part is that they can then be re-used as candle holders when A: the project is either dropped and broken or
                    B: when the project starts to smell several years down the road...

With little ones at work the odds of having a broken shell or two is very likely.
Turn the broken shell bits into happy accidents by coloring with pure food color or the paint yolk mixture and then gluing them onto card stock or paper art in pleasing mosaic shapes.
  








Wow look at this great idea....


CLICK HERE
Follow the link above to 60 EGG ACTIVITIES for KIDS

Mar 20, 2014

Naugahyde. The Urban Myth


the Naugahyde, so you know!
Exists only in the minds of the gullible.. as it did in mine so many years ago.
Twas Fred the foreman in the commercial Bookbindery where I worked  that convinced me so. 
 
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Naugahyde (sometimes abbreviated to Nauga) is an American brand of artificial leather (or "pleather" from plastic leather). Naugahyde is a composite of a knit fabric backing and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic coating. It was developed by United States Rubber Company, and is now manufactured and sold by Uniroyal Engineered Products, LLC, a privately held company. Its name, first used as a trademark in 1936,[1] comes from the Borough of Naugatuck, Connecticut, where it was first produced. Uniroyal asserts that Naugahyde is one of the most popular premium pleathers. Naugahyde is manufactured in Stoughton, Wisconsin.[2]

Advertising campaign showing the fictional Nauga character. Note that the Nauga's skin is made of vinyl.
A marketing campaign of the 1960s and 1970s asserted humorously that Naugahyde was obtained from the skin of an animal called a "Nauga". The claim became an urban myth.[3] The campaign emphasized that, unlike other animals, which must typically be slaughtered to obtain their hides, Naugas can shed their skin without harm to themselves.[4] The Nauga doll, a squat, horned monster with a wide toothy grin, became popular in the 1960s and is still sold today.[5]

The Middle ages

 Lillian the Domestic Engineer

the Middle Ages

Somewhere between the new age and the dark age
 lay the middle ages

The New Age

 Its all about you! 
Life is full of opportunities to chase. 

You have no children nor a wrinkle on your face. No mortgage, no strife, no husband, no wife. This is a free spirit time of life. 

The talk is easy and the wine is cheap.
 Sex is sexy and you've got no beefs.
 You do whom and largely as you like to do.

To hell with the rest it's all about you.





Middle Age 
What about you?
You are mid way to no where and half way to all there.
You start to wear clothing over and over

 and concede that the rest is just wearing out.
Middle age is life's hard work.

The kids are growing and the spouse is too.  
To whine is easy and the talk is cheap but The bottled stuff is now just out of reach.
  Sex is not quite what it used to be and                                                                                               where's the beef takes on new meaning.
                                                                                                Preservation of self and of thought                                                                                                                   is much more work than not.



The Dark Ages
Is that you?
You no longer hear all that is said and that' OK you just don't care like you once did anyways. You've heard it all before. Sometime, somewhere. Been there.
You do as your children say because of your inability to just walk away.
      Sex on the beach is now served in a glass and 
  to all of those who disagree may they just kiss your ass.
                                                                             


Grasp every moment. 

 Live every day.
   

 Live as you like and not as they say 

you have but one passage through life this way.



  


My Daze 

Mar 12, 2014

Mom are you Listening?


If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers 



              Mom are you Listening?



   MOM, did you hear me??
 Did you call to make an appointment with the dentist for me today?
 Mom do you remember where I put my keys yesterday?
Can you unplug the toilet in the basement today?
 Do you know where my winter toque went to?
Mom will you type up an Resume for me?
Can you go to the bank for me today?
I can't find my computer cord do you have one I can borrow"?

Mar 10, 2014

Upcycled Neck Tie Craft

Up cycled neck tie snake craft

These lovable snakes are fashioned from
 neck ties.  

   Time to take another look at the old neck ties that can be found hanging around in most second hand stores.
 You may have to move aside an old suit jacket or two and perhaps even wipe away a few dust bunnies to see the true colors of the opportunities that lay in waiting.
 
These snakes would have an even greater sentimentality if crafted from a favored neck tie of Dads, Grandpas or even great Grandpas. Ask around! There are many an outdated neck ties hanging around in closets all waiting to be found.
The awesome patterns, textures and colors all seem to lend themselves well to the project.

 Don't all the neck ties you now see all suddenly seem to have eyes?
 Don't the patterns all seem to scream snake skin?
 I certainly started to think so. 


                   Up Cycled Neck Tie Snake Craft

               These snakes are just great laying on a bed. 
              They are also happy laying on the floor in front of the door, keeping the draft at bay.
            After years of hanging around in the closet they are surprising happy to return to a closet.
                         By looping the snake over a coat hanger and tieing the ends into a knot
                                     the snake becomes useful as a scarf hanger. 
                    Drape your scarves over the snakes body loop and let hang. 
                  I have attached a memory wire bead bracelet to each of the snakes head area
                                   making these snakes alo useful as a bracelet holder.

Lillian the Domestic Engineer Up cycled neck tie project
                             Saxy the Snake

Begin by completely opening the back seam on the tie with a seam ripper. This can be a bit tedious.
Caution must be exercised to avoid ripping the tie itself.
The inside strip of interfacing can be removed and tossed.

Once opened, unfold edges and flatten with iron on medium heat.
 Exercise some caution in ironing with silk. A damp cloth between your fabric and the iron itself
will keep the fabric from having an unwelcome sheen in spots.

Reverse the tie fabric so that the right sides are together, match side edges, pin in place and stitch together.
Turn the tie inside out again (which would now be good side of fabric out)
The tie liner now becomes the snakes (lower) inside mouth and the silk tie (top) is the head.

Craft blog Lillian the Domestic Engineer


 Button eyes are now sewn to the head.
 Keep the bottom (mouth) liner and the top silk (head) fabric separate when stitching buttons on.

Upcycled neck tie


Neck tie Snake

Up cycled neck tie Snake

 Be creative with the eyes. 
 Both single button eyes and two button piggyback pupil eyes are effective.
 The flat yellow buttons were hand sewn on before stitching the orange, rounded button on top. 
  I may even choose to add a set of false eyelashes to the next Snake?
 Finally stuff the snake body. I use a wooden spoon to help work bits of stuffing right down to the tail area.
This tail end is eventually wrapped with metallic thread, creating an ornate tail and effectively closing the hole.
 Old pillows can be purchased reasonably and are an economical source of stuffing!

 Add the tongue.

Neck tie Snake
I have done tongues in two fashions.
#1 Felt is cut, glued and stitched to the underside of the top nose fabric.

#2 Felt is cut, glued and stitched to inside lower lip,
where tie edges have been stitched together and meet at top.

Lillian the Domestic engineer


 Now add the final tiny bits of stuffing (between liner and tie top fabric)  into the head area.

Too much stuffing will cause the mouth to bulge and distort. Don't over due the stuffing here.

Hand Stitch the tie liner (at back of throat) to top of silk tie, closing off the hole.


  TIE ONE ON!
Upcycled neck tie snake

Happiness IS homemade
                                         
Craft on!


   The Windsor Knot

            6 steps to a perfect tie                                       








A Neck Tie for your I Phone
Up Cycled Tie Project

 
 Click on the link to see
these terrific up cycled
 satchels. 
Perfect for your I Phone.











More Creative Up-cycled Tie Projects Here


 These fabulous neck pieces are another
 wonderful way to up cycle neck ties.


Lillian the Domestic Engineer
 

Mar 9, 2014

License to Drive





If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers 

 Lillian the Domestic Engineer   HOME
License to Drive
It is the subject nightmares are made of. It is a force much larger than one can imagine and way beyond your Parental control. It is a powerful tool to the highway of Life where you can go as fast as you like until you get caught or run into somebody head on in reality.

It is the fear of midnight knocking at your door and the Dread of seeing an Officers face ...and then hearing no more.
It is the panic that parks itself in your gut every the car is out.
It is your own thoughts that keep you awake while in vain you attempt to shake the fear that your late driver can and will create.

Mar 6, 2014

Top Mommy Blogger. VOTE HERE



If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers

Lillian the Domestic Engineer HOME

Welcome

I CRAFT anytime.
COOK, usually on time.
CLEAN well, most of the time.
PARENT all the time and
BLOG in my free time!

Lillian the Domestic Engineer My DAZE

Keep laughing!

Crafty, curious, creative, emotional,

frugal, humorous, honest, industrious,
intuitive, insightful, exhausted, Mother
Opinionated, organized, trustworthy,

passionate, polite, persistent, patient,
practical, sentimental, wondrous, 
Woman,
Human, Partner, Parent,
Daughter, Sister, Aunt, Friend, 
Welcome to my world.     Lillian the Domestic Engineer


  

 I like to think that I have aged gracefully and weathered wisely along my journey. 
I accept that I may be a little pickled 
but I like to regard this as a result of having been well aged and blended splendidly.

I have laughed as I have cried. I learned as I tried.
I have embraced the blessings of good fortune 
and good health with
solid values and in good morale.
I have encountered many a hard and painful growing lessons endeared only with good humor and in good faith.
 I have grown to know and to embrace my life experiences as lessons in the plan of the ever changing plans. Plans are made to be changed. Only a fool never changes ones mind!

As I believe we are the harvest of the seeds we plant, I so believe in the need
to sow, to savor, to harvest and discover,
to live, to uncover. 
To learn, to laugh, to register and to rediscover
as I work at being conscience of the journey. 

I excitedly gaze into my future with hopes and dreams of fulfilling my potential ( I will grow up one day and discover what I want to be)
 as I enjoy the many splendors of watching my children blossom into young men full of potential.
At my life I look graciously ahead and with gratitude, I look behind. The passing of time has made up my mind.
  Survival really is all a matter of mind. 
The truth really is If you don't mind it doesn't matter. There is probably not another Soul around willing to get at her!
Look as you should learn to hear, selectively.
Learn that to Liberate is to Deliberate 
and you will find the freedom
to pee alone while talking on the phone!

Don't forget to laugh (at yourself)  along the way and to forgive yourself for the things you will do and say..
Oh for the Love of a Mother!

My Handsome Family

Yup, that's me. A MOM!
I no longer answer 
without the sense of entitlement that I'm entitled to but rather when I'm asked by those I meet, 
"What do you do?"


I Proudly proclaim (perhaps with no brain, as a result of having allegedly lost a quarter of my brain through the birthing of each Son) 
"I'm the lucky Mom of four great Sons
 and right where I want to be."
A Domestic Engineer, I am indeed. What did you say you do?

Mar 4, 2014

#MOM Let Mom know you got there


 Lillian the Domestic Engineer
    Click above to visit Home Page

Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory

My Mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it - Mark Twain
The Mothers Heart is the child's schoolroom. - Henry Ward Beecher

#mom Let Mom know you got there safe. 

"Give me a call when you get there"  my Mom always insists. 

"Give me a call if you're going to be late " my Mom ever requests. 

"Give me a call if you're not coming at all"  my Mom forever commands. 
                           

 Show Respect              Call me.                  It's Common Courtesy  

Now that I wait at the end of a night for a sign of Son on the line,
where the absence of activity gives birth to the natural doubts that grow fear, now in my Parental mind.
I can rest with a little ease knowing that my kids have seen and heard the same expectations
coming straight from me.
Oh it's someone Texting me with the promise of a Hi Mom, it's me.
"I am warm and dry but won't be home tonight. Love you Mom. See you tomorrow. Goodnight!"
Now I lay me down to sleep knowing everything is alright....

 CALL ME. MOM Just thought I'd share this cool Web Site I found. Check it out! 
#MOM Click HERE

Mom






Personalize Polymer Clay

Lillian The Domestic Engineer

Welcome To Top Mommy Blogs - A Directory Of Hip Mamma Bloggers 
 Top Mommy Blog Click HERE to Vote for me
 Thank YOU!
Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory


More Polymer Play CLICK Here

As the familiar dough ball warms in the palm of my hand
I am moved to play..
Adding a second color of clay
moves the Polymer Clay to play!
With so much to make in Polymer Clay
I hope this Post moves you to play!


  Personalize!

Almost 30 years ago I was first introduced to Fimo Dough
 -as I then knew Polymer Clay to be.

For 30 years now I have extolled the virtues of this wonderful product.
Polymer Clay. It's colors, versatility, therapeutic abilities, it's affordability and it's availability.

No household should be without it!
It moves Children from 8-88 to play.



Baby Bling    
I lived on BC's West Coast, "The Rock" for many, many years. You know the story ..
When you get Lemons you make Lemonade. Well I got rocks! 
Needless to say, the rocks found their place as a base under the play of Polymer Clay. 
I thought them very effective.
 The weight of the rock played well with the plasticity of the Polymer. 
 The Baby Bling was gifted as a paper weight!


TheTooth Fairy

The Tooth Fairy was made with a little pouch
created in the dress for the teeth.
The hands and face are Polymer Clay
and the dressing  and wings were made from Fabric and Lace. 
The Star attached through a hole created in the hand, was a broken piece from an old decoration.
The body was glued into an old Brass Candle Holder over which the garment hung down.
It stood on the dresser beside the bed.



My Sisters are Angels!
A wonderful application for the "Effects" of the Polymer Clay.
The White Polymer had both a Translucent and a Glitter Effects to it.
The Red Polymer in the Flowers also had a Glitter Effect.
The Angel was built onto and then baked directly on the metal frame
which was once also a Candle Holder.
Lillian the Domestic Engineer Blogspot.ca


 Silent Nights
This was quite a compilation of creation.
I had purchased 12 of the Frames at the Dollar Store.
They had beautiful black velvet backs with stands.
The Chiri Paper back ground was the result of work I had created while at play with tape, paper and paint..
The lettering is old, old..did I say old.. Letra Set.
The letters are rubbed onto the desired surface from the transfer sheet.
The Angel Bling thing glued onto the glass itself  is formed of Polymer Clay before being adorned with jeweled bits, baked and attached to the up cycled jewel base at back.
The fabric Bow is created and tipped on with white glue.





Thank You for visiting Lillian the Domestic Engineer
If you like what you see, VOTE FOR ME. Thank You

Welcome To Top Mommy Blogs - A Directory Of Hip Mamma Bloggers


Mar 3, 2014

Sunshine, Sunshine

 
Sunshine and S.A.D.

 
Tis the top of a frigid winter morning in Alberta.
It may be cold out there but I do see the sun shining in
as it rises from the earths horizon.
Its light eventually floods in through the frosted window pane
 brightening the room and warming my soul.
The Sunshine means the world to me.
It improves my constitution and brightens my days.

I speak from experience.

I would take a sunny, crisp 40 below day over a dreary,
wet 5 above day, any day!
I struggled with some degree of S.A.D. for most of the
24 years that I lived on the wet ,West Coast of our great Country.



I now understand that even liquid sunshine hurts if you get too much.
Rain, rain go away

       
   S.A.D. does not require sunshine to bloom.
        It prospers in the rain!
 







 SAD link -
What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?
Many people experience seasonal changes in feelings of well being and in energy, sleep patterns and
eating patterns, to a greater or lesser degree. The winter blues or February blahs are common. But some people experience powerful changes to the degree that it becomes a form of clinical depression, called Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.)

Rain, Rain Go Away.

 Day after day after day of winter west coast rain would dampen my spirits and darken my days.
My frustrations would mount and my head would hang with my spirits as dampened as my mist soaked bangs.
Mold would grow in the pockets of my wet rain coat and my dearly loved Cowichan Sweater 
would begin to smell like wet goat!

Rain, Rain go away I need a little light my way!

Lillian the Domestic Engineer

Sunshine, Sunshine come my way..
 It may be cold outside today
but that's OK
I'm now living in sunshine country! 

My flowers and I bloom here all year round!

I plant my winter garden and decorate my soul with the flowers
I now paint on frosted windows.




Outside the wind howls and the snow does blow but my indoor garden looks beautiful against the white snow.
The Sun warms my face as I paint away, my sights set on the glory of another bright day.

Paint flowers inside today
CLICK  for Window Splashes and other colorful things

Sunshine, Sunshine.

 Paint on! 

I bloom in every season and think that
a little Goofy is great!

 


I do miss the mountains and the fresh ocean breeze
 but the sunshine means so much more to me! 


Alberta sunshine






                              Top Mommy Blogger
                        Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote Daily!   
                                    Visit Top Mommy Blogs To Vote For Me
                                                
                           
Powered By Blogger