Jiggywinks!

Are you new to the world of community theater? Here are some tips to help you become the actor everyone loves to work with. All these lessons I have learned myself through making mistakes or watching someone else do so. So, from one newbie to another: Arrive Early. I have my own struggles with this rule—I always seem to be 3-5 minutes late for everything! If that’s what happens to you, leave half an hour early. If you're going to be late, text the designated manager/director and give them a reason and an ETA. Shoot to get there 15-20 minutes early, then you have time to go back for your script, car keys, charger, water bottle, etc. Speaking of…. Bring A Water Bottle . This is just a good practice. You don’t have to get up and leave if you’re thirsty, and miss out on instruction or disturb those trying to focus. Eleven million points to Gyffindor if it’s eco-friendly! No Open Containers. A personal rule of mine. That includes the little straw-tumblers. If you can

Where to start? Well--Mr. Spenalzo ended up in the ticket booth for a few days, until so many people complained of jump scares Denise stuck him in the storage closet (with a warning sign on the door--"For Those of The Faint of Heart--Mr. 'Gotcha' Spenalzo Resides Within"). Farewell, my child! My husband's cousin's girlfriend is having a baby, and I was invited to the shower. I couldn't make it, so I made them a lovely knit baby bonnet. Okay, so it's not the most attractive piece of work I've done--but I learned so many new skills while I was doing it! #fearless Then Thanksgiving happened, which is when I was going to give them the baby bonnet. I unfortunately was sick, so I sent along a couple pies with Ben to the event. The pies made it in where they were well received. Ben forgot the present in the trunk, so I guess I'll have to give it to them at Christmas. Also that weekend, we sent out Christmas cards!   I finally got a

            So I opened Facebook today, and found out they put my baby boy in the foyer of the theatre guild for a Halloween display! I'm such a proud mama <3. If you're anywhere in the Monroe Wisconsin area, stop in sometime to say hi!

A year or two ago, I made some infinity scarves out of skeins of wool. I had one skein of each color, so this seemed like a good way to get rid of the yarn. This year, I had one skein left, and I wanted to get rid of it. But I don't like infinity scarves! So, I knit it wider, and made a cowl. Size 15 needles, bulky yarn. I knit it to be wider than my neck is long, and it turned out pretty well. All it took was a couple hours knitting during rehearsal, then binding off and using the tail to sew the ends together and weave in. I wore it to rehearsal again today, and I was quite pleased with the result. Cost: Free. 

About 6 weeks ago, I went to the local Theatre Guild's prop/costume sale. I came away with a couple vintage aprons and some costume jewelry. They got my phone number. A couple weeks later, I got a phone call from Denise Plantenburg, their resident superhero. Could I make a dead body? They are doing Arsenic and Old Lace , one of my favorite movies that was a Broadway smash before it hit the big screen.  After a lot of Googling, I ended up with the proposal of wrapping a live body in duct tape, then stuffing it with rags, newspaper, and kitty litter for weight. Denise herself was my model, and a very good sport as I alternately suffocated her and mauled her extremities with a pair of dull scissors in a desperate attempt to get the mess off of her before she toppled over.  What then did I have? What looked like a pair of out-size frog legs and a very stiff coat.  I stuffed the shell ( necropants ?) with some rags, bags of kitty litter in the feet, and newspaper in th

When I moved into my own apartment and married, friends and family and family friends of both Ben and I blessed us with pretty much everything we could ever need or want in the way of household furnishings. Among the gifts were my parents' old sofa and loveseat, originally given to my little sister but removed from storage and into my living room as a gift from her :) They're lovely and in excellent condition. However, I needed something to pull the living room away from the grey sofa, brown carpet, brown'n'grey tablecloth that covers the beat-up coffee table, nondescript beige/grey walls, and the beige vertical blinds. It was all very nice, but in the words of my husband, "it looks like a hospital waiting room". So, Ben and I went to Wal-Mart and bought a couple yards of fabric, and I bought a 4 cheap pillow forms on Amazon. I measured the forms seam-to-seam, and cut out squares with a seam allowance, rounding the corners with a mixing bowl. A week and a

I finally have my plate wall! Most of them are the $1.25 variety from Goodwill, but there are a couple that were given to me and are a teensy bit more special. In the end, there aren't many that would inspire my heart to break if they ever did. I hung them using these disc plate hangers  from England (shipped from the business in Florida). They are excellent! Just follow the directions and let them dry thoroughly, and they'll be secure. I had a friend try to use command strips for her plates and a couple of them fell. No thanks! Of course, she couldn't put holes in her wall, and I could. Boy can I ever! As you can see, there are a couple holes in the wall left by the other tenant. I think I'll wait to ask the landlord to fill those until after we've finished hanging everything. My apologies for the lighting--our kitchen is essentially a cave, and the lighting is never great even on the sunniest of days.  On the left is a saucer from a little set my

My newest couple projects that I finished are a fall wreath for the door and a knit beanie for my husband. The beanie in particular is a project "of great vintage", as it's one I started for LAST fall. Somehow, in between moving and getting married and getting bored, I let it sit in various spots before I broke down and spent the remaining hour required to finish it. Come on, really? Also, I replaced my summer/spring wreath (which I made out of clearance flowers and a cheap  embroidery hoop for about $5) with a slightly more expensive one from Dollar Tree materials ($7 or $8). This one was so easy to do. I just wound the garlands around the wire frame until it looked bushy enough, and I shrugged my shoulders and said "yeah, I'll glue that". I find projects are always more easy if you're less picky. Also, glue guns are a gift from God and I don't know how I managed without one. After burning myself on the tassel banner for my wedding (pic

Well, last week I made an impulse purchase at Wal-Mart: an ice cream churn! Not fancy, but it gets the job done. I used this recipe  from fellow blogger Amy at Chew Out Loud. Pinterest is the bomb... I picked this recipe because I didn't need to cook it ahead of time, therefore I could churn it that same night instead of having to chill it for a day. I churned it for about half an hour, then stuck it into pyrex to let it cure in the freezer. It looked like ice cream... it smelled like ice cream... Next day at lunch--ice creamy deliciousness!

So, I got married. And moved. Into an apartment that did not come furnished with a piano. Fortunately, we're on the first floor right next to the front door, so it wasn't too difficult to move the piano I found from the giver's house (two blocks away) to my living room. Just one thing--the piano is a 1956 Everett, used to belong to the School District of Beloit, and came to me third- or forth-hand. There was animal dander, hair, pencil graffitti, and just a few decades of finger grease on it. First I washed it twice with rags and dish soap. Then, I took an old toothbrush and vinegar water and scrubbed the keys--they felt so much better afterwards! No more sticky! Two weeks later, my sister came over to help me paint. The day before, I had the piano tuner over, and he fixed it up and told me what parts can come off. So, I took out the panels and vacuumed inside (lotsa dust bunnies) and taped off whatever I didn't want painted. All together, I took off the front a

     Well well, what's my excuse this time for my protracted absence from a blog only a couple people glance at? I'm lazy. And newly married. But mostly lazy. Projects done? I have: embroidered a dresser scarf (Christmas present for my then-fiance's grandmother) knit a toddler cowl and hat set (knit the hat twice after making it too small the first time--I was working without a pattern) knit another men's scarf for my friend Justin maid of honor for an August '17 wedding, and de-factor wedding planner wedding coordinator/planner for an December '17 wedding, (with 5 weeks notice). I was the one to lock up the reception building when we left. Made wedding scrapbooks for the afore-mentioned friends Planned and coordinated my own wedding (June '18!) (technically) finished the pink afghan I was restarting last year (see below) hired someone to make me my 60s bathrobe and 40s nightgown/bedjacket combo--ain't nobody got time for that! made a black