Make Decorative Binder Clips with Mod Podge - Day 307 of 365, Tutorial Tuesday

Sometimes my husband sees something in my sewing room that he likes.

He saw a clipboard I made and wanted one. I made him his own.

He saw a kids' quilt I made with baseball fabric and wanted it. I made him his own.

He saw a grocery sack holder I made and wanted it. I gave it to him.

But the binder clips from today's tutorial? Yeah, not so much. I was excited about them. I use tons of big black binder clips at work all the time, and I thought maybe my hubby did too. So I told him I'd make him some. I could do star fabric, or red, white and blue, or some patriotic fabric. But he just laughed at me. I think he thought they were the stupidest things he'd ever seen.

I don't care. I like them. I'm using them. And I'm going to make more of them.

Supplies:

• Small scraps of fabric
• Binder clips
• Mod Podge®
• Brush
• Scissors
• Something to protect your work surface

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Click on the video for step-by-step how to instructions to make these decorative binder clips from fabric scraps and Mod Podge:

Day 306 of 365

Next week is my mom's birthday. I always struggle with what to get her, especially with her birthday being so close to Christmas. But this year it was easier.

She likes to gamble. When she lived in California she went to the Indian Casinos a lot and made her way to Reno quite a bit, too. She went so frequently that she always got offers for free rooms, but since she moved back to Idaho she hasn't been able to use them. She has been itching to take a trip down to Jackpot. Actually itching probably isn't a strong enough word for her desire to get some gambling in.

So today I'm picking up my mom and taking her on a casino jaunt for her birthday present. She'll get to gamble to her heart's content for the next two days. Since I still have money leftover from my trip with my husband, I'll get to gamble a bit, too. But I also have leftover work that I didn't get finished over the Christmas break, so I'll be bringing my laptop and papers and folders and files and notebooks along with me for a work session.

Speaking of leftovers, I finished up my flower quilt. Yay! 5 years late, though.

Day 305 of 365

I almost started a new sewing project today, but I stopped myself. I made a conscious decision not embark on any new sewing projects right now.

I have plenty of leftovers.

Leftover, unfinished projects from years back fill a basket in my sewing room. The basket has bugged me on a daily basis year after year. Every day I sew I see that basket. Every day I sew I put that basket out of my mind.

But not today. Today I picked up one of those unfinished projects (my favorite one of the bunch) and got to work on it. Finally after a few years I now have the applique part finished.

With any New Year's Day luck I might be able to get it quilted before the day is over. And this one is going nowhere. It's staying right here with me to hang on a wall somewhere.

Day 304 of 365

I'm not one for New Year's parties. I'm not one for New Year's resolutions either.

Just looking back over 2011 I could never have predicted how my life would have changed.

A year ago this week I had yet another surgery. A lengthy one-armed recovery at my daughter's apartment. Months of even more physical therapy. When the therapy stopped, I counted. Thanks to the back issues and surgeries, 17 of the previous 18 months were spent in physical therapy.

I started a blog. I've been writing and taking a picture every day.

I was able to return to work part-time. I promised myself I wouldn't overwork myself but I did.

I sewed like crazy for kids' and military causes. I did more sewing this year than all my other years combined. When given a choice on my birthday of a new sewing machine or a heck of a lot of quilt batting, I chose the batting. I started filming how-to videos of crafts and cookies and posted them on You Tube.

We grew a vegetable garden and I was able to can and freeze things from the garden. Thanks to my two new post-surgery shoulders I could hang up my laundry on the clothes line for the first time in a couple years. I spent a lot of time sitting on the patio watching momma hummingbird feed her baby.

I had to start giving myself extremely expensive shots to combat arthritis. My hair started falling out. My arthritis didn't get better. I rode an exercise bike every single day. And then I stopped biking and started walking. And then I tried exercise videos, and eventually I stopped exercising at all.

I stayed up late with my daughter taking pictures of lightning. I traveled to the casino by myself and spent the night. I hated it and came home. I started riding the bus to the casino for the day and liked it much better, well enough to go back a couple more times.

I de-cluttered and then stopped. Then I started up again. Then I bought new things and got rid of some old things.

I realized some people are interested in what I'm doing and what I'm saying. Over 15,000 people have visited here so far this year. (A sincere thank you to those who have been here for the sometimes bumpy ride.)

There would have been no way to predict where I would be right now. So no resolutions, no promises, and no hopes for the new year. Just something I found when I was cleaning up some papers this morning. I have no idea when I cut it out or where it came from, but it obviously struck a chord with me then and it still does now.

I'll be going into the New Year with this in mind.

And to you, I hope you have a safe and joyous New Year.