Sweet Summer

Summer is here in all it's glory, although the official first day of summer...isn't until June 20. Can you believe it? The weather is lovely! I guess some hot spring weather is just what we need. After all, we had a very mild winter, so I guess Spring is just following suit. And if it's 90 degrees in the middle of spring...what about the middle of Summer? :) We shall see! For now I will enjoy today, which the forecast says will be "a high of 79 degrees Fahrenheit." And right between the UV index (which it says at 9 is "very high", anybody for tan?) and the time of sunrise (5:37 am), the page reads: "Snowfall: 0 in." Yup, that's my kind of day, since summer is my favorite season and the winter snows aren't my favorite. And by the way, the moon is currently a waxing gibbous. :) Weather pages are very informative. 

         So, we are in such a streak of lovely weather...this blog is due some pool pictures. :) My little brother (age 1 year and 8 months) went swimming twice now in his little blue pool. So here are some pictures from both occasions.

Yeah ,we know all that he's 100% cheesy. :)

 Haley...

 ...she braves the ice-cold sprinkler.

 My other little brothers (one of which is 2 inches taller than me) riding through the sprinkler.

 Life is great...

 We all need some sisterly affection...

 ...and a duck.

What a novelty: a hose! 

 "Wow...this is just...too cool!"

Older Brother gets caught in the freezing spray.

 Many more fun summer days to come, I think!

Have yourself the wonderfullest summer ever.

Hope in the Darkness

Violin Challenges-No. 3

Here is the song that I am currently laboring over. :) It feels like I've been on this one for such a long time, and I will be on it for years. Like my music teacher always says, compositions like these "take a lifetime." Smiles. Speaking of a challenge! The Gavotte en Rondeau, composed by Bach, is part of the Sonata VI. 

And, as usual, when I play this song it does not (unfortunately) sound like this clip, but I'll keep working at it.   Music is for a lifetime. Love it.    

DIY: Aging Paper with Coffee

 So old-looking paper is oh-so-cute and vintage. Since, however, I don't have a couple years to wait around and let it naturally age, here is a way to create aged paper within a couple hours, ready for use for crafts, letters, and artsy projects of any kind.

What you need: 

Boiling water. I'm not sure that you need it to be boiling or even hot, but this is what I do. 

Instant coffee

A plain piece of white paper 

A low-rimmed pan big enough to accommodate your soon-to-be-vintage paper.  

 Fill the pan with the boiling water. Fill it full enough to nicely cover the paper.

 Pour in some instant coffee. The water needs to be pretty dark to darken the paper enough. 

 Put in the paper and allow to soak. I think mine was in for a little over an hour.

Put it on a drying rack to dry. 

Here is the finished product!

I'm not sure what those black marks are from, and the edges did get a few small rips, but hey, it's supposed to be old, right? :) I ironed the paper after it dried, to try to flatten out the drying rack marks. 

The reason I used coffee is because tea staining hasn't shown itself to be dark enough for me. This way of staining also doesn't make the paper really really dark. 

For a tutorial for making the paper even darker and older looking, click here.

Also in this tutorial you will learn how to take out the coffee smell.

Of course, coffee smell is so yummy...

Have fun! 

P.S. This is the type paper I used in my post about Writing and Folding a Regency Style Letter.

Little Mr. Goofy

What he's doing is beyond me. (Dancing, maybe?) :)

It must be, you know, little boy stuff. 

Smiles. 

Oh, pretty!

 Check out these gorgeous flowers running across the table and cascading down the end! So lovely!

Driving...(Smiles)

 Yes, I got my permit! 

So...I am currently learning the fine art of driving. :)