Planet Nice Crafts

I hope everyone is well and ready for some HEAT. Temperatures are soaring. Which means tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and melons will just burst forth in growth. We had a nice Spring in the Chicago area – a little coolish so it’ll be good to get things growing. With the warming temperatures come allergies, my nose has been sore for about a month now or I don’t know maybe longer. It’s not too horrible and I am able to sleep well at night with NyQuil Cold and Flu – powerful stuff and only one dose is required. Warm weather had brought on seasonal cleaning activities. The winter coats, hats, scarves, mittens, gloves, comforters, and other blankets are laundered and stored. The garage is partially swept. The bike is slowly coming together. Condo association meetings are occurring regularly. Review of contracts and other documents to bring change are progressing as fast as my bandwidth can manage. Good thing is that a few hours were carved out to finish sewing the purple top. The finis...

There are flowers blooming, birds chirping, and quite a bit of craft time.  Each of the snowmen and the battle gnome had their wash paint completed and glaze (Woodland Scenics’ Scenic Cement ™ ) and glitter applied. Here are the final project photos, no more words required. Another project has been re-started. This purple linen top was originally sewn by me to go with the purple linen pants that were altered in Consistency! (November 12, 2021 – I can’t believe it has been that long).  The Before Photo The pants went from unused to being a wardrobe staple. I was trying to do a repeat with this top. I don’t remember the origin of the idea to try to make it into a wrap top (the bad thing about infrequent blog posts) – perhaps the voluminous material available? This New Look pattern, N6700, has been my inspiration.  The color is a challenge, its not the best for me and my pale skin but the pants have been a great neutral. Because I wanted a top that is less blah, I have used...

Hello Everyone! Well, the theme so far for 2023 is Tying Up Loose Ends. Projects ranging from home repair to tree trimming to sewing are being completed - some have lingered since 2021. How do I feel about this? I'm glad progress has been made and there is so much left to do. First up, sewing. Two promised Christmas presents from 2021 were completed and sent off in January. The first was a coaster set made with fabric already in possession but a fancy variegated polyester thread was purchased new along with a tear away stabilizer. I had never used stabilizer before - it was suggested for the zig-zag stitch edge. There is water soluble stabilizer too - the tear away was the only available at the brick-and-mortar store. If you look real close you may see bits of remaining stabilizer but I let it go. The coasters are reversible so that is pretty neat. And the great thing about the zig-zag stitch, you can go over previous stitching no problem if for example, an edge was missed. The imp...

Hello Everyone! Three months have passed but after reviewing August's post, the conclusion is activity here at Planet Nice Crafts has been incredibly consistent. The precious free time has been dominated by garden activities. The garden will be the focus today along with bird and sewing updates.  Here is the 2021 harvest report: Watermelons: five (3 medium, 2 small) were ready late August through mid-September and they were fantastic. This was the first time growing and the plants were low maintenance because of more resistance to cucumber beetle havoc. Cucumbers: better than 2020, but could have used more! I lost the plants late August due to the beetles. Tomatoes, peppers, ground cherries, and tomatillos: very good. All did well until the bugs and cooler temperatures got them in late October. Beans: disappointing, affected by aphids and both crops (Spring and late Summer planted) died too early. Pumpkins: three (1 medium and 2 small) harvested on Halloween. Kale: too much a...

  Welcome Back! I know it has been more than a couple days.. On to the actual craft part. Here is an updated photo of the embroidery for the earring box. It is about half finished. At first, I was really unsure but I think the colors and the textures make this interesting. I foresee substantial patience being required when covering the box top with the fabric and then doing the final fitting to the bottom. I finally tried a recipe that has been in my recipe folder for 10 years or so. It was for Grasshopper Pie by America's Test Kitchen. I don't remember why I originally put it in my folder, maybe I was having a pie fascination at that time too. It was a success and better than the apple cider vinegar pie in April for a couple reasons. The crust is made of mint oreo cookies. The filling is basically whipped cream so not recommended if you have health restrictions - Planet Nice Crafts wants to promote good health on the blog, not bad! To obtain the grasshopper, you add crème de ...

The weather during July 2020 in Chicago has been a textbook example of summer. Lots of heat, humidity, and sun – short on rain, but not too bad. The garden plot has been basking in this weather and much prefers the dryness to the excessive rainfall of 2019. The day after the last blog post was the first day of the Poppy Show. The first bloom was observed June 29 and for about two weeks, the flowers were magnificent. They only last a day or two before the petals fall. As maybe you could see in the above picture but definitely below – the bees thought they were magnificent too.  After the blooms, I let the stalks turn brown. I brought a few home for photos and to collect the seeds for baking. The seeds could be collected by shaking as they disperse naturally through the vents on the top. I probably waited a little too long as I think the maximum number of seeds can be collected before the vents open up completely. You can also open the pods up – th...