#97 Tourist Turtle

Can you tell where we are?

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96 New Friends

My "me" turtle made some new friends today.  A pair of swans and a princess turtle!

:) Pin It

#95 Another Stab at Origami

One day I will figure this turtle out!  I don't know if you remember my first try.  I do just fine on steps 1-9, then on step 10 I rip it.  Obviously there is a serious flaw in my technique.  I'm going to see if there is a youtube video or something to show me that step.  But I definitely did a better job on this than I did on the first one.  The next try should be even better!

I placed my turtle by "step 10" on my instruction sheet.  There are only 12 steps in this.  I am so close!

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#94 Clay Turtle the second, Part II

I was looking at my drying clay turtle this morning and decided that his head looked wrong.  It has no shape.  I figured that it would be easy to fix.  Just add a little blob to it's head and shape it.  Well, it would seem that wet clay does not stick to dry clay.  I had a very difficult time doing this!  I have a feeling that when it is dry, my new addition will slip right off.  I'll just have to wait and see.  It certainly is a learning process.

Here is the shapeless head

And here is my repaired turtle.  I hope it will stay together. 

I am going to leave this little guy alone for the weekend and get back to it on Monday.  By then it should be totally dry and ready for me to try painting it.

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#93 Me. Represented in a Turtle

I almost always have black pants on and my absolute favourite hoodie is my pink one so that is the one I wear the most often and I have brown eyes.  Soooooo  I made myself a little turtle with a pink hoodie and black "pants" and gave her brown eyes.

Here she is with her hood down.....

And here she is with her hood up.

(I usually have my hood down, unless birds are flying overhead) Pin It

#92 Clay Turtle the second, Part 1

You may or may not remember back in February I tried to make a turtle out of modelling clay.  It didn't work out.
I am finally ready to try again.  This time, the clay is still a little sticky, but not nearly as bad as before.  I was able to get a reasonably good shape (trust me, this is pretty good for my skill level) this time.  I made this one MUCH smaller than my first attempt.  I hope it dries quickly, I have plans for this little guy.

I know it isn't very smooth, but the clay is still pretty sticky.  I did the best I could.  Besides, real turtles aren't perfectly smooth either! Pin It

#91 Pumpkin Turtle

My youngest daughter presented me with a really old mini pumpkin today.  It has been in her room since early October.  Before tossing it in the "green bin", I decided to make my turtle for today out of it.

And a top view.

I am still surprised that it wasn't a lot softer than it was!

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#90 Turtle Gadget

Mandy at Beads for Brains found this cute gadget and sent me the link.  It is virtual pet turtles. If I click the water, it feeds them.  I don't think it does much else though.   If I installed it correctly, it should be on the right side of my blog, near the top of the page.  I'm not sure how long it will keep my interest, but it is awfully cute.

See it, right beside the post in the photo.  I hope it shows up for everyone, not just me! Pin It

#89 Another Ice Turtle

Today's turtle is a different ice turtle.  This time I used the mould that I had used for my jell-o turtle.

The idea was to float the turtle in a bowl of green water and it would look really awesome.

Here is the turtle.  My 17-year-old called it the "Michael Jackson of turtles" because it's nose fell off. 

I guess since the mould wasn't really made for making floating ice turtles, it doesn't make pefectly balanced ice turtles.  But it was a fun little project. 

:)

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#88 Ice, Ice Turtle

Today's turtle was Hubby's idea.  He also held the 'spotlight' while I took the photo.

Here it is, facing to the right.

And here is is facing the camera.

Did I get the song stuck in your head too? Pin It

#87 Shoelace Turtle

I was breaking down the box Hubby's workoots came in and was I ever surprised to discover that the boots came with an extra set of laces!  I've never seen that before.  So I made a turtle out of them.  I've left the turtle out for Hubby to discover.

It actually turned out better than I expected!

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#86 Mousse Turtle

It's a moose.  No, it's a turtle, made of mousse!  Haha.  Sorry, just feeling a little silly this evening.  I wanted to edit some moose antlers onto this , but don't know how.

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#85 Eggie Planter

The girls and I want sunflowers.  So we are trying (again) to grow them from seed.  The last couple of times we tried, something ate the seedlings so we gave up.  This year we are trying again!  I read somewhere (probably a cheesy women's magazine -I love those) that a good planter is an empty, clean egg shell.  Apparently we can plant the whole thing, shell and all, into the ground and it will nourish our little plants as the shell decomposes.  So here we are.  With seventeen egg shells/seeds we are bound to get a couple of nice flowers.  Can you tell which ones are mine?  I used my food writers because nowhere on a Sharpie does it say "non-toxic" and we are hoping to get some seeds to share with the gerbil.
Wish us luck!!

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#84 Reflection

Today my plan was to draw a turtle on the steamy mirror after my shower.  I figured I would do a quick practice run on the little mirror first.  I changed the angle of the little mirror a little too enthusiastically and spun it right around.  Gotta love happy accidents!  When I did that, a fantastic reflection of my turtle showed up on the wall. The photos don't show it as well as I would have  liked, but I can't exactly go back take another one now.  I had to stop taking photos because my lens was steaming up.  This was the best one.

Although you can't see the "steam drawing", here is the mirror I drew on.

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#83 Embroidered Pillow

Here is the project that I was working on a few days ago when my sewing machine and I got into a fight.  Once my machine and I made up, I sewed up a little white pillow and an off-white cover for it.  Things tend to get furry from the cat and the dog here, so I wanted the cover to be fully washable.  My zippers need a little bit of work (you can see it at the bottom of the pillow) but all in all, I think I did a pretty good job. This pillow is very small, approximately 10"x10".  I found the turtle picture when I did a search for "turtle tattoos".  I thought tattoos would give me simple turtles with few lines. (Oddly, a colouring book picture of 'Gus-Gus', the fat mouse from Disney's Cinderella  popped up in this search.  I never did figure out why.)  Transferring the picture to the pillow was a bit of a challenge.  I hadn't thought of how I would do that.  I ended up just doing my best drawing of it in pencil directly on the fabric.  I didn't realize it would take as long as it did to do the embroidery.  I have a new respect for people who embroider now.

It is hard to see, but I even 'signed' it on the bottom right corner.

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#82 Harry Potter Nailpolish Turtle

You get what you pay for.

One dollar nailpolish does not paint as well as four dollar nailpolish.  I've never paid higher than that, but I can personally attest to at least that dollar amount. 

In honour of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part one)  being released on DVD today I thought I would paint a turtle on my nail and add a lightning bolt to it's shell.  Sounds easy, doesn't it?
Nope. 
First try I used copper paint over my salmon coloured nails, thinking that the colours would look good together. 
They don't. 
I didn't even try a lightning bolt on that one, it was too ugly.  So I tried again.  This time I used my good black polish for the turtle (and the turtle looks good!) and some of the cheap white polish for the lightning bolt.  I even practised the bolt on my ring finger first. 
Now I have a turtle with a big ol' smear on it.
So I tried again on my middle finger thinking that a larger canvas may help my situation.  This time I used the white to make the turtle since I seem to have better control over the black.  It is the best I am getting today.

I am still working on my sewing project.  It isn't difficult, but it is taking me wayyyyyyy longer than I thought it would.  Hopefully tomorrow.

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#81 Ring: Attempt 2

I tried to make another ring today.  I don't think I like it.  It feels weird and it is kind of scratchy.  Plus it is on memory wire that is a little too large for my finger.  I tried to 'tighten the circle' which worked for about five minutes but being memory wire, it has gone back to it's original size.  I'm going to wear it for a while and see if I get used to it.

My sewing project will hopefully get done tomorrow.   Today was/is a busy day. Pin It

#80 Yet Another Nailpolish Turtle

My sewing machine and I had a falling out today.  It was mad at me, I was mad at it.  Then Hubby came home from work and fixed everything.  All it wanted was a little oil, he came home to find me in front of the machine, manual in hand, saying "I don't understand where it wants me to put any oil!"  He took over and everything has been working smoothly ever since.   Except...  I didn't get the turtle intended for today finished.  So I had to opt for quick. I recently got my hands on some new nailpolish with a teeny-tiny brush (from a dollar store!) so I gave my nail a sparkly turtle tonight.  Hopefully, I'll be able to finish the other turtle tomorrow. Oh, and if you are wondering, no, I wasn't smart enough to watch where to put the oil for next time.

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#79 American Sign Language Turtle

Today I decided to post something that I've been planning to post "some day" since I began this project. I am posting it today because I've been thinking of it since discovering Tricia's blog Habitual Hands, where she posts a hand-themed photo daily.
I have a friend who learned American Sign Language a few years ago.  She taught me and my daughters several words. Please, thank you, the alphabet, numbers one to ten, and very important words like milk, pop, cookie, cat, dog and of course, turtle.
I am almost positive that I am remembering this right.  What the picture can't show is that you wiggle your thumb a little from side to side.

Naturally, my oldest daughter walked into the room as I was posing in front of the camera with a mirror set up behind it and the timer going.....    sigh

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#78 Turtle Necklace

Today I finished the necklace that matches my bracelet and earrings.  My sock monkey, Wybee, wanted to model the finished product.  He normally sports a more manly red scarf.

Here is a closer-up.

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#77 Matching Turtle Earrings

Today I made some earrings to match yesterday's bracelet. 
I flipped one over to take the photo so you can see the little turtle belly.  Tomorrow we shall see if my necklace idea will work.

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#76 Turtle Bracelet

Today I made a bracelet with some beads that I got the other day.  I still have three beads left, two for a pair of earrings and I am going to try to make a necklace with the last one.

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#75 Bracelet Toggle Clasp

I made myself a bracelet that has a very special clasp.  It is a turtle!  I just got the clasp today.   I'm glad that I waited to use these beads because I just love the amethyst, so that combined with the totally awesome clasp makes for a new favourite bracelet.  :)

Here is what it looks like closed.

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#74 Blackboard Turtle

My children take turns emptying the dishwasher.  The current system is:  After you empty the dishwasher, put your initial on the calendar.  The next time the dishwasher needs emptied I check the calendar to see who did it last.  If you forget to put your initial on the calendar, too bad.  I can't see it, so it didn't happen and it is your turn again.  That is how I get them to remember to put their initial down.  It is a system that works very well except for the fact that my calendar is covered in initials.  When I discovered this cool peel and stick chalkboard stuff I knew that I wanted to use it for a turtle.  My oldest suggested using it as a dishwasher reminder.  Good idea.
Here is the turtle stuck up inside the dishes cupboard right above the dishwasher.

I covered the chalk with paper to keep our hands clean and had to make it turtle-y.  I also had to make sure that the chalk worked so I drew some eyes on the turtle.

Then I remembered that these are my  kids and they are very silly so I decided to add a reminder.  The sticky I added says:  "Note:  "me" is NOT an acceptable answer."   I'm sure that there will still be some silly answers.  This might be fun!

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#73 Mate for the Turtle Formerly Known as Earring

Why wait?  Today I used the second earring to make a mate for yesterday's turtle.  Is it possible to make a beaded turtle look feminine?  It is if you use pale purple!  At least in my opinion it is.  I tried pink, it didn't match well.

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#72 The Turtle Formerly Known as 'Earring'

Imagine my happy surprise when I checked the mail today to find a letter from my Mom.  :)
Inside that letter was a pair of earrings that she had acquired but didn't love.  Mom saw turtle potential in the polished stone bead and sent them to me!  I immediately got to work turning one of them into a turtle.  I think I will make a (different coloured) mate for this turtle with the other earring.

Funny how lighting changes a picture.  these were taken on the same background.  The first one in daylight and the second at night, using the overhead light.  The first photo shows the background colour best, but the second shows the turtle's colour the best.  Strange.   

Hubby thought an overhead view was needed to show this turtle's proportions and what a great shape the shell has.

Thanks Mom!

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#71 Cell Phone

I am highly unmotivated today to really sit down and make a turtle.  I couldn't even figure out how to make one out of my dinner.  So today I am pointing out that even my cell phone has a turtle on the wallpaper.

My charm is still on my phone, it just positioned itself perfectly out of the photo.  :)  I haven't lost it! Pin It

#70 Failed turtle

Today I tried to shrink a turtle.  I know that styrofoam can be used like shrink plastic.  We had the last of the Chinese food tonight and had these containers so I thought I would try a different shrinky-dink type of turtle.
Everything was going fine at first.  I cut the container up and made it look a little like a turtle. I drew eyes on it.  I think it's face looks a little like a duck, but I was hoping that shrinking it would help that.  It didn't.

So into the toaster oven it went.  It was twisting and shrinking as they always do except this time it wasn't flattening out.  I don't know if that ridge along the shell was the problem of if it just managed to stick to itself.  I tried to gently shape it while it was still warm but it was really stuck to itself so I ended up with this:

My husband is still  laughing.

I did use my turtle potholders though.  I have learned about the importance of seam allowances making these, but I still like them so I haven't bothered making a new pair. 

But don't let my oldest daughter use them.  She will graze a burner with them and singe the poor turtle's little foot. 

 

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#69 Computer Desktop Turtle

Kind of lame, I know.  But actually quite fitting for the day that I had today.  It took over six hours to set up an "old" computer for our oldest daughter.  We wiped it clean and started from factory settings so my day was spent updating and installing programs.  There is still more to be done, but she can do that herself.  Because of that, updating my computer's wallpaper is very fitting. I took the photo too, about two weeks ago.  This is one of my daughter's turtles.

:) Pin It

#68 Glass Stone Turtle

I found these nifty items that were called "Glass Stones" the other day.  As soon as I saw them I thought that they looked like turtle shells.  I made this guy out of a glass stone and some other items that I had lying around the house.  It is not my favourite turtle, but not bad either. There were several of these "stones" in the package so I may have an army of these turtles once I find other materials to make bodies out of.

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