kro designs

In order to feel more in control of my work and life balance, I'm trying a new system. In the past I've used just an old notebook that the kids used for school, post it notes, you get the idea. Problem is that IT DOESN'T WORK FOR ME! I'm always forgetting that one thing when I go to the grocery store or not actually achieving some daily work goals I've set for myself. Other things like answering e-mails, class proposals etc. all find their way into my day instead of actually making anything. Which for an artist is kinda important. So....I put together a little spread sheet to help me . Now everything is in one place. Home Book

This week I start teaching a weekly class at The Minnetonka Center for the Arts about Wet and Dry Felting and wanted to let you in on a little bit of it too. This step by step tutorial teaches you how to make felted balls that will be a component in a necklace which I will show later on. Start with 1/2 oz. corriedale wool. I get mine at one of two places, The Textile Center shop and The Fibers Studio . You can also pick it up on Etsy . This time I am using this variegated dyed one purchased at The Textile Center . The corriedale at The Fiber Studio is a better quality wool but it only comes in solid colors. Trade off, I suppose. The soap is from Kiss My Face , a pure olive oil soap. Fill a bowl with water and place the soap in it and mush it around. I like to do it this way until the soapy water opaque and slightly yellow then I take the bar of soap out. When wet felting if you fill your bowl with warm or hot water it speeds up the process. I want beginners to use room temp water (so...

"What did you do on Winter Break?" We read. We snuggled. We unwrapped. We wrote Thank yous. What did you do?

My boys are always asking me "What's for Dinner?" And the last thing they say to me while tucked in bed at night is "What's for Breakfast?" I cannot keep them fed enough. I had heard that this happens with boys, constant eating, standing at the fridge eating, whining when there is nothing to eat in sight but it didn't hit home until recently. They are "Mad Hungry"! And when I saw this book, "Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys" and read "you should never be without bacon" I knew the author was my kind of cook! To combat so many meal related questions, I've turned the side of my fridge into food central. My youngest calls it, "Mom's Diner" (which it really seems to be) always thinking of the next meal to prepare. It describes every meal, every sauce, every side dish (but sadly, from their point of view, not dessert) for the entire week. Unannounced to them, tucked away I have a monthly calendar which has meals...