Karyn Johnson

Words in Bloom: A blog about life, change, and finding the joy in every day

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about

I’m a content marketing and copy editor who also dabbles in photography. Also an enthusiastic hiker, avid reader, cook, wine lover, coffee addict, dog mommy, wife, native Ohioan, and diehard Buckeyes fan. Not necessarily in that order.
  • Snowman ornament craft

    Snowman ornament craft

    As I gazed at a rather large empty space on our smaller Christmas tree, inspiration struck. And that’s pretty odd because I normally can’t think of ideas on my own for crafts. But there it was — a fully formed idea of what I needed to do to fill that spot.

    The result:

    What Materials I Used

    • Regular and wide-mouth mason jar lids (not the outer rings — just the lids)
    • Craft paint (white and orange)
    • Mod Podge (I used matte)
    • Foam brushes
    • A fine-tipped paintbrush
    • Glue gun and glue sticks
    • Black permanent marker (for the eyes and smile)

    Of course, the snowman can be decorated with whatever materials are to hand: I found a jar of extra buttons belonging to clothing I probably no longer own. They were mismatched — so much the better (as long as they’re the same size). I even picked up some sticks for the arms since I have an ample supply of those — I later opted not to use them.

    I had to go to Dollar Tree for the felt and pom poms for the scarf and hat. Believe me when I say that you can’t expect to pop in there quickly the weekend before Christmas.

    Now, I didn’t think about typing up a tutorial at the time I made these, so I don’t have photos of every step. But here I go …

    How I Made It

    1. After covering the kitchen table with craft paper, I grabbed a foam brush, squirted a dollop of paint on each lid, and started spreading. (Craft paint does not adhere well to these lids, by the way.)

    2. I allowed the first coat to dry for a few hours, then applied a second coat of paint. Because it didn’t adhere well, some of the silver showed through even after the second coat. But I liked the look. My main goal was to ensure the branding on the lids was completely covered up.

    3. When the second coat of paint was dry, I used the fine-tipped paint brush to paint on a carrot nose and the permanent marker to draw eyes and a smile.

    4. When the nose was dry, I sealed everything with a coat of Mod Podge. I hope this helps prevent the paint from flaking off. I added the buttons just after I brushed on the Mod Podge — they stuck, for the most part. I had to hot glue one button later on.

    5. While waiting for the Mod Podge to dry (roughly 30 minutes), I started cutting the scarves and hat shapes out of the piece of felt. I did it freehand, though in hindsight, the hats could have been cut a little wider.

    6. Once the Mod Podge was dry, it was time to hot glue. (And give myself a couple of blisters, apparently.) I glued the heads to the bodies. Then I folded up the piece of felt I cut for each scarf to give it some thickness, using a little hot glue to hold the folds in place. I glued a scarf on each snowman (and snipped some fringes on the end), followed by the hat. The final touches were the band at the bottom of the hat and the pom pom on top.

    7. Once the three snowmen were assembled and the hot glue was dry, I glued a length of cooking twine to the back of one to hang on the tree. The two remaining snowmen had bamboo skewers glued on the back so they could be used as plant stakes. Even houseplants need a festive touch this time of year!

    Et voila!

    Since I burned myself with the hot glue, I decided the snowmen didn’t need arms. I just wanted to be done. HAHA.

  • Christmas Puzzles

    Christmas Puzzles

    I used to have a puzzle page on this website. At one of my previous jobs, I created puzzles for the monthly newsletter. And I shared them with friends, as well. I enjoyed creating them.

    I haven’t done it in quite some time, but I still have these puzzles archived here on WordPress. So here are two Christmas-themed printables I’m sharing now for your enjoyment.

    saint-nicholas-cryptogramDownload
    holiday-cookies-and-candies-word-searchDownload

  • Trail Cam Funny

    Sometimes, you get nothing interesting on your trail cam. And sometimes, you hit paydirt.

  • Exciting Update!

    Exciting Update!

    I mentioned recently that in addition to launching my writing and editing business this year, I also joined Fora as a travel advisor. I finished my certification training last week and took the test. Got the results today.

    Click the image below if I can help you plan and book your next vacation. You can also follow my travel advisor Instagram account if you want news on the latest travel exclusives and deals.

    Aside from this, I’m not going to use this blog to promote myself as a travel advisor. Just FYI. This is just some exciting news I’m sharing here. I have a mailing list and the Instagram account for anyone who wants to keep up with what I’m doing with Fora.

  • Holly Jolly

    Holly Jolly

    We had a difficult time getting into the Christmas spirit in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, we had to put our dog to sleep on December 23. Last year, we started moving on December 23.

    I really want to make up for it this year. And given our environment, I really wanted to make use of the pine and pine cones I could forage from our yard. I finished the decorations today. We don’t go Clark Griswold on the lights, but simple is best in my opinion.

    Our main tree in the front window
    Our skinny tree tucked into a narrow space in the living room
    Mantel decorations: the garlands used to decorate our mailbox. I love the patina on the sleigh bells.
    This candle holder is a year-round decoration. I just added some pine cones and a festive bow.
    The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
    This centerpiece features pine and pine cones I collected from the yard.
    Photos of Reece with Santa from 2008 & 2009

    By the way, if you ever collect pine cones for use indoors, be sure to rinse them, shake off the excess water, and then bake them on a foil-lined baking sheet at 200 degrees F for 45 minutes. This dries up the sap, kills any lingering insects, and opens up the pine cones if they are still closed. I am continuing to collect pine cones to hang on the Christmas trees.

    I sort of wish we could get a real tree. Our yard is full of them — and some are the perfect Christmas tree size. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to chop one down and bring it in the house to decorate.

    On to a different topic.

    On Tuesday, two hunters knocked on our door. They were hunting in the wooded area across the street from our house, shot a buck, and it took off into our yard. They think it may have died on our property and wanted to bring a tracking dog later that afternoon to find it. I was in no position at the time to take them through the backyard in search of it, or I would have. (I just finished working out and was dressed accordingly.) They wouldn’t need a tracking dog if it did die in our yard. It would be easy enough to find.

    Regardless, I gave them permission to come back. Because I needed them to take it away if it did die in our yard. I did a search of the yard a little later but found nothing. Not a single drop of blood and especially not a deer carcass.

    They came back at 4 pm with a bloodhound, and the dog tracked the buck’s scent through our yard. I accompanied them through the yard, partly out of interest and partly because I don’t want complete strangers traipsing through our yard without supervision – we have some tripping hazards and it’s a liability issue.

    We found a spot where some foliage had been damaged, and there were some fresh deer tracks there. The hound followed the scent all the way to the back of our property and indicated that the deer had crossed the fence to the property behind ours. So they continued their search there, and that’s where my story with them ends.

    I have no idea if they ever found the buck. But I hope they did because I would hate to think it was shot in vain. Though if they didn’t find it, I’m pretty sure the coyotes did.

  • Holiday Hangover

    Holiday Hangover

    I don’t mean an alcohol-induced hangover. I mean a hosted Thanksgiving and spent several weeks planning, shopping, and prepping and now it’s the day after and I’m EXHAUSTED hangover.

    I never hosted the family Thanksgiving before, so this was really exciting for me. I love this house so much and knew from the moment we first saw it that it would be a wonderful setting for many family gatherings. And it was about as perfect as it could be.

    I never cooked a whole turkey before, but it came out great with minimal fuss (no brining or basting needed). I also made the gravy, cranberry sauce, and macaroni & cheese. My mom brought stuff. My aunt brought stuff. It was all very good.

    The weather was gorgeous — unseasonably warm. A great opportunity for everyone to meander around the yard. My older brother, who is visiting from Los Angeles, counted 25 bird species during his exploration of our property. I don’t keep a checklist, but maybe I should. I have noted a lot more variety here than at our previous house.

    We were also able to enjoy some time on the screened-in porch shortly before everyone headed for home. And then the clean-up started after everyone left. SO MANY DISHES. (And we don’t have a garbage disposal, which makes things extra fun.)

    Today was a very low-key day. I can’t stand Black Friday, so you will never find me out with the crowds on this day. I don’t like shopping on normal days, let alone a day like Black Friday.

    The autumn decorations came down this morning, except for the pumpkins on the front porch. I’ll grab the wheelbarrow tomorrow and haul those to the backyard to smash with a sledgehammer and leave near the compost bin for the critters. (Not going to toss them into the woods because I don’t need a pumpkin patch growing there next year.)

    The Christmas decorations started going up today. This is our first real Christmas in this house. We started moving in last year on December 23 and had an extremely minimal Christmas last year, as we were still mostly living at the previous house. The year before that, we put our dog, Reece, to sleep on December 23 and weren’t in a celebratory mood when Christmas came around. We have a lot to make up for this year.

    Hoping to get the tree up tomorrow and/or Sunday. But of course the big priority tomorrow is watching the biggest football game of the year — that is, my beloved Buckeyes playing our archenemies from up north.

    And now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s some apple tart à la mode calling my name.

  • Vomit chicken!

    Vomit chicken!

    Thanksgiving is next week, and I don’t have a gravy boat. I have no need for one, since I really don’t make gravy that often. I can’t really justify having something in my kitchen cabinet that doesn’t get much use.

    I’m not sure anyone in my family has a gravy boat. The trusty old Pyrex liquid measuring cup is usually pressed into service for gravy pouring. And while I have one of those, I can do even better.

    Behold, my chicken pitcher from Italy!

    I knew it would come in useful at some point in my life. I have used it as a flower vase once or twice, but mostly it just sits on a bookshelf, collecting dust.

    The gravy shall pour forth from its beak. Hence, I shall call it vomit chicken, and it will grace my Thanksgiving buffet forevermore.

  • My latest craft project

    My latest craft project

    I’ve mentioned here more than once that I’m not a crafty person. Though one thing I love about the farmhouse aesthetic is that imperfections are “rustic” — well, I can do that!

    So, my latest project was to turn these $10 spring-themed wall hangings from Aldi (which are double sided) into something that’s appropriate for year-round display.

    This is the side I displayed all spring and summer
    This is the side I used for the project
    Before

    Now, I could have just purchased new wall hangings. But these are the perfect size for that particular expanse of kitchen wall. And since they are double-sided, I could totally mess it up and still use the good side! So why not give it a go?

    My initial thought was to paint over the design and stencil on a new design. I spent hours browsing stencils online and didn’t find any I liked well enough or were the right size.

    Then, it occurred to me that I could decoupage something on it. But what?

    I poked around art.com until I found exactly what I didn’t know I wanted: posters depicting vintage seed catalog art. They had a lot of beautiful 19th century seed catalog covers, but I wanted veggies specifically — this is kitchen art, after all. (Seriously, do a search for vintage seed catalog covers. They are incredibly gorgeous!)

    I ordered those and got the matte Mod Podge and brayer. I set up a worktable in the basement and got started.

    First: painting over the design. The previous owners left a bunch of partial cans of latex paint in the basement, including the beige that was used throughout most of the house. Beige was perfect, and the can was nearly full. I mixed it up, grabbed a foam brush (which is all I had on hand), and got to work. It took two coats to completely cover the design.

    As for the frame, I wanted it to be darker, so I didn’t tape it before painting. Whatever paint got on it was going to be stained over anyway. (In hindsight, I should have done that first.) I taped around the edges of the area I painted to protect it from the stain.

    Ready to stain

    Of course the stain bled through the tape. And it looked rather sloppy. This is where I thought the project was going to fail.

    So I grabbed sandpaper. I sanded the painted surface to remove/blend in some of the stain. I sanded the frame to give it a more weathered look. I basically wanted it to look old since I was using vintage art. And I took a very small, fine brush that I found in my tote bag of random craft supplies, so I used that to touch up some areas with the beige paint.

    I didn’t photograph each step of the process, obviously. But once I was satisfied with the overall look, I cleaned off the dust from all the sanding. I then placed the art carefully in the center (I had to eyeball it mostly, though I measured and I was pretty much spot-on.)

    Once I knew where to place the art, I brushed a light coat of Mod Podge on both the base and the back of the poster. I carefully placed the poster and then rolled the brayer over it to help it stick and remove any air bubbles. (Though this step wasn’t necessary since the posters didn’t bubble or crinkle at all — I guess it helped that the paper was thick.)

    Several hours later, I added the second coat of Mod Podge, this time brushing it over the top of each poster. A third coat was added before I considered it done.

    TA DA!

    After

    Rather pleased with how they turned out.

  • Farewell, nice weather

    Farewell, nice weather

    A year ago today, we went into contract on this house. That was an exciting and terrifying time. I loved the house so much (even without a dishwasher — a situation we rectified as quickly as possible), but the size of the yard was incredibly intimidating.

    Almost a year later, we have no regrets. Yes, it’s hard work. But it’s meaningful work, and the physical labor (despite the soreness we feel afterwards) is good for body and mind. I love the sense of accomplishment. I love the peace. I love the wildness. I love that we have great neighbors. And I love that we’re still in close proximity to the city if I need to get my arts and culture fix. This house was the perfect compromise between my husband’s desire to really get away from everything and my desire to stay near civilization.

    Today might be the last good day to do any work outside. It’s supposed to be well above average again. Then the (badly needed) rain comes in overnight. We’re predicted to get 2 or more inches tomorrow. And then the cold comes in, and I suspect it will stay. It is November, after all.

    Glad about the rain for various reasons. I discovered a big fish in our pond. We live in the Scioto River watershed, so the stream that supplies water to our pond is connected in some way to the river. That’s how we get fish in our pond. At the moment, the fish is trapped. We haven’t had substantial rain in a long time, so the stream dried up long ago and the water in the pond is now very shallow.

    In other news, I had the task of removing a juniper tree that was growing up against our septic tank. I suspect it’s a volunteer. Planting anything with deep roots next to a septic tank is a huge no-no.

    It was a delicate procedure. I couldn’t use a shovel, so I grabbed my CobraHead to gently dig and tease out the roots. Then I took pruners and snipped it off at the main root. I potted it and my parents will plant it in their yard. I just hope it survives, since it has some root damage and got a bit crushed during removal.

    Carolina wrens have been getting into our screened-in porch. I found two of them flying around a couple days ago. We need to examine the roofline and see if there are any openings where they can get in. I suspect so because when I was trying to get them out, one flew out the open door and the other one hid itself in the wooden framing just under the ceiling (where I could hear it moving around) and then seemed to vanish.

    Adorable birds, but I don’t want them flying around our porch and pooping all over everything. I still have a mess to clean up, but I’m not going to bother until we find where they are getting in and seal it. They have visited more than once (and I know this because I already cleaned up after them once).

    I need to get out today with a circular saw and cut up the boards that were used to frame the raised beds. Most of them are too long to throw into our burn pile.

    Since the weather is about to change drastically, I’ll shift my focus to indoor projects. I still have this decoupage project I’m working on that became a much bigger hassle than it should have been. Craftiness does not come naturally to me, but I’m trying. I’ll share it when I’m done. I just hope it looks as good as I envision.

  • Busy, busy

    Busy, busy

    It’s November, and yet it feels like September. Our temperatures for the foreseeable future are going to stay well above average. This gives us more time to get the work done outside that needs to be done before winter. And I’m still harvesting seeds from the zinnias and calendula.

    Additionally, my writing/editing work is starting to ramp up. I have more opportunities and assignments, for which I am grateful. That said, I still have availability for new clients and projects!

    And there’s something else…

    Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com

    I’m now a travel advisor for Fora, and my training started on Monday. By the end of this month, I’ll be certified, though I can book travel right now. And I used to be a travel agent ages ago, so this isn’t new territory for me exactly. But Fora’s way of doing things is definitely non-traditional and quite different from how I learned the career in the mid-90s.

    So, why am I doing this? Well, for several reasons:

    1. I like to research and book travel and create itineraries. I’ve been doing it for years. So why not get paid to do it?
    2. It complements my travel writing very nicely and gives me more credibility as a travel writer.
    3. We now live in a gig economy, so an additional income stream is never a bad thing.
    4. It’s flexible. So I can do it wherever and whenever, as much or as little as I want. (No sales quotas!)

    I’m just itching to get my first booking so I’m off and running.

    Oh, and in case you’re wondering about my first attempt at being a travel agent… Well, I wasn’t long out of high school and hadn’t traveled much — I had never even been on an airplane! I got this idea in my head that I would lead this jet-setting life if I became a travel agent. And yes, high-performing travel agents do get to travel, often for free or at a deep discount. But I wasn’t high performing. In fact, I was barely allowed to do anything.

    My first job out of travel agent school was at a Uniglobe office, and they made me pass the challenging trips to other travel agents. I was allowed to book non-stop domestic flights only. I lost interest in it pretty quickly and went back to college.

    Anyway, fast forward to now. I’ve obviously seen a bit of the world. I’ve lived overseas. And experience and worldliness count for quite a lot in this business.