Easy Beaded Ornaments (and stuff)

Good Monday Morning.

I love these shoes. Gorgeous floral pumps. I never wear them but I adore them. Now that the legs are becoming much more toned, gonna wear them some more. There! I also love patterned stockings/tights. More of that too. Saw a lovely pair of openwork lace tights worn over some bright bright purple ones -- yup --- gonna go there.

Picture from this weekend. Makes me happy. Look how the light filters through this leaf. Technically this was a challenge. I was lying on the ground looking through this leaf to take this picture. Yes, people around me thought I was nuts. But I personally love this picture completely untouched.

*******************************************************************************

Now for the EASY BEADED ORNAMENTS.

Again gather your supplies. Because I thrift / upcycle / buy on sale, there is always stuff around for me to work with. What you need is super easy and inexpensive in this case.

Plastic beads (I used faceted balls)

Pipe cleaners (I used sparkly ones)

Sequins (optional)

Scissors (not the good ones, you are cutting off the wire ends)

I grabbed my beads. In this case the bead jar. This 2 quart pickle jar (high tech storage) has the end lots of beaded dress trims, ribbon bits, and loose beads. I grabbed a gallon zip lock bag of this mixture at a monthly mill sale.

Poured out on an egg platter. High tech work vessel again. Poking through this to find my beads makes me incredibly happy.

Grab a pipe cleaner and start threading beads on it. Easy enough.

To finish the ornament. Simply bend into shape. Twist the pipe cleaner ends together to hold and.......

Voila - I added a bow bent from a short piece of pipe cleaner to this wreath. Green beads - green pipe cleaner.

Clear beads - gold sequins - gold pipe cleaner.

Various red beads - red pipe cleaner.

Great ornaments - or package tie ons. Use pony beads and even little ones can do this.

I am already having a great holiday season. Hope you are too.

Easy peasy tree tutorial

I did a phone interview with a local writer, Mary Jessica, yesterday. She is working on an article for the paper on local crafters and their holidays. One question - "what is your must have craft material or tool?" - was hard for me to answer. I got lots of stuff - materials and tools - but I have gathered and saved for years. I really cannot answer that question. The other question was fairly easy - "what can you tell people who are unsure of their creative abilities?" My answer -- Just jump in there and do something. Anything. Do one thing that triggers that side of your brain to function. It was exciting to talk with her and I cannot wait to read the article.

I mentioned yesterday that I was planning some tutorials. Here is the first one.
***************************************************************************

EASY PAPER TREES

Gather the following. Admission here - I rarely gather it all up before, I kinda work as I go, but I have a studio with lots of accessable items to pull from.

Rectangular paper (I used old book and hymnal pages)
Glue Stick
Scissors
Wooden skewers (I got mine at the grocery store on the dollar rack)
Bead or other object to put on the point of the skewer. (this will make sense later)
Spool or wood block with a hole close to the size of the skewer for your base. You could also use a styrofoam block.
Embellishments (the fun stuff)


That plastic cone is a nice add on. I saved it from a party AFTER I drank the mixed drink it contained. But it is not a necessity.

Roll your paper into a cone. Glue your edges securely.

Here's what you get after rolling. The cone may be somewhat flimsy - mine was - so I rolled another one the same size and simply nested the two together.

Trim the wide end of your cone level. That plastic cone helps here. I like the jagged rough edge from tearing against the edge of the plastic. Here's what you end with after this step.

Cut your skewer off to the height of the tree plus the amount you want for a trunk. I just break mine because stuffing it into the wooden spool hides the end.

Here is the mechanical stack up - bead on pointed end of skewer - the other end stuck in the base. You can glue these into place or not. I'll take mine apart to store them so no glue on this step for me.

Pre-assembly. Balance the cone on the bead. How easy is that.

Embellish to your hearts desire. I stamped these with snowflake images then embossed them. I punched cardboard stars and embossed them too. To mount the stars, I simply cut little slits in the opening at the cone point and slid the stars in.

These are addicting to make. I may invert some of the cones and make hanging cones for my tree too. Just eliminate the skewer assembly and glue on a ribbon for hanging. Once I started rolling cones last night, I rolled and glued about 25 in just a few minutes. I can see a forest of these in different heights across my mantle.

If you make some of these please let me know, I would love to see yours.

Have a wonderful day.

Are you sure it's not Monday again

Clickable image for you guys - scanned from a cigar box lid that Poca, the monster dog, chewed the corner off of.

Yes the vehicle on the rollback was mine.

Yes I am fine - there was no accident - just a mechanical failure. The fuel pump decided to crap. Luckily, it was in my parking lot at work, not on top of some remote mountain in North Carolina. That's where I am headed this weekend.

I missed bootcamp and was upset about that --- never thought I would be upset about missing running. I had my best workout on Monday night - that feels good. Time to bump my weight load on my strength training. The stretching and flexiblity moves are really helping me too. I need to study my food lists and really work on my meal and snack planning though. I have not done any menu planning so far, but with the holidays coming, I feel like I need to plan carefully and be ready for the temptations of the season.

I spent some time in MaggieGraceWorld last night. Cleaning. Putting things away from the last few weeks of intense creating. Evicting (exterminating) camel crickets. Rearranging a few things that I discovered would work better than how I had them. Planning a couple of easy peasy DIY tutorials for the holidays. Puttering away. Happy as could be.

Then I watched makeover night on Biggest Loser. I was really sorry to see Rebecca leave. But watching all the contestants cross that canyon was inspiring and seeing Rebecca crying as she approached the end of that 1/2 marathon was too. My next major fitness goal is to run/walk a 5k.

This week, post art show, is almost like the after Christmas letdown. I am not really sure what I want to do and there are no real plans for things that I need to do. I can tell you that housework holds no appeal whatsoever -- LOL.

I hope all of you have a wonderful day.

Lovely...... just lovely

Can you say damn ---- I did

Irrational fears and other stuff

I am not a fearful person. Not the kind that you can jump out from behind something and cause me to freak out. I may knock the hell out of you, but for the most part I don't react to those kinds of situations as expected. I am cautious when I travel alone, but even then I am rarely truly afraid. I don't mind staying by myself in a hotel. I don't mind staying by myself at night.

Spiders and spider webs creep me out, but I will kill said spider and go about my business. As long as I can see a snake, I'm okay with that. I've even shared my studio space with a black snake at times. Mice too - not a big deal to me except for the mess they leave.

But ...... lets talk irrational stuff.

The critter below is known in our world as a camel cricket.

It has a big official name - but that is not important. I am terrified beyond all belief of these harmless to human insects. They are normally found under houses, in well houses, under damp logs etc. The funniest story Softball Princess tells about these is that I could not pin her very dead one to her insect collection. I pinned bees, wasps, grasshoppers, all kinds of bugs to her board, but we had to get The Man at My Address out of the bed to pin this one.

Well, guess what, I went to the studio this morning and found some on the walls in there. I am freakin out..... There will be extermination bombs forthcoming. I still have the heebie jeebies from that discovery. Yuck!!!!!!!!!!!

Now for the other stuff -- there are things I want to throw out there to the universe. I did that with MaggieGrace last year and managed to pull some of it off already. So here we go.

I want to go to Portland, Oregon in the spring of 2010 and it is going to have to be the sale of MaggieGrace materials that gets me there - because the rest of my budget cannot stretch that far.

I also want to have a small local gathering of friends for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon workshop. I'm thinking maybe 6 people plus me and my girls for a collage art workshop. I would like to do this as an act of kindness, to see if teaching a workshop is something I would enjoy. Maybe potluck on food - people bring a few of their own supplies - I'll bring an assortment of supplies - and just spend an afternoon soaking up the creative energy of women gathered. Most likely will think more about this after Christmas.

There ya go.

Have a wonderful day.

Back to the real world ------- to rest.

Molly got stopped - for having no tailights. Dad fixed it but it resulted in the following fruit basket turnover. We drove Molly's Jeep - she drove Abby's car - Abby drove my Expedition. Reminded me of the way we used to go to bed when they were small - I would lay down with Abby - Charles with Molly - and at some point in the night everyone got to where they were supposed to be.

Speaking of supposed to be......

Poca, the Monster dog, on the sofa. I let her up there, Abby lets her up there, Daddy - no way in hell - Molly - hates this dog (the feeling is rather mutual). I am however wondering what the crap about this dog, I thought cats chased yarn balls, but this one loves to get into the crochet stuff and makes a huge mess. I have to put her in her crate in order to crochet.

Now the real news for the weekend. I got to kiss Liv for myself. Carrie, Dale, and Olivia came to the art market to visit with me. She is too precious. Mom had to hurry back to Atlanta to work, but maybe we can get together for dinner soon. I even had my camera, but got so sidetracked visiting, that I forgot to get it out. Thanks for coming Carrie --- kiss Liv for me.

Lessons learned from my first show -- check the wiring for the table lamps before you set the table up -- I was in shadows all day. Plan your display to be viewed from the front - the things on the side were not noticed - I think because the side was also the door to the "big room" in the show. Aside from that my experience was very positive. I made a little spending money.

I sold "tiny dancer" to a lady who proclaimed that "she takes my breath away" -- seems that was the very phrase I used to describe her too. That was exciting.

The charms that I piled on the plate for people to poke through sold better than the ones nicely mounted on cards.

The simple round tags with the leaves on them and the medium ones of the same idea - sold the best.

Spoon pendants - great sellers - I sold over half of what I took. I'll be choosing some of these to submit to some magazines as well.

This picture is horrible - but I wanted to show the bracelets as I displayed them - could have sold those insulators numerous times. Did not sell a single bracelet - that was surprising.

The composition books were popular as well -

I will do this show again if Lannae invites me.

In other news. In the last post of 2008, I stated a goal to make MaggieGrace more "public". That has taken me this year, but it is now happening. I have a piece being published (more on that once it happens). I have completed my first show and it was successful. I have been invited to speak before some groups. Today the latest news is - that I have been asked for an interview with a freelance writer locally - for an article to be published soon. This is all kind of overwhelming to me, but it was the goal and has begun to happen.

I hope this finds all of you having a wonderful day. Me -- I have a beautiful life.

one tequila, two tequila.........

Last night I knew where all my little chickies were. Nobody was out driving, so mom mixed a drink (or two - or three) and headed to MaggieGraceWorld. I had cut all my glass squares for soldered charms and had a plan.

I made little collages - gathered bits and bobs - matched them up and trimmed down to the right size. All the while - margaritas - with salt and olives were being consumed.

Guess what ---- matching glass pieces and evenly wrapping them with copper tape is not an activity that matches well with tequila.

I ended up saying a few 4 letter words and packing a box to take to work with me.



This is the work box sitting on my desk and between phone calls and customers I am taping these charms. I'll solder them tonite for the art market tomorrow -- talk about last minute. Good thing I perform well under pressure.

I also had a few tiny vials from somewhere. Swap maybe?

I typed words using an oldfashioned typewriter onto mulberry paper (some of these were used on spoons too.) Then I used 3d glass effect in clear to adhere the words to the inside of the vials. The trick involved toothpicks.

Add glitter. Okay that task was challenging with the tequila influence too. There were giggles involved and I slept with sparkles on my face.

Recork the little vials. Krazy Glue holds the corks in. These will be soldered too. Tonite - without alcohol.

Tomorrow is the art show. I have no where near what I originally listed as my plan. I have plenty to sell. Then afterwards - I will rest.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone --- see you monday.

PUBLIC SERVICE

An answer for Marti --- I found out about this bootcamp workout from a friend who invited me. There are groups all over the area who meet at different times. I do not know if this is true other places, but I would ask around.


MaggieGrace goodness. Here are all of the spoon collages. You have seen some of these already. I am pricing them today so I had them all together.


Oops thats a button stack pendant with this one.


The bronzed cross one on the top left above is my favorite. The botanical one on the bottom right is a pressed flower that was imbedded in tissue paper. I didn't make the paper. But I do love how it almost becomes transparent with the glue.

The top right one above has an almost secret message. Same thing as the botanicals (the paper becomes almost transparent) but this says "yes i can". I had someone in mind when I made it. If she comes by, I am almost positive this will go home with her.

The one in the middle bottom has my life phrase on it.

I read Marti's post answering questions this morning. I recognize myself there. Not just the weight loss part, the twisted sense of humour. Scary thing sometimes. For those of you who know me in the real world you know that about me.

I called local best friend with this one this morning.

PUBLIC SERVICE QUESTION OF THE DAY

Do you ever wonder if the dollar bills in your wallet have ever been in a stripper's butt crack? Now you will.

Sorry folks -- its my facebook status right now too.

Have a wonderful day.

No lies......no excuses

There's no picture with this post. This is also another ponder filled heavy post. Marti left a comment about struggling with weightloss and an expression of desire for more information about bootcamp. I read a quote recently and these two things have been in my brain for the last few days.



Keep in mind, I am not judging one person here. These are my thoughts about myself as a fat person trying to get healthy.



The quote ----- I want to make a difference by doing things that don't seem to matter.



I create. I am a mom. I work a full time job that on most days I love. I am in the car at least an hour everyday. We have a busy lifestyle. My mom lives alone and needs some attention. On and on and on.

Let me start with a full fledged confession here - I own a huge collection of weight watcher and fitness magazines. I have read them for years but never applied the words to me.

The biggest lie I told myself. I am not all that fat.



The second biggest lie I told myself. I don't have time to exercise.



Another lie. Thin people are fit.



Try this one. She, he, they have more time to exercise than I do.



Here is the reality --- whatever excuse you use is a LIE. A lie to yourself and others.



I was fat -- really still am. But I am healthier right now than I have been in years.



I used to really enjoy going out to a club, singing and dancing the night away. Not so much anymore. We still go and we still have a good time, but the entire time I am there, I am aware of being fat. That takes away from enjoying myself. While I am being honest here, I am aware of how frumpy I feel (felt) all the time.



Buying clothing is a chore when you are fat. In the back of your brain, you know that no verticle stripe in black is really taking away any of your size. But still you rationalize that an outfit does help your appearance. Even at my highest weight, I still had "feel good" outfits. Just not as many as when I was small or average sized. As one photo recently seen on the Peopleof Walmart website explains "if you can see the entire word BOOTYLISCIOUS across your ass, you ain't."



Lingerie and underwear, this is very personal. I love nice lingerie. Panties. Bras. I love having on sexy underthings at work under a conservative outfit. Secretly sexy. That crap don't happen when you are a big girl.



I have so many insecurities about myself. About my looks. About my abilities. About _______ you fill in that dang blank.



You cannot get healthy for anybody else. Been there, done that. Lost the weight so someone will notice you. It won't work. Sure that man will love a fitter, more toned body, but if that is your only motivation, forget it. If in the back of your mind you are saying "things will be better with us if I can lose some weight" -- better dig a little deeper into your soul for motivation. Things might be better, but only superficially. You can only do this for yourself. There you go.



Truths. We all got the same amount of time everyday. Spend some of it on yourself. You are worth it.



About Boot Camp. The one I attend is not expensive. We are led through our routine by a lovely lady named Christy. (the summer was by two extraordinary and amazing young ladies) but I really like Christy. She is one of us. Works full time - has children and grandchildren - active in her church and community - on other words - we can relate to her. We meet on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday for an hour at a local school. BIG TRUTH HERE - it is hard work, but the hardest thing for me is turning into the driveway. Routines vary by available area of the campus but here are the basics. Warm up - plymetric moves. Stretches. Cardio. Strength training. Ab work. Cool Down. Stretch. Rain - meet in weight room. Heat, cold - no matter - outside either cross country trail, hills, or track around football field. It takes me 75 walking lunges to get across the football field - and a ton of concentration to keep my balance. Every now and then she springs bleacher busters on us - step ups, squats and lunges all done on the risers of the bleachers - the change is challenging. Could I exercise at this level at home or alone - yes. Would I -- not even.

There is a camraderie among the group. We are all at difference levels of fitness, have different goals for ourselves. Some have physical challenges. Modifications to any exercise are always available. NO judgement. Just encouragement. You are competing only with yourself. One more push up this week. 25 more steps around the track before you have to walk to recover. I love that environment. There are no divas. Don't really know if your form is correct - Elaine is my watchdog for that. Don't know how to use a particular piece of weight equipment - Christy will show you.

Do we giggle -- yes -- a lot. But we also grunt, groan, gripe, burp, and fart. Not to worry - you are among friends. We celebrate each others smallest improvement. We share tips, ideas, recipes, etc. We talk about our kids, work, spouses, friends - not in a gossip manner, just the way encouragers do.

I have a few things that have kicked my ass. One piece of ab equipment - and jumping jacks. The jacks hurt my knees - so I just jump up and down and that ab equipment - I go in just a few minutes early and face that monster. What I could not do in June - I did 6 knee raises on last night - and I celebrated.

I am sore every day - in that still finding muscles that are not accustomed to being challenged in any way. As my shape changes and I get stronger - I push harder and challenge myself again. Eating right adds to my weight loss. Every now and then an emotional demon raises its head and I have to search in my soul to find out what that is about. The emotional side of this was unexpected. Facing the reality of how far I had let myself go and how hard it is to head back in the right direction is frustrating. The reasons behind not really caring that I had gotten fat are really difficult to admit and discuss. The lies I told myself for so many years haunt me often.

What happens as I get healthy are still unknown. Right now I can tell you honestly. I have more energy. I sleep better. I am proud when a new better toned portion of me appears. I have more stamina. I am stronger. Even bringing in the groceries is easier.

That's enough for today. Hopefully this will resonate with somebody. Questions and comments are welcome.

Marti - you are beautiful and so worthy of any investment you make into yourself. Hang in there, and keep plugging away at it. One more situp today - one less soda. You can do this.

Its a beautiful day in my beautiful life.

noticing.....

These little hearts were in my face all day yesterday. I did nothing to this picture to enhance them. The bends on the bottle made these. This kind of random smile from the universe makes me happy.


Onward to MaggieGrace goodies.


I found three more composition books tucked away somewhere. So I covered them. Loving that middle one a lot. The image is from an old textbook and I have had those letter stickers for years, but never found the right use for them. They are a weathered metallic finish on kraft paper. I crocheted the rose for an art piece that just never came together, so it was on the counter and worked beautifully with the paper.

Coffee stir sticks all packaged. These are so easy to do and I really recommend that everyone try one in a loved ones coffee or stuck in some pancakes or topping off a cupcake. The response to these has been very positive. Now let's just hope they sell. I have these packages and several loose ones that I wrapped the stick in paper for sanitary purposes.

The image is a freebie from somewhere. I took it, modified it in PICNIK to add the Morning Messages logo. That is my label.

Got several more little projects to finish to be ready. My table is in the dining room and I keep fiddling with the layout. I have thrifted a couple of display fixtures that I like, but like always, am modifying for my use. It is supposed to be cool, but pretty for Saturday. This is a good thing.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

PS - Marti, more information on Bootcamp coming.

ED information available here.

So sorry about that on my last post comments. I exercised my right to delete the offending comment this morning, but we were out of town all weekend and I never turned on a computer so I was unaware. If any of you were helped by the links left by anonymous in my comments, you are welcome. I have no idea why I am being spammed by those kinds of comments. The phone call to the man at my address was equally funny - I asked him if he was researching medications for this particular male problem on my computer. Boy was he pissed. Maybe because the conversation went like this.

Me: I have a question.

The man: what - in that tone that means he "knows" a fight is about to start.

Me: Do you have a need for long term erec*&%)? Are we having a problem that I haven't been made aware of?

The man: WTF?

Me: Is there some sweet young thing needing more from you?

The man: WTF?

Me: I've been spammed with adds for drugs to help with such problem. Though I would forward links if you need me to.

The man: WTF? Ah: No: Damn: Stammer --- stutter --- freak out.

Me: I'll take that as a you don't have a clue ---- Bye.

I know he is shaking his head and still wondering what this phone call was about.

"Poor ol' Charles" -- that would be one of the phrases to insert here. It has to be awful living with me at times.

Now for real stuff.


Spoons - for the Artist Market.

If there is frost on the grass, it is too cold for softball. Each afternoon was stunning though. Two days of watching girls do skills drills for college coaches. Sorry - this was boring for mom. Dad enjoyed it.

I did however really enjoy the few minutes we spent listening to this gentleman, Bill Lightle, read from his book Mill Daddy: The Life and Times of Roy Davis. We happened upon an authors show in the park in Dahlonega, GA on Saturday and sat and listened to Bill read from his book and give additional anecdotes about the book. The Man was bored to death with this little show, but since I was being drug to this sleepy mountain town against my will for the weekend, I played the "you are gonna do this" card and so we listened. You can insert "poor ol' Charles" here too.

I also bought 1 tiny bag of buttons ($4.00 total) and passed up one item I really, really wanted (still do). The antique store we were in had a pharmacy spindle full of old prescriptions. I didn't have $100.00 to spend on papers to look at, so I passed, but only after returning several times to the booth to drool.

Got in a little exercise (walking) and worked hard to eat right. I have managed to lose those few pounds that I had put back on.

I can't believe that we are searching for the right fit on a college for my baby. Seems like just yesterday she was keeping us up all night as a baby. Now she is driving herself and getting ready to leave my nest. Where did all those years go?

Have a wonderful day.

Waiting For Your Return

Waiting For Your Return
Originally uploaded by evanleavitt

Disclaimer - this is a heavy, thought provoking post. Looking for frivolity - go ahead and stop here.

"Everyone carries secrets, hopes, and dreams in the center of their soul. Sometimes the secrets are too dark and strong to let the hopes and dreams become real. Our job is to help take away the darkness so the life can begin for all the hopes and dreams." Jim Smith

The photo above is from flickr. Evan is a contact to me there and although I do not know him at all - his photography speaks to me. This picture was one. I have been in that darkness. Even the name of the picture has described me. While I was in the dark, my life was waiting for me to return.

I do not know the true darkness of depression. Not the clinical depression that many people experience. I am not talking about that darkness. The darkness I felt was one of life blows, decisions I should have made differently, situations out of my control, who am I really? - that kind of darkness.

Molly is trying to decide things about college and life after college. How her decisions now will affect her life are a part of the process. We have had many, many discussions lately about that kind of stuff. She was changing schools - no she wasn't - she is going to Peru - no Spain I think - I want to be a pharmacist - now I am not so sure. My advice - think, pray, take your time with these decisions. She will be 20 years old next August. I was married at twenty. She is nowhere near that option (thank you Lord).

For many years, my name has been mommy, wife, employee, youth director, and contained all the sub titles that go with that. Teresa, the real person, got lost in the shuffle. I NEVER took any time just for me. Not until I was 30+. Molly even says "mom turned 30, developed a mind of her own, and dad hasn't figured out what hit him yet."

I have good friends. I have good aquaintances. I have a fabulous support system around me. I have been blessed to have two "very best friends" in my life. Jim until he passed away and now local best friend. Cyber friends who may know me better than some people I see everyday. All of those people have uncovered and pushed away the darkness. They have helped me open curtains and unpack secrets. Now the hopes and dreams are getting vital light and they get stronger everyday. The darkness is losing power.

Been in MaggieGraceWorld for two long, long nights this week. Pondering nights. Demon fighting nights. I'm winning - but I lost track of that fact for a few days. I have a beautiful life, but the crap of living sorta hid that view from me. The darkness was trying to close in again. But then something happened. I took control.

At 220 pounds -- there you go --- the number out loud, in May I saw a photo of myself online. Taken at an art workshop. I love the picture - there was happiness written all over my face - but damn folks I was fat. and I had managed to hide that fact from my rational brain (don't ask but every woman knows what I am talking about). I started eating right - weight watchers - and exercising - Bootcamp. The first night, it took me almost 24 minutes to walk a mile - I could not even run the length of the bleachers. Pushups - I couldn't do 5. Situps - if I remember right, I did 8. My best friend even was sarcastic about it. I cried that first night and a few more after that. I even threw up on the side of the road one night. In August, my mile time was down to 17 minutes. By September, I was shopping in the back of the closet, wearing clothes that I haven't worn in a long time. I also set a new goal. A 14 minute mile. (Real runners please do not laugh here)

Last night we arrived to hear the phrase - we are timing tonight. I felt really good about getting close to 14 minutes. Stretch, warm up, nerves (WTF). Nerves because this is about control and pushing and it is very important to me. I don't give a crap about the fact that Jan lapped me. She's a real runner. Better than that - she stood at the finish line with several others cheering each person on to be better than the last time.

My new stats -- weight 188 --- sit ups 25/minute --- modified pushups 51/minute --- mile time 12:55. YES UNDER 13 MINUTES. I cried again but for totally different reasons. I met and exceeded my goal. Got to set a new one. Putting it here - 12 minute mile (no time frame). I am also committing to run/walk a 5k (Comer Reindeer Run in December). Damn - LBF we are seeing aren't we.

Sorry this is so long. I had to get it out there.

I want to be healthy. I want to be fitter. I want to look better in my clothes. I want to follow the creative path that I have chosen. Notice - these are not "keeping up with the Jones" kinds of wants - but look out Jan I do want to run with you instead of behind you.

You know that darkness and the obscure view of the beautiful life I have -- today is bright and the view is clear for miles. I am here, it is now, no looking forward or back. Damn - its beautiful where I am.

Have a great weekend.

Linky Love ........

I had no idea what I was going to post today. Not feeling the crafty, mostly because i was gluing scallopped circles onto stir sticks last night until almost midnight. The guys at work wanted to know if tequila was involved - NOT. Matching those scallops requires a little more control than tequila allows.

Anyway - I was cruising my google reader and wound up here. Bob had a new post. Who's Bob one might ask. Well, he's her boyfriend. She introduced him a few weeks ago at her place and of course all us followers ran over there to see who, what, you know, all that.

Well, he reviews wine (focused on Oregon Wines). He gives recipes and food prep ideas in laymens terms that I can understand and apply. And look at the picture above - taken from his blog with permission. He has a sense of humour that I can really appreciate.

I am in Georgia - he is in Oregon. I adore Pinot Noir. Have a hard time finding Oregon wine here. I left a comment on my first visit - and he immediately responded with an email.

Tracy has made herself quite a catch if you ask me.

This chicken recipe was the first I tried. Yup - ya'll need to go there. Ya'll need to try these foods. Visit with him. You will enjoy yourself.

I'll soon be trying Brussels Sprouts and Chipotle Sweet potatos courtesy of my new found cyber friend.

Take off over to The Duck Juice Chronicles. You will be really glad you did.

Have a wonderful day.

I giggled

The button fairies are all finished. Waiting for new homes (I hope) in a couple of weeks.

I LOVE MAKING THESE. I have enjoyed these from the very first one I made. Some of these are from handpainted scraps that I still have from Elizabeth Prata. Elizabeth cleaned out some her stuff a year or so ago. I took a chunk of it to the church. Gave some to Project Safe for kids to use. But kept some of the handpainted paper scraps.

Sizzix die cutter and a Spellbinders butterfly die form the wings. Buttons, beads, and wire for the bodies. (God I love playing in my button stash)

And this sweet fairy face, stamped on card stock and glued to a floral marble.

Oh and about the title of this post.

I knew exactly how I wanted to display these. On a branch. Been thinking about exactly what I wanted for weeks. I even saved a branch from the recent trimming The Man at my Address did.

Last night I headed to the studio. Covered a board with spray adhesive and paper. Wired on a branch.

Hung those fairies by little copper hooks that I made just for this purpose.

And I stepped back and

I giggled. That slightly out of kilter giggle of a giddy teenager falling in love. Where the entire world is revolving around you that very moment and you just know everything is right in the world. Yep ----- I giggled.

There may not be one other person on the face of the earth that loves this, but I am happy as all get out. By the way the fairies will be sold individually at the Artist Market on Novemebr 14. Two weeks folks and all this stuff about inventory will be over. Then you can giggle cause you won't have to hear (read) it anymore.

I have a beautiful life.

A work box

I get a ton of comments about how much I get done. Both here and in conversations everyday. I have repeatedly posted about how I work a lot "on the go"

Places I have crafted other than at home or in my studio -- softball games, volleyball games, basketball games, soccer games, all those locations between games, restaurants, bookstores, the car, planes, at a picnic table, the beach, the lake, the drs office, the hospital, waiting in the drive through line, my desk at work. Yes, guilty of crafting at my desk.

See we run a small operation. Someone has to answer the phone and that someone is pretty much "chained" to the phone. It varies at times who the someone is, but more often than not, it is me.

Dring the slow times, there is little going on work wise in the showroom. I do paperwork, wait the counter, purchase materials, follow up on jobs, etc. But many times I find myself doing what my Mama calls "twiddling my thumbs". (Tipper is that one of those grannyisms?) The guys read gun magazines or sport magazines in those slow moments. Me - I whip out a survival kit.

Today the kit looks like this. Nothing fancy. A cardboard box and a few supplies. Button fairies in the making. I threw it all in a bag last night when I started breaking wire and knew it was time to stop what I was doing before I really screwed up. I knew what I needed this time because I had made several already. When UPS came, there was a package in this sturdy box and I grabbed it to use. Dump and BINGO - ready to work and easy to close up and go back to grown up job stuff.

Most of the productivity I can boast about is accomplished in just this way. I love my studio. I use my studio a fair amount. As the girls are gone more and more and I am finding more time I use the studio even more. But I do not see me ever letting go of the flexiblity and ease of carrying a "survival kit" with me.

How about you? How do you squeeze in a few creative moments for yourself?

There's a Light

A tiny little glow - there in the distance - Lets check it out.

Looks innocent enough -- could be fun

There's food - I see no dead bodies. Safe? Maybe.


Even the black rose is in bloom. But wait --- is that BLOOD in the vase?

Everything's okay --- Its just a tray and the house is normal. Come on it will be fun.

Did you feel something over your shoulder?

Even Dr. House thinks he may be hallucinating.

Wait - we have had so much fun. There were games. Food. Movies.

She's not ready to let any of you go.

Halloween 2009 ---

Have a wonderful Monday all.



<