brain dump

Source: tassels.tumblr.com via Katie on Pinterest

I haven't written anything in a long, long time. There are words trying to spill out. Words that in the jumble of my mind really make no sense at all. Maybe they will if I give them attention.

 My life is beautiful.
 Chaotic at times, but still quite beautiful.
Those two girls - happy and healthy. Full lives of their own.
Me - well, at home, I live with silence.
There are noises all around me, but nothing of real substance.
TV - dog, cat purring, "what's for supper", "did you talk to your girl today", "no, I guess they are busy"
The mail - left on my end of the counter -bills - bank statements - an occasional treat of a handwritten letter.
A mess everywhere -- a reflection of who I am today??? Maybe.

Wedding debris - leftovers - still piled everywhere. A mess.
So very happy - thankful - that she is on her way - her own journey -
God,  how I pray for a fairly easy path.

An empty bedroom - that other one comes and goes - college, work, her own life.
Full - her journey - her path ----
For that one I pray too --

Darkness - I was told last night that I am embracing darkness.
Nope, wrong, I'm simply resting in the shade.

Been working in the sun way too long.
Long days,
Followed by late nights

Alone with myself for so much of that work.
Silence -- except for the phrase "there's nothing to do around here."
Oh at the things that need doing.
The silent one oblivious or maybe just unwilling, uncaring.
Oh but the darkness there - it is ever present - lights out - clicker - beer - tv spewing mindless chatter.
But nothing to do.

Me - I workout - for my physical and mental health
Me - I work in the studio - for my mental health and maybe a little extra cash for go towards that monster mountain of debt. At least it is not like the Rockies any longer. More like the Smokey Mountains. Sure wish is was like the flat sands on the beach ----
Me - I go with friends - or try too.
Me - I see my mama - I recognize I won't always have her.

Been said by the same "embracing the darkness" person that I'm filling my life with "busy work"

Again - nope - wrong - I'm trying to fill my life with things that I love.

Working in the sun - maybe too much - but the sun is good for me.
Wishing for some serious time in nature -
A path like pictured above.

Some sun - some work - some chaos - some shade - not a straight path - but one that leads me to wander - to ponder - little rabbit trails off to the sides. Some silence that is not deafening. Company alongside. Conversations that accomplish something. Seeing things and pointing them out. Noticing things and acting on them. Working. Relaxing.

Really living.

Oh - I know whats wrong.

But now how in the hell do I fix it?


------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry for the mind spill ----- It still doesn't make sense. I think I need a vacation. But I still think my life is still beautiful.

AND THAT SURE IS A PRETTY PICTURE

I feel good ----

I spent a ton of time in the studio this weekend. I' m still putting away this and that from the disaster in the house (all wedding related), but at least it is now a wee bit more organized and I can actually WORK in there. 

So I did. I would clean a while in the house. Organize a bit in the studio. And reward myself by actually making a few things. 

I covered a bunch of composition books with paper including these two in this funky typewriter paper. 

It was a beautiful color, but it is strange enough to be horrid to work with.

I covered two books with it and eliminated it from the stash. Then I started with embellishing elements. I have this little "Book of Wisdom" that is hand typed with daily little blurbs of wise quotes. I decided several of these would be great to use, but they didn't work with the colors. Stamp inks to the rescue --- I used several different colors and I smudged and blotted and honestly -- I cussed.  Finally I got it like I wanted.

The wonderful drill bit charts on these were ephemera that falls into a special category. It was NEVER HOARDED --- I repeat that NEVER HOARDED. I found these on Sunday morning in a workshop/barn where I picked up a cabinet. They were tucked behind a pegboard and were going to be tossed. I grabbed them and knew immediately they would be used on these covers. Yay me.

The greens behind the quotes are from the scrap stash --- no new paper cut for these.

This one has a Christmasy feel to it. I dug in the "good stuff" again. The paper featured some postcards so I added a matted vintage one from the stash and included two vintage stamps in appropriate colors. I punched a trim ring and added a dimensional paper flower.

I sprayed the postcard with Glimmer Mist to age it even more.

This background was another difficult to work with paper ---- I adore the vintage cameras, but again the colors were DIFFICULT ---

I added a vintage picture of Ruby (her name was written on the back)  and used a kraft paper "frame" around her. The frame was spritzed with multiple layers of glimmer mist. I also flatten a metal button and added a bit of black floral and lace. I also added a tiny vintage payment receipt detail on the spine.


Now for my FAVORITE accomplishment

All these kids in my life are suddenly old enough to get married - I am not really sure how the hell that happened because I have not aged a bit. (Oops - sorry about that little side trek)

Anyway, Luke and Chazlyn are getting married and I have signed up for decorations for their shower. The wedding board on her Pinterest has rustic bits included, so I am going with that kind of feel for the decor.

I had these unfinished Birdhouses from hobby lobby in my stash. Not one penny of new spending occurred in the creation of this ....

Cover birdhouse with music paper.

Embellish with bits and bobs.

Take a peek in the tippy top eaves and you will find a four leaf clover mother of pearl button - the leaves are carved heart shapes. I'm wishing them the best of luck.

Other embellies - scrabble tiles, an old earring finding, a resin disc and some lace "gingerbread" trim.

A cool extra are the spring flowers around the house. These were made from a material called flower soft. I bought it at a scrapbook store years ago. I works like glitter. Glue and sprinkle. (it also stick to everything like glitter too)

Now for my favorite part of the little house.

I had some unfinished dollhouse shingles (much like these) in the stash. Bought them years ago in a thrift store in think. But I wanted them colored like shingles would be. So I figured out how many I needed for the roof.
Divided them into four piles and grabbed my Glimmer Mist in Tattered Leather, Bronze, Graphite, and Trunk Bay. I then spritzed the four piles in varying combinations of the colors and let them dry over night. I put them all back together and mixed them up.

I just grabbed and glued them on with my glue gun. Not really paying any attention to the color of each individual shingle.

When I finished --- I actually giggled --- it is perfect. I love it when something finishes even better than I imagined it would look.

The finishing touch --- stained old lace and a paper ridge cap.

I think I could live here myself.

Now to figure out the rest of the decor ---- I'll be sure and post pictures.

back in the studio

The studio is not quite completely clean and organized, but is is where I can work again. 

I take 20 minutes to clean some more then I start a project.

Last night I converted a brooch from a pin to a pendant by simply adding beads and a jump ring to the pin back. Saves the ability to use it as a pin in the future and the beads I found were perfectly matched (that is known as a happy accident). 

Then I cut paper for some altered composition books and grabbed a few tags and the "scrap tray" and made a set of tags.

Felt really great to be in working in MaggieGraceWorld again.

all about love. A PINSPIRED PROJECT

Following Miss Molly's wedding, I suddenly found myself talking to other people about the DIY parts of the wedding quite often. I have not found myself in a quite unplanned wedding support role for others.

 A customer in my Grown up Girl job has asked for a few crafted items for his daughter's wedding.

I agreed to help her with "just these few" --- you know how THAT works.

The next picture has turned out to be the inspiration for one of those things. A rustic ring pillow.

Sure, I can do something like this.

Source: etsy.com via Teresa on Pinterest

Well that "this" is 5 x 5 inches square. Yes I researched it and found the specs for the original

Then I cut and formed letters from grapevine. And I made this.

Well this is 8"x 5" and my sweet little bride thought is was too small. Lots of people have issues with real size interpretations.

So I regrouped and made this one - 8 x 8 this time. She loves this one.

I say all of that to say that the small one is now available for purchase. $12.00 for one rustic ring pillow.

Have a great day.

crochet

I love to crochet.

I learned how sitting by my Grandmother's side.

It is a relaxing activity for me. 

It brings back fond memories.

I am also a collecting genius (hoarder) .

The above blanket will eventually fit a double bed. 

There has been a joke that at the rate i'm working, it might fit a nursing home bed in time for using it.

It is all made with stash yarn. 

It is no longer a portable project. 

But it sure will feel good to have the blanket done AND the yarn out of the stash. 

I've been doing this and cleaning the studio. 

The latest portable project is a baby blanket.

There are lots of babies about to join our lives. 

A grandson joining Kris from bootcamp

A daughter to Mark and Jaimie

A granddaughter to Jean and Donald

A daughter to Sonya and Dustin.

Wow --- lots of work ahead for me. 

Oh - and since I am a collecting Genius, I won't have to buy anything for these projects. 

I'm also cleaning the studio --- like 5 trash backs full to the dumpster.

And some donations to various places. 

Yay me --- it is a Happy DO year.

Let's just be real here.

Not sure if you guys noticed. I never really pointed it out. But it happened. And there is a very real reason it went like it did. And they say confession is quite good for the soul. 

Well here is the confession. 

Take a look at all of the wedding DIY pictures. (you do not have to do this literally) I'll will explain. 

NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM SHOWS ANY WORK HAPPENING IN THE STUDIO. 

WAIT YOU SAY.

YES I WILL REPEAT THAT. 

NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM SHOWS ANY WORK HAPPENING IN THE STUDIO. 

The next statement could be --- well it was more convenient to work in the living room or the dining room or even on the front porch. (Well the front porch was my favorite place to work when the weather was nice and I will have a table set up to continue that process in the very near future)

Or I needed to be near my family --- or there is no tv in the studio and I needed to keep up with ____. 

I might could even say that having a snake in the studio scares me. 

But nope -- none of those are the reasons for working in the house. ( and I do have a snake and I am not afraid of him at all)

The real studio of MaggieGraceCreates saga and the real reason for moving all the wedding crafting into the house ............. is this

There was no damned way to work in MaggieGraceWorld. Hell I couldn't even walk in MaggieGraceWorld.

So Friday night, I pulled the small trailer over by the door and simply moved the pile of crap in the floor onto the trailer. This gave me room to walk at least. Then I started cleaning, purging, rearranging, sorting, putting away. I worked ALL day Saturday. I took a pile of stuff I will NEVER use to a fellow creative soul (and managed to not bring home stuff she was planning to purge). Two big bags of trash. I unpackaged and combined. I labeled. I stacked a shelf on top of a dresser and that gave me room to move a file cabinet against the wall and out of the floor. It was a very productive day.

I got ONE CORNER cleaned. ONE CORNER. That is all.  But here is the pictured corner after that day's work.

Ahhhhh - Much better.

I know there be three more corners to go.


But I decided to take Sunday as a full day of rest.

Sunday School, morning worship, lunch, nap, dinner, youth Talent show........ then feet up and crochet hook in hand.

Have a wonderful day ------ I'll do the fabric closet tonight.

I'm kind of a grandmother....

Meet Tyson

Gordon Setter

Rescue pup

Spoiled rotten

The newly wed couple and their pup. 

He is loved by these two people puppy parents.

Loved enough

That they wanted him by their side as they vowed to be his parents and each other's best friends until death do them part.

He was well behaved. 

And oh so playful.

He cleans up nicely doesn't he (check out his tux)

Beautiful dog. 

Even sweet cuffs and cuff links

He got to play with the little peoples.

Sat sweetly during the ceremony.

Then rested while everyone else danced.

Please note -- he was not left in the crate for long. 

Once everything for the reception was running smoothly, Tyson got to go play with Rusty at Miss T's

house. 

He really is a great dog. 

He's my Grand Dog.

See I am kind of a Grandmother.

Have a wonderful weekend.

details

warning this is a photo heavy post ----- wedding decor details -- very little commentary. if you have questions about how to or what we did please just leave a comment.


The entry table ---- my absolute favorite detail was the laced mirror (I cut the center medallion from a lace curtain panel and used spray adhesive to put it in the center of a vintage beveled mirror) It is now hanging over my mantle.

The typewriter was from my mama's stash -- the spray is made from melty flowers.

A vintage train case - the multicolored crochet is a dress bib made for molly as a baby - she actually has that bib on in the tiny picture.

The banner says "ADVICE"  out using the FAKE typewriter keys I made.

The old music stand from a junk store - this was part of an old organ or piano.

Hearts and blue --- lots of hearts -- the vintage suitcase held the sparklers.

Each table centerpiece was different. Those blue vases that tied it all together were from Hobby Lobby.

The "tin" base is actually painted wall paper from lowes.

My mama and I made all the assorted table runners.

Milk glass from my mama's stash. The music wrapped around the bottle is from a hymnal. It is actually AMAZING GRACE which was what I sang to Molly as a lullaby.

Vintage blue Christmas balls and old insulators. Melty flowers made their appearance everywhere.  More and More hearts too.

The tiny little crystal butter pat plates are a flea market find (more milk glass)

Every table had pictures from Molly and Ben's Childhood.  That detail was one of the most discussed of the day. 

Vintage ledgers and a lace wrapped blue bottle.

Baby Beans and the posster (imposter) - that story will come later.  (Molly thought the dolls in the jars were creepy, so I changed these after the photographer finished these shots) 

That crochet piece is on the table below was an angel halo from a childrens' Christmas program at church.

A little candle lamp (partylite) with blue ornaments inside and a vintage faucet washer box.

A light fixture globe lfilled with blue ornaments.

More milk glass and pictures (yes she had a head full of black hair.)

The bridesmaids bouquets standing in vases (this detail allowed them to be part of the decor and gave the bridesmaids a place to put them) I mixed blue glitter and epsom salt for the bottoms for just a little extra detail.

The thrifted lace lined candle lamps (I used silver Christmas ornaments here and white melty flowers)

My mama made all the quilt tops that were on the rocking chairs on the porch.

Molly hand pieced the little quilt as part of a school project on "the old way of doing things"

Her first little dress shoes. That picture is a four generation picture.

This is the "Molly doll". She even had a dress that was similar to the one the doll had on. The doll was not made to look like her - Aunt Lynda and her girls found it in a store and gifted us with the uncannily familiar looking baby.

 Her Daddy's bible - a string of vintage plastic pearl "pop beads" they were hers and I found them looking for something and decided they would be perfect used as a book mark on the altar.

The bride and groom figures are avon bottles from my mamas stash.

A twenty dollar Habitat ReStore light fixture and weeks of work made a beautiful beaded and blinged candolier.

A rustic sign made from old fence boards.

The rocker bench from my front porch.

The wrot iron fence section with wired on candleholders. (this was a snafu of the day - we never got these candles lit)

 The altar was quite simple

there will be more photo heavy posts to come ----

Much love -