Some Different Art

I think I might be able to get back into regular blogging again, now that cool weather is settling in and the thought of that white stuff covering every inch of ground is something I'm trying to avoid. The garden bed is ready to plant garlic tomorrow. And with the last clean up of the patio clutter, I'm beginning to get that 'nesting feeling' again! That means more cooking, baking and creating.

If you've been following this blog for anytime, you would know that I love to create, be it quilting, making art, crafting, etc.

Last summer an artist friend and I played with wax painting. This is a new medium to us and we started out with inexpensive supplies such as leftover mat board, beeswax, crayons, etc. These are what I did in the summer of 2014.  Remember, this was just play. I wasn't trying to create anything recognizable, just trying to wok with something new.

Embellished with ribbons and findings.

What to do with that odd earring.

Shells and cheesecloth.

And this was this summer's endeavor:

Alcohol ink and glitter embellished.

Alcohol ink and gold leaf. I placed a ribbon hanger on this one and it hangs on a hallway wall.

Quilter Activated Again

Hi Everyone! Did ya miss me? It's been a busy year.  My dear husband is still on the mend from his stroke last April and is permanently retired now. It's been an adjustment not being on a upside down work schedule for both of us, a new chapter in our lives. And next summer, oh do we have a honey-do list for him to work on around the house and yard.

And as for me, after more than a year of not quilting, the quilts have been calling my name. We disposed of our spare bedroom set and that gave me the space to set up my quilting frame again. The following pictures show my latest quilt project, a quilt top that had be languishing in a drawer for untold years. There is another, larger one awaiting it's turn on the quilting frame too. And then there are the unfinished UFOs. shall I go on? LOL

This is just a teaser post. I have more to share...flora, fauna, art projects and whatever else I can cook up. I love all of you who follow my blog. It's good to be back in blogland. Hugs!

It All Started When...

You probably wondered why I hadn't posted since March. I have no excuse for the time period between March 17 and April 15 of this year. Perhaps it was lack of motivation or creativity taking a vacation. Or I was still suffering from the doldrums and hadn't found my 'Spring' wings yet.

Now back to 'it all started when'...  First my husband's car developed a steering fluid leak. To the repair shop and a $2000 bill later.

Second, a bird flew into the roof vent for our stove hood and apparently got stuck. It could be heard off and on for 2 or 3 days making a racket, then silence. It must have escaped because there has not been any bad smell coming from the stove hood. 

Third, the worst thing happened. My husband Jerry suffered a stroke. He spent about 3 weeks in the hospital but he's been home now for a week and is well on the mend. The doctor was surprised and pleased at yesterday's office visit because my husband walked into the office...no wheel chair or walker to assist! We are praising the faithfulness of YHVH for carrying us through this!

I came home from the hospital at 1 AM the first night Jerry was there and drove through deep puddles in our driveway. Yep, you guessed it. Something happened to the wiring in my car and the dome light wouldn't go out. If something wasn't done, it would cause the car's battery to drain. And I needed the car to get back to the hospital in the morning. Panic! Who could I call at 1 in the morning to fix it? Again, asking Heavenward, the idea came to take the light bulb out of the socket. Whew! I'm not the mechanical type so this was a major breakthrough for me. LOL

And lastly, while hubby was in the hospital, the thermostat for the furnace stopped working. 

You know that saying 'stop and smell the roses'? Well, it's too early for roses in our area so I'll just show you some spring flowers from my garden.

I forgot I planted these. These minis are about the size of a quarter.

One of my favorite sights in the spring.

 Hugs to all my followers. I won't be so long in posting next time. Have a great week!

Who Doesn't Need A Touch Of Spring?

Well, it's raining right now and the snow is slowly melting. The driveway has turned into mud and even though that's very annoying (muddy boots and all) at least we can see some bare ground again. The squirrels have chased the birds away from the bird feeder so it has been removed until next fall. This winter we were entertained by the antics of the different birds. The sparrows and wren can get pretty feisty with each other just like human siblings. They all claim the birdseed as their own. We were delighted with the cardinal population this year. At on point we had 2 females and 4 males out there at the same time. And quite often there would be at least 3 males showing up all at once. I'm sorry I didn't take pictures but every time I got near the window the birds would spook.

However, the geranium cuttings I took last fall and brought into the house have started to bloom. I guess that will have to hold me until the spring bulbs make their entrance.

I just heard a roar and looked up at the window. The rain has stopped and the snow is at it again. Sigh....

Hugs everyone! Have a great week.

Good News And Something Green

I told you in my last post that my desktop PC had serious problems and crashed and burned. Upon further inspection my husband-computer-greek-fix-it-man found that a connection had been dislodged and tangled up in the cooling fan. Ahhhh! An easy fix! Fortunately no files were lost. Whew!

Since I can't find my garden under all that snow to work on, I decided to work on my houseplants. The shelves were cleaned and the plants revitalized. I have a small tabletop fountain that we found was leaking and needed repair so it didn't make it into the following photos.

This is a nice spot in my kitchen to drink coffee and admire the greenery in the morning.

I closed the curtains so you wouldn't see the snow!

A shelf of succulant plants.

And finally, I', thinking about seed starting for the coming gardening season. I'm giving my veggie garden a rest this year but plan on growing a few tasty things in pots. And since I won't be fussing with the veggies this year I can catch up with the weeds and revitalize my perennial beds.

 

  

What Are The Chances?

What are the chances that my laptop battery was on it's deathbed, and one day after ordering a replacement battery, my desktop PC's hard drive crashed and burned? Yep.... 100%!!!!! My laptop is enjoying it's new battery so I'm catching up on internet stuff. Unfortunately, I have no idea how many files I've lost on the PC. :-((  I still have most of my pictures but all those bookmarks I'd accumulated are probably toast. Sigh.

Okay, now for the project I didn't post last week. I promise this is the last snowman project I'm doing until next winter. This project came from a Create and Decorate magazine from 2004. At the time this was published, I was into primitive style decorating. I figured this was an appropriate project to end my snowman posts with.

It appears we've had 4 to 5 feet total snow in the last few weeks. And the wind has been brutal. Winter is really getting old in a hurry so next week I'll be posting something spring-like. As you can see, my snowman is eager to get out of this weather too. And I have it on good authority that this snowman won't melt.

Until next time...Tootles my friends!

Oh, That Pinterest!

This post is being written a bit later today than I planned. We received a foot or more of snow last night and my hubby had to snow-blow the driveway. Unfortunately the tractor-snow-blower got stuck and we had to wrestle to get it unstuck. It was not fun.

Also, I didn't post last week because of other obligations. One: My final test for my Bible course was due...had to study for it. Got 99%. Whoopee! Did the happy dance! Two: Our 45th wedding anniversary was last Friday and I prepared a special dinner for my honey. (We dined out the week before just in case the weather was too bad to go out in.)

On to my blog: I'm still in snowman decor mode. I have a snowman Pinterest board and picked a project to do this week with...yep, you guessed it...snowmen.It turned out a little different than the original. I had to substitute buttons and other embellishments but that made it more my own. See what you think.

Until my next post...Hugs!

Had Enough Of That Snow Yet?

If your answer to that question is "Yes", I'm in agreement. However I need more snowman themed items to decorate my home with for January. So out came the sewing machine (Did I see it shake with excitement?), the fabric, thread , etc. Pinterest was pulled up on the computer to search out 'snowmen' and having chosen a couple of ideas, I have three new mug rugs to add to my collection. I still need a table runner or two so that could be something I'll do before the month is out. Yikes! That will be in less that two weeks from now. Where did the month go? One good thing is that we passed the halfway mark and the days are getting longer again.

Here are those mug rugs. They are such quick easy projects to do...instant, or almost, gratification!

Until next time....Hugs!

Words and Phrases

Some people choose a word to concentrate on every year but one word isn't enough for me. I decided to tackle a phrase..."Organize My Use Of Time". I am so bad at this I'm compelled to improve. It's hard to believe how much time in my day is wasted. I know this because I can't seem to accomplish much and with a blink of an eye, it's already next week. Sigh.... With determination, I'll put that in the past and share my progress with you over the coming year.

In the mean time, even though it's close to the middle point in January, already the snow thing is getting old. No, I don't have cabin fever but I need a change from white to green so here are a couple of pictures that were taken in the summer months this year at a local park.

Now doesn't green look better than white to you. It does to me! This last picture was taken in my backyard this summer. We live in the country and wild life abounds here...sometimes.

An unexpected visitor.

Next week I'll share what else I've been up to. Hugs!

PS: I forgot to say returning to blogging is more uplifting that flowers and chocolate, but my husband doesn't need to know that! :) Hugs again!

After Many False Starts

Finally! I'm hoping my blogging is going to be on a regular basis again. At least I'm going to really try.

And what have I been up to? Making art, baking bread, moving my studio from the back of the house to the front, and taking online art classes and online Bible college classes. I haven't touched my sewing machine, except for a mending job, since June. I think I hear it crying from the closet so I'll have to get it out and play soon.

I love to decorate my surroundings with things that speak of the seasons we are in. I've been planning some future projects with a snowman motif. Not because I'm so crazy about snow but I can't think of any other subject matter for this time of year. After snowmen come cardinals. Especially important to me for the bright shocking color they model against the snow, a great contrast! We have plenty of cardinals that have been coming to our bird feeder this winter. One day I counted four males and two females, six in total. And I find it so funny when they are all perched in the barren bushes skirting the edge of the back yard, looking like very large bright red berries.

My last project was an art box intended for a Chinese auction at my art guild. It had snowed that day and I couldn't get my car down our un-plowed 350 foot driveway to attend so I'll probably save it for next year's auction.

Base coated with acrylic paint, cheesecloth and jewels applied

Starlight scene painted inside of lid with mini-jewels added

I'll be tweeking the look of this blog in the next few weeks. And with more projects planned, I won't have time to get cabin fever this year!