Oh I found the purrfect boots!!!

I braved the black friday sales and although I did get a few things at some very deep discounts, the boots weren't on sale. I did get the HUGE California sales tax forgiven though. At least I got something. Almost every person I ran into had red bloodshot eyes. Guess they got up at 4am to be out there shopping. Wow it was really amazing the amount of people out shopping. The spirits were really high and I loved the good vibes. Noone seemed grouchy. Plus, Plus, the weather although cold was beautiful. Big bright sun and beautiful blue skies with puffy white clouds. So Nice.

These boots are the best. I have been wearing them for three days and my feet are so happy.
They will make my trip so nice.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Well, I am getting so excited about my trip to see my daughter and my sisters back east. It will be one year since I have seen them. It will just be a couple of weeks before I leave now. Woo Hoo
I have been watching the news about the new search techniques at the airport and I must admit I am a little scared. For some reason (I don't look weird) I always get pulled aside and searched at the airport. I ask why and they always just shrug and indicate it is random. I accept this, after all I want to be on a safe flight. But getting searched while holding your arms out and them running a bar along the outside of your body is not like them actually touching you with their hands.... I don't want that, yikes.... Hopefully the news has exaggerated the situation like they always do and it will be a piece of cake. I am also madly looking for boots that I can wear for the whole trip. I have found some really good UGG ones that are slip on and waterproof.  I intend to go out on black Friday so I can get the best possible price. That will be exciting, I haven't been out on black Friday in years. Hope I don't get trampled. HA HA Yet another news exaggeration.

Here is a pin I am making for my home sweet home warm and fuzzy feelings. Don't you just want to be in the picture. So lovely.

Racoon Scarf!@!!!!! WOW!!!

 

This is such a cool scarf. It is felt. The creativity shown here is amazing. I would totally wear this. How much fun!!!
Here is the website for the artist that made it.
http://www.livemaster.ru/item/244303-odezhda-gorzhetka-enot

Buffy and the Late Fall Sun!!!

Buffy is really gettin to be old now. He turned 13 this past August. Here he is enjoying the sun and laying in the new Rye grass. He is so sweet.

Wow Time flies!!

Well Halloween came and went. Now we are into November. I made a little photo box to take small pictures. I followed directions from online somewhere. It came out so good. Now I can take pictures at night instead of having to wait until daylite. COOL! This is one of the photos from it.

Playing with buttons

This is my newest piece. I wanted to really show off some of the buttons that I have. Especially the marquisite ones and the black glass. Also I purchased some dyed fabric pieces from Cathy Cullis and I wanted to use some of those. The image on the fabric button that I used was takenfabric button that I made I want to do a series of these type of pieces using a lot of buttons.

Today I purchased my airline tickets for a Christmas visit to North Carolina. Thrilling.

So Hotttt on Saturday and so cold on Monday!!!

Look at this amazing praying mantiss that I found in the lillies when I was watering on Sunday. I think he was looking at me.
California's weather is going through some really strange things. Saturday was so hot at Glitterfest that I thought I was melting. I am sure it hurt artists sales since we were all selling mostly fall stuff. Not the right mood.
Plus a few days before Los Angeles recorded the hottest day (113º), since the late 1800's. Now on Wednesday I am freezing in my studio. I hadn't had the gas guy come to light the pilot light in my gas wall furnace since it was so hot. I arranged it for this Friday and now I find out from the news that this weekend it will be hot again.

Glitterfest was so fun!!!!

Well, Glitterfest was really wonderful. I met all kinds of new creative people. Everything that I am passionate about was up for discussion. From the moment I arrived at 8:45am till the time I left at 4:45pm I stood and talked and shared. Here are some pictures of the day before as I prepared my buttons for sale.  The last picture of my table at the show wasn't taken until the day was over. I didn't get a chance to take it at the start. But at least you can see some of it. We were packed in there pretty tight behind those tables. Me and the artist behind me kept laughing cause we kept bumping each other in the buts.

Glitterfest!!!

I haven't written in my blog for a while now. I have been busy with the house painting. That is done now at least the outside. Hooray. Now I am focused on the Glitterfest Show which is coming up next Saturday. I created a pumpkin fairy doll to wear at my booth. I also made a new outfit which I will post later when I get a picture. Sometimes when I talk to my sister I get so uplifted and inspired. I can't wait until I live near her and can walk over for some sweet tea. :-)

My new Roy Rogers shirt and big blue pants!!!

I love this shirt. It is so comfortable and when I wear it ahhhh!

A Sketch of Mama!!!

This is a pencil sketch I did of mama when we spent Thanksgiving at Celestine's house at the Russian River. We were sitting out on the lanai in the lazy afternoon and I was asking her what she thought my little baby girl was going to be like. I was about 3 months pregnant and I was very excited about it. I think I captured the dreamy look that my mom would get on her face whenever she had a pleasant thought. She looks so happy in this sketch and I know she was thinking about my beautiful new daughter and her own daughters. We had such a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner except that one of Eric's childhood friends showed up with a bottle of wine which none of us drank so he proceeded to drink the entire thing. By the end of dinner he was a stumbling drunk with a bad attitude. We tried everything to get him to sober up and leave us. We even walked around the pitch dark valley with him. He bored us with the huge chip he carried on his shoulder and he would not shut up. Eric and I were a little scared because we had our moms with us and he was so dark. We were so happy when he left. Whew!!!!

My new crochet hook holder.

I am making good use out the painting/collage I made to make Erin a purse out of. Now maybe I will be able to find my hooks. ha ha

Its such a happy day. I have my arm back.

I am so happy right now. I have my arm back. Okayyyy, I have to go easy but I don't feel like an ancient person. I think I can run again. I drew this picture of my niece Kelly. She is so cool and has such a neat attitude for someone just 13.

PINCHED NERVE !!!!!!! Ouch

I haven't been writing in my blog lately because I have been struggling with a pinched nerve. I was outside trying to get some leaves down from a big old Sycamore tree and I was using a tree trimmer. I was poking things over my head so every now and then a whole bunch of debri would fall down and I would jump out of the way. I guess by doing this I messed up my neck. The doctor says it will take 8 to 20 weeks to heal. ARGH. It really hurts. I have been taking Vicodin like aspirin.
Anyway I am better today. I had physical therapy and he told me not to bend my neck. I guess he should have told me that at the beginning. I have been crocheting. Not something I can do as you have to bend your neck.
Did it really matter that there were old leaves sitting in the tree. What was I thinking? Sometimes you just think you can do anything.
Yesterday I saw a news article about Mrs. Obama and her little daughter who were on a trip to Spain. They looked so happy. It is such a contrast to what  I am reading. "I know why the caged bird sings" It is a story about another little girl who lives in a very segregated part of town called The Stamp.  She describes her daily life and her interactions with people and situations from the perspective of a child. The humiliations that she experiences and the fright that she feels are so wrong. Things do change. There is hope for us all.

I made this little pin for summer.

Embroidered Watch Face!!

I treated myself to a new watch. It is so me. Here is a picture of it. I can't wait to get it.

What does this mean?

I made a button out of this image but I can't figure out what it means. It was out of context so I have no idea what the image was used for. It is interesting to try to figure out the meaning. I put it on one of my clown cards. That has nothing to do with the button. I love the clown cards.

I made a bracelet from the yarn and thread my sister sent me!!!!

I am so pleased with the way this bracelet worked out. I decided not to put too many beads on it. I just love the thread so much. It is interesting that my sister can drive to South Carolina to visit her son and while she is there in a very small area can go to a store that has every imaginable color  and texture of yarn and thread. I live in such a large area. What with Orange county blending into Los Angeles and San Diego. There are so many stores but non like this one in South Carolina. I am hoping she gets me an orange set for my birthday. Oh pleazzzzeeee!!!! I have so much fun working with these different textures. Here is the bracelet.

Is it a wall hanging or the front of a purse?

I finally finished this piece with the Days of the little Bears week. I can't decide if I want to hang it on the wall or use it as the front of a purse. I wish my week was like his. Mine is so confusing. Yesterday the plumber man put in the new bathtub and faucet. It just doesn't look right so I made chocolate cupcakes today. So so bad. I kept going by the cupcake bakery in Orange and thinking, wow I should buy one of those but then I thought I should just make my own. I know I won't like the one that I buy. The problem is you just can't make one cupcake. Now I have 24. Oh my poor husband is going to have to eat most of them.

Oh Hurray!!! Look what my sister sent me.

Oh Marylynn, you are just too generous. I can't wait to get started making a new bracelet with that yarn. And the fabric. Wow such a perfect summer skirt. And the buttons, the buttons. You perked up my whole week. Plus look at Eric with his beard. The girl at the store called him Grissly Adams. I think the beard is very pretty. I love the white curls. 

I cut my hair this morning.

I couldn't stand my hair in my face for one more day so I got out the scissors and whack whack whack. What do you think. I like it but I think I need to do a few more cuts on the left side. I also took down wallpaper today. Oh that is a nasty job. What a mess. My hands feel like they have been sanded. Yes I did wear gloves.
Yesterday my husband and I decided to go the OC Fair. We had to stop by the bank first and we proceeded to go around in circles for a while. They have stupid freeway signs on main street that make getting on the freeway going the right way very confusing. Even though we were talking about it so we wouldn't get on going in the wrong direction we managed to do it anyway. Then to get turned back around you have to go to calamazoo and back. We laughed about it but when we got all the way down to the fairgrounds we discovered it doesn't open until next week. ARGH!!! I guess I enjoyed the ride, at least I wasn't driving.

A purse made from painted canvas.

I made the first of a series of purses I am making for summer. It was more difficult to sew than I thought. I am sending this one to my daughter, but the next one I am going to throw in the washing machine to see what happens. Oh experiments are such fun. They continue with the house. ARRGGHH!!!

Erin's Beaver tooth necklace

When my daughter was in Virginia she visited a farm and while walking in the tall grass she discovered an old beaver skull with teeth. She sent me two of the teeth to put in a necklace for her. I felt the organic nature of the teeth was perfect for working with my metal technique. I had a great time creating the links. Working with the teeth was another story. When I had to drill a hole in them, much to my shock it smelled like I was in the dentist chair and he was drilling on me.  The smell was so strong. Yuck! I bleached the teeth and polished them but they are still kinda yellow and stained. Beavers have a hard life. I found the little beaver charm at my local bead store. It was the only one. So cool.