Monday, June 23, 2014

Update on personal goals

Lest I forget them, I go back and periodically read my goals again. And I'm shocked at how much time has already past since I first posted them. So here's a brief update:

1-6 month goals
• Develop statements of purpose, value, and missionDONE
• Find a group that is doing important work and contribute to it CONTINUING
• Join or start a small group for discussion.
• Get training in Prophetic Ministry. DONE
• Begin blogging about my journeyCONTINUING

1 year goals
• Seek teaching and/or curriculum development assignment
• Begin Russian language study CONTINUING
• Get involved in Prophetic Ministry CONTINUING

3-5 year goals
• Speak Russian fluently
• Advocate for Russian speaking victims of trafficking
• Publish a book about Human Trafficking (from blog posts)

I have two upcoming events in my anti-human-trafficking ministry, both in July. One is a craft day with some girls saved from slavery and one is a full day of teaching kids about who God is and how He has planned for their lives, if only they will follow Him. What a marvelous adventure, finding out what God's plan and purpose for one's life is!

Last week I volunteered at a "My Gateway" event, where we are beta-testing an application being developed in our church for use by other churches around the world. If your church is using the "Table" app, you already have an earlier version of it.

The week before I volunteered at an Access Life event where I helped handicapped people of all ages make sun visors at the expo. Lots of fun, but when I got home from being in the sun all day I slept for four hours straight! Boy the hot weather here in Texas really wears me out!

I packaged up a sheep toy I sold from my Etsy store and my gifts for my Craftaholics Handmade Gift Exchange partner and got them ready to mail tomorrow.

One more thing happened today. I received test swatches from Spoonflower on three of my designs, and ordered a yard of another of my designs. Here's what they look like:




This is the one I ordered a yard of. My next piggy will be wearing a dress made of this material.


Sunday, June 22, 2014

A story of three little pigs


This is a story of three little pigs. All girls. And dressed up to meet you. The first little pig is Daisy. She was my foray into making pig dolls with paper mache heads. And a bear's body. (All my pigs have paper mache heads and bear's bodies.) So who's judging? They like their shape.


Daisy taught me a lot, like pigs have double chins and fat cheeks. And smiles. Really. They do.

The second pig was Petunia.


Petunia taught me a lot, too. Like if you make the sleeves too tight on her dress, her arms will stick up.

The third little pig was Rose.


Rose's contribution to the story is that there is a better way to attach heads than with tying them on with string. Hot glue. Much better. She also taught me to varnish the hands and feet before sewing the clothing on. Or she reminded me after her clothing was already sewn on. But hey, what's an experience for if not to learn?

These little pigs aren't afraid of any big, bad wolf. I'm not going to make one of those, although I did once make a sheep in wolf's clothing!

Here are some pictures of Rose in the making:






Sorry for the poor light and the blurry pictures. It's raining today (so no natural light) and I'm using my iphone because my real camera is on the blink. Yeah. That's the story and I'm sticking to it!



Friday, June 20, 2014

3 Things That Rock

It's a Friday afternoon, and although it's only 4:15, I've been home for half an hour. That's super-cool, because my work day lasts from 7:00am to 7:00pm, five days a week. Then I try to work in crafting and blogging (and—shudder_ housekeeping). I wish I could say I was a crack housekeeper, but that would be lying. We're lucky if I get the downstairs presentable everyday. At least my kitchen stays relatively clean. I say relatively because I don't think Martha would approve. But then, I don't really care if she does. Or not.

But, oh, my studio! What a mess! I simply have to get a handle on it. I have projects in all stages of completeness all over the place and piles of supplies everywhere I look. Organization is not my strong suit. But I'm determined to get it all under control this summer, revamping the whole mess and posting as I go. I'm embarrassed to post pictures of it in its disarray right now, but once I get things a little put away, I promise to do that. You can come along for the ride!

I think my first project for the studio revamp will be to refurbish my desk. It's where my computer is and where I do small projects while I watch my latest tv-addiction  on my computer. We don't have tv service, so I have to watch online.

(An aside. My fingernails have gotten so long I can hardly type. I think I'll give myself a manicure and shorten them this weekend. Not tomorrow, though. Jeff and I are volunteering at our church at an event tomorrow. Leaving me even less time to get stuff done.)

But the title of this post was three things that rock. So here they are:

1) I've nearly finished pig number three. The head just needs to have polyurethane painted on and I can get to making the body. The body takes me about an hour to sew, stuff, and attach the head. Then comes the process of "aging" it with tea, coffee, and/or paint. Finally the clothing takes about another hour. With drying time, she should be finished by Monday or Tuesday (depending on how much housework I'm willing to skip this weekend).

 

2) I finished making a Christmas pillow for my craft-exchange partner (along with a tote bag and a sheep puppet for her kids) and have only one more thing to make for her before I ship it all out on Monday or Tuesday. I'll include a tutorial for the pillow at a later date. The word and stripes are felted on, not sewn or glued. It's simple, lasting, and makes a more pleasing finish, in my opinion.


3)Also finished is my youngest grandson's blanket, which I made with a pretty gray and yellow chevron patterned flannel on one side, and some brownish-gray minky on the other side. He loves it, being still just one year old and into "blankies."



So that makes three projects done and done. Well, except the pig. And the last little thing for the exchange box. But those should be finished in the next three or four days. And that rocks!