Valentine's Day plans

WEll, tomorrow is my second "dose" of chemo to keep my bladder cancer from coming back, but tonight I've been huddled on the bathroom floor up chucking my toenails. Yuck! I didn't feel at all well today, which made it hard to concentrate on my littles, who were extremely good (praise the good Lord!). But even though I feel so lousy, I'm looking forward to the next five days. After my chemo treatment, I'll go on a tiny shopping spree and get a few craft items I need to make the paper mâché dog I hope to have finished by Friday night when I transfer myself and our two dogs over to my son's house to babysit over the weekend with our littles. Son and wife are going out of town for a Valentine's getaway and husband and I are having a weekend of crafts and cookie making with Remy and Liam. Then I have Monday off (as well as this Thursday and Friday). It will give me time to work on my book while the paper mâché dog dries. The dog is a Valentine's Day gift for my beloved, who always loves the whimsical things I make and is my largest collector. The other gift I got him is a Groupon coupon to take a concealed carry permit course. What normally costs $150 only cost me $30!

Here are some pictures of the last time we did cookies and crafts. (Note the horse show going on on TV in the background!)

Averting disaster (after the horse got out)

After my three year old granddaughter took a tumble down the very steep stairs at my son's house, he and my husband got together and put up a second rail that the little ones can reach. Now they have no trouble holding on going up and down the stairs! They bought two 10' lengths of railing and matched the hardware on the original rail. Then, by using a plumb line to make sure the rail was fastened in the same vertical placement as the original, it was easy to make this staircase a whole lot safer for the toddlers in our lives.

Liam and Remy using their new hand rail.

Back from the deep

For the last eight months, I've been lost in a very dark, very deep depression. I had no desire to create at all. Not in my crafts and certainly not on my blog. But the good news is that I'm back now. My doctor got my meds regulated and I feel 100% better, full of energy and positive, despite the state our world is in.

In fact, if you are, like I am, a Christian, you realize that the state of affairs we find ourselves in globally means that Christ will soon be returning to snatch away His bride! How exciting that is! If you want to know more about these end days, or you aren't (yet) a Christian, just take a look at my page called End of Days.

But for now, I am told to "occupy until He comes." Therefore, I'm back on my blog, designing, crafting, writing, cooking... and still taking care of my precious two youngest grandchildren. R is 3-1/2 and L is 18 months. They are what kept me going through my depression. Hallelujah! Jesus is seen in the eyes of a small child!

To bring you up to speed (whoever you are--I really don't think I have any followers), here are some pictures of what's been going on in my life.

Liam vacuuming. Notice he has Remy's princess shoe on his right foot! LOL! (Left)

Remy making cookies. (above)

Me with long(ish) blonde hair. Blonde is my natural color, but Jeff prefers it red and short, so.....

Me with short, red hair, as requested. I still need to add highlights.















And just for fun, here's a video I took of my fur babies just chillin' on this rainy Sunday morning, Superbowl day, and one day before my 62nd birthday.

Handmade Gift Exchange summer 2014

I love Craftaholics gift exchanges! It's fun to have a "secret pal" to send something handmade to. It's also fun to get to know that person through posts and answers to questions you ask about them, like: what is your favorite color, what is your favorite season, do you have a specific style you like, what is your favorite holiday, etc. I learned enough about Cassie Fuller to know that she collects Christmas stuff year 'round, and that she has little kids with a new baby on the way. So I sent her a pillow that said "JOY" on it, a Christmas star made from clothespins, a white totebag with a pink polka-dot interior, and a lamb hand puppet, all of which I made specifically for her and her little brood. She sent me a Christmas sign on a 10"x12" tile, a set of Americana blocks that says God Bless America, and a set of calendar blocks that has a huge array of occasions with it. Here, let me show you:

I'm positively thrilled with my gifts and hope she is likewise with mine (she says she is). Unfortunately, I neglected to photograph my gifts to her before I mailed them. Hopefully, she will photograph them and I can get them from her. Meanwhile, if you're interested in getting in on the next exchange, just go to http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/gift-exchanges. The next one will be in the fall (I think). Maybe you and I will be partners!

Have you participated in handmade gift exchanges? Did you have fun? What did you make/receive?

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 mission. DONE

• 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 journey. CONTINUING

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.

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!

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!