Saturday, July 14, 2012
Hmmmn, Blog Traffic?
See, I have a theory that if you're here reading MY blog, you're here for a reason. And since my blog got many hits yesterday and today, I bet I can guess the reason.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Following a friend
OH MY! Time gets away from me, so there are a ton of new things to talk about. Right now I am interested in entering a giveaway on another blog, so I am just in here posting a quick link and entry for my friend, Jody's, blog and giveaway. Today I received the most amazing envie of metal goodies from her. I had sent her some shrink plastic to try, and she insisted on sending me a RAk in return.
Her RAk was FAB and was most definitely personalized. She included an assortment of the most luscious metal embellies ever seen! My DH even appeared to be covetous at supper time when I opened the package in front of him!
Anyway, here is her badge. I invite you to follow her blog and to check out her creations.
Her RAk was FAB and was most definitely personalized. She included an assortment of the most luscious metal embellies ever seen! My DH even appeared to be covetous at supper time when I opened the package in front of him!
Anyway, here is her badge. I invite you to follow her blog and to check out her creations.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
New Catherine Moore Stamps
I belong to a Yahoo group, Character Constructions, that showcases artists' work created with Catherine Moore's Character Constructions line of stamps. Well, I receive regular updates to the group, but because I haven't been very active since joining it several years ago, I usually just delete the notices as I cruise through checking my email. But a few weeks ago something caught my eye- her new stamp line, She Sells Seashells, and it was on!
The back story is that I purchased her first line, Inner Child, when it was first released in red rubber, before she changed her line to using Clearly Constructed clear acrylic stamps. I love them so much and have used them for tons of different projects and dolls. I have used those old red rubber stamps to death, and in fact, they are what I used to make my paper doll flip book, La Livre Des Femmes Papier, which had a couple of the dolls in it published in Somerset Gallery Summer 2010. I posted a little about my disappointment that Stampington kept the book so long and that I was afraid they had lost it, but the book did make its way back to me, so I am happy . Well, mostly. The only other thing to complain about that event is that the photos of the dolls that were published were credited to someone named Norma Skogland, not to me! Oh well (big sigh) . . . 
So anyway, I did not purchase any of the intervening years' releases although I liked them very much. To get all the plates for one line is rather pricey, and I had been working on making my own doll patterns and parts and was making mermaid paper dolls and fairy paper dolls and Matryoshka paper dolls - you get the picture. When I saw these mermaid stamps in the She Sells line, though, I just had to have them, and now I am revisiting her catalog often, looking at the things other people are doing with her stamps, and now I have the bug again. But in the meantime, I've been busy with these mermaids, and have a ton of other ideas in mind. Today is a snow day for me, so right after I get this leedle update added to my much-neglected blog, I am off to execute a couple of those ideas. 
They were being released for shipping on the day after I happened to see them, and from the minute I saw them, I just couldn't stop thinking about them! I am not kidding, they literally would not leave me alone! Anyway, after looking, and drooling, and yes, lusting after these stamps for a couple of days, I just did it! I ordered ten of the fourteen plates. I still would like to have the other four plates, but I will wait to order them because now she has drawn me back in, I may be going back for some of the other years' releases that I didn't buy.
The back story is that I purchased her first line, Inner Child, when it was first released in red rubber, before she changed her line to using Clearly Constructed clear acrylic stamps. I love them so much and have used them for tons of different projects and dolls. I have used those old red rubber stamps to death, and in fact, they are what I used to make my paper doll flip book, La Livre Des Femmes Papier, which had a couple of the dolls in it published in Somerset Gallery Summer 2010. I posted a little about my disappointment that Stampington kept the book so long and that I was afraid they had lost it, but the book did make its way back to me, so I am happy . Well, mostly. The only other thing to complain about that event is that the photos of the dolls that were published were credited to someone named Norma Skogland, not to me! Oh well (big sigh) . . . So anyway, I did not purchase any of the intervening years' releases although I liked them very much. To get all the plates for one line is rather pricey, and I had been working on making my own doll patterns and parts and was making mermaid paper dolls and fairy paper dolls and Matryoshka paper dolls - you get the picture. When I saw these mermaid stamps in the She Sells line, though, I just had to have them, and now I am revisiting her catalog often, looking at the things other people are doing with her stamps, and now I have the bug again. But in the meantime, I've been busy with these mermaids, and have a ton of other ideas in mind. Today is a snow day for me, so right after I get this leedle update added to my much-neglected blog, I am off to execute a couple of those ideas. Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tutorial for Four Inch Monogram Medallion
Making a Four Inch Rosette Medallion
By Christine Kepler (Please credit me if you use this – Do not use this tutorial for profit)
This rosette will have three layers of paper: Layer one is a four-inch diameter pleated base rosette, next on top of the base is a three-inch diameter ruffled crepe paper rosette, and the final, or third layer, is a two-inch diameter pleated rosette. The layers I listed do not include any embellishments or other layers you may choose to add to your finished medallion. The layers I am listing and showing photos of are general guidelines only. You may choose to substitute tulle or lace ruffles for any of the layers, or you may use specialty papers such as mulberry paper or metallics for your rosettes. You may make the paper strips narrower or wider to make your finished medallions larger or smaller. Again, this tutorial is for a four inch finished medallion.
Step one:
Begin by cutting your strips of paper to the above widths. I use 12 X 12 scrapbook paper, cut two strips of each width, cut one of the strips off leaving about a quarter inch to overlap each other, then I glue pieces together to get the lengths I need.
Step three:
It is time to glue the ends of your pleated paper strip together. Allow the folded strip to come unfolded, and bring both ends together like you are making a bracelet. Using the hot glue, spread a thin line along one short edge and bring the other short edge together and glue, making sure you have two mountain peaks glued together so they look like one crease. Now your strip of pleated paper should form a circle like a bracelet.
By Christine Kepler (Please credit me if you use this – Do not use this tutorial for profit)
This rosette will have three layers of paper: Layer one is a four-inch diameter pleated base rosette, next on top of the base is a three-inch diameter ruffled crepe paper rosette, and the final, or third layer, is a two-inch diameter pleated rosette. The layers I listed do not include any embellishments or other layers you may choose to add to your finished medallion. The layers I am listing and showing photos of are general guidelines only. You may choose to substitute tulle or lace ruffles for any of the layers, or you may use specialty papers such as mulberry paper or metallics for your rosettes. You may make the paper strips narrower or wider to make your finished medallions larger or smaller. Again, this tutorial is for a four inch finished medallion.Supplies
One strip paper 2” X 18” hot glue gun small piece of cardboard
One strip paper 1” X 16” glitter
One strip crepe paper 1-1/2” X 18” tacky glue or equivalent (not glue stick)
Various embellishments such as gems, pearls, leaves, flowers, ribbons, and a chipboard initial or letter if you are making a monogram medallion. You may also want a compatible color of ink to ink the edges of your rosettes as I do.
One strip paper 2” X 18” hot glue gun small piece of cardboard
One strip paper 1” X 16” glitter
One strip crepe paper 1-1/2” X 18” tacky glue or equivalent (not glue stick)
Various embellishments such as gems, pearls, leaves, flowers, ribbons, and a chipboard initial or letter if you are making a monogram medallion. You may also want a compatible color of ink to ink the edges of your rosettes as I do.
Step one:
Begin by cutting your strips of paper to the above widths. I use 12 X 12 scrapbook paper, cut two strips of each width, cut one of the strips off leaving about a quarter inch to overlap each other, then I glue pieces together to get the lengths I need.
Step two: 
Begin scoring the paper strips (not the crepe paper – we will come back to it later). I use the gridlines on my paper cutter because it is marked off in quarter inches, and a bone folder to crease the paper. Remember that whatever increment you use to score and crease the paper, that is how tall each layer will end up being. I like the quarter inch pleats because we are building up several layers. If you were making just a one layer rosette, you could pleat it in half inch intervals and your rosette would be ½ inch thick. Score both paper strips in the same way. Now is when you need to plug in your hot glue gun so it will be hot. After you have scored your paper strips, it is time to pleat them. Just start folding like you are making a paper fan, back and forth on the score lines. Hold the paper folds together as you go back and forth, making a little bundle.
Begin scoring the paper strips (not the crepe paper – we will come back to it later). I use the gridlines on my paper cutter because it is marked off in quarter inches, and a bone folder to crease the paper. Remember that whatever increment you use to score and crease the paper, that is how tall each layer will end up being. I like the quarter inch pleats because we are building up several layers. If you were making just a one layer rosette, you could pleat it in half inch intervals and your rosette would be ½ inch thick. Score both paper strips in the same way. Now is when you need to plug in your hot glue gun so it will be hot. After you have scored your paper strips, it is time to pleat them. Just start folding like you are making a paper fan, back and forth on the score lines. Hold the paper folds together as you go back and forth, making a little bundle.
Step three:
It is time to glue the ends of your pleated paper strip together. Allow the folded strip to come unfolded, and bring both ends together like you are making a bracelet. Using the hot glue, spread a thin line along one short edge and bring the other short edge together and glue, making sure you have two mountain peaks glued together so they look like one crease. Now your strip of pleated paper should form a circle like a bracelet.
The next step seems a little tricky, but just work with it a little to make the medallion. Start folding up the pleats again while holding them together. When you have almost all the pleats folded into a little bundle, lay the bundled part down on the work surface, hold it in place with one hand, and with the other hand, manipulate the rest of the pleats to lay flat so the part that is not folded all together can kind of “spring around” with the bundled pleats to form a circle. I don’t know if this makes sense to you, but your goal is for one side of the pleats to all come together in the center of a circle. Another way to do this step is to stand the “bracelet” up on edge so it is standing by itself. Using your palm, press down on the top edge and press the whole thing down onto the work surface. 
This should make the top edge you are pressing on close in together and allow the rosette to form itself. As soon as the pleats are uniformly arranged in a circular shape, put a dot of hot glue in the center, AND 
HOLD THE CIRCLE ON SEVERAL SIDES UNTIL THE GLUE COOLS. If you don’t hold it, your pleats won’t hold or your circle will pop out of shape and you will have to start over with laying the circle flat and gluing it.
Turn the medallion over and put a spot of glue on the back, again waiting for the glue to cool. Repeat this step for both strips of paper to form layers one and three of your medallion. After your rosettes are formed, this is when I ink the edges of the rosettes to give them a more finished look. Drag the outer edge of each rosette across your ink pad giving them as much or as little color as you choose. Set rosettes aside.
Step four:
This is where you will form your crepe paper ruffle. Using a small piece of cardboard or stock, trace about a one inch circle and cut it out. Lay the circle flat on your work surface, and put a little dab of hot glue on one side about ¼ inch in from the edge of the circle. Lay the edge of your strip of crepe paper into the hot glue, then start bunching it up into that glue, gathering it into that spot to give it fullness. Add another little dab of glue onto the circle where you left off ruffling the first section, and then keep ruffling the crepe paper on around the circle until you have evenly created a ruffled rosette similar to your pleated one. The end of your crepe paper strip should meet up and overlap the spot where you began making your rosette and the cardboard circle should no longer be visible. Don’t worry if it looks a little rough - you are just going for a fluffy look and no one will see the center of this layer so it can overlap and be a little messy in the middle. Next, if you want, you can glitter the outside edge of the crepe paper. To do this, simply put a mound of glue on a piece of scrap cardboard or paper so you can dip the edge of the crepe paper rosette in it. Just barely dip the edge in the glue, and then dip it in a dish of glitter. Shake off the excess, dip the next little section of the edge in the glue, then glitter, and keep going all the way around the edge. Hold over the trash, shake again, and set aside to dry for a bit.
Gather the embellishments you think you want to use. In this example I have a small piece of feather trim, a beaded rose about ¾ of an inch across, and about a six inch piece of antique tatted lace. I also have a one foot piece of green silk organza ribbon, ¾ inch wide, that I am going to use for a hanger on the medallion. Lay the largest rosette flat on your work surface. Using the hot glue, put about a dime-sized glob of glue into the middle of the rosette. Lay the crepe paper rosette onto this OR, if you are using an embellishment that you want to be peeking out from under the edge of the crepe paper ruffle, glue that down first then lay the crepe paper rosette down. Add any embellishments you want to layer under the top rosette in place, then add a dollop of hot glue to the center of the crepe paper rosette and lay down the last, smaller rosette. You will need to find a small pearl, gem or jewel, paper flower, or some other small thing to glue onto the very center of this third layer to cover up the glue you used to make it into a rosette. Next, take the one foot length of ribbon, bring both ends together and knot them making a hanging loop. Turn the medallion over and glue the knotted end into the middle of the back with some hot glue. Then, smooth the hanging loop so it lays flat and tack the two sides of the hanging loop to the upper edge of the medallion so it will hang flat. The last step is to add any final embellishments or, in this case, a large chipboard initial.
Some Final Thoughts . . .
• Paper works better than cardstock. It is harder to get good, even pleats into cardstock, but it can be done.
• You can pleat your rosettes without marking, but it is hard to get them even. Just think about folding those childhood fans!
• The larger and farther apart the pleats are, the taller your rosette will stand.
• You can change up the middle layer. Instead of crepe paper ruffles, use gathered lace, feather boa, tulle – whatever you want.
• The more you practice, the better you’ll get!
Step four:
This is where you will form your crepe paper ruffle. Using a small piece of cardboard or stock, trace about a one inch circle and cut it out. Lay the circle flat on your work surface, and put a little dab of hot glue on one side about ¼ inch in from the edge of the circle. Lay the edge of your strip of crepe paper into the hot glue, then start bunching it up into that glue, gathering it into that spot to give it fullness. Add another little dab of glue onto the circle where you left off ruffling the first section, and then keep ruffling the crepe paper on around the circle until you have evenly created a ruffled rosette similar to your pleated one. The end of your crepe paper strip should meet up and overlap the spot where you began making your rosette and the cardboard circle should no longer be visible. Don’t worry if it looks a little rough - you are just going for a fluffy look and no one will see the center of this layer so it can overlap and be a little messy in the middle. Next, if you want, you can glitter the outside edge of the crepe paper. To do this, simply put a mound of glue on a piece of scrap cardboard or paper so you can dip the edge of the crepe paper rosette in it. Just barely dip the edge in the glue, and then dip it in a dish of glitter. Shake off the excess, dip the next little section of the edge in the glue, then glitter, and keep going all the way around the edge. Hold over the trash, shake again, and set aside to dry for a bit.
Step five: Putting it all together!
Gather the embellishments you think you want to use. In this example I have a small piece of feather trim, a beaded rose about ¾ of an inch across, and about a six inch piece of antique tatted lace. I also have a one foot piece of green silk organza ribbon, ¾ inch wide, that I am going to use for a hanger on the medallion. Lay the largest rosette flat on your work surface. Using the hot glue, put about a dime-sized glob of glue into the middle of the rosette. Lay the crepe paper rosette onto this OR, if you are using an embellishment that you want to be peeking out from under the edge of the crepe paper ruffle, glue that down first then lay the crepe paper rosette down. Add any embellishments you want to layer under the top rosette in place, then add a dollop of hot glue to the center of the crepe paper rosette and lay down the last, smaller rosette. You will need to find a small pearl, gem or jewel, paper flower, or some other small thing to glue onto the very center of this third layer to cover up the glue you used to make it into a rosette. Next, take the one foot length of ribbon, bring both ends together and knot them making a hanging loop. Turn the medallion over and glue the knotted end into the middle of the back with some hot glue. Then, smooth the hanging loop so it lays flat and tack the two sides of the hanging loop to the upper edge of the medallion so it will hang flat. The last step is to add any final embellishments or, in this case, a large chipboard initial.
Some Final Thoughts . . .
• Paper works better than cardstock. It is harder to get good, even pleats into cardstock, but it can be done.
• You can pleat your rosettes without marking, but it is hard to get them even. Just think about folding those childhood fans!
• The larger and farther apart the pleats are, the taller your rosette will stand.
• You can change up the middle layer. Instead of crepe paper ruffles, use gathered lace, feather boa, tulle – whatever you want.
• The more you practice, the better you’ll get!
One more note: there is another, somewhat easier way to make the rosette, but I don't think the rosettes look as sharp and neat. Cut a strip of paper the same width as you want the finished diameter of your rosette to be. If you want a four inch rosette, cut a four inch wide strip of paper. Halve the length you think you will need. To make the above four inch diameter rosette calls for a 2 inch by 18 inch length of paper, so to make the same rosette in this manner, you would double the width of the paper strip to four inches, and halve the length to nine inches. Follow me so far? Pleat, using the paper fan folding method, back and forth in quarter inch intervals. When you have it all folded, tie a sturdy piece of string or bend a little wire around the exact middle of the bundle of pleats and and twist or tie to secure it tightly. Starting with one side of the bundle of pleats, run a line of glue along the side, and glue an edge to its mate on the other side of the midline of the bundle of pleats. hold until it dries. It should look at this point like a paper fan - a half circle. When it is dry, repeat on the opposite side so you have made a full circle. Again, this does not make as neat a medallion, IMHO.
Monday, July 19, 2010
The Livin' is Easy
It's summertime around here, and the livin' is EASY! Well, sorta, anyway, if you don't count all the yard work and gardening work. It has been a week since I returned from a fabulous, sixteen-day vacay spent visiting some of my sisters and a wonderful Internet friend.
The day of my return I harvested some gargantuan zucchinis that my hubby should have picked the day after I left! No worries, though - those went into a monster recipe of zucchini bread I made a few days ago. I ended up with five big loaves, a half dozen large muffins for hubby's lunch, and a mini loaf. For one of the loaves I used my Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan that makes a BIG loaf. I'm not sure how many cups it holds, but I think I used about five cups of batter in it. So that's the loaf we've been eating. I took a loaf to my regular Friday night play date with the girls at the the Shack, took one to the neighbors, and have a couple more tucked into the freezer along with the tiny loaf and the lunch muffins. This should last until the next baking day day!
Besides the zucchini, we have been livin' easy eating some other varieties of squash from the garden, too. I have been pan-sauteing yellow and white patty pans and yellow crooknecks and serving them with just a little butter and S&P. I harvest them when they are just about a couple inches in diameter - SO stinking good. Yesterday I sprinkled a cookie sheet with some EVOO and sliced about six small patty pans onto it, then roasted them in a 375 degree oven while I was baking some crumb-crusted lemon scrod. YUM!
Then there is the Swiss chard. That's good, too, if you like greens with a little bite to them. I planted regular white chard and rainbow chard, both. Since I planted them rather close, they needed thinning, so when I thinned them the other day, we got to eat the thinnings! I washed them and trimmed the root off and let them dry overnight in the fridge wrapped in paper towels inside a baggie. Then I sauteed them in bacon fat, added a little S&P and mmmmn! they were good too. That's what I mean about the livin' is easy - I love eating out of the garden in the summer! My green beans are about ready to pick, so I am already thinking about how to serve them and what I else I will have with them.
I usually don't plant cucumbers b/c they take so much room, but my neighbor keeps me supplied with all of those I can eat. That's why he gets zucchini bread! We have tons of tomatoes coming on, as well as the coles - broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage - which we had to plant twice b/c of the garden thieves. We have a couple of kinds of pepper planted also that I will use with the tomatoes to make salsa to put up for the winter. Besides the salsa, I will can the tomatoes to use all winter long. I use canned tomatoes in all kinds of stuff, and I hate paying almost $2.00 a can!
My vacation down south was tons of fun! I started off on June 22nd by flying to my youngest sister's house in Tampa. I visited with Juliet for a few days, and while there, got a new tattoo! It is a gorgeous blue swallow with its wings spread and sprays of pink cherry blossoms in the background. I had it placed on my right outer ankle and it is about three inches across. I love it! No tattoo remorse for this girl!
After visiting with Juliet, my sweet BIL, Ed, drove me to a meeting point on I75 where I met up with my Internet buddy, RyeRye. We met last summer through Swap-bot and became fast friends. RyeRye and I felt as if we had known each other for years, and in fact, call each other "Sistahs from another Mistah!" We embarked on a super adventure within about an hour of meeting each other: we went para sailing! That was so much fun, and not scary at all. And this is coming from a person who is terrified of carnival rides and roller coasters! During my five day stay with her, we went yard sailing, to the beach, bead shopping, and ate a bunch of great stuff. Also, the snot beat me at my own game, Scrabble, twice! One of the highlights with my visit with RyeRye was her hubby's bird, Conrad. She had taught him to say my name, and he has driven them crazy saying my name all the time before and since my visit.
Next, my sister Diana, came to pick me up and took me back to her place in Naples. she just bought a new home in a gated community. She has her own pool and her house is as cute as can be. She has great decorating taste and even though she's only lived there for a few months, she has it almost all decorated. My newest addiction after spending time in Florida? Sushi! Diana and I ate it almost every day I was there. After spending a few days eating sushi and drinking wine and lounging in her pool, I began to feel pretty darn privileged! Saying again - it's summertime and the livin' is EASY!
For the last leg of my trip I flew from Naples to Charlotte, NC, to see my sister Susan on July fourth. I hadn't been to her house ever before, nor had I ever met my niece's children, so I was glad to be able to visit there. The first night, being the Fourth, they had a barbecue so their friends could meet me. Afterwards, we sat outside forever enjoying the great weather and the (illegal) fireworks displays put on by their neighbors. Ken took me for a ride on his bike the next day so I could see the area a little. The next day Susan took me to an arboretum in the area. We had a wonderful time, and on July 7th, I flew back home. I had a wonderful time visiting everyone, but I think that will be my last grand tour for a long time. I really missed my hubby and my lil spotted dogs.
So, my summer is going very well, and I hope YOUR livin' is easy, too!
The day of my return I harvested some gargantuan zucchinis that my hubby should have picked the day after I left! No worries, though - those went into a monster recipe of zucchini bread I made a few days ago. I ended up with five big loaves, a half dozen large muffins for hubby's lunch, and a mini loaf. For one of the loaves I used my Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan that makes a BIG loaf. I'm not sure how many cups it holds, but I think I used about five cups of batter in it. So that's the loaf we've been eating. I took a loaf to my regular Friday night play date with the girls at the the Shack, took one to the neighbors, and have a couple more tucked into the freezer along with the tiny loaf and the lunch muffins. This should last until the next baking day day!
Besides the zucchini, we have been livin' easy eating some other varieties of squash from the garden, too. I have been pan-sauteing yellow and white patty pans and yellow crooknecks and serving them with just a little butter and S&P. I harvest them when they are just about a couple inches in diameter - SO stinking good. Yesterday I sprinkled a cookie sheet with some EVOO and sliced about six small patty pans onto it, then roasted them in a 375 degree oven while I was baking some crumb-crusted lemon scrod. YUM!
Then there is the Swiss chard. That's good, too, if you like greens with a little bite to them. I planted regular white chard and rainbow chard, both. Since I planted them rather close, they needed thinning, so when I thinned them the other day, we got to eat the thinnings! I washed them and trimmed the root off and let them dry overnight in the fridge wrapped in paper towels inside a baggie. Then I sauteed them in bacon fat, added a little S&P and mmmmn! they were good too. That's what I mean about the livin' is easy - I love eating out of the garden in the summer! My green beans are about ready to pick, so I am already thinking about how to serve them and what I else I will have with them.
I usually don't plant cucumbers b/c they take so much room, but my neighbor keeps me supplied with all of those I can eat. That's why he gets zucchini bread! We have tons of tomatoes coming on, as well as the coles - broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage - which we had to plant twice b/c of the garden thieves. We have a couple of kinds of pepper planted also that I will use with the tomatoes to make salsa to put up for the winter. Besides the salsa, I will can the tomatoes to use all winter long. I use canned tomatoes in all kinds of stuff, and I hate paying almost $2.00 a can!
My vacation down south was tons of fun! I started off on June 22nd by flying to my youngest sister's house in Tampa. I visited with Juliet for a few days, and while there, got a new tattoo! It is a gorgeous blue swallow with its wings spread and sprays of pink cherry blossoms in the background. I had it placed on my right outer ankle and it is about three inches across. I love it! No tattoo remorse for this girl!
After visiting with Juliet, my sweet BIL, Ed, drove me to a meeting point on I75 where I met up with my Internet buddy, RyeRye. We met last summer through Swap-bot and became fast friends. RyeRye and I felt as if we had known each other for years, and in fact, call each other "Sistahs from another Mistah!" We embarked on a super adventure within about an hour of meeting each other: we went para sailing! That was so much fun, and not scary at all. And this is coming from a person who is terrified of carnival rides and roller coasters! During my five day stay with her, we went yard sailing, to the beach, bead shopping, and ate a bunch of great stuff. Also, the snot beat me at my own game, Scrabble, twice! One of the highlights with my visit with RyeRye was her hubby's bird, Conrad. She had taught him to say my name, and he has driven them crazy saying my name all the time before and since my visit.
Next, my sister Diana, came to pick me up and took me back to her place in Naples. she just bought a new home in a gated community. She has her own pool and her house is as cute as can be. She has great decorating taste and even though she's only lived there for a few months, she has it almost all decorated. My newest addiction after spending time in Florida? Sushi! Diana and I ate it almost every day I was there. After spending a few days eating sushi and drinking wine and lounging in her pool, I began to feel pretty darn privileged! Saying again - it's summertime and the livin' is EASY!
For the last leg of my trip I flew from Naples to Charlotte, NC, to see my sister Susan on July fourth. I hadn't been to her house ever before, nor had I ever met my niece's children, so I was glad to be able to visit there. The first night, being the Fourth, they had a barbecue so their friends could meet me. Afterwards, we sat outside forever enjoying the great weather and the (illegal) fireworks displays put on by their neighbors. Ken took me for a ride on his bike the next day so I could see the area a little. The next day Susan took me to an arboretum in the area. We had a wonderful time, and on July 7th, I flew back home. I had a wonderful time visiting everyone, but I think that will be my last grand tour for a long time. I really missed my hubby and my lil spotted dogs.
So, my summer is going very well, and I hope YOUR livin' is easy, too!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
So Disappointed in Somerset Gallery Summer 2010
I am so disappointed in Somerset Gallery 's Summer 2010 issue. I submitted a piece of artwork 19 months ago. After receiving the runaround for over a year and a half, my work was finally published. With an incorrect title and attributed to the wrong person!! It is absolutely sickening that such a high-profile publication and company has something like this happen. Especially since they have held onto my work for so long! And, what is even worse is the fact that they haven't returned the piece yet! I contacted them several times by email and finally, by telephone, because I thought they had lost the piece. They assured me it was safe in their offices, but now I am having serious doubts. If they can't attribute it correctly and even get the title of the piece wrong - which incidentally was ON THE COVER! how on earth are they going to be able to manage such a complicated thing as to get it in the USPS and delivered to the right person? I am sick, just SICK. Kudos, Stampington, for such a dismal effort.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
New Fun
Okay, I've posted on here before about my Swap-bot group and some of the things I've done, but I just tried something new this past Friday and had the most fun with it! I'd been wanting to try making a pincushion out of an old piece of china for years. In fact, I used to sorta kinda collect old creamers and sugar bowls. But I don't really collect anything anymore (except dust and craft supplies . . . and junk, and well, you know, stuff) and I didn't have any of the odd sugar bowls or creamers at this house (as opposed to our other house, the old house where a lot of my stuff is still stored). So when I saw a swap for a pincushion made out of a teacup or creamer or sugar bowl, I knew it was a match made in heaven. Hadda do it! The one pictured here is on its way to a special friend in Florida.
First step was to go to a flea market to find a piece of old, chippy china. Did I content myself with just one piece? Wellll, I think we all know the answer to that one - I came home with about six different pieces - and other assorted odds and ends, of course. Most notably a bag of nine assorted old millinery birds. Very cool, too, I might add! Next was a visit to JoAnn Fabrics to buy some velveteen to use for the pincushion part. Nothing else would do except the velveteen as far as I was concerned! I was a wee bit embarrassed to make the lady cut only a quarter yard each from the four rolls I chose, but she was really very nice about it. And of course I had to tell her what I was doing with it because I was so excited about my project! After that, I had only one more excursion to complete my list of supplies necessary for this fabulous undertaking; a trip to the dollar store to buy turkey skewers to use to create faux hatpins. Unfortunately, the Dollar Store skewers were junk and so that necessitated a trip to Hobby Lobby to look for the "real" stickpin blanks to make your own, but they did not have any of those. I ended up using "good" skewers Deb and Jack already had at the Shack.
This one was sent to my swap partner.ANYWAY! By this time it was around seven P.M., but who's counting? When we got back to the Shack, it was time to have a little nosh . . . Okay, Okay already! I worked the rest of the evening and ended up with these three fabulous (IMO) creations. The birds on the last one is a new bird purchased at JoAnn's for an altered bird swap I was in a few weeks ago and which did not get used for that swap. So it's not one of the vintage ones like the one pictured decorating its nest above. My friend in FL will be mad she didn't get a bird on hers, but I will deliver her a bird in person in a few weeks, hehehehehe! The bottom one is mine! All mine!!! And on it I used some reallllllly nice old antique buttons and some antique jet trim (because it's mine - all mine!). I really like the old cup and saucer because it's so chippy and especially because of the sentiment, "Remember Me" on it. I can see that being passed on to my granddaughter and her saying, "This belonged to my grandma and she used it every day." Or something to that effect! More likely, "Can you believe the shit my grandma used to have setting around?" Whatever!!! I like it and that's what counts!
So this is what NEW FUN I've been having. What have YOU been doing?
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
What's New With You?
Hmmmn - many things are new around here. New plants growing, new babies, too. Birds laying, hatching, fledging - birds humming at the feeders! Squash growing, weeds growing, grass growing - hope to get my 'maters in soon!
Whew!
What else? Not much! Getting ready for the school year to wind down - doing ordering for supplies and new manipulatives.
Having some fun with my students reading Frog and Toad Together (first grade) and memorizing poetry with my second graders. Now that's fun! And they are so good at it that I am amazed! Without me having ever alluded to any of the higher level poetic devices like personification, metaphor, etc. one of my second graders recognized a comparison between human jaws and pencil sharpener jaws in a poem. That was very cool, but immediately we talked about it for a hot second, and another student piped up and said hey, the poem right under this one is doing it too! So that was a perfect segue into a discussion of personification and one that I think they all "got." I love it when that good ol' light bulb goes off without a lot of blood, sweat, and tears!
So, what is new with you?
Whew!
What else? Not much! Getting ready for the school year to wind down - doing ordering for supplies and new manipulatives.
Having some fun with my students reading Frog and Toad Together (first grade) and memorizing poetry with my second graders. Now that's fun! And they are so good at it that I am amazed! Without me having ever alluded to any of the higher level poetic devices like personification, metaphor, etc. one of my second graders recognized a comparison between human jaws and pencil sharpener jaws in a poem. That was very cool, but immediately we talked about it for a hot second, and another student piped up and said hey, the poem right under this one is doing it too! So that was a perfect segue into a discussion of personification and one that I think they all "got." I love it when that good ol' light bulb goes off without a lot of blood, sweat, and tears!
So, what is new with you?
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Have I Told You . . .
what a great life I am living? Seriously. I have so much. A super hubby. A nice house. A wonderful job. A fulfilling side life AKA friends and hobbies. An extended group of family and friends to whom I can turn at any time for anything no matter how great or how small.
I just returned from dinner out to celebrate the accomplishments and retirements of some terrific former coworkers. Three people retired from our district this year, so we celebrated their years of work and friendship at a local eatery. I was thinking about being a no-show because I have pretty much been on the run the whole week in the evenings. I decided to go because I have become really rock-solid lately in honoring the commitments I make. It's a personal thing because my philosophy over the years has hardened into a belief that your word and actions are pretty much the only things about you that people remember, and if you don't live up to your commitments, people remember that. I know I do.
So anyway, the food was great, the conversation was sometimes inspirational and sometimes nothing but hilarious, but the feeling of camaraderie was so pervasive that I left feeling loved and valued - even though these are people with whom, for the most part, I have had no contact with for the greater part of a year. Some of them for even longer than that! Beginnings are good - I loved it when these same people welcomed me into their daily work lives almost three years ago, but I loved it even more tonight when we talked and had so much fun. What I really loved was the feeling that these are not acquaintances, but people who value me for being me - warts and all. Many of these people have been known to me for years. Some for as long as I have been employed in the district, seventeen years, but when I switched elementary schools three years ago within our school district, I made some friendships that changed the way I view education, made some others that have vastly improved my teaching, and deepened others that began during my first year of teaching. This has all benefited me immensely. Whether these people have benefited from knowing me is unknown to me. I hope I can enrich their lives in some small way, but I am coming out the winner here. They have given to me, as they have given to many children, the fruits of their knowledge, compassion, and educations.
So thanks to all you ESE teachers. You know who you are, and I am not going to further embarrass myself or you by naming names here.
In other news, I made a new Fish God friend. This is the husband of another coworker, and I will probably wear out the friendship there as I make midnight fish emergency calls to him. He sold me a new tang to replace one that I inadvertently murdered, and with all the wonderful sea life he has husbanded, he is my new "Go to" guy. I am determined to make the marine tanks under my care flourish and thrive, and I am definitely bitten by the bug. I am waiting patiently for the recently set-up Biocube to cycle appropriately because it is where I am going to start my first nano-reef. I wanted seahorses, but after researching I have found that neither of the tanks I have are deep enough for anything but dwarf seahorses, and they require live food which I am not prepared to feed. Someday!!!
So, have I told you lately what a wonderful life this is?
I just returned from dinner out to celebrate the accomplishments and retirements of some terrific former coworkers. Three people retired from our district this year, so we celebrated their years of work and friendship at a local eatery. I was thinking about being a no-show because I have pretty much been on the run the whole week in the evenings. I decided to go because I have become really rock-solid lately in honoring the commitments I make. It's a personal thing because my philosophy over the years has hardened into a belief that your word and actions are pretty much the only things about you that people remember, and if you don't live up to your commitments, people remember that. I know I do.
So anyway, the food was great, the conversation was sometimes inspirational and sometimes nothing but hilarious, but the feeling of camaraderie was so pervasive that I left feeling loved and valued - even though these are people with whom, for the most part, I have had no contact with for the greater part of a year. Some of them for even longer than that! Beginnings are good - I loved it when these same people welcomed me into their daily work lives almost three years ago, but I loved it even more tonight when we talked and had so much fun. What I really loved was the feeling that these are not acquaintances, but people who value me for being me - warts and all. Many of these people have been known to me for years. Some for as long as I have been employed in the district, seventeen years, but when I switched elementary schools three years ago within our school district, I made some friendships that changed the way I view education, made some others that have vastly improved my teaching, and deepened others that began during my first year of teaching. This has all benefited me immensely. Whether these people have benefited from knowing me is unknown to me. I hope I can enrich their lives in some small way, but I am coming out the winner here. They have given to me, as they have given to many children, the fruits of their knowledge, compassion, and educations.
So thanks to all you ESE teachers. You know who you are, and I am not going to further embarrass myself or you by naming names here.
In other news, I made a new Fish God friend. This is the husband of another coworker, and I will probably wear out the friendship there as I make midnight fish emergency calls to him. He sold me a new tang to replace one that I inadvertently murdered, and with all the wonderful sea life he has husbanded, he is my new "Go to" guy. I am determined to make the marine tanks under my care flourish and thrive, and I am definitely bitten by the bug. I am waiting patiently for the recently set-up Biocube to cycle appropriately because it is where I am going to start my first nano-reef. I wanted seahorses, but after researching I have found that neither of the tanks I have are deep enough for anything but dwarf seahorses, and they require live food which I am not prepared to feed. Someday!!!
So, have I told you lately what a wonderful life this is?
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