the Christmas that ate my lunch.

December ate my lunch.

Not in a bad way, really, but, well, you know.

The whole holiday thing.

Here are a few pics--

The Homemade Birthday Ice Cream:




Our tree (rather out-of-focus):



this pic is for Lola--you think your little guy
lacks wrapping skills? The 16-year-old
did this! (Okay, okay, in all fairness, the boy
actually DOES know how to wrap a gift, but this
one was for his older brother.)



This is the pendant we bought on Etsy for the
mother-in-law. It's even more gorgeous in
real life--found it at Scheri's shop.



I hope you had a lovely Christmas, and are looking
forward to a wonderful new year!

Christmas is coming, so why am i hanging out here?

Stuff I've done this week--
NOT gone to work,
made a zillion cookies,
made don't-ask-how-many coffee rings,
went sledding (THAT was WAY fun!),
wrapped lotsa gifts,
and
today made little clay figures for our
revised version of Clue.

All my Etsy orders came in, plus my
fabric order from Gracie Lou, and I
am so happy with all of them!

Today, I'm "shopping" here:


Enter the Oh How Lovely Shops Big Holiday Giveaway!

good times . . .
tomorrow is Candy Day. No, that's not right,
it's Decorate Cookies day. And my mom's
birthday! Happy Birthday party at my house!
She's an ice cream freak, so we're making
homemade ice cream.

Yes, in December.

Don't be so judgemental.
;)

I stand corrected.

Here's my Barbie house.

It actually had three stories.

Sorry, Barbie, but GI Joe still has better stuff.



Not the greatest clip, but this is the very same
townhouse I had. Youtube is pretty amazing--
these old commercials amuse me to no end!

Here's the creepy GI Joe with moving eyes (Lola!),
plus some of his Action Man buddies. I've got the
Sea Wolf set WITH the BOX!! sitting on the counter
right now, waiting to be sorted through and cleaned
up a bit.



All you people out there sewing, and painting,
and stamping--do a little extra for me today,
will you please?

*sigh*

altered tin with magnetic paper dolls

Hanging out at a baseball card store can have its
advantages. For instance, a large selection of
discarded tins to alter, mine for the taking!!

So this little number is now a trip to Paris for
three little girlies and their nifty dresses.

Not only is it a set of dollies, but they have
their own case. Because no one wants to lose a hat.

I actually did try it without a tin first--was thinking
of making a folio for the dolls using library pockets--
but the magnets weren't magnetty enough without the tin
behind them.

All the images are from Altered Pages.
I've got a little niece who will love this!
Okay, she's not really my niece, but close
enough.

Today is not an art day, but at least I get to
play--with GI Joes, particularly (that's right,
we play with toys for a living!) If I had
realized what awesome stuff GI Joe had, Barbie
would have got the boot. Who needs a two story
dolly house with an elevator when you can have
a training tower with a giant snake???



Do YOU have Kung Fu grip??
And what the heck happened to my Barbie house,
anyway???

the year of π.

This Thanksgiving was the year of pie.
I started baking, and could not stop.
(This condition occurs with some degree
of frequency, an is usually met with
gladsome hearts by those around me.)


Two pumpkin,


two cherry,


one key lime,


and two French Silk.

All dolloped with big plops of real whipped cream.

Personally, I didn't actually eat that much, but
did catch the blame from others with less pie
resistance. One deceptively trim young man (who
shall remain nameless) consumed three large pieces
at one sitting.

π

Get it?
You know, π. Pi.

*sigh*

Anyway, look at that clicky link for the Holiday
Gift Guide--some fun giveaways going on there . . .

happy Thanksgiving!

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests
to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7


Have a Happy Thanksgiving! (don't forget the giving
thanks part . . .)

random conversations.

ds#1: Can I have
the giant chalkboard out of the basement to
do math problems on?

me: Yep. Go get it, it's yours.

ds#2 Oh, that's REAL nice. All we need around here
now is a couple of pocket protectors.

ds#1: I could totally use a couple of pocket protectors!
----------------------------------------------------
me: Oh my gosh,
has my nose always been this big??

dd: Pretty much.

ds#2: Yeah, mom, you've got a pretty big schnozz.

me: Well. It's a good thing I didn't realize this in
junior high. It might have made me insecure. Can
I tell people I broke it in a bar fight?

ds#2 Have you ever been in a bar fight?

me: I can neither confirm nor deny my participation
in any bar fights at this time.

ds#2: That's what I thought . . .
______________________________________________

caller: I have this
baseball card from 1967 signed
by Babe Ruth. Is that something you all
would be interested in buying?

me: Umm, no, no thank you.

Babe Ruth actually died in 1948--you do the math.
You won't even need a giant chalkboard!

book thongs! that's right, THONGS (sorry, Rhonda!)

So, I made these book thongs, mainly for fun,
and most of our family reads quite a bit.
(Alice In Wonderland is one of my all-time
favorites!)

You can get supplies to make your own from
"my" book thong kit at Altered Pages, UNLESS
you're like my friend Rhonda. She has a
security program on her computer, so no, ahem,
questionable images come up on her monitor.


Edgar Allan Poe may, indeed, be questionable,
but do they filter HIM? No, apparently Rhonda
isn't allowed to look at my thongs . . . ;)

business on the outside . . .

So, I finally made time to work on some
projects. This one is my favorite--it's
a magnetic playset. The guy on the front
is all business and proper and such on the
outside, but open his tin,


and it's PLAYTIME!!

Everything has a magnet on the back, so
he can change his look. All the images
are from Altered Pages.
He's actually in a kit now, *here!*


You know, I'm pretty sure this person was
a king at one time. Look, I'm not out to
start an international incident or anything . . .


everybody needs time to play.
:)

oh my gosh i have a playlist and i love it

I, like, totally love my playlist! (I'm having
a little youthful flashback, and in my brain,
I totally sound like a Valley Girl.)

And lookit at the Brady Bunch cards! Aren't
they a hoot? They were made by Topps back in
the day. These are already sold, but they sat
on my dresser for a year or two before I let
them go . . .

don't even think about it.

Don't go visit Dana. She isn't giving away (can
you even believe she'd give these babies away??)
these delicious quilts.

*sigh*
(I'm ashamed to say I'm feeling a little covetous.)

Don't even think about going to see Lola, either.
She's not giving away anything wonderful and amazing.

Nope.

Nada.

And nothing is happening with the Red Hen, either.
She does not have a lovely Etsy store. Don't be
ridiculous.

Oh my gosh, and if you love yarn and fibers,
do NOT visit Your Impact Matters.
The Sexy Sheep Etsy shop--I'll just stop there.
I'm laughing too hard at the name . . .

Here's another place to NOT go visit and
check out the Christmas blog candy:
Creative Antics.

This post just keeps getting longer and
longer. I'm not kidding, I don't even
look for these things, they just appear
out of the clear blue bloggy sky. This one
is at Bootiful Stampz, for a giveaway
every day this month.

the physics of Hot Pockets . . .

Our eldest son's physics professor confessed to the
class that he doesn't cook, and lives primarily on
Hot Pockets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

So the son e-mailed the professor this:


(I laughed so hard, it hurt!)

And yes, it was discussed roundly in the next class . . .

the right to bear arms and my latest painting

The oldest two sons have discovered you can modify
Nerf guns to shoot farther and harder. Which kind
of negates the whole "it's only foam" thing, but
then, they are teenagers.



(See the hairy one on the left? He got up early,
went and voted, came home to eat waffles, and then
wanted to borrow my soldering gun to do who-knows-
what-else to said guns, all before scooting off
for a day at college.)

ANYWAY, here they are, preparing for the big dart gun
fight at church Friday night. Yep, at church. Hey,
a buncha teenagers shooting each other with dart guns
at church sure beats what you see them doing on the
evening news . . .



My latest painting! It's the first in a series. This
one is entitled, "The Living Room Ceiling." Next comes
"Wall #1."



And finally, my favorite jeans. Alas, I fear they are
not long for this world. There's just not a whole lot
left holding them together. Which is why you only see
the front view!! ;)

who haunts your house??

Okay, so no one REALLY haunts my house, but the
pictures I used for the gel transfer in this piece
are actual family members. Hmmm. Family members
can, if you think about it, haunt us in even a more
frightening way than any "ghost!"

(*Note the "disturbing" doll arm--see previous post! ;)



Those photo corners--pried them from an old, old
scrapbook. The photo was color copied and transferred
using Omni-Gel over a photocopy of a page from Psalms.



Back left is my Grandma Matt. I miss her! The two
other girls are her sisters, Pearl and Ethel. The
little boys are nephews by her oldest sis Hazel, who
was taking the photo.



This picture does look kind of ghostly, as some old
photos are apt to do, especially since the twin boys
appear headless! These are my great-great grandparents,
the littlest girl is my Great Grandma Elvira, the next
her sister Elnora, and the twins are Ruben and Rupert.

Have Happy Halloween!

my baby made me a brooch!

Isn't this cute? My baby (okay, he's eleven,
but he's still my baby!) made this for me. It's
made of a bit of brown pipe cleaner, those
stacking beads, brown twist ribbon, jute,
and a pin back.

He gave it to me last night, very unceremoniously,
but did include a detailed description
of how he made it.

Don't you love it when your man gives you jewelry??
;)

laundry, Barbies, and hacksaws

Our washing machine is having issues. This is not acceptable, considering we are six,
and we get out and get dirty on a regular basis. The
good news is, we've always kept an extended warranty
on our washing machine, and even though it is now almost
10 years old, said warranty has WAY more than paid for
itself over a fairly short amount of time.

Anyway, we ("we" meaning my husband) were moving some
stuff out of the way for the washing machine man to
have better access upon his much anticipated arrival.

The laundry is right next to the art room.

DH: "You know, this bucket full of old Barbies
and hacksaws is a little disturbing."

Lesson: If you're easily disturbed, stay outta
my art room?

look what I get!

With everything going on, I'd kind of
forgotten about being the happy recipient
of a random act of kindness
from creative Therapy.

Look at that! Doesn't it make you wanna rub it in your
hair and stick it in your pocket? I finally had a chance
to take a look at their online store, and I'm tellin' you,
I was drooling all over the place--the stuff is just rich,
delicious, roll-in-it gorgeous. Go take a look--I like
this particular page of wonderfulness, entitled a Pocket Full Of
Whimsy.

Thank you, Ruby St. Designs, for the wonderful RAK!
I can't wait for it to be in my hot little hands!

talk about a wild ride . . .

Have you ever heard of Brief Psychosis Disorder? Me neither,
until about a week ago. If you'd like to know more about it,
I'll give you the recipe:

Get really stressed out about something. It doesn't
matter over what, but you have to be REALLY stressed.

Add not sleeping for a week or two,

Plus not eating correctly or enough,
(some people like this side effect--
losing 15 pounds in two weeks! I lost
7, and it wasn't even my BPD!)

And it equals=

A seriously messed up body chemistry and whacked out brain!

NOT good times.

Some women experience this after childbirth, which makes
sense, with the whole sleep deprivation thing.

Anyway, I'm thankful it is, indeed, BRIEF, and if you
had never heard of it, well, you can be thankful for
THAT!!

ugh, yikes, and bleah.

Christmas button angels (instead of fairies)

Here's a set of Christmas button angels made
with Altered Pages images.
I had fun adding some beads and embellishments.



Had to dig into my stash of vintage buttons, which is
always a good time. There's something very satisfying
about pawing through a big pile of shiny buttons!
These will make pretty little gifts, interesting ornaments,
or even some really nice gift tags. These two are my
favorites, but daughter likes these:



If you've never made a button fairy, and decide to do so,
be very, very careful--it is extremely addictive! There
are plenty of button fairies out there, but
Nancy has made some of my favorites, adding
flower petals to the wings. So pretty!

Yikes, I need to do the September Spread the
Love. Sorry, I'm definitely behind!!

what do you think about when you're tripping?

So, I was taking a little run (please bear in mind that
when I say "run," it actually means, "barely jogging")
around the Path we've kind of made up around our yard.
It's a pretty big yard, and no one can see me, and
that's a very good thing, especially when I'm out in
pink long john pjs and hiking boots.

Anyway, I tripped on a root, and for the whole maybe
2-3 seconds I was stumbling, arms flailing wildly,
attempting to regain balance, what was going through
my brain?

Was it, "Those rocks are going to break my jaw."

No.

Was it, "No one will miss me until they want food."

No.

It was, in fact,
"OH MY GOSH, I'm making JAZZ HANDS!"



Thanks a lot, Lola, for making me laugh even with the
imminent danger of having
rocks permanently embedded into my face!
(You should probably go visit Lola's post, if you care to
have clue what the heck is so funny . . . but I AM easily
amused! ;)

some more art therapy

The prompt at Creative Therapy last week was to
tell about a painful memory. You would think that in the
midst of mourning a death, that THAT would be it.

But you know, people die. We're all going to. It's what's
supposed to happen. It's when we do things we are NOT
supposed to do that things get ugly.

There's a folk tale, and it goes something like this:
There was a young woman traveling through
the woods, and as she was wading into the
river to swim across, a snake approached
her and asked to ride upon her shoulders
to the other side.

"No way! I know what you are--you will
bite me and I will die!"

"Now why would I do such a thing to you?
You've done me no harm, and if you give
me a ride across the river, you will have
done me a great service, and I will be a
friend to you and your family forever!"

So, despite her initial fears, and the
chittered warnings of the forest animals
around, her, the woman gave the snake a
ride across the river upon her shoulders.

As she reached the other side, the snake
bit her, and as she was dying, she asked
it "Why??"

The snake answered,
"You knew what I was. You knew my nature.
Don't act all surprised now."

The gem in the corner stands for all the good that
came from the bad--like, now I listen when that
little voice inside says "something isn't right,"
when my husband says, "something isn't right, and
when other people say, "something isn't right!"

Also, after you've been through something really
nasty, it should make you truly appreciate
every kindness, no matter how small--every smile,
every nice comment, even basic common courtesy--
wow, I honestly feel them all the way down to the
bottom of my toes! :)

just for fun . . . some silly Halloween atcs

Look, I'll just say it, it's been a really rotten
month. We all deal with things if different ways,
but
when I'm mad, I clean (and pray),
when I'm sad for someone else, I cook for them
(and pray), and
when I'm sad for me, I spend time in the art room
alone (and pray).

The other night I was home alone, albeit briefly,
and just started making silly things. I'd used
all three of these collage images before, but
put them in a different context, and they
make me laugh! They aren't fancy, just funny.



It's okay--YOU don't have to think they're
funny! But in case you do, they actually made
it into a kit at altered pages. The two collage
sheets aren't showing up below the sample
pic yet, but they're Cutie Pies
and Adorable.

Does that little girl not look like she's about
to lose her treats????

blog candy! Trick or Treat all over the web . . . (updated!)

Hey, and it's not just mine (you know, that
Spread the Love thing? Leave me a comment
any time during a month, within that month's
posts, and you're in for whatever is going
that month. This month is the sparkly.)

ANYWAY, oh my gosh, there are about a zillion
blog giveaways going on. I'm not even TRYING
to find them, they're just everywhere!

My favorite is with the birthday girl, the one
and only Collage Contessa.
She's having a party, and we're all invited!

Over at Stardust, Gems, and Ribbon, you'll find:
The prize includes…
A brand new ( still in sealed packet) Magnolia Tilda in
cherry dress stamp, 6×6 Papermania Naughty and Nice paper
pack, Papermania sparkly trims, brads, StarDust glitter,
paper tags and two sheets of bazzill cardstock.

My Little Card Blog has some goodies, too, as does Rosa, but
there's a challenge involved. Nothing
painful. But the deadline is Saturday.

And of course there is always the lovely
Inka--she's got some Gold this week. Now,
don't say you have nothing to do. Run along
and play . . . have a good time . . . make
good choices . . .

Okay, fine, I found another one, and it's for one
of my favorite books ever. Already own it, so
that will be one less person trying for it! ;)
Check it out at Sanna's art.

AND Rockin Robin!

conversations in my home & Halloween cat atcs

"Ugh. I really hate all the campaign commercials."

"You know, Mom, you really should just learn to enjoy them.
After all, they only come around every four years."

------------------------------------------

"Why are these dirty socks all over the hall?"

"Well, you know, it's our little code. I throw them off
the landing, and that's the sign I want you to wash them."

------------------------------------------



Cats in costumes atcs for swap.
My favorite is Mr. Bones.

vintage image atcs

Two of them went to Sarah in the UK, and the other
two to De in Australia. Now, if I had realized these
were going to travel, I probably wouldn't have
chosen the baseball card images, but maybe that's
a little exchange of my cultural heritage?



This Homerun baseball card atc uses a T-206 Ty Cobb image
from Altered Pages, and a 1916 Sporting News image, too.
(Neither are actual size, both are reduced.)



Imagine is an Altered Pages image with purple micro beads
and a little lace,




Spunky is another AP image, and you can't tell, but the
purple background is with twinkling H2Os, so it's all
iridescent and shiny. And, obviously, gold embossed
around the edges, using UTEE.




I really like the feathers in Bon Jour's hat--they came
from one of my mom's old hats that I used to play dress-up
with, and my daughter did, too. Now, the poor old thing
is pretty beat up (the hat,not my mom!), but the feathers
are still lovely. The corners are punched with the ticket
corner punch from Stampin' Up, which is another one of my
favorite atc touches, and her background is painted with the
twinkling H2Os, as well.

It's too bad the shiny doesn't show--those paints are amazing!