Memories of Mine to Thine

Blankets

2012-01-15T22:11:00.000-08:00

It snowed today...
It was beautiful. There's just something about the quiet cover that a blanket of snow provides...
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Today was a weird day... feeling low.
Feeling irritated over stupid things.
Feeling sad about things I cannot change.
Somehow, the snow didn't make any of that better...
in some ways, the shut in ness of the day is... I don't know...
MORE.
Like a big fat snowball to the face.

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Remember When?

2012-01-10T16:21:00.001-08:00

I was so excited when Emily Falconbridge blogged that she was going to host journaling prompts this year!! I was even more excited that her prompts will be more about the journaling than any art per say... and so I'm going to follow a long with her, and add her journal prompts to the journal I made for A Year in the Life of an Art Journal this year.
Here is my page.

The journaling says:
When I was a little girl, I looked forward to Thanksgiving at gramma's. She used to make her table look so beautiful... I remember how she used her prettiest goblets and made her own napkin rings to match every year. I remember how even us kids got set up with pretty plates, and real glass goblets. She never fussed or seemed worried that we would break anything. She had a special way of making sure we all felt like we were her guest of honor.
The journals I made to sell are also in my etsy shop!

I also have extra filler pages and an embellishment kits! (my journals have an embellishment kit included.)
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Art Journaling 2012

2012-01-04T13:57:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year for me... the time when I start wrapping up preparations for A Year in the Life of an Art Journal . I have invited new guest hosts, and will be welcoming back some old ones... deciding what the theme of the year will be...
Just generally prepping for the year to come.
This year, I'm really excited about my journal. I have some ideas that I've had for a while, and this year, I'm taking the chance to share them.
I'm even getting some journals ready to sell. :) Not a lot, mind you, but a couple.
One for me, two to sell.

I'm looking forward to the fact that Emily Falconbridge is sharing some prompts this year on her blog!!
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New Nesting Boxes with 5 gal. Buckets!

2012-01-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

I used five gallon buckets to make nesting boxes! I've been wanting to add some nesting boxes to the coop because one of the places the hens lay, they also like to roost, and when they do, their eggs get dirtier than they would if they were nesting in an area they didn't roost. They also like to lay in low places, so I had the idea to create nesting boxes that rested on the floor. I've seen nesting boxes made out of five gallon buckets, (I even had some when I first got hens) so I decided to try them out.

I used a 2X4 under the lip of the buckets, and screwed them into that. Then I used hinges to attach the front panel. It's a cedar fencing plank from Lowe's. That way, I can "open" the nests for cleaning. I keep it closed with hook and eye sets on either end of the planks.
ALTHOUGH
I realized after it was all together, that It would have worked just as well to have simply screwed the front plank into the 2X4. Cleaning would be as simple as turning the set upside down and dumping the shavings that way.

Then I just set the whole deal on the ground in the hen house!
Some photos while I was at it...
Did I do THAT!?

Goat potato chips.

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2012 has begun!

2012-01-01T22:43:00.000-08:00

HOLY...
It's a new year.
It's.
A.
NEW.
Year.
What the Frapple happened to the LAST year!?
So much happened in the last year! I felt every up and every down. There were a lot of struggles, but in the end, the year really was good.
At the start of every NEW year for at least four years now, I've chosen a word. I think it all started with Ali Edwards, only I didn't hear about it from her... she calls it One Little Word. The idea when I heard about it, was that you pick one word as the word you'll live the year in the "spirit" of. In 2008, I chose ATTENTION. In 2009, I chose ACTION. In 2010, I chose MUSE. In 2011, I chose PRESENT.
This year, my word is NURTURE.

I hope to live this new year nurturing myself. Nurturing my and other's creativity. Nurturing friendships that nurture ME, Nurturing THIS BLOG!! (I can't believe I only posted here 37 times in 2011.) Nurturing my family, my garden... my heart.

What about you? What are your intentions for the new year? Do you choose a word to live your year by? Have you followed through with that?
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Silent Messages

2011-12-29T01:50:00.000-08:00

It's official!! I've finished getting Silent Messages ready for it's solo debut at the start of the new year, once 21 Secrets is finished! If you missed your chance to be part of 21 Secrets, you can sign up for my class alone!! Keep your eye HERE for the payment/sign up button once the year is new!!

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My Newest Excuse

2011-10-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

As if I couldn't come up with enough reasons to do ANYTHING but what I should be doing on my own... now I have this little grand baby to give me more excuses. I could sit and stare at her all day long. In fact. I probably will. :) You've been warned.

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Sometimes, You Should Just QUILT.

2011-10-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine posted on my Facebook wall today... and a few things happened in my brain.
First.
I cannot read things without my dyslexia making me look twice. I totally read "when you finally decide to QUILT" instead of quit.
Then I started thinking.
About quitting. About NOT giving up.
And that got me thinking.
Why do we not want to quit things?
Because I HAVE quit.
I've quit a lot of things.
And for the most part, I haven't been sorry I have...
Because when you quit on things like friendship, there are times when that's what needs to be done. There are reasons that you have chosen to stop.
GOOD reasons.
Quitting, by definition means "1. to stop, cease, or discontinue"
That's all.
Even if it means giving up, there are good reasons for doing that.
I guess I look at it this way. If you're in a friendship, and you're trying to get one thing from it, and you're not getting it, and it's hurting you, maybe it's time to quit. Maybe it's not even that you're quitting. Maybe you're just looking to the wrong friend for the wrong thing.
It's like you've bought yourself a bull, and you keep trying to use him for a milk cow. You're never going to GET milk. If you keep trying, you only look like a fool. You'll only ever be frustrated. If you stop trying to get milk from your bull, at least you might still be able to keep him around for other reasons... or maybe you just don't need a bull on the farm.
At least you can always take up quilting. If you did, you'd end up with a warm blanket.
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Traveling Mealy Art Doll

2011-10-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

I'm a member of a fantastic group of doll makers called Art Dolls Only, and they started a thing called a Traveling Art Doll.
When I joined, I signed up to be part of a smaller group (and thank goodness I did because I didn't manage to keep up with the timeline!!) and was thrilled to be part of Nicole Johnson of Mealy Monster's doll!!
The thing is, as amazing as it was to see who I got paired up with, it's an entirely different story to actually be in charge of adding a totally different style (mine) to a doll as monsterously mealy as Nicole's!! I love her style. LOVE it. It's nothing like my style.
Not.
One.
Bit.
THuNK.
And that.
Is the sound of me hitting a wall.
Here was Nicole's sneak peek before she sent her to Kandra.

and Kendra's collage of the things she tried with the doll...

The version I ended up with is the middle photo on the bottom. Her hair had come part of the way off, so I glued that back on, and was feeling stumped. She needed more hair I thought... so I got busy adding that...

And her dress. I wanted to add more to her dress, and had the WORST time finding the right material... until I found a shirt at the thrift store... I made the whole thing from a SLEEVE. :)

The top of the bodice is the cuff of the sleeve.

And so FINALLY... I feel like she has a bit of ME and my style incorporated into the mealy monstery feel of her face, mixed with the ideas of our other contributor Kandra. :)
visit nicole's etsy shop HERE! Visit the stories shared by others taking part in The Traveling Art Doll project HERE.
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Doll Making

2011-10-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh It's been forever since I've made anything!! Finally finished a custom order doll.
She turned out pretty cool. All hand sculpted and hand painted... Her goggles came out really cool...

She wasn't done when it was light enough to take a full picture, so I don't have a full body shot.

At the bottom of her "dress" which is a lamp shade (I think) I put a nest. :)

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Creative Paper Clay?
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Good Finds

2011-09-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

Now that the leaves are falling... I found out that not all of the chickens have enjoyed the nest boxes... lol

I had to run into town a few days ago to pick up a few things, and ended up stopping at some garage sales and a few thrift stores... Here is just a sampling of what I got... all for less than $40.00!!
Tons of CUTE vintage images from old Little Golden books!!

So that I can have a billionty and TEN Scrabble tiles instead of just under a billionty.

My new fruit basket.

A whole century of newspaper front pages in a book

I had JUST seen one of these used for hanging backdrops.

At the thrift store, EVERYTHING was 75% off.

A couple bottles for my witch's apothecary.

Beer Mugs, anyone? I got 8 of them...

For when I make maple syrup...

THIS is probably one of the coolest old metal shelves ever, if you ask me. :)

I've been wanting to get a juicer...

and I'm planning on creating a form of root cellar, so I thought I'd start looking for good storage...

Show and tell today!! Got anything to share with ME?
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21 Secrets DEAL

2011-09-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

Have you been thinking about signing up for 21 Secrets? Registration is about to close!!
21 Secrets has been such a success, with over 600 participants and so much art journal love over on the playground! Registration is closing on October 1st!!
BUT
You still have time to sign up and plenty of time to work through the classes!! They will continue to be on line until JANUARY 2012!!
AND
We're offering you a SALE price from now, until Sept. 30th at 11:59pm EST!!
21 SECRETS Regular Price $59
BIG BIG Discount Price $49.99
Now's your chance to grab 21 SECRETS at the lowest price ever--and don't forget--21 SECRETS is really 22 SECRETS now, because we got Miss Andrea Schroeder of ABC creativity there sharing her magic as well!
Come join us over at the playground! Whether you are new to art journaling, or have been playing with journals for years, this workshop is for you. Workshops focus on process with techniques added in, so no matter where you're at in journaling, there's something there for you.
Click below to sign up, and visit THIS POST to view more details about the class!

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Estate Sale High

2011-09-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

If you only knew the things I missed OUT on...
You might want to sit down before I tell you.
Are you sitting?
I missed out on
A
vintage
dress
form
for
FIVE.
DOLLARS.
It even had a wire form for a dress. My mom saw that one... with an effing SOLD sign on it...
But I got some other stuff I've been looking for!!
Vintage LACE

DOORKNOB

Five dollars for this bad boy

Back when these things had WOODEN boxes

These are going to make some GREAT doll bases!!

Vintage Juggling pins. Can you just SEE the circus doll!?

I have no idea how old she is, but I love her.

For my collection. A DOLLAR a piece. Are you kidding me!?

Silverware I plan to use for jewelry

One of them has a W on it. I plan to make a piece for myself with that.

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Stopping at Black

2011-09-15T23:41:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, when I'm making a doll,
and I am finished with the sculpting,
and I paint them black with gesso,
I contemplate just stopping.
I contemplate just leaving them be.
Because I like the way they look just like
This.

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Football season

2011-09-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

Josh has decided he's trying football!

I forget how much practice cuts into our family time...

Macs took some photos too. I can't wait to see them!! He has a good eye. :) They are on my mom's camera, so I have to wait.
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Remembering Jerry

2011-09-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

I remember where I was when the news came on over the show I was watching...
We were getting ready to move... Josh was just a baby.
I remember wondering about the families and people I never knew that lost their lives.
A few years after that day in 2006, I found a project online.
Project 2996.
And I signed up.
In honor of the fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts and grandmothers whose faces and names suddenly became numbers on a list, I blog.
Every year, I remember. I remove that number and remember Jerry Devito. Every year, I search the internet and hope to find out more about him... This year, I didn't. Some years, I do. It doesn't seem like it's been 10 years...
At the same time, it seems like it was forever ago.
And I still remember.

May he never return to just being a part of the list.

Here is my original post about Jerry...
Jerry DeVito. He was 67. That's what THE LIST says. It says that he was 67 and that he was a Driver. That's it. A name, and an age, and what he did. I looked. I looked. I looked so HARD....
I
couldn't find
A N Y T H I N G.
(ETA: I found new information this year that says Jerry was actually 66.)
Is that what 9~11 has become?
THE LIST
It has over 2996 names on it. Name after name, after name.They are all there, in neat little letters. All tidy. So precise.
But I
REMEMBER
m o r e......
heart wrenching red eyed puffy faced snotty nosed dripping chin
M
O
R
E
Jerry. He was 67. He was a Father. He was an Uncle. He was a Friend. He was a Husband. He was a Son. He was There. He was alive.
was.
Now, he's part of it.
Part of
THE LIST.
I want him to be
MORE.
Because he's been lost in all those letters, and ages, and places, and jobs. Lost in that horrible cloud of grey suffocation. Lost in the roar of plane engines. Lost even in the flags that flew for months after.
I did find a few things about Jerry.
Things written over three years ago by people who knew him. loved him.
miss
HIM.
I don't know why there wasn't
MORE.
Maybe those people don't need to rethink and revisit that day. I don't think that I would want to if I were them. I don't think that they have forgotten. I don't think that their pain has lessened. I know that for them,
Jerry IS more.
(ETA: This is evident in words written years ago by Jerry's Nephew) "Uncle Jerry: For never passing judgement on others; for always being there; for your love, friendship and smile I am forever grateful. You are loved and missed very much!" ~Albert Carrozza, nephew)
He was always making others laugh.
He was always taking care of friends.
He was a Baseball fan.
He was giving.
He brought donuts EVERY TUESDAY.
He was a hard worker.
He loved life.
He cherished.
He savored.
He told really good stories.
He worked in Hollywood once upon a time, and owned a cigar store once.
Everyone came to his retirement party even though he really never did REALLY retire.

I know Jerry. I had Grampas like him. Always there with a smile, a laugh.
Hardworking, and full of integrity.
You know Jerry.
He's the man next door. The guy who you can count on to follow through.
I know that you have heard it before.
Live everyday like it is your last.
I didn't know Jerry,
but I can tell you that from what I was able to learn about him,
I am pretty sure he did.
I have lived by this rule for quite some time now.
I think though, that I will be adding Donut tuesday to my list. It's not much, but it's a sweet way to remember. To keep Jerry from being swallowed up.
by
THE LIST.
It's easy to say that you will remember, but it's easy to let the names and the ages and the places and the planes and the news and the interviews push the
i n d i v i d u a l
back into
THE LIST.
To the Friends, and Family, and Nieces, and Nephews, and Daughter, and Son, and Grandchildren, and Wife, and Co-Workers..... I have not forgotten.
I have flown the flag since that day. It never comes down. I have added Jerry's name to the edge of that flag. And we have Donut Tuesday at our house now. The second Tuesday of every month. May his memory bring you smiles and good thoughts.

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The Swirling of Life Around Me...

2011-09-07T21:11:00.000-07:00

The kids are all back in school...
Josh decided to join Football this year...
The garden is going gang busters...
At the end of the summer, Travis and the boys decided to build upon an existing fort on the property and make a tree fort...
And I have FINALLY made my background that I've had the supplies and idea to make for about 2 years now.
:::sigh:::
I love the way my fingers smell when they look like this:

Fresh from picking tomatoes.
Why is it you never notice the things growing in the fence until it's too late to get them OUT of it...?

This is what I got when I asked Macs to smile and show off the huge bowl of cherry tomatoes. There was another bowl the same size that day, and we just picked another today. I think we've easily picked darned near close to 30 pounds of cherry tomatoes alone. This variety is called Sun Gold. They are orange. (and delicious.)

The big boys working on the fort

The young boys ready to "paint" things... I use the term loosely. :)

My new background for taking photos for my etsy shop!! Simple, totally me and CLEAN. :)

Even though summer VACATION is over, summer weather is going strong... and I hope to get at least one more weekend at the river in before Fall sets in.
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Giveaway Winner

2011-09-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

Just a note to let those of you that visited for the giveaway, that I had a comment glitch, and it's taken me a while to get it all sorted out, and figure out WHICH of you was my winner!! I sorted all my comments and chose through a random number generator... and the winner was Jen Riley!! I will contact you through 21 Secrets as well, Jen!!

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21 Secret Givaway

2011-08-31T04:00:00.000-07:00

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!!

21 Secrets is still going strong!! There are so many amazing teachers and students there! I can't believe I'm part of this amazing group.
To celebrate this amazing group of people, I'm giving away Creative Paperclay along with some stamps and textured items EXCLUSIVE to 21 Secrets participants!! These things are part of my supply list for my class at 21 Secrets!! One of the other teachers from 21 Secrets is having a giveaway as well!!

Lisa Dieken of Wild Creative Hear t is giving away some goodies on her blog too!! She teaches The Fragrant Art Journal in the 21 Secrets playground. One of her THREE goodies is A journal from her 21 Secrets class, with a few tea bags and dried lavender flowers as well as an oracle card reading through email! Hop over to HER blog and get some goodies there!!

This giveaway is for one day only and exclusively to 21 Secrets participants!! Enter today for your chance to win by leaving me a comment here, with your 21 Secrets user name. Not signed up for 21 Secrets yet? GET TO IT!!
Remember, 21 Secrets is an on line playground with TWENTY ONE workshops in it!! That's 21 classes for ONE price. One GOOD price. PLUS, we added an instructor, so now there's TWENTY TWO workshops!! You can read more about it HERE. So GO!! (click the image below) Get signed up, and leave me a comment!! I'd love to supply you with the goods to take MY class!!

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21 Secrets visitor?

2011-08-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

If you're here from 21 Secrets looking for the special post Connie emailed you about, it's coming!!
The giveaway is happening tomorrow, Aug. 31st.
My post will be up at 7:00 am Pacific time.
For those of you that have left a comment already on my previous post, I'll add you to the giveaway!! Otherwise, please come back tomorrow and join in the giveaway FUN!!
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Variety in the Aboundance

2011-08-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

The garden is starting to become full and overflowing with produce. Mainly cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchini at this point... I've been trying to use things in a way that doesn't cause us to be sick to death of any one thing.
I shredded zucchini and froze it for future batches of zucchini bread.
We eat them in salads when I get to them before they are the size of small cars.
Tonight, we'll be trying THIS only instead of the sauce they share, I'm using some of my tomatoes and making my version of a marinara sauce.

We've been eating a lot of cucumbers fresh. Last night, I made a cucumber salad with dinner.
The cherry tomatoes as especially going nuts, and I have been drying those...
I slice them in 1/2, and douse them with garlic salt and dried basil before I put them into the dehydrator.

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Messy

2011-08-24T13:36:00.001-07:00

It feels like I haven't created anything in ages... It's nice to get my hands dirty... Work on a new doll is back in progress!

Thank you for using Picture and Video Messaging by U.S. Cellular. See www.uscellular.com for info.

Dog Days of Summer

2011-08-22T13:17:00.001-07:00

Hash has always shown an interest in the little animals around the house... he's nearly beside himself with baby chicks,
(here he is watching last spring's chicks in their brooder)

and always respectful of kitten claws... so it's been really cool to see him play with Spooks... So gentle, and a little wary of those claws... but ever so patient and interested in playing. They have become a pretty inseparable pair, those two... I love catching the two of them resting together... Spooks has a special spot among Hash's legs that he curls into for cat naps in the day...

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Just keep Growing...

2011-08-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

I have blogged about growing my hair out a few times before... but each time, I have ended up cutting it, and going back to my short spikey cut. At the start of this year, I started growing out my hair again... and THIS time, I have made it past the point I cut it in previous grow out tries.
The last photo I have of me before I started growing it all out...

And my hair now...

Now if it will keep growing so quickly, I'll have my long hair in no time!!
I feel like Dory...
Just keep growing!
Just keep growing!!
What do we do, we gro oh oh OH! lol
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Summer Snippets

2011-08-16T09:31:00.001-07:00

It seems like Summer never really came for us weather wise... it got such a late start, and now we're registering for school already... But I do have photos. Proof that we have been busy and taking advantage of our break this season.
Time spent on the river...

We watched fireworks at the end of July for a local park festival...

Christi came for a visit, and got to see an ocean and a sunset at the very edge of the sea...

Our Fair had a contest where people dress up a vegetable and bring it with them to the gate on a certain day of the week, during certain hours, and you get into the fair for free. We took two first place ribbons, a second place ribbon and three third place ribbons!!

Macs' Spee Ider.

I made jack o lanterns out of Sun Gold cherry tomatoes!!

Key Limes as the middle part of the body of this butterfly...

Ian used one of my crook neck squash to make his scorpion.

And Christi made a robot.

We ate just the perfect amount of fair food

and Macs took a ton of photos with Christi's camera.

I found some wolf hats to wear to games

The blackberries are starting to get ripe

Christi and I got caught off guard during our photo shoot, lol

but Ian did a pretty good job of getting some good shots for us!

Yesterday, I harvested my first batch of corn!!

The garden is growing and growing and GROWING!!

Last but not least, Spooks, our newest addition to the family, has settled in well... I caught this photo last night. :)

What's been keeping you from your computer screen this year?
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