This was strapped to the leg of a carrier pigeon and landed in my blog for Pat!!!

I've been taking some online classes.  In one of them there was a wonderful piece of art done by a woman called Pat.  I really liked it & commented, "Holey Crapoley!  This is great!"  Or something to that effect.  Anyway, she asked me how I would illustrate "holey crapoley"!  So, being the crazy person I am, I immediately got on the job!  I looked up Thomas Crapper and found out all sorts of info, like he did not invent the flush toilet, but developed related inventions such as the ballcock.  He heavily promoted sanitary plumbing and pioneered the concept of the bathroom fittings showroom.  Prince Edward asked him and his company to supply the plumbing for his country seat of Sandringham House in Norfolk, thus giving Crapper his first Royal Warrant.  The firm further received warrants from Edward as king, and George V as Prince of Wales and king.  Crapper held 9 patents for water closet improvements, but none for the flush toilets themselves, even though his advertisements implied the siphonic flush was HIS invention!
But was this enough information for me?  Nope.  Further investigation showed that the word crap is actually of Middle English origin; and predates its application to bodily waste.  Its most likely etymological origin is a combination of two older words, the Dutch Krappen: to pluck off, cut off, or separate; and the Old French crappe: siftings, waste or rejected matter.  In English, it was used to refer to chaff, and also to weeds, or other rubbish.  Its first application to bodily waste, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, appeared in 1846 under a reference to acrapping ken, or a privy, where ken means a house.
OK...now I had enough information to do a couple of small illustrations for Pat that would explain how I would illustrate "holey crapoley".  And here you have them!

I'm sure this is WAY more information than anyone needed to know, but it just goes to show what it takes to create a fun illustration or two for a pal!  Hope you like it, Pat!

I've been RAAKed again!

I am in an online group that recently had a bead exchange.  One of the participants made a bracelet called Pandora.  I loved it!  I tried to find the findings here in the U.S., but the silver ones were expensive!  Like $25.00 a piece, plus the special bracelet, caps, etc.  So she decided to send me the findings in a metal that doesn't tarnish.  Yea!  AND she also made me a very unique necklace which you can see on the right of my bead board.  AND she sent me a large piece of amber to use in healing!  What a generous spirit she is!  So now, once I get all the beads in, I'll be RTG on making my own bracelet!

The Pandora style was created by a man in Denmark.  Here is a pic of the one my online pal made.  Isn't it great?!

She had never done jewelry work before!  I couldn't believe it.  

Thank you dear friend!

Ornament for a pal

This year my DH & I decided to each try something new that we'd never done before.  I picked this sequin/bead satin ornament.  It looked pretty & easy.  Ha!  I had to have my DH come up to the studio to help me.  And even he said the instructions didn't make sense!  I admire people who can make these.  Not sure I'll make another one.  This one goes to a pal for her birthday.  Hope she likes it!

Birthday Gift for a pal

I decided to make a mixed media piece for a pal's birthday.  I sent it with an easel, but his DW said she was gonna frame it!  LOL!  Here's some pics:

First I beaded the heart

Then I painted the panel

Added dangles & testing where it should go

Finished piece

Piece on easel

Visit with Friends

Wow!  It's been a long time since I posted.  I've been on Creation Vacation & busy making art.  So I have to go back to NOVEMBER to start my posts!
A couple of pals came to visit us from WA state.  They took a day trip & here's some pics of beautiful NM from that day.  Can't remember if some of these are their pics or DH's!  :)  Enjoy!

P.S.

We just had company visiting from Washington state!  We had a really good time!  When they left, they gave us this ristra!  We are drying it out in the sun & bring it in at night.  Once all the Sandia chilis are dry, we will use them this winter to spice up our meals!  They smell wonderful!  Thanks, dear friends!

We were RAAKED!

So while all the kitchen mess was going on, 

we got a RAAK from a pal in HI.  

(Remember a RAAK is a Random Act of Art Kindness)  

Lots of goodies in this box!!!  

Who knows what we'll make of it all!

It sure was nice to be treated during this time!  Thanks pal!

Adjustable Cords!

Don't we all love adjustable cords?!   Well my DH found me some instructions online so I could make a necklace for the pendant my pal brought me.  And here it is!

And what I learned on this was to make sure your knots are bigger than the beads at the end or they'll fall off and you have to start over!  :)

Practice and Problems

While my pal was here, I gave her a quick tutorial on needle felting.  I made a couple pieces with her 'cuz I wanted to see if they'd fit on greeting cards.  Too thick!  Ah, well.  Maybe I can use them for something else!

Doodle Style ATC for a pal

While my pal was here, we worked on Zentangle inspired art & just some regular doodling.  I made her this ATC to mail to her later & thank her for being my pal:

Long Time No See! :)

As you'll see, we've been busy here in NM!!!  So sorry for the delay in posting!  Hope you all are well!  
The first thing I want to show is another needlecase I made for a pal on Kaua'i.  This came from Martha Stewart's site/craft section:

1.  Cut all pattern pieces and gather materials

2.  Cut and iron all pieces

3.  Stitch all layers together

4.  Start stitching buttons to one layer

5.  Buttons stitched to one page

6.  Gather other materials to add to case

7.  Add more buttons

8.  Add needles and pins

9.  Add safety pins and invisible thread

10.  Add colored thread and a bandaid

11.  Finished needlecase

Happy Belated Birthday, Pal!

Happy Birthday Pal!

Been working on this since 10/2010!  And I finally finished it and got it mailed to my pal.  It started as a friendship bracelet bookmark 'cuz she loves to read, but ended with two-4 cord braids so I could add some beads and charms on the end.  Here's a couple pics:

Here's a card and the bookmark once I was done:

It was fun making this tiny card and envelope for her too.  I'm just sorry it took so long to get to her!  I don't know how many of you know this, but I was diagnosed with ME/CFS awhile back, and am busy building my immune system up.  Slows me down sometimes tho'!  But I'll be back to my old self asa I can!

RAAK'd

I've been raak'd!  (Random act of art kindness) 

I know I haven't blogged in quite awhile, but I received some precious gifts

from a dear pal here in NM.  Here's a pic:

The center goddess is "January"! 

I told my pal awhile back that I LOVED her! 

So she sent her to me! 

She was part of a series of 12 & I never would've believed I'd get her!

She also sent me a pamphlet on fatigue,

a tea bag folding & 

a wonderful Seeing You watercolor! 

This artist is so generous!  Love you sweetie!

Art Gifts!!!

I am so blessed to have pals who really care for me!  I received some wonderful art gifts!  Here are some I received from a pal in NM!  Thanks so much!

And some from a pal in Hawaii!  Thank you so much!

I really love this art doll!  I want to sleep with her!

Long Time no see me! :)

Hi, all! Sorry you haven't heard from me alot, but it's been a busy summer so far!  Some good pals from Kaua'i came to visit me, then some pals from Texas...and next come some friends from Washington state!  It's been fun, but a little tiring for me.  I'm going thru' some medical tests to find out what's wrong with me.  I haven't had any creative energy lately, & the docs are trying to figure it all out.  Just know I love you all & think of you often!  (When I'm not sleeping the day away!)  I hope they figure it out soon as I have so many ideas of creative things to make!  Above you'll see some of my pals from Kaua'i.  I was so grateful that they came & blessed our home with their presence.  Please be patient with my tests!  I hope I'll be back to my old self soon!

Gorgeous Blogger Award!

Gorgeous Blogger Award!  (The Illustration didn't come thru', so I added this one!)

Oh how sweet! Just the other day, I received this award from a sweet fellow blogger, Lin. Thank you Sweetie! I really appreciate it! I love visiting her blog of handmade cards which you can see at her site here.
OK...now for the rules.....

 A. Accept the award and thank the person who gave it to you. ----DONE!

 B. List 10 things about yourself -----DONE!
  1. I'm 1/2 Italian & 1/2 Norwegian & should be in counseling!  :)
  2. I used to be an illustrator, but now am more into fine art.
  3. I was immersed in Cuernavaca to learn Spanish, and now that I need it, forgot most of it!  :)
  4. I've traveled to alot of the continents, but am now happy to stay home and create!
  5. I am a mixed media artist, as much as I try to narrow it down to one medium!!!
  6. I'm 5'4" tall & need to lose some weight!
  7. I love sports cars & hope to own another someday!
  8. I am married to the love of my life!  I never knew how happy you could be until I met him!
  9. My 2 priorities in life are creating, and loving my family and friends.
  10. I've just moved from Hawaii to New Mexico & am still getting used to where everything is & WHAT it is!  :D

 C. List 5 additional things you DON'T like ----DONE!
1. Bigotry
2. Racism
3. Gossip
4. Liars
5. War
 
Then pick ten people to give this lovely award to! The first person gets to pass it on!-----DONE!
 So hard to decide.....so I randomly picked bloggers who I like to visit :)  There's so many more but my computer is broke, so I don't have access to everyone I love!  Soon tho'!  I even missed my own Blogoversary!!!  ACK!

 1. JoTee's Art blog  ( I love her January doll!  See it here.)
 2. Matilda Labo's Art blog
3. Nancy's Blog Womankind
4. Griselda's Spirit Dolls and Assemblage Art
5. Danny Gregory's Blog
6. Bead Journal Project and all their blogs
7. Robin Atkin's Blog
 8. SpeedieBeadie
 9. Urban Sketchers
 10. Plays with Needles ( check out an old post here)

There really are a bunch more, but that's all I have for today!  So Sis, JoTee, you win the #1 Gorgeous Blogger Award!

Surprise in the Mail!

Look what came in the mail?!!!! My dear pal in Malaysia knows how much I love owls & ordered this darling couple for our housewarming! Aren't they the sweetest?!!! I love them so much! You can check out her greeting card site here. She also does beadwork & bookmarks. She has way more patience than I do! But I love her work...and I love her! Thank you, sweetie, from both of us!

Oneness Project

Well, I thought I was well on my way with January's piece, but the paint I used on the canvas panel just wasn't cutting it. So until I could get to the store for a REAL violet color, I worked on the rest of the project. Each piece will have a stitched focal point on the painted canvas. So next I cut out the Timtex to use as my stitching surface.

Then I found a fabric that was kinda violet & used Wonder Under to glue it down to the Timtex. All you have to do is heat it up a bit with your iron & it sticks.

Next came more gathering of materials to use on the focal point. I want alot of texture, so I have beads, sequins, floss, yarn, etc ready to go! On the right you can see I'm also prepping the canvas for February's piece. It is a Royal Fuchsia.

Below you can see I've started work on the focal point & am deciding how I will place the vintage item on the piece. It truly will be a piece about Oneness since I'm using items from around the world! I have sequins from Malaysia, beads from China, Japan, & some Czech, paint from France, as well as floss, fabric from Hawaii, etc. (Also note the better color for violet!)

And even as I work on January's piece, I start collecting items to use for February's piece!