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!

Amulet

Been working on an amulet for our new home...also started a talisman, but don't have a picture of it yet. But I've been having a problem beading the amulet. After washing & restuffing, I think it's too stiff. I've already broken needles on it. So not sure what I'm gonna do. It's all part of the process! So I'll work on something else until I have the answer!

Passing Time in NM in Winter

One thing that's really popular in NM is reading...which we've been doing alot of lately. But puzzles are something we can set out & do together as time permits. Here's one Ron finished while I was gone to see Gavin!

Now here's a crazy one! We thought it looked simple, but not all of the pieces interlock! Some just rest against each other & different pieces hold them in. I've circled a close up of how some pieces don't lock. There's another arrow to the right of the circle to show more crazy matches! Click on the pics to enlarge them.

This one was a pretty panoramic!

We thought this next one would be easy 'cuz the pieces were regular. But all of those orange flowers just about drove us bonkers!

But so far the worst of all has been this 3D puzzle! It's a pretty picture, but the 3D wiggles on each piece! We could only work on it for a little while before getting queasy! I don't think we'll do another of these any time soon! Plus in the picture on the right, you can see how the pieces fit weird! Cardboard on the bottom & the plastic 3D on the top made for a strange surface!

So, after that one, we decided that we'd stick to a simpler puzzle. Just a nice dog. Next time I think it's kitties!

Baby Blanket

So here's one project I couldn't mention I'd finished before...

a hand crocheted blanket for Gavin!

Hope it keeps him toasty warm!

Prince Gavin is Born!

My computer's acting sluggish, so I hope I can get some of this thru'! On my "bucket list" was to see a baby being born. Well, my goddess/niece was due on the 31st of January. So she gave me permission to be in the room. I flew out on the 26th, and planned to stay until February 4th...hoping that would cover days on both sides of the due date. Well my plane landed at 4:10 & my brother-in-law picked me up...poor guy! He had to give me the news that Gavin had just been born at 3:58!!! Missed it by a few minutes! Ack! But I did get to see his first bath & got a chance to hold him. Here he is above left. On the right is my little sister, his proud Grandma. Boy, am I gonna hold this over his head for a long time! :D LOL! The main thing is that he is healthy & in a loving home!

Welcome to this world Prince Gavin!

New Series - "Oneness"

I forgot! There is one project I can share with you. My pal in Hawaii, the one I used to craft with in the neighborhood, and I, were trying to think how we could continue to play together. I had all sorts of ideas, but she came up with the idea of "Oneness", which is something we both are really interested in. And she's into colors for each month, so January is Violet. So I got an idea right away. Below you can see I've gotten my color wheel out & am deciding on what to put in the design.

And below you can see some of the items I've chosen to use in my piece. I may change some, & decided I needed some new acrylics, but this will definitely be a mixed media piece! I'm even using an old pendant I've hoarded forever! Paint, yarns, beads, sequins from a pal in Malaysia, floss...I can't wait to get started!

(If you click on the pic, it will enlarge so you can see my hoarded piece better!)

Changes!

Every day our view of the mountains change! It's almost always sunny here, but occasionally we get some snow in the mountains. Today we started with about an inch of snow at our house, but the Winter Wonder Land was gone by 10 a.m.! We are so grateful to be living here with this wonderful view. We spend time every evening watching the sun set move up the mountains. We can tell the days are getting longer! It's a very hopeful time for us!

Plus, did I tell you all my Goddess daughter/niece is having her first baby? I'm gonna fly out to WA state to try & get there in time to see the baby born. I won't be gone long, but it's one of those things on my "bucket list".

If she doesn't wait for me, she's just gonna have to have another one!

So if I'm not on here for awhile, you'll know why.

And also why I can't show you what I've been doing lately! Tee Hee!

Break Time!

I don't think we realized how exhausted we were from the move across the Pacific, the packing, unpacking, then the holidays, decorating, baking, & still taking time to shop for things we need & run chores...so we decided we needed some time each day just to relax. We started an inexpensive pass time...these are a few more of the jigsaw puzzles that we've finished lately.

As you can see by what Ron wrote on the box, this last one was hard!

I guess when we have a bunch of these done, we can donate them somewhere.

Any ideas on good places to donate? LUK!

Dilemma Solved!

My dilemma is solved! I remembered I had purchased this hand wrought iron/metal votive light tree tower at an auction a long time ago.

So I can light this any time & remember the Light of the Holidays!

And a little of this didn't hurt!

Happy New Year!

Dilemma!!

So Christmas is over, but we're having a hard time putting away all our decorations, ornaments...and the tree! What to do? Everything is so sweet, & it's the first time in years we've been able to see our decorations! Even the one my Dad made me! Ron keeps watering the tree, & I keep using the Santa incense burner! And those Wee Folks! Christmas is really year 'round anyway, right? Well, I have the pictures now & guess I'll look forward to having even more of our decorations unpacked for next year! Yea! Happy New Year everyone!

Time Off?

And then...when we weren't busy with everything else,

or just needed a break, we worked on some jigsaw puzzles!

Here's a few we've done.

We've got a really hard one going now!

Ron's Dream Tree!

So Ron has always wanted a HUGE tree for the holidays! Must come from his days as a forester. So we went out & got our giant tree. I don't know if you've ever seen this...I hadn't...but where there was empty spots, he repaired the limb with some extra pieces the lot gave him! Dr. Ron!

Here you can see how we learned that you should put the lights on before you lift the tree up! And a comparison to my 5'4" height!

So here it is all lit up!

Now for more of the ornaments!

Uh, oh...no star on top!!!

Out comes the 16 foot ladder which I held onto for dear life

as he leaned to put the star on the top! Ack!

But here it is, all done, decorated, tinsel on & the star on top!

With wishes for Peace on Earth!