Well, well, well....

It's that time of year again....time to start the gift crafts that you promised yourself you would start last July. So needless to say I'm busier than a one-armed paper hanger as hubby would say.
This is my cross stitch for a HOE Christmas Box exchange. It's a By the Bay pattern and it's really cute.

In addition to lots of goodies, I also included this needle keeper that I made using Christmas fabric for mine. Sorta looks like an ornament when you open it up.

Next is a watercolor I did from a picture I took on my phone while eating breakfast at Cracker Barrel (my fav). I did it in sepia tones which I really really liked. The place was just so cozy for a cold morning I couldn't resist taking the picture and then painting it at home.

Then I also got into this journaling stuff....bought a couple of SMASH journals from KC Company. Love them! This is the first page I did but I just want to "smash" every piece of junk paper I have...so addicting.

The above pics could be the reason I've procrastinated on the things I need to do....but I guess that's the problem with being a crafty person....you can't stop wanting to create.
So with that said, I'll leave you with an adorable picture of my bad kitty being a "good kitty" for once. Till next time, yinz crazy guys!

The "S" word....

I cannot believe we are saying and seeing the "S" word in October! YUCK!!

The one good thing is that I stitched just about all day. My spot in front of the TV on a cold Saturday....

This was a Drawn Thread pattern that I got to make as a gift for someone who really loves Halloween. It ended up being a door hangar as you can see below. Very quick to work up. I did it on 28 ct evenweave I tea-dyed myself.

I also made this pillow from a pattern I got online at Creative Poppy. You can just download them right to your computer ....no shipping charges or waiting for them in the mail. I love it.

And I was recently in a swap that was put together pretty quickly on the HOE Exchange site for scissor FOBs. I sent this with some goodies (not pictured) to a lady in Germany. (I know it's upside down...but I can't seem to change it...sorry) It's my fob with a small needle case.

My partner sent me this awesome package. I love everything...especially those spider scissors which I really wanted.


And last, but not least...still doing my journaling and watercolors. Hubby was making dinner one evening, so I sat at the Kitchen table and painted this. Love them watercolors....quick and easy.

That's it for now. Short and sweet......so till next time, yinz crazy guys!

So inspiring....

Saw this on a Facebook post and just had to share. I think this lady got inside my brain and knew what I've been thinking about my creativity for the past 50 years...


Till next time....yinz crazy guys!

Some Quickies...

Thought it would be fun to try and just sketch a quickie pic without giving myself my time to plan it out which is a bad habit of mine and keeps me from just pulling out my sketchbook anytime and anywhere and just drawing.

The first is pic I did in about 15 minutes at my lunch while sitting on my front porch.This second one took a little more time but still done without any pre-pencil sketching. It's from a picture we took while on vacation in Michigan.

For most artists I think this would be nothing at all to do this. For me it was a big accomplishment. I'm way too much a planner. Even in my cross stitching or crocheting, I read the pattern, think about it, plan it out and finally start it. I actually was pleased with the results and hopefully will be doing more of these quickies!

So, till next time, yinz crazy guys.....

Ever have one of those months????

I love to change the wallpaper on my phone and I actually have a great app for that....this happens to be the current image on my phone.

A couple of times I was tempted to use it but resisted the urge as I can't afford a new phone right now. Think I would be safer cutting it out and taping it to a pillow tho.

Okay...onto bigger and better things. Saw this tutorial on making a zipper bracelet and decided to make one. I just love it. Turns out there are alot of things you can make with zippers. So if you are interested....just google "zipper crafts or zipper bracelets" and you can do it too with the zippers off those old pair of jeans that don't fit you any longer. I gave this one to my niece but plan on making one for myself.

Next off, we went to a Night at the Races recently for a benefit. It wasn't real races just dvd's of races. Anyway, our horse, "Lucy's Hotflash" came in last...figures. But we did manage to win the largest basket in the Chinese Auction. It was a romance basket.

It was full of antiques and chocoloate and smoked oysters (we know what those do to you now, don't we??) and candles and tea and a tea pot and all sorts of goodies.

We plan on taking it all with us when we have our little cabin get-a-way in a month.....those candles will do wonderful around the hot tub, don't ya think???

Short post, but I will finish off with our little squirrel buddy who comes up on the porch twice a day for his daily nuts. This time I managed to get him to take it off of my shoe. He was so cute.

This may have been the same squirrel that was climbing the bird post.....up until I coated it with vaseline (my own idea)....which hubby laughed at...but worked.

Oh, well, that's it for now.....enjoy the fall weather, till next time, yinz crazy guys....

Look what we got!!!

We got a Hobby Lobby...we got a BIG Hobby Lobby! I've been waiting for one of these stores to open near us for a very long time and finally my wish came true. I even emailed their headquarters once and asked why there wasn't one in PA. At that time they were only building so far out from their headquarters. So now we have one and I love it! We have Michaels, JoAnns and Pat Catans...but Hobby Lobby is my fav.

As a matter of fact, I was so excited, I even did a watercolor of it...crazy, I know.

Also, was in a Fall Pynkeep with the HOE bloggers. Received this beautiful pynkeep from my partner. It's Bent Creek's Pumpkin Farm. The trim on this is so so pretty.

This is the one I sent out to my partner. It's the Heart in Hand Seasonal Birds for Fall using overdyes.

And lastly, forgot to show this in the post I did on Barbie outfits. While I was crocheting on vacation, I whipped up this lighter cover/carrier for the lady of the house. She was complaining that she always loses her lighter so hubby suggested I make her something to hook onto her purse or whatever. I just sorta tweeked the pattern I have for my chapstick cover that I love and is lasting forever, by the way.

Well that's it for now. Got some other projects on the burner that I'm really excited about in both crochet and cross stitch. Still doin' a bit of watercolor and journaling too. Just keepin' these hands busy! So, till next time, yinz crazy guys....

I'm back...

I know, I know....what happened to the even days postings? Well, after I came back from vacation, I had a bit of an upper respiratory infection and then a little relapse of it. Finally feeling back to almost 100%. So, I'll get back to my blogging. Thanks for hangin' in there.....till next time, yinz crazy guys!

See.....

....I told you I was back!!! (this is what happens when you give little kids access to the phone on your camera)

When we were on vacation, we had the pleasure of babysitting these two little munchkins for a couple afternoons. We call them our "surrogate" grandchildren as they are not directly related to us but we love them just as much as if they were.

It's much easier for me to make things for little girls than little boys, so I was able to spoil our blonde cutie pie with some Barbie fashions. (not to worry, our little guy was spoiled too) A couple of outfits I made before leaving on vacation, one while in the car driving to vacation (so I wouldn't be a NAG-a-vator) and the remainder while on vacation.
This first one was supposed to be a top, but ended up being a wrap around dress.

This picture was supposed to show off the mini-sweater and matching hat.

This is the dress that was underneath it...

Here is Barbie getting ready for a little sunbathing by the pool (aka bird bath).

And here she is showing off her awarding winning squash which was almost as tall as her...blue ribbon material for sure!

All these patterns were found online by just googling crochet Barbie clothes. They were fun and quick to do.

So, on that note......I'll be on my way....till next time, yinz crazy guys!

I'm baaaaaaack.....

Yep, I'm back from an awesome vacation in the the lovely state of Michigan with relatives....most awesomest time ever with bonfires and blueberries and babysitting the grandkids....just the best! Unfortunately, one of the little ones came down with Strep but they caught it early and he was put on meds ASAP and is doing fine....I however, came back with an upper respiratory infection which I had last week and I too (with the help of meds) am doing much better. So, I'm back on track with my "even" days post. I'm hoping to post, in the next few days, a little of what I've been up to while away.
So, with that said......stay tuned....till next time, yinz crazy guys!

Umbrella of Grace.....

I know I said I would be blogging on every even day....but now I'll have to, as my Pastor says, ask for an "Umbrella of Grace" as for the next week or so I will be enjoying the company of this awesome crew.....
...and I will probably be sitting on a back porch swing watching these many evenings while I stitch or draw or read with my wonderful hubby by my side....
...and I know for sure I'll be eating lots of this....

......and keeping warm by the fire with a little of that....

....and for sure enjoying loads of fresh those....

So, with that said....where in the world is Lucy?????......I'm out of here, yinz crazy guys!!! Have a great week....I know I will!

Sandcastle in water....

I'm making an attempt at watercoloring....can you tell. Actually, watercolor and ink. This is Sandcastle Waterpark in Pittsburgh PA. We got a great deal on passes this year and have been going when we can and when it's hot. It's just like being at the beach except the park is on the river...but the place has a real beach feel to it.
I've tried to do some watercolor pics of it but I think I just need to keep practicing. I get so impatient tho....but everyone I read about who is a watercolor artist/journaler stresses practice and doing something with it everyday.
So, with that said, it's back to practicing....till next time, yinz crazy guys!

and more journaling....

As you know I do jump around in my crafting and I also do so in my journaling. Lately I've been doing some watercolor and ink drawings but these are ones I've done about a month or so inspired by the lovely Teesha Moore.




These are fun to do as they are rarely done in one sitting. It's like you start a bunch of pages then just go back and forth depending on what is inspiring you at the moment.
So with that said, another post is under my Even Days Only belt.....Happy August and till next time yinz crazy guys.....

Psykopaint...

This is my granddog, Reese, done in an app called Psykopaint! My son took a pic of his dog, I uploaded it into Psykopaint....picked the Monet setting and "Reese in Monet". Psykopaint is so much fun. He's not as "Monet" as I wish he was but still it was fun playing. I could even print this out and frame it...all for free! My son also hooked me up with Google Chrome....I'm the Google Queen so this was a real treat for me. So many free apps with the same great search engine Google is known for. So if you want to have some fun playing and drawing on the computer, along with some awesome free game apps, just search for Google Chrome and start downloading. (weatherbug app is the best by the way!!)
Okay....another "even" day post under my belt...till next time, yinz crazy Psykos!!!

My journal...

Even day #2....this time I'm going to post some journal pages I've been doing. Oh, first off, for those who asked (Meari)...Moleskine is really just a very nice journal. Sorta like buying expensive yarn to knit with or a nice linen fabric to stitch on with really beautiful overdyed threads. There's a nice website where you can learn more about them....just google "moleskine". Stupid me thought the cover was made out of moles in which case it would have taken quite a few to make one journal...duh!
Anyway, here are some of the pages I've been working on. This first one was a co-effort from hubby as that was what he called the lesion that was in my nose. Notice the patriotic flag flown from the nostril... (click on any pic for a larger view)


This is just a nice background I did with watercolors, collage and gesso stenciled butterflies. Haven't added any writing yet.


Did this while at Sandcastle, our Pittsburgh waterpark. The park is on the borders of the river and it just looked so pretty that day....all done in watercolors.

I just like watermelon...and the colors of it. Not much writing on this one yet.

And I love Sunflowers but I noticed I didn't add enough petals....but who cares....it's my journal!

So, that's it! I've been reading alot about art journaling and such and the one thing everyone says is to practice, practice, practice....so that is what I'm trying to do. Draw everything! This is so difficult for me to do as I'm such a planner as you know. To just sit down and draw or paint without any ideas and let things flow is one of the hardest things for me to do in art. But I'm trying....and I'm liking it! Even if it's not always to my liking.....I've got to keep pluggin' away.

So, hope you enjoyed a few pages from my moleskine...till next time, yinz crazy Moles!!!

Challenge....

I think I'm going to challenge my self to blog on EVEN number days...(I know I could never do every day...at least not yet)......let's see if I can do it!

So on this EVEN number day, let me give you a little update on what I've been doing. I have been cross-stitching of course and trying to do the Prairie Schooler American Strawberries.

Haven't put one together yet, but as soon as I get the second one stitched, I will.

Secondly, been journaling....mixed media art journaling. This is really hard for me as I'm so used to following patterns and such. This really makes me try to let go and let flow.

Got a few journals going but my fav or course if the Moleskine journal. Plan on taking that one on vacation.

Thirdly, doing some crocheting. I know a little girl who loves loves loves her Barbies so I'm doing some clothes for her as I will be seeing her in August.

Sorry about the pic...cat did not want to move!

Just started a purple dress too. So many patterns on the internet and I also got a used book from Amazon for like $3.00 plus shipping....gotta love Amazon.

Also doing some crochet jewelry that my lovely niece if going to try and put together. It's done with floss....but I think I may have an easier time with #10 thread. Still playing with that.

Okay...first EVEN day blog finished....till the next EVEN day, yinz crazy guys....stay cool!