Handmade Christmas Art Revolution

Good Morning Everyone!
I hope your Christmas was excellent! And that you got just what you wanted.
I know the last couple of post were simple, short and sweet! Christmas is over now...so we can back to the 'normal'. LOL

I think we'll start this post off with Jan's completion of the grand kids kitchen. She said the kids loved it. Even the older ones enjoyed playing with it.

Completed.....

fridge and oven open for inspection  :)

On Sunday (the 23rd) we had a small get together with Dennis, Shirley, Amy, Barry and Barb. It was a nice gathering. We did food and goodies and some gifts. Amy made lobster/crab dip and my daughter made hash brown casserole. There were cookies and candies and fudge. Spent a couple of hours and really enjoyed ourselves. I'm glad everyone got the chance to come over and spend some time together. I got two new nutcrackers from Shirley and Dennis. Ones a penguin and the other is a goose. And of course everyone had to point out how I didn't put my collection out this year. Yeah - was not in the mood to put them all up. I made some homemade goodie bags this year. I made hot/cold corn pads, sea salt and sugar scrub, cookies in a jar and bath bombs. Amy's mom, Barb, seemed really pleased with the corn pad. And Amy just used the sea salt and sugar scrub yesterday. She told me her face was so soft. :)  Sally used one of the extra bath bombs and said it worked really well. I used the 'tester' corn pad and it was wonderful! It creates a moist heat which is really nice! Who knew you could use corn? Not me! I hope that they all enjoy the gifts!

terry clothe and flannel hot/cold corn pads

(Connie's a Georgia fan)

cookies in a jar and sea salt and sugar scrub....

complete with instruction tags and wrapping paper lids

(the lids match the handmade tags)

tangerine bath bombs - they smell so good!

(like my packaging?)

had to hunt all over for citric acid for these

close up of the tags.....

On Monday night we got a very welcome surprise.....

My sister/brother in law showed up with Jim and Marta. We haven't seen them in many years (almost 18 years, doesn't seem possible). They had driven down from Canada to surprise Dennis and Shirley for Christmas. They hung out for a while and we talked and laughed. It was great to see them! I am so glad they came! Sally didn't get out of work until 9pm. So I told her she couldn't get her pj's on cause there was a surprise coming. I think the surprise was worth waiting to get changed. She was really happy to see them too! Didn't get any photos....really slacking on the camera work this year.

Christmas this year was celebrated twice.....

Once at home with my wife, daughter and Perry. It was really nice, even though my daughter decided that 6am was wake up time. Jenifer got clothes and perfume and a bunch of other things. I managed to sneak in a book on dreams. It gets harder each year to really surprise any of them. I got my wife new pj's (nice warm ones) and a 'spa day' (which is what she wanted). And I surprised her with a new ring. It's a padparadsch (pronounced po-per-ra-zzi). It was a replacement for the large one I got her years ago that was stolen. She was really surprised and can't wait to wear it to the New Year's party we are going to on Monday.

And then we went to my son's house to celebrate with the grand kids. It was great to see their faces light up. :)

Unfortunately, Lawton (our oldest grandson) wasn't there. He was celebrating with his dad. Shaylor had a good time ripping open all the wrapping paper. I think next year they can come to our house. Way too much stuff to be toteing back and forth (yes, my wife went overboard - next year I won't let her go shopping alone. HA).

All in all, it was a pretty good day. I hope that everyone was happy with what they got.

Christmas Tree in the bay window

2012

 

my surprise - a new Keurig

and all the goodies to go with it

and what i asked for....

give up?

it's a bike trainer

gotten away from exercising...

time to get back to it!

the amazing mask my daughter picked out for me

the surprise for my wife

And now for some total randomness....

peppers and sausage over rice with garlic potatoes

made this a few nights ago for dinner

YUMMY!

am i the only one who absolutely hates these damn things?

can anyone tell me what the numbers say?

i thought my eyes had just given out

a tease from the Yule invitation I'm working on for next year...

what a great idea!

just a thought  :)

I finished reading ART Revolution by Lisa L. Cyr last night - sometime around midnight. I have to admit that once you get past the beginning (history lesson) and into the techniques, it's pretty interesting. It has given me some inspiration to try some new things. There are a few artists in the book that I really like. However, I find most of the artwork...not to my taste. That was a polite way of saying ICK! Some of the work in the book was horrible. Sorry, there is no other way of putting it.

this is Dave McKean

you can see more of his work here

(this was NOT in the book)

Rudy Gutierrez

you can see more here

(this one was in the book)

this is Lisa L. Cyr

you can see more here

she is also the author of the book

(this is from the book)

Matt Manley

you can see more here

(this is from the book)

Well, I think that is all for this post.

I hope your upcoming week is fantastic!

I will see you Next Year! :)

til then....

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!!!

TTFN







Something is missing......

Well, here we are....again.
It's Saturday and almost two weeks have flown by. Doesn't seem possible.
I hope that everyone had a really nice Thanksgiving. Mine was hectic, unorganized and mostly frustrating but other than that it was nice. :) It's really hard to believe that Christmas is only a few weeks away. And of course, I am no where near ready for it. Usually by this point we have the majority of the shopping done. Not this year! We haven't even begun. Looking to get started next weekend (and hopefully finished). Wish me luck!

Before we get started with the past couple of weeks.....I just realized that I've 'lost' two members. :(
Not sure why, maybe I've been to ho-hum? I haven't gone searching to see if I can figure out who it is yet. I'm sure there is someway of figuring it out. I guess my stories and progress just weren't enough (or too much?) for them.

Oh well, on to the goodies.....
Let's see, last post I told you that I had begun a 'firepit', but didn't have any photos...well, I have a few now....

Pixie inspecting the progress....making sure everything

is lined up correctly

the finished pit with two of the three 'seats' drying.

the third has yet to be added (money is a funny thing)

one of the many (5 or 6 now) fires in

the new firepit. it works wonderfully!

I've been working on a new painting (or two). I am not thrilled with them as of yet, so no pictures. When I get them to come around my way I will post progress shots. They are just ideas at this moment but what I have in my head is not coming out on the canvas. Geez, sounds like a typical artist, doesn't it? :)

For Thanksgiving I made bread pudding, in addition to everything else. I wanted to use my mom's recipe but apparently I don't have it. BUMMER! I used an online recipe that seemed fairly good. Boy was it! Of course I made a couple of changes (can't leave well enough alone). I used 'dark, sweet dinner rolls' instead of french bread (which is the recipes recommendation). I also cut up a granny smith apple (the green ones) into small pieces to spread over the top. I added far more raisins than what the recipe called for - I like raisins! I was going to write out the recipe but I think I will just give you the link. I used the first recipe (there are two on this page/link). We've been invited out for New Years, so I'm thinking I may make more to take with us.

Last Friday (black Friday) my daughter conned me into taking her to the mall. Yes, it was temporary insanity. I don't know what I was thinking....or not thinking. She had her heart set on a pink stripped bag from Victoria's Secret. I was up at 4am, after going to bed at 1am and not sleeping. When we got to the mall, it was packed. I just looked at my daughter and said 'Are you sure you want to take me in there?"

We went inside and you could see the 'crazy, sleepless' look on people's faces. And the rudeness was a plenty! As we made our way to the second floor, everywhere you looked was bright pink bags from Victoria's Secret.....which was amazing since they weren't supposed to open until 5am and it was only 4:45. I told my daughter "If we get up there and they are out I am going to lose it". She just smiled and said 'I hope not'. Fortunately they were not sold out and she got the bag she wanted. Among several other items that she wanted for Christmas. Yes, I know, she picked out her own presents. The ONLY way I can make sure she gets what she wants and that they fit! However, they are still in the bag! And Yes, I will be wrapping them (wow, I guess I did start Christmas shopping already. Now I don't feel quite so behind). After spending about 30 minutes or so in the store we wandered around the mall and then left. We had both had enough of the 'Christmas Attitude' from the employees and the customers. :) And for the record, this is the first time I have shopped on black Friday in about 20 years. People just get so stupid over deals that aren't really deals! I just have no patience for that, in case you hadn't realized that from reading any of my posts. LOL  :)

I also got some work done on Moxie! Not quite as much as I was hoping to, but progress just the same!

***News Flash - Jan just emailed my about the 'Play Stove'! Yep, while I was typing! She's made some great progress on it! Aaarrggghhhhh! I can't seem to get the photo off my phone. This is going to make me crazy (more than normal). Ok, I guess it's going to have to wait until next time - so I can figure out how to get photos from texts off the phone......Sorry! It'll be worth the wait though - it really looks amazing! ***

Ok, where was I? Oh yeah, Moxie. I have completed her arms and attached them. I have finished her dress as well, although I am not sure how much I really like it. It looks ok but it's not what I have in my head (gee, that sounds familiar). I'll post a couple of photos and you can let me know what you all think about it...

arms attached! YAY!

these are the ones i decided on after messing up

three other pairs. fingers are a nightmare!

one of the mangled arms. got down to the last finger

to be turned and it ripped wide open. did the same thing

on two other pairs  :(

Moxie's dress....it's made from three layers

of 'Tulle' (i do believe that's what it's called)

i wanted shear to let her 'tatoos' show through

but this is NOT what i had in mind.

What do you think? keep it or lose it?

I also went back to work this past week......I was off for three days. You would think that I had been gone for a month. What a clusterf#*k!! Needless to say, it was a very long week! Almost makes me not want to take vacation (YEAH RIGHT!!).

*** More breaking news!  Jan sent the photo again...to my email (since my phone doesn't want to cooperate). So here's the latest photo of the 'kitchen project'........

kitchen update from Jan

looks good!

What do you think of my 'Holiday' banner? Created from scratch! I was searching for an image on the internet but couldn't find anything that floated my boat.....so....I made my own. I did find some interesting things on a 'Yule Goat'. I think I will save that for the next post though. I need to do some more digging and see what it's all about. It looks really cool though. Kind of reminds me of Burning Man but with an actual holiday / celebration behind it. Anyway, watch out for the goat! LOL!

Well fellow travellers, I think that's all for this post.

The Christmas season is well under way and I wish you and yours ALL THE BEST THE SEASON HAS TO OFFER!

May your days be filled with joy and your nights be filled with the warmth of family and friends!

til next time...

Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!

TTFN

p.s. - I'm thinking (dangerous, I know) about doing a video post in the near future. What do you think about that idea? Good one? Bad one? Has anybody done one yet? Any helpful hints? Or 'what-not-to-do's'??

Let me know!



Kitchen Fires on the Phone

Helloooooo Everybody!
Hope you've had a splendid weekend!
Can you believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away?
November has flown by in a blink.
Soon it will be...that other holiday. :)

I think we'll start this post off with Moxie. She is coming along wonderfully. I am really happy with how she is progressing. She looks so different....with legs. LOL! I decided on buttons at her hips. They are a four hole white button that goes well with her 'faerie designs'. Her arms are next and then her outfit. I am hoping (hoping really hard) that I can finish her sometime this coming week. Wish me luck! Here are some progress pics for your viewing pleasure. :)

on the side ~ legs dangling

sitting all by herself

she wants to cross her legs when she

stands from this position

button shot ~ really hard to hold a doll,

hold the camera and try to see the viewer...

without my glasses

slightly clearer button shot  :)

This past week was also full of ideas for my next DragonCon. Body suits, Skull makeup (twisted grin), feathered collars, feathered wig (?), bony spine and elvish shoes/boots? Five hundred different images running through my head. After this past year, I've realized that I have to start pulling things together much sooner. HA! That will remain to be seen. I'll have to keep you posted on the comings and goings of this one.

i saw this the other day and immediately

thought of Miss B ~ she'll know!!  :)

Friends of mine, Jan and Karen (you may remember them from my DragonCon posts), are working on a kitchen set for the grans. It's a converted entertainment center that is looking quite amazing. Jan has promised to keep me up to date on the progress (only if I remind her a hundred times a day, I'm sure). I just wanted to share it with you. I think you all will appreciate it!

the kids are gonna have a blast with this one!

This past Friday, after much (and I do mean MUCH) deliberation, I broke down and bought a new phone. My old phone was really acting squirrelly. Rang when it felt like it, just deleted text messages without warning, text to whomever it felt like sending them too regardless of the intended recipient. It would power down without any warning....it was becoming increasingly annoying. So after looking at phones and having a small coronary...I decided on one. I'm not going to share the price, it still pains me that I had to spend that kind of money on a phone. A cell phone at that. If it wasn't for my wife and kids I probably wouldn't have a cell phone. This thing will not leave my sight.....I spent more on this phone than I have on all the previous phones I've had combined. So needless to say, I am very 'protective' of it. LOL!

my purrrrr-dee new S3 with it's protective Otter case

(it best damn well protect it!)

Today, and yes, I mean all day, I was busy working on a new fire pit out in the backyard. It's about 5 foot across. I used cinder blocks for the base and then capped them off. It also has two seats made from cinder blocks as well. It has turned out fairly well. Even though I now feel like I've been run down by a bus. I'm going to be so stiff tomorrow...I can already feel it. It will be nice to have it for fires though. I have one more seat to add to it but that will have to wait until I get a few more dollars gathered together. I took a couple of pictures to share, unfortunately I took them with my new phone and cannot for the life of me figure out how to send the damn things to my email. Technology will be the death of me yet. AND...in the process of building the pit, I broke my favorite coffee mug. :(  I've had this cup forever and a day. It really sucked! But alas, I will live. I'm sure I will find another, it just won't be the same.

I do believe that's all for this week.....

I hope you have a fantastic week (I will, off of work all week!).

If I don't see you before Thursday ~ Have A Fabulous Thanksgiving!!



Be Good, Be Safe, Be Happy!!!

TTFN