Birthdays (x 3) & Bunnies!

WOW! I feel accomplished today!
FrankenDora is completed! The bunnies are stuffed and heads attached...just have to add their tails and then they will be completed too. Got the candles done earlier this week.....Whew!

Miss Shaylor was all eager to try Dora on this morning. She was soooooo cute. She even stood still and smiled while I got a picture (a miracle in itself). She didn't want to change when it was time to go outside to play. Nana prevailed though and Dora was hung up. It's at home with Shaylor now. No longer in my house! YAY!! No more Dora, for a while anyway.  :)  She's so cute in her Dora dress. That's my grandbaby!!

Milk...it does a body good.  :)

How's that for a perfect smile?

I got both bunnies done (complete with beans in their butts). They turned out quite well I think. They only slightly resemble the original - Ha Ha Ha. They were quite easy to make too. I may make some more latter down the road (give away maybe?). I came across the pattern in an article on Freebies For Crafters. It was an article about the patterns from Sew4Home. The first link - Freebies for Crafters is in my 'blog list'. They have some pretty neat stuff in there. Anyway, here's a couple of pictures....

This was right after their heads were attached....they were waiting for their faces.

And here they are completed (except for their tails).

I made a few altercations...the one on the left has a little more stuffing than the one on the right. I also had to attach their feet differently than the pattern called for...couldn't figure out just how the ladies at Sew4Home did it. Who knows maybe they'll take pity on me and show me how. I also used glittered fabric paint for their noses and mouths instead of 'sewing' them on. I cheated on the eyes as well...I sewed the buttons first (thru the holes) and then attached them with fabric adhesive. I've always had issues with buttons. Maybe someday I will be able to actually sew them. Other than that, I followed the pattern (big, big grin). What do ya think? Not too shabby, huh??

And then....

it was time for a party! Three to be exact. My niece's celebrated their birthdays together at their Oma's house in the pool. Lots of people (always lots of people), bar-b-q'ed dogs and burgers, cole slaw, potato salad, jello salad, chips....wait a minute...there were no baked beans. What's up with that Dennis? They make really good baked beans. He musta been slackin'. Everyone was eating and then the sky got black. Hurry! Everything inside!!! Food, Kids, Floaties...make a run for it! Got inside before it rained. Hooray!

And here are the birthday girls....Savannah is 1. Abbey is 8. and Emily Rose is 2. Ain't they sweet?!

It looks like all the lil' bees did their duty! I have one pumpkin (the one from an earlier post with the flower) that is getting larger and doing well. It's about 3/4 the size of an egg. Kinda looks like an egg at this point too.  :)

this was in the morning...it's already a little bigger now.

That's all the news that fits....

TTFN

IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE!!

All the toil and trouble...All the set backs and start overs...
IT LIVES!!
IT'S ALIVE!! 
LOL!!
FrankenDora is offically done! Complete with ribbon, bows, lace and pearlized snaps! My grand daughter spotted the thing and immediately screamed "DORA". Unfortunately, it was too late to have her try it on...we would have never gotten her out it. So, tomorrow morning she will be donning a brand new, hand made, obnoxious pink Dora dress. I can hardly wait to see her little face light up.  :)
But I will be kind and let you peek (if you promise not to tell) before then......

IT'S ALIVE!!

(you didn't think I was just gonna show you the dress, did you?)

have a GREAT night!!


TTFN

Stormy & Dark!

It is storming here in Georgia, again. I swear we either get a boat load of rain or none at all. My daughter-in-law called freaking out cause she's home alone (if you don't count the three children - HA!). My poor Roxxy is up under my feet, shaking like a leaf. She can handle the rain...but the thunder scares her to death. She's just a big ol' baby. :)

I've been really bummed about how many of the pumpkin-starts have been shriveling up and dying....and this morning (6am) I saw one with it's flower about to open! YAY!

Hopefully all the lil' bees came and did their thing while I was at work!

Did anyone notice that I changed my blog some? I added the 'blogs I like' at the side....complete with little pictures! I'm still learning all the things I can do on Blogger.

I put my Stalkers right where they belong too. Right at the Top!!  :)  I mean,  It's like I'd be talking to myself (wait...I do that too) if it weren't for my stalkers. I want to say a big THANK YOU! to everyone who has taken the time to read my lil' account of life!

Here comes round two....Boom, Bang, Rumble.....and my computer is being slow. HoHum. Guess I'll have to write more later.

Have a great night and try not to get soggy!!  ;)

TTFN

One Down...A Billion To Go!

YAY! One project completed!
I have finished the second set of candles. They have turned out much better than I hoped. These will be a great addition to my Halloween Collection. They're going to look great when they are set up! Without further ado.....

What do you think? Not bad for a first time, huh?

I have sewn the second bunny together (the material was cut at the same time as the first one). I like the way these two materials look together. I have some stuffing to do and then put the pieces together. These things are just too cute. They have also inspired me to make my own pattern. I have worked out the size and shape and some of the details. Now I have to create the pattern so I can cut the material. I think the first one will be something 'soft'....maybe velvet or suede?? Maybe even a 'teddy bear' fur. Not sure yet, the ideas are still floating around my head.

Bunny No. 2

And NO.....FrankenDora is not complete. It has aggrevated me to the point of procrastination. I just have to sit down and do it. Yes, I procrastinate (I know, it's shocking)...and when I don't like something it only gets worse. I have aptly named this project...FrankenDora...it sits in the corner staring at me like some black and white movie monster. You can't help but to look at it but you feel a little scared at the same time. I'm just waiting for it to moan it's displeasure at being incomplete. I have my motivation to complete it...my grand daughter asks about it everytime she sees it. Her little face lights up like a christmas tree when she spots this hidious, evil, mocking pink dress! Aahhhhh! I really dislike Dora. Oh well, time to suck it up and get the stupid thing finished. My grand daughter will be visiting on Saturday. Wish me luck! Send me some good vibes so I can conquere the FrankenDora!  LOL!

I have found my future house! I came across this amazing little house on the Tiny House Blog. They have a lot of really cool houses (tiny, of course). But this one just screamed my name. This house is SO me! It reminds me of Hansel and Gretel...not their house but the Witch's house! I can so see this house sitting in the middle of the forest. Surrounded by tall, dark, forbodding trees. Wrapped in ivy with an old wrought iron fence...the gate half hanging off. A cobblestone sidewalk leading to the front door. The forest creaking and moaning in the light of the full moon...a big eyed owl hoot-hooting...as the door slowly creaks open you hear the most awful of sounds..."Hey Y'all Come On In"!! HaHaHa - had ya going! (I hear banjos).

The man who makes these houses can be found at Rusticway. You should give them a look. They really are neat little houses. And the paragraph above should give you an idea of what I like and how my brain works (big cheesey, evil grin slowly spreading across my face)....But can't you see the forest? hhhmmmm?

Have a Fantasitc Night!

TTFN

OMG!! I just realized I have another stalker! Yay for stalkers!! ;)

Bunny Butt Beans!

Made ya look....
I've been busy with several projects at once....again.
I got fed up with FrankenDora so I had to take a break. I came across a pattern for a bunny. I made a few changes (so it looks nothing like the original). I thought I'd start with the patriotic material first. It's coming along very well.

I had gotten the head, arms and feet done before it even dawned on me to take any pictures...

and here's where the Bunny Butt Beans come in....beans for his butt to help him sit up right.  :)

and here he is as of tonight. waiting to have his head attached (think he's been to see the Red Queen?). Then just his eyes and mouth.

I'm sure you're asking "what about FrankenDora"? Well, this simple dress is really aggrevating me to no end. I do not like how it's turned out. I've been told it's just me, but I really dislike it. I did manage to find bows to match the ribbon. Hopefully, that will help with the main reason I dislike it. I also found some trim for the neckline that I think will make it 'pop'. There are no progress pictures at this moment...I hope to have it done this weekend. Assuming I don't take the seam ripper to it.   :/

It has been a really messed up week. My truck decided it wasn't going to start so I had to work from home on monday. Of course the dealership couldn't even squeeze me in until tuesday. So I dropped it off Monday night. Freaking out about how much it was going to cost. You'll never guess what it was.....the battery had "gone bad". But by the time I got that news I was already well beyond pissed off. I was pretty basically told I was a peon and shouldn't be able to 'work from home'. Needless to say, the rest of the week just kind of stewed. However, this morning I was enlightened as to the reasoning of the statement from Tuesday......

People have a huge misconception of what my job is. I am an IT Coordinator. What the hell is that? Glad you asked. It's various things. I run from PC to PC 'fixing' things. Adding / Deleting programs. Correcting user mistakes, physically fixing equipment. That's about 20% of my day. The other 80% is computer support. Monitoring servers, correcting mistakes through the 'back door', setting up the programs that other people use. The misconception comes into play because most people only 'see' me when I am at their computer telling them to move so I can fix it. They NEVER see all the behind the scenes work that goes on in my office.

So I'm a little better now that I know it's a 'job wide' problem and not just mine.

That being said....My feelings were still hurt. I've worked at this job for 10 years now. You would think that the people I work with everyday would have some clue as to how much I do. It's one of those..."If everything is running smoothly, I'm just a peon. If things crash, whose name do you think they start screaming?".

Oh well, I feel better now. Time to let go and move on. Thanks for listening. :)

Now for some pumpkin news.....

**sniff, sniff (big boo-boo lip)**

The plants look great! The flowers are simply huge and really beautiful...but the pumpkins that I saw starting up are begining to die. I have no earthly idea why. More are appearing but the 'first' ones are yellowing and dieing off. It's really quite saddening. Am I missing some nutrient that I don't know about? Is this normal? Does anyone know? If so, please tell me. I really want pumpkins of my own this year!!

Here are two of them...There are several others that are this bad or worse. If anyone has suggestions please pass them along!! I would really appreciate it very much!

TTFN

Off To A Great Start...

Good Sunday Morning To You!

This is the way to start off a day.....
Flowers blooming, projects finished and losing weight! Yeehaw! :)

There are a multitude of bright yellow pumpkin flowers all over my back porch. A few of them are 6-7 inches across. If you look at the picture on the left you will see them and the ones that are getting ready to bloom. These are all 'male' flowers. The 'female' flowers are the ones on top of the baby pumpkins....

Also there are many baby pumpkins. These plants are the best looking ones I have grown. :)  I am so happy! I may actually have pumpkins for Halloween this year (without having to go and buy them). I believe that both of the pumpkins in the photos are 'Sorcerer' pumpkins from Harris Seeds. I have Jarrahdale, Cinderella, Silver Moon and Cotton Candy too.

My candles are completed too! Yay! They turned out great. The silicone bulbs that I used look really good in these candles. This is the first set. I am going to do one more set. But I think I'm going to do the next set in red. I may even do a give-a-away closer to October. I guess that means I need more 'stalkers'. ;p  Any ideas on how to get more people to follow my blog?? I will let everyone know about the give-a-away as it gets closer. Here's how the first set turned out.....

My wife and I have been working at losing weight. We go for a daily walk and have cut back on the things we eat and drink. My wife is .9 pounds away from her goal. This will put her at 45 pounds lost. I was down another 3 this morning. Which was nice considering I sure don't feel like I lost anything. :)  I have been slacking on my exercises....I really need to get back to my P90. Sally has been using the programs on the WII. She's been doing great and has really been sticking to it. She has inspired relatives and friends to lose weight as well. I am really proud of her!

Have a great Sunday!!


TTFN

Good Morning!

Hi All!
It's Saturday morning and I am up.....since 6:20. Believe it or not, that IS sleeping in. HA!
Didn't post last night, so I guess I'll start with yesterdays news......

the first pumpkin flower of the season was wide awake and waiting to be gazed upon early yesterday morning...

6 am. waiting for the sun!

there are many flowers about to bloom now. Including two that are on actual pumpkins! Now hopefully the bees will cooperate and do their thing. :)

I managed to get the candles taped and painted white. Two coats of white and a coat of clear matte. So far so good!

not too impressive yet.....

And this is how they look now....

Added the black wash (watered down paint and then wiped off) at 7 am. Now I just have to clear coat them again and add the bulbs. I think they look really good right now. Can't wait to see them done.  :)

And for those of you who are interested in seeing more of the horse drawn hearse....here's the link.

This is from Halloween Forum. A LOT of great ideas and inspiration! This site is where I first saw the candles I am now making. There's a gaint spider and cemetary fencing that I want to make to. So many ideas...never enough time! LOL!

I guess that's all for now....more later?

TTFN

First Flower of the season....

Well, here it is...Thursday. Almost the weekend again. This week crept up on me and passed me by. Finally got some rain today...not much, not hard. But it lasted a little while. I'm sure my plants and bushes liked it.
I know the pumpkins did! It still amazes me how fast they got so big. And I had another surprise from them today.....

this one doubled in size just since yesterday. my thumb for comparison.

this is the biggest one so far. but there is another one catching up fast.

and then I saw this! the first flower! YAY!

Did you guess?

Did you say "Candles"? 

Afirefly1976 guessed 'giant candles'. Good guess and correct. I have seen these all over the place on the Halloween blogs and how-tos. I wanted to make my own and I will have to say that so far into the process I am pleased. I trimmed the excess foam and began applying the hot glue....here's where they are so far.

First pass....

finished the hot glue. now they are just waiting for paint. maybe tomorrow?

I WANT one of these...this hearse is amazing. It was built by hand. It sold for $2500. I wish! I don't have the website right at hand but I will post it later for any one who wants to see how this was made. I've already got it pictured in my head....out in the front yard, a skeleton driver (tux maybe?) and a 'dead' horse...OR a giant spider pulling it. I really want one!! Somebody buy it for me!!  :)

isn't it gorgeous? maybe someday.

That's all the news that fit to print. Have a great evening!

TTFN

Muddleing along.....

Just an update to all that is my life......
let's see....where to start...
I guess project updates....

FrankenDora (the dress) is waiting for ribbon and a snap enclosure....no photos (not til it's finished). I did however, find a simple dress pattern that I am going to try out on the other material as soon as Dora is finished. I also found some trim for the bottom of the butterfly material and the flower material. Now I just have to complete Dora. I REFUSE to start another dress until this one is complete.

Ms. Susie sent me a PDF of her process for her dolls!! YAY! Very helpful!!!
I wasn't as far off on the process as I thought I was....just impatient! (who? me? never! HA). I even managed to use the same acrylic 'goop' as Susie did. She takes her's a step further with gesso. When I get caught up on my current projects I will definately put her instructions to work!
THANK YOU SUSIE!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

Now for a couple of updates with photos.....

My 'can you guess it' project is coming along great. I spoke with Al today, he is a great wealth of knowledge! Got some 'electrical' tips from him. I have managed to get the sockets in place and the wires cut, crimped and 'foamed' into place. And I plugged in the lights and THEY WORK!!! Hurray!!

the sockets waiting for the next step.

the bottoms with the wireing all 'foamed' up...which is now expanding out of the bottom of the tubes and all over my work space....

And one of the 'heads' to my Hallowcritters that I've been working on - on and off again - It's a bovine skull that I have cleaned, bleached and have begun designs on. I will be adding blacklight paint over top of the designs so that it will glow. Not sure about the body yet.....

moooo-spooky!

And here's a shot of my motely crew, so far. Some are new, some are not...

motley Boo! :}

And the pumpkins are doing fantastic! They're not thrilled about the heat (still in the 90's and the humidity was back today). I counted at least 6 'what appear to be the start of pumpkins' yesterday. One of which is 10 times the size of the others...

(6 am Wednesday morning.)

I had to stand on the other side of the porch to get them all in the photo. They have gotten huge. Two of them come to the top of my head (all 5'8 of me). the space between the pots are about 2 foot now. They are also hanging out the other side of the railing. I hope I get something this year!

Have a great night!! Or morning in Susie's case!! :)

TTFN

WOW!!

I feel so...so...so...WOW!
What a great way to start off the day. I got a message from Susie Mcmahon this morning. I know, you're thinking "who is Susie Mcmahon?" Well, let me tell you - she is a fantastic doll artist from Tasmania. I 'found' her about a year ago on Blogger and have followed her blog ever since. Her work is amazing (she just finished up a felt doll). I was suprised to see a response from her but she also joined my 'followers' (or as my neighbor says, stalkers). I am simply blown away. Now I have to be witty, funny, charming and know what I'm talking about.....yeah, right. :)
I wonder how far back in my blog Mz. Mcmahon went....I wonder if she knows that my PA's were created after trying to figure out how she does her dolls.......hhhhmmmmm? Her dolls were the 'spark under my arse' that got me doing my PA's. If you want to see the original post go here...

I have been working on a new project...Patchwork A...

I am truely honored to have Susie as a stalker, er, ummm, I mean a follower.  :)

Now that I'm done gushing.....

Did you figure out what my newest project was???
Well here's some more hints to help you guess...

Do these have a familiar shape??

Ok, well maybe this will do it....

No? Yes? If not, I guess you'll just have to keep watching.  :)

That's all for now....and if you haven't gone to check out Susie's Dolls yet....Well, Why Not? Go do it now!

TTFN

Can It Be???

I'm so excited....I'm not 100% sure but these look an awful lot like, shhhhhhhh, pumpkins! There are several of them all over my plants. I can only hope that these are actually what I think they are! After the last two trys I don't want to get my hopes up. However, these ARE the best looking plants I have ever had. I'll let you decide for yourself.....:)

**RANT** (you've been warned)

I went to Hobby Lobby today to get some light fixtures for my project. First off, I truely hate having to hunt for things when I go shopping. I am not a shopper. I know what I want and I simply want to get what I came for and leave. After searching the isles for what I was looking for, I knew they had them because that's where I bought them the last time I got them, and not being able to find it, I went looking for some help. HA HA HA. I walked the entire store and found one person working the floor. Just to be fair she did tell me where they would be...one of two places. I went to where I was instructed and found nothing at the first location so I went to the next. And found nothing again. The woman that was in that department took me to where they were supposed to be...An 'X out' tag. "I'm sorry, we're not stocking that item any more".

Why is it that every time I find somewhere that sells what I need they stop carrying it? I guess I must be the only one buying that stuff. So I wandered around for about an hour. Saw quite a few things that were 'wanted'. However, I left with two spools of ribbon for the dress material I am working on. Retailers need to realize that not everyone will buy something else while they are hunting for what they came in for. It's 'point of purchase' and I understand the idea behind it....BUT it does nothing but piss me off and keeps me from spending my money at their store. Walmart is notorious for this...they move their products on a weekly basis hoping you will buy 10 other things besides what you came for. It just makes me want to leave. Ok, I feel better now....I guess I'll be making a trip to Michaels tomorrow to see if they have what I need. I don't like shopping at Michaels, their prices are too high. But I guess I don't have a choice any more. Atlanta closed the only true art store it ever had - Pearls. I really miss them! I could spend a couple of hours wandering through that store - and if you knew how much I hate 'shopping', you'd understand what a compliment that was. Anyone who knows me is probably laughing right now, shaking their heads and saying 'ain't that the truth'.

Anyway, I'm done now. Thanks for listening....or not.  :)

Have a great night!

TTFN

FRANKENDORA and PUMPKIN STAKES!

Well, the Dora dress is coming along ok (I tend to lean towards perfectionism when it comes to my creative endevours - so, 'ok' is as good as it's gonna get for a self compliment). I got the hem done and the top and bottom attached with pleats. I really don't like pleats...I guess they're ok, seeing as how this is only the second time I've done them. And here's the proof....

Just need to do the sleeves, neck in the back, button closure and add the ribbon around the waist. Thank goodness for ribbon. Everyone thinks ribbon is to make things look pretty - HA!! Ribbon is to hide all the little things that make you (me) crazy!

Gonna have to find an 'A-line' pattern for the other material. Not wild about this pattern. But I'm sure it will be 'ok'.  :)

I had to stake my pumpkins (not thru the heart, so they'll live). Came home to find my pumpkin plants severly withered after another high 90's day again. I put stakes in because I'm afraid that the weight of the stems drooping over the side of the planters will break them in half. Hopefully (fingers, toes and eyes crossed!) they will attach to the stakes and be able to hold themselves up......

this photo was taken at 11:40 pm

I watched 'I am number four' tonight....after finally getting my dvd player to work. It kept stopping. I really had to clean the disk. My player doesn't like ANY dust or dirt on the disk. The movie was ok. The story was decent. The action was pretty good. The effects weren't too bad either.....The End Sucked!

I realize that a movie has to be open to a sequel...but they may as well have written 'To Be Continue' across it. It was like watching 2 hours just to get to the middle of the story. Maybe I'm too picky....but I like my stories to have an actual ending. Oh well, what are ya gonna do?

til next time

TTFN

Holy Cat on a hot tin roof, Batman.....

Good Lord it's Hoooottttt!
I do hope this is not how the entire summer is going to be. It has been misarable the last few days here in Georgia. How hot did you say? Well, this will give you an idea.....

this is what my poor pumpkin plants looked like when I got home from work. They each took an entire watering can full of water....

They have since perked up and look 100 times better now.

And then (must have been out of my mind) I went out and transplanted my potted plants from the back porch to the side yard. I swear I must have lost at least 10 pounds just from sweating....anyway, I think they turned out pretty well. Now I just have to keep them alive long enough to root.

Some of these were plants that were in Sally's bird cage (turned atrium). They didn't like being in there for some reason. They like being outside but not in direct sun. This side of the house gets sun in the morning but not in the afternoon when it's really hot. As you can see my Virginia Creeper (red ivy) is doing well over here. I have to get some more mulch to help keep the moisture in now....

Back to work on the Dora Dress.....I've been procrastinating because of the pleats. Once the pleats are done and the top and bottom are connected...I just have to add the ribbon and it will be done. Tonight? probably not. More likely tomorrow.

Have a good night!

TTFN