MorphKat

I can hardly believe my eyes with this cat. If you remember, we adopted Betlgeuse in the summer. He was about a year old and looked JUST like a Russian Blue. Totally sleek, short hair and full of character.

Well, he's grown into a giant fuzzball! No more shiny, sleek hair. No more skinny butt. Just long, long, fluffy hair. He looks like he's fat, but it's ALL hair! Craziness!

I'll be back tomorrow with some more of my latest projects. In the meantime, I HIGHLY recommend you check out Michelle's Stitch & Paint blog (listed in the "blogs I enjoy" roll to the right). She's been doing this "snow dyeing thing" that is AWESOME!! Finally - a use for all this freakin' SNOW!! I'm gonna drag out the dyes and see what I can do. No promises, but I'll try.

Have a fab night, kids!! I'm off to join the sleepover my kiddos are having. Snuggling in the quilts with big bowls of homestyle popcorn and laughing little faces. What could be better on a Friday night?! :o)

Blue Moon

Been getting back into weaving baskets again and it really takes me back. I love to smell the wet reeds soaking in a huge bucket next to me. When I've been away from weaving for a while, I'm always nervous that I might forget how to do it. And this time I was REALLY scared. I had carpal tunnel surgery done on both hands as well as a thumb tendon release on my right hand. When all of my strength was gone, I thought I had made a big mistake, getting my hands done.

But then, one day, almost like magic, they felt a lot better. Each day brought more strength and hand control, only without the pain and the tingly zapping I had 24/7! I couldn't believe it! So I thought weaving would be the real test. I gathered my materials and sat down, ready to give it a go. Blue Moon is the product of that session. I made one more, just to double check my manual dexterity, and it's true. My hands are better than ever! I think I'll start another basket today...

Paring Down

Well, with Spring (hopefully!) on its way, I've begun to pare things down around here. First up is books, which you can see at: http://www.gudstufff.blogspot.com/

I will be getting to everything else soon. But it's WAY too cold to go up into the loft now to dig through boxes. At least the books were easy to pull off the shelves.

If you see anything that grabs ya, just email me at debmarie@hughes.net and we can work out the details.

Thanks a million for checking it out - I really appreciate it!! Have a great day!

Blind Boy

"How can one cat cause so much raucus?" I wondered one morning, as I heard a strange noise coming from the living room. Well, when it comes to Betlgeuse, or Beetles, as we call him, ANYthing's possible, and quite probable! Here he is in BETWEEN the closed blinds and the window while one of his cohorts was pulling on them from the other side. Cats....

3 Cool Cats

Good morning, friends!

Things continue to be "full speed ahead" around here as we get ready for fright night. So we're up to our eyeballs in costume-building and treat-making. I haven't had a ton of time to dedicate to art, but I've been getting some done. Little by little... Here are a three new pieces. I merged 'em all into one pic to save space. In reality, each one is about 3.5" X 12 and I can't recall what kind of wood it is. Maple? Or ash? I'll have to check with hub-a-roni.

Oh and to those of you who've left me comments to publish over the last month... I've tried SEVERAL times to publish them. Everyt ime there was a problem with either Blogger or HughesNet. Sorry for the delay - I wasn't ignoring any of you!! :o))

Zulu Luv

UPDATE Fri, Nov 14: We lost Zulu a couple weeks ago and things just haven't been the same around here since. We miss you, girl, and think about you every day, especially Chloe. I keep your picture on the art bench, since you liked it so well there. I'll never forget those days and nights you kept me company while I painted. You're a sweetie, Zulu. We love you and will never forget you...

:(

Well, I just changed my profile to reflect the newest member of our family: Zulu

Zulu came to be a part of our family the day that I found her (or she found me). She was literally starving to death. Oh man, she was mangy! Her fur was thin and you could actually see her bones poking out, especially her hip bones. Poor thing doesn't even have a VOICE! Oh yeah, she's a complete mess.

But we brought her home and smothered her with food and love. She's still teeny tiny - and I...mean...TINY! But she's much healthier. She's been here a few weeks and is finally getting comfortable moving around the house. She's just a DOLL!

The best thing about her is her face. She looks like a ROYAL "B". It's just how her face looks. But we laugh when she looks at us because she's purring away, yet her face looks like she could just smack ya one! lol

...And aNOTHer 2 months gone by..

...sigh... I just don't know how so much time escapes me. I try so hard to keep up with blogging, but as soon as I get on a roll, life starts happening and "more important things to tend to" begin pouring in like a hail storm. On the flip side, I HAVE gotten a lot of art done.

Here are some acrylic paintings on watercolor paper.

Alpaca Your Bags

Pink Spunk

Every Child

Every child is an artist.

The problem is how to

remain an artist

once he grows up.

~Pablo Picasso

We began this gloriously fall-feeling day by going through our latest art books from the library. What ideas! We just spent a great time, the kids and I, making sidewalk paint. So easy peasy, you'll want to make it just to play with it for yourself. And perhaps you should. Even if you don't have any offspring. Make some and go out to a place on the cement and paint like you were still a child. Feel the sun (or breeze) on your face, smell the freshness in the air, and get in touch with that free spirit that allows you to create with abandon. Suns, rainbows, your name, stick people...

What cha need:

sticks of chalk

ziploc baggies

hammer

one cup for each color

one paintbrush for each color

water

Ready? EXcellent! Place one stick of chalk in each baggy and zip it up.

Now bash the daylights out of it with a hammer. Upset with your significant other? Your mom? Your boss? The idiot at the grocery store who smashed up your grapes by putting them in the bottom of the bag? Go ahead and take this opportunity to get that anger out.

Where was I? Oh yeah - hammer it until it's powder. Note: it's best to do this on the welcome mat as opposed to the actual sidewalk. The baggy can only take so much abuse before it tears. The welcome mat is a good buffer. Also, do this all outside and DO NOT breathe the chalk dust. The chalk itself is non-toxic (if you use kid chalk), but still - not good to breathe in a whole lotta chalk dust, ya know?

Pour one baggy of chalk dust into a cup. Add a little bit of water and mix it up with a dedicated brush. I started with a ratio of 1/4 (one part water to 4 parts chalk). Add more water as needed. We left our's kinda thick so the colors would be vivid and not wimpy on the sidewalk.

Zat's eet! Paint away! Then, once your little Picassos have had enough, simply hose it off with the sprayer set on "rip it!".

Have a fun, playful, childlike day - you deserve it!

Smooches & rainbows!

Lindi made me cry

Yep. She did. Earlier tonight. What? Oh, you wanna know what she did? Well, she nominated me for my very first award. And what's cool is that SHE was just nominated for HER first award! I gotta tell ya - I have been envious as all get out viewing blogs that are plastered with awards! What can I say - I'm a Leo and, well, I "need" to be in the spotlight. Those of you who are "other than Leo" prolly don't get it. But those of you who ARE Leos, well, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about, now DON'T CHA?! lol

I will be posting a LOT more on this tomorrow, but I just couldn't let the sun go down without thanking Lindi. You truly made my week!! THANK YOU!!

More tamale...

Be Brave. It's ok.

There's a booming voice in my head 24/7 that is yelling at me to FREE UP! LET GO! And that voice is right. I'm always worried my art is not great and that my peers will not like what I create. But I know that I should, instead, be making art for MYSELF and not for anyone else. I'm great at preaching this to others but I'm just now realizing I'm not giving myself permission to really create. To really lose myself in what I wanna do. I haven't even told my Ma I have a blog because I fear she will say, "uh-uh - too damned crafty! DO...YOUR...ART!" And maybe she's right. Maybe I'm afraid the art in my head will not be acceptable. Maybe I play it safe by holding myself back.

I never really thought this could be true about ME until I joined Suzi Blu's Mixed Media group and as I read comments others had added, I realized I wasn't commenting myself. And I think it's because I'm afraid of failure. Failure of anything. I am very hard on myself. I know most people are, but I am REALLY hard on myself. I believe it stems from my uniquely twisted and abused childhood. I know it was a long time ago and that the monster can no longer get me and that it's time to face my REAL issues so that I can be free to enjoy my life to the fullest. And believe me, I have more issues than Sports Illustrated! But for the first time, I feel like the lightbulb has gone off and that I can change myself. The past is the past and I cannot change it. It was not my fault. But if I do not change my future, that IS my fault.

From this moment forward, I will make better choices. I will be brave and change the things I don't like about myself. I will stop making excuses. I will start living and not simply coasting through. Every night, as I lie in bed next to the man I truly love with all that I am, I will ask myself these things: If I die in my sleep tonight, have I done all I can to let my loved ones really KNOW what they meant to me? Did I do all I could to make their days better? Did I take the time? What would I leave behind if there is no tomorrow for me?" Right now, my answers would only make me cry with shame and regret. But I will make the changes. Now.

I hope you are not holding yourself back from life, my friends. Don't fool yourself with a false answer. Stop and take the time to really live. This ain't no rehearsal. And there DEFinitely won't be any "do-overs"! Think about it.

Gimme an A...T...C!

I have made a coupla ATCs and have some more in the works. I am happy enough with 'em.

On the one above, the background is Caran D'Ache Neocolours (I really like working with those). I also incorporated foam, hand-painted paper by my girly, brads, orange and metallic gold fabric and 2 rubber stamps. Then stitched around the edge.

On this next one above, the base is a piece of fabric I handpainted. I then used a scrap piece of paper I had saved and put a glossy coat on, then the face is out of clay and baked (again, one my girly made) and then I painted it. Also stamped DREAM on the bottom half (not sure if the camera picks that up enough to read). I then stitched around the edge and then added gold lumiere - kinda dry-brushed.

Then the next two are WIPs. More neocolours, stitching, wire, stamps and shimmery threads. The burnt orange background was actually a paper towel I had underneath the "real" project. I like the PT better! HA!

I'm Feeling EXTRA Dirty...

...from the GARDEN! HA! I spent the majority of the day weeding the garden...and tying up the tomato plants a bit more (some are really ginormous!). I tried several new (well, new to ME) varieties this year and the one I was particularly excited about is turning out kinda weird. It's called Goliath. The maters are very big BUT they are all bumpy and they look like a buncha bad butts on the vines. Lots are nearing ripeness, so I'll show ya what I mean then.



But I did get a good bounty of yumminess!n Right now we're eating a salad of fresh cukes and maters from the garden. SO good! Later, maters!

SHERRY! Woo hooooooooo!

Sherry, Sherry, bo berry, banana fanna fo ferry, me my mo merry...SHERRY!

YOU are the winner of the fantastico alphabet blocks which have been sliced, not diced, sanded and packaged! Kindly send me your snail mail addy and I will happily skip to the post office and ship your new bundle of art supplies!!

Thank you everybody for playing! More giveaways to come so check back...

...and the weiner is...

Hmmm..... who will it be? I wonder whose name is inside that piece of paper.... hmmm....hmmm...hmmm....

More Blog Giveaways!

Well! As I was surfing around at other blogging arTEESTS, I came across some others who are having giveaways! WOW! Yeah, I know, I know, I SHOULD be taking a shower and being productive. But sometimes ya just gotta say WTF ("where's the fun?")! Shame on you - were you thinking something else?!?! ;o)

SO... here's one of 'em: http://www.lindijanej.blogspot.com/ - closed
Aaaaand here's another: http://www.kiwicarole.blogspot.com/ - closed
ENJOY!!

Lawn Trouble

As I was fighting the mosquitos off me, Betlgeuse ran past me and posed in the, uh, grass. Yeah, I know, there's not much grass. Our lawn is more "casual" than most. But aaaaanyway, I had to share this pic. He looks so innocent, but BOY he is ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, on the lookout for something to get into!

B is for Broken Heart

I literally ran into the house moments ago after being mosquito fodder as I took this pic. If winter comes early this year, you can blame me. I am sick, sick, SICK of getting eaten alive every time I step out of the house. The skeeters are uber abundant this year due to the flooding.

I am desperately trying to catch up with my trades on artsnthemail and today's post is "Something that begins with B". I chose Broken Heart. It is a collage of fabric, painted paper, thread, transparencies and staples. I'm kinda groovin' on staples and was a wee bit frustrated that I couldn't locate my new pack of colored ones. "Something that begins with C" is also about done. Whew!

I signed up for a Quilt University class today and I'm REALLY jacked about it!! Of course, I HAVE to get a few new supplies. Hey - what can I do?! Don't give me that look. They're REQUIRED! ;o) Class starts this Saturday and will require a LOT of commitment. But it looks like I will learn a LOT. Come back to see if I'm completely bad at it.

Ta ta for now, all! Have a fanTAStic night!

Blockhead

Happy hump day! Unless, of course, you're on the other side of the map, in which case I wish you a happy Thursday!

I bought these children's blocks last Christmas. In fact, I bought three boxes of them. I knew I would think of something to do with them. Eventually.

Yesterday was that day. I powered on the band saw, whipped up a quick jig so that all my cuts would be the same, and 20 minutes later, I had a nice, big pile of thin slices of wood - some with letters and some just plain. I got 6 slices out of each small block. I still need to touch 'em to the belt sander, but you get the picture. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing happens this afternoon to change Grandma's plans to take the kiddos for a few hours so I can play, play, PLAY! Just THINK of the possibilities!!

I made sure I cut up the entire box so that I'd have some to share. That's right - my very first giveaway!! If you'd like to qualify, all you have to do is leave a comment and I will use a random system to choose the lucky winner. You have until midnight Saturday (CST). Come back on Sunday to see if you're the winner. giveaway closed

Thanks for visiting! Have a grand day!

Stick a Fork In Me Cuz I'm DONE!

Do I look frazzled?! :o)

Well, after yet ANOTHER wonderfully HOT weekend of holding a second garage sale in two weeks, I am done. done, DONE with g-sales! Man! I know, I know, we shoulda had 'em in the Spring, when everyone's hoppin' to get outta the house and shop in the cooler weather. Buuuuuut, we weren't ready then. I did sell a lot - finally got rid of the end of the soap-making supplies. Can you say, "Hallelujah!!"?

It seemed like I sold a million cooking and crafting books, yet I still have a bunch left over. I think I'll take pix and make a list and see about selling 'em online. Same with the kiddo clothes - got 'em allllllll from the time the kids were born. I don't think I'VE ever owned so many clothes! Sheeeeeeeeeeeesh!

I have several boxes of books and movies we're gonna donate to our local library. I did pull a few before boxing them because I'm gonna make some altered books out of 'em. You think of a lot of ideas as you're sitting there, melting in the heat, lemme tell ya.

Well, I've still got my work cut out for me, as I spent all morning sorting and boxing stuff to go to GoodWill, Library, my little brother (for my only nephew whom I FINALLY get to meet in exactly 12 days!!!! WOO HOO!), eBay, list out, aaaaaand Craig's List. Whew! Tomorrow's supposed to be killer hot, too. Can't wait...

I'm gonna sign off now so I can get that list going. Just wanted to check in for a minute. Have a wonderful Sunday evening, all!

Dyed and Gone 2 Heaven

O...M...G. I felt like I was in Heaven when I happened upon these two new batiks they got in last week at JoAnn's. I bought the last of both bolts. I know I'll be participating in Nj's FAT Chance fat quarter drawing, but I'm still not sure which of these beauts I'll use.

I also bought the latest issue of Quilting Arts in which I see someone stole an idea right outta my head. Seriously. Has this ever happened to you? You get an idea and you turn it inside out and round and round and are finally ready to bring it outta there when you see it somewhere?! I feel like I'm in a time warp when this occurs. You know what they say, though... there are no new ideas, just old ones reborn. I know I sure believe it!

Now, I can't remember when the last time was that I bought a basket. That's because I weave them. But then I saw Kiwi's comment on the Lust for Rust post I made and she gave me an idea. I bought this basket for the purpose of showing how I did the crate. I hope the basket will end up looking like woven pieces of rusted metal - cool, huh? I think so. Stay tuned...