Saturday, November 26, 2011

Some Thanksgiving Pictures While I am Away

Centerpiece


I made these napkin rings a few years ago. I love the red sunflowers.

The table looks bare but I had to leave room for all of the food!

That's my girl Alice. She was watching me as I set the table.

I hope you enjoyed this snapshot into my day. I'll be back from my vacation soon.

Autumnwind

Friday, November 25, 2011

Vacation Time!


St. Maarten

Yippee, it is finally here! I am leaving today for Florida then tomorrow I'll be cruising to Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and St. Thomas for 7 days of fun in the sun with my man. I can't wait! 

I doubt I'll be able to post while I am away but I'll definitely be posting pictures of my adventures when I return, along with the completed Yule Fairy project and possibly a couple of sneak peeks at my Yule party preparations. 

Have a lovely week! 

Thursday, November 24, 2011

He's here!!! Punky is here!


Punky and his friend


Yippee, Punky arrived safe and sound in the mail this week. I was so excited to finally meet him. He has already made a friend and seems to be settling in very well.

Punky was created by Richelle Clementson of Rinni's Playground and was part of a contest that Dana of On the Broomstick hosted.

Thank you so much Dana and Richelle! I will take really good care of him!


Happy Thanksgiving


MM everyone,

I hope that everyone is able to spend this day with those closest to them. I enjoy Thanksgiving. Since we live far from our families my hubby and I invite our friends over and enjoy the day with them. We cook, we laugh, the wine doth flow and a good time is had by all. Of course there is Turkey, pie and yams but occasionally there have been Tacos, Chicken Wings and Pigs in Blankets - that was last year - we let the kids cook! I like that I am able to spend the day and a good meal with the people I care about. We've learned a lot about each other over the past few years. For instance I am lousy at Guitar Hero but I totally rock at wii bowling.

This year my daughter is unable to be home with us. She works in retail and is not able to get away for the holidays. We miss her and will have a place set for her. I know she'll be thinking about us. Luckily she will be able to spend the day with my mom and dad, so while we will miss having her with us, she gets to spend the day with her grandparents.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Autumnwind

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Get Off Your Broom Fitness Challenge Update

MM Everyone,

This was a fairly good though hectic week. I am doing a quick check in before I go finish shopping for Thanksgiving and the Cruise  (Yikes, we leave the day after Thanksgiving).

I stayed the same, that is a good thing, I've eaten out most of the week so the fact that I did not gain is awesome. I exercised 2 times formally this week and also got in some good cleaning workouts.

That is it. I'll be checking in early next week.

BB

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Goodwill - Fabulous Find!

I confess - I frequently haunt my local Goodwill and Savers thrift stores. I have found some pretty amazing things at these places including Lucky Brand jeans for $4.99 (yes, that is 4 dollars and 99 cents) a Jones New York leather skirt for 5.00, and a Cold Water Creek Suede Jacket for 6.99 to name just a few. If you know what you like and are willing to look through a lot of junk you can often find a real gem or two.

During the course of my wanderings through the thrifty stores I've also found a stunning amber colored goblet, a pentacle shaped candle holder and some other very useful  and very inexpensive items for the Craft. (When shopping for Craft related items always be sure to cleanse them before use- I know - duh)

Recently I was at the Goodwill store looking for some summer clothes for my Caribbean cruise (I leave the day after Thanksgiving - YIKES!) when I discovered this adorable dress.


Yes it is a child's holiday dress. The ribbon is faded, there is a stain on the underskirt,oh yeah, and I really don't know anyone who would fit into it BUT the velvet is a lovely shade of purple and it is perfect for costuming my fairies AND this dress was a steal because it was only 99 cents! I couldn't get the fabric to make it for that price.

If you sew any type of craft, make doll clothes, purses, etc. check out your local thrift store for clothing that you can re-purpose. Some of the benefits of re-purposing old clothes are: you get the fabric at a really low cost, the colors and trims coordinate, the selection is amazing and because the item has been washed (usually repeatedly) you get to see how the fabric wears and you'll know whether it will drape how you want it to or be as soft as you need it to be.

Because I am on a deadline with my current Yule Fairy I won't be able to play with this until I get back from my cruise but ohhhh, I can't wait! 


Monday, November 14, 2011

Yule Fairy Swap... The Beginning

So, as I previously posted, after a glass (or maybe two) of wine I decided to join in a swap that my friend and fellow artist Patricia Hedegaard is hosting. We need to make a creature or fairy of some sort and also put together a gift box of goodies. After joining I actually sent myself an email reminding me that I joined the swap!

I am always hesitant when I create things for others. I love my art, I enjoy what I do but it has only been recently that I have become confident enough in my abilities that I have started to create things for others and *gasp* started creating things to begin to sell. (My Etsy store will hopefully be open after the holidays- we'll see)

Here is what I have so far.


The colors are so much prettier in person. They are cream,cranberry and a sage green. The thread is a close match to the fabric but for some reason the green fabric looks weird in the picture. The head in the picture is one that I sculpted previously, I am not sure if I will use it for this project.



Here are some other items I pulled together to work with for the costume. I love costuming though it freaks me out. I am not a perfectionist but sometimes I really want to be. I have coordinating beads, wire and fantasy film for her wings. Of course before I costume her I need to create her.

The problem with figurative sculpture is that you start out with a great idea and an image in your head of what you want to do. Then, as you work on your sculpture it starts to come alive and take on a personality all it's own. It sounds silly but after a while you really don't have too much say in the matter when it comes to things such as hair and eye color, clothing or even how they are posed. The little being you've created really lets you know if it doesn't like what you've picked out. If it disagrees with your choices things can really start to go wrong and if you try sculpting a girl when your creature is really a boy - yikes, let's just say - it isn't pretty!

So, I have an idea for what I want to do with this project and we shall see what I end up with. 



Here is another head that I have started for this project. She is coming along nicely. We'll see how she looks with eyes. I'll make at least 2 more of this size being and see which one likes the clothes I've picked out for the swap, after that... who knows what I'll end up with. All I know is I have until Thanksgiving to get her done, after that I'll be cruising in the Caribbean with my man!

Check back soon for an update on her progress.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Yippee! I won Punky the Woodland Creature


This picture is from On the Broomstick.

Yippee, I just found out that I won Punky the Woodland Creature created by Richelle Clementson of Rinni's Playground from Dana over at On the Broomstick. How cool is that. What a great way to end the weekend.

Thank you Dana! I will give Punky a nice home and I will definitely be making some pumpkin pancakes to share with him.

Get Off Your Broom Fitness Challenge Update- Week 6!

Finally, I got it together. This week I actually lost weight! SO I think I am back to where I started *grin* but that is better than posting an overall gain. I feel better this week.  I have rearranged my schedule and I think I will be more successful now with the numbers on the scale.
This week I actually got on my treadmill and walked! I also cleaned my house (I worked up a better sweat doing that than I did on the treadmill), and I moved furniture (lots of big stuff) at the office.  I am pleased with that. I did play fetch with the dog everyday but until I can get her to throw a tennis ball for me I have decided not to count it as exercise.
One of the mini challenges was to think about why I joined this challenge in the first place. My reasons were two-fold, I wanted to join because I like this type of group challenge where people are working towards the common goal of being healthy. The second reason was that I really like the online community that I have found here and wanted to become more active within it.  I know that the holidays are a tough time to try to lose weight but as long as I don’t give up I’ll eventually get there and already the people I  have met and the support I have found are just amazing.  I am really glad that I joined.
I’m going to post more later-on today. I am off to play with my girlfriends! Have a lovely day my friends.

Friday, November 11, 2011

One more blog party to attend!



I had such a great time at the Witches Tea Party hosted by Anna at Frosted Petunias that I have joined 3 separate Yule blog parties. The Yule Magic blog party is scheduled for December 21 and is being hosted by The Village Witch. This party is sure to be a lot of fun. Each participating blog will be offering a virtual gift to everyone who attends, hmmmm, such a fun idea. I have all sorts of things in mind for that. You won't want to miss it!!

For information on the other two that I am participating in check my sidebar for their buttons or click here for my previous post.

Have a blessed day



What a Week!

This week has been a roller coaster ride! We said a tearful goodbye to a very dear friend, had some good times, some tough times, lots of chances for serious thoughts and today, a happy ending on the scale (I know it may seem trivial but it made me happy).

In general I don't do funerals, I'd prefer not to attend my own but I have been told that it's impossible, oh well. This week, because this person was a mentor to both me and my husband and someone whom I admired and respected, I attended his funeral. I have never been to a Masonic funeral before and I have to say it was quite the sight to behold. There were over 500 (yes 500!) people in attendance and the Masonic ceremony was amazing. The ritual was thought provoking and full of genuine love and respect. Throughout the ceremony I laughed, cried and well, really enjoyed the tribute that was done for my friend. While it was difficult to go through I am so very glad I went. It was emotionally draining but when I left that afternoon I felt closer to my friend.

This week I also signed up to do a Yule Fairy/Creature gift box swap with my friend Patricia Hedegaard. I am making a Yule Fairy and will bake some yummy gingerbread stag cookies and them add some interesting surprises. Later today I will be posting the color palette I am using and the sketches and work I have already completed. While drawing out my ideas I realized that I would have to make at least 2 and possibly 3 of these little fairies. I have one head sculpted already, we'll see how well she comes together.

Tomorrow I'll be posting my Get Off Your Broom Fitness Challenge update, and it is finally a good one!

See you soon!

 

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Yule Parties!

While Samhain is truly my favorite time to celebrate Yule is definitely a close second. This year, as I venture full steam ahead into the blogging world, I am really excited to be participating in two Yule blog parties.



The first is on December 10, 2011 and is being hosted by two amazing ladies, Dana and Tenae. Check out their blogs here:

And then

The second festive blog party is on December 18th and is being hosted by Astraea Sapphire of Astraea Sapphire's Almanac.

I am looking forward to participating in both parties and sharing some of my Yule fun and traditions with you.

Check back for posts later this month as the preparations begin! As an artist and crafter I hope to share with you some of the fun projects that I have planned for this Yule season. I truly want to make this little space a nice place for you to visit for fun projects, interesting ideas, yummy snacks, magical surprises and more.

Ger Off Your Broom Week 5 Update





This week was bad. I was hormonal, emotional and just wanted to eat so I ate. I can't blame it on the candy in the house, I have had a piece or two but it wasn't a proximity issue, I was just on this mindless binge!

Over the past 2 years my hormones have gotten more intense during that one week of the month and yet for some reason I have selective amnesia and completely forget about it. This time I decided enough is enough. I am tired of being uncomfortable in my own skin and the mindless hormonal eating isn't helping. SO I have made myself a note in my datebook and plan to keep that issue front and center so I can lessen its affect on me.

Let's face it, I am cranky, sad and feeling fat so lately I eat lots of junk which is making me crankier, sadder and feeling fatter. Hmmmm anyone else see a problem with this pattern LOL

The cool thing is that I did realize my problem before the end of the week (see post here), if I can get it together and stop the gain part of the equation I am going to rock the weight loss world!

On the mini challenge front - I did exercise 2 times this week. Not too bad for such a horrible week but I plan on doing better with exercise this week and will meet the goal of 5 times this week.

I did great with the fruits and veggies. I eat a lot of these so it was an easy challenge for me - yeah!!  and then the water...

SO I did better with water. I am weaning myself off of Diet soda - I know, I know, that is really bad stuff but I don't drink coffee and I really like my Diet Coke, but for my health I am going to stop drinking it.  Yes, that hurt to write. Anyway, this week I made a point of drinking a couple of bottles of water at work between my 2 sodas per day, tomorrow starts 1 bottle per day - ouch, and I also drank more water at home.

The week ended on an OK note. I did take my measurements and to my surprise my chest and hips are down and nothing is up. I also did a spell for strengthening my will this morning. I will let you know how it affects me in the next few weeks.

Have a wonderful week.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Happy Friday

Happy Friday everyone,

I am so glad that the weekend is here. I really like my job but lately it feels like my co-worker and I are being penalized for being good at what we do. While I am not going to start a bitch session, let's just say that we have some serious dead weight on our little team and it is really starting to put a strain on the work environment. Yes, we will be taking the appropriate action before it gets to the breaking point but... I am really glad today is Friday!

This weekend is the first is a very, very long time that I don't have any plans. I am so excited about that! I can catch up on some projects that I have sitting around my studio,or not, I can read my book if I want to, or just relax and do nothing. Because I am who I am I do have to have a plan and my plan is to - do what ever feels right at the time. Don't you just love a good plan!

Have a lovely night

Check out Trash to Treasure Art for a really cool giveaway!

Trash to Treasure Art is giving away some beautiful things. Hop on over and check it out, you can thank me later for sending you there!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Tomorrow is another day!





To quote Scarlett O'Hara - "...Tomorrow is another day".

Have you ever had one of those days? You know, one of those days when you just feel icky. That was my day today. I was grumpy, feeling a little off and all I wanted to do was eat. That surely didn't do much for me or my health today.

No offense to Scarlett, but rather than wait for tomorrow I decided to try to pull myself out of this funk today. I threw a tennis ball for the dog - I am not sure if that actually counts as exercise but it felt good anyway, I tweeted about Zombie Felties - which are totally cute - and in just a few minutes I am going to go soak in a tub full of lavender scented bubbles. If I am still grumpy after that I'll just go to bed. So there!

Some musings before I head off to soak away my bad mood...

I am slowly working my way through the reasons why I am not sticking to Weight Watchers right now. The plan is actually pretty easy to follow. You can eat just about anything in moderation and it is a lifestyle that I mostly adhere to on a regular basis anyway.

Lately I have been eating my way though life and I feel miserable - yet still I do it. I have lost 40 pounds on Weight Watchers and have kept 35 of it off for over 5 years, ever after this week. I know this program, when I follow it I am very successful. I only have 35 more pounds to go and I will be at MY personal goal weight, only 25 to go to be at the Weight Watchers goal  for my height and only 10 more pounds to go to fit into everything in my closet! Hello???? What is the problem?

I think I am just afraid to be thinner. I have maintained this weight for 5 years, give or take  few pounds. 1.5 years ago I was 10 pounds lighter but my hubby and I were separated and life was really sad, I looked pretty good but was miserable. I think I am associating the thinner me with a sad life and that is going to have to stop. I felt really good about my appearance then, I actually liked how I looked, not only in the mirror but in my clothes.

So I will ponder this epiphany tonight and see what else may be holding me back. I will get through this hurdle. I will be successful in my quest to be healthy. I will be getting my butt off the broomstick and onto the treadmill and I will be singing a different tune! Starting right now!



Blessings...I am off to soak in the lavender bubbles.

Goddess Pendants


Here are a couple of copper pendants I made in the jewelry making class I am currently taking at my local community college. Once the class is over I am going to add additional bits to the smaller pendant.
I am not sure if I will continue the Goddess theme throughout the rest of the class or not but I am quite pleased with my projects so far.
This class has been WAY out of my comfort zone. I prefer to go to class, learn techniques and tools and then take them back to my studio to create. This class I have to create the finished pieces in class. I am getting used to it but I think I still prefer to create in the comfort of my studio.
The large pendant is set with a rainbow moonstone and is very shiny. The red you see is actually reflected from the other pendant.
The pictures are not my best, taking pictures of shiny copper is difficult!