Book 7 of 100

Ah now this is more like it...I need to spend a few more days doing some heavy reading to catch up to where I need to be. Too reach 100 by December 31st 2010 I should be reading about 2 books a week. NOT REALLY a hard thing for me to do, but I seem to find myself addicted to the silly little games on Facebook! LOL So when I am not making minis or sculpting I would normally be reading, but NO I'm farming or decorating my beach condo or feeding fishies! LOL Oh well I enjoy it and it keeps me entertained! That's all that matter right? heeheeehee
But anyways...I started Maggie Shayne's Edge Of Twilight yesterday, and just finished it about an hour ago. I am a sucker for a good Vampire romance. (although that being said I can honestly say I really have no desire to read any of the Edward and Bella Twilight series?!?!?! Hmm Go Figure! LOL

Edge Of Twilight Revolves around Edge...loner vampire, made and abandoned by his sire in the same night. No idea how to surive. Fast forward, Edge has gathered to him other Fledgling vampires who for some reason where cast aside by their sires. His little Gang of Five is his life, until returning to their lair to find them all murdered! Vowing vengeance he spend the next 50 years seeking out their killer. Amber Lily is the Child of Promise, the only child born to 2 vampires. She too is seeking the same man Edge does but for very different reasons. Can Edge learn to love again, can Amber learn just who she really is?

I am pretty new to Maggie Shayne's work but I really enjoyed this book. The characters are a little shallow in their development, but I also realize that this is one of Shaynes' earlier stories. I thought it flowed really well and truly enjoyed reading the book. Yet another author to add to my list of books I wanna read!

Book 6 of 100

Yeah I finished another one! :-) Last weekend at the library I picked up another of Nalini Singh Psy/Changeling series. I hade hoped to pick up the 1st two vooks but nope didn't happen...oh well. lol
Branded by Fire was my introduction to her Changelings. (They are introduced earlier in the series, but well I haven't read those yet! LOL) Branded revolves around Mercy and Riley. Mercy is a Sentinel for her DarkRiver Pack while Riley is a lieutenant for the SnowDancer pack. These two love to aggrevate each other like cats and dogs. Oh wait...yeah She's a Leopard Changeling, he's a Wolf Changeling! Changelings are sort of, kind of like were-animals, although they change at will and can retain their humanity. (most of the time! ;-) ) Mercy is a dominant female who fears ever being able to find a mate her leopard would be willing to submit to, but knows she'd never be happy with a male who'd submit to her! Riley thinks he wants a 'happy-homemaker' little wolf at home...but he is drawn to Mercy like a moth to a flame. When a member of Mercy's pack is abducted, the SnowDancer Alpha sends Riley to help out. Can these two handle the fire that's coming their way...not just from the 'enemy', but from each other as well?

This was a wonderful book...I am definitely on the look out for my own copy of this book as well as her others. Thanks for coming along with me for my little book review.

I'm gonna try this again!

I've been overweight all of my adult life and much of my youth. I'm sick and tired of being fat. I have tried to diet before, I've exercised before...I've done just about everything. Well about 3 years ago (geez I hadn't realized it had been soooo long ago! yikes) I came across an online site called SparkPeople. It is an online community full of resources like: recipes, nutrition and fitness trackers workout videos and tons of other stuff. The other neat thing they have are motivational groups called Teams. You search out your interests and join the teams you find interesting. I belong to several...30 somethings with 25-49 pounds to lose (there are tons of different age and loss groups!), Bones (for the TV series) and several Arts and Crafts groups. There are a couple polymer clay groups but no miniature groups I could find. Who knows maybe I'll start one! ;-)
So anyways...I followed along on Spark tracking my food and exercise and such. I was also going to the gym 3 times a week. I did really good! Then a dear friend of mine got very sick and the family needed help. Well for me when a loved one needs something I am there! My middle son was in PreK so he was only in school half days. My timing for things got thrown all out of whack...My days were spent running around with kids and my girlfriends drs appointments and helping out with her daughters Quinceniera. Please don't for a minute think I regret doing this...I love that family like they were my own!!! But unfortunately once I step off the track of my routine...I go downhill exceptionally fast! Needless to say I have been paying for a gym membership that I haven't used in a year and a half!!!! *sigh* I sure can thick of other things to do with that $40. The gym is an all womens gym...I am more comfortable with places like that, but I think I am going to cancel it any ways and start taking advantage of the free gym here on post. Not only is there standard exercise equipment, and free weights and all that, but there is also an indoor pool. I really think I am ready to get this weight off. My long term goal is to loose 75 pounds before I turn 35...that actually gives me 2.5 years to make my goal. My short term goal is 5 pounds by the beginning of March.
I am hoping that by adding my weight loss goals to my blog, maybe all my great blog friends out there can help me stay on track! =D

I think I am crazy!!!

I sat down and mixed up some red clay for making miniature strawberries. (No canes this time, since they were gonna be whole) Notice I said were! Yeah for some insane reason as I was using my pasta machine to mix and condition the red, I thought....hmmm I need long stemmed roses for Valentines Day. So I set about looking on my desk for my tiny Kemper cutter....Dang it, can't find nothin'!!! It really is time for a good desk cleaning again! But anyways...what do my eyeballs spy amidst all the creative rubble...an eyelet...yep like in shoes or corsets or scrapbooking! Hmm I wonder....yep it works...kinda hard to hold though...so I grab my tacky wax and put a blob onto the end of a new sucker stick and press the eyelet onto it. Instant tiny circle cutter...how tiny you ask...1/8 of an inch across!!!!! So dipping my new miniature petal cutter into cornstarch I proceeded to cut out a bazillion tiny circles. And then just working like I normally do, albeit with WAAAAAAAAAY less petals (only about 5 as opposed to my normal 8 to 10) I made a rose. The stem is 28 guage beading wire. They are gonna end up being about 1/4inch across...so that makes them about 3inch in full scale. I'm quite pleased with them actually! I am planning to give it a coat of green paint and leaves after the roses have been baked! So what do you think?

BOOKS!!!!!

Yeah I am now the proud owner of a Library Card!!! We have a rather large brand new(well I guess it's about 2 years old now)library! It is a really interesting building. It has a very...governmental...feel to it...I'm not entirely sure if that's a good thing or not! It's very crisp and clean and fresh. I do like the way it is laid out as everything has it's own room. They even have a geneology room! I went in looking for the 1st two books in Gena's Alien Huntress series. I was delighted to find the fiction room...unfortunately they have them groups by author as opposed to genre...so...the romance books were all mixed in with everything else. It was kind of frustrating since they didn't have the books I was looking for. I generaly like to peruse the romance section looking for something that catches my fancy. Can't do that in our library. =( I ended up finding another Nalini Signh book and one by Maggie Shanye. I am about 3/4 of the way through Nalini's so there should be another update soon.

ooooh I also have decided that YES audiobooks count as long as they are the unabridged version...I mean really what's the point of the abridged version!!! Several months ago I joined Audible.com It's $15 a month and I get a credit. A credit will buy me almost ANY book in their library. And I also get 30% off any book NOT purchased with credits. I have Gena SHowalter's entire Lords of the Underworld series on audiobook right now. Today I decided to bu another audiobook (since I forgot to check out the selection at the library! LOL) I decided to get a classic this time around. So I used my monthly credit and got Gone With the Wind! It's 48 hours of listening enjoyment! (or so I hope!) GWTW normally retails for 48 dollars!!!!! And I got it essentially for $15...gotta love that!

Since I was talking about my current library...I thought I would share a pic of the library I grew up with. It will always be my favorite library...it has sooooo much character! =D

Books 4 & 5 of 100 in 2010

Sorry I haven't updated my reading list recently...I have finished 2 more books since the 11th. Two more from Gena Showalter I almost didn't read these as I discovered they are the 3rd and 4th books in her Alien Huntress Series. Since I am not budgeted for any new books right now, 8-( I figured what the heck! Thankfully I was able to just into these book in mid series and was still able to follow along! (I DEFINITELY want the 1st 2 though!!!)
So anyways...the first one I read was Savor Me Slowly This story is about Mishka Le'Ace and undecover agent who must rescue Jaxon (also an agent...for a different agency) or KILL him!
This book was a fabulous read...great story line, wonderful dialogue and great characters.

Next I picked up Seduce the Darkness This is Devyn's story. Devyn is a womanizer or as he prefers 'collector of women'! Oh yeah don't forget that he is the king of his people...sort of. Bride is a vampire who doesn't know how to bea vampire. Together the learn more about themselves than either ever thought possible.
Not surprisingly this was another great read. Oh probably should mention that this series takes place in the future after an Alien war nearly wiped out the planet. SO if you enjoy Sci-Fi and Romance...I would highly recommend this series!

Blah!!!

Hey y'all! I have and haven't been around much here lately...I read all of your posts but just can 't see to get up the energy to post my own. Mother Nature has been having a field day with me lately...she seems to think that I need her to not just visit but STAY!!! ARGH!!!! Finally got in to see a Dr about trying to get her to go away *she's been here for 4 weeks now.) They are rather baffled and I am having a bunch of tests done. Good news is I'm not pregnant, I'm not anemic and I don't have any thyroid issues. Bad news is they are still confused!
BUT....this has been really affecting my motivation, which is bad as I have about a bazillion things that I should be doing as well as things I want to do...I just can't get up the motivation to do them! :-( Hopefully things will change for the better soon.

As far as my claying and mni-ing...well there hasn't been too much going on...although I did make a mold to make chocolate truffles...and have made both white and milk chocolates. I have my dark chocolate all mixed up and ready to go too. I am about a 1/3 of the way done with painting the 2nd green, pink and white chair...I have decided that after I finish the green they WILL be getting a darker pink...this one is just too pale.

I got inspired today and have a rather ambitious (atleast for me) project planned for a swap in one of my yahoo groups. There are only 3 of use...so I should be okay...but if they turn out looking good I hope to make a few to put into my etsy shop.

I also bought a huge box of pre-made canes from a gal in another group...there are flowers and gorgeous kaleidoscope canes galore! I would like to try making some wall art or possible small table tops from them. I'd like to try dishes too, but I have to ponder the best way to do that first.

I also worked up a little tutorial on making hard candies...once I get it uploaded to my flickr I'll share that too!

OOOOH got a question for you gals...our PX (post exchange) had these Melissa and Doug dining room accessory packs...they say they are 1:12th scale, although to me some bits seem a bit too big. BUT it was $17....I bought one...do you think it was worth it?

argh!!!!

Geez another week gone by without a post. My apologies. I do have some new things to show but hoenstly am having trouble finding the energy to take the photographs. The weather has been very blah and yucky lately. And my moods are affected by the weather. We had a bit of sunshine earlier today, but then it was gone and the wet horrible blowing wind came back. Atleast it's not raining today like it was yesterday!.
I went out to do a little shopping yesterday and found some great crafty bargains. Our local BigLots had 2 sizes of Chenille yarn (full skeins!) for super cheap! I bought one in each color they had! They also had some pretty varigated eyelash yarns too. I am planning to use it as fringe on...well who knows! :-)
At Michael's I bought 3 more dollar hutches. (I try to pick up a couple every time I go in!) I also found an EK Success edger punch with tiny holly leaves for $4, a pack of Martha Stewart Embellishments (gold, silver, light bronze and copper glitter, micro tinsel and micro beads) for $5, a pack of 21 miniature Christmas trees in various sizes for just over $3 (I'm planning on picking up some lycopodium this year and having decorated Christmas trees for sale next year!) Also found was Stampendous Fuzzy Fun Flock kits in 5 colors for $2...I bought all 3 they had! I picked up a clearanced pack of Sculpey Bake n Bend, I'm gonna use this for making molds! oooh and I found several packs of mini presents and angels for 80% of regular price!!!! Ya gotta love clearance sales!
At Joann's I bought some ruby red gallery glass, and 28 count Aida cloth for doing some miniature needle work.
Well I need to go do something...not sure what I want to do, but I really need to create!

Book 3 of 2010

I finished this one last night. Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh. I didn't know it at the time, but this is part of a larger series. There are several other books in her Psy-Changelingseries. Basic run down...very very basic as I have not read any of the others YET! The Psy's are well people with psychic abilities. Although I think they are actually a seperate race from the humans, but human-like. Anyways...the Psy's have split into to factions, the Silenced (those and their descendants,who had their emotions shut-down to allow better control over their actions) and the Forgotten. (those and their descendants who chose not to be Silenced)
OK wow I just realized how difficult this concept is to explain. But Blaze of Memory revolves around Dev who is essentially the leader of the Forgotten, and Katya...who well starts the book out with a serious case of amnesia. The two must journey together to find out who caused Katya's amnesia and why. Along the way despite their differences they fall in love, and that in itself opens a whole nother can of worms.
Nalini is a wonderful author and I look forward to getting the rest of her Psy-Changeling series as well as books in her other series as well!

Now on to another question i thought of the other day...There are several books that I want to read, that are available on audiobook...do you think it would be 'cheating' if I listen to them instead of reading them. I can listen and work on other things. hmmmm I have no idea if I should count them or not. Is a book still a book regardless of whether you read it or listen to it? Any ideas?

Recent Minis

Back in December, I reached my 100th follower, or as I prefer to say...friend! I had a little contest too...My 100th friend got a prize (I'm working on it Daisy!!!) and so did one of my other friends. I asked everyone who was interested to leave me a post. Then I chose a winner form those who said "Hi!" Kathi from Beautiful Mini Blessings was my other winner. She is creating the most fabulous beach house. So I decided to make her some fun beachy accessories. I have a bag of beach 'stuff' that I bought a while back..and at the moment I can't remember where I bought it, but as soon as I do I'll let you know! =D Well in this bag of beach aer some of the tiniest shells I have ever seen!! So I spent a couple hours sorting out the perfect little bitty shells. I made 3 different projects. The pieces on wire have since been removed from that wire. They are little shell decor balls. Similar to these. Two are done in tiny white shells and the last is in shades of brown. I also took a tiny jar barely an inch tall and filled it with tiny shells. And last but not least is a white polymer clay bowl filled with slightly larger shells. There are also pieces of coral and sea sponge too. I do hope that Kathi will enjoy her goodies! =D

Books 1 & 2 of 100

I have finished 2 books already this year. I am quite excited about that. I guess before I tell you a little about my books I should tell you about my reading habits. I am a voracious reader...I will read just about anything I can get my hands on. Reading for me is an escape, so I generally tend to look for fiction. I love romance novels. My current favorite sub-genre is paranormal romanace. Be it witches, ghosts, magic useres,vampires or the likes, I like 'em all! I also am a HUGE fan of historical romance, medieval and pirate being my favorites there. I also enjoy reading fantasy; I have read all of the Harry Potter books, I read Eragon (and the 2 subsequent books, and I am waiting on the final installments...BTW the books are sooooo much better than the movie was!) I own the Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy, (they are on my must read list!)Another series I have started and am waiting on the final book is called the Looking Glass Wars...it's another, rather unique take on the Alice in Wonderland story.

So now on to the books I have finished, they are by one of my favorite authors...Gena Showalter Gena is an amazing author...the first book of hers I finished this year is called The Vampire's Bride (the link will take you to a browse-able sneak peek at the book!) This story focuses on Layel the vampire king and Delilah an Amazon warrior. Without giving too much of the story away they are kidnapped and forced to take part in a Survivor-esque game. They are also battling their attraction to one another. Layel still grieves (or feels he should) for his long dead wife. Delilah fights her very Amazon nature. The Vampire's Bride is part of Gena's Atlantean story collection but works just fine as a stand alone story.
Now just a little warning about Gena's writing...She is bold in writing her love scenes...vivid, maybe too graphic for some. So if some sizzle in your romance is not to your liking , well sadly maybe Gena isn't either. But for me...I LOVE her.

Which is why you will find me reviewing many of her books. The second book I finished this year I read on Wednesday. (Yep I read the entire book in one day. Granted it was only about 330 pages, but I liked it so well everything else went by the wayside. LOL) Heart of Darkness is an anthology written by Gena, Maggie Shayne and Susan Krinard I bought it mainly for Gena's story in it, but I will definitely be looking into the other 2 fantastic authors! Gena's story is The Darkest Angel is a short story in her Lords of the Underworld series. This is a wonderful story and it is possible to read it as a stand alone. Her Lords of the Underworld series is an interesting take on the Pandora's box myth/legend.
The next story in Heart of Darkness is by Maggie Shayne, called Love me to Death It's the story of 4 men who as teenagers were convicted of a girls death in a fire. Twenty some years later the 'victim' is seeking revenge. It's a very interesting tale of life after death and reincarnation. A wonderful read.
Last but certainly not least is another tale of reincarnation and the power of love. This time set in Late 19th century London, Susan Krinard's Lady of the Nile takes on ancient Egyptians gods and goddess, and the battle between good and evil.
Heart of Darkness is a wonderful introduction to these 3 authors. I will definitely be seeking out more of both Maggie and Susan's work!

Holy crap that took forever!!!

LOL...several posts back I mentioned making footstools from soda bottle cap. Some folks in some of my yahoo groups asked if I would make up a tutorial for them. Sure no problem right...won't take long.
UM hello who was I kidding, yeah it didn't take too long to create the actual footstool even with taking pictures. But holy moly the editing and then uploading and describing about killed me...it took me 3 days just to upload everything to ONE group and my Flickr account!!! I still need to upload it to a 2nd and possibly a 3rd group. (I have a feeling there will be a lot of copying and pasting going on in my future! LOL)

I also finished one of the 2 chairs I have been working on. Although I am contemplating repainting the pink as it is rather pale and hard to distinguish in photographs from the cream. See what you think.


The green is taking waaaaaay longer than the pink or the cream since I am having to be so much more careful with it! But I really do like the way it is looking.

Tomorrow I will have 2 book reviews for you. (yes I have already finished 2 books for the year! =D So I hope you'll stop back to hear about my finished reads!
Y'all stay warm out there wherever you may be!

I'm challenging myself

I was reading someone's New Years post earlier this week and they mentioned challenging themselves to read 100 books in the year. I thought...hmmm how cool! Now I LOVE to read...I read in the evenings while hubby is shaving and getting ready for bed. I read in the morning while he's getting ready for work. (um probably TMI but I'm a bathroom reader too.) And I love me a good book while soaking in the tub!!! So I decided that I too am going to challenge myself to read 100 books in 2010! (yes that's about 3 days to a book!) Now if I sit down with a good book that is no problem. Heck I read each of the Harry Potter books in one day when they came out. The other part to this challenge, atleast for me, is 80 of them MUST be books I've never read before. I say that because there are several series that I have read, that are due out with new books this year. And I always like to reread the previous books before starting the new one...to catch myself back up. This challenge will also 'force' me into getting my butt to the library and getting a card. Been here 7 years and have YET to make it to any of the local libraries! =(
So I am looking forward to reading a ton of books this year and I'll try to post a little blurb about each book as I finish it...so if your are interested maybe you'll find a new book to read too!

Partridge in a Pear Tree

Um yeah so this should have been posted before Christmas, but yeah well I forgot to take pictures of it. I am not completely happy with it, as some of the branches are not as sturdy as I'd like them, and I think it could use more leaves. BUT that being said I love the concept and plan on fixing it to have available for next year.The tree itself was made from floral tape covered wires, that were then painted. Each leaf was hand shaped, textured and colored with various metallic pearl pigments. The 'Partridge' was based off of one of Christi Friesens L'il Blob Birds. The pears were made using a video tutorial by Cindy Lietz I think they look fantastic. Cindy's website is fantastic. Not only does she showcase tons of polymer clay techniques she posts color recipes using the various brands of clay. (many of her color scheme's are based off the amazing photographs that her husband takes!) If you aren't already familiar wth Cindy I highly recommend her! =D
As a matter of fact I enjoyed her pear video so much, I used her technique to make the tiny pears in the bowl that Orah is showing off. I told her that her pears still need a shine on them. Orah says they look frost-kissed! lol She wanted to bake a candied lemon cake yesterday and demanded an apron to keep her pretty dress clean. So I made her one...I mean what else was I supposed to do? lol The side table her bounty is sitting on is a part of the set that I am working on. This piece and the matching table are Hepplewhites from House of Miniatures. There is also a hutch from Michael's and a pair of chairs that will match. Oh yeah and one of my little soda bottle cap footstools too!Hopefully I will have pictures of the entire set finished tomorrow! =D

First post of 2010!

Wow, so I am a good bit late on this but...HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! I hope you all had a wonderful time ringing in the new year. I wish you all a year filled with joy and laughter,finished projects and lots of sales in your stores! May your worst day of 2010 be above and beyond even your best day of 2009!
We rang in the new year by watching a movie and then doing our own thing (computers and video games) until about 5 till. Then we all toasted the new year with sparkling cider for the kids and champagne for the grown-ups. Little ones were tucked into their beds while the hubby and I enjyoed the peace and quiet a little longer. New Years day was more of the same, each of us doing our own things. (We are rather boring actually! LOL)
On Sunday I went out and did a little shopping, one of our local bookstores was closing so I went out and bought everyone new books. Although there was not a polymer clay, jewelry, miniature or craft book to be found in the store. =( Oh well I found several in the series that hubby reads, several for my kiddos and a couple romance novels for me! =D
Then I headed over to Wal-mart to pick up some items I needed and of course I had to check out the clearance Christmas stuff. Before Christmas they had some adorable Thomas Kinkade house ornaments that would have been perfect as dollhouses in a dollhouse. But of course they were all gone, although there are 3 other walmarts in our area that I need to check! ;-)But I did find a pair of Breyer-like miniature horses for $2.50 each. Here is Lady Orah with her new steed Blaze!
My other 'project' is the chairs to match the Hepplewhite table from House of Miniatures. Hopefully the design will show up...but the chairs are being painted with a combination of sage green, cream and pale pink. The seat and back section were stained with the same Rust stain as the table tops.
--------Before
Mid-process====
I still need to finish the green on the back rungs as well as a bit of the rung on the bottom...but I am so happy about how these are turning out. The are hugely time-consuming and I doubt I will be doing any more this detailed, but this set will be gorgeous!