I never promised you a rose garden...

but how about a little bouquet????

Last year at my pre-Mother's Day craft show, my flowers did really, really well! So I am hoping that will hold true for this year as well! I spent several hours last night making these polymer clay roses. Each petal is hand shaped and then added to the blossom. Each one is unique. The largest blossom is about 1.5 inches across (3 cm). They are on floral wire which will get wrapped in green floral tape and they will get calyxes and some leaves as well. I think these guys are gonna be mixed media pieces as I am planning to use handmade paper for the leaves and calyxes. For some reason I don't care for the way clay leaves look! (go figure! LOL)

I am very happy with most of the colors. The really deep burgundy actually baked a tad darker than I had hoped, but they are still very pretty. The other one I odn't care for it the peachy color. These were the first ones I made and I'm not entirely happy with them. BUT I am sure someone will love them! I want to make tons more of these as I intend to 'package' them up in little vases and boxes just like the full size 'real' ones! I think I am going to have some pre-made 'arrangements' as well as some loose ones so customers can choose their quantity and colors.

For now though I need to switch modes, as my left hand is a bit sore from pinching and smooshes around 400 individual petals! So on to some other cute things. :-)

PS silly me I forgot to add the link to my Flickr so you can see more pics of my roses!

YEAH!!!! I finally got some work done!!!!

It's about darned time too!!! I finally decided that my craft area re-org is just too time consuming. (right now) I have my first craft show of the season on the 8th of May and I am NO WHERE near being ready enough. So my claying area is 'set-up' I am started production! Since my show is the day before Mother's Day I am focusing on things for Mom. Yesterday I started with pens and pendants. I am only including 2 pics, but please check out my Flickr account for more!

Mmmmmm Smoothies at home!!!

I LOVE smoothies, but not the price for them. And honestly I despise dragging out the big blender to make A smoothie. Well I have found the solution...well solutions! The first is Yoplait's frozen fruit Smoothie kits They are ready to blend straight from the package. There are 3 Flavors, Strawberry Banana (SB), Strawberry Mango Pineapple(SMP) and Triple Berry (TB). I currently have the SMP and TB in my freezer. (Not a big fan of banana's so I didn't buy that one, although the kiddos LOVE it so I might have to pick some up!) I made the SMP last night after a wonderful 3 mile walk with some friends. The packs are supposed to make up 2 smoothies at around 110 calories each...they end up being about a cup of smoothie. You mix the frozen fruit (and yoplait yogurt bits) with skim milk and blend) I hadn't eaten much yesterday so I knew my calorie count would allow it, so I made the whole bag. And boy oh boy was it delicious!!! It had a wonderful tropical flavor. The fruit chunks are cut pretty small so I didn't have any frozen chunks left. Now I did nuke my first half bag of fruit for about 30 seconds to soften it some...I think that helped too. The rest of the bag I threw in frozen and it blended fine! BTW I found this blog with coupons for the smoothie mix too! (and yes the coupons are still good! =D )

Now the second half of this equation is the blender...I DESPISE pulling the big blender out to mix up a single batch of anything, it's a pain to clean and well it's bulky! About 4 years ago I found my solution through an early morning infomercial. (yes I know I can hear you all groaning right now!!! lol) I generally don't watch them, but the ones about cooking products always catch my attention! So any way I bought a Magic Bullet Blender I LOVED this thing...I used it 2 to 3 times every day!!! I got the whole set, including the juicer attachment, and the full size blender. it isn't cheap, it's about $100. (however they do payment options too!) (BTW NO I am not affiliated with the company just LOVE the product!) Anyways about 2 years ago I actually BURNED OUT the motor on the thing!!! I was very sad as like I said I used it all the time. We were in the process of moving so it kinda got packed away with every intention of ordering a new base. Yeah well 2 years later I still hadn't. (I did manage to call the company and discovered that a new base unit would cost me $30 before shipping. Not a bad price for something I loved and used all the time. Well this past weekend I was in Biglots and saw an off brand label, Bullet Blender...for $22, for the entire set!!!! needless to say I snapped it up quick. It works like a dream AND my other pieces fit this one perfectly too!

My Creating Pals

It all started about 10 years ago, my husband wanted a dog for our 6yr old son...I didn't think he was old enough to be respondsible for him. We got Zeus. He's a black lab / border collie mix. Then a couple monthes later we went with hubby's parents to look for a cat for THEM. (we had one at home already) Needless to say this black ball of piss and vinegar was curled up in the middle of the stove. (back story...double wide trailer, probably 200 cats!!!!) Hubby went to pick it up and it went crazy. She came home with US! Hubby said he always wanted a spitfire cat. Boy oh boy did he get it. Lightning is the only cat I have ever seen that when picked up by the scruff of the neck would NOT just hang there...she would go insane. (and my husband has the scars on his arms, chest and stomach to prove it! LOL) Any way...rather ironically both Zues and Lightning have become MY animals...not for lack of attention by any one else, they just chose ME. Lightning is my constant companion...it's rather unusual for her to be more than 10 feet from me...most times it's less than 3 or 4! And Zues well in his old age he is more than happy to curl up at my feet. Zues has claimed his spot under my workstation and Lightning has claimed a basket on my desk. (Granted the basket WAS full, but I actually moved the contents for HER! Am I owned or what???? =D) So here are a few pics of my faithful friends!

Customizing

My new doll's (I don't wanna call her Barbie...so she needs a new name?!?!?!?) lips bugged me every time I looked at them. They just looked overdone. Like she missed the outline of her lips when she put her lipstick on. So I researched repainting dolls. Found some great articles and figured "Hey I can do this...it's just lips!" Well let me tell you, the first problem I had was getting the factory paint OFF! Every thing I read said that Barbie's have some of the easiest paint to remove. Acetone nail polish remover will work. Yeah well my gal must've plastered the pink on! It took me FOREVER to get most of it off. And wouldn't it just figure that the spots that bothered me the most were the most difficult to remove!!!! BUT I eventually got it off enough where I had a 'clean slate' to work with. Although she will eventually get new clothes the berry color I chose for her looks fabulous with her dress. (and it's very similar to a color I myself wear!) While I was at it she cut a manicure too with a shade that matches her lips. She got a layer of shimmer on her nails and some gloss for shine on her lips. I also added a drop of dimensional gloss to her pupils for a little more realism.

I am debating on re-wigging her...Her hair bugs me too as there is not nearly as much hair on her as I seem to recall on my childhood Barbies. Her scalp is painted to match her hair, and the rows of rooted hair are almost a 1/4 of an inch apart. So I am pondering creating interchangeable viscose wigs for her...OR...I could research a bit more and then consider actually re-rooting her! BUT for now I pulled her hair back into a half-french braid. (which shows of the low-lights from the factory) I will probably live with her like this for a while as the wigging issue is something I will need to think long and hard about.

Still searching for a male figure to join her, found several that I really really like but can not justify spending between $30 & $50 dollars for...especially since the fellas are nekkid!!! So next week I will peruse the toy aisle and check out the 12 inch GI Joe figures...maybe I can find one that will suit her. :-) (BTW I really am open to suggestions on names for her!)

A grand adventure

Alot of my crafty pals are expanding into BJD's (ball jointed dolls) I think they are amazing, but can not honestly justify the expense...(and with 3 boys I can't even try to pawn it off on a daughter. :-( lol) So I decided to go searching and see what I could find. Imagine my surprise to discover that Barbie has a line of jointed dolls!!! (What gets me is the 12 inch GI Joe/ Military figures have been fully articulated for years...what took Barbie so long???) Any ways the Barbie jointed line is called Fashion Fever Fashionista, with names likeCutie,Sassy, Wild, Glam, Artsy and Girlie. These dolls are just wonderful. And at around $10, I can totally justify buying one. (or 3!) I have seen a couple of male dolls in the store, but can't seem to find pics of them online...although I think my gal will be looking for a military man like me! (Just a silly little aside...back in the mid to late 80's {height of Barbie time for me!} my brother had some of the original 12 inch GI Joe figures...it used to annoy the snot out of him cause inevitably one of his Joes would always come up missing...My Barbie always picked Joe over Ken...maybe I knew even as a little girl that I was gonna end up with a military man! lol)

These dolls are made of the hard plastic all over, with joints at the shoulder, elbow, wrist and knees. Oh and her head moves too, but I'm pretty sure they all do that! LOL. The only body part than doesn't move is her ankles. I just bought her a huge pack of shoes on Ebay as I can't STAND the shoes she is currently wearing, I think they are ugly! She'll be getting some new clothes eventually too as hers are a tad more provacative than I would prefer. (It's raelly a good thing I don't have girls...'cause we'd have had issues over Barbies. Seriously is is really necessary for her clothes to be as short as they are making them!!!)

So my grand adventure is going to be branching out into 1:6th scale miniatures as well. I am hoping that these pieces will do better at local craft shows as my area seems to be devoid of any 1:12th scale collectors or miniaturists. (I have no intention of stopping doing 1:12th though!!!)

So keep an eye out for new things of all sorts coming from me! Oh BTW I also sent in my booth fee for my first craft show of the season...May 8th, the Saturday before Mother's Day...So I will be focusing on Mom quite a bit over the next couple weeks!

Astronomy Night

We are lucky enough to have an observatory and Space Science Center nearby. They have started bringing their telescopes out to the elementary school the boys attend, for Astronomy Night. The middle son and I went last year and had a great time...we all went this year. And although the kids had more fun running around the field with their glowsticks and their friends...they each enjoyed seeing the stars and planets in the telescopes. We saw Mars, Venus and even Saturn...and even though it was about the size of a pencil eraser...the rings of Saturn were stunning!!! It really was one of those awe inspiring moments! We are very lucky in that, even though we live in a neighborhood and not out in the country our stars are ALWAYS visible! (unless the cloud cover is too heavy) But it really is neat to walk out into the driveway or the back yard and be able to look up and see a sky full of stars! I have decided that I am going to pick up a telescope to star-gaze! If you have an observatory nearby I highly recommend checking them out!

Moving Along...and looking for ideas

Well hubby emailed me today, they have arrived at their first stop on their way to their destination...although technically it's the 2nd stop after a refueling stop along the way. But anyways we are down to about 362 days until he comes home! =D (and NO I don't plan on counting down the days. lol) But I prefer to think on the terms of how many till he ocmes home rather than the how many has he been gone.

I started my workstation reorg on Tuesday, and got one rather large box sorted and almost all put away. I discovered that I need to come up with a good storing systen for fabric...I have yards and yards of some colors, but have decided to store the bulk of it in storage bins in the garage. I am going to keep about a 1/4 yard in the house for mini work. Any one have any suggestions?

I still have a ton of sorting and reorganizing to do, but it'll all get done eventually, although I am not moving at the pace I had hoped too. but I plan on doing some more here shortly. (MUST LOG OFF FACEBOOK!!!! LOL) Tomorrow it's another Dr's appointment, then off to Hobby Lobby to exchange my unopened Orchid for an Alison Jr. I realized that it would be much easier for me to just build Mom the bigger house rather than trying to bash a pair of Orchids together! And with my 40% coupon, and the refund for my Orchid the Alison should only cost me about $30!!! =D AND it will give me more than enough room for all the things I want to do. I mean it IS supposed to be her DREAM house so why not go big! =D

(BTW the picture is from out trip to Disney last year)

Books 26 through 29

I may not have been doing much through out the last couple weeks but I HAVE been reading! LOL I have 4 more books to add to my tally.

These 1st set of 3 are part of the Mack Bolan series that my husband reads. (the link will take you to my first post about Mack, for a little backstory if you are interested.) Book 26 was called
Code of Honor Mack is called upon to infiltrate and eliminate a super covert team that has been taking out government employees. Book 27 is System Corruption After the son of a friend is murdered trying to uncover the truth about sub-standard body armor being sent to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mack is brought in to find and protect the one man who accidentally stumbled onto the evidence.
Book 28 is called Betrayed. Brokering peace can be a dangerous business. Dr Sharif Mahoud knows that only to well. His wife and daughters are in hiding, his son has been kidnapped and he is being chased by just about every war-monger in the Afghan region. Mack Bolan has been authorized to go into enemy territory to bring Mahoud and his family out alive.

Bolan books are definitely not for the faint of heart, but if you have ever found yourselve captivated by the History channel, you might find these intriguing as well.

Book 29 is about as far from the previous books as you can get. lol Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke was a wonderful story of the last remaining dragons in the world. When humans begin encroaching on their hidden valley, one brave (or fool-hardy...depending on who you ask!)dragon takes up the search for the fabled Rim of Heaven, the last remaining safe haven for dragon-kind. Setting off accompanied by his Brownie friend, they are soon joined by an orphan human. Around every corner lies magic, mystery and danger.

If you enjoy dragons and mystical creatures I am almost postive you will enjoy this book!

It's been a long week!

Sorry I haven't been posting, then again I haven't really been doing anything these last few days so there really isn't much to tell. (although I have finished 3 books, but will post about them later)

Monday morning I woke up ready and raring to start getting all my craft supplies sorted and put away...I MISS CRAFTING SOOOOO MUCH!!!! And what happens? Yep I hurt myself, I pulled a muscle in my lower back somehow. grrrrrrrr So it's been muscle rub, massages and Motrin all week. I felt really good yesterday, spent the day photographing some jewelry making books and magazines I plan to list for sale. (curious? shoot me an email! =D) So last night when hubs and I went to bed I forgot to have him give me my massage and muscle rub. Yeppers guess who's real sore again today? I hate this I really do! So it's back to massage, cream and a hot soak in a bit. Hopefully by next week I'll be feeling better and can start getting this craft area organized. I want to rent a booth at a show in May, but need to be able to get some stock made up.

Some of you already know, but for those who don't my husband is heading out Monday for another tour in the Middle East. This will make his 4th in the last 7 years. He will be gone for a year. (This is another reason I haven't done anything!) We are just kinda hanging out and enjoying having him here with us. It's been kinda nice that the boys were home for Easter break this week too. I imagine over the next year I will be posting alot more as well as crafting a lot more too, as I don't sleep real well when he is gone. So hopefully once my back settles down I can knock out the re-org of my craft area and get back into sculpting and mini-making real quick.

Thanks for listening to me ramble. =D (btw that is my hubby in the pic, it was taken in October of 08 in northern Alabama where he and I went on vacation!)

Happy Easter!!!

May your day be filled with sunshine, your home filled with laughter, and your life filled with joy!
Deborah

Book 25 of 100..

Wow I am officially a quarter of the way through my 100 books...and the year is already 1/4 over. How the heck did that happen?!?!?! Does anyone else feel like time is just flying by???

Ok so book 25 was Kisser by Stuart Woods. This was another of the books that my sister ordered by mistake. It's one of the most recent in a series about the main character Stone Barrington. Barrington is an ex-cop turned lawyer, who in this book gets involved with a new-to-New York actress (who's ex husband is trying to kill her), an undercover cop(brought on the scene by a case Stone is working on) and her temporary roommate.(whose boss is the client Stone is working for) Then throw in Stone's own psycho ex-wife, (who happens to be a former Mob boss's daughter!) and a US Attorney General whom Stone had a liason with in the past.

Throw in an heiress about to be scammed out of her trust-fund by a drug dealing 'artist' and well it makes a rather, um, interesting story. Personally I found this story...well, fuzzy. It just seemd like there was WAAAAAY to much going on in it. The writing was ok (although there were several editing errors that really annoyed me {like changing a characters name mid-story not once but twice!!!} which ironically the author basically acknowledges he knew were there!!!) I just couldn't help but feel like the story could have been fleshed out a little better, or maybe trimmed down would have been the way to go. Honestly the actress (whom the story is titled for) could have been left out and the story itself would have been fine. This was supposed to be her story, presumably, but I felt the heiress's 'story' got way more attention. Oh well. I read it and chalked it up on my 100 Books in 2010 log. But this is an author that I most likely will not be searching out more from. :-( I hate saying that, but it's true. I'm not even sure what genre to label this book. It's not a drama, it's not a mystery...I guess it's just cop fiction.