This Is It Folks!

The last day of 2012. Can you believe it? I don't care to know where it went, I'm just glad that it's gone. It was better, a bit, than 2011 but 2012 is outta here! Don't let the door hit ya! Oh my goodness!

So what am I doing? Cleaning my apartment and studio. So far I've got two very clean and organized closets. Two trash bags of stuff. I couldn't believe why I was hanging on to some of the crap that I had. Now it's gone.

I don't have a pic of the other closet but will get one.  Then I cleaned the living room section. I dusted, even moved things, and cleaned off baseboards. There was a fearsome battle of dust bunnies going on. I won! Then I swept and mopped. My place is clean. At least the front part. I'm still working on the studio, kitchen, and bathroom. But it's a start.
 

My studio is a mess. Yep, that's it, a mess. I'm trying to work on getting a few things done while rearranging things so I can really get started January 2. I just love being nuts.

There's a little bit of floor you can see. A few days ago, I only had a pathway. Like in a forest. I still have the rest of today to straighten more things out. I will be starting off my creative New Year on the right foot and with a cleaned up place. I have amazed myself.

If you're going out tonight, please have fun and stay safe. This year is over. As for next year, I'm trying not to get too excited about it. You know those disappointments are lurking behind bins, corners, and abandoned buildings.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Again, No Pics

I am doing my best wrapping up 2012 and a few more projects before I blast off into 2013.  I didn't get to as much as I wanted to but I ended up doing and finishing other projects.  I'm good with that.  Not quite balanced out but I'm fine with what I've accomplished for the year.  I will amp it up for next year.  This year wasn't bad and it was better than 2011.  I'm good with that too.

Now I have to finish up those projects while blitzing the apartment and studio.  It is a daunting task but one that has to be done.  I want to start new projects January 1, 2013 as planned.  But I need to be able to find things.  I have to clear out part of one closet to move things around in another closet, so that I can organize things better and be able to find things.  I'm trying not to cackle like a crazy woman while I'm trying to figure other things out.  So I'm going to have to mess things up a bit more in order to start cleaning.

I had a very nice Christmas Day with my new adopted family.  The food was wonderful and we played Canasta.  Which was hilarious with one very competitive member.  Aren't families great?  I got a pair of really nice earrings from a dear friend and yarn to make socks.  I'm taking a knitted sock class starting next month.  I'm so excited!  I've always wanted to learn how to knit socks.  Guess how many friends are going to get socks for Christmas next year?  Now I'll be the Mad Sock Lady.  I just love it.

There is no snow where I am at the present time. It was disappointing not having a white Christmas when just about everyone else in the country was.  Maybe I'll get lucky on New Year's Day.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, if you celebrate it.  The New Year is coming.  Are you ready?  Excited?

Well, what do you know?

We're still here.  Those Mayans... what jokesters. Hardy har, har.

Well, I'm glad I'm still here.  Got lots more creating to do.  I'm glad you're still here too.  Welcome.  Yesterday Maya and I painted a mural on a friend's nursery wall.  It's for Amanda's baby who will be here in March.  It was also Amanda's Christmas/Birthday gift from me and Maya.  This was planned back in November, on Thanksgiving Day between me, Maya, and Dennis (Amanda's husband) all while Amanda was in hearing distance.  She didn't have a clue.  Maya had an idea and told me and then I came up with some ideas.

I got up stinking early to get myself over to Maya's so we could get to Amanda's. We had to make a coffee stop or were just weren't going to be any good that morning.  We got to the house, pulled out our supplies and Maya had forgotten her sketch. It didn't matter. But then the wall she was going to put the mural on was packed with baby stuff. Dennis had moved everything over so that we could make use of the largest wall. Even better.  We were about to start drawing and Maya couldn't remember how they were spelling the baby's name. I said no 'h', so Maya called Dennis, again.  Then we got going.  Giggling all the way.  Both of use injured (she had burned her hand and my thumb is still bothering me) and trying not to elbow each other.

I did the people and fairies and other items.  Maya was the flower Queen.

We incorporated things that mom and dad liked.

This could be Zanna Joy reading.  Her mom loves to read.

Amanda loves bats, and she and Dennis love UFOs and aliens.  The lady bug is sporting sunglasses and is attached to a balloon.

Dad Dennis loves skulls.

We both signed our masterpiece.  And I put the date before the end of the world.

Here is the final.  All of this done between 9:30 AM and about 3:00 PM.  We did break for lunch and it was all freehand.  Dennis almost cried because he wasn't expecting what we did.  Amanda, when she finally saw it, was just in awe and it was great watching her pick out the details.  Already she's planning on asking Zanna to make up stories from what's in the mural.  She's planning a story a day.  That is so awesome!

Hello!

Yesterday morning on my way to the shop Olde Mill Eclective, the sun was shining and it was quite balmy at 52 degrees.  It looked and felt like spring except for the semi- and leafless trees, and piles of brown leaves on the ground.  I had to remind myself that it is December.  I don't mind the mild weather but i had to slay a stink bug the night before last.  I've kind of had enough of them this year.  Be gone!  I need a break. Which means we need some cold weather and snow.  Which we won't be getting for Christmas.

The Krankies Holiday Craft Fair was very good.  I won't have to live in a box quite yet.  Thank goodness for the credit card reader.  Whoever came up with that, I hope he/she is living it up.  That little program made my weekend.  It took me almost two days to recover and I still picked up a bug. I have one more show this year.  It's a late one but I'll take it.

At the Krankies show, there were a few people who thought some of my work too creepy.  They obviously haven't been web surfing because my items are quite tame compared to other creations out there.  I didn't fret, I just told myself that they weren't my audience and I smiled for the next person.  I received many compliments on my work.  People who had bought things as gifts last year, came back with reports that the items were well received.  New people who looked at my table from across the room, walked over and just smiled.  There were people who took time to look and began to laugh.  Those who looked at my work, walked away and came back to smile and laugh some more.  Both males and females did this.  And the best compliment of all was from a woman who said she loved how I had a variety of things but could tell they were all my creations.  She pointed out how each face, even the needle felted ones, had their own personality.  I was on a cloud.  Talk about a creative ego boost.  Exactly what I needed.  It's one thing when family and friends tell you your work is great but when you have fans and total strangers love it and the way I think, that is just so awesome.  A great feeling to wrap up the end of the year.

Now, I have a boat load of ideas from all over the place.  But first, I must blitz the apartment and studio.  I can't find a darn thing.  There's stuff on the floor of my studio and I've created a path.  The room isn't even that big.  Yikes!  It needs to be done, so I'll start this week.  Through the sniffles.  A little bit at a time.

Still No Pictures

But I'm still here. It's been crazy the past couple of weeks.  Heck, months. I've been challenged yet again and back to treading water. I've finally gotten to a point of not worrying about anything. Lost a commission. Some ideas have fallen through.  It doesn't mean that they were bad ideas; I succumbed to doubts and other things like not exercising.

I finally got a Smart Phone and the learning curve has been deep and extremely steep. Especially since I just wanted to use the thing to accept credit cards at craft shows. I was worried because I hadn't gotten the credit card reader and still learning how to use the phone. I have been back twice to my phone provider and after all is said and done, would have visited each location in town. I finally got the reader and tried practicing swiping a credit card. Yeah right. My thumb doesn't like it one bit. So I panicked and did the crying thing and the name calling started up again. I am so techno challenged and felt lower than a beetle at the bottom of a dung pile at the bottom of a lava tube of an extinct volcano. I hadn't been working on anything because the new phone just vexed me and everything was spinning out of control. All the should haves, could haves, would haves just started piling up. I'd lost my holiday spirit, even my Halloween creations couldn't console me.

WHAT THE HECK!

I am not perfect. No one is. As an artist, I am harder on myself than anyone would ever be.  That's not fair to me. Yes, I've got a lot going on this last craft show of the year. It can make me or break me financially but I will not give up. I do have that going for me. My determination, persistence, perseverance, stubbornness, and any other like word. I need to write some signs, make them real pretty and plaster them all over my apartment. Signs that say, "BE NICE TO WENDY".  I stopped and looked at what I hadn't been doing.  Exercise. For me it seems to help with feeling low and unworthy.  Something about endorphins. So I got up this morning and went for a walk. It didn't matter that it was wet out, or chilly. Actually it felt pretty good and I felt alive again. Silly me.

My head is a little clearer now. Not great but I've decided not to worry anymore this year. It's a start. I have enough items for my craft show. I know I will sell something. Probably many things. I had also started to think that I hadn't accomplished much of anything after my big exhibition in February. I can always remember the bad things that happen or go wrong but never the nice things that happen.  So when I saw this on Facebook, I thought that I would participate.

How many of you only remember the disasters and near misses of the past year? Can you remember the nice times? I can only remember a few and I know I've had more than that. So I'm going to do this. In January and I already have my jar ready. I will decorate it and make it lively because it will be holding my 'nice happenings'.

I guess I'll get breakfast, finish my coffee and continue on with my day.  It's my day. And I'm okay.

Pictureless Post

Here's a quickie. I am now in the 21st century. I have acquired a smart phone. I didn't want to but I want to be able to accept credit cards at future craft shows, so I had to make the plunge. The learning curve is steep. I feel like I've got gloves on when I use the darn thing. I will probably have to go back to my carrier and get some lessons. What happened to detailed instruction booklets? I haven't figured out if I can set an alarm. I did that with my old phone because I don't have a clock. And can I add tones for individual people who call me? Not that I get a ton of calls anyway.

While trying to figure some things out, I called a friend in another state. I thought I had stopped the call before it went through but I wasn't fast enough.  She called me back in a couple of minutes asking if everything was okay because I don't call her midday.  Ever.  She said she was about to gas up her car and make a drive from Michigan to North Carolina. I apologized for worrying her and told her about the new phone. We both laughed and she assured me that I will figure out my phone very soon.  It's nice to know that I have people who will come after me if I'm in trouble.

Back to making ornaments!

My first Christmas Card

I received my first Christmas Card. This one is hand painted by the wonderful artist Eden Carnes. She also makes lovely dolls and dragons and as soon as I can, I will post her info. Starting in January I will post pics of artists I like along with their info.

Please enjoy but remember, this is copyrighted work.

Yes It's December!

And I'm late. What else is new? Right? But at least I'm here. I am grateful I have been given another day and hopefully, another month. November is in the books. As I wipe my forehead and roll my eyes. Treading water and not sinking. That's a good thing. I've got a week before my first December show, so I may not post as much as I'd like but I'll give it a shot. The cold is history and I will just have to work through the pain of my thumb. It is feeling better and motion is improving but I've got to get going. I have good news.

SOLD!
She's going to a new home in Michigan. I'm sad and happy at the same time. Maybe this is a good sign that I will do well the rest of the month.

Here's my work table at the moment. The balls are forms for ornaments. Aliens, monsters, shrunken heads, and such. You know... the usual holiday fare.

I better get going. I've also got to put some words to paper while watching zombies on the telly.

Here's a Something

Working to get back on the creative track. I've gotten my next block-of-the-month done. Block #9. I am quite pleased how it turned out and I love the colors. Very different from what I am used to working with.

I've also been writing new words. Not up to the amount that I want but doing it. And below I'm ready to start covering the styrofoam eggs.

WIP

Here's my Bless This House block #9. I'm doing well in keeping up and I am really looking forward to having the top done the first of next year. This is the last block for the bulk of the quilt. There's a long rectangular panel at the top with a lot of stuff going on and four borders with sunflowers. Almost there.

I'm a bit further along than this but this is the only pic I've got so far. It was a challenge to stitch it onto the block fabric. Not only did I have basting guide lines, I also had two ironed in guide lines.

Slowly I've been straightening my living room and studio. At times it seems like a lost cause but I'm also clearing out my closets of things I no longer wear, or use and take them to Goodwill. I've had one bag in my truck for a couple of years. I guess I should finally take that in too.

I'm Still Here

I just don't know where to begin. I do hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I did. I enjoyed good food, conversation, a couple of practical jokes, lights at Tanglewood Park, an after dinner Starbucks run, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the tube, the Purina Dog Show, part of a football game, and a couple of episodes of Shaun the Sheep. It was my first gluten free dinner and it was very tasty. I did re injure my thumb. The pain shot all the way up to my shoulder. It's at about 80% and continues to ache and not want to do what it's supposed to do. But I have got to get busy for the two craft shows I have next month. So I will suck it up and get back to work. I'll keep icing and heating it but it's getting to be a bit annoying.

I was able to make it to the NC Renaissance Festival. Maya, Amanda, and I are trying to make this our tradition. Still didn't dress up but there's always next year. It was the last day of the festival and oh so cold. It was really nice being able to see the village without a sea of heads and bodies. I would love to see the place at first snow. That would be so awesome! I did get to see some men in kilts.

Next year... next year.

I'm way behind on my NaNo this year. I won't hit my 50k words but that's okay. I am going to continue to get in 1000 words a day, edit one page of Map Hunter so I can get it out there, and continue to finish up my screenplays. I also have to work on a commission. Here's the first pic.

I have re purposed a cereal box. These two will become masks. Day of the Dead Masks. I do hope you come back to check out their progress.

Yes, these are styrofoam eggs. They will be turned into ornaments. Alien heads. That's all I'll say right now. Take care all.

Yes, This Year Is Almost Over

Eek! What was I thinking? That this would be a good year. It's the end. Again. Didn't we just have 4th of July? Not only was I sick for two weeks and the stupid cough is still lingering, I now have tendinitis of my right thumb. That's been going on for about a week too. Feeling a bit defeated but I'm too stupid to stay down. The thumb is feeling better and getting more movement but it still hurts when I try to grab things. I can hold some things, thankfully, but it's not 100%.

Being sick and incapacitated with the hand put me in a bit of depression. I had lost three weeks of work time. I know, I should not be hard on myself but it's me. This is the busiest time of the year for me. I was extremely hard on myself and there wasn't much I could do about it. I was sick. I had to get better. The thumb on the other hand, came out of left field. Again, I thought I was being punished for wanting to be a creative person. One who was doing more than just barely surviving. The head was saying quit. Life is too hard. Life sucks for people like you. But the heart...

The heart says 'NO'.

At this point in time, quitting is not an option. To create is to live. I am allowed to cry buckets. I am allowed time to heal. Then I will continue on that fantastic road. There will be no name calling. I will be nice to me. I have many ideas and characters waiting for me to give birth to them. They are waiting for me to show them to the world. This journey I've started is still in its infancy and there is no giving up. Not now.

I have a commission to do.  I have two shows next month to prepare for. I am back in the ring.

The basic shapes for two Day of the Dead masks. The jaw may be too strong but this is the start of them. I will work on them today along with catching up on NaNo. Thanks for checking in on me. See ya soon.

Ornament Swap

Here are the ornaments I got from the wonderful doll artist Karen Michaels. I sent my angel ornament to another artist. This is with the group Art Doll Artists. They can be found on Facebook. This is the first time I've done a swap. And it's nice getting cool things by other artists in the mail.

In Progress

It's a pain. Catching up, still working on feeling better, getting mentally back on a creative track. It's been tough. I'm working hard on not giving up because I'm so far behind. But then a part of me kicks me in the backseat to do one thing. One little thing. Because there's nothing else I want to do.

Saturday was tough. In my crazy little head, nothing seemed to be going right. Yet in between beating myself up, I managed to get something done. Too bad I can't have more days like that. I started out with this...

The core is a wet felted egg shape that I made for another project that didn't get done. Instead of tossing the egg (there are more) I decided to make something else. And I ended up with this.

He's still in progress. He will have a green cap with a brown stem and probably a red bow tie. Why him? I don't know. He spoke to me and he's determined to get done.

Block 8 of Bless This House quilt. I did change the wreath and am trying to do a little bit each day so I can stay on track.

I added some of the flowers and the heart. Now I've got to cut out bias strips to make two stems. One little bit at a time. Right?

Once again, this year will be the season of the ornaments. They're easy to do and they sell well. They make great stocking stuffers and they're cute. Here's my latest batch of angel ornaments.

I'm also involved in doll swaps and here is my doll for the Stitchin' and Switchin' USA fall swap. She will get a knitted or crocheted hat (because she wants one), a jacket and probably a scarf. Her design is based on a Penny Wooden doll. I love her curly hair but she still wants a hat. Then she'll be off to her new mom.

And wonders of wonders, I finished reading a book. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I really liked it, especially the black and white photos of the peculiar children. It is obviously a two book story and I hope he's working on the second book. It's got unusual kids in it, monsters, time travel and it's about friendship and adventure. I guess I'll have to check out his website to see what's coming up. I do recommend this book.

Bouncing Back

I'm having a tough time bouncing back from my illness. I have so much to do and catch up on, I'm trying not to panic. I am getting back to things slowly because I don't want to have a relapse and get sick again. So I've been taking midday naps because I'm so tired. I guess that's what happens when you're coughing and blowing your nose for two and a half weeks. Non-stop. You get tired. I am starting to get my appetite back, so I guess that's a good thing.

I have two art fairs next month and need to restock the shops that carry my work. Tonight is my last English Country Dance session for the year. I will go for the first part to see people, maybe dance a jig or two then head back home and rest. Lots to do this weekend, along with seeing some gal pals. Next week I'm in the Olde Mill Eclective shop.

Still behind in NaNo but my screenplay is coming along. Here are some things I've got going. Have a wonderful weekend.

This is the start of my latest Bless This House block. I modified it a little, the original had way too many squigglies.

This is the beginning of a stogie chewing pumpkin. He will be needle felted. I did manage to get my art table cleaned off and filed doll patterns I'm not using at the moment. And I've posted a blog. I will try to be a little more consistent. Especially now the holidays are coming up. Take care everyone.

It Sucks Being Sick

Yes, it does. I'm just now getting back to business after being sick for almost two weeks.  I had a very bad head cold which turned into a sinus infection. It wasn't pretty at all and I won't go into details. But I'm doing a lot better now and working to get the creative juices flowing again because....

The Holidays Are Coming!

Yep, I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. It's another month and just one more after this one. Really?  What the heck? As they always say, time waits for no one so you might as well have a blast. I have the Krankies Craft Show to work towards and I need to get more work in the shops and back on Etsy. I'm praying that I stay well as I've way to much to do before the end of the year. Oh, did I mention I was also doing NANOWRIMO this month? Yep, I'm a crazy gal.

Have a nice November and I will be getting pics up shortly.

Las Amigas Fall Art Show & Sale

Mid last week, a friend emailed me asking if I wanted to participate in her groups art show that was coming up. They were having their last meeting and she thought of me and that I might want to go in with them. Of course I said yes even though it was at the last minute. It was at a home, that was gorgeous. I love it when people take a nothing house and turn it into something special. The weather held out, I met some really nice ladies and have been invited to their next show. I also sold some things.

Blue Ridge Adventure Part II

 Fog.

 Sometimes when we would come out of fog from around a bend, I'd be waiting to see a headless horseman or some spooky specter. Nothing.

 Things being boarded up for the winter.

 This was a unique picnic area. There was a meandering stream throughout the park and tables were set up around.

 In a couple of spots, there were these stones in the stream so you can cross over to small islands. I did cross here and got wet. Cold but fun.

The water wasn't that deep and I didn't get wet until on my way back. We also saw a small herd of deer. From Asheville, we drove to Blowing Rock and stopped at Kilwins to get caramel apples. Not just any caramel apple, I got a turtle caramel apple with pecans and chocolate. Oh my goodness! I love Blowing Rock too. It's a very nice little town. I love the small shops and eateries. Then we headed to Boone where we had dinner. I love fall and I love the mountains. I really could live in the mountains. We got back home around 8 on the PM and we were beat. But I was invigorated creatively and ready to take on my next artistic challenge.