It's Been Awhile

I've just began to get creative again. All through the lockdown, my creativity has been haphazard, discombobulated, ship shod, and non-existent. We are in strange times. I've been working on getting my creative mojo back again. One day at a time. Seriously. I have learned how to weave on a pin loom and finished a project. It will work for a larger project I have in mind. Getting back to drawing is still iffy. I do make small, very small doodles though. I've started knitting again with a free pattern from Dot Pebbles. And I'm itching to make dolls again. After all, Halloween is right around the corner.

Here's my July Bullet Journal front page I finished today. Used markers to color it.

My birthday pic. So many times around the sun. I am grateful though. Here's to another trip.

I finally got my woven rat cat toys done. Done on a TexaTurtle Loom, hexagon shape and free rat pattern (because it's the Year of the Rat).

My birthday cupcakes given to me by one of my nieces. They were oh-so-good. Moist, not too sweet... even the icing was lovely.

Knitted bunnies in the works. Free pattern and knitting videos by Dot Pebbles Knits. Gotta finish them.

And another free pattern by doll maker Jill Maas. I am further along on these two but haven't updated a pic.

These little projects have kept me somewhat going creatively. Now I really want to get back to business. As my friend Steven W. Dunn said, "I'm trying to look at this time as a new beginning since we know things will never be the same."

July

Yep, here we are in a new month. I guess I just have to roll with the waves because things are just weird. I did get the front page to my Bullet Journal done. Boris Bigfoot and what may be his camping adventures for the month. Yep, Bigfoot goes camping.

Last week was my birthday week. One friend took me out to breakfast. Another friend took me to Port Austin, MI on my birthday and it was wonderful. Such a unique little village that is pro-artist and musician. The waterfront is beautiful and there's a lighthouse close by. You have to take a boat to get to it but I did see it in the foggy distance.

Public art.

The Bank is a restaurant in an old bank.

Port Austin Lighthouse. This is the type of lens used in the lighthouse and the miniature model that was made of it. It's in the Visitor's Center/Chamber of Commerce.

This was an old barn that has been turned into a living space and studio/gallery for the artist in residency program.

And this is art town. Another program for artists. If you think you want to have a brick and mortar place, instead of spending tons of money to see if it will work, you can rent a shanty for the summer and give it a go.

Even though it was overcast and sprinkled a bit, it was a great birthday day and gift.

June

Yep, it's June. My birthday month and I got nothing. Last month was a good month for working on creative things but nothing was finished. I guess that's good. It started out slow, then I got more hours at the job, took a live online workshop, got ready for a yard sale, was MC for a relative's funeral, had the yard sale and I was exhausted. So my big bang for the end of May fizzled out.

Plan for this month is to finish pieces for the Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Get back to some sort of schedule, which I was really doing well at at the beginning of May. I'm getting back to being consistent in what I want to do. First, the exercising and then my hand stitching. I've been doing little sketches on the Dry Erase calendar on the refrigerator just about everyday and I'm claiming that as being creative. But I do need to get back to regular sketching and drawing. Still downsizing and tossing out things.

This morning I sauteed some veggies, made up some brown rice, and will bake some chicken when I get back from work. This should last a couple of days. I'm looking at cooking as creative too.

I also made up a front page for June in my Bullet Journal. I haven't done one in months. I made myself just stop and sit in one place and draw. There is no theme, just things I like and like to do. Sewing, art, Halloween, travel, lighthouses... It is making me want to draw more because if you don't use it, you lose it.

I don't know what I'll do for my birthday. Not really feeling anything right now about it. Just another I guess. Gotta go to the job. See ya.

I Take That Back

Today is Day One of my next trip around the sun. The last two days were spent having fun. Now I'm back to creative work. I have quite a few projects for my new year, deadlines, goals, and a few things on my new bucket list. I don't know how much I'll reveal along the way or just tell you when things are done or I'm ready to jump on a plane. Some things you have to keep close to the vest.

Last month was okay. Yes, I'm still a wee bit hard on myself but I'm human. I did get a large project done. The doll and sent a load of other dolls to North Carolina for a theater production. Yes, I have to look at the small things the I did and not the five page list of things I didn't do. I was able to get my front page to July's Bullet Journal done. I got the idea from christina77star. She's on Facebook, You Tube, and Instagram. She did not have the skellie guy in her tub. Or the rat. Those are my additions. Still working on my handwriting too.

And I finally made it to a farmer's market. The Oakland County Farmer's Market and it was very nice. Here's my haul for $18. Beets, bok choi, green beans, zucchini, and Whitefish pate`. Gonna eat healthy this week.

So, it's a new month and a new day. Gonna prep my veggies for cooking so I won't have to worry about meals for the rest of the week. Have a nice day y'all.

Day One

Of my next trip around the sun. Yep, it's my birthday. And so far so good. A couple of off-key renditions of that happy birthday song, which were hilarious. A long talk with a friend from another state. Lots of happy wishes on Facebook; a friend took me out to lunch. I had Salmon Ratatouille and a Blueberry Mule for a drink. Blueberry infused vodka with ginger beer. I wasn't driving.

Bella made it to North Carolina just fine. She picked up some reading once she got there and is ready for her stage debut.

A new year for me. Last year was, well, it was better than the year before so that's saying something. I now have a mission and a bucket list of sorts that I will be working towards. I'm going to do a personal challenge of a piece of artwork everyday for 365 days. The next trip around the sun. Could be anything but probably drawings or paintings. While cleaning up my mother's place (an ongoing process), I found a small sketchbook from when I was in undergrad at university. A... long...time...ago... I'll work on filling that up. It is 4 inches by 6 inches in size. About 30 pages..

Today is celebrating and relaxing and I'm about to binge watch some movies that have been on my list for awhile. Because tomorrow, it starts. The creative movement and that's because I have about eight days off from the other job. Nice huge blocks of time to make stuff.

That Was Fast

I went to the Secretary of State this morning, also known as the department of motor vehicles in other locations, to renew my registration and get new tags for the vehicle. Twelve minutes. That was a record for me. Now I'm legitimate again for another year.

Last week we had some wet weather and after working the job I saw this pretty rainbow. I never catch rainbows with my camera.

I also got the doll done for the theater production that will happen in North Carolina. She is now on her way south. The costume designer will make her a dress to match the live actress.

Now I'm in the process of cleaning, straightening the art area, a.k.a. dungeon, so that I can get busy with Halloween items and other things for the doll show I'm doing in October. I'm taking a couple of days off from the job so I can have huge blocks of time to get into some kind of flow. The project list is long but at least I know what I should be working on. Have a good day.

No Pic Post

Yes,  a no pic post. Sorry about that. Last week was horrendous. Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain committed suicide. I didn't know of K. Spade but she was my age. I wasn't a Bourdain fan but started watching his programs again. His death was a shock. Then two days after his passing, a friend of twenty years died. I didn't even know she had been in the hospital. She drank herself to death. There were many days I cried last week and the weekend. So many talented people checking out. I was not in a very good place so I called a good friend. I woke her up. I apologized but so much was going on in my head, I needed her to listen. And she did. We were both laughing after an hour. It gave me time to look at things in a different perspective.

So....

Today, back to my mother's to continue clearing out my stuff. Geesh! I've got a lot of stuff. I found quite a few porcelain dolls I made years ago. And they were big dolls. I'm not into porcelain dolls much these days; I will keep a few but will probably take apart the others and sell as kits. Looking at the craftsmanship, I worked my little fingers off. But they've got to go. I found my first doll I saved up my allowance to get. I was maybe like twelve. Gonna keep her. And my Madame Alexander dolls. That's going way back. I even have a Hulk Hogan doll when I was way into wrestling when it was the WWF, World Wrestling Federation. One big bag of trash, brought back some fabric for my new witches, stacked more boxes to break down, started going through my old file cabinet (stuff should have been shredded ages ago), and mom gave me food. That is always a good thing. I also got a lot of my hair chopped off. No fuss summer hair. If I can get a decent pic I'll post it.

The month of my birthday and I won't be doing much because I forgot I had to get new vehicle tags. I did the last payment on a huge bill, so I'm thrilled about that but my birthday gift to me will have to wait until next month. For this new week I will finish my voodoo doll pins, get clothes on my witches, finish up some pen & ink drawings, and do a doll for someone else. That's it for now. Have a good evening.

It's July!

Wow! That was fast. I added another day of celebrating for the birthday. I went to a cool fabric store with a friend and then she took me to lunch. And then there was the holiday, July 4th, and I just kind of chilled out. Now I'm getting back to business. I had a nice time off to enjoy and reflect the rest of the year. Because, the year is officially halfway over. The days are getting shorter. Eegads! So here are a few things I've done the past week or so. Some new forest folks based on an alpaca wearing a leather bomber jacket. It was on a greeting card. Which I can't seem to find. Moving sucks.

I did a few more sketches but it doesn't seem like I took pics. Will rectify that shortly and put in my next post. I will be working on my Raggedy Ann doll and get some doll pins painted. The next holiday (so-to-speak) is in September.

So Many Things

Going on.

It is now Day 2 of my next trip around the sun. I had fun on my birth day, going out to lunch with a dear friend. She took me to an Indian restaurant and it was very yummy. Yesterday, another friend took me to see Wonder Woman. I think I liked it. I will have to see it again because I didn't know that this particular showing was in 3D. 3D doesn't like me a lot. So I was working to watch the movie, keep track of the story, and try not to throw up. So I will have to wait until it comes out on DVD to see it again. But the clothes Diana and Etta were wearing while in London. Oh my! I see some cool fall outfits ahead. Anyway, I loved just about all of the supporting characters, even the bad ones. I have something to look forward to.

My purse has just about died. I bought it at a boutique. Someone made it and I liked the colors. A nice blue plaid. I had the zipper fixed once before and the pull on the zipper failed yesterday and I couldn't get into the purse. Not good when one is trying to buy a very expensive rum truffle chocolate. The rest of the purse is fraying and it's time for a new one. Good thing I can make one myself but that project wasn't on the list. Ugh!

Now I'm working on getting back to being creative. I pretty much took five days to celebrate my birthday, and technically still have today but will get going on a few things. Now that I've discovered that I can write up posts, save them, and then they will post on a date I choose, I should be able to stay on a regular posting schedule. Yeah, I'm laughing too. But here are some things on the docket.

• Continue with the language studies
• Practice my handwriting (it truly needs it)
• A sketch a day
• Clear out a drawer once a week (still downsizing, for a third time)
• Write and/or edit everyday

Creative Projects

1. Items for the Black Theater Festival
2. Repair a Raggedy Ann doll
3. Continue with my Redwork/Embroidery projects
4. Finish the Halloween dolls that are so close to being done
5. Finish off doll clothes that are also close to being done.
6. Day of the Dead dolls

That should keep me busy for the whole month. We shall see. I was looking at my creative endeavors as a chore. But they aren't because I do enjoy creating things. I want to get that joy back. So hang in there with me.

I'm Still Here!

I'm still here. It's truly summer. Lots of wicked lightning and thunder storms, and rain. Lots of rain. Oh, and the humidity that makes my curls curl. Ugh! Summer in the south. I know... it happens every year but geesh! I'm so ready for autumn. I do hope we get a proper one this year because each year seems to be just about summer.

I couldn't get online because my laptop crashed on my birthday. Yeah, what a month. First my truck starter needed to be replaced and then my laptop. Was not a happy camper but I'm still here. I had a nice staycation because I couldn't afford to go anywhere. I couldn't even binge watch Netflix, which was the plan for the holiday weekend. So I read. Finished two books and started a third. Of course that whole concept of life reared its head. Why am I here? What am I supposed to do? Amazing how the lack of a laptop or computer or smart phone can make you sink several lows. After a few days, it didn't matter, except when I wanted to watch a movie. I cleared out more things in my apartment. Wrote a letter. Pulled out the paints.

I survived. I've had to reinstall several programs and I know I'm forgetting a few but my new computer guy got my mouse to working properly. I was afraid I would have to bury it.

So I'm in the process of getting back into create mode. Gotta get some more things off my list. Have a good one!

June

Here we are again. A new month. Those things are moving along at a very fast pace. Whether you like it or not. It's my birthday month. Some years I've celebrated the whole month, others the week of my birthday. I think I'll just wing it this month. Seeing that truck repairs put a dent on things.

As always, lots of plans. Especially Halloween things. I'm so behind. I've gotten back to my Blythe challenge and will be starting a different one for 29 Faces. The original one is in February where you can draw any face. The one for June is males only. I really need to practice male faces. I need to sketch more period. And I still have blank pages in my sketchbooks. Those are supposed to be filled by the end of the year. Um...yeah, did I mention I was a bit behind? It's time to finish things that I started last month. Only two things made it to the 'Finished' list.

So how do I feel right now? I don't quite know. Working on getting excited about things after having the wind knocked out of my sails last month. It is what it is. Day 11 and 12.

June Wrap Up

I can't believe that another month is gone. The Summer Solstice has happened and the days are getting shorter. For many, they haven't even begun to have summer yet, for me, I'm ready for the cool breezes of fall. Fall and spring are my favorite times of the year. I can wait. I have a garden this year, so summer is okay. But soon we will be bombarded with back-to-school commercials and Christmas commercials. It would be nice if things would just slow down and we could enjoy the moment.

I did some nice things to celebrate my birthday month. I had fun and decided it was time to make some big decisions in my life. And right now, I'm very excited and looking forward to the future. So here's what I did this month.

• 5 books read
• 2 business quilts
• 1 Sashiko kit
• 4 day trips- quilt shop; Sparta, NC, Black Mountain and Asheville, NC; picked blueberries at Sandy Creek Farm
• 10 days of practicing a new language (didn't start until late in the month)
• 13 World of Wendy Lu blog posts
• 4 Wendy B Quilts blog posts
• worked on my roombox- painted the ceiling and walls
• started 2 new dolls
• went to a dance recital, art reception

It may not seem a lot but it worked for me. I did a lot of soul searching to figure out where I want to be, what I want to do with the rest of my life. I am off to a new adventure. I hope you will join me.

A New Year!

Yesterday was my birthday. I had a fun time doing things throughout the month to celebrate my special day. Capped it all off spending time with some friends at an art reception and eats at Muddy Creek Cafe. It was so good talking and laughing with good people.

Today starts my New Year. I have some major plans on the drawing board and will have to work like a maniac for the next two years for it to happen. I've been in this spot for nine years, it's time to make a move. I have started my recons to the  mountains of North Carolina and I think I've found the spot where I want to settle. It has everything. A great art/craft vibe, lots of interesting people, tons to do: tubing down a river, rafting, hiking and biking, fishing, museums, great places to eat, lots of festivals just about all year round, and natural beauty. That's for the move, I will also kick up the creative projects up a few notches. My artwork, quilts, writing will all go into override because I am moving to the mountains. I've been toying with the idea for the past several years and now I've put it out to the universe.

Am I scared? Heck yeah! But the excitement is even more powerful. You can accomplish a lot when you're excited about something. And I will document everything. So let's get started.

I got these today from a local craft store. It has a point program and if you get so many points by the end of the year, you get a $10 coupon. Yeah, yeah, you spend more than you get back but when that $10 comes in at the beginning of the year, that's when I really need something from the store. So I'm good. I've just about run out of my paints. Some, not very good ones, so I've decided to go for the gold and get better paints. One, you don't have to use as much to get the color you want. The color saturation is so much better and basically, you get what you pay for. Plus, I haven't used artist grade paints since I was last in college and that was a long time ago. Years. Eons. You get the point.

I love the little beach chair. What will I do with it? I don't know but if I'm going to go back and get a couple more, I need a good reason to do so. I have an idea and will start sketching it out. The paint is Golden Manganese Blue Hue. Coupons help too.

I've got a list to attack. Have a great day.

Monday... Again

Another Monday. Okay. My eye is bothering me. I spotted a white something on the edge of my right iris. Scared the you-know-what out of me. It feels like there's a bump on my eyeball. Of course seeing so many horror movies and a couple of episodes of Monsters Inside Me has freaked me out. I called my optometrist's office this morning and have an appointment this afternoon for her to check this space spawn out.

I finally broke open my Sashiko kit. I can't get the needle to go the way I was shown, so I'm winging it. Maybe in the near future I can learn how to do the stitch properly. So far, I just want to get my stitches even but it's very soothing once I get into a rhythm of doing the stitches.

I'll keep practicing and probably get another kit with a different design. Make a wall hanging or something. I have an idea for a bigger project and that is still on the drawing board.

I worked on the Verity doll pattern by Deanna Hogan this weekend too along with watching a bunch of movies with a repeat of The Blues Brothers. I thought this was going to be an easy week but the eye has me on edge. I have a day trip on Thursday and a blueberry festival planned on Saturday.

Cruise In Part 2 - Cars

Cars

Corsair- Corsa

Didn't get the name of this one.

More Birthday Fun- Cruise In Trucks

I went with a friend to a local cruise in of old cars and trucks. Many were absent because the clouds had opened and poured for over an hour. But there were some die hards still there.

I love old trucks. This is a GMC one. A nice blue one.

Inside a Ford.

Army truck.

My friend's 30 year old JEEP called Moss. I painted the two skull light covers.