Where Did February Go?

Even though there was an extra day this month, February blew by. And ending with a snowstorm in the Midwest. I have some really cool news that I'm waiting for the go-ahead to tell everyone. Something I can cross off my Bucket List. Lent is now on and I will be working it. Not necessarily a religious thing for me but a time of reflection, get back to eating healthy, get back to exercising on the regular, get old projects done, new projects started... basically, work on me.

The first two months of the year and new decade have been okay. A few downs but mostly ups and I'm feeling fine. Haven't been able to say that in awhile. Going out on the limb to try new things. Getting back to enjoying the process of creating. Realizing that some projects just won't see the light of day. And that's okay. I've got a cargo ship load of ideas. But so far, the year is on an even keel.

Kept up with my 29 Faces art challenge. Have one more face to do. Maybe. Previous years it's been 28 faces but this is Leap Year so I guess I'll do one more. For the heck of it.

I'm thinking about turning some of these into dolls. Working on a size and what to make them out of. Air dry clay, polymer clay... not sure just yet. And all are from the same basic face I started with. Not bad I'd say. The next 40+ days might be a challenge. My plan is to complete 20 pieces of work. We'll see how that goes. Stay tuned.

Is it April?

I know things happen. It's called life. It's how you bob and weave, roll with the punches, take a dive into something new and fall into a pile of very large and very soft cotton balls or slam into a concrete slab. You get where I'm coming from. No matter what plans you have, or goals, or deals with psychic bumble bees, there is a little imp or pixie or freaking faerie waiting in the shadows to throw things at you. Anything from the size of pebbles to... I don't know... boulders.

I thought that this was going to be a decent month. Ha, ha, haaaaa. Yeah. I have to remind myself to look at the nice and good things that have happened and not have the weird, 'you've got to be kidding me' stuff take over my thoughts.

Right now I am waiting for the Bug Guy to get here. His window is 9 AM to 11 AM. Because he's new on the route, he probably won't get here until 10:45. I won't be able to go work in the dungeon because I won't be able to hear the doorbell. So what's a gal to do? I searched high and low for some fabric to make some new bedroom curtains. Nothing complicated, just something to keep the extra light out. Street light, moonlight. That sort of thing. The piece I was looking for took about ten minutes to find. It was pretty. But would work better as part of my table cover for my next show. Drats! I continued looking. Found something nice but not enough yardage, then something nice but would look better as aprons. This was not going well and I was tearing up things I'd already straightened. I finally found something that will work. The stripes may not go in the direction I think they should but no one but me will see the bloody curtains. Today, I will make curtains. If it's the only creative thing I do.

April has been screwy. One big fool joke. Where the heck is spring? We got up to 60 degrees early on and then snow, rain, high winds, snow, icy mix, then a melt, and more snow. Today it's supposed to be in the 50s. Of course I feel sorry for all the migrating birds right now. I'm sure they are way confused and possibly starving. The neighborhood heron and egret have returned. The birdsong has changed. And a herd of six deer ran through the yard. Please, no more snow. Not only has it screwed things up for the birds, it's screwed things up for me. I'm off my days again. One week I thought it was Friday for the whole week. This week I thought yesterday was Friday. What do I wear? I know about layers but that's getting old. I've had a doll show, a funeral, and I've been given more responsibility at the other job. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one. I was exhausted after the funeral. I had three days off from the other job. Sort of. I did laundry, caught up on paperwork, paid bills, cleaned my bathroom, vacuumed the whole house. Then I sat and read. That's it. Part of my brain was yelling at me that I should be doing something. But I needed that time to regroup.

Regroup. I was working on new dolls for the show but the design wasn't sitting right with me. Yes, I messed up some fabric (I don't have a lot of it for skin tones), and stuffing, and time. I began the usual of beating myself up but the dolls weren't working. So this morning, I started to take them apart and unstuff them. Along with wash fabric for the curtains.

Breathe. I will unstuff while waiting for Mr. Bug Man. Then to the other job. I will make curtains today. See ya!

Day 6 and Day 7

I almost started to kick myself for not having done anything on Day 6. Once I reviewed the day, I realized that I had done something. I looked at Blythe photos on Pinterest. It doesn't matter how big or small what you do as long as it gets your further along with your goal. Score!

Day 7. I got some good sketches done and they are ready to be painted.

Day 5

It took me two hours to get to this point with the hat. I went through a lot of paper, made the first mock up which didn't fit her head, the second one did and then there was the brim. I was so happy it worked.

30 Day Challenge

I've started going to a Life Transformation group to make my life amazing. So far so good. It's led by life transformation coach Megan North Shuford. We did exercises, writing on index cards what we want, what we want to be, do and all thinking about how it will make us feel once we get those things. She challenged us to do one thing for 30 days that will lead to the big goal. No matter how big or small that thing is, do something each day. It doesn't matter if you get the goal at the end of the 30 days, it may come in 30 months but the thing is to get moving towards a goal. I've taken on that challenge.

I've wanted to make doll clothes. I've always loved dolls and having a background in costuming, why not? So my goal is to attend Blythe Con in Tokyo and sell out of my doll clothes. The fun and excitement is getting there. Day 1: I wrote down things I would need to do. That was Saturday. Day 2: I sketched some heads and hats for one dress I've already made. I'm not going to take into account the clothes I already started. I will show them when they are done. Or maybe I'll just show what I've done. I'm not very good on challenges but I will give this my all.

The two outfits below are made out of muslin. To see if the pattern works, how it fits. I did make adjustments to the hat. It took me almost two days to get a pattern that worked for this little outfit which is based on an early 1900s bathing suit.

It took a whole day to get the dress pattern to work. I can lengthen or shorten or keep it this length.

A Breakthrough... Maybe

I haven't been creating much of anything in the past couple of years. I have been quilting but that's my new business. I haven't been designing or making any new dolls or Halloween pieces. Even though I've been doodling ideas, nothing has come to being. I asked myself why? What was I doing or not doing that stopped my producing artwork? I know I had a creative block a few years ago and knew why but this was something different. I looked at my art/craft friends on Facebook to see what they were doing because they were producing work. Whether they made art as their main business or as a second business, they were getting things done. I found that they not only had ideas, but sketches. Those sketches obviously gave them a springboard to do the final piece, whether the final piece looked like the sketch or not. And that was my problem.

I have goo gobs of ideas, some sketched on tiny pieces of paper. I had begun to group them together and got down to three piles. And that was as far as I got. I didn't separate them into groups such as dolls, busts, ornaments. I didn't make anymore detailed sketches so that I would absolutely know what I was thinking about doing. So for the next week, I will separate and arrange my mini sketches into group ideas. I will then pick ones that I can develop and sketched them out more. Then I can finally get down to work and make something. And I made a deadline. I will reopen my Etsy shop March 1. Period, the end. Wish me luck.

I have been doing some snail mail art. I had promised some people letters and they are finally getting them. This is my second batch.

It was fun doing them. After pulling out a few teeth to just get started. Hopefully we won't get anymore snow for a couple of weeks. I'll head back into the studio tomorrow. Have a good week!

Day 1- Drawing a Day

I did my drawing last night using a prompt from Craftsy.com. I haven't cross hatched in a long time. It was easy enough to do, I used a smaller sketchbook, which was a suggestion of theirs to keep your drawings small. I don't feel as intimidated. We'll see how long I can keep this up. I don't want it to be something that I stress over but with the small amount of energy I had left last night, I managed to get something done. Here it is.

Oh My!

This month is going by way fast but I'm determined to enjoy and work one day at a time. Plan a bit for the future but I'm only guaranteed today. I've been working very hard on my new quilt service business but I will also be making quilts for sale. So while I'm waiting for the longarm service part to increase, I'm working on a Nine Patch in green and white, an Irish theme. You know, St. Patrick's Day is coming up.

I've also started on my last Gail Wilson doll kit. Because I'm itching to make a doll. My eyeballs won't let me quilt all day and I miss making dolls.

I have been reading and may hit my three books a month goal. I still haven't written anything but that will change today.  A sketch too. Because it's my day and that's the plan. I also have some alien ornaments that need tending too, so I guess I better get started. And the laundry. See ya later.

It's The End of The Road -no picture post

Goodbye 2014.

I am grateful that I made it through the whole year. Many weren't as blessed. But I made it. It wasn't the worst year but it wasn't great either. I was sick the first part of 2014 and then I seemed to just languish. I did learn some things so I guess I grew a bit. The one thing, looking back, that I see where the problem lay (at least a part of it) was that I had no goals. I don't believe in resolutions but I do believe in having goals to make my life pleasant. To have a sense of being.

I am a list maker. There are many who don't make lists and that's fine. I've discovered that I need lists. Lists of goals. 2014, I had no lists. Not even one, and I floundered all year. And that was pretty bad because nothing got done. I wasn't creative at all. I waited for things to happen and they didn't. I was miserable, I racked my head to figure out where I'd gone wrong. And it was the list (s). I had previous one's from 2013 on my wall. Really? I don't want a repeat of 2014.

SO...

I've got new lists. Quite a few lists. A list for things I need to do everyday. Without fail.

• write one page or edit one page
• read
• sketch

No ifs, ands, or buts about these. Whether it's for 10 minutes or an hour, these are a must.

There is a QUILT list, for all my quilting projects. My WRITING list to finish up stories and start editing my work. Someone else might like to read this stuff besides me. ART A MONTH list. Yeah, I'm still working on that one. February is 29 Faces where you make a face a day.

• January - I will work on a new character, Kid Medusa
• February - 29 Faces
• March - mushrooms (I like mushrooms)
• April - bears
• May - paint like a favorite artist

You get where I'm going with this. Some of these will be a part of the sketch a day. Kill two birds with one stone thing.

A list for my DOLLS/FIGURES. Yep, Halloween and Day of the Dead are still hanging around. With an alien or two thrown in. A list for COSTUMES I want to make for me, starting with corsets for every time period I like. That falls into my LONG TERM list.  That list is for projects that will take a year or longer. I've started a room box, miniature size. I've always wanted a dollhouse. Well... we'll see if I can get a room box done. One room. A long term project for me. Same with the costumes. For me. Not to sell. Not for anyone else. For me. Because, sometimes you need to think and do things just for you.

And dagnabbit, I'm going to finish my second pair of socks.

I also have a list to HELP OTHERS. I will be knitting or crocheting and sewing some items for the Merchant Marines. Those men and women who work on the huge sea ships that bring us things from other countries. I like to sew and I like to knit. I can do those things during my down time. I'm sure there are some other things I'd like to do. Like start my Christmas cards in January. Which is tomorrow.

Now, on the other side, I may not get to everything on my lists. That's okay. I have lists to keep me to task and on track. I also have specified down time for me. One day off a week. Or two. I can do that being on my own. I want to stay being on my own. I had a hiccup year with 2014. It will be remedied in 2015.

I'm calling 2015 The Year of the Creative Juggernaught.

I'm excited and I'm ready. Are you?

Come on 2015!

Day of the Dead Mariachi Band

I did get them done before Christmas and I almost teared up because I liked how they came out. The person who ordered them, really liked them too. This is my third project completed using a combination of Rigid Wrap and Creative Paper Clay over wire armature. I want to get better at using the Paper Clay and that is on my list for 2015.

A friend helped me out and made the horn. #dayofthedead #paperclay #mariachi band

Hello Monday

Monday again.  It comes around every seven days.  Last week was a pretty good week.  I think I will post my accomplishments for the week each Monday.  My week starts on Sunday but I will post on Monday. I'm still working on keeping a three post week going.

Last week I:

• completed my blue blouse
• wrote 7305 words spread over three different pieces
• got a special order for a doll pin and got body cut out and sewn
• almost have one book read, that should be done today (still 3 book per month deal)
• painted one painting
• 3 blog posts

I just received news that I got into the Krankie's Craft Fair in September.  New people in charge and they had a jury process this time around.  I will start on the doll for the Children's Museum today.  Full steam ahead and one day at a time.  It's going to be a hot one but I will push it today.

Take care of yourselves.

Also On My Table

I've been writing up a storm since July 5th.  A total of 3892 words.  Mostly on  Map Hunter II but finished up the rough draft of a short story.  One of my goals for the month is to finish MH II rough draft.  I'm liking the way the story is coming along and my main character is finding more trouble while making new friends who help her out.  My characters have queued up again and they are quite happy I'm back to putting words to paper.

It has been a crazy past two weeks and I really can't tell you what happened except that I had some kind of epiphany and will now conduct my creativity in a different way.  I had been putting things I was supposed to be doing on hold, waiting for other things to happen.  Well, I will no longer be waiting for things to happen, I will be making them happen for me.  Time waits for no one.  So it's time to make a move.  A positive one.  Another goal is to finish one doll a week.  I had started these two gals a few weeks ago. Now they have undies.

I plan on their dress to be very colorful and have lots of braids and ribbons in their hair.  Their shoes are painted on.

I don't know why I get to 80 or 90% of a project done and not finish it.  Maybe it's a creative thing, I don't know.  I will work on that.  I will also give myself permission to do one doll at a time and not get hung up on a series of dolls.  Now I've got to tackle that Halloween list.

The Day After and a New Year

Okay then. I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July, whether you had to work or not, I hope you had a chance to spend time with friends and loved ones.  I did absolutely nothing except cook for the rest of the week.  My schedule is getting full and I've decided to make some changes.  I'm still working on being nicer to me and have decided that my time will be directed more to all that I want to do.  I'm stepping my game up several notches and moving full steam ahead on all things creative.  I don't know if I had an epiphany or what but my eyes have been open to the way I've done business.  No more.

What I am also doing is giving up one thing each month for the rest of the year.  It's a personal challenge I got from Zen Habits by Leo Babauta and I thought I'd give it a try.  It's A Year of Living Without, going a whole month giving up one thing I do regularly.  At the end of the month I will evaluate whether I enjoyed giving the thing up, whether it was worth leaving it out of my life, or do I need to put it back in.  The next month I'll give up something else.  It's an experiment to simplify one's life, finding out what's necessary and possibly making room for other cool things in my life. It's really nice because I can change my list as the year progresses if I find other things I want to give up.  At the end of the month, I will post what I've learned.  Leo is also doing the challenge which is cool.  I was debating on showing my whole list but I guess I'll do it in case you want to try to give up something in your world.  I'll start off with the first three months.

1. July - Give up TV.  Since I only have local channels that shouldn't be that difficult  But it also includes Netflix, You Tube and other video entertainment.  I've cut myself a little slack by being able to watch DVDs that I like because I work better with background noise.  I'll also be listening to a lot more music.  That's just how I roll.  I will replace it with reading more books.  We'll see how many I can finish by the end of the month.

2. August - No longer sitting longer than 30 minutes at a time.  Get up for 15 minutes and do something else. Replacement habit is to stretch more.

3. September - No dairy, that includes eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt.  Replace with more fruits and veggies.

Other things I will be doing as I move forward on this journey will be:

• Again, be nicer to me.
• Get Map Hunter II rough draft done
• Re-do my wardrobe (which is in seriously bad shape after losing lots of weight)
• Take more pictures of me
• Get going on my new Halloween pieces.
• Finish my second pair of socks
• Get that quilt top done 

That's it for right now.  Always a gazillion things to do and so little time.  Maybe I can change that around this month. Stay tuned.

A New Month

We are almost a quarter through a new year. Can you believe it? Amazing. I really feel like I'm so behind. I know I always say this but, didn't we just have Christmas? Come on now! I'm back in the coffee business. My mom sent me her French Press and I have coffee in the morning. Yay! You have no idea how loopy I've been for lack of coffee.

The first three days this month were great. Writing new material, designed two new dolls for commissions and got them started, trying to keep abreast of doing more reading for the month, and started sewing a blouse for me. I also rearranged all my writing into folders. Main folders for short stories kids, short stories adult, screenplays, long books kids, long books adults and within those folders a folder for each story and the different files under those stories.  My document page looks so nice and neat now and I'll be able to keep track of different drafts and edits for each story. Yes, I'm still a crazy lady and have signed up to do Camp NaNoWrimo for the month. My goal is 30,000 words for Map Hunter II.

I wasn't going to write down which projects I will attempt this month because it usually changes and I get other things done. So I guess I'll give it a go for this month.

• Finish Bless This House quilt top
• Finish my summer blouse
• Finish three commissions
• Read three books
• Get through edit five of Map Hunter book I
• Rough draft of Map Hunter book II
• new pieces for an art show the end of the month
• Finish my second pair of socks

Nuts?

Yes, but this is me. The commissions will most definitely get done. You know, those pesky things called bills just keep coming in. I'm also getting things prepped to start a writing website. I'll talk more about that in the near future. But you've seen the list and you can ping me and make a comment if I slack off.

Cheers!

No Pics

At least not yet. Last week was not so good. I hit a couple of speed bumps, fell into a pot hole followed by a sink hole of WTH. The two weeks before last were great as far as getting things worked on. And then... the glitch. I don't know what happened and I will not spend any time analyzing why it was a fail. Not an epic fail but one nonetheless.

Getting back in my creative saddle and back to talking to my muse and genie. Yep, I've got one. Yesterday was a good day. I've changed my strategy a bit and will use the bulk of the day to write and/or edit and make things that I can sell. After dinner will be time to work on other fun things. I am still adamant about getting my quilt tops completed this year.

• I worked on things for St. Pat's Day, which for some reason I thought was next month. I'm going to finish those pieces now so they will be ready. Boy that's going to feel good. Having something ready way ahead of time. 
• I edited two more chapters of Map Hunter. One to go and then I can retype and print off those chapters for another edit. I've seen some things that need a little padding. 
• The two Day of the Dead masks are finally taking shape. 
• I started a Celtic knot design and I think I'll put it on a pillow.
• Continued prepping applique pieces for Bless This House.

Not bad for a day. I have three more days left in this month and I'll see what I can make happen. Have a great day!

Girl's Day

Some of my gal pals (Maya, Amanda, Chrissy) and I decided to do a Girl's Day. A day of cooking, communing, and doing crafts. After all, that's what was done in the past when there were neighborhoods or way back when the women in the village got together to cook for everyone. We also want to see if it's more cost effective for everyone to chip in on ingredients, make something collectively to share than to buy stuff on our own and make the food. So far, it's the former. I wouldn't be able to make what we made by myself in one shot.

So this is what we made.

Vegetable soup or stew. Very hearty with leeks, onions, garlic, carrots, potato, tomato, celery, fresh parsley and bay leaf, organic gluten free veggie stock (we may start to make our own).

It was great being in a kitchen, cutting up ingredients, talking about life and laughing a lot.

 We also made gluten free rosemary bread. This one is mine. We made up our batters together and it was like a mini cooking class. The next time we do this recipe, we will allow it to sit a little longer and use buttermilk instead of skim milk. I tell you, that house smelled wonderful.

Here's my final loaf right out of the oven. With real butter, it's oh so lovely. After we ate, and we did eat, we pulled out knitting for about an hour. We plan on doing this once a month. Sometimes we will go berry picking when things are in season.

Almost A Week In

I can't explain it but this year didn't start off as planned. That's what I get for being excited about something. Cow patties hit the fan and you just don't know what happened. So, one day at a time. Looking back on what I was to accomplish last year, well, that didn't go as planned either. Other things did get done and were created from scratch but many unfinished personal projects didn't make the cut. But I am bound and determined to get my quilt tops together. Again. That's one of my plans. I'm not giving up.

So, for right now, this is what's going on. I'm working on a commission that I want to get done withing the next two weeks. Bills are rolling in. I want to finish the last block to my Hop To It quilt so I can put all the blocks together. I'm doing quite well keeping up with Bless This House and by the time we get to the last pieces, that will be together. I will do my best to keep up with Sketchbook Challenge challenges. This month is artist dates. Seeing as I just read the info, I'm behind a week but that's okay. I will figure out what I want to do and start this week. I really want to start sketching again.

 The last block for Hop To It. I'm finally working on it. It's not my most favorite of all the blocks and because of that, I hadn't finish the top. Now, I'm just tired of having loose quilt blocks laying around, so I'm working on it.

This is the beginning of the top panel to Bless This House. I still have to applique the trees down.

Sorry this pic is horrendous. I took it with my cell phone and not able to fix it. I can't get pics off my camera card and will be begging for help from a computer friend. But it shows the floor of my studio. I can see it and get around the room. Three trash bags of junk. I do need to make a trip to Goodwill. I can also get to my sewing machine.

I still need to straighten some things but now I can work while doing so. The creative juices are flowing again.

Here's my jar and felt pieces to cover it. It's going to be my 'Good Things' jar. I will write down when good things happen to me and place them in the jar. On New Year's Eve, I will read through them so I can be reminded of some of the cool things that happened throughout the year.

I still have lists. We'll see what happens.

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.

I'm Late, I'm late!

I know, I know. I'm late with a post. I was really trying keep up with my posts. My finger is much better but still aches late in the day/early evening. My kitchen sink had a leak, again. The faucet was finally replaced. Yay! I'm still hoping October will be good to me. It's only four days in but two of those days haven't been the greatest. I could use a break from all of these life tests.

I have been slugging it through though. As much as I would like to crawl under a blanket and sleep, I push myself to do something. Even with that, a blanket would be too hot because we're still warm and muggy here. So I take a deep breath and suck it up. I'm not giving up. I will be doing NANOWRIMO again this year. That's National Write A Novel in a Month. I'm prepping for that, along with two different doll related swaps online. It's my way of getting some pretty decent doll art without paying. They get a piece of my art too.

I've had to go back to the familiar, cloth dolls, because having been in the shop, times are still tight for a lot of people. I have to continue to make some inexpensive pieces to sell in order to be able to make the nicer pieces I want to make. People will spend up to about 30 bucks for something that isn't necessary. And that's here in my neck-of-the-woods and my experience. It's all good, as long as it helps to pay the bills. But starting next week, I will be doing my art pieces.

Here's my list for the month. It's long but it's my guide.

• blog at least twice a week
• put more cloth dolls on Etsy
• restock dolls in shops
• work on my kid story edit
• sketch every other day, preferably new dolls
• finish one commission
• start items for Krankie's Holiday Craft Show
• sew my pirate vest
• finish my short stay
• finish my last Hop To It quilt block
• prepare for NANO
• create website

I will copy and repost this at the end of the month to see what I got done. Yes, I'm a bit touched but that's okay. I like me.

Bless This House

Block 7 of my block-of-the-month quilt for this year is done. Ahead of schedule. Now I have no excuses to work like the doggies after a bone until the end of October. I am bond and determined to get this quilt top done on time.