WOYWW

Wow!  It's been forever since I played along with Julia at The Stamping Ground's WOYWW!   What have I been up to?  Well....just being pregnant and working full time has taken up most of my crafting time!  The first trimester was pretty rough because morning sickness (that lasted all day) for the first 13 to 14 weeks.  But I'm now 18 weeks along and feeling much better.  I can almost always keep down food, and I can pretty much eat what I want (that's healthy for baby of course).   Most of my crafty projects lately have been all digital.  I'm trying to keep up with a weekly Project Life this year after all there are so many changes happening this year! 


Here's a layout for PL.  I used a kit by Jen Wright Designs called Salt Life.  It's a beach themed kit, but I liked the colors so I wanted to use it for a non-beachy layout :)  I think I used a PL template by Julie Billingsley and font by Darcy Baldwin (now both retired designers).

Here's another layout I made this last week with a kit by Erica Zane and template by Cindy Schneider.  This kit had a fox theme, but I loved the colors so I just had to find a way to use it :)

I've also been trying to document every week of my pregnancy in a Smash Journal.  I love the Smash journal format because it's no pressure!  I can write in question for my doctor, slap in a picture, and do whatever!    :)

 I'm a little behind with it too.  I'm all the way to week 18, but I didn't hardly journal at all for Weeks 16 or 17.  I guess I need to so some catch-up!

 

Well!  Thanks for popping by!   I'm going to try to pop by a couple of blogs today before I have to head off to work.  

Thanks for visiting!

Peace and Love, Y'all!

WOYWW

So it's Wednesday. And that means it is what's on your workspace Wednesday time. Thank you Julia, for hosting it (http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/).  This week I have a new set of watercolor paints and a blank page on my workspace. What could be more inspiring than that? During my visit to Little Rock Arkansas, I visited Art Outfitters. Beth talked me into grabbing some more watercolor paints. She recommended a brand I haven't before (Daniel Smith Extra Fine), so I'm really excited to give them a shot.  

 

 

Something new to my craft room is this China cabinet. I inherited this China cabinet from my grandmother.  It features a lot of my teacup collection. It also features some hand-painted china painted by my great-grandmother.  Both the China cabinet and the hand-painted pieces are treasures to me :)

 

Of course no blog post would be complete without one of my pets, and here's Ruby. She's right in front of a statue that my brother got me for Christmas a couple years ago.

 

And just because you were probably curious, here's what's inside the wardrobe.   A couple of months ago, my mom visited and helped me organize everything in here. The neat little labels help me find art supplies, and make it easier to work :). 

Well thanks for dropping by.  For Valentine's Day Chase purchased a gift certificate for a massage. After I get that massage today maybe I'll come back and do some painting.  :)

Peace and love y'all!

At 4 pm today: 

WOYWW - Noah Elf

Here's what I was working on this Wednesday morning! 

Even though I don't have children yet, I love the idea of Elf on the Shelf...probably because the pictures are just so much fun!  Chase and I live on a budget though...and those elves are expensive!  So I decided to venture out and try to crochet one. 

I used this pattern on Ravelry by Jill Watt 

Here's how it happened....

Looking good...I put pipe cleaner in the limbs so they would be flexible :)

Stevie (my blind kitten) wanted you all to know she helped too!

I tried to make the head according to the pattern directions, but I just couldn't... So I decided to wing it, and this is how it turned out!  Elves shouldn't be bald though...and I think his hat needs a little fringe!

Hmm...Did I accidentally make my elf look like my husband?  Maybe?

Stevie thinks this Noah Elf character may have turned out alright.  Noah Elf likes being kind to the animals :)



So that's my workspace this week!   Now I'm off to bit of blog hopping (and maybe clean my house too).

Peace and Love, y'all!

WOYWW - quilting

 

It's been a long time since I participated in WOYWW!   And I'm a bit late this morning... So what's on my workspace this week?   A whole box of t-shirts (with a wet, blind kitten on top - it was Stevie's bath day), a stack of books about quilting, my ott light, and just some odds and ends.  I've been researching a quilting project.  I have about 22 of my late grandfather's flannel shirts (right now they are spread out on my guest bedroom bed).  I first wanted to make wedding presents for the 2 cousins getting married this fall....then I thought.. but what about my parents, 3 uncles, and 7 cousins...who all loved my grandpa.   Is there a way to make something from 22 shirts for 12 different families (including mine)?  Maybe a 2 quilt block wall hanging for each one.  Then I started thinking...there's no way I can get them finished in time for even the weddings...and I recruited help from an aunt.  She came up with the idea of making it a collaborative project between all the women in my family.  Awesome!  So in a couple of weeks we'll have a fantasy shirt draft (the women's counterpart to my family's fantasy football draft).   

I'd love ideas on what to do with my grandpa's shirts (and my t-shirts too)!  Maybe once Operation Papa Shirt Project gets moving I'll share some pictures from it!

Peace and Love, y'all!

WOYWW

Thanks to Julia for hosting this blog hop (http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/)!  I'm afraid I didn't make it to many at all last week since we were [anxiously] waiting to hear when to pick up some foster kids.   I'm hoping to have more time today for blog hopping :)


Here's my work table this week.  This is the table I took over when we got a new dining room table :)  I'm working on cards for swaps now.  I've also got my postage scale (used at the moment for weigh a chinchilla that's not been feeling well), various cutting tools, the trashcan (on the table because the dog thinks of it as a buffet), and flower shaped grippers for opening jars (going to try them on the Gelli plate). 


Today is a day off.  I'm hoping to vacuum thoroughly, change the sheets in the guest/foster bedrooms, clean up the chinchilla cage, and dust.   I'd also like to blog hop, watch Star Trek on Netflix, paint, and play with the gelli plate!   We'll see what happens!

Peace and love, y'all!  Thanks for visiting!

EDIT - Noon-  It sounds like we may be getting the boys ("Luke" and "Lando") tonight.  You never know when you'll get that phone call as a foster parent. 

EDIT #2 - I turned off Google plus commenting.  It was ridiculous.

WOYWW

So what's on my workspaces this Wednesday?  (to play along go to The Stamping Ground with miss Julia)



Not to much going on,  I just packaged these up to mail to the swap host.  "You Deserve a Medal" mixed media swap.    The awards I made:  Most Flexible Toes, Suvivor of Firework Season, You are my Sunshine, and Biggest Flirt.  Looking back, I wished I had a made a Monday Surivor one lol... I was so clumsy on Monday!



PSA.  As some of you may know, I've been battling spiders in my household.  I now believe I've found and eradicated the...erm...nests of them.  I found 2 gravid female brown recluses(as well has about a half a dozen little spiders.  while cleaning my garage and spraying in there.  Hopefully I have eliminated the major source of my spider problem.  I can only imagine what a sight it was for my neighbors - I dragged every last bit of junk out of my garage.  Swept out the entire thing...as I found the nasty brown recluses...I'd smack them with the broom repeatedly...most likely yelling the whole time.   SQEEEEEE!!!   Cars kept slowing down like looking for a garage sale.   After that, I sprayed the entire garage with a pesticide.    Since the garage was cleaned and decluttered, we purchased shelves and plastic storage bins to keep it that way.   I can officially say - we very likely have the cleanest garage in the neighbor hood.  We also purchased a shop vac...so I can keep the sucker clean without moving everything out again.

PSA:  I just thought I would share how to identify a brown recluse.  The brown recluse is also called the fiddleback spider and that nickname can help you remember how to identify them.  Ok...so you see that the spider has 2 main body segments.  The head/thorax (called the cephalothorax) where the legs are attached and the abdomen.  The cphalothorax is mostly pale brown (tan) with a dark brown shape in the center of it.  The dark brown part is shaped like a violin with the neck of the violin pointing towards the abdomen.  The brown recluse also has 6 instead of 8 pairs of eyes...if you care to count them.  Anyway...here's a picture of what I presume to be a big fat female....ready to put more of the little nasties in my garage.  I snapped this picture right before I launched my broom squishing attack.  As bad as their bite is...they really aren't aggressive spiders...and usually don't bite unless pressed against skin.   That being said, I've become rather strict about making/checking beds, keeping clothes off the floor, and keeping cardboard out of my house.



Peace and Love, y'all!

WOYWW - 5Ks and Organization

Happy What's on Your Workspace Wednesday!  To play along and share your workspace with crafters around the world, visit Julia's blog.


Here's my crafting area this week.  My fabulous parents came up last weekend to visit and run a 5K (their first).   We ran on Saturday and spent some time in the historic downtown of St. Charles, Missouri.  I'm so proud of my folks for trying to exercise and for training for this race!

On Sunday, my mom and I spent the first half of the day organizing my craft room.   They brought up a huge new dining room table (seats 8 people) so I claimed the old table for my craft room.  LOL I went from a 25 year old table to a 34 year old table (but I love it!).



Here's the old dining room table.  My dad made the comment that I've now taken over 3/4 of that room. My husband just gets a corner that he shares with the chinchillas.

I have empty shelves now!  What should I fill them with?

My mom labeled all my boxes.  We also took everything out, dusted the shelves, and patched up the holes (supposed to be there for wires to run in).  My chinchillas were scurrying up the back of the armoire, going through the holes, and chewing on my watercolor paper.   Bad chinchillas!  

David, Beth, Me, my dad, and my mom before the race :)

WOYWW - Morning of art

Here's my workspace today.   I'm hoping to do some watercolor this morning....or maybe make some Moos (once I figure out what they are and what  I want to do).  Also sort on my workspace (the red couch) is a green book I'm working on.   When I've been playing with the Gelli plate, I "clean" the plate and my brayer in/on the book. 

 One of my favorite gelli prints is on the portable desk.   I don't really own a lot of stencils and stamps, but now that I've found a fun reason to own them... maybe i should go shopping.   What are your favorite sources for stamps and stencils? 

 Also on there is the wii remote (for Netflix), 2 prang sets, some source photos for painting, my cup of coffee, and some brushes.  A little list of swaps I want to make cards for is sitting off to the side.  LOL, i'll probably just blog hop all morning and not paint anything.  My poor little dog is on the floor.  She refused to go outside this morning because it was raining.   She keeps running over to the window and peering out.  She's a smart little thing...she'll probably let me know when she deems its safe to go out. 


Thank you, Julia, for hosting this fun little snoop!

Visit to my folks - WOYWW

Happy What's on Your Workspace Wednesday!   I'm posting really late because I've been traveling.   I spent the entire morning at a local art supply store trying out new stuff and visiting with family :)  Since I'm traveling, I'll have to do some blog hopping later this week :)

In a spur of the moment decision, I decided Monday to visit my family in Arkansas over the holiday.  

I wanted to see the new baby in the family, visit my folks, and more of my family at Art Outfitters. 


Art Outfitters has a  station where you can play with a Gelli plate for making prints.  We had such a fun time a bought a 8x10 one :)

The Gelli Station

 

Will and my mom practicing

All of my family at Art Outfitters :)

My mom and I are loving on the newest member of our family.    My cousins are so proud of this sweet little bundle of joy, and they are wonderful new parents.   Who knows...maybe in the next 2 years, Chase and I will decide to have our own.   All in God's timing :)


Peace and Love, y'all!  

WOYWW

Hello fellow WOYWWers!   Thank you Julia for hosting this blog hop!   We all appreciate it!


Here's my workspace this week:



It's my coffee table. It's a great coffee table for art b/c you can just windex it when your done.  I don't worry about getting paint spatters or anything on it!  I've been messing a lot with my watercolors.  I realized I've got 6 different sets (and 1 duplicate), and of course I don't use them all.  SO I made a chart of the colors of all 6 sets.  To be honest, my cheap prangs had some of the most vivid colors :)

Also on my desk are some ATCs I made for some swaps, a postage scale (for mailing returns from swaps), an ott light, my pop tart breakfast, a cup of coffee, and a declogger thing my husband was using on the vacuum.  You see... neither of my 2 vacuum cleaners are functional at the moment.  I'm a veterinarian without a vacuum cleaner....and the fur is starting to pile up!  I really, really hope the belt I ordered will come in today!  Speaking of fur, one fur-contributor is in the top left corner: Ruby dog is wondering what I could be taking a picture of (instead of putting her diet dog food in her bowl).


Hopefully today...I can clean a little, repair at least 1 vacuum cleaner,  and do some painting!


ps - Gus-gus is doing much better this morning (after being attacked by Bert last night)

What's on your Workspace (ie...spread all over your house) Wednesday

So this Wednesday, I'll admit....I've made a right mess of the entire house.  There are cards on the kitchen table with my paper cutter, scraps on the kitchen floor, cards on my husband's desk, cards  on the coffee table....and on my desk is well...more cards and my water colors. Here are close ups of the art that is scattered about the cards I've been making.  I'm hoping to sell some of the cards at craft fairs and at work and what not. 

Play along with WOYWW over at Julia's blog http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/






Light house watercolors...

 

This is a portrait of John Wayne I did for my boss for her birthday.  I hope she likes him. I had a hard time getting the weathered look of his skin, and my hubby says I made his nose too straight.  Oh well!

Here are all the greeting cards I've made. 


Peace and love!  Thanks for popping by!

WOYWW

This week I'm off on Wednesday!  Play along with us at the lovely Julia's Blog.
 

 

There's not too much today...just breakfast and a cup of coffee.  In the lower right we have a Passover dinner guide. We're having a couple over for dinner tonight to celebrate the Last Supper.  I still have to go to the grocery and purchase some supplies.   ...and there's a whole house to clean and get guest ready!  My husband baked a cake last night (it was delicious) so my kitchen...is just a bit mess too!  Ugh!  I'll try to pop in and visit some blogs during cleaning break!

Peace and Love, y'all!

What's on my workspace (ie, couch) today?

Here's what I'm working on this week:  I'm on the home stretch for making this quilt!  I'm going to get it done today!!! Thank you, Julia for hosting WOYWW http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/. 
 

Here are the cinnamon rolls I made from scratch this week :)

Sewing and cooking!  Maybe I'll do some painting later today!  Thanks for visiting!  Up next Foster Class #6: Discipline.

WOYWW - Challah bread resting and quilt

Play WOYWW with the lovely Julia over at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/.

Here's what I'm working on this Wednesday morning: 



Challah bread is resting and about to be glazed with egg, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and baked.  Not picture is God's portion...which I pinched off and put in foil so it will burn in the oven.  This is a traditional Jewish bread made on the sabbath.   I'm not Jewish, but the bread sounded really delicious.  It's got honey, oil, yeast, flour, salt, and water :)  I hope it turns out yummy.  Maybe I'll post a picture when it's out of the oven.

Here's the other project that's on my workspace this week:  a  quilt I've been working on for 3 years. I'm finally going to finish it!! #determinedcrafter


In 8 minutes our foster licensing specialist will arrive for another 2 hour interview and home tour.   This is the 3rd in house interview.