Thursday.....the wannabe Friday!!!!

Just look at that mug! He looks like trouble doesn't he?

Good Thursday all my crafty friends! As I told my good friend Zsuzsa, I'm on a roll. I've been asleep for six months and now I have wayyyyy too much to say! LOLOL So this post today is dedicated to you, my friend! :) In light of that, and your fabulous feline Oreo that we've watch grow, I thought I would post a pic of Sox, who has grown equally as fast! He's a menace, to be sure!! LOL He gets into EVERYTHING and thinks our home from the back of the house to the front is the Autobahn!!! He has a strategic path that includes a quick zip over the coffee

My Tigger or Tig Tig as I call him!

One is not willing to out do the other!

table and then scales the couch and then makes a "skidding" u-turn around the chop block in the kitchen then back all over again! And mind you, if you happen to be sitting on the couch when he decides to scale it, he doesn't mind using any part of your body to make the trip! LOLOL He's still lean and mean because we haven't gotten him fixed yet (not sure what we are waiting on) but in my experience, when the big "chop" happens, they turn into grumpy old men! LOLOL Hence his counterpart Tigger who has the occasional throw back to youth days and wants to take an Autobahn turn with Sox, but it's short lived! The couch is his best friend!

Then there is Big Kitty and she's really an old fart (excuse the french! LOL) She's definitely just a couch potato and has the belly to go with it! LOLOL I don't have a pic of her today, but I will definitely get one up so you can see her in ALLLL her glory! We are cat lovers! Can you tell? The guys say an across the pond hello to Oreo today! :)

Great journal...my own pencils!

So today, not a "real" project to share as I am still working on several to share eventually. But I did want to share some happy mail that I got while I was on "art sabbatical." Even when I was taking a break the "art God's" were trying to woooo me back in by sending gifts! LOLOL So Tom, who is the co-founder of the ColoringNotebook contacted me because he had seen my blog and had sweet words to say about it and asked me if I'd review their notebook if they sent me a sample! OF COURSE!!!!! LOL What crafter turns down an opportunity to see new crafty tools????? So I wanted to post a picture of it on my blog, as promised to Tom, and give my thoughts! Woop!

So this is an awesome "coloring notebook!" I started out in the "art world" doing Zentangle and fell upon mixed media through internet searching. So this was something right up my alley. I have posted some of my Zentangle artwork here on my blog before. This little

journal has some GORGEOUS pictures (over 50) in it to "make your own" by adding beautiful colors
to the doodle pages and making them come alive! It's great to pass the time while sitting and watching TV or just when you need a break from every day life, de-stressing!

The journal itself is quite sturdy and the pages are an average weight that are archival quality and acid-free, so to me, they take colored pencil well and I would image, crayon or chalk, etc... I am not sure that I would use any sort of wet medium, although they do say that you can, but I think that would defeat the purpose for me for this journal. I like to use this for quiet, non-taxing, journaling. Not that mixed media is taxing, its just a lot more fuss and product which takes a different mind frame for me and I choose to use this journal in a low key, gear down mode.

This page to the right I was working on last night, which I love. I don't claim to be a good colorer, but it's still fun to me and reminds me of times that I used to sit around and color with my daughters. Every once in awhile, my youngest Abigael and I will pull out the old color books and crayons and just sit and color. It's fun. Nothing smells quite like crayons does it? Take that how you will! LOLOL I found this AWESOME picture towards the back of the journal when I was browsing through and it's the next one to do on my list! I love, love jellyfish! They are so ethereal to me and just one of the beautiful creations of the Lord that I wonder what His thought process was when He created them! An amazing creation!

I encourage you to go on over to the ColoringNotebook website and check it out for yourself. It's well worth having in your play stash for those down times! Bring back out the "kid" in you and do a little coloring! :)  It may be the coloring book that you DON'T want to share with the kiddos.....sorry, this one is for mom! LOLOL

My beautiful hackers! xoxo

Well, I hope you all have lovely plans for the weekend. Last weekend I cleaned the house from top to bottom, so guess what? This weekend, it's lay out at the pool time for mama!!! LOLOL I won't even think about bringing out that mop! LOLOL 

I will leave you with this "hack" photo from my cell phone! I can't leave it lying around. Those two
"selfie queens" of mine will take back to back photos of themselves on my phone and I find it later! LOLOL Got to love em! :) XOXOXOXO

Blessings

WOYWW #424

Good Wednesday morning all my crafty friends! It has been quite some time since I participated in the WOYWW's over at Julia's blog!!!! I'm so excited to be back participating! As I shared on Monday, I have been off grid for a bit with much needed personal time. I am a FIRM believer in Genesis 50:20 "As for you, you meant evil against me, BUT God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive."

The enemy of this world would have us all lost and out on our ear, but God desires His VERY BEST for His beloved creation! Sometimes we are taken "off track," BUT His word clearly tells us that for those who believe, He will make our paths straight. We just have to stay the course and stay locked into the strength and wisdom that the Spirit provides through the Son. That being said, it's not always easy and sometimes we have our own "agenda," but I believe God will wait patiently for us to hear His voice and heed His call. He's NEVER pushy, but I'm so, so thankful that He NEVER leaves us nor forsakes us until we get it together! What a mighty, awesome God we serve! My heart overflows! 

Well, I cleaned up my dusty desk and have several projects in the works! I'm so excited! Art makes me "all mushy" inside! LOLOL Today, I will show you one of the projects I am working on, but haven't quite finished. I will definitely share when I'm done!

Our local discount store "Ollie's," not sure if that's a nationwide store but we have them in the South and I love them, often has goodies that I pick up for crafting. This past time I struck gold! I am a HUGE Faber-Castell fan and I was stoked when I came across not one, but three Design Memory Craft kits (similar to this one) on the shelf for like $6 a piece! What??? Naturally (hee hee) I snapped them up! Two of the kits had Gelatos in them and then one of the kits had the Paper Crafter Crayons in them. All three had some sort of project in there with them, with papers and embellishments and even mediums to play with! Woop woop! So I couldn't wait to get home and start one of the projects that had a mini journal in it with Gelatos. I already have some wonderful Gelatos, but there were some different colors in this pack and I hadn't played with my Gelatos in awhile, so I was ready!

The journal pages were all different. Some chipboard, some canvas, some water color paper, etc.... pretty cool. Then this pack had some fun cardboard stencils in them that add to my little stash, some great Faber Castell mediums in little tubes, some collage papers and then this cute foam stamp. I thought for $6, it was great!

Of course, I don't take great photos with my phone (my only source) so this doesn't do all those fabulous Gelato colors justice, but I was having fun. Hopefully my end photos will be better! LOL I always gesso my surfaces first for smoother movement. I started with the canvas page and the Gelatos did fabulous! The watercolor page I decided to use the collage papers and then did a lot of "smooshing" with the Gelatos and then some dripping. The third one I started on was one of the chipboard pages. I found some cool paints in the bargain bin at our local Hobby Lobby and I had not used them yet (you know how that is.....you buy them because you just know you have to have them.....after all, they are on sale....and then they sit for a bit. LOL) Pebeo Prisme and Moon Paints! They are really cool guys. You can tell from this, but hope you can see at the finish. So, I put the pink through one of the stencils and when it dries, it will have this cool "puffy, opalescent" texture to it that is just yummy!

It's still a work in progress guys, but hope to finish soon. I have monthly journal and tag projects that I wanted to start back up on my desk as well. So plenty to share! :) I was also snooping around on Pinterest and YouTube the other day for some DIY projects, like we all do, and came across one that I thought was pretty cool and CHEAP!! Yay for me! I have my paints all crammed into two drawers and any time I want to look for one, I pretty much have to take the ALLL out to find ONE! What a snoozer to be sure! So I wanted some sort of rack to put them in, so I could see them. Well this one was EASY, FUN and CHEAP! It has it's flaws......my paints are heavy in the little racks, but probably if you don't put as many it would be better. Or.....had the space for a couple of these guys....which I don't. At least I can see them now and for $6, I think it's ok! LOL                                                                                                                It didn't fit all of my paints (imagine that), but I filled it with the ones I use most or my "go to" paints. So, until I have my "real craft room," um...er.....who knows when that will be, I will settle for the "Dollar Store" DIY's! Watch Janet's video to see how easy it was to make. I'm sure there are other ways, but this was fun and quick and if I can do it, ANYBODY can! LOLOL

I can't wait to get around to everyone's blogs and check out what has been going on with the weekly WOYWW's since I have been gone! I love looking at everyone's amazing gifts and talents! I'm so thankful to be a part and to be able to craft with all you guys! I pray you all have a beautiful, blessed Wednesday and that your upcoming weekend will be filled with fun!

Blessings

"Crickets!"

Good Monday all my long lost crafty friends!! Can it be that it has been since December of last year that I have posted! Yes, it most certainly can and is the sad case!! My craft space has looked like this 

and the only sound you may have heard from that sad little crafty space was crickets!!! LOLOL It has been a lonely, dusty table to be sure! But, I have made strides to get back into the game, with a dusting off and putting everything back into its "home" spaces so that I could get my "art game" on! LOL

I laugh now, but it has been a long hard road since January. Without revealing too much of my life, my husband and I went through a marriage battle that rocked our little family's life and right smack in the middle of all that my sweet father got gravely ill and we placed him in the hospital where we almost lost him and then he bounced back and then landed back in the hospital again! He has pulled through again (by the way he is 89 years old) and we currently have him in a rehab facility to get back tip top! Good news is he is in the same facility that my sweet mother is in. Mom is on the second floor in long term care and Papa is on the first floor in rehab. He wants to get better and go home, where he was actually living on his own, but we will see how that all plays out. Quite frankly, if I don't see another hospital for a long time, that will be alright with me! LOL

My husband and I have worked through a huge storm, which I believe is God's divine design! It will be a daily process to be sure, but one we are willing to do. My girls suffered as well as my health, but God heals ALL things and we are all in the process of healing! When we hang on to his promises, by faith, God is faithful to remain with you in the midst, strengthen you and fill you with so much grace and love to carry you through!

I have missed my beloved art creativity and all of my wonderful crafty friends and have been itching to get back into the swing of things as well as all my wonderful monthly challenges that I had so much fun with. So today I will share a project that I finished last week for a dear neighbor who just lost their precious daughter to a battle with cancer. I wanted to give them something that would be a daily reminder of their Father's love for them during this time of loss, but also His strength for them as they move forward remembering how precious a gift she was here on this earth and remind them of the hope of eternity with her in Heaven. They have blessed our family tremendously over the years, so I felt I wanted to bless them back!

I always keep wooden crosses in my stash because I love, love doing those for people. It brings me such joy to do them and give them away to people. So I started this one by collaging Tim Holtz tissue paper and gold foil design tissue paper onto the cross with Mod Podge. Then going through my "bits and bobble" stash and pulling out things I thought would make for good collage presentation. I love doing that because it's always cool to see how nothing (i.e....buttons, coke can tabs, washers, etc...) turn into something! Thanks to Finnabair, we've all learned how awesome that can be!

I gave the cross a light coat of gesso and then a heavier gesso coat to my "bits and bobbles," and then I pulled out my Caran d'Ache Neocolor crayons and my Tattered Angels Mists and just went to town on both! It was so much fun getting all "inky" and messy again! Made me remember how much I have missed my beloved mixed media art!

After everything dried, I just began to assemble the pieces with some corrugated cardboard that I had misted along with some gauze I had also misted with hot glue. I added a flower I had made out of book page and a Prima flower along with this great crown that I had found in the "bargain bin" at my local craft store. I also added some lace that was gifted to me from Tonya Gibbs, who I love! I found the word "cherish" from Tim's chit chat pack and finally, I added some of Finnabair's butter glass beads, some bling and a "K" for her name which was Kim!

I would ask that you keep that sweet family lifted up. She was young with two children, so her husband and children will be adjusting to a new life without wife and mother and my neighbors without their sweet daughter! I can't image, but I KNOW that my Father in Heaven will provide for their EVERY need and keep them close as they go through.

As a part of taking some well needed time together as a family, we went off last weekend up to the mountains. We really need a whole week together, but right now, we will take what we can get! Just want to share this family "selfie"! It was a short time together, but "TOGETHER" never the less! We had fun!

I've missed all my crafty friends and look forward to getting back into the "zone" and enjoying all of your crafty projects. I have my work cut out for me as I head over to many of your blogs and check out all that I have missed! I can't wait!

Blessings to you all!