Mini Journal

Good things come in small packages ;)

Mini Journal

2.5 X 4

 scrap paper

staples

embelishments

stamps

ink

string

Simple and quick cute project took me about 15-20 minutes to make!

And the long thankful weekend comes to a close...

Hey folks...have to tell ya I miss this place. I have felt a bit discouraged due to the message I got from blogger stating I reached some image quota and in order for me to upload images I had to delete over 1,000 images from my account which included all of my pages I had here...and its bound to happen again so I have been ...ok honestly slightly bitter. I love having this place to share and network but hate change..I don't do well with change and it kinda felt like someone changed the code to the lock on my diary you know? So..I have deleted a ton of photos opened a flickr account but don't are for that either because I don't really know how to use it and if I do I only know how to upload one image per post here and well that just sucks really.
Had a wonderful Thanksgiving...girls had plans with their boyfriends which comes with the territory once their over 18...all you guys with babies and little ones...enjoy it as much as you can cause those days are gone before you know it...we spent Thanksgiving day with our dear friends Ember and Joe...they invited us and welcomed us with open arms to their family gathering and we had a blast..then on Saturday we had a second Thanksgiving here at my place with my dad, Sam and Garett..that was awesome we had a lot of fun hanging out..cooked a beautiful turkey. Have been kinda busy for most of my holiday long weekend..but its the time of year where so much needs to be done for the holidays it was a given that it really wouldn't feel like much of a vacation or anything. So..here are a few photos from my week...

parts of my tree..

Tree..just goofin off with the camera

Had a bunch of my art and photos printed..trying to compile a large book of them for my girls

One of my favorite photos that I took in 2012

love love love leather journals..

Lots of gift wrapping this weekend I did...

What a cutie huh? These kids did a fantastic job!!

Melissa and Kevin's wedding..

Adorable..right place at the right time..not posed!

Holding hands..they melt my heart...:)

My youngest Kori at the wedding..what a cutie!

Handsome lil guy...:)

Bride and her brother

details...love the details in a wedding

Can't believe he is married and grown...seems like he was 2 yesterday..

Love is grand..

 I do not usually share the weddings that I shoot here in my blog but since this one is family I feel it is appropriate. The groom is my nephew. Actually my ex's nephew but he still calls me Aunt Debbie and I still consider him my nephew..I taught this kid how to tie his shoes say his ABC's and potty trained him...known him longer than my own children so his wedding was a special one and I felt honored that they wanted me to do their photos...this is only a drop in the bucket of 740 photos I took there but wanted to share a few of my fav's and say how happy I am for them and their new family. I love you Kevin and Melissa you were a beautiful bride..Kevin did good! :)

And so as you can see I have been rather busy...one more week of kinda crazy hours and not really looking forward to it but ..excited to meet my new boss tomorrow...and really looking forward to getting back to my normal schedule after this week that will be really nice..have not had much time for anything but work and work and sleep ...here and there...not good with early mornings have been a closer for seven years...530 comes fast and is not my friend. :)

So...using up more space here from all the photos I had to delete lets see how fast I can run out of room again...yikes! makes me very unhappy...but I'm still here..still alive and kickin and not going out any other way. Write that down. :) Good night folks. xx

Fa lalalala la la la la...

IMG_0137, a photo by peculiarme71 on Flickr.

Tree

IMG_0125, a photo by peculiarme71 on Flickr.

Loving my tree this year...

Had To Delete Pages

Ok...so apparently I have reached some sort of photo quota here at blogger.com and had to delete over 1,000 images from Picasa in order to be able to post here. I deleted all of my pages..which is fine with me because it was a great deal of much older art which I have backed up...but it still was very frustrating and I feel a bit wrong to not be warned in any way that I was approaching this quota.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving ..we sure did...so much to be thankful for. Guess what? We are seeing our first snow flakes of the year RIGHT NOW here in Michigan! :) My tree is up...it smells wonderful in this nice freshly cleaned house..feels DAMN good to have a day off...got company coming Don's daughter, husband and son from out of state who we have missed terribly...its a good day! May head out to do some stocking stuffer kinda shopping tonight and grab a bite to eat..and then tonight...its me and the art supplies ( witch like chuckle) HA!

Lots of goodies coming this way before the weekend ends...

Bits From The Week and Thanksgiving!

Hello
Hello
Hello
My beautiful friends.
I hope this finds you all well! and full of turkey and pie and stuffing and all those wonderful things we look forward to each Thanksgiving in our break breaking festivities! Happy Thanksgiving to you all. So much to be thankful for in my life...reflected on those things today more than the "holiday" you could say. Both of my girls being the ages they are had plans this Thanksgiving and missed being with them so much however, I know that Kori my 18 year old is missing her boyfriend Zack and his family since he is away at Michigan State working hard on his studies and Sam actually had the chance to work today from home and make time and a half..gotta do what you gotta do these days and so we were invited to our dear friends home Ember and Joe to celebrate and we had such a great time...more food than ever should be laid before humans..wonderful cooks and wonderful company! Thanks guys for having us, we really had such a great time.
As you may know..my life has been ever so slightly...OK that was a lie...kinda REALLY stressful and more busy than I know how to convey with words lately. Have been working a considerable amount of hours at work and my schedule has been a bit nutty...just this week I worked 10 hours Monday..10 on Tuesday ( then had all sorts of errands to run for holiday preparations) then was right back in the am to open and close for another 10 hour day yesterday..came home and started working on my tree..went to pie night at my sisters place, drove Kori back to New Baltimore, came home finished my tree, wrapped all of the gifts thus far, cooked candied yams from scratch..(which came out amazing for my first try) and didn't get in the bed until well after 2 and well today was Thanksgiving and we had places to go and people to see...it is now almost 1AM and I am sitting finally knowing that tomorrow is a FREE day! No plans, nothing important to do aside from clean well for Saturday when we have my dad and girls here for a second round on Thanksgiving! Yikes...then a free day Sunday and return to a very long schedule and new boss Monday morning!
I have really probably overdone myself in the past two weeks...shot a wedding after working 6 days straight last week and well...its catching up with me big time friends...a bit exhausted and have been so frustrated that I have a bunch of new art supplies and projects to do and haven't been able to get around to them!! So here are some photos from my week...well it looks like you will get no photos apparently I have reached some limit...not very happy blogger...seriously no warning and forcing people to use google+? Not happy at all!

Busy But Still Here

Exhausted from a very busy intense week..

but alive and kickin..many photos and things to come pals..just gonna take some time..the holidays really get overwhelming don't they? All sorts of good things in the works and on horizons..

just gotta find some time to share it all with you..be patient and keep checking back..

I have some time coming up after Thanksgiving to dedicate to just this and art and things..

Hope you are all well and here are a few photos of the fog yesterday morning..

I find each season fascinating though winter is not my favorite of them all..

When the leaves have come and gone and the trees are bare...it is interesting to see their skeletons...

how different each one is and it reveals their character..

I too, love the way the branches contrast again the sky..I really love fog as well so these were fun to work on and there are more on the way..again...I worked 6 days straight...today is my only day off and I'm not feeling so well so I'm just taking it easy before 3 back to back 10 hour days...

like the seasons change

so do people...

and just like the trees are revealed

so are we...

I feel change coming..just like the seasons... 

I can feel it coming but not sure what it is...
just like walking or driving in fog..and being unable to see very far ahead..or behind..

I will not let this week kill me!

Hello my palz..how the heck is life treatin ya huh?

I sure hope its going well for you all..

My title kinda tells you where I'm at tonight. Pretty much exhausted from this week so far. It is week 8 of a 10 week quarter at the college I work for..been working some extra hours to help them out in a time of need and help myself to a few extra hours of pay through the holidays but the kicker is that it is week 8 of 10...students are being slammed and need help which can be as challenging as a physical job believe it or not..and on top of that I am a night girl and my schedule has been flipped for just a couple of weeks to accommodate the centers needs..which I dont mind doing but I HATE mornings! I have closed and been a night owl for my entire existence and well...5-6-7am have never really been my friends. I have a hard time going to sleep before 1-2am and well you do the math lol

Aside from a hectic week..5 days of opening this week Saturday will offer little rest for I have a wedding to shoot for my ex's nephew..still call him my nephew..taught the kid how to tie his shoes, and potty trained him and now he is getting married! 

In between hectic work days and trying to prepare for the holidays..I've been trying to make some hand made gifts..been trying so hard not to share too many of them here in case their for one of you but this one is for a co worker so I can certainly share it correct? These vintage wall hangings are about 8-9 inches tall and about 12-13 inches wide I'm guessing? They are so incredibly simple to make that if a 8-9 year old who has been taught to carefully sew by hand a basic stitch, they could make these...including the flowers that take all of about 3 minutes to make! I posted on Facebook that if anyone is interested in making them I would be happy over the next week to put together a simplistic tutorial. There is no way any two would be the same..the possibilities for creativity and variations of this craft are endless..I have drawn out a ton of sketches with sloppy notes for making different ones.. some with hidden or obvious pockets to tuck notes in...This one you see has scented dry flowers inside for smell...this one has a long way to go to completion but wanted to share with you all while I have time tonight...can be made with any designed cotton material, all natural embellishments..I have collected pine cones, pine needles, pressed dry leafs and have recycled some old buttons and charms from broken jewelery that I had been holding on to..

So without further ado..

Love this image..some of the items you see have not been used yet obviously

Can't see well but about 9 inches tall

 Wated to add here that these can be made small to be put in stockings, on top of packages or anything!!

Stamped cotton flowers..take 3 minutes to make...no kidding!

love skeleton keys as many of you know..not sure what I will add to this one I draw them and then improvise as I go

 Come on weekend!

What you see is not done but will all you see..I was about do it from start to here..in 45 minutes..not bad...come a day off..I could get 5 done or more ..wanting to make myself one at some point too..

Hope you enjoyed this and you are having a good week.

It will be so glorious Sunday..to sleep past 6am. :) Tonight..will be out like light once my head hits that pillow and I get some snuggle! :) Night folks!

peace & love

Week is off to a start...

Opening this week and for the next two weeks..

body isn't use to that I'm a night owl..trying to force myself to get in the bed early doesn't always work that well for me.

However..the evenings are offering an earlier start on art projects...

sneak peak...

real pine needles, burlap, cheese-cloth, cotton, ink, Pachira aquatica = pedal or lleaf of money tree, acrylic paint and ink..so far..the start of something special. 

I do much better making my owl templates that I do using a pattern.

Don't mind the crazy scribble notes..that is how I map out what I want to do with something...it is rare I ever stick to it but its a starting point..

Thankful today for God, my girls, my families, friends, my job, 

coffee beans, good smelling candles, my alarm clock working right,

good sleep, hot showers and cool air in my window.

Breathing...the simple things in life we take from granted.

   

Huh?

"The music is upbeat and the lyrics fun and uplifting"

Seriously?

NOW I'm happy!

Bits

Some snips from some of my favorite photos of Fall

Early. Sinus hell. Work. Rain. Monday. Kroger. Joann Fabric.

Veterans Day...thankful..Thank you...

Art..Dinner...Sleep...more sleep...and back for more...

Tomorrow :)

Happy Day folks!

Oil pastels are so messy lol I love it!

There are so many elements in art that I struggle with... or the critic in my head struggles with.

I love oil pastels and I love to draw..in art it is my first love.. but I am so critical of my work and I have to really push myself and rework and rework oil pastels.  I watch videos, I read books..I try various techniques...

With honesty..I have rarely played with them despite having various sets of them. They intimidate me because I don't typically like the work I do with them..have taken photos and tracked my progress ..will share those later on...its late..

As a teen I loved their ability to blend in abstract works..however as an adult I envy those artist that oil pastel work comes natural to..

This is what is on my drawing table right now...first stages really but I like her so far..

On a far less fortunate note:

Just had to call the police and I am completely full of anxiety and shaking..

some guy and girl were in the parking lot at my apartments fist fighting.

She was screaming like a lunitic and so was he Don and I looked out and he was slamming her into the car they were both throwing punches and grabbing each other...almost 2am here..

Can't tell you what they sound does to me. 

Don't hesitate folks..call the police.

HATE that feeling and sound..

more than I can convey to any of you in words.

Saturday!

Today is April Cole's birthday..

Happy Birthday sweet friend! 

Here is a link to her blog..she is a dear friend and a fellow mail art swapper of mine..her mixed media work and paintings are wonderfully crafted with fantastic colors and her blog always full of inspiration here is a link if you are not in the know..

http://aprilmariecole.blogspot.com/

Every Friday April adds links to her blog for inspirational ideas and good reads..recipes and hand crafting..they are truly something to see and take part in! Love her Friday lovely links!

And further, still happy it is the weekend. Stayed up very late last night packing envelopes with these beautiful ATC's for swaps..making those super cute wooden decorative clothes pins and have a great deal of doing on my plate today as well. Once done here it is off to the shower for me, then to my sisters for a short visit, then to get salt for one of my crafts that calls for it...then home to a huge crock pot full of homemade chicken noodle soup...YUM..I hear it is rather nice out today but haven't been out there yet and I have a dear co worker Jeaninne who was kind enough to loan me a sewing machine she has had sitting in the bottom of her closet for years..this will help me get a head start on some of these projects while we wait to get mine fixed...

"I get by with a little help from my friends..."

I'm a lucky girl to have the friends I do...

Hope you have a fantastic Saturday..

today is a free day for my diet..I've lost 73 lbs thus far but this morning..

I made pancakes and thought omg their going to be so good...didn't even want them folks...they tasted like crap to me...eating healthy rally does get easier after a while and it begins to just taste better cause you begin to feel better!!

Whoda thunk it? 

;)

peace>>>out

Yikes...the post man will hate me...

Time to have a go about with the old man at the post office..he hates me...

he really does :/

He should be thankful me and my mail art and swaps keep food on his table.

430am and just finished packaging up everyone's ATC's...

ready for bed..zzz

Easy Artful Goodness!

Having a blast tonight with these cuties..I went nuts..had a whole bag of clothes pins and wanted to make some sort of hanging art / inspiration device..and found these on pinterest..I nailed it! Their so easy to make.

In case you want to give it a go there really are no rules I found tons of images of different uses for these as well as designs and materials used. For the ones I am going to show you I used the following supplies:

• Gesso or white paint
• acrylic paints various brands colors
• glue and gel medium..even a cheap glue stick will work ..I'm just ocd about glue.
• scissors
• scraps of scrap booking paper,  free color swatches from stores..you will see further down..
• Washi tape..this ended up being my favorite supply for these it works wonderful
• stamp pads
• rubber stamps...I like to use the cheap 1.00 ones from various stores in case I apply paint and other supplies so if they get ruined or yucked up as I call it they can be replaced inexpensively
• wooden clothes pins...super cheap you can find these at the dollar store

These can be used to hang Christmas cards...photos..keep paper and letters organized..add to a journal anything anything..

Had lots of fun with these...

Washi Tape worked great..can be simple or more complex

Acrylic painted ones were slightly messy to make...but love them too.. a bit more vintage

As noted...you can use these for various things

Rubber stamps and ink work best on ones with paper...painted ones need time to dry

love this one!

Just old scraps ..people always ask why I keep small scraps...ahem...

Cheap glue sticks work fine but if you want them last, seal with gel medium like I did

Apply washi tape while still on roll if you can ..for accuracy

these color swatches are free in Home Depot, Walmart, Meijer and others..:) gotta love free!

Cute for holding Christmas cards..Christmas lists..or even for trees..if that's your gig?

 Noe off to work on tags and a paper machet heart..will share at some point hope you enjoyed these..give them a try their fun! Even small children can make these and they can be done cheap, and with little mess...unless you are me...YIKES!

;)