I found a couple diamond painting kits on sale and picked them up.  Unfortunately, the orca picture looks nothing like the photo on the website.  What I didn't realize at the time I bought it was that the measurements were in cm, not inches.  15x20 translated into inches in my mind.  Only later did I see the cm next to 15x20.  So the smaller a diamond painting is, the less detail it can contain.  

I also picked up a floral kit which was a bit bigger and I knew the dimensions really wouldn't matter much since it was just psychedelic flowers, and I like the way this came out.  

Picked up a plain birdhouse at Marsha's yard sale and paid homage to our trip to the midwest.

This is a Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign design.

A few weeks ago my mother in law showed me a super decorated key that she saw in a magazine so I went right home and made one.  

Indulged myself in a couple of Russian bead embroidery kits and this was a free gift project.  Worked it up really fast in about 90 minutes one afternoon.  Came with the paper frame and a magnet.  It's on the fridge.

Made a bday card for Marsha.

Another Russian bead embroidery kit.  This is much different from any of the American kits I've done.  This was a very pleasant project that took 2 days' work. The fabric is like a heavy duty silk and I love the space and stars background.  

Here it is finished.

I've got a couple more bead embroidery kits to get to, now that I can stitch again.  It's going to be a busy summer, which will end with another trip to Ohio in late August, but I'm still hoping to squeeze in crafts and day trips.  We'll be taking care of Shadow 2 days a week too.  Crazy busy! 

Projects

Made myself a Harry Potter themed hanging thing.

I started with owl beads in the house colours, then added bead sets I got from Jesse James Beads and at Michael's.

I used half sheets of Shrinky Dink plastic to trace and colour the house crests and they shrank to the perfect size.

Several years ago I found a pic online of a beaded curtain with gorgeous crystal drops.  I even found and bought the crystals and curtain rod.  But they languished in the craft room, gathering dust for about 4 years before I took them out.  First I was going to string them on driftwood because I didn't think I'd have enough of the super cool beads I'd been collecting.  The original project had 23 strands and my layout only had 15.

But I grabbed a few more clear drops and did them on the curtain rod anyway.  I wrapped the top with green florist tape and then put the wire loops over that so they wouldn't slip on the metal.  After it was done, I wrapped another layer of tape to cover the wire.  My version has 19 strands and I'm happy with it.

Another key.

Eclectic altered art Altoids tin.  I just kept gluing weird stuff to it, and using glitter paper.

I found some wood slices at a craft store in Fall River when I went to visit Russell after his surgery and I broke out the wood burner.  These are addictive.  I made a whole bunch of Cape Cod cause I thought they'd sell at the craft fair but they didn't.  Some have a heart on Sandwich.

My friend Debby sent me a Seahawks Goodie Package that included a 3D chipboard 'build your own Space Needle'.  So I did that, painting it and adding a glitter coat.  I found the blue sparkly numbers at Walmart which was awesome.  The 12 being for the Seahawks fans, known collectively as 'The 12th Man'.  

I also made gingerbread cookies on a particularly cozy, rainy day and here is the Needle's cookie counterpart.

We found out that the baby (due in July) is going to be a boy, and will be named Mark Russell.  We were in the Christmas Tree Shop and he spotted the personalized stocking with Mark's name, and I found Jeff's but of course Dale & Casi weren't on there so I got 2 blanks and did them with silver puff paint.

Bday card for my stepdaughter.

At a bit of a craft standstill for now.  I am working on a cross stitch that I have screwed up so badly that it's become tedious.  Maybe I'll take up colouring again.

Making More Stuff!

Continuing on with crafts, I finished this up after a marathon session one afternoon when the nipper showed up 6 weeks early and took everyone by surprise, especially the mother!!!  

I'd done a bunch of paint-pour ornaments, one of which was pink, so I decided to add the puffy paint with her name.  The back says '2014', and there are 2 heart shaped rhinestones on either side.

And of course I couldn't just take the easy way out and buy a card.

This is the inside of the card.

I saw a tutorial for a Pet Ghost in a Jar HERE, and decided to put one together.  It took way less time than I expected it would and I had to fudge a few things but it came out so CUTE!  I did use the battery operated tealight under the lid like in the instructions but it isn't very bright at all.

More steampunk keys.  My craft shows are coming up soon so I thought I'd make some more.  I forgot how time consuming it is to make them.

More paint-pour ornaments. They are still hard to get total coverage, despite multiple coats and drying them in the oven.  Then of course I broke out the rhinestones, mostly to hide the flaws in the paint.

I saw a thumbprint reindeer ornament on Pinterest so decided to give it a try.  

I'd also been wanting to try these chocolate kiss pumpkin cookies.  I was underwhelmed by the results.  For one, I had to cut the recipe in half because I didn't want 5 dozen cookies, so I think I may have screwed up on the measurements.  They came out kind of bland and dry.  I only had dark chocolate kisses instead of regular.  I hate throwing them in the trash but I really don't think I'm going to eat them.   

We're still having such nice weather that I'm back out there, eeking out as many walks as possible before winter sets in for good.

A Coupla Cards, a Shell Thing and a Pretty Star

Thought I'd share a couple of new cards I made recently.  

The top one is a thank you card I made for Angie, using a vintage postcard of Mt. Desert Island in Maine, where she lives, and some ocean-themed elements.

Inside of the card

This one was for an old friend of ours, who is battling cancer. 

And the interior of that card.

My friend Barit went to Sanibel Island, Florida over the Christmas holidays and she brought me back a big bag of amazing shells.  Sanibel is known for it's incredible shells.  I made this with pink fresh water pearls on a piece of driftwood from White Horse Beach.

Whipped this off in about 90 minutes right after the snow storm.