Late Summer Crafties

After we had to put Sagan down, I wanted a very quick project to pass the time that first week.  This has a few glass beads on it too.

3 wooden HP models/kits

I did a couple custom necklaces for Sheila.

Metal Earth Dalek model.

Finished up the beadpoint and backing.

Hey it fits!  Yay me!

Picked up some funky pops in OH and this was one of my faves.  So good! Wish I'd gotten more.

One of my fave movies is 'Paper Moon', and my fave scene in it features the line,  'Now drink your Nehi and eat your Coney Island', which is said a few times.  I'm not a hot dog eater, but I had the Nehi from OH, so I couldn't resist. I know that this isn't a true 'Coney Island' hot dog but neither was the one in the movie.  It was just a generic term for hotdogs. 

This the hallway at the hotel we stayed at, Red Roof Inn in Middletown.

I asked my FB friends if anyone could photoshop the Shining Twins.  They did not disappoint.

"Hello Joanne.  Come and play.  Come and play with us Joanne.  Forever.  And ever.  And ever."

JoJo Lost Her Mojo

I'm so tired.  The exhaustion of the past few years is really catching up to me and I just haven't had the motivation to blog at all.  I post all my pics on FB and it's been feeling like a chore to put them on here as well.  

I haven't gone into much detail of my trials and tribulations because we really don't like putting a lot out there.  Before Facebook, only a few people read my blog.  Some cousins and my fellow Vincent D'Onofrio fans.  I didn't care about what I said about my life 'BR' (Before Russell) and pretty much aired all my stresses.  However, more people have access to it now and although I have no idea if anyone from FB reads it, they could and just not leave comments and my dirty laundry would be known to people.  The one cousin who wasn't into social media use to follow my blog to keep up with what I was up to and would occasionally send me an email, but she passed away suddenly last summer. 

Speaking of, my dear friend Joe passed away suddenly in June and sent us all reeling.  By 'us all' I mean my fellow 'group' who hung out together in high school and are still friends now.  Joe was part of our group.  Then I went with Val when it was time to send her beloved pupper Tia over rainbow bridge.  And now, my own sweet little guy Sagan has also crossed and I'm still grieving big time.  This is the first time since 2003 that I've had no dogs, and the first time since 1991 without a pet of some kind.  At least we still get Shadow for a couple days a week. But I miss being followed around, pestered for food, met at the door and solicited for belly rubs and snuggles.  Been trying to organize and purge some stuff in the back rooms cause it's the only thing in my life right now I can control.

The weather's been horrid all summer.  Hot & humid every single day.  Very little rain.  The kind of weather where you need a second shower after toweling off from your first shower cause it's so damn hot.  Can't really cook.   Definitely no baking. 

Haven't really done anything of interest other than meet up with Sheila to explore an old cemetery in Barnstable off Rte 6A, browse Parnassus Books and tour the Edward Gorey House.  We found all 26 Gashlycrumb Tinies hidden throughout the house.  Some are obvious....some you really have to work for!

Going through a ton of stuff as my mom's house is for sale which brings with it a whole other host of emotions that range the gamut.  It's been so hot that we haven't done much there lately but I have to get back to it.  Car repairs up the kazoo. 

I craft as much as possible.....really try to make time for that every day no matter what it is.  This is what I've done so far:

Got these tiles in Dec and used resin to stick them to this cool window frame.  Unfortunately it leaked through to the dark blue background which bummed me out. 

Finished the bead embroidery yin yang.

The Jack diamond painting only took about a month to complete.  It's all framed and ready to go to Ohio on our next trip.

I thought this was a cross stitch when I bought the kit but it was embroidery.  Charted kits like these are not my first choice and I ended up having to use the picture rather than the chart, even though the colours are also stamped on the canvas.  It has sparkly ribbon in the large dragonfly's wings.  It looks good in the frame but it wasn't a fun project to do.  I pushed through cause I wanted to put it behind me.

This is a custom piece I did for Sheila, for her brother's birthday.  He's a mechanic so I did nuts, bolts, chain, screws, drill bits, washers and little light bulbs.

This little birdie was on this branch for hours one night.  Russell said he was still there in the morning, but eventually he was gone.  No idea what was wrong but he let me get really close for a picture. 

I'll try to post some pics of the few travels I had in July.

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! 

Last Month Got Away From Me....

I have to say, I really don't know what's happening with time.  One second we are egging Val's house and the next we're ushering in May.  I can't barely remember what we even did this month.  Time loss is somewhat troubling....alien abductees report time loss.  lol  Let's hope that's not the case!  I often wonder how I got stuff done when I was working and commuting full time during the week.  I seem to be 10x busier now than when I had a job.

We've been doing some work over at my mom's.  This sickly cedar has been a hazard and we finally had to do something about it after one of the huge split off trees fell in the driveway.  It's a lot of work.  I forgot how much I hate yard work.  So that's when I go inside and start working on cleaning and purging stuff.  There's a lot to do that's for sure!!

Dragging those branches around is a lot of work.  I was pooped.

Obligatory shot of Sadie.

And Sagan.

Marsha and Annette also came over to do seascape windows.  Annette brought this mermaid which was a stroke of genius.

Marsha's came out amazing too!!!  I love the glass and stuff she brought.

I made these two.

I also put together the wooden Snitch kit that Cathy sent me.  It was a very fast project.  Decided not to paint it though.  The natural wood looks so pretty.

We enjoy visits from the resident bun.  We think he lives under the shed on the hill.  

Nonna can't be trusted in the souvenir shop.  

This is an attempt at a beach glass Inukshuk.  

And also did another metal sculpture kit of a lighthouse.  

Since I like to play fast & loose, I put the winter boots away and we're getting the new a/c units in.  I hope we have a few more weeks of nice weather before heat and humidity sets in!

Beach Cottage Shelf

I scored this hot pink shelf at the thrift shop and had to snap it up for a project I've wanted to do.  First thing though was that I had to paint the outside an off-white and light blue on the inside. 

I ordered nautical paper off Amazon and was so happy with the designs!  I meant to take pics before I started adding stuff but I forgot and glued the starfish and sand dollar in!

This whale though.  I LOVE this design!  It fit perfectly in the attic.

Next came selecting the different items to use inside. 

The top has a large snail shell and a clam shell.  The one in the middle is also a shell of some kind but it also looks like bone.

The starfish isn't real but looks real.  The shells are ones I've found on our beaches, including the clam shell still attached.  I added a bit of glue to the back of it to keep the hinge from eventually breaking.

Beach glass is from my friend Barit, who gifted me a giant vase full of glass she didn't want anymore. 

My friend Karen sent me a bunch of sand dollars from Maine a few years ago.  This is real.  I found the small ones around here.

Message in a bottle with some shells.

Last but not least is a small glass tealight holder full of beach glass.  The tealight holder is glued to the bottom of the shelf but the glass is loose.

This was a really fun project and took just a few hours one afternoon.  It was mostly waiting for glue to dry!