Back to Reality Again

First, today is our grandson Dale's 3rd birthday!  How did three years pass already?? Happy birthday Little Buddy!

Well I didn't fall into a deep depression when we got home like I did after our trip in August, but it was really hard to get motivated for the rest of November.  I didn't do any craft shows this year.  We had our first measurable snow mid-month but fortunately it was mostly gone by the next day.

Did one short walk on the Canal but my foot hurts so bad so that was a quick trip.

After we got home from the trip I was desperate to get to see 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in the theatre so I went one afternoon and he went to a different movie called 'Overlord'.  BR is easily one of the best movies I've ever seen in my life.  If Rami Malek doesn't get nominated for....and win...an Academy Award it'll be a sin.  His performance as Freddie Mercury was mesmerizing.

Speaking of movies, we also went to 'Fantastic Beasts:  The Crimes of Grindelwald'.  I was a bit confused after it and probably should've watched the first movie before we went.  I left with a lot of questions.  It was good and all, but it's hard to like this franchise as much as Harry Potter because there are a lot of timeline changes with the characters that don't quite match up.  The Fantastic Beasts movies are more like someone's fan fiction brought to the big screen, even though JK Rowling is involved with the screenplays.  I would prefer if these would be released as books.

Thanksgiving was really quiet.  Val had to work till about 2 and her mom was doing her dinner at 6, so there wouldn't have been enough time for her to come all the way over here.  Since Nick & Karmyn just got engaged, we told them that it was OK if they wanted to play through at her parents' house all afternoon and then go to his mom's for 6.  It was just Russell & I and a whole lotta delish food!!!

Val's birthday was over Thanksgiving weekend.  This is the card I made her. 

Also made her a carrot cake from scratch.  

She came over the day after Thanksgiving and I took her to see 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.  It's very rare that I go to a theatre to see a movie twice but this one is worth a second look.  The last time I did that was in 1991 when 'Dances with Wolves' came out.  Here we are waiting for it to start.  This theatre has recliners and I honestly don't think I can go back to regular movie seats again.

She also turned me onto Stroopwafels.  I've never heard of them or seen them before but wow are they tasty!  Just picked up a box!

One of my friends posted a pic of a cross stitch and wrote 'please make this for me'.  So I did.  I love fast projects like these.  

Another instant gratification project.  This was a free kit with a bead embroidery I got.  It came with  the little paper frame and a magnet for the back.  Took about a half hour or so.

My friends Cindy and Michelle destashed some of their craft supplies and sent them all to me.  There are several little cross stitch ornament kits, and then this one of West Quoddy Head Light in Lubec, Maine. This just took about 3 days to complete.  I'm finding it harder and harder to stitch on 16ct Aida, especially white-on-white.  My eyesight is so shot.  😢

Can't believe Christmas prep is in full swing and then another year come and gone way too fast.

Valentines Day Card & Surprises for the Pups

Did everyone have a nice Valentines Day?  Ours was quiet.  Hubby took me out to our fave brekky joint, The Breakfast Nook, in Wareham.  I made him a card using some of the little Valentines that I got last year at Build-A-Bear.  

Of course I blocked out what I wrote to him, but this is the inside.  I meant to take pics of the card after it was completed but I went and wrote it out and sealed it up before I remembered!

The day before, we were surprised to receive a package in the mail to Pepper & Sagan from Buddy Gourmet in Iowa.  It contained some biscuits and a squeaky toy.  Because a donation had also been made to a malamute rescue, I immediately knew that my dear friends Heather & Travis, and their adorable malamute StellaBellaBurgerBear were behind the surprise!  I should've taken pics of the biscuits but those got scarfed down right away.  And of course Sagan stole the purple turtle toy.

Pepper was getting mad.  "But Ai wanna pway wiff Purkle Turkle!"

"Mama! Make him share!"

"Stoopid dumhead. It's MAI turn."

So I dug out Piggly Wiggly for her but she was having none of it.  Sagan stole him away too!

"NO MAMA! IZ MINE!"

Paint Chip Crafts, Happy Accidents and Glass Art

Pinterest strikes again.  Saw some pins for paint chip art and I decided I had to try it.  Paint chips are FREE.  You just go to your local Mallwart and Home Depot and grab a bunch of colours!!!  I made a card with some chip strips.  Incidentally, I've found that one chip goes a really long way, as I used them to punch circles and cut strips.  Very little of them went to waste.  I left the names and stock numbers on purpose.

This was really fun.  Just punched out and layered circles then stuck them on some white card stock.

Then I thought I'd try using a snow flake punch and then a circular punch together.  The results aren't what I was expecting but I was extremely excited to see what happened.  I started making a whole bunch of crescent moon snowflakes for future use.

I tried rubber stamping on these chip samples but I'm not good at rubber stamping at all.  There's either too much or not enough ink, and of course some of them got smudged.  These are supposed to be bookmarks.

Celestial themed card using the moon/flake in yellow.

And a birthday card for one of my friends.  I'm taking the chance that she doesn't read my blog.

One for Axe to go along with some stuff I got her from the Lizzie Borden House.

Finally found the right cord I needed without having to drive out to Michael's so I did a couple more jump ring bracelets.  Here's an example of my pain in the ass OCD where I had to separate all the beads out by colour.

Friendship bracelets were really popular back in my Deadhead days.  I remember a girl in my dorm was making them to sell at shows, when I was a senior at Emerson, so that was 1986.  I never learned how to make them though, and no one taught me.  When Diane and the kids were up in July, Maddie showed me how to make them, as they seem to be making a comeback.  This is my chevron-design fail.  I'm gonna master this, I swear it.  

It's amazing the amount of stuff I stockpiled to use in the future if I ever had the time, including glass chips unearthed in a box recently.  Now I have the time.  Layered multicolour, black, purple, cobalt and mirrors in this jar, covered the lid in blue fabric with a ribbon around the edge and button on the top.

This is a teeny tiny jar, filled with multicoloured chips, with fabric and button lid.

Loved this empty wine bottle shaped like a lighthouse.  I took the back label off, then filled it with sand, craft pebbles, a thin layer of quartz rocks, shells and craft beach glass.

It's a local wine, Truro Cranberry Red.  See the door under the label?

Glued chips all over this votive candle cup too.

Phoenix Rising

Even though I unpacked and set up the house fairly quickly, the only thing I had yet to do was make crafts.  For me, it brought that final sense of normalcy in my new surroundings.  Now I'm truly home.

Here's the craft room all set up and decorated.

Pepper supervising, as always.

Note my doggie helper under the table.  All that beading tuckered her out.

I made one card, 5 necklaces, a bracelet and pair of earrings.  I'm keeping the one with the Orca whale pendant since I got it in Victoria.  And I'm tempted to keep the blue one because it was inspired by the Cape Cod Canal.

Birthday card for my friend Autumn.  

The angel wings on the left cover the dragonfly prongs.

Tahoma Beadworks is back baby!