Summer Draws to a Close

While fall doesn't technically start for another 23 days, the end of August is pretty much the end of summer with all the kids going back to school and the traffic loosening up just a little.  Pretty soon I can resume my beach combing endeavors without having to share the beach with a ton of people or paying to park.  

This summer went by just way, way too fast.  I can't think of anything I did at all either, except for a few things.  Life & humidity really got in the way of all the stuff I intended to do.  So I stayed in and cross stitched.  Last summer, 2014, seemed to go by really slowly.  For one thing, the weather was perfect last year.  That enabled me to get out of the house almost daily for walks and day trips.  I've found that time slows down when you are doing stuff but goes by wicked fast when you are doing nothing. 

Finished wine project for Mary's housewarming gift.  This took less than a week to do.  I could've done it in a day or two tops but I kept getting interrupted.

Still working on the shells.  Both the instructions/pattern and the photo on the package show the word 'sundial' off center.  I stitched it that way but it's reeeeeeeally messing with my OCD.  I will probably go back and center it.

Here's another simple craft project that serves no real purpose except look really pretty when you shake it up.  It's just water & glycerin with glitter.  I used a small Sutter Homes wine bottle.  I still need to do something for the cap.  I've noticed that the water has turned pink over the past few days too (these were taken the day after I made it).

If you are going to do this project, put the glitter and stuff in the bottle first.  Mix the water and glycerin in a measuring cup and then pour it in.  If you try putting the water/glycerin in first the glitter will never sink to the bottom when you add it in.  

My sweetie and I were out and about doing some errands and stopped in Benny's.  They have the best craft kits and stuff.  I spied this kit and had to have it.  Russell was over in the automotive department and I met up with him there with a big grin on my face.  He saw the box and started to laugh, and he bought it for me.  

I just finished reading my friend Robyn's book, Woman on the Verge of Paradise.  It's an excellent read, very funny and poignant at the same time.  I highly recommend it....it's a great read.  Please visit her blog too, Life by Chocolate.  Tell her JoJo sent ya.  

The fuzzies on National Dog Day (August 26th).  Of course every day is 'National Dog Day' in this house.

Maxfield Parrish skies.

Pretty clouds.

Unusual clouds

I shot this with my zoom lens, from my chair on the deck.  That's why you can't see my reflection.  

I really enjoy autumn, but I am in no hurry for the winter months.  I am in denial about the Farmer's Almanac prediction that the northeast is going to have an even worse winter than last, which is really hard to imagine.  I hope that it's not true and the El Nino building in the Pacific gives us a milder and rainier winter.  

Housebound and Makin' Stuff

Since it's snowing like, every other day almost, I've been making lots of stuff.  Been wanting to make necklaces for those pendants for awhile.  The Chinese Horoscope characters are Dragon and Tiger.  And also a bracelet from some of those awesome Czech beads that Joe brought back from Prague.

Bigger pic of the necklaces.  The blue morpho wing pendant (far left) just didn't look good with anything other than liquid silver.  And I also didn't want any beads distracting from the pendant cause it's soooo pretty.

Couple bracelets for Kris; the one on the right has the Notre Dame colours.

This ice crystal was really shining on some snow outside so I boosted the contrast on the pic on the computer and that brought out a bunch of rainbows in the snow.

A fresh coating of snow is always really pretty as long as it's just a couple inches.  I put this on the hood of my car and then got the brain storm to spray coloured water all over it.  

This was just before the Superbowl so I did the Hawks' colours and 12th man on the back of the car.  

Mary was in from Idaho so I made this for her.

Hanging thing...I guess for a window or whatever.

Window crystals.  

Craft kit of the month project: painting techniques.  I had to use my own paint cause the stuff that came in the kit was dry, and a really yucky shade of midnight blue.  Dots are time consuming and can be really hard to make the right size.

Melted some of those plastic three sided beads.  I used to call them tri-beads when I was a kid.  It took a long to time arrange them around the bottom of the pie pan and I must've bumped the pan when I put it in the oven because that one side came out all wonky.

Suncatcher with green, light blue, dark blue and purple Makit Bakit crystals.

This was shot looking through the above, at my light.

The day of the Superbowl, I had potato skins with cheese, turkey bacon & scallions and a Jones cream soda.  When I got the potato, the bin sign said, 'Idaho'.  Jones Soda is bottled in Seattle but is a product of BC, so I had a Pacific Northwest themed snack.  

And then I had to do this to the bottle afterwards with Hawks' colour glitter & rhinestones.

Finally, I started this cross stitch during the game and took about a week, off and on, to finish.