Something for You Today....Enjoy Using It!

I found this photo some time ago....
Isn't she precious!
Do enjoy using her in your collages and
crafts! She deserves to be remembered!

Another Pin.....

True North

This batik had these wonderful linear patterns
that reminded me of longetude & latitude lines we
see on maps.
The colors were rich and bold
like explorers of old...
I made the large bead.
I did something a little different on this one...
using only copper toned seed beads on the edge.

Supper Ingredients on The Counter

These are some of the sweetest varieties
of squash! Absolutely delicious!
The big one is "butter something" -
it's the lst time we've found them here.
The smaller ones are "calypso" I think.
Another type is "carnival" that is my favorite!

The red potatoes are going to be made
into potato pancakes!
Hubby is doing the honors, of course!

Below is a pin I finished yesterday.
The large bead is one I made.
The texture was created using a simple
vegetable brush.
It's gilded with antique gold paint -
hard to see in the photo.
The fairy charm is from Pat Winter -
I won it and several other beautiful
goodies in one of Pat's give-aways
some time ago.
Do visit her blog!
Her crazy quilt creations are divine!
I know you'll want to become
a follower of her blog.
Besides her creativity...
Pat is a special lady in many
other ways!

Thank you!

Thank you to all my sweet blogging friends
for your kind words and cyber hugs.

I'm feeling better today in one way
but seem to have caught a cold.
"snuffle"

I'll be taking it easy today and
having chicken soup and hot tea!
I already dressed in my most comfy sweats,
a warm pair of socks
and am feeling toasty and hugged!

How lucky I am that I don't have to go
out of my house for my job and
don't have a boss clocking me in!
I'm the 'boss'. ;-)
And the 'boss' says,
"Take it easy today, Diane."

For all of you out there who have a
cold or the flu....

((((((((((BIG HUGS!))))))))))

Well, gee, look what I did!
I am following my own blog!
I thought I was connecting to
email a new follower to say
thank you and viola!
The click posted my own picture
on my own blog.
Having a cold makes my IQ
go down to about -45 I think!
;-)
I'm glad I'm not a rocket scientist!
Aren't you glad too! ;-)
The fate of the world doesn't
rest in my hands. ;-)

Busy, busy day.....

Whew!
Taking a breath, finally.
Up early and out the door to the chiropractor....
once again!
X-Rays, consultation, adjustment...
keeping fingers crossed!

Back home.
Off to run errands but first lunch at Panera...
good, healthy food!

Then, while hubby ran an errand he dropped me
off at Hobby Lobby where I found more
glittery goodies!
And more colors of beads for my pins.
And after that a stop at Barnes & Noble
for an issue of Mary Jane's Farm magazine
to read this evening...

And lastly, a stop at the grocery store for
peppers, carnival and delicata squash,
yogurt and a few other necessities.

Finally...home...unpacking everything
and relaxing!

Enjoy the pics!
And the one of my studio as seen while
being hard at work!

Pins and Studio Stuff.....

I created this love letter holder last year for
a contest at French General.
I didn't win but I had fun sewing it anyway.
It now hangs in my studio.

What gets better than this?
Having all this color in pencils to play with!!

Markers too!

A pile of pins!
A week's worth of stitching!
I'm in love with COLOR!

Of course, one must have scissors...
and pencils...
a ruler...
hole puncher...
nail files...(many uses for those!)
X-Acto knife...
All held in a pretty vintage pitcher...

Threads! Tangled or not tangled!
Can't do without them!

Fabrics...
more threads, of course!
Nothing colorless here!

And finally, the pin I made today.
Nature's colors with a bird's nest charm.
Putting stones on it seemed the perfect complement.
I think it's time to curl up with my novel now
while hubby cooks supper.
Yes, hubby cooks!
We traded spaces!
I did it while he worked and the girls were in school.
Now it's his turn because I still work and
he's retired. Well, sort of retired.
I keep him busy!
He actually smiles a lot!
I consider myself blessed.
WE are blessed with: Holly and Danielle,
daughters that make us both proud!

A little jaunt to the antique shop.....

I found these sweet little treasures today!
The homely little teacup and saucer is old
brown transferware with flaws where
the decal is supposed to meet.
But it was used and looked well-loved!
It has a special place on a shelf now with
some of my other brown transferware.

The little handkerchief box was too sweet
to resist!
It was marked "as is" because it had a tag
stuck to the top of it but a little delicate
scratching with an X-Acto knife cleaned
it right up and it's just right now!
Below you can see the pressed-wood design.
Charming!

I've placed the box on my dresser under two
other boxes. The tiny treasure box on top is a
vintage find but the middle box is one I
decoupaged with pretty floral paper.

And....ta da!
Below are three pins I made yesterday while
my camera batteries charged!

Oh! The gypsy in my soul!
That's exactly what I thought when I finished them!
They look so gypsy-like!
I just love all the colors!
The Pin on the upper left has trim around it
that had a nubby knot every so often.
I like that it added more interest and
texture to the border.

Check this out....

A great place to see what other people
are up to with their creations:

Bobby Pins Boardwalk

Back in Gramma's Day....

I don't think an "antique" computer will ever qualify
as "nostalgia" and bring warm memories like
these old fashioned clothes pins and
laundry tools do!
Not for me anyway!

The two little irons are toys...
I don't have granddaughters.
Do little girls still play "house"?

My memories of hanging clothing on the line outside
are good ones.
Throwing things in the dryer today just seems
like a dull, repetitive chore to me.
Not being outside in the sunshine and hearing
the birds, feeling a soft summer breeze,
folding the crisply dried linens....
I miss doing that.
Time doesn't permit, unfortunately.

Not quite finished.
I still have to put the back on this one.
These aren't my colors - I rarely wear
lavenders and teals, but I thought the
combination was pretty on the batik.

I'm still learning how to download pictures from
my camera and put them in the right folder
so they are easily retrieved.
*sigh*
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't!
If only I could remember which process
I used when it did!
LOL!
Anyhoooo....
Time to pick up my Elizabeth George mystery novel
and curl up on the couch for the evening.
Night!

Relaxing this afternoon....

I visited Needles Quilt Shop in Wellsboro this afternoon,
had a nice chat with Mary and Katie popped in
just as we were leaving.
I bought several fat quarters of simply beautiful batiks
for my pins and made this one when I came home.
It looks very Christmasy!
On the way home we stopped for coffee
and are now relaxing for the rest of the day.
Playing hooky: It's a good thing!

Visit Lori's Blog today and see what a happy heart looks like....

Happiness Through Art

Lori Portka's paintings are so cheerful!
They'll make your heart smile too -
just like they show her happy heart!

New pins made this afternoon.....

See! You're never too old to learn a new computer system!
Windows 7 is fabulous!
And so is my local tech guy from BC Technologies!
Thanks, Ben, for doing such a great job getting
me all set up here!

The above picture is of the wooden spools I just
ordered and received from Grandma's Thimble on etsy!
She packaged them in this neat cigar box!
So...two treats in one!
I'll be using the spools to wind yardage of ribbon and
specialty threads for storage.

Above are the beads I just made from oven baked
clays that I textured with both rubber stamps and
odds and ends from our junk drawer!
I painted and stained and gilded them.
Next comes varnish and then
I can add them as embellishments on my pins.

And here are the pins.
Above is a blue version..
below raspberry reds and teals!
I do sell them at Patchwork Plus in
Marcellus, NY but if anyone is interested
in purchasing one before they go there...
just email me for prices and shipping details.
My email is in my profile...
The raspberry pin was made using
Kreinik's Balger Blending Filament in
the outlining around the batik designs.
It definitely adds a note of SPARKLE.

Below is the last one I finished today -
very neutral colors, almost a steel gray with beige...
and with mother-of-pearl embellishments that
were rough-cut.

I simply can't resist working with color!
Color is my passion!
I love creating designs and matching colors.
I can't imagine a black and white world.
Thanking The Good Lord for my sight
and my talent.

Success!

Don't ask me how I was actually able to access this photo!
My computer tech guy showed me how to download
pics from my camera the other day but
not how to find them on my computer so I could
post them here.
Well, guess I'm not so tech-challenged after all!
Because here's the test photo!
Pin made the other day using one of
my Fimo clay beads.
I just took about 15 more out of the oven
this morning. Once they cool,
it's off to the studio to paint them!
I'll post pictures when they're finished.
In the meantime,
I'm feeling dang proud of myself!
;-)

Our bodies are like computers!

That's the topic of conversation I had with
my chiropractor yesterday.
Long after we may have moved on from
a situation, our bodies have not!
He was saying how our bodies
'remember everything'!
I think that's why so often when we are
feeling pain of some kind in a limb or
muscle or headaches or TMJ or whatever
our own particular body seems to always
exhibit, it's difficult to understand why...
until we go back mentally to something
that has happened in the not-too-distant
past and link it to our present physical symptoms!
I was talking to my daughter, Danielle,
about this the other night and told her that
I had been to the chiropractor twice already and
she asked me when the particular 'situation' had begun
and when I told her that my pain started then but
didn't get worse until now...
she said "That's it, Mom. That's what the
source of this is".
You know, it's what I had already affirmed in my
own mind, but hearing it from my doctor and
my precious daughter too confirmed it even more.

Now...isn't it great, when it comes down to things,
that our attitudes and outlooks are NOT
dependent upon what our bodies are doing!
We can override pain and still have a
POSITIVE ATTITUDE,
can still smile and be hopeful
and continue to keep to the path
we want to pursue.
Mind over matter.
I always remember the late
Norman Vincent Peale's book called
"The Power of Positive Thinking".
I read that book in my teens but its message
is universal and timeless.
There's another little blurb I always remember too...
I'm an AmeriCAN.
I tried to instill this in my daughters while they
were growing up and, hopefully, it took...
that the words "I can't" should be looked at
honestly and replaced with "I won't" or "I
don't want to".
Not that I don't get down in the dumps
I think that's part of the healing process
along with feeling anger or frustration.
One step at a time to reach the point
of being able to go forward and not get
stuck in one of those feelings.

A little quote:

"I was always looking outside myself for
strength and confidence, but it comes from within.
It is there all the time."
Anna Freud

When we learn this,
we realize we CAN be happy no matter what.

Just a little PS:

We can't allow other people or situations
that we can't control to STEAL our lives!
That's what we'd be doing if we allowed
outside circumstances to take our joy from us
or to make us change the course we desire.
That is a type of theft we cannot allow,
no matter what.
That's a type of power we can't give away.
It belongs to us.