Good bye 2009

Today we say good bye to a weird year, and we'll keep our fingers crossed to a better, healthier, more stable, encouraging and prosperous new year.
May all your dreams come true! ...Well, I better say, may all your well thought dreams come true. In a positive, harmonious way.
With a cherry on top. :o)

Networks, reworks, resolutions...

There are tons of online Networks, and tons of online Media Marketing.
I am just now learning about RSS feeds.
I know... some people live on it, but I go slow and by small drops.... and still manage to spread thin, LOL
For those of us that like creating things, selling our craft and/or meeting like-minded friends on the internet, life can get very tricky!
Some time ago in a workshop they said that in order to create and sell, you have to spend 75% of your time advertising and 25% creating. Huh? Well...
Maybe my percentages have been more like 10%/90% at times... then reversed to 98%/2% in the past few months :oP

Some serious organizing will have to be done to stay in the "create" side and not only live in the "online" part of this equation.
I have limited my online activities to what I consider the most bang for my effort (yeah, I go for free when I can, so "buck" doesn't apply here) lol
Had to leave many groups, websites and networks for that reason. And I have not joined another bunch that I have been invited to, for that same reason.
Oh, and just when you think you know the game... all the websites "update" and "upgrade" and "upmess" their format!! agh!!

With that in mind, my new years resolutions should be something like:
Ahem ahem...
-Reorganize my menu in the blog.
-Plan my schedule of my on/off line activities.
-List on regular basis so the networking makes sense! lol
-Clean the kitchen... Meh! scratch that.
How did THAT get in my list??
That's probably my subconscious, always so conscientious :oP

Well nevertheless.
Something else I want to include in my plan is:
-Make more tutorials, tips and videos.
Oh, and the typical "I will start my diet" resolution. What would be a new year without one of those! Well, actually, I am serious on it. I will not eat chocolate until February 14th. It's going to be hard, but thank goodness for cake!! (Did I say that??)

Now, for the visual part of this posting:
This is a sold ACEO art card. It was painted, frowned at, and reworked long time ago. The reason I want to share this, is to inspire at least one person to go dig on your frowned at art, and revive it with new colors, elements or perhaps new techniques learned recently. It is so satisfying!



I am SOOOO thrilled to see I *almost* have 100 followers!!! To think I started the last 4 years with only 3 readers, and one of them was my cat!! (well, he was only here for the pictures)



Update:
How many Networks are out there, I wondered? so I went to see and bumped on a list of more than 200... WOW! I'm sure many are in different languages.
I know a few of them, but never heard of most of them... how about you?
Click on the pic to see better.

Winter preparations and more Re-works

I know in many States and Countries, the snow has been falling for a while now, but here in my little spot of the world, the Winter actually started today. So I made preparations for it as follows:

-Get the yard ready for winter... check

-Replant a rose bush to a sunnier spot... check

-Scream like a lil' girl after finding a nasty spider in my glove... check

-Asking son for help... check

-Holding up the words" I told you not to..." when the son walks with muddy shoes in the house... check

-Cleaning the mud and changing driveway light that were supposed to be replaced weeks ago... check

-Losing the stoopid screw of the light fixture in a bushy plant of the flowerbed under the light fixture... check

-Forty minutes around the bushes looking for the screw with a magnet, while cursing in English and Spanish... check

-Getting bandages for all the arm scratches.... And feeling really shtoopid realizing that magnets won't ever attract brass screws... check

Asking son for help finding the screw (and putting up with jokes like "so you're missing a screw", "do you need a bigger magnet?".... check

-Washing the other light fixtures while son looks around the flower bed trying to find the lost screw... check

-Looking in disbelief as son has dug out half of the flowerbed, and still no screw.... check

-Making a list of things for HomeDepot (outside light fixtures, light bulbs.... new plant for flowerbed).... check

Making a call to yell at DH because really, he should've change the light bulb weeks ago..... pending

:oD

And well, I can't leave before showing a picture of my paperclay heads I am reworking on:

Before and After; Nose bridge softened; cheeks and forehead added to take the bulgy look of the eyes; lips sanded down to a more realistic proportion.
I made this head probably 2 years ago, and left them on the side because I just knew I was doing something terrible, I just didn't know how to fix it. Forward 40+ months and I have learned enough things to see where the mistakes are and how to change it.
This heads will not have a "baby" look. I guess adding enough clay they could look like that, but I think I want them more for a fantasy looking doll.

So... Never give up! and Happy Winter solstice! :oD

Reworking, relisting and rethinking

Based on a video from Deb Company HERE in youtube, I decided to do some reworking on a painting that I had sitting on a drawer for a while. I liked her eyes and shadowing, but nothing else. So.... I went to repaint, change the idea, colors and the good thing is that I remembered on time to take a picture. This is the result, what do you think?



I also will be listing more on Etsy, as opposed to be relisting on ebay... which by the way, have you seen THIS etsy store? I think Cat makes the sweetest polymer babies and now she is offering painted artistic boxes.

Do you have your list of goals for next year? I am still working on mine. :oD
But I am rethinking about eating more chocolate...
can that actually be a goal?? LOL

Random stuff

OK.... I just bumped into Melancholy Dollies blog and she is having a Giveaway that runs from 12/06 - 12/13.... so if I Mention her giveaway in my blog (which officially I am doing ;oD) I have a chance to win. Now, don't spoil it and crowd in front of me... I want to win! lol
In other quick news, I fixed my angel dolly from my secret partner, that I guess I am not supposed to say who it is yet.... but the beautiful doll is like new, I am so happy!
The friend I sent my art to, told me she loved the dog painting I made for her. I felt all warm and cozy to read her nice words.... sugar to my ears! :oD

I listed another elf, an albino. I am very happy the way the pictures turned out. It's been a long road for me to manage to take something I like.
My light box is not roomy enough so I dropped the walls, then the light was not quite right... so out doors I went.

We decorated our Christmas tree. I always had to do the top because my kids couldn't reach.... well, this year my daughter can reach. I just cant believe it... last year she needed a stool to climb on, and now she just stretched out her arms to decorate the tree top. She is as tall as me. I guess next month I will be the shortest person in the house, at 5'5" (i.67 mts). I don't mind at all, that was supposed to happen.... but I was not ready for it. Made me smile :o)

Now we only need to clear the other table to have our Nativity in there.

Bunch of mini-dramas

I had all kinds of mini dramas happening to me this past week.
First, the new attic door project.
That was such a messy business! plaster all over the place, insulation fluff everywhere, tools and chaos till it was done and painted (and little me doing the picking up of course :oP)

See the anime on the ceiling? That was my kid, she turned into Michael Angelo when she knew she had a chance to doodle with her pencil on the walls lol

Then it was the shocking surprise to see my favorite doll attacked by Panzon, who thought he didn't have enough toys I guess. All her hair was gone :oC


Just look at that face! like saying "What? I'm a cat!"

Also, I participated in a Christmas secret-friend, and the beautiful doll sent to me arrived here broken. :o( I swear we have gorillas and rhinos managing my postal office. Gosh! Fortunately I think I can fix her, but it was a sad thing to see.


This is what I made for my Christmas secret-friend. A portrait of her doggy that went to doggy heaven few weeks ago.

Hope she likes it!! I had not been painting for a while and almost forgot the pleasure of dragging the brush on the canvas...

Another mini drama was last night when my DH decided to have a bit of peanut butter and dropped the slippery glass jar on the floor... agh! there were shards of glass miles away from the jar, took lots of cleaning. I have you know, it's not a fun thing to do late at night LOL.... at least no one was barefooted!

On the lighter side, I listed some items online in Etsy, and ebay.(See the right side bar) Let's see how that goes. :o)

I took some outside pictures of my tiny fairies and I am very happy with the results, so I will have more listings soon.... Wish me luck!

What do you think? I love the tree bark texture!

I am thankful

Some years are good, some years are crazy, some are stupendous, and other years are sad. But out of all the good, crazy, stupendous or sad things in my life, I am always thankful.
Today in this country, my new home, I celebrate life. I am thankful for my health, for my family, for all the great people I have met online, and in person this year.
I am thankful for the people that I met and loved, that are no longer here with me, for the wonderful time we spent together.
Happy Thanks Giving.
Thanks for stopping by!
May your day be easy, fun, and full of pie.


Today, Panzón is thankful he's not a turkey!

Looks almost like a fairy infestation

This is what I have been finishing. I am very proud of myself actually! :oD
All those little dolls that were left behind have hair, outfits and wings... it would be so cool to have them in the backyard, in the bushes, popping up from corners... Only that I know some are naughty and it would be a big problem to catch them all lol


And also have been painting. See my WIPs I am not done with all the things I want to finish (or the paints I want to start!) But I am loving it...


I love going from periods with tons of texture, to times when I love soft grayish colors and no texture. Always find so exciting to go from acrylics to oils, then rediscover pastels....
I know, it's more marketable to stick to one thing, have one style.... but alas, I am not there yet... or maybe I am not that kind of artist. Who knows, as long as I find pleasure in it, I guess I am fine :oD

Three down...

Actually I should say four down and one more to go. But anyway, here is another picture with more tiny fairies done, they are a bit less than 3 inches tall. One of them has the tiniest leather shoes I ever made! I think they turned out cute, if I may say so myself :oP

I am also working on some bigger paperclay dolls, and I am holding myself from starting on an Izannah Walker inspired doll. I have the pattern and the general idea, but I need time because it requires a lot of sewing and I am not that fast at it....
But aren't they gorgeous!? Here's a PICTURE of one, from North dixie designs, in case you have not seen one before.

Keep making art and enjoy the autumn!

She's all done....

I finished one of the dollies last night, and here's the picture. It was kind of hard to decide on the hair color... I wanted light purple but I think this light yellow looks better.
She is the one on the right on the past posting :o)

Now my movie comments.... weeks ago we went to see "Where the wild things live".
What can I say? The book is cute. I don't particularly remember it since my kids are older, but I remember I thought the drawings were fun.... the monsters in the movie are awesome, the kid actor is cute and talented, visually the film it is very rich and creative. That part I enjoyed.... but the yelling, the brattiness and specially the end... yuck! I was really expecting some loving words from the mom at the end (As in, don't you ever go like that again :oP lol) or a tender "sorry mom, I'll never do it again!" from the kid. Nada. We went straight from biting mom, running wild, and coming back to chocolate cake. HUH? That only makes me think the guys that made the movie took some large liberties of poetic license and.... they don't have kids!
That end needs a good fixing, otherwise it is a deflated balloon.

Starting another one?

Somehow I hurt myself again. I was recuperating so well but I over did stuff and now I have to go back to take it easy. Oh well...
I decided one way to keep myself put, was to start a doll.
So I went to my table of doll stuff and wanted to start another doll, and then I felt someone looking at me. It was all the unfinished dolls I left there, bald and barefooted all the way to the neck... lol so I guess I will be adding hair and dressing dollies for now. :oD



So, how are you guys today?

Tricky time

I guess I will skip the trick-or-treaters this year, unless I place a bowl outside and let them grab their own candy lol
Last week I had surgery and spent about 5 days sleeping! I still can't believe that! But well, I guess I was supposed to rest anyway :oD
Unfortunately I missed the due date on the Halloween doll challenge... also missed tons of emails... I'm just now trying to get back on track, but I feel good.

I'm thinking of milking this as much as I can, since the kids have been doing their laundry and bunch of stuff around the house LOL
Even the cat is behaving! But I'm telling you, it is close to impossible to take a decent picture of that Panzon... He plain won't let me :oP

Have a great day and thanks for visiting!


Here he is, relaxing in this autumn weather, trying to catch the last bugs of the season.

Only one cake!

What a week! I'm glad is done and over :oD
Half of my family and extended family has their birthday in October... 3 of us birthday people live in the same house so, knowing me, I was going to be eating ALL the cake I could, stuffing my face like a chipmunk, so I only allowed ONE cake for all LOL That's it, no more!
We had a good time, regardless of the limited amount of icing intake ;o)
Once we were all done with he marathon B-days, it all turn Topsy-turby. Belly aches, food poisoning, nasty allergies, hospital visits, tests....

OH! And a terrible dust storm! LOL tumbleweeds a-flyin' trees a-fallin.
Fun fun fun... not!
I will spare you all the details but today things are much better and it is Friday!! yaay! I actually left this post in draft for several days.

I managed to work a bit on my rodent, her name is Carnation isn't she a beauty? LOL
She still needs her tail and details. The little elf has his shoes now but I did not take a picture yet....

See you soon!

Dolls, plants and the fair

My sculptin' mojo attacked me! I have been listing (as you can see in the module to the right) and I actually had a "clay marathon" making 5 heads, then, very unlike me, went ahead and finish the limbs and bodies as well. So I am pretty proud of myself :oD Usually I end up with 3 arms, 7 legs and heads that don't match the limbs, just because I get carried away practicing one thing or another :o}
Here is a little hint picture. One of the dollies is for the ADO challenge, and another is for AMA.
I just have to hurry and finish the outfits! and the rodent!! I would cross my fingers, but then ...how am I to work? :oP


Plants.... We bought the cutest reddest camellia plant. I am so thrilled!!!! hopefully it will take good roots, because I love its colors and it will look so nice in that spot.
It will have to be protected with some cat and dog repellent so they won't mess it up. Sorry Panzon, but you'll have to find another social area. (I have seen him with another Tux kitty, being goofy together) :o)


We went to the fair, walked for 4 hours, had a HUGE cinnamon roll..... we yelled and screamed to my heart's content at the Rick Springfield concert LOL My daughter and I were singing along and I tried to take a cell picture but it didn't work out in hers and mine had a dead battery. I wanted to take one when he's tossing red rose petals all over... it looked cool! lol
That was one nice time to remember in my life....

Another time to remember in my life was the shock last week, after they told me how much is going to be for my kid's braces!!! yikes!!! I'm going to need another cinnamon roll, to feel better! right?? ;o)

Not around here....

They say Fall is here around the corner, but not around my corner! We were 101 today, yesterday, and most likely tomorrow as well.
Not complaining... I love the warm weather. And I am keeping my fingers crossed so we won't have bad fog this year....
The only thing is that we are holding the planting of new stuff in the flowerbed.
I had to get rid of an old plant, was all sick looking and after trimming and clipping and babying.... nada, it just kept getting worse so bye-bye bush... hello new-plant-that-I-think-will-be-a-camellia! Still not sure, but the woman at nursery said that was the perfect spot for a red camellia.... and I LOVE color! So it would be great!

I have been working on some little heads but dont have any pictures yet.
but....

I do have a nasty scary picture to show you..... never saw a bigger spider around here before!!! close to 2 inches! yuck!! (Sorry spider lovers!)



So... season's greetings!
(no spiders were injured in the making of this post, but the camera woman also known as moi got really nervous when her son had the hand close to the critter! He was about 4 inches away, but looks closer.)

Elf boy on the run

Remember my WIP of a little elf? He's all done and ready to run. I named him Whitte Gaelach, which means White moon. The 5 day listing here HERE and I am very happy the way he turned out. He has the cutest little freckles but I'm not sure they show well in the pictures.
I wanted to make his story with a video, but knowing me, it will take me another 2 months to finish that the way I like it, and another one to edit the video... so, I will skip that for now LOL

The people from AMA are running a cool Halloween challenge but I didn't start on time so I will miss it. I will post the winner soon.
The winner of the past Classic Fairy tales challenge, was Sandra Arteaga with a beautiful Snow White. Congrats!

Valeria ballerina and her friend Bunny

Valeria Ballerina can barely walk, but she loves dancing and playing with her white bunny...





She is listed on ebay

Now, for some people sewing is a relaxing easy hobby. For me? it's a love/hate relationship with my sewing machine. I love fabric, and I know a couple of things about patterns, but for tiny size dolls, gosh! I have a stressing time to try new things! :oP I was all happy to make a legless baby onesie.... well, after 3 days I gave up, and it ended up being a pretty cute set of.... long pants pajamas! LOL

Frida doll

I listed Frida on Etsy HERE And I have more pics of her:




Wish me luck!

Oh!! I went to she bookstore yesterday and of course I went straight to check the doll magazines just to find in Art Doll Quarterly: Mealy Monster Land's dolls in there I was so excited to see her there!! I saw Deirdra Doan's dolls from Jane DesRosier's class too! great art dolls! :oD

I thought it was cool

I had to post today just because the date is so cool: 09/09/09 ;oD

The Frida cloth doll is all finished! Took some pictures and I think she turned out very nice, with her flowers in the hair.
I think she will go to etsy.

I also listed on ebay polymer baby Amber....

I was so stressed when I thought I lost all the pictures! I strongly recommend to burn a CD with your pics, and backup, and maybe keep the favorite pics on the little camera disc. I deleted a bunch although the little thing can hold like 5 years of images heheeh
Well, live and learn!

I hate hackers

Can't surf safely online anymore... we have all the protection and anti-virus and anti-junk and still I managed to catch a nasty bug that made a mess out of my hard drive gggrrrr! We spent days trying to fix the problem and rescuing old files (that of course I did not backed up) and more than anything I wanted to save my pictures, that of course I had not printed yet even years later... *sigh* Well... the good thing is that we saved my pictures!! yaay!
I went folder by folder checking and "dusting off" old things and I just had to share this:

These are wood mini paintings I made before I even made the blog. They were made sometime in 2002/04 and I almost had forgotten about them. I have not painted on wood for a long time.
Among the things I lost was my auction template (and a bunch of applications!) so I have been working on that, and re-installing stuff.
What a pest those guys are! :o(
I ended up making a very nice template, so *hopefully* I will list this next week.

Items from a smoke-free and pet-free environment. What? The cat?? He never moves! He thinks he's a rug and is not allowed in the back of the house where my art stuff is made (....and the computers get ruined) :oP

Tutorials, and a lazy saturday...

The first week of school always makes me feel lost... all the running so early in the mornings then the quiet stillness of the house. Even the cat had a time for a nap. Oh, never mind, he always has time for a nap! :o)

So today it's our first Saturday and I have a bunch of DOLL tutorial links to post.
Some are in a different language but very easy to follow by the pictures:

A very cute Polymer Dragonfly from Tundra Thuyak

Beautiful Matrioshka doll buttons First, Second, Third steps, by Galago.

Video on sculpting a baby's head by Cheimarie.

Another sculpting video toddler doll by Christy J.

How to make doll diapers by Skip to my low, which by the way is full of great projects!

This one is for painting a face by Celycom, very interesting info, for any kind of sculpting.

Fabric mermaid Art Doll by Shell-Shell with extra link on more no-sew dolls.

Well, I hope you have a nice lazy weekend!

Hard to believe

My son turned 15 today. I can't believe it yet! He's growing so tall and his voice so deep, not the little thing I met lol, but still as noisy. He doesn't play with a plastic hammer anymore but with real tools. Gosh where did time go? :o)
I just have a problem, I think I ate too much cake!



And now that the kids are back in school, I have been working on a personal crusade, to call it one way. I have the goal to finish all the projects I left half way done for one reason or another... and that includes my cloth dolls and mix media. One of them is a Frida Kahlo. Here's a picture of her, still bald. Her face is sculpted and painted. By now she has earrings, a zarape and shoelaces, but I took the picture before that. She will have mohair and ribbons on her head. I am very happy with her dress, I had not touched my sewing machine for a long time!:oD

Movies, niñas... and getting ready for school

We went to see Ponyo. I am not into anime, but since I have 2 kids I am into kid's movies. I could take more romantic comedy movies though :o).
So anyway my comments on the Ponyo movie... I loved the visual stuff, colors, characters, all the fish and the water in cartoon, very nice! The story? yuck! The mom drives like a maniac, doesn't listen to the guards, endangers her 5 year old kid and then leaves him alone to go back to the same spot where she was supposed to have staid. huh? OK, they needed drama, that's a way to get it hehehe



Once Ponyo turns into a little girl (a bit hyper for my taste too) she made me want to grab my pencil and draw!
Which takes me to the next part of the post... we are getting ready for school and after a loooong summer with no math, I felt we should have a little warm up, so we sit an hour of tutoring. They did math, I did the sitting :oP
While sitting and getting bored I took my pencil and a leftover paper from my son. He was going to do a sea monster but changed his mind and abandoned the paper.
This is the result:

The "sea monster" became part of the hat, can you see it? :oD
I never made little boys for my little "niñas" but I think it's a good thing. I was pretty happy with it, particularly since trying to make a 3D girl out of my drawings is what took me to the polymer clay and dolls.

My swap baby!

Today I received my swap baby in the mail... I'm so happy!
Remember when I posted about the one I made to send?
Here's the picture before I sent him:


Well I guess I forgot to take a picture after I tied the ribbon and added a baby toy to it...

And the winner is . . .!

Thanks to all the wonderful people that participated in this lil' giveaway.
I have the video of the drawing and congratulations to the winner!!




It took like 10 minutes for the video to upload....
My daughter picked 3 papers from the basket and from there selected the winner.
Congrats Catherine! yaay!
I hope you all had fun, I did!
And here's to another year of learning, creating and blah-ging!

Almost 4 years...

...of posting random artsy chitchat! wow... 4 years...
I never celebrated this blog's anniversary, so I decided to do so this year with something special to me.
A giveaway of a 4x4 inches mini painting, painted back in 2005. This is one I kept for a test to see how the colors held and I have to say they look like if I painted it yesterday!
Anyone can participate, from anywhere in the world! And if you subscribe to my youtube, your name gets listed twice, so double the chance!! :o)



I actually started to blog after the first reading about it in the Art Divas group.
Which by the way now I am helping moderate the Art Divas in ning, so if you hear any explosions over there it was me, having a little accident :o.

I had another blog, then made this one , took me a while to get used to it or remember to come and post.... In time, I got to meet wonderful people from far away places, learned cool new things and different ways people do their art. And also I get to share with others a bit of me, my endeavors, my craft, and post tips of things I enjoy doing, to help others as well.

In this past years I have changed painting methods, subjects, styles, materials... I went from painting back to sculpting; from stitching back to painting again...
I went from listing every day, to not listing at all... from large canvas, to small format, to polymer and paperclay.

The only thing that has not changed is my love for creating.
I have learned a lot, and hopefully I have helped someone out there to learn something new.
So, if you are interested in the Give away, please post a comment here, and week after the anniversary (which will be the 18th) we'll randomly select a winner.
Good luck!

Painting, thinking and how-to... how to?

I was invited to make a how-to video in Deb's group in ning. I love helping people, but I like helping in a helping way... does it make any sense?? lol
What I mean is, I like helping directly to the best of my ability, but never done a video like that, and if I make a tutorial I hope it really helps.
I had to sit and think.... how can I make something that will really help... in a video, that also looks good?
So... I have been doing a lot of thinking and learning on how to make a how-to video :oP I need a few elements.
I have to be clear and helpful (need to make lists and a script)... It has to look pretty (have to clean all the junk from my desk AGH!)... and since it has to be a video, it has to sound good too (which is half impossible with the kids out of school).... *moooom she brought the cat in!! moooom he took the cat out!! moooom I'm hungry.... meeeww!! (that's Panzon asking for food too)

An approx time line of all of the above mentioned steps would be:
- Working on a list of things needed- couple of hours
- Clear a huge amount of stuff from my working table- six months
- Actual video taping once everything is settled- interrupted sequences depending on the noise around, couple of hours a day, several days....
- Editing video till I like it- another six months LOL
I guess a good solution would be, hide in the closet with he camera rolling while the kids are having pizza. Oh well. ;o)

Like one of the first times I made a video for a doll

That reminded me, over a year ago I made a little slide show demo on how to paint a Frida with acrylics on canvas.
I will upload it in youtube again. I had it before and I don't remember why I took it down. But it will be up tonight. :o)
I am working on more videos and slide shows (doll related) so keep an eye on my youtube, you can subscribe too!

I want to make some demos on polymer and on painting ACEO art cards.
But for now, I'll leave you with the painting of my tropical Frida, circa 2007



(couple of hours later) Here it is:

WIP of doll swap and the beach...

I am so thrilled to show you these pictures! I rarely participate in swaps because it's stressing for me, but once a year or so, I can survive a swap :o)
So for this doll swap we are doing bundle babies. I won't say who is the person I am sending it to because it is a surprise... Xo)

Here is the sculpted head with quilting to form the body:


Here he is with his outfit and hat:


Cozy in his blanket... I still need to add a few touches , like ribbon


I guess he's about 5 or 6 inches by the time I wrap him and all.

....Oh! We went to the coast a couple of days ago. It was great to feel a bit of chill after so many days in the 100's here in town! (38 to 42 Centigrades) This time I did remember to carry our sweatshirts! We were enjoying the cool weather even when it was a bit overcast.

Doors and Moon

I wanted to share you a cool posting I found about doors. I LOVE doors! For a long time I collected door pictures. I would go on a trip and find some door to photograph. I don't know exactly why I find doors so awesome... they tell a story, they welcome you, that's the first and last thing people see when they are home. Just like people, each door has it's personality! LOOK HERE and enjoy.

Now, for the moon part of this posting:
We are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the man walking on the moon, (or did he...?) and here's a picture I took this past 4th of July. I like taking moon pictures :o)



*This post was originally part of another post but edited later on.

Blog Tips

I'll start this week with some fun tips for your blog. For those readers that are not techie or have not done a change of background in their blog yet.
I just can't help it... I like bright colors and backgrounds! I actually have change my background a few times and I always thought I was never going to do that, but then again "never say never"
So, Blog Tips: Visit this great sites, look their awesome designs, select one and then follow instructions, it is really easy! If you have any questions contact them, or ask me. I'll do my best to help :oD

templates by tenille

hot bliggity blog

the cutest blog on the block

bloggerblog backgrounds

update:
shabby blogs

scrappin blogs

Another update:
dottydotdot design

smitten blog designs gallery

17 years and counting...

Today is our wedding anniversary. 17 years of a roller coaster with my best friend.
I'll do it all over again :o) Love is a wonderful thing! Chocolate cake is second best.

WIP and stuff

It is hot out there, but that's ok with me!
I have been working off and on in my ADO project and other little things. Here's a WIP picture and he'll be ready tonight if I can handle the kids visits (which now include pets, mind you...) and cutting and stitching.

I found a new spot to take pictures and I've been trying to take better pictures as well. I love my light box but it was a bit limiting for some bigger things, so now I don't have walls in it, just the back drop. That way I can change backgrounds easier too.

I want to share some punch of energy with you all....
Panzon actually moved twice this week! LOL ... oh, who could live like a cat! (except for the nap-next-to-smelly-shoes part! ;o)


oh! I also added a "Label cloud" to my blog, on the right side, to find old postings easier and it looks cool. I thought it was going to be really hard, but it wasn't (cross your fingers it won't collapse on me!!) lol