Hello New Decade

Hey guys, one of my plans for this new year is to blog more.  I used to do the Xanga thing, and most of the cyber~friends I made there, we're still friends now, on Facebook.  It was quite helpful to get some thoughts out every day, and I think it will help me in this phase of life I am finding myself in. 

Learning to remain calm is one of the new lessons I am learning.  In retrospect, I am a very reactionary person.  I'm working on being a calming influence when life seems to get too big. 

I'm feeling a bit of Separation Anxiety since my little family moved away.  I was so involved in their lives and now they are far away.  I am learning that I understand this is normal, my "little girl" is a full grown woman raising a family in love and adventure and I feel so proud.  Doesn't mean that I shouldn't have the feeling of missing them.

Young Son, I'm steady praying for him.  My "little boy" is a full grown man.

Still doing my wood burning.  I am doing so much better than when I first started, and I am proud of that.  Some of my work is being displayed at a Vintage store here in town.  I've been doing some research on craft shows.  I didn't think I would do any while Darlin' Danielle was gone, but I might, some here close by.  Making plans, mental notes, thinking thoughts.

I dabbled in making some Christmas Ornaments this year, they went over pretty well.  Thinking of making some Garden Ornaments, too.  I really like doing the small, intricate work.

Commissioned sales were good in '19, which makes me happy.  I love doing custom work. 

You can check out my Personalized Pet Pyrography right here.

To see other burnings, click here.

I'm gonna trust in the knowledge that everything is going to work out exactly as it is supposed to. 

Play Nice!  xxoo

A planned day vs. reality. Reality won.

I am happy to have a day off, slept in a little bit, had a shower and put on clean jammies.  I was already thinking what I was going to make today, but I wanted to try out my new photo box that DD got me for my birthday...got that set up, battery dead in the camera.

Alright, I am not at work, it is a beautiful day here.  We had a storm this morning that was nice to listen to.  My battery will be charged in a minute, I'll just go cut out a pig or something.  Went into my sewing room to do just that, but I had gotten a couple of props out for the photo shoot...I've been thinking about putting a little something with my Critters, but wasn't finding what I was looking for.  The thought popped in my head that I, myself, do actually own a good amount of what we call "Little Guys"  Like for example, a little hand carved Giraffe...anyway, these are stored away in a dresser, different drawers, There area absolutely no clothes in that dresser, it is full of a bunch of stuff I've gathered over the years.

An hour later, I have a basket of Little Guys, but no felt has been cut as of yet.

I'll go try now.  Wish me luck!

3:12, back from the grocery store.  Better to go get the supplies for the Pro Shop today instead of in the morning.  Had to change into real clothes, put on a bra...but I made it.  Got my jammies back on, having a cold beverage...gotta check and make sure I haven't missed anything on facebook, right?

I re-listed a bunch of Critters yesterday, Getting ready to do some more, battery is charged, but my get up and get at it is a little in need of a rest for a few.

A thought entered my head, re which Critter to make.  I have the felt in front of me, and the pattern.  All I needs is a little Netflix in the background.

Show you what I came up with next time, until then, go take a look at the other Critters, yeah?

Play Nice!  xxoo

The Beginning of The End, and the Beginning of a New Beginning.

I have been truly  blessed to have spent the last 365+ days with my Darling Danielle and Delightful Delilah. Being able to spend this year as a Mother (for the last time) and Grandma (for the first time) has been an experience I wouldn't trade for anything.  Every day spent with them, it felt that my mother was there with us, too.

My son-in-law, Benjamin, Danielle's husband, Delilah's daddy, will be home on Thursday.  The next few weeks are a whirlwind of movers and bachelor/bachelorette parties, a wedding, and then the three of them leave on the 15th of March.  To Germany.  I can't drive to Germany.

There are other things going on in my life, of course.  I've been stitching and stuffing, and thinking and pondering, the two kinda go stitch by stitch.  My Young Son is taking a trip, my sweetheart and I have to make a trip to the airport and find a wedding somewhere downtown, in the dark...The Pro-Shop is making progress, thanks to some dedicated members...but, still...

To be completely truthful,  I can't quite pinpoint how I feel.  I'm ready for them to start their next chapter, far, far away, and I know I'm gonna miss them like crazy.  There's another aspect, too.  Since Sweetheart and I have been together, we've had 2 kids.  Now, one is going far, far away, and one is clinging to the nest with all his might.  Sweetheart is a bachelor.  He has never been married, no kids of his own.  We live in the house that his parents had built in 1973.  I want to broaden his horizons...I want to decide on a Sunday night that we are leaving to go see the Grand Canyon on Tuesday.  I want to be free to go have some fun!  I'm still 18 in my head, even though my body disagrees.

Thanks for reading my rambling post...trying to get all the thoughts in my head in one place is not an easy feat.  Trust me, there's more.

Delilah's Converse

My friend, Dammit Janet,

a polka dot horse

and a muslin pig. 

With Wings.

Y'all, Play Nice!  xxoo

Yes, Yes, I know.

It has been awhile.  My summer has been jam packed full of fun, adventure, some sadness, of course, there's always that to balance things out.

Having my girls here with me has been the absolutely perfect thing for me at the perfect time.  I have developed a strong bond with my g-daughter, and strengthened the bond that my daughter and I have.  She's an awesome mother, and I've learned so much from her.  I'm sure all the grandmothers out there will know exactly what I mean when all I can do is sigh.

My job at the Pro Shop has been awesome.  I've hosted a few tournaments, I've scored a bit of business for the club on my own, I have a card reader there now...finally I can take plastic instead of cash only.

The girls and I have done a bit of traveling over the summer, in Missouri, we haven't left the state.  We've been to Hermitage to a little family thing, we've been to Osceola for a funeral, we've been to Sturgeon for the 4th of July.  We've gone to the zoo, taken many shopping trips, and a couple of trips to a couple of emergency rooms, but all is well now.

My Young Son is out in the world.  I pray for him every day.

I've been working on some new/old Critters.  Here are a few I haven't listed yet...

Toying with names..."Comic Canine"  

Not sure I care for the circle under the eye, and you can't see it but it has the wrong tail on it...

Floral ???  Flora... I kinda like Flora.

This one is going to be Dream Something I think...

(oh look, someone needs ears *gs*)

If you have any ideas for names, please feel free to share.  

My Son-In-Law is home for a month on leave.  It was almost as if he hadn't been gone, thanks to modern technology, they were able to see each other every day.  It is good to have him here.  

So, I don't want to drag this out...can't catch it all up in one post, right?  

Play Nice!  xxoo

New Normal

My new normal...We have coffee with the girls in the mornings now.  We have dinner with the girls at the end of the day.  And one little girl is becoming very smitten with her Grandpa.

This is Otis, Delilah's Dog 

me (in the sweater), 

and Delightful Delilah (in the giraffe print) 

  

We've gotten more snow in the last month or so than we have in the last 2 years.  After the drought last year, it's got to be a blessing...and a good soaking rain to wash all this white stuff away would also be a blessing.  (so tired of snow.)  The weather for the rest of this week looks promising.  

I've been stitching and stuffing up a storm the last couple of weeks, finally starting to feel like myself after the February Flu kicked my you know what...and took some pics.

The first 3 were for a custom order, the bottom 2 are available in my shop.

This one is going to a Baby Shower

Easter Sunday afternoon, Delilah and I were peeking out the window, and I was whispering silly things in her ear, like, "I'd like to see a squirrel ride a bike past here," and she would laugh quietly, and sometimes she'd just turn and look at me with such a happy, joyful look, my heart melts.  I am so blessed to have my girls here.

Play Nice!  

xxoo

Learning From Experience

One of my favorite things about being "crafty" is that with every thing I make, I learn more.  For example...I made a sweet little, plain little Dog Critter, simply to experiment with it.  

I've been toying with the idea of using crochet thread all over a Critter, like hair...so I tried it how I saw doing it in my head, here is the result.

A hairy mess!

But here's what I learned...that I need to start from the bottom, and probably in 1/4" increments, that would give me a more uniform "coat of fur" and it will probably lay down a whole lot better.  (If you have any hints in this regard, the Comment section down there would be a great place to leave it.)

My next experiment on this Critter will be to do some hand embroidery on the side that isn't hairy, just to get a feel for it.  

There are three new Critters in my shop today, Grayson, Dempsy, and Speedy Pig.  You really should go take a look.  

I gotta get started making a list of things I need to pack for my trip next week.  It's only one night I'm staying, but I know I'll pack enough for two, just in case.  I'm quite excited to see the Denver Airport for the first time, and besides the later than I'd like start for the drive home, I know it will be a glorious trip.  We are all quite giddy, to say the least.  *gs*

Play Nice!  

xxoo

A new week!

My weeks start on Tuesday, I work Tuesday - Sunday in the summer, I have Monday & Wednesday off this time of year, as well as being able to stay home when we have "weather."  Tuesday and Thursday are "Men's Day" so I always work them, year 'round...rain or shine...snow is questionable, it depends on how much.

With that being said, Today is a new week, and I had a glorious weekend.  Saturday I got home about 3, and finished many Critters.  Sunday was a no go-to-work day, and I finished more Critters, took photos and actually listed 6 new ones in my shop.  If you haven't seen them yet, or read about them, you can click here, go ahead, I'll wait... *gs*

The high temp in H'ville is supposed to be 32 degrees.  No golfers, we still have a couple inches of snow on the ground.  I have a table of card players settling in for a game of Pitch, I think I'm going to have a bowl of beans.  I have 2 pieces of lovely yellow and gray felt, with a floral design, and I just can't quite decide which Critter it is supposed to be.

Later:  I've fed just about everyone here, dishes are done except for coffee cups...

I had such a great thing happen today!  I have 2 beer salesman.  One comes on Tuesday, one comes (or is supposed to) on Friday.  I like my Tuesday one, the other, well...

Anyway, today is Tuesday, Salesman came in...now he's been in every week since March, and he's seen me working on my Critters, and I've told him about them...so he's telling me about this friend of his that is making lamps out of liquor bottles, Salesman tells him about me selling my Critters, I showed Salesman my Valentine  Critters in my Etsy shop...he bought one, and wants some brochures of mine to put in his wife's day care!  What?

Wheee!

Play Nice!
xxoo

New Year - Re-Connections

I would like to introduce y'all to a goof/good friend of mine, Jeri.  We have been cyber-friends since 2004, when Xanga was it, at least in our corner of cyberville.

We never really lost our connection, we both just got busy with the "kids are almost grown ups but not quite and need us more right now than ever," phase.

So, be a pal, go say hey.  She used to be quite a crafter in her day, maybe we could get her creative juices flowing again?

Play Nice!
xxoo

Life has been a roller~coaster!

Yeah, yeah, I know, every one's life is, right?  The thing is, my simple little life didn't use to have big important problems like it does right now.  While there are some inconvenient things that have to be done right now, I know that in the long run everything will work out exactly as it is supposed to.  I try not to worry, and when I do, I turn it into a prayer, most usually ending with, "Thy will be done, Amen."

So, business is good at the Pro-Shop, when a person takes into account that the weather is changing and we're having some pretty fine fall weather, which in Missouri means we can have a sunny, mild day, and the next be windy, cold, and miserable.  I'm behind in my paperwork, but I will catch up tomorrow (day off, day off, day off) and all will be well.

And....I've been stitching and stuffing like a maniac, which I love.  One lady purchased 3 of my flying pigs to make a mobile (cool idea).  One lady bought three of the 4 Halloween Critters I had made.  Seriously, any sale is cool.  I love it when family and friends purchase from me, but there's a completely different thrill when someone out there that I don't know purchases something I've made with my hands.  They've found my shop on Etsy, they've liked my Critters enough to buy one or two, for me it's a very thankful experience.  And I won't lie, it makes me proud of myself, and that is a wonderful feeling.

I've been working on my "Winter Line" of Critters.  I'll give y'all a sneak peek, I haven't listed them yet.

White Elephant

Y'all know what a White Elephant party is, right?  What better gift to take to a White Elephant party than a White Elephant?  I thought it was a pretty cool idea, but when I tried to tell my girlfriend, Dammit Janet, about it, she'd never heard of a party like that...so, tell me, do you?  

White Giraffe

Flying Winter Pig

I did some decorative stitching on this Critter with my sewing machine, I really like it.  Any thoughts? 

Started a couple of Christmas Critters today.  Way too early to post anything like that.  I'm old school like that, I do not like to crowd the Holidays, they come fast enough as it is.  

No blog of mine (after such an absence) would be complete without a pic of my two favorite girls.  

Darlin' Danielle and Delightful Delilah (10 months)

Y'all, Play Nice!  xxoo

My Darling Daughter

I have chosen to feature my Darling daughter, Danielle, today.  Danielle is a member of the Handmade Circle Group on FB.  She is a teacher, wife, and mother, but not necessarily in that order.  

Darling Danielle (oh I love this girl!)

Danielle, my dear, what got you stared in the crafty world?

It started while I was teaching first grade.  One teacher had taken ceiling tiles home and had painted them as either book covers or illustrations from books.  I sketched out one of my favorites, Oh! The Places You'll Go, and decided to give it a shot!  I loved how it turned out, and I painted 3 more for my classroom, and one for a friend's room.  I had How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a Shel Silverstein one in mine and did a Lemony Snicket one for my friend.  After that, I decided to get a canvas and make some wall art for my bathroom.  My confidence was building, so I painted canvases for all the rooms in my house.  I loved having stuff that no one else did.  Friends started asking me to 

do paintings for them, and it just grew from there! 

Ceiling Tile

What inspires you in your art?

Almost everything I do is custom ordered.  The colors, size, and design of almost all my work is tailored to each customer so that everyone has something that no one else will have!  With the art and nursery letters, I go off of the color scheme or theme of the room.  I've done everything from Star Wars to Nightmare Before Christmas to rockets, to an abstract glass of wine being poured.  The possibilities are endless.  It really just depends on what the customer is interested in.

What sort of things do you create?  

Felt designs on onesies and toddler shirts

  

Art on canvas

Letter bow holders

Nursery letters

Tutus

What do you do to relax and have fun?

My daughter is almost 9 months old, and playing with her keeps me laughing.  She's so smart and sassy and does new stuff every day.  I also enjoy watching movies with my husband as well as getting in my crafty corner and being able to just sit and create.

What would you say to someone that was thinking of entering the crafty world?  

GO FOR IT!  It took me way too long to gain the confidence that I could do this.  My husband and mom both encouraged me to do it, but I got in my own way thinking that I couldn't.  Just believe it and do it.  If you mess up, try again.  

Who inspires you?

My mom is the craftiest person I know.  She knows how to do so much, and is becoming really successful.  I only hope to be able to do what she can do one day!  My grandma was also very crafty, so I'm lucky enough to have gotten some of their creative genes.

Besides being the crafty, creative artist that you are, tell us a little more about you.  

Right now, I'm lucky enough to stay at home with my daughter.  My husband is an Air Traffic Controller in the USAF and takes care of us so that I can be there to give my daughter the best care possible!  I am a certified teacher and have taught in the town we live in.  

Tell us about yourself as a person.

I'm a loving person.  I love true and deep, and that's how I think you should go through life.  I love what I do, I love my family, I love my friends, I love my cat, I love my Rat terrier/chihuahua, I love my Pit Bull/Corgi. 

Where can people find your work?

http://www.facebook.com/intheskydesigns

http://www.etsy.com/intheskydesigns

http://www.flickr.com/photos/revolution_number_9 (This is where you can find pictures of my ceiling tiles)

Of course, no feature of her would be complete without sharing with you the painting she made for me for my birthday this year.  

                              This is the painting                       This is my tag

So, there you have it, my crafty, creative daughter, miles away in the real world, but just a click away.  Please go give her sites some love won't you?  

If you'd like me to feature your shop(s) sometime, answer these questions, send me some photos, I'll be glad to give you a little promo, that's what we do, right?  

xxoo
Play Nice!