Category Archives: Family & Friends

I finished this bracelet yesterday, put teensy drops of 454 glue on the knots and waited 24 hours for the glue to set and out-gas. Tonight, I photographed it and photoshopped the graphic to offer it for sale on-line.

Before I started, I took a photo of the materials I assembled in case anyone was interested in how I go about designing my jewelry. Color is what excites me the most and, after that, texture. I’m terrible at following patterns, so I make it up as I go along and never know how a piece will look until it’s done.

How do I know it’s done? It tells me. I have a weird relationship with my art. It speaks to me. I’ve heard other artists say this is true for them as well. Maybe it’s what the ancients meant by a “muse.” I don’t know. I just know that when a piece wants something, it tells me and when it’s all done, I know it. I wonder sometimes if this is what makes me an artist rather than a crafter. To be quite honest, my craft skills are not actually all that good!

As soon as I got it all cleaned and tidied, I started a new project. It’s a mess again! LOL

Got a text today:

I just grabbed a tissue, said to myself- oh my gosh i love this tissue holder!! and thought, ooh I should message her!)  🙂 I always make sure it’s in my purse- and when I rotate purses, it’s the first thing I make sure is in there! Thank you thank you again!! Love you!

For those of you who enjoy my daughter’s drawings.

Posted by Pistol Pete

Twenty five shopping days until Christmas.DW wants to put up our tree this weekend.I remember when I married her,her kids had never had a real tree.It was an annual thing when my children were young.We’d take the pickup,head to one of the many tree farms in the area and tramp through acres of trees to find just the right one.Then you take out the saw and kill a tree in honor of the season.We’d drag it out to the path where a tractor with a flatbed would come along and haul you and your tree back to the main building.While they tagged it and fed it through a machine to encase it in nylon netting we’d go into the little restaurant with the roaring fireplace and treat ourselves to some hot chocolate and a fresh donut.We’d sing carols all the way home and after much effort I would finally get the darn thing to stand up straight in the stand.It filled the whole room with a delightful smell and you almost ignored the constant watering and stepping on dried needles in your bare feet.We never left it up long after the holiday because these trees can ignite and be engulfed in a matter of seconds.We repeated this with SD and SS as long as they lived with us and SD still makes an event of it with her two daughters.SS is so tight with a dollar he makes Scrooge look like Santa,so they do the artificial tree thing,as we’ve done for years.This is one of the simple memories of family time that stay with you forever.

ADDED BY CTH FOR PETE’S SAKE:

I finished my latest quilting project … a floor play pad for Monkey Junior (and any sibs he may have).