Gemini Angel's Art

wow!!! super duper long time!

2012-01-15T19:11:00.004-05:00

Micah at 5 months..loves his books already!
Little Man eating!
and the dolls..playing in the snow! This year we didn't get any snow until a few days ago! At least the dolls have their snow!!
Santa back at the North Pole feeding the reindeer after a long night of deliveries!
The boys on Christmas! We had such a small crowd this year without the girls and Ashton and Shannon came over later in the day with Micah!

Well rather than trying to recount what has happened in the last 10 months i suppose it can just start new. Again i am on the weight loss trek....i had successfully lost almost 40 pounds last year..and unfortunately 30 of it found me again...so here i am back to square 2.....This year i am taking a bit of a different approach and am working on healing my self image...they say that extra weight represents protecting yourself. So i think it would be wise and beneficial to dig a bit deeper and find any of the root causes..besides the fact that i am getting a bit older and menopause is coming some time in the near future..so my hormones are probably all f-ed up and wacked out on top of that!..haha!

So here it is the 15th day of the New Year...i basically have been resting the last two weeks and getting my land legs back for the boys and the busy school days. The newest things i have been interested in is Pinterest, which recently has sparked an interest in nail art...as soon as i find a bit of time that involves enough free time to let nail polish dry i plan on playing and trying some stuff out...i have gathered enough supplies now to begin...I for sure will share on here when i do!

I have now put on a new background....obviously the other one had been here a year or so...geesh what neglect...so hopefully i will remember to come post!

Oh the most exciting thing going on right now is that i joined the Brave Girls Club and am participating in the Body Restoration..that is actually why i am on here to begin with..printing out this last weeks assignment and photos...so i can make the art ....new assignment tomorrow..so i need to catch up~!

i haven't done much art lately, and have not taken many pictures the last few weeks..but i guess i could share some from Christmas...oooh and of my new Grandson Micah...my new little love!

so for now i won't talk and bore you any more and promise to come back with some more pictures next time...those are much more fun that talk..haha!

love and hugs!!

Weight check in

2011-03-07T17:44:00.002-05:00

Just a quick check in..taken on February 24th , me at a 26 pound loss so far! yay!

my face and neck have become much smaller..weight off my shoulders and my chest..still the same jeans but they are looser now and totally more comfortable..lol! I had a 3 pound gain during our week vacation in Cancun...but i was relieved it was only 3 pounds and not more like I had expected...Mood has been very positive through all of this and even looked forward to getting back on my diet when we arrived home! No regrets!

Life around here is so fun...

2011-02-04T18:30:00.005-05:00

My new toy arrived yesterday! After having been watching pole dance videos for a year on youtube, admiring the grace, flexibility and strength of so many talented dancers..i just had to have one! I got it installed successfully yesterday..and looked at it...and then attempted to just hang on it...oh my! I have a long way to go..but I am determined...as i lose more weight it will get easier...so i just have to not give up and keep trying. Fortunately the website i found that has lessons..starts at the very very beginning..first learn the sexy walk...haha....i think i am definitely happy starting with that for now~! One step at a time!

So this evening..i broke the news to Art..prefacing it with "you want a laugh?..let me show you my new toy..." a bit nervous at how he might react...He cracked up, hugged me and said "anything that makes you happy and gives you joy is fine by me"...haha and then of course the conversation deteriorated to when i become a "spinner" once again...i guess in this case it will be literally..and if you don't know what a "spinner" is...um email me and i will try to explain...hahaha

So there...my new toy..and maybe in a month or two i will have a video to share...um..we will see..haha

Now on to a bit of artwork...at least around here you get a smidgeon of all sorts of things...i definitely have never been accused of being boring!!

I am participating in a caalndar themed round robin, each month we work on the next book,creating an artwork spread that correlates with that month..either a holiday or seasonally related! I used a book created from recycled paper,printed to look like various old forms and school papers..a fun book to play with! Traditionally an altered book would be using an old book of sorts..covering the writing on the original pages...

My cover..Time Flies: birds and beauties is the loose theme. there is a card with a vintage image of a woman in the pocket, it is counter weighted with the beads.

sign in page...i left the image large so you can see my mess of various page elements and adornments...it doesn't matter how clean my area starts..it always ends up about an inch larger than the piece i am working on..lol
my name and address..this shows some of the printed elements that exist in the book already...on the right page is a "boarding pass" element printed on it...fun things like this are through out the book!
January....sort of an introductory spread...i didn't want to glue all of my sections pages together so i did two spreads...
My main page for January...one of my favorite things in the art world are the vintage "pin up" girls from the 40's and 50's
So that is it for now..time for me to go play in my studio..not sure what yet..but hopefully some more fun things to share here!
have a wonderful weekend everyone!
xo's

February Calendar page for you!

2011-02-02T12:31:00.001-05:00

February Calendar page for you!
Originally uploaded by gemini angel's art and dolls

the vintage image version of the page...have fun! sorry for being late!

February Calendar page for you!

2011-02-02T12:30:00.001-05:00

February Calendar page for you!
Originally uploaded by gemini angel's art and dolls

Here is the Blythe doll version of the calendar page..sorry for being late...hope you all enjoy!

A Lesson in perseverance

2011-01-27T19:18:00.005-05:00

This is Turner, my 11 year old son. He has had difficulties in school from the second day of kindergarten on....well, until this year in 5th grade...things have changed. I should have known it was a bad sign,when on the second day of Kindergarten when i went into Turner's bedroom to wake him up...his response was an exasperated "Again?!!"

Kindergarten was spent just trying to keep him from hiding under the table when things like singing happy birthday were required and not smuggling "Big Red Dog" artwork home in his backpack...it was a struggle but he had an amazing teacher. !st and 2nd grade showed behavorial problems..he was contantly getting into trouble to get out of class. We implemented a chart system for his behavior..his 1st grade teacher again was amazing..she really worked with him and also spotted some learning problems so we had him tested for learning issues and various other things. He was diagnosed with having a learning disability...then it got worse...his 2nd grade teacher was not patient with him..long story short he got pulled and put into a special ed class. But this time things were really bad. His special ed teacher was fantastic with him, his attitude improved and he finally started to catch up acedemically. 4th grade comes along..this is where i got frustrated with the whole system. Turner was supposed to be reintegrated into the mainstream classroom..another long story short..after 1 failed attempt he got put back into the special ed class. Now since we had problems with the middle school with our other son..we decided it was time to move him. He was too far behind acedemically and emotionally and socially to be able to survive the challenges of private school at St Joeseph so we found another option to send him to our local charter acedemy. Endeavor. Needless to say the new environment, fantastic teachers and special ed staff...all encouraging him, he is in maintstream and is thriving!! Well, his hard work has not gone unrecognized..he has earned the moral standards award that is awarded to less than a handful of students each quarter..his award is for "Perseverance" I am so proud of Turner, i smile every day when he gets into the car and says he had an awesome day when i ask how it went. he has such a fantastic attitude now and tries his best everyday..and despite 5 years of struggle is really shining this year...He is getting his award on Monday..he doesn't know about it...i can't wait to see the look on his face. I know his father and I are going to cry our eyes out...thank goodness though for happy endings...and happy new beginnings~!
Well, i have to say, pondering this word of perseverance..i too am in my own battle..the battle of the bulge. It took a lot of self control and finally knowing that by giving up my alcohol and sweets and anything else not on my strict plan..to finally dig in and do this. Here is my first month's picture...4 weeks of the program and i have successfully lost 16 pounds so far..I may not look a ton different in this picture..but it is a fantastic beginning for me...this time I am NOT giving up..i am going all the way with it..i am persevering myself...I have noticed some changes, my face is smaller, i don't have much of that belly any more, i can't tuck my fingers under it to warm them...roflmao...my fingers are smaller, I noticed, Art can wrap his arms all the way around and even overlap them now, it is easier to run up the stairs, my feet already are not hurting as much, i hardly snore at all any more..and my blood pressure is going down and down...and these jeans don't squeaze the life out of me anymore..hopefully next check in they will be too big!
since i am not buying clothes right now..i had to splurge on these nifty red mary janes...if you don't know already..my favorite color is red...the green and then hot pink..but these come to find match my car...perfectly! haha! Toto...this isn't Kansas anymore...click click...there's no place like home....no place like home...
a post wouldn't be complete without a doll picture and some art....Raven discovers a new vampire in town...more stories to come later...and a haunted mansion....i haven't named her yet...any suggestions would be fun!

last but not least...a little art. I made this clock for one of the girls that works for Art..her husband commissioned me to make her a sea turtle clock..she loves it...yay...it was fun to make!!
and on that note...i am feeling fantastic! Again i have learned how stubborn and strong willed i can be when i put my mind to something...I always say..when there is the will there is a way...this 85 pounds is now down to 69...not such a scary number...it is happening...finally!! I am a happy girl!
xoxoox's

a doll story, new dog, latest news...and some art

2011-01-23T17:21:00.003-05:00

Olive and Floss begged me to let them have a slumber party in their new beach cabana. For some reason though Olive was doing all the work...until i pointed this out! Olive sat down, and had a temper tantrum and went on about how best friends and such....finally Floss gave in and helped!
The girls wanted me to see how nice they made the tent and asked for popcorn! After making them promise me they wouldn't make a mess i made some for them...Floss(the pink haired girl is visiting from Maryland)

Here is the cabana i made for them..we are going to Cancun at the end of february so i want to have some props to take with...it folds flat so it should fit into my suitcase..yeah I know..all this for dolls! hahaha! I also made the mats and they have matching bean bags....
Best friends love to have matching everything...so they got matching night gowns..they keep talking me into letting them wear their new stuff...haha

On to the newest addition to our family! It seems i can never do anything in small amounts..6 kids....down to 3 at home now..and now 3 dogs to go with the 3 boys! Here is the story of Buddy..
We were on our way to go to Tyrus's training down town with Coach Caper and stopped for a snack pick up at the Marathon gas station. The boys ran inside and I was watching this girl..oh maybe 16ish walking around with a small dog in her hands. At first i thought she was getting into the car parked in front of me..the woman opened the window and promptly shut it...then the girl came over to me sitting in my car...i told her how cute her dog was and also noticed how thin he was...he immediately jumped into the window into my arms and on my lap...um his little face won me immediately...*see sucker written on forehead* So after her sob story of how she found him wandering and she needed to find a home for him, that changed to her sister needing $50 because she had no food...and then when i told her i would take care of him and either keep him or find his home she said it was her cousins...any how..by this time i already had decided he was going home with me no matter what..I firmly told her i wasn't giving her money and she gave up and said well dad said i needed to find a home for him....so he came home with us! It was instand fit in with the family. The only thing is that he gets jealous and aggresive with Oscar....but he is getting fixed tomorrow. He checked out good at the vets, is around 1 year old..and got his shots, deworming and heart worm check....so he is officially ours!

here you can see him perched by my computer. He has decided that I am his..and follows me everywhere, he tried to mark me yesterday..i caught him just as he was lifting his leg. He also keeps me company in my studio and sleeps on his fur or in front of the warm vent on the office floor!
he has an unusual eye...part blue and part brown..his other eye is brown. He is a mini dachshund mixed with something...and sweet as can be!
Now...on to the art part...I am in a swap with my Diva friends...here is my contribution...the E's...made to look like Valentines...it is obviously a Valentine themed swap!
and last but not least...on my 3 week and 2 day mark..i have so far lost a total of 14 pounds. On Friday is my one month mark so i plan on taking a picture...hoping for a good week!

well i hope i didn't bore you all with my details..i need to post more often and shorter..i promise i will try to do better! love and hugs to everyone!

First art of the year!

2011-01-03T14:40:00.004-05:00

I decided to join some swaps this year to jump start my creativity! I took a break for a while on the swaps and my art production pretty much came to a screeching halt! So here is my first art of the year...a mere inch square for the challenge blog "Every Inchie Monday"

We have a weekly word prompt and this week was "ecclectic" Um i am not sure if mine reflects that..i tried..i used a green and brown paper with some asian tissue text on top with a paper lace an owl and a flower and word....any how..a good exercise to spark a creative moment..and hopefully as i get rolling here things will be a bit more on task with the weekly word...haha Oh well..at least i like it!

Happy Inchie Monday every one!

This year's theme..Renewal!

2011-01-02T14:26:00.003-05:00

It is a trend for people to pick a theme word for their new year...after posting my resolutions on facebook of
1 losing all of this weight
2 belly dancing again
3 getting really good at yoga so i can one day teach
4 blogging more
5 singing more
6 starting on my children's books that i have been creating and mulling over in my brain
and then adding learning Spanish and Portuguese
one of my friends stated that it was an aggressive list....i wouldn't call it aggressive..ambitious maybe, but definitely one that will be fun for me.

Most of this will be accomplished by re-prioritizing my life...cleaning and laundry can wait so i can give myself a couple of hours a day to do some of the things that i keep waiting to do..waiting for more time! My soul needs renewal...my body needs renewal...my creativity needs renewal..all of these listed will help me do so...So this year i resolve to make more time for me..to renew myself! I spend so much time caring for the family and our home and try to pick up a bit of time here and there...the left over crumbs of time ..for myself.

I remember after i got divorced 15 years ago from my first husband how i had to teach myself to relax. After spending 12 years hearing how lazy I was(despite the fact that i was raising and caring for 3 children a home and working 30+ hours a week) I never sat down..i was so skinny, i looked unhealthy not to mention what my self esteem and emotional state was in...I had to teach myself that it was okay to do things purely for me..When the kids would go to their dads for his 2 weeks, i would clean the house really nice the first day...and then what?..i had 13 days to myself..i learned a lot about myself and having been a mom from day one of my adulthood in a relationship with an abusive man...i had to learn who i was..some where along the line i got lost...really lost~!

I did discover i kind of like myself..and i also realized that it was okay to be nice to me!

So once again in the shuffle of a busy live as a mom and wife...a much much much happier one..i still managed to lose myself again! In a different way this time..not a bad thing..just one of those things that happen as a result of being busy! So this year is dedicated to renewing me and my spirit! This time it will be for fun...not for rescuing. A huge difference...this part of my life is a total different one..the old one was just a bad dream...long faded away!

So this morning..instead of rushing off to clean up the house or do dishes or address the Himalaya's aka the laundry..i sat in the hot tub and really enjoyed my start of the day!! what a fabulous way to start the day~! I do know though..tomorrow it will be back to the rush of school and such and putting the house back together...but sometimes it is right to pause and enjoy!

namaste! and big hugs to all!

Reflections of my self and of the New Year dawning!

2010-12-31T14:26:00.005-05:00

It is actually quite interesting how we all get into a hub bub over the "resolution" thing ...some of us either jump on the band wagon or completely off when it comes to the "new year's resolution"! I am one that tends to see it as a fresh start..plus since it is after the holidays and no sports for the kids and before yard work of spring,I actually have the time and energy to launch something new or for renewing something that I have neglected! I love winter...it is my favorite time of the year. I have time for art, time for home improvement and also time for self improvement! On January 7th i will be celebrating 5 years of being smoke free....i didn't hit the new Years day mark that year..but i figure one week off, in the long run won't make much of a difference! So that was a definite successful promise to myself that year!

So on to this years promise to myself....Like i did with quitting smoking, i have been researching and gearing up for making yet another effort at losing all of this extra weight..45 pounds from the last two babies and then another 40 from quitting smoking~! this time though, i am coming with a new approach. Rather than feeling bad and berating myself over it all, I joined an online inspiration site called Inner Weight Loss...and through the lessons that I downloaded and through daily inspirational messages, i am learning to be kind to myself...to treat my poor self with more love and am trying to separate my feelings of self worth from my actual physical size and shape..for me a very hard thing to do. I realized something just today...that I quit smoking as a kindness to myself. I didn't want to die from it, i was tired of trying to hide just to get a quick hit, always planning the next cigarette, getting nervous if it wasn't happening. Not to mention the stink. I researched for several months before hand on the best ways to quit and found the perfect method for myself..i wish i could find the website to share...it had the best advise! Once i came to the decision to really finally do it...that is exactly what i did..no looking back~! However, i unknowingly (at the time)traded one vice for another...my wine..and when i broke out in hives a couple of years ago, my cocktails which wield even higher calories!

So here i am...i finally have convinced myself that these cocktails that i find sooo tasty can be put on hold for a few short months until my behind shrinks back into a more acceptable size. I love myself. I love how I look and feel when i can fit into my 6's and 8's, I love how my body can move effortlessly carrying only 140 lbs instead of 85 more than that...i am sure my knees and feet will like it much better too! So out of love for myself..and my desire to once again feel good about how I look, i am embarking on this journey of shedding pounds once again~! I just started reading a book called " A Course in Weight loss" Well, i read lesson one...and realized that just maybe the adage of excess weight being a protective devise is probably true...when i read through this exercise i recognized many issues that i have hidden deep within...so I am seeing this as a journey not only as physical weight loss but also emotional baggage weightloss....so here is to a New Year and to taking care of me..inside and out....and most of all treating my self with love! I deserve it...i take care of my family, my hubby my 6 kids...now it is my turn....and I know if I am the best i can be..i will also be the best mom to the kids and lover to my man!

So a profound moment..a bit more serious than I intended..but i am actually looking forward to this journey of self love and self improvement...Happy new Year to every one that reads this..and those who don't...God Bless and have a wonderful wonderful New Year

Lesson One....from my Inner Weight Loss; surround yourself with visions of what you want to be....Here is mine:I was 28 in this picture...probably a mere 128 pounds maybe even less. I don't really want to be this tiny....but this sweet girl is still in here....waiting for herself to love herself...but look..here I am at 45..a bit round but still worthy of love..silly woman! let's do this for Us...me myself and I!
and here is my official starting weight picture..i have to stop myself from looking at it and going bleh....all of me at 225 pounds...yup I am going to tell you....225 pounds of lovable me...so now...it is time to get it back into smaller jeans. I am happy to report though after 48 hours of Medical Weight Loss program..i am already almost 5 pounds closer....yay for getting a head start on my New Years resolution!

I have read many weight loss blogs and have found shared journey's to be inspiring and so helpful! To know i am not alone in this sort of battle is comforting..so maybe, just maybe one person might find my sharing helpful as well!
Namaste and Happy New Year to all of my beautiful friends out there!
xoxox
angela

january angel calendar page 2011

2010-12-06T16:59:00.001-05:00

january angel calendar page 2011
Originally uploaded by gemini angel's art and dolls

here is a non doll version..I plan on doing the whole year in doll and non doll versions!
enjoy!

december 2011 calendar page

2010-12-06T13:55:00.001-05:00

december 2011 calendar page
Originally uploaded by gemini angel's art and dolls

here is my original December page for the swap...The swap pages turned out amazing! WE all agreed it was the best calendar that we have done together yet! I love the Altered Sisters and am so happy that i have been able to be aregular attendee again! Those girls are fun to hang out with and all so talented..I told hubby it was as fun as a kiddie craft hour..but in a big girl way!

thank you all for your lovely pages! I will enjoy our calendar all year!

January 2011 calendar page for you to download and enjoy

2010-12-06T13:27:00.001-05:00

January 2011 calendar page for you to download and enjoy
Originally uploaded by gemini angel's art and dolls

Playing with photoshop. I was in a collaborative calendar swap with my local artist group the "Altered Sisters" and made a December page...and since i have as of late been all about the Blythe dolls..haha thought i would also start creating a year of calendar pages to share with some of my photos! I used my own paper designs in thise one and my own photo....please feel free to download and use for your personal use...and watch for more!

Puggy spam...Emmie is growing

2010-11-14T13:04:00.001-05:00

Puggy spam...Emmie is growing
Originally uploaded by gemini angel's art and dolls

I just realize it has been so long since i made an update...so much has happened in the past 4 months...so the dilemma do i recap or just start from here...well i think the easiest would be to just start from here!

Back tracking a couple of weeks ..our newest addition to the family..our baby girl pug: Emmie!

the light of my life..well another light added..all of my children, my hubby and my other pug Oscar are lights too! She sure is a funny girl and quite different than Oscar. She is more aggresive and playful yet sweet too~! She loves her mamma and has made it known her favorite sleeping spot is on my neck! haha! This was taken a couple of weeks ago and i promised to take some more today! I am sure she is even bigger yet...

robin eggs ready to hatch..

2010-05-04T15:10:00.001-04:00

robin eggs ready to hatch..
Originally uploaded by gemini angel's art and dolls

another fun charm. I was trying to think outside of the box for the charm swap..and was brain storming for things that were different..for som reason this image of an egg with one wing coming out came to my minds eye! I giggled and and decided not only would it be fun and unique t also very symbolic. For me it kind of represents a stage that i am in at the moment..needing to hatch and fly ...so here i am stretching out that first wing to catch the wind...and eventuall i see takin off....one step at a time..gotta finish hatching first...
well i have one more set to come up with this week...an get the fire going under my stragglers butts to get theirs done too..haha

well smooches for now!

hand cut and hammered copper "wing" charm

2010-05-04T15:07:00.001-04:00

hand cut and hammered copper "wing" charm
Originally uploaded by gemini angel's art and dolls

these were another experiment! I just love the look of metal jewelry. Again with no experience or time to take a class, i decided to play and see if i could come up with something acceptable. I first cut the tag shapes from a sheet of craft copper i had that i use for pin backs when i make my shadow box soldered pins. sanded the edges and corners, hmmered them to make them rustic looking, punched holes..i now knowi seriously need a cropodile if i am going to be punching any more metal. then i inserted the eyelets n then punched to word "wing" into each. then i aged them a bit with alcohol inks and to highlight the words..

faux silver clay charms for swap

2010-05-04T15:03:00.001-04:00

faux silver clay charms for swap
Originally uploaded by gemini angel's art and dolls

I have always loved the look of silver clay, but ave not had the time to take a class to learn how to work with it. So, i got creative and tried my hand at creating the look with a silver polymer clay instead. I am thrilled with how these actually look..not exactly silver clay..but pretty darn close...

Sue's charms for winged thing charm swap

2010-05-04T14:57:00.001-04:00

Sue's charms for winged thing charm swap
Originally uploaded by gemini angel's art and dolls

Sue's angel charms for the 'winged thing' charm swap..aren't they cute? Beautiful beads and such....i just love them

Easter Bunny....

2010-03-28T18:54:00.001-04:00

Easter Bunny....
Originally uploaded by gemini angel's art and dolls

Easter is coming slowly this year...realizing it is only a week away the best way for me to start getting in the mood might beto take a dolly picture....poor Ash gets talked into something yet again...hahha Happy Easter every one!

steampunk Piece

2010-03-07T20:44:00.001-05:00

steampunk Piece
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

The third piece i have worked on including my own! This particular one belongs to Cat! A fun mix of various unknown items..haha but really cool! I added the metal butterfly and the spring on the right side with the gears! these pieces are getting more and more interesting as people are working on them and making more additions...this is one fun round to be playing in! I hope Cat likes it!

Garden painting..rainy day

2010-02-28T16:28:00.005-05:00

Garden painting..rainy day
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

see the last post from today for description

Garden Party dress

2010-02-28T16:28:00.003-05:00

Garden Party dress
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

see the last post from today for description

Bird Watching

2010-02-28T16:28:00.001-05:00

Bird Watching
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

see the last post from today for description

Scooter ride with Pugsley puppy

2010-02-28T16:27:00.001-05:00

Scooter ride with Pugsley puppy
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

see the last (first) post from today for description

Owl friend

2010-02-28T16:26:00.001-05:00

Owl friend
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

I have been painting this past week. I love my dolls and I also really enjoy my artwork! I came up with this fun concept of making an interactive canvas with a paper doll concept of a painted doll and various outfits and accessories for her! I have actually never seen anything quite like this before..paper dolls on a canvas!! this was a real fun project to work on! I have more ideas of themes that i am working on...so hopefully i will have more to show soon!

Steampunk pendant

2010-01-31T18:12:00.002-05:00

Steampunk pendant
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

I originally wanted to use a broken pocket watch given to me by my father and after several failed starts, changed direction a bit. I broke the opening mechanism and lost patience with trying to figure out how to repair it or make a new doo- hickey to open the door. So i abanadoned that and started looking around in my supplies. I came across the box with my tins and found this wonderful mint tin. It is about 2 1/4-1/2" tall or a bit more, the perfect size!! I used my Dremel and sanded off the words..as I was sanding I discovered that it made this really cool texture on the raised leaves..so instead of sanding all of the color off, I left it rough..then drilled holes to add the parts: a knocker, Tim Holtz gears, an old watch face and victorian wings and fan. I primarily used brads to attach the pieces with a bit of E6000 to anchor parts...so it is now ready for the round...despite the rocky start I am thrilled with my piece! The hardest part was stopping and leaving room for more additions..haha The inside is also posted on my flickr...additions can be made to the outside and/or inside of the piece!

Banners for a winter wonderland swap~!

2010-01-30T17:04:00.001-05:00

Banners for a winter wonderland swap~!
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

these are for the Altered Art Diva banner swap that Debi Boring is hosting! hand painted canvas, about 5 layers...stamped with hand carved snowflake stamp, silver and white with glitter on the white snowflakes. I edged them with silver ink and then added a paper tree cut out with my cricut...embellished with a snowflake brad, a sparkly flower and fibers on the bottom...so pretty! I wish i had papers that looked like the back grounds on these...hahaha I might just have to recreate that again....these are really sparklie too..unfortunately you can't see that in pictures!

Okay Cookie..ready to go out for a ride?

2010-01-14T20:27:00.001-05:00

Okay Cookie..ready to go out for a ride?
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

I Have been working all week on creating a stable for my horses for my dolls. I have had a couple of horses for a year or more..and when i got my new Urban Cowgirl themed dolls i just had to get twomore horses and then that led to finally making a stable...i had a blast making this..and ths room is the first in a series of stackable rooms...if you want to see in progress pics..please visit my the link in this post under the picture over to my blog!

the horses in their new home..

2010-01-14T20:24:00.001-05:00

the horses in their new home..
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

a detail shot...for the full story please visit my flickr..follow the link in this post!

oooh no!!! they got out...

2010-01-10T21:00:00.001-05:00

oooh no!!! they got out...
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

the shenanigans in Sunnyday Blythe Towers continue..Rickie got some new pets and they escaped!

I have to admit the best part about having a doll hobby is creating all of the tiny creatures and accessories and scenes for them! I had always said i wanted to work with miniatures and doll houses once the kids were old enough to leave stuff alone..i never realized how much fun it would be once i finally got to do it...Definitely worth the wait...and i am just getting warmed up! haha! I have lots of projects and scenes planned for this year! If you are interested there are a ton more photos on my flickr site...so please visit!

xo's

Christmas 2009!

2009-12-25T12:55:00.005-05:00

The lovely snow angels do their patrol at the North Pole, the elves frolick with their freind Mr Patrick Polar Bear! icy yet happy, is the way at the North Pole~!

Nutcrackers stand guard at the front door of our home! Delighting young and old!...

the wonder of the house with many jaws dropping open, is the 12 foot tall tree that you stumble upon immediately entering the front room..try decorating on a 10 foot step ladder when you are afraid of heights..haha! The angel being the most challenging item to place! I wonder if she suffers from many nose bleeds at that height! haha....not seen due to high altitude in this photo! I think there was a cloud cover this day!

Okay had to show this years favorite Christmas outfit...feeling a bit ornery here..hahaha! naughty Christmas fairy i was...lol

The boys in their new jammie bottoms from thier Oma Carol and Opa Norbert!
Although this is their natural state! in undies all the way...future bribery material! haha!! for the girlfriends in a few years...lol Mantel this year! Looks so pretty in it's simplicity! At night the red lights are so warm and cheery!

Last but not least, the pictures from my stocking! Lou gave me the most delightful treasures! I am practiacally speechless with all of the wonderful wonderful vintage goodies. She really hit my likes like the head on a nail..wow wow wow! Lou! THANK YOU!!!! My most favorite thing..the little doll..and the tiny felt heart needle keeper!

all of my super wonderful goodies! mostly vintage! wow!

So here it is in a tiny nutshell! this past month has been so pack full with fun and wonder and hard work! The month started with a weekend retreat with my most wonderful and precious Altered Art Divas gathered at Kari's house in Ohio. Our host was so gracious and spoiled us rotten with all of her lovely food, hospitality and suprises! many gifts were made and exchanged!

The following weekend was a wonderful day spent with some of my closest Blythe doll girlfriends. I even managed to get my studio cleaned up..the nicest it has been in a couple of years...a fun filled day that Sunday!

Then it was time to prepare for our annual office Christmas party the following Friday! An 80's themed Christmas party! What a blast we all had. dinner was catered by the most wonderful little restaurant here in Battle Creek, BiCi Bistro! thank you Shaun for such a wonderful fare! The chocolate fountain has now become a tradition with lots of goodies for dipping!*0's music and delicious spirits for all to enjoy!

So today, the last day of the crazy busy month is here...I can relax and cook in my pajamas! This has got to be the quietest Christmas on record. This morning for the unwrapping was Art, myself and the 3 little boys...that was it. This is the first christmas ever that all of the kids weren't here...a bit strange, but they do grow up don't they?

so Merry Christmas everyone! and Wishes also for a Happy New Year!

xoxoox's

angela

Christmas morning..after opening

2009-12-25T11:17:00.001-05:00

Christmas morning..after opening
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Thank you Oma Carol and Opa Norbert! the boys said they were wearing these the rest of the day..haha

We Wish you a Merrry Christmas..

2009-12-25T11:06:00.001-05:00

We Wish you a Merrry Christmas..
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

from our house to yours! We wish you all a Merry Christmas!!

Last minute shopping and card mailing today

2009-12-23T10:10:00.001-05:00

Last minute shopping and card mailing today
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Hello my friends! a Photo dedicated to all of my cyber friends! Paprika is in the alst bit of frenzied shopping and mailing her cards! I created this cute winter scene with lots of giggles! The outfit was inspired by the bit of ribbon that was on some of my packages from Lou in my stocking swap! Lou I promise loved the contents too...not just the ribbon..hahaa! Any how! Merry Christmas to you all! and Happy Holidays to every one that celebrates in other ways! xoxoxo;s angela

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-01T10:39:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

I just realized something this morning as i was making this card, that wow! this could be addictive! It is funny after a year or more of not making too much..you feel rusty...I was kind of nervous...haha! yeah me nervous. But found a picture of a journal cover that I liked the look of..and mimicked it in my own style...I used the idea of three elements along the edge, the tilted picture and the ribbon along the bottom..it doesn't look anything like the original really...but it is amazing how one can take inspiration from another and make it completely your own! So, now iI think I am ready to make some more..this was fun! haha! Have a most wonderful holiday season! Tis Merry and Bright!

finished Doll room

2009-12-01T09:10:00.003-05:00

I realized yesterday that i forgot to upload finished pictures of the new room! I have moved stuff in. Of course it will never be done done..as I know things will be added over time! I do have to finish getting the old paint and varnish off the floors from the workroom days..but mostly it is done! Here is my bellydance practice/exercise area

My doll shelves and houses in place..here you can see I still need to scrape the french door windows..
Details all around..so glad it is done..phew!

a couple of my doll houses..too funny. I used to giggle at the concept of the little old ladies and their doll rooms...who knew?..now i am one! Ha hahahahaha! but hey! I an having more fun with this than any other hobby I have had..so ba humbug on the nay sayers..*sigh* had one the other day..a very close member of my family...she just won't ever get it....the funny thing is..rather than bothering me too much, I just have this desire to talk about my dolls even more..hahahaha (no passive/agressiveness in me what-so-ever.hahaha)

So here it is...I am now currently reorganizing and cleaning up the rest of my studio to match the neatness in here....it may take me a while..well, not too long since i have friends coming on the 13th...after my trip this weekend it is all out cleaning for a week! I'll share pics when i get done!

vintage quilt stocking I made

2009-11-30T17:00:00.001-05:00

vintage quilt stocking I made
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Hand made stocking...i seriously am having a hard time letting this one go! For Lou!!

For a present

2009-11-30T16:59:00.001-05:00

ornament i made as one prezzie!
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Altered jewelry box made into an ornament! She is such a sweet girl..i had fun using her for this!

Beads i made for a rosary bead swap

2009-11-30T16:58:00.001-05:00

Beads i made for a rosary bead swap
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

for the Diva Rosary swap! Sunny yellow with some kooky beading...just like me! LOL!

Latest Project!

2009-11-07T09:56:00.004-05:00

For a couple of years now i have dreamed of having a wonderfully organized garage and clean work room! I wanted to move the power tools and cabinets out of the work room that is part of my studio. Every time one of us would do a project with the saws or paint or otherwise messy medium it would get all over my art studio...so it was time for a change! First, with my son Ashton and his gf's Shannon's help we cleaned and organized the garage! After this first step which was a huge step...as you can see..We brought down a shelf from the work room and installed some wire shelving and got things organized! Then Ashton and Shannon insulated and drywalled then painted the garage!At that point they sort of got busy..so i finished putting everything away and moved the pegboard down from the studio and organized all of the tools and stuff! Ashton came back one final time and helped me move the cabinets down and finish installing pegboard! here is the finished garage!Everything has a place! there are a couple more things to get rid of like the game table right here..but basically it is done and CLEAN! yay!..on to phase 3... The work room! This is the before picture with the cabinets and tools all crammed in there...My dance area...crammed too!After the move! I now have an empty..well almost empty room to begin fresh! I have now painted and installed new baseboard trim where it was missing from the cabinets...here is my color inspiration! The book was the initial inspiration for the yellow wall color and funky folk art border..I was trying to decide if i wanted birds..or a more favorite lady bugs as part of the border...i then remembered this perfect unfinished quilt top i had made years ago...just because i loved the colors and fabrics...so the decision was made...First step was yellow on all of the walls...then a base coat of white on the border...then the pink background color...then some flowers added....and finally black doodle detals and checkers along the border edge! I have worked for many many hours on this room..it is pretty big..i would say 14x25-30 ft....so many many flowers and lady bugs later..haha! I have finished almost all of it.i have one last wall to finish detailing and then the cleanup begins...well i have been cleaning and moving things here the past day...so i am close! A fun yet labor intensive project..and when i walk in and see the bright colors it just makes me smile! This room will be for practicing belly dance and the new home for my dolls and their stuff!

I will add finished room pictures when i get it completed!

have wonderful weekend!

Flying school...4 of 5....

2009-10-26T16:18:00.001-04:00

Flying school...4 of 5....
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

The cakes are enjoying their Flying Lessons from the Master witch flyer around here..Angel. Comve visit my flickr for the complete story! haha! Happy Halloween everyone!

Cover of Twilight inspired journal

2009-10-22T17:14:00.001-04:00

Cover of Twilight inspired journal
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Pig-malia 1 of 7

2009-10-22T17:11:00.001-04:00

*Pig-malia* 1 of 7
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Where Swine flu really came from!

Fall Picnic 1 of 13

2009-10-22T17:10:00.001-04:00

Fall Picnic 1 of 13
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

a fun fall story of the characters at Sunny Blythe Towers..also the prequel to Pig-malia: where the swine flu really came from"

Witches Cupboard Charm Swap..the results

2009-10-20T13:23:00.003-04:00

I wanted to share with you all my necklace made with the charms i received from Michelle's Witches Cupboard charm swap! amazing! the little broom at the top left was my humble contribution..among the charms..not to leave any out.but a short synopsis...two witch journal's, a tiny clay cauldron, verdigrised copper cauldron, an amazing beaded spider, a box containing the world's tiniest tarot deck, fun scrabble charms including a very first one from my stepmom Carol (awesome job Carol btw!) spiderwebs, lovely beaded trinkets, vials filled with various essential ingredients for spells, a magical holey stone, eyeballs, albino toad roe, a magical metal book...among others...click on the picture to see it large..wowsers..it is really amazing! Thank you again Michelle for being such an amazing host!!!

visiting Halloween filled: Sunny Days Gone by Manor

2009-10-10T17:43:00.005-04:00

As we come up the spooky walk to Sunny Days Gone by Manor..we are greeted by the hideous gardner...i think bones weren't the only thing he dug up.....Spooky-licious treats abound..mantle filled with spooky things and witches flying everywhere... a sinister clown laughs and jests that maybe we might want to "trick or treat"

as we go further into the manor..we notice in the corner the spiders have caught their lunch for the day..an unsuspecting previous visitor came to an untimely end to his short life....he now hangs in suspense....

We had to tip-toe by for fear of disturbing the witches during their final test in flying school...disturbed witches can be quite crabby...

Stopping by the bar...we decided against partaking any refreshments..it was quite over run with a large bat population..and you know where there are bats..there is bat sh.....

Although the bats didn't seem too unfriendly...kind of cute i might add....

mysterious characters everywhere...working their magical spells and making potions...

some more alive than others....

and some local visitors stopped by during our visit....

Fortunately..i remembered to carry along my bucket of water..just in case one of those crabby witches tried to cast a spell on us....she melted quite nicely...

and I always thought that only bad witches were ugly...and had ugly shoes..I guess i was wrong..all bad witches are ugly..but they wear awesomely cute shoes...so now the story is told on how I scored the Wicked Witch of the West's truly awesome and magical shoes...her sister was the one with the ruby red slippers...

(i got the idea for these fun shoes from MarahJohnsons awesomely cool "twilight journal" kit...my next project i believe

Come One, Come All!

2009-10-08T09:52:00.002-04:00

You Are Invited to The Altered Art Diva's Black Hat Society Tea Party!

Please join us for our month long Halloween Celebration! Each of us will be posting and featuring Halloween Goodies all month long! Halloween Art, recipes, links...and all sorts of Halloween goodies! Come join the fun , follow the links on the right to enjoy the fun and visit often!!!

felted pug doll i made last night

2009-10-07T11:24:00.001-04:00

felted pug doll i made last night
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

I have been wanting to get back to doing some felting. I saw a knitted pug doll posted on one of my Faebook friends streams and thought it would translate into an adorable mini pug....i just love him! Next project...felted mini guinea pig pets for the dolls....

Miss Daisy decides to try playing outside...

2009-10-07T11:23:00.001-04:00

Miss Daisy decides to try playing outside...
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Anika fell asleep shortly after starting the book...zzzzzzzzz Daisy got bored and thought she saw a break in the clouds and decided to try her luck outside....

so little miss Daisy...would you like for me to read THIS book?

2009-10-07T11:21:00.001-04:00

so little miss Daisy...would you like for me to read THIS book?
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

a nice way to spend a rainy afternoon...

hand made for a Halloween charm swap..

2009-10-03T21:10:00.003-04:00

hand made for a Halloween charm swap..
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Charms for the Witches Cupboard charm swap..this one will be fun!

See Dru..he won't bite...

2009-10-03T21:10:00.001-04:00

See Dru..he won't bite...
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Vampire Raven introduces his pet raven to Dru...she was a bit frightened..but got used to him after a few moments..however, she did firmly turn down the offer to ride him for a flight under the Harvest Moon!

pink

2009-10-03T21:08:00.001-04:00

*pink*
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

A tribute for Breast Cancer Awareness month...October..make sure you are up to date on your breast exams my lady friends!

My football player singing the blues...

2009-10-03T21:07:00.001-04:00

My football player singing the blues...
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Long day of football practice...what is it about dirty boys that is so cute?

me again...been playing..

2009-09-24T19:41:00.005-04:00

Again..football season is upon us..Tyrus is getting huge..about 3/4" more and he will be tall as me..at 12!! I get this feeling he is going to be HUGE! My football player..love the red of his new school..yippee!(i really dislike the previous blue of the other school)...only an artist would care..lol

Football games galore...
Halloween altered cabinet cards....i am having fun..more than half way done...Little Miss Muffet

Double Double toil and trouble

BOO!

Trick: for the eyes

too much POISON!

creepy crawly

My latest Blythe stories..Ash and Kendall have had a long term love/hate relationship. Kendall realized that it was more of a Love relationship when he left and visited a friend of ours with tons of girls there especially one named Chicken..Ash and Chicken had an interesting relationship..basically he was a slug and she worked him half to death..haha So here Kendall is visiting ASh in his new room and they are rekindling their romance..or whatever it was...

Today i had created a new room for Ash in my Expedit shelves..i made the bed stuff and owl rug...i love this part..making things...

Ash decided to make good with Kendall and make pens for his prize roosters and for her pigs..He realizes that there are a ton of pigs..woah!

Okay guys....let's get to work....

Ash takes a quiet moment with his rooster...he was a gift from Chicken..i think he secretly misses her and all of her bossyness and everything

Okay that is it for now..i am trying to be better about posting to my blog...see ya all soon

xoxox's

so how can tell when an artist is over 40?

2009-09-24T19:40:00.001-04:00

so how can tell when an artist is over 40?
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Cause she has every color of reading glasses availabe!

I Went out to a birthday lunch with Ashton..he is now 23 and Shannon..his gf and Salina...i have never seen me with my readers on..thought it was pretty funny..haha~!

Oh dear!......

2009-09-22T11:14:00.001-04:00

Oh dear!......
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

a little lost bear that dropped his lunch...can't find his way home anymore...said his house burned to the ground and he has no where else to go...maybe he can live here with the crowd

Veronica to the rescue..

2009-09-22T11:13:00.001-04:00

Veronica to the rescue..
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

WE now have a new membe to the family..our little Paddington found his new friend Veronica out on the sidewalk and enjoys a ride back to the house....poor dear said his feet hurt from all that wandering ...so lost he said...then he asked for a sandwich....

Quiet fall day..

2009-09-22T11:11:00.001-04:00

Quiet fall day..
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Clover searches out a quiet spot in the woods...shady, serene and listens to the birds singing and the rustling of the fall leaves on the wind.....

wow time flies

2009-09-17T15:33:00.006-04:00

During summer and foot ball season i have realized i have so little time for much of anything extra like a bunch of interenting, pictures or even posting too many photos..i have 2600 unread emails too eeeeps! However, I wanted to share some pictures from the last month..well some of them! This is Carol(my step mom) and my Dad! I snagged these from their facebook..i actually took this picture..on their camera..We had a wonderful dinner out at Hana East in Kalamazoo(michigan) the last evening of their visit! Aren't they sweet! This is Art and me!

Art and our boys! I just adore this picture!!!

The next exciting thing only a few days after their stay my far away daughter Salina came via train from Portland Oregon for a two week visit! yay! WE have had some fun and an adventure over to Ann Arbor for some shopping during the Michigan vs NotreDame football game...woah what a crazy ride into town...

here is Salina at her finest..rofl!

Tyrus and Colton(his buddy) got to go to the game with Art..they were excited...here they are on the way over...

Yup! It's all about the Blue!

The sea of yellow drunk college students on State street..required to party behind the barricade..haha!

fun Robots at the cutest toy store at Kerrytown..i HAVE to go back..there was this darling fairy doll house i seriously am wanting bad... Just me! This was taken in this really cool graffitied alley. Unfortunately it was covering the even cooler original mural painted in there! My darling and beautiful Salina!

The day was filled with a bit of crazyness and lots of sillyness.....

and to leave you on the sweetest note that i can imagine...baby Jon Jon....his response is always "what what" haha

Til next time...i should have art pictures from a weekend full of arting coming up...*keeping fingers crossed*

Lots more canvas pieces...

2009-09-08T08:41:00.001-04:00

Lots more canvas pieces...
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

I decided to start on some more pieces. I piled the pile back up..over 70 pieces and closed my eyes and picked out 5 sheets. Glad picked one extra because it was the one with the various painted stripes(shown in the lower right of this picture) So last night i started prepping the 4 new canvases to match each picked piese. I also dug out the hand paintedangels, will be using one of those, and a hand painted moon for one and then will paint characters(either fairies or angels) for the other 3..i will snap a progress picture here in a bit!

Piggie art done as a gift for my dil's niece

2009-09-06T21:45:00.003-04:00

Piggie art done as a gift for my dil's niece
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Little Piggie for Maddie..having fun playing with paper!

Turner: on canvas

2009-09-06T21:45:00.001-04:00

Turner: on canvas
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

i had fun creating the swirl with alcohol ink! this design was never published into paper..but still one of my favorites!

the boys: on canvas

2009-09-06T21:44:00.001-04:00

the boys: on canvas
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

i just love how this picture turned out! All the boys arted on my handpainted designs..this one is "Tomatoe Juice" in my Father Knows Best line.

Tyrus and Oscar on canvas

2009-09-06T21:42:00.001-04:00

Tyrus and Oscar on canvas
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

Jonathon on canvas

2009-09-06T21:41:00.001-04:00

Jonathon on canvas
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

the finished result of the boys arted onto canvas mounted artwork

witchy hour

2009-09-06T14:50:00.001-04:00

witchy hour
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

I have been working on some altered cabinet cards for a Halloween swap...more to come!

visit the link at the bottom of the picture to see the other 3 posted on my flickr!

WIP 4 art canvasses

2009-09-06T14:32:00.001-04:00

WIP 4 art canvasses
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

I am using my originals from my paper designing days to create some new art pieces. I hand paint and stamp on flat pieces of unounted canvas to create my papers so i needed to collage papers on 12x12 stretched canvas and then glued the painted designs onto them so thy would have a nice base. I am currently in progress of working on the art on top of these..i should be able to get them finished by tonight!

My altered envelope back

2009-09-06T14:30:00.001-04:00

My altered envelope back
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

the back of my envelope!!

My altered envelope front

2009-09-06T14:29:00.002-04:00

My altered anvelope front
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

okay for some reason i can not post photos..and i know how boring all word posts are...so here i go from my flickr and see if i can post pics from here..I am in an altered envelope swap with the theme of back to school...here is my envelope front..for work done on my other envelops please visit the link at the bottom of the picture, it will take you to my flickr page

Raven does Thriller for WAW

2009-07-02T11:09:00.001-04:00

Raven does *Thriller* for WAW
Originally uploaded by gemini angel art

I am a mamber of a group pn flickr called Wear it Again Wednesday for our Blythe dolls(yes the ones with the big heads) and This weeks theme was a tribute to Michael Jackson....here is my newest custom Raven doing his renditioon of thriller!

update...wow 2 months

2009-06-28T14:11:00.014-04:00

My days are filled with children, hubby, home and dolls! The last couple of months have been a whirlwind of activity. I have squeezed in moments...rare moments, of creativity and making things around the trips, field trips, yard work, landscaping and birthdays! This is a mishmash of some of the highlights! Please bear with me for a long recap.....

Tiny Raggedy Annie and Andy for my dolls...these were so fun to make and i definitely want to make more! a new dolly member: Tangle!..she has captured my heart and attention of late..a mere 5 1/2 inches tall...but full of personality and spunk..here she is gathering flowers in her scooter. Note..making doll clothes this tiny is very challenging!

Here she is hanging out with her bunny Brer....she does not like tomboy clothes, I found out, so she has been getting a new wardrobe of girly girl dresses..what is more girly than bright pink flowers?

One of the other things i have discovered with my latest adventures in the land of dolls, is to customize them into the boys. Here is my latest addition: Raven, vampire! Blythe dolls unfortunately, come in girl models only..so i have fixed that by creating my own...Raven is trying to make friends with Kendall to no avail..she has been reading too many vampire books and is convinced he is trying to bite her neck...
Another custom! I love images of Asian culture...an iconic Geisha girl...I am much more comfortable with making the boys some reason..but this one came out pretty nice. Not sure about her eye makeup though, I may redo that at some point...outfit was made a few months ago and was perfect for her!

The process of customizing a doll, is to completely disassemble their heads. You first unscrew two screws in the back of their head, take off their scalp and head dome, remove the eye mechanism. Then sand the shine off of their faces, carve their lips, repaint lips and make-up...change out the eye colors(there are 4 sets of eye chips...aka irises on a Blythe doll for changing eye color controlled by a string on the back of their head). After all of this is done a procedure called boggling and gaze correction can be done by shaving areas of the plastic off on the eye mechanism. Then it is all reassembled....brief description here...but it is fun and it makes your doll one of a kind~!

The beginning of June included a trip for me to Portland, Oregon to see my daughter Salina graduate from highschool out there. She has been living with my brother and family and has finished her last year there. She is taking intensive German courses this summer in hopes to be an 'Au pere' and travel to Europe this fall.

here we are at the Max station waiting for the train:

Here she is wearing my graduation dress from 1983, with my cowboy boots that I lived in back in highschool...she is so adorable and I was tickled pink that she would want to wear my old stuff!This is the longest graduation ceremony I have ever witnesses...590 students..phew!My adorable graduate! Salina from the class of Sunset Highschool, Porltand, Oregon 2009!!!
Back to the dolls for a minute, that have taken over..haha! A newer addition, Anika. She came to me unfinished with the most beautiful face...I added her white mohair wig...She is my favorite doll at the moment. Her tiny mini-me doll is from a flickr friend 'violetpie'!

One of the highlights of May was a trip to Boston in the beginning of the month..Now even though Turner looks POed in this picture; the 5 day trip was a blast! We toured the city on the WWII "ducks" including driving into and floating on the harbor, a trip to the fantastic science museum and then the Trolley tour on our last day! Boston is such a beautiful city! a must see!!

We finally finished our construction..the living room, now called the sitting room..we have since added a couple of end tables and a lamp..still looking for the right artwork for the walls:

The new living room..

Some Dolly romance...or not....Uri making his moves on a reluctant and busy Veronica...she is more interested in catching her butterflies!!

Patric is sweet on Madison and took her out for an afternoon swinging on the tire swing and reciting poetry under the tree !!

Kendall is still pining over Ash here, He has now since returned home..but is being sequestered after the knife throwing incident!! Kendall thought maybe if she had pigs, he would come home and build her a pigpen, like he did for the girls he visited out in Portland

The other thing that has kept me super busy the past two months is my yard and garden. I accidentally ordered twice as much mulch as needed. However, it has forced me to finish the back yard...I am close but not quite done. There was 25 yards of mulch initially. When we returned from Boston and looked at the seemingly untouched piles of mulch, despite Ashton's three days of weeding and mulching the front yard...I realized my mistake...yikes! here are some pictures of the backyard: this is the path that leads to the front yard and driveway:

We took the fence around the pool down..well, Ashton took the fence down and therefore all of the surrounding landscaping had to be dug up and redispersed and then mulched.

the unfinished area...eeeks!

A path and new landscaping that I created...Ashton and Shannon did the initial clearing around the deck for me..then I came in and dug up the path and laid the stone and put plants and rocks back in. Ashton and Shannon have put in many hours of help over the past couple of months, I couldn't have done all of this without their help!!!

Overlooking the pool area from the deck :

The pond area got revamped too..completely disassembled and cleaned out, new forms put in and then everything was reassembled and mulched...phew!!! just talking about it wears me out again..haha!
Jonathon celebrated his 7th birthday on May 19th, Art his 54th on May 28, Tyrus' 12th on June 7th and lastly my 44th(eeks how did that happen) on June 18th..busy two months with all of those and fathers day and mothers day thrown in...

a few more dolly pics to close...Emmie..a new girl from my friend Emmie in Wisconsin...with her raggedies:

some new outfits..here is Gabrielle with her pretty new green ensemble that i made...

Clover taking out the "cakes" (aka vintage strawberry shortcake dolls) for a ride with mr. snail..also in a newly created outfit:

Oh and i have been participating in a "Blythe runway challenge" and May's entry was to create your outift by only using material from the grocery store. I won "best use of recycled items" haha..an ensemble created with a sprite box, reusable shopping bag, two plastic shopping bags and a white "onion" bag...and flowers created from an egg carton:

So, there!! you have my past two months in a nutshell..there were also field trips and Tyrus went to football camp and a visit with mom and Russ among other things....sorry for the loooong update..but i figure better a long one than none...next on the list..Myrtle Beach this coming friday for a nice long week of sun and beach!

till next time

love and hugs!

April update

2009-04-06T20:56:00.008-04:00

Easter Swap!!! Today I met Beth at a McDonalds half way between us...and here is my basket that she cut out, created and hand painted...it was loaded full and overflowing with all sorts of fabulous goodies. I feel so spoiled!! Among the goodies are vintage laces, vintage glitter in an antique salt shaker, tons of Easter postcards, candies galore, a gorgeous pair of handmade earrings(Beth makes the most beautiful jewelry creations) so many fun things...she spoiled my dolls too with a pretty party dress that Kendall immediately had to put on, a new dolly for them to play with, and the most amazing miniature Easter basket filled with the most detailed realistic candies....this is only a partial list...I had so much fun opening my goodies...and then re-opening them when i got home....Beth thank you so so so much! You really spoiled me rotten and I love everything you gave to me!Mom!! This dress is MINE!!! it has to be..matches my hair! Kendall has been sort of mopey ever since Ash went on a trip to visit a friend of ours out in Portland...so I thought letting her have the dress would cheer her up

All of our loot laid out...WOW!!!

This miniature Easter Basket is so amazing!

I had fun this past Saturday at an artist demo at the Brownstone Cafe..this darling coffee shop dowtown Battle Creek! Lots of artist there..and so much fun meeting tons of new people!

I have been working on a bit of art and trying to catch up on some UFO's. This is a spread i did in Sandee's "celestial/dark side of the moon" book for the dark Altered Book Round Robin..this poor round is taking forever..moving slower than molasses in January..i am hoping this will help get it going again...I only have one more book to work on...once it gets here!???

Tessa is playing with her new Tomato dollhouse!

She is spoiled rotten...she also got a new doll house for her room too!!

Easter Bucket that i made for Andi..this is the back side of it....

side of the bucket

other side of the bucket!

This is the front..i packed it full with lots of goodies! I sure hope she likes what i stuffed in there!

The "cakes" are getting into the Easter spirit too...they are showing you their new Easter outfits!

Calico tries to train mr robot to help with housework! Anni is having aharder time getting around..her belly is getting bigger and bigger. Of course one must wonder how much mr robot understands the finer side of cleaning since he was using an oven mitt to dust with....next he will try to do the dishes....hmmmmm

So, here's the story..these new clothes should help us blend in...maybe no one will notice that we are odd colored and from another planet....

So mr alien...from what galaxy do you hail?

Cute sleeping kitty and girl....i love the color of this kitty.like a buttercream candy!

What sweet faces....i haven't thought of any names yet...

I just adore their matching dresses..so detailed and cute!

Well this is a bit of what is going on....i haven't had time to play with pictures lately until yesterday and today! We have been under construction so i have been working on the house. I will take pictures soon..but not until the carpet goes in..the house is a wreck right now..and so disheveled. I did finish Jonathon's mural in his room...so next time i will post some of his room too...The boys are on spring break this week...yay..no appointments, therapy or sports for now!..phew!

until next time!

March update

2009-03-11T09:00:00.009-04:00

I guess i am just going to have to label these by month..since it seems i get around to it once a month or so..ha ha!~ Okay i realize as i look through my pictures..that even though some days i don't feel like i get much done...i get a lot done. If i have seemed quiet lately..well I guess the pictures following will show the reason..I have been a bit busy!

So for the bleh stuff...i have had one sick kid or another constantly for the last two months i swear.. Jonathon has had strep now twice since Christmas. He was home sick all week last week..finally was diagnosed and is now on antibiotics this week..after a second trip to the docs..I was rather upset that they would not swab him last week...even when i specifically asked...but now he is getting better...

Tyrus also spent a few days home in the infirmary...aka the living room...

And on top of all that i broke my toe...getting into the hottbu no less...geesh....okay besides having an excuse for not going to the gym since my foot doesn't even fit into a shoe other than flip flops..it hasn't slowed me down too much..okay so on to the fun stuff...
I finished Turners room and mural...his Robot City: as you walk in

This is the view from the door

to the right..my favorite part

behind the door

We are also under construction...of course i am sure i will be painting this area too...this is just off of our living room

the dumb window we put in will now be gone..that is our bedroom through the window. It will free up a lot of space in our bedroom..besides not having a window that is impossible to cover
Colors chosen for the new area and the adjoining current living room..the tile will be around the fire place...the green on the long walls and the orange around the fireplace..the carpet is the one on the bottom row third from the right
I have also snuck in a few moments to play with my dolls..this is the room I created in the expedit..a living room for the resident kitties

We adopted a new girl awhile back from a friend..she is my only "custom"..she has mohair instead of her normal hair and also carved lips and makeup redone...here she is when she arrived...in her room

Of course she got a new dress..and demanded a redecoration of her bedroomHer name is Olive..and this is her new room... She is a lucky thing..she scored another new dress later in the month. We are experiencing dolly uprisings left and right around here....hard to keep so many girls in new clothes..gees and i thought 6 kids was tough..ha ha

Speaking of kitties...since i am allergic and Art has a very extreme dislike for cats..these are our resident kitties...no litter box needed...

of course since i was finished with Turner'sroom..i had to immediately start on Jonathon's..here it is in the beginning stages...well actually about half done
His monsters got their first coat of paint..i only have added the eyes since this picture...but as soon as we get back from North Carolina for my mom and Russ's wedding I will finish this...

behind his bed...

My last project...a wedding gift for Mom and Russ...Mom's handle on the internet is the German gypsy..that inspired this set. Since it is a wedding gift i couldn't leave it at just a gypsy..she needed her man too. And they needed a fancy ride! All of the patterns are my own opriginal design..made as i was creating..ha ha..i had so much fun! here are the bodies before decoration:

size comparioson to the peacock:The finished couple riding on their fancy peacock..i hope they like my creation...mom always has remarked how she really loves my art dolls and would at some point "not mind" having one.well she got a whole set.....well is getting it this weekend..we are off to Asheville tomorrow....
In the plastic world...we have pregnanat Plastic...Anni was not having a good morning...we are not sure how far along she is yet..but must be the first trimester since she has had a lot of morning sickness...arturo has been worried...

Who would have believed that there are even T-shirts for pregnant dollies..lol...this cracked me up..a friend sent it to me....

And finally! I have finally gotten my weight back under 200lbs...I still have a ways to go..but to get to that first landmark was exciting! This was the day i saw 199 on that scale!
So there is a bit of my month..lots more of course was going on...but these were the fun parts..and the momentous ones..i have more pics..but need to get off here..so hopefully i will update sooner than a month...see you all then!

xoxo's

i really am bad aren't I?...okay let's see huge ketchup needed

2009-02-18T12:17:00.009-05:00

Well it was a romantic month around here so far! Lot's of goings on and romantic art and swaps and romance going on in the dolly world aka Sunny Blythe Towers~
First off I was in one of the most fun swaps ever for Valentine's Day. This was with the Altered Art Divas. I was in a pinch with a sick kid(story of my life this past 6 weeks..if not one is sick then another one is *sigh* and couldn't get to the store to buy a heart box...so i made one from fabric and foam core. I created the top by making a fun crazy quilt from various vintage and new fabrics and laces...and then filled it full with goodies! Beth Bricker was the person i sent to!this is the contents before i added a top layer of more things...so fun to fill..we are doing an easter basket swap next yippeee!

Here is the box that Andi made for me...i just love it! It too was filled with all sorts of yummy and fun goodies..It was amazing~
The romance was in the air as Patrick and Madison go out on their first date for icecream...he is such a sweetie....Madison I think, is falling for him~

Chaos also ensued. Poor Mitzi was having nightmares that she had turned into Alice in Wonderland and her bedroom was filled with characters from the movie...she must be watching too much Disney lately...

The Kitties threw a suprise party for a friend of ours..they had delicious cream frosting and strawberries on the yummy cake!

We got a new family member, a custom doll by a new friend of ours in Canada! she has the sweetest customs out there..she goes by blytheplanet on flickr....Michele is her name. This is Olive...Olive got a new bedroom in the Sunny Blythe Towers Annex..OLive loves to wear pink..but refused to be okay living in a predominatly pink bedroom~

I also decided it was time for me to get around to making chains for my reading glasses that i need for almost everything any more...so here 3 of the batch that i made...need to make a few more. I have a growing collection of reading glasses...at least i can always manage to find a pair somewhere..lol

I was also inspired to create another vintage button and bead necklace using a couple of kits from French General(through paula's kit club) and various components i had on hand..brown and pink makes such a lovely combination..this is my favorite one yet!

Our Frog family expanded by adopting firs two toddlers....Here is Trixie tucking in the kids....

but Trixie and Ed had fallen so much in love..they decided to adopt twin newborn babies too!! Ed is such a wonderful dad! He always seems to have one wee on on his knee at all times! Here they are in their new studio flat!

I tried something new! Needle felting...i think needle felting and I will be getting along quite well...now to only find more time

We had a snow fairy visit us a lot during the month of february...so much so i had to chase her down and very kindly ask her to lighten up a little and not send us quite so much snow...i think she finally listened..it hasn't been so bad the last couple of weeks!

I actually had a day a couple of weekends ago that i had time to make a few valentines..i even mailed them..ha ha! I can't tell you how many cards i have bought or made..but never made it into the mail~ These we so fun to make!

These are post it note booklets. I made these as gifts for the little ones' teachers

The inside of one..a very fun project and makes such a fun gift to give!

Ash our resident boy toy took Kendall out for a date..but as they were leaving for a movie heard some good news. A toast is in order...(Kendall is wearing a dress i had made for her)

See Love is really in the air this month...the love birds were singing so much Pistachio had to go see what all the racket was on the patio..(she is also wearing a dress i had made)

Darla pitches in cleaning up after all the boys in the house(in a new dress too....ha ha!! made these 3 dresses super bowl sunday morning instead of computering) She was a bit worried about Anni...Anni had just told Arturo the news

Anni had not been feeling herself lately, she has been so tired and has been throwing up at weird times..and waking up in the middle of the night needing weird foods.. ... she finally breaks it to Arturo....Honey..I am pregnant....yes we have pregnant plastic here.....this story is to be continued(after the major studio overhaul i am in the middle of...) but keep watching folks..some twists and turns are planned....

One last bit of news at the Sunny Blythe Towers....the cakes finally got their new home. The had to endure a horrible uprising from some of the other members of the gemini angel art studio society...but they now have their own cottage to be comfie in on the block...

Well that is it for now..I hope you enjoyed the update of the crazy life around here..The studio is where i go to escape in between sick kids(all three at different times of course..the minute i think it is getting back to normal...wham another trip to the doctor..two cases of strep so far..another with gastritus from his nerves of starting a new school...one diagnosed with sensory defensiveness....3 times a week therapy at the moment...so it was rough at times and very crazy since before Christmas.Oh speaking of which.. I am happy to report that Art is now doing well and has built his blood back up and finally seems to have energy again...but i won't bore you with the life details more than that...today life is good..even though i have a strep throat sickie on the couch as i type..it does make it so i HAVE to stay home...oh darn...okay now off to clean the house!!

Happy Days to all of you!!

xoxox's

angela

Happy New Year~

2008-12-31T10:51:00.008-05:00

Well we had a very eventful week before Christmas..not all good. Art had to be taken to the emergency room the Sunday before Christmas. He had a black stool..meaning there was blood coming from somewhere in his digestive track. He didn't say anything to me Saturday night, but by mid afternoon Sunday he was so weak and his heart rate was so elevated it could no longer be ignored. He finally said something to me about the stool and how weak he felt and said he might want me to take him to the hospital in a while if he didn't feel any better. I took one look at him, he was as white as a sheet.. I told him to lay down while i got ready, we are going now!

They admitted him for tests after a positive physical exam that yes, indeed there was blood in his bowel. They put him on an IV drip and then ran a gazillion tests and we waited for the GI doctor to come. Around noon on Monday he finally came. Upon further exam and more questions the Doctor said that he probably had quit bleeding and it probably was in his stomach since the blood was black. The then prepped him that evening giving him "slo go"solution to clean everything out for an upper and lower scope done on Tuesday around 1. Phew! what a time...it seemed to take forever for anything to happen. Oh on Monday they gave him 2 pints of a blood transfusion...we found out yesterday that Art probably lost close to 4 pints total...that is like half of the blood in his body..eeeks! So they found the bleeding ulcer in his stomach, which by then had stopped bleeding and was beginning to heal and everything else looked great...he even got the clear for not needing another colonoscopy for 10 years. this whole thing was so scary...i really think i almost lost Art. I have been counting my blessings each day a 100 times since! He was released around 4pm Tuesday and we were so thrilled to go home that evening...then the craziness to finish prepping for Christmas began..yikes!! fortunately on Monday when i knew Art was stable, i went out and finished the Christmas shopping. so on Christmas Eve all i had to do was go grocery shopping, wrap all the presents.ha!(i did end up getting help from Salina and her two friends) The evening of Christmas Eve was spent partially at the airport waiting for Salina to arrive, her plane was delayed an hour..and then also trying to get Stephanie home from Chicago, all of the trains were sold out..they sold her reserved ticket to a paying customer...so she couldn't just go down there and pay as she got on like normal. All the flights were booked and outrageously expensive, even the next day. So, i ended up hiring a limo service to send their town car over to Chicago and get her...she arrived Christmas morning at 2:30am..so she was there for Christmas morning..yay! All my babies were home!

Soft snow blanket, stillness, serenity, calm, Christmas morning!And the chaos ensues. Salina and her bright yellow "Michigan"jacket..something from home to take back to Portland with her.Ashton and his girlfriend Shannon..a bit bleary eyed but happy!Stephanie the wonder girl...or something..ha ha ha! Modeling her new red sweat suit from Victoria's Secret.Little Jonathon..thrilled to get his Nintendo DSTurner busy opening one of his..Tyrus was great at helping pass out the gifts!Chaos~Some of my latest studio endeavors. Here Arturo is getting a redo and a body trnasplant. I had originally used a Barbie's Kevin body> Kevin was a bit smaller than Ken and was skippers boyfriend. The only thing is there was very little articulation. His arms and legs only moved at the shoulder and hip. I transplanted a Bratz Boyz body onto Arturo so now he has much more movement and i also like the porportion to the original Blythe doll body.Here is is trying out his new body..don't ya love his leopard trunks?..lolHere Arturo and Anni stand for a Merry Christmas to all photo! They are in the Living room of one of the doll houses with their Blythe sized tree!~

Some hand work i did while in the hospital with Art. I had started these felt pouches before and was finished with Ashton's and had juststarted this one. I finished this one in the hospital. I have two more to make. They are gifts for the big kids. This one is for Stephanie, she has an orange cat...and of course now i can't remember his new name..originally he was called 22!

Here is Ashton's

This is my gift from Salina. I think she said she got it for me while she was in Hawaii with Michael and Dominique. She had a freudian slip and said that it looked like me..meaning something that I might like..but actually i think it is both....she looks like me..and i like her..lol!
A couple new girls. I had a hard timenaming them..after the hospital incident their names came to me. Joy for how i was feeling and Harmony for how my world normally feels with Art..i still know that i am so blessed to have him in my life. Besides, i brought our three boys into this world for him..so he had better hang around and help me raise them!!

A little pink goodness! This set came in a larger set of toys from a company called Re-ment. Re-ment makes the most incredible miniatures. I even have mini sushi..ha ha! An outfit i had made a couple of weeks ago. The sweater and hat were made from one of those delightful tacky sweaters..perfect for the dolls!

This is Tori. she is a custom doll that i have been working and reworking on. The poor thing had come to me as a wreck. Her previous owner did some stuff to her and it just did not look very good. She had scratches and badly carved eye sockets and lips. So i cleaned her up, sanded her down and redid her makeup, new eye chips and finally got her new hair. This is her new mohair wig. It completed her look finally!I was in a Holiday swap on one of my Blythe groups. The gal i swapped with is Julie of Tickled Pink. She sent me these two adorable dresses and lots of other yummy goodies~This is what i sent to her. We happened to have each other out of a random draw! I made another outfit like above but in different colors. I added felt flowers to the hat and sweater.little gnome doll that i made and sent...i almost wanted to keep her..i have got to make more...i said that last year and got side tracked into a ton of other things..ha ha..like usual~here is my Blythe family as it was a couple of weeks ago...Tori no longer has pink hair and Ember(third from the right front row) has now changed too...pictures coming

here Ember is telling mr sheepy how she has always felt like the black sheep around here...and had asked mom for some drastic changes....
the changes begin...complete disassemblyhere is the new Ember..now called Ash!! I just love how he turned out!

a couple of new additions to our frog family around here...Trixie and Ed decided to adopt...

meet Tessa and Evan
here they are delighted with their new toys. The orphanage they came from had real "sucky"toys as Evan put it..they are hoping their new mom and dad let them keep the cool toys!Well that is all the latest that i can think of...i just realized it would be much easier if i would update more often...not all at once..phew! my hands are killing me..rofl!

Happy New Year to you all!!! stay safe and may all your wishes and dreams come true in 2009!!

love and hugs!

angela

Time just flies by...finally an update

2008-12-14T13:00:00.010-05:00

Okay it has been pretty busy here the past month! With a trip to Pittsburgh to visit Art's family for thanksgiving and then the office party here this past Friday and all of the prep involved..i have fallen, yet again, behind in my postings!

Let's back track a month or so. We had a fun Halloween..here are the boys in their costumes. The day was filled with the school party and evening trick or treating. As the tradition continues, Art took them out around the neighborhood while i passed out candy. It is sad, we get fewer and fewer trick or treaters each year.

Then the first week of November, Salina came to visit for a couple of days..that was nice. We had been missing her. Here she is with the boys the morning she went back to Portland. Mom and daughter..i love this little girl...okay yeah she is growing up...and doesn't look one bit like her mom..ha ha
the we went to Pittsburgh..actually south of Pitts to visit Art's family! We stayed with Rick(Art's brother) and Marcia our SIL and also Mikayla our niece. They live out in the middle of nowhere in the hills, on a gorgeous farm! The morning sun shone in the kitchen window in the morning..it was so cozy and inviting!

Dinner was at Judy and Ron's house..here is a picture of Judy showing a rarely seen side of herself..ha ha ha..what a silly girl. I love Judy(Art's sister)

Ty and Jon with Mikayla and Oscar

Here is the whole family that was gathered! what a wonderful day. I think the only one missing is Aaron's wife leigh..she was snapping the pictures. Liegh is such a sweetie! This was the first time we got to meet her and their baby Abram. Aaron is Bob and Linda's son. Bob is Art's brother

We have done a bit of holiday decorating around here...the Blythe girls have been busy too! Paprika is putting on the finishing touches on the tree in the house!

No holiday season is complete without at least one Christmas program at the school. Here are the first and second grade students performing their program. It was called how the penguins saved Christmas. They were all dressed as penguins..it was a fantastic program and cute as ever!

Here is my little penguin, Jonathon! The decorating continued, The Christmas tree is 12 feet tall. We broke down and went artificial this year for the first time ever. We were in a time crunch getting ready for Art's staff's office party hosted here at the house so it was easier for me to just go get a tree. I was fortunate to find a 12 footer~...man this baby is huge too!

A close upof someof the decoration...My mom made the most amazing metallic paper snowflakes...most are red and i just love them. What a lovely addition to my tree. I was smiling when i put them on...they were the very last touch that I added! Thank you mom!!

Here are some of my dolls wishing everyone a Happy Holiday season! oh and they are singing a few carols too..ha ha

And another wish of love and happiness from me! I got all dressed up for the party..a good opportunity for a picture i think..this is with the standard "Salina"smile...ha ha..now i know where she got it from..LOL!

And last but not least pictures of the office party!Art and his staff!

Mingling and drinking! Fun was had by all! dinner was delicious too, catered by my favorite restaurant BiCi Bistro here downtown Battle Creek!

The hit of the party..yummy chocolate fountain! Lots of goodies to dip in it too..fruits and cookies and pretzels and lots of stuff!

Nicole! She has helped with our theater parties..isn't she just a doll?She says she feels like family..and yeah i have to admit, i feel like she is another daughter!

And last photo for today, Matt and Michelle, our neighbors and best friends. They are the greatest. Matt now works for Art doing his lab work making retainers and appliances.

So there you are, an update on our lives..phew! next time i won't wait so long..famous last words..huh?..ha ha Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings to you all!

love and hugs!

we are the world

2008-11-05T23:02:00.012-05:00

in light of our historic moment on election day, i would like to congratulate all of the Obama supporters that i know...comprises probably at least 70% of you!..haha! In the spirit that you all know me for, I want the best for all and I sure hope you all were right! I stand behind McCain's statement of support, this is our America and we all want the best for everyone and we can do it if we all work together!

As always, I plan on bringing my own sunshine to each and every day, no matter what clouds may hover~ As the saying goes, be the change that you want to see in the world!! Love and unity is what I envision a perfect world to hold...and to celebrate that, what better song to enjoy than the collaborative song of many many many popular and famous artists "we are the world!" Still my all time favorite song ever!

namaste!! (that means may the divine spark in me greet/recognize the divine spark in you...loosely translated)

having fun this weekend!

2008-10-19T22:17:00.005-04:00

wow what a busy week...uh yeah i know tell me something we haven't heard before..okay crazy but a good week. Let's see...on Tuesday i went birthday shopping for Turner..we had football practice mon-weds, football game on thursday, the cornmaze with cubscouts tuesday, turners birthday Weds..finally nothing Friday, Turners birthday party at the bowling alley Saturday and sewing day in between the stuff on Friday through Sunday....so here we go..backwards in order of things...
Today i started out with crocheting this cute apple hat! I realized that the color was matching the little hat that i received as a gift with an order from a lovely lady over in the UK. Her granny Madge knits them....so of course i had to make matching dresses for the girls. Raven i think is upset though that her hat isn't an apple....Here Stormy gives her a shove for their photo shoot...

ahhh nice and comfyRaven and her hand made hat from Granny Madge and dress by me...i have been having fun drafting my own patterns for the Strawberry Shortcake dolls and the Blythe girls! I made the gnome last year..i think i need to make some more..they are so cute!Stormy's apple hat is my second attempt at amigurumi crochet...i didn't have a pattern so i winged it and am tickled with the results...i kept seeing these hats and have wanted one of my own for a quite a while...then i found the fabric and made the outfits...
I recently finished decorating the Garden Room in the Expedit shelves...the knitting is one of the treasures i found when i was on an outing with Joanne and Catherine..it was on a card..ha ha. This is Seville(l) and Paprika (r)
my lime haired Pistachio is still on her mission interviewing all the frogs around here to see if one turns into her dream prince....
Calico is happy and warm in her new hat and cape that i finished yesterday!
Kendall has been in the mood for halloween, so she ventured out to an abandoned cemetary...and finds a new friend...she has her magical dragon with her to keep her safe....she doesn't seem to think it matters that he is the smallest creature around...
Things get a bit too scary for her...
she is wearing an outfit i made on Friday! i just love all of the details on this. It is made with a pattern i bought on ebay...the directions are all in Japanese...so sometimes construction is a bit of guessing game..lol So....our adventure on Tuesday was going through a corn maze with the cubscout pack 300. It was intimidating at first..but then i realized it was loads of fun!

some of the cubscouts..Jonathon joined this year too..so we are going to have loads of fun this year!
we had stations to find and had a card to punch. There was a sheet with a sort of map and clues on where the 10 stations were...it was really pretty cool!

here is the arial veiw of the actual maze...The man uses coloring book pictures and a portable GPS to create his mazes..you can find them on google gps as the M-66 corn maze
Last but not least...Turner turned 9 on Wednesday..this was his main gift...they have been playing it nonstop this week.... so a fun but busy week....and finally some R&R time for mamma...now off to bed to start the next crazy week of my life

love and hugs to you all!!

Rip Van Winkle round robin and more football

2008-10-13T08:24:00.004-04:00

Well, I finally got some work done in my dark round robin books. I was able to get two spreads done in Cindy's dark hearts and winged things book the first spread..when there is darkness there is also light: Angels. Each tag has a word on it ie:hope,love,joy,trust
Forbidden Love. hybrid metallic ink on the black pages adds such a cool touch. I have had this heart with wings stamp forever just waiting to be put in this book! Cindy i hope you like the spreads.
This page is for a collaborative project to be displayed at the Oshtemo public library. We decided on the theme of "4 letter words" My word is wish

And now the football pictures of the thing that has totally consumed my life for the last 2 months or so. Here is Nick,Tyrus and Jake. best buds since kindergarten! Tyrus after the game. He got tons of playing time this game...and was covered in sweat. Unfortunately they lost the game :(

Tyrus was team captain for this game too..cool! Little Jon about to lose a front tooth. we ate at cracker barrel after the game..the tooth came out the next day!

my ham Turner...

hello...remember me?

2008-10-07T12:12:00.007-04:00

ha ha..okay i wasn't planning on updating really..but came over to add my friend Lorrie to my blog list...okay let me tell you..if you have ever ever been interested even one bit about making your own papers you must go visit her blog! She makes the coolest paste papers i have ever seen. She also makes hand made books and altered art among many other things..go check her out. http://lorrieabdo.blogspot.com/

WEll, my life has been consumed with football the last couple of months..and between the exhaustion from the practices and games and still getting used to the school schedule..i have had a tiny bit of time in between for a few fun things..but unfortunately not much. However, in the art department i have been creating projects for Stampington.com. This altered lunch box is one of my newest creations, due out sometime in the next week or so in the Postscript newsletter. It features Oscar as one of my "Fairy Riders"

This weekend I tried my hand at something completely different!! Amigurumi! Little crocheted animals all made with one basic single crochet stitch. My pink elephant turned out pretty good for my very first try. I have not done any crochet to speak of in over 20 years! I think more will be coming. I also bought a book on crochet borders and crochet flowers. I tried knitting with awesome instruction from my mom...but i just don't think i have a great knack for it..so back to crochet it is~
Of course i am still playing with my ever growing collection of dolls! My Blythe dolls have been such a bright spot for me...and playing with the scenes and such gives me such a kick...Here is Kendall sitting with her little companion, Pinkie, contemplating whether i did good on the elephant or not. Pinkie admits that she is rather disapointed that he wasn't smaller so she could more easily play with him!..ha ha Here is my newest addition...some are here on the table...Strawberry Shortcake dolls...the others are in the Shortcake Soup~...ha ha..to tell you how crazy it has been..i have had them over a month and just yesterday finally got around to giving them a much needed bath.

Shortcake Soup!!Once upon a time..there was a green haired princess named Pistachio. She has been searching all the land for her true love! She had heard rumors that if she kissed all the frogs in the kingdom she would finally find her Prince...here she sits on a lily pad under the light of the full moon..interviewing her first three prospects. She hasn't decided yet how badly she wants to kiss all the frogs, so she asks first.."So, Which one of you is the real prince?"...to be continued

And along with the dolly play and photo sessions..come clothing designing and creation...this beauty was designed especially for Pistachio~ I did have the suprise when she arrived..her hair was not LIME green as i thought it is NEON LIME..woah! took about 2 seconds to fall in love!
There is also some major drama going on around here in Sunny Blythe Towers...Clover is so disappointed. Her "date" did a no show..she thought he was coming when he said he would "try" to meet her for the opera..Officer Kaylarae did clue her in that any time a person,especially a man says they will "try" to do something..it usually means they are not intending to do so....
"sniff sniff" Clover wails on..... Meanwhile in Sunny Blythe Towers...Arturo(the missing date) is being romantic with his true love Anni and is watching reruns of their favorite soap opera ....Blythe Opera....he really does love Anni...Clover should have known better than to try to vie for his attention..every one around here knows his heart is true to Anni!

On a happier note..every one enjoys a rainbow..and I am one of those that just is entranced by anything even resembling one...one of my favorites is the calico wall at the fabric store..oooooh..aaah! I now have my Blythe Rainbow..from left to right: Rickie,Seville,Gabrielle,Pistachio,Calico,Koneko and Lilla...yes they all have names..ha ha

so one last development...i stand true to the statement that when one door closes another opens...soon i will be designing for an incredible digital scrapbooking website http://www.scrapartist.com/index.html A very exciting new opportunity and I have so many ideas already!! Keep your eyes out soon for my new blog that will be dedicated to this new and exciting art medium! i will keep that posted with all of my latest in the digital scrapping world!! I hope to have designs available by the beginning of November...maybe even soon~

ta-ta for now..and i promise it won't be two months next time~

xox's

quickie update...

2008-07-19T15:28:00.003-04:00

wow1 i was so good about updating until the past couple of months..hmmm i don't know where to start..ha ha~

i have had more pieces of art in stampington's newsletters...here and here and also a book for their artist papers they are giving away for subscriptions to Somerset..the book turned out so cute! fairy wishes here is the cover!

I just home a bit ago from CHA..silly me brought my camera and didn't take any pictures...I am going to paste the update i wrote to the altered art divas instead of rewriting the whole thing

well i just got home from a one and a half day trip to CHA. It was fun..very few people there compared to last summer..it was kind of weird to just visit and not work the show!...but it was fun and nice!~ I got to visit with the Dream Street gals..and talk for a bit..and wander the show to my heart's content. It was fun to see the new papers..it is weird i must just be oblivious..but it all starts looking the same and didn't see much new that caught my eye~ All of my favorite paper companies had some nice new releases..but honestly it just all seems more of the same...Prima has some of the coolest laser cut felt pieces...i saw them in the winter show but had forgotten about them. My Minds Eye has some new products to coordinate with their papers and die cut lines..they now have stamps and printed sticky back chip board shapes..i do love their products. oh and they have 4 sets of coordinating inks to go with the 4 new designs. Basic Greay had a few new lines..my favorite was one with fallish colors...very pretty!

I got to see Claudine Hellmuth, Tim Holtz, Wendy Vecchi(she was a member of the divas briefly...not sure if she pops in much or not!) Well she had a wonderful success this year. she started out doing samples for Maya Road...then Ranger found her to do all of Tim Holtz's show samples and then they asked her to create her own line of stamps! Tim better watch out..she had more people at her side of the booth at her demo stand than he did..he he~ Check out her blog here She is amazingly talented!!I also ran into Bernie Berlin..she is always so sweet..she gave Stephanie her card in case she ever needs help finding an apartment..I guess her brother is huge in real estate there. I also saw Ginger of the previous GinX paper line..she is always so fun. she now works for F&W books...i got a preview of the new Kelly Rae Roberts book..oooh it is a must have for me..great techniques in there and it all about my favorite subject! Angels!!!I cant wait til it hits the bookstores! She is actually one of my favorite artists and also inspired me to try my hand at painting angels that resulted in my new Angel Heart papers that i created for Dream Street Papers.. Claudine has a new book coming out...kind of an art formula book..it looks fun~
Most of the day was spent wandering around and visiting..it was a fun day~It always amazes me how even just 5 hours on a convention floor can wear you out! 9not to mention the blisters on the back of my heels...OUCH!) AFter the show we went back to the girls' hotel, had a wonderful dinner at the awesome Italian restaurant in their Hotel and chatted...then i spent the night at Steph's apartment and then came home after breakfast this morning~

of course i continue to play with my dolls...you can find more pics on my flickr..i hang out over there most of the time..so if you miss me you can find the flickr link in the side bar and see what is the latest~

oh and I created samples for the Dream Street Booth and totally forgot to snap pictures...dog gone it...they were cute too....Once i get them back after the show i will take some pictures~

now it is time for a bit of R&R for me..i have been battling a bit of stomach bug this week and it seems to have returned today..i feel some what dragged today~(and no i didn't drink a bunch or anything..i had to drive so i only drank two margarittas over a 4 hour period last night...ha ha)

til later~
angela

hello..life swallowed me whle again...

2008-06-06T08:44:00.005-04:00

But with some good stuff!
On May 19th! Jonathon celebrated his 6th birthday!

On May 28th Art celebrated his 53rd birthday...we didn't take pictures...but i did make him a delicious potroast and apple crisp in celebration!

Spring has sprung around here...along with that comes opening the pool...this is afteward..it resembled a very murky duck pond when the cover came off!and another chore...fortunately i was able to enlist Ashton to help...is mucking out the ponds...we basically had to redo the entire area the little boys made a mess of them trying to catch frogs...so many rocks were at the bottom of both...it looks so pretty now...and it seems there are no leaks!~ yay! I will turn on the system sometime this weekend to see if it all worksWe have been enjoying rounds and rounds of blooms everywhere! This is such a pretty Rhododendron on the back of the housei was fortunate enough to capture a beautiful picture of the white bleeding hearts..among many many other pictures of the various flowers...need to go out and get some more of the lilacs and the irisesThen i had a get together this past sunday with a group of online dolly friends~ WE had a total of 40 Blythe dolls(seen below) 2 petit blythes and 9 other dolls(not pictured here)lots of dollies in my studio..This is Chris....she is holding up one of gina's darling hats...it is a cupcake hat!~Here are the dresses my girls ended up with...lots of trading going on that day~
we traded dresses for a new house....and we also got a suprise in the mail from Auntie Kari...she had gone to an antique store and a lady there insisted this girl was a Blythe...well after sending photos to me..we realized she wasn't after all...i thought she looked south American..so we named her Evita...she is our foriegn exchange cousin from Brazil..she is getting along nicely with al of the others...here she is meeting Anni and Arturo Bridgett is enjoying her new bed in her bedroom of the new house...dress is a trade from Morgan~Koneko was exploring the new bathroom and found a suprise in the shower...the Sonny Angel boys seem to be able to get to the new stuff first...here they were trying out the shower..Scarlett isn't sure what to think of these similar sized fellow...Anni and Arturo finally got to go on their horseback riding date...they were so patient with me...we had so many things going on..there is love in the air...i think they are planning another date soon..i heard something about fishing maybe..i am so suprised since Anni is always such a girlie girl..must be that she wants to please Arturo

the family welcomes a new sister....I think her name is going to be Rickie~ I misunderstood a comment on my flickr stream...he said he could see her calling "ricky"(as in Lucille ball)...but i thought he meant to call her Rickie!...so i think it is going to stick...she looks like a Rickie to me~

Anni is always so sweet and makes her new sisters feel welcome~
yesterday i looked down at my mini collextion right here by my computer...thought it was so cute..and funny that there is actually a doll smaller than Scarlett...a tiny mini barbie baby...Scarlett has decided it is her babydoll even though she thinks she is a bit weird looking...rofl! and she has threatened to turn them all into mice if they don't behave!

Mixed in with all of these events at home we have been enjoying some...well 4 field trips in the past 3 weeks...i have to resize pictures from the other three...but here was last weeks trip to our local bird sanctuary with Jonathon's kindergarten class. The other trips were the ford museum/Greenfield Village with the 5th graders 3 weeks ago, this week Tuesday was the Kindergarten train trip and the 2nd grade trip to Charleton park..an historical village

i'll post pictures of those later...some very beautiful places to visit~

Here is a swan family at the Bird Sanctuary

and my favorite, ruffle feathered Black Swans
and my little bird Jon!..he is always so sweet~

well a brief recap of what life has been....i also created another project for Stampington.com the day before yesterday...will post as soon as the newsletter goes out~

have a most wonderful day...and i hope i didn't bore you to tears

oh one more thing..the whole fire thing with the neighbors blew over. Matt and Michelle had gone to the township office to inquire about a building permit..and talked about the incidents. they found out that we did nothing wrong other than the first time not attending the pile at all times. We didn't even need a burn permit for the kind of fire we had...so we are not in any trouble. I had taken some photos of the 'pita' neighbor's fire that had 7 foot high flames a couple of days after the incident..they want us to bring them down at some point..They also said that these particular neighbors have caused problems in the past. so i feel so much better that we aren't going to get fined or be in trouble and that we weren't imagining things about these neighbors..i hate stuff like that hanging over our head. We plan on installing security cameras just in case the neighbors try anything again.

so life is back to it's happy self! today i have to clean and fold laundry and birthday shop for Tyrus' 11th Birthday tomorrow...he is having a party..no sleep over though..phew! and Sunday i am going to the ZNE castle event with Gina over by Detroit! that will be fun...and Gina is such a doll!

xoxox's

back to some fun stuff~

2008-05-21T17:10:00.008-04:00

okay now that that business of misinterpretations is cleared..i would love to share with you some of my latest creations! On to the Happy stuff!

Here are a couple of pictures i took of the projects I created for Stampington.com's Creative Impulse newsletter...it is posted on their site in the gallery of projects and if you go to the shop and find the paper dolls they are both there with directions on how to create your own
My first project is the movie star mobileand a boudoire~here are a few projects i created for the Creative Therapy blog
this catalyst was "what do you like best about yourself" My answer was my smile..it reflects who i am inside..happy and full of sunshine..loland something i remembered from my childhoodand the last catalyst was "someone you miss" I created amini shadow box with a photo of my grandmother. She taught me many crafts and a lot about sewing~ My little sewing fairy~and the other thing i have been playing with is my Blythe dolls..and have been making lots of clothes for mine and for trades with other Blythe mommy's! Phew I forgot how much work it is to sew tiny...wow~ but boy it has been fun~
I had a near disaster..Oscar almost killed my sewing machine. He got tangled up in the cord and pulled it off the counter..it split open at the seams...however..i was able to rescue it and snap it back together...PHEW!
Petra is modeling this turtle dress, it is for a trade

this is another trade...i love this one..will be hard to part with, Anni looks so pretty in it!
another trade...but i made a pink one for me to keep in the same style. It was made with a vintage skipper pattern, My angel Kaelaray looks pretty in this one...
Madison loves this one..we are keeping it for her

made 3 of this style..one to keep 2 to sell...i love this kitty fabric, Ember's hair matches the cat color in it..LOL!

well enough for now..i am sure i can dig up tons more i have made....but will save it for later!

have a wonderful day...and i promise i will behave and leave the neighbors alone....although salt and vinegar crop circles in their lawn, sounds kind of fun...ha ha...totally kidding~

xo's

it was brought to my attention

2008-05-21T16:15:00.002-04:00

That readers of my blog that don't know me, may take the previous post in the wrong way. I am not going to take it out or edit it in any way....however, i would like to clarify my intention with the post. It was a rant..a way to vent my frustrations. In no way was it to be obnoxious toward any one or offensive. I do occasionally say bad words during frustations and come up with all sorts of wild scenarios in my head, which, being the normally rational and loving person, would never carry out.

These neighbors are very frustrating and i really don't think they are the kind you can come to terms with, with rational means..therefore as a means to help ease our frustrations we came up with "fantasy scenarios" none of which did we, or will we carry out...besides my husband has a really nice physique, so him parading around in a speedo type bathing suit probably would not be offensive....now me on the other hand...i think i could clear the neighborhood..LOL~ nor did we send any mailings or any other type of vengeful thing. We simply are really not that kind of family. Occasional swear word in a rant..yes, Vengeful...NO~

So if you thought i was a crazy, vengeful person..i do apologize...I am not..I promise. I am however a bit eccentric at times..and can slip into potty mouth mode under dire situations...I apologize if that offended any one...

so back to the neighbors..since that previous post..they have had 3 fires behind their fence, they think that it hides everything they do...that or they are antagonizing us, two of which we could see flames above the 6 foot high fence...and they had called and lied and told the firemen that ours had 2 foot high flames and they came out....to a smoldering pile(no visible flames)...any way..we did not call the fire department because we are worried that rather than responding to a safety issue, they are going to punish us even more. they, the fire man, did make a statement to the police that they were using us as an example of the "neighborhood feud" issue...i thought it took more than one person calling the authorities to make a feud...no one else ever gets into any one else's affairs around here...*Sigh* i just want to be left alone to live my life..in my happy little world...

needless to say...we won't be burning any more fires...not even a camp fire in a pit..we really do do our best to abide by the law....

life just flies by

2008-05-12T19:22:00.004-04:00

i have realized that i have slacked off on my blog posting..i love my blog..but it seems time warps are prevalant lately...

lets see....not a whole lot exciting lately..other than asshole neighbors on mothers day eve..came home to find out that the idiots called the fire dept again for our smoldering pile of leaves(our friend neighbors were watching it for us)...no biggie really, except these idiots don't like us and have a personal vendetta against us...it started a few years ago when their son hit Tyrus with a clump of dirt that had a rock in it..and Tyrus had to have stitches...yes you read that right...OUR son was the one needing stitches...we never made any big deal out of it because all of the neighborhood kids were playing in a dirt pile throwing dirt clumps at each other...this one just happeend to have a rock in it and hit Ty in the ear against his glasses....he even went to shake the kids hand to let him know no hard feelings...two weeks later they call CPS on us(child protective services) They obviously watch us closely...When i usded to smoke, i smoked outside on the front porch and would let Jonathon come out with me to run around in the front yard..ALWAYS in my sight..but my front porch sits back and the neighbors couldn'tsee me..assuming i was not outside..what idiots...and ever since then they try to find anything to harrass us..so it was rather annoying...and you just can't feel relaxed. We also suspect them of signing up several neighbors(the mail carrier varifies this) that they don't like, to all kinds of pornographic mailings and "gay"suscriptions and such...Matt and i were talking today, we should sign them up for any and all church/religous mailings we could think of...since they obviously need some intervention, ha ha!...oh and Art even thought maybe he could wear a banana hammock to do yard work and i could wear a thong bathing suit....now when they come hme they will have some interesting things to watch on their survellaince camera, mounted on the back of their house conveniently directed at our house..so we might just go ahead and give them a show....oh and i told Matt next saturday we should get all of our tiki torches(no burning permit needed) and sit in the field with those....we can have our fire..and they can eat it...making fun of people like that is the best ammuntion..totally takes away their power...it has been interesting the past couple of days...there is a ton more to the story but i won't bore you with any more details

On Saturday(before all the above crap)I had the pleasure of photographing our neighbors(the same ones that i metion above..the friend ones) for their mom...all of them! Matt and Michelle and his two sisters and all the kids..so fun~
Dominik

TimothySherrithe Family~ Matt and Michelle and all three wee onesAbigail..one of the cousins..she was not happy..but i did manage a couple individual ones of her smilingElizabeth....she has the prettiest eyes~the whole crew...what a pile...i need to practice group sitting arrangements...but hey it was for free..and so fun~! i spent a lot of mothers day working on one of my blythe dolls rescues. This is Tori..she had some bad things done to her...i sand matted her and then repainted her make up..and gave her eyelashes...she looks so sweet now..i did put her pink wig back on until i have the time to redo her hair..she will have green fairy hair..she is my forest fairy...

she had bad scratches and over carved eyes..to see more of my doll pictures visit my flickr site

she got new eye chips...Blythe dolls have 4 sets of eyes...you pull a string on the back of her head and they change to a new set....they are called eye chips...two are front facing and two are left and right facing...so each set can be different...these are her left facing ones..irridescent with sparkles
here are her eyelids when her eyes are closed..i painted those too...
so there a nutshell version of the latest happenings...much more has happened..but please for simplicity go visit the above link to my flickr to see the pics...

xoxox

until next time!~

The most amazing afternoon ever..

2008-05-01T18:30:00.006-04:00

Welcome to the world little one!! This is Dominik Brady...less than 2 minutes old~I was so honored when our good friends and neighbors asked me to be at their son's birth..of course they only really wanted me for my cool camera..ha ha~ Matt and Michelle have become very close friends to both Art and I over the past year..and i really cherish their friendship! I was so honored to be there..it was one of the most amazing experiences i have ever had....
Here is Matt trying to calm Dominik....he was not happy at the experience of being born...
here is a close up of this sweetie. The nurse had put medicine in his eyes I think she said she wasn'table to get them to open right away and this was to assist in that process.Dominik weighs 8 lbs 6 oz and is 19 inches long, born at 3:55 on May 1st 2008~ a May Day baby~look at the beautiful mamma....she was amazing!~ She hardly wimpered and when it was time, just pushed him right out...one push~Matt and Michelle with their gorgeous new little boy! I can't wait to take pictures with Dominik's older brother Tim and Sherri his big sister...What a beautiful family~amazing head of hair..it is a dark brownDominik is telling his gramma Debbie his woes of being bornGramma Debbie has a knack..she got him calmed down by telling him how he was going get to go fishing with his grampa and cousins...he was Grampa's newest little bud...how sweet~here he is with his Grandpa Tim and his Auntie Christy had just a moment to pop in and say hi before she had to go!
Auntie lovin!~

As soon as i can, i will share more pictures of Dominik and his siblings!

wow~ what a day...an amazing day!

wow!! where does time go?

2008-04-18T18:42:00.004-04:00

not only did i just realize it has been 3 weeks since i last posted...sorry all..been playing mostly..but also have been working on new paper designs..and got caught up into the flickr thing!

but also i realize how fast time really flies..my baby girl...my first is 24 years old today..I am NOT old enough to be the mother of a 24 year old..yikes!~
so here she is at 5 months and then at 23 1/2...wow~Happy Bithday Stephanie!!! I made her a birthday cake...here she is with Jonathon, Tyrus, Jake(he is squeazing in..tyrus' friend) Art and Turner...all my goofy boys

well sh*&

2008-03-28T21:07:00.004-04:00

i swear i am in a fog lately....okay lets see...darn it i should have peeked to see where i left off...

well i can attest to today's adventure..Tyrus had surgery. His broken arm was checked this past monday..new xray, etc to see how things were progressing..well, he must have gotten a bit wild and displaced the bones in his wrist and had to have them surgically corrected and planned to have pins put in. The universe was looking out for him...the doctor (doc Langworthy) found that the callouses of the healing area of the broken wrist bones, were still soft and was able to "pop" them back into place. So no surgery: incisions or pins were necessary..yay! Ty was such a trooper through this whole process...what a sweet boy! so it all turned out okay!!

Lets see what else..not a whole lot. I am trying to do some R and R..I so seriously need it. I just want to hibernate with no company, no special demands, nothing...on some days i wish i could just crawl into a hole and hide from the world. I must really need it because i keep getting sick. That is my signal from my body that i just need to stop and do not much~ I have never been this sick so much in my life. It started with the after effects of the trip to California for the papers, I was down for 5 days with a horrible upper respitory infection..and i have relapsed this week with a bad sinus infection...on antibiotics now.so hopefully i will heal fast!

i have fallen into a fun thing though, and have been having so much fun playing..the world of Blythe dolls(go google them), it seems silly in some ways..but it really has brought me so much pleasure the past few weeks. I know i was supposed to wait..but i pulled my secret stash money i have been saving up and bought 3 of them...i just adore them(Art if you read this..forgive me..but it was my special spending money just for such an incident...i just HAD to have the girls~) It really has kept a smile on my face and has gotten me excited again..i really think i was heading for a bout of depression without it...I have fluctuated so much the past couple of months and i hate that. I rarely talk about it, to any one, not even Art for some reason i feel embarrassed by it..or less worthy...i try to be strong and wonder woman,kwim?...but i know there is a history in my family and i have to admit that i can be victim to it too. Although mostly i get affected with anxiety..but the let down after, can be depression!~ the best thing for me to do to battle it, is to keep exercising(shich i have been doing) and to find something that makes me smile...and these dolls have been that answer. and definitely cheaper and more effective than therapy..ha ha~
check out my little stories and scenarios at flickr.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/41086083@N00/
i love that place and have sooo many friends there.

i broke my cardinal rule of not having pictures on my post...but that is what is so...but i promise next post..lots of pretty pics~ (if you go to my flickr there are lots of pics!~)
hope all is well in every ones world out there..
lots of love and hugs!!
angela

sooo what american accent do you have?

2008-03-18T16:40:00.003-04:00

On my Altered Art Diva site one of the gals posted this fun quiz..we tease each other all the time on which ones of us have an accent....here are my results....how about you?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
Boston
North Central
The Northeast
http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have">What American accent do you have? http://www.gotoquiz.com/">Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

A little of this and a little of that..catch up post

2008-03-17T12:17:00.002-04:00

Let's see where i left off....oh yeah..the room...this is as far as i got....it is nice and bright and clean..yay! Then i had a bad episode of ADD...(Artist Distractive Disorder) and started to play with dolls....

I have fallen in love with Blythe dolls....oh my! and am getting one very soon...in the meantime i have been getting ready....I had Ashton help me drag up the Barbie house from the basement along with all the tubs of clothes and furniture....cleaned it all up and sorted through the clothing...Blyhte dolls' bodies are the same size as skipper dolls..

here you see my we sonny angels coming to get a closer look of this monstrosity....if you want to see the whole story go to my flickr site..just setting that story up was fun.....This is called play therapy..been needing it lately....after this post i do have to get some domestic duties done and work on the house..it is awreck after the weekend...and a pile of boys running in and out...dirt, mud, clothes...you name it it's on the floor..
so I also in preparation and excitement have decided to play making clothes! This is a skipper doll modeling...so i couldn't post her on the blythe site..therefore the disguise...i am making 3 of each outfit....one for me and two to sell....this one is the first finished so far...i have 3 dresses finished too..but want to make her accessories before i post a picture....
detail of thermal undies..has elastic at the top....
felt monkey dolls for her to go to bed with....about 1 3/4" tall
Another project i have worked on is this mini book...I used the diecuts for the mini albums from my Father Knows Best paper lines and created a book about Oscar....to readthe whole story go visit the Creative Therapy blog to see what it is all about~ I am on their design team along with many other very creative women! Please come play with us!!! I plan on putting a permanent banner on the side bar here soon...

So for now that is what i have been up to....been playing and enjoying a reprieve from crazy busy..and hope it lasts a while longer...i have been so needing this....see ya next time..hopefully with pictures of the mural...need to work on that this week...am looking forward to it!

angela

In case I am quiet for a few days....

2008-03-06T11:49:00.002-05:00

This is where I will be....
using all of this and much more paint. first I am repainting all the base colors...starting with the ceiling..the the green..at the bottom and a blue sky..then will be painting a city scape with robots all around the room....some will be space robots...probably on the right wall there by the door... So if you are looking for me...that is where I will be for afew...then I will be going to Jon's room and creating some sort of jungle scene...he has new scooby doo safari sheets..and then on to the bathroom which is currently Moulin Rouge themed...now that I am the only girl in the house..and that doesn't happen to be my bathroom...well it is going to be transformed into a vintage hollywood comedian theme...red walls...we are replacing the damaged vanity either with black or very dark wood and the tired 90's style vanity light...then I plan on painting film strip all around the top of the walls inserting images of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello..maybe Jerry Lewis and more(if any one can suggest more please do so)...so i am excited..home improvement projects get me excited...Oh and after those, if I have any energy left..i plan on redoing Salina's room....the hot pink and turquiose just doesn't work for the boys...I think I am going to make it into a "club house" for the boys....and really paint it to look like the inside of a homemade treehouse...the boys can have their games and video games and stuff in there....they loved the idea~

okay..wish me luck and no paint spills
love and hugs!

today's necklaces..

2008-03-02T18:46:00.002-05:00

I had a nice afternoon bending wires and manipulating jump rings..phew! my hands are tired. Here are the two necklaces i made and green earrings....i had already made the red earrings a while back...fortunately i spotted them and didn't make another pair of red earrings...i forget whati make sometimes..rofl~Most of the stuff is from my stuff I found yesterday...but i did add some from my stash in also!

Ann Arbor trip...lots of cold and some shopping

2008-03-02T12:44:00.004-05:00

Well, Art and i went to Ann Arbor (Michigan..home of the Universtiy of Michigan) It is such a beautiful city. I enjoy walking around and shopping in all of the little stores and boutiques. Of course for me the most interesting ones are the ones that have stuff to make things and ones with books. So I started my morning off at 9am at Borders. I dropped Art off, at his course (the reason we came) and then headed over to the parking lot right behind Borders. A green tea latte,a huge bag o' books and an hour later I emerged, to stroll through the bitter cold to explore the town further.

First though...this is what resulted at home. Stephanie took the boys over to Kalamazoo for lunch and some sledding. Tyrus was playing hot-rod sledder and took the ramp of snow...and landed on his wrist. Xrays this morning confirmed our worries...yup! it is broken...poor guy. He hasn't complained though of the pain..said it was around a "4"*edit* Art just told me that Tyrus said this morning at the hospital that he was airborn and despite the pain..and that it was all worth it...rofl! My Border's Bookstore finds...a digital photography magazine..the latest Belle Armour and Bernie Berlin's ATC workshop book, She invited me to participate in her next book..so i figured I better get the first one so i know what I am getting intoThe biggest book i have ever owned. I just couldn't resist, according to the introduction this is the most complete book on Leonardo ever published...it is aWesome!The Michigan Theater...a most beautiful example of theaters of the early 1900's. this theater was completely restored afew years ago. It is amazing~Art and I were able to go see a restored version of the movie "Metropolis" from approx 1926. A silent film of course. the cool part is that they had an organ player playing the musical scores that were created for it...just like in the old days~Look at all the snow i had to trek through..brrrrMy goodies that I found. I went to a shop called the Bead Gallery on Liberty street...wow~ I want to make more button and bead necklaces...One in red and one in greens..later at the end of the day I found this jar of vintage buttons...in green and reds no less...YAY!!~that was in the Kerrytown mall where Hollanders paper store is and a little shop upstairs called "Found"

a close up of the "shroom" pendant...see it inside?..It is going on my "lucky" green necklace...i think it will have a foresty theme...with some shamrocks thrown in for good measure..lol pure yum!!!i LOVe vintage buttons. I took a picture of the jacket from my dad that inspired one of the papers in my Father Knows Best paper set...and there are vintage buttons on that...I made that at least 17 years ago...so vintage buttons have always been a soft spot for me. I am thinking of digging out my vintage canning jars and organizing my buttons by color. Every time i see someone's studio or craft room i drool over their buttons when they do that~
I also visited this fun boutique called Orchid something or other..geesh my memory. They carry clothing, accessories and decorations from all over the world. They buy directly from the artisans, so they do a great job supporting the artisans of the different areas. These felted flowers are from Nepal~
I always visit a shop called Peaceable Kingdom. I found that cute fairy mint tin in the above picture and couldn't come home empty handed for the boys..so I bought them these cute retro tin wind up toys
Turner is my ham....and such a poser in front of the camera..lol~

I hope you enjoyed my little adventure and shopping trip...i am closing this today with my last picture..of my new friends that I found for half off at Hobby Lobby last week....they need names...aren't they fun?

now off to go make some necklaces with those new beads and buttons! Happy Sunday every one!~

just playing...

2008-02-26T18:18:00.005-05:00

okay i hate when this happens...i finally feel better....and then get the "now what?" Well i had to do some thing..so i played with Oscar..and a tropical themed shoot...haha! totally amatuer but it was fun...i gathered the tropical supplies and armed myself with "TREATS!" and played for a bit. Tyrus helped me.

so here he is:

Tropical Pug!

some out takes..."mom! I know you are going to give me that treat...!!

see here now...I reeeeeeeeaaaally want that cheese, I'll even shake on it..

puuuuleeeeeeeze!

he did really good. He is such a sweet dog. and fun and smart. I have never had a dog that was this much fun...so be ready..we have more ideas brewing...bunny ears were purchased today...along with other things...lol~

so please bear with my play time....it is so funny~

Somaybe after a couple of days I can show you my project I created for Stampington.com. I hope they like it..haven't heard yet....iof nothing else I did have a load of fun making it~

so off to find some other things to get into....(not that i don't have a list a mile long..and actually Tropical Pug does have an end use..ha ha~

Now that i can breath a little, the fog is clearing from my head

2008-02-17T11:57:00.002-05:00

WEll so much happened it will take me a minute to collect my thoughts. I am just so happy to be home. I got so sick in the middle of Weds night....ugh! My throat isn't quite so sore...things are coming up(dry hack is the worst) and i don't seem to have a temperature. I did go into the Doc's Friday to make sure i didn't have strep...test came back negative...so the only thing i can do is wait it out and treat the symptoms.

So lets see.....CHA. WE had such a nice time. It is always so much fun and all of the gals at Dream Street are such sweethearts. I enjoy getting to know them a bit more each time. As always there are too many of us in the booth...none of us want to miss anything..and it really is exciting when people come into our booth with sop many nice comments about out papers. We switched to a new printer and every one was so impressed(as we were too) with the brilliant saturated colors! Usually after the first day and the initial excitement wears off and the first day crowds thin a bit we all have to opportunity to explore our surroundings a bit. I was ab le to visit with tim HOltz and watch one of his demos again..so talented~ I found the Stampington Publications booth...they had tons of their new publications to peek at....I was so excited to meet Sarah Meehan that I have been working with doing samples for their newsletter Creative Impulse and Postscript. She asked me about a new product and if she should just send it..I said just send it...so you will see more of my art in their newsletters. Again she said she was thrilled with my ATC calendar and also stated that she enjoys it every day looking at it sitting on her desk!...lol! OOh and remember those paper flowers i made?..the yo-yo ones?...well I got the idea and directions from Sandra Evertsons new book "fanciful Flowers" I was so thrilled to turn around and realize she was sittting right there behind me, demoing her fun new ink blot stamps. What a sweet person! Her stuff is a must have!

On Tuesday one of the girls was waiting on a customer in our booth...and i heard "oh and she is an altered artist too(referring to me) i perked up and looked and looked at the womans badge and saw "Bernie....." I didn't have to look any further to realize it was Bernie Berlin!!!!!! (see her banner at the top of my side bar" Bernie and I have "known"each other for years now..running in the same circles of groups. I was sooo excited to finally meet her in person. She too is another wonderful and sweet person..we also realized we are the same age withing a few months. for some reason i thought she was ton younger...she looks it too! Any way she invited me to join her group for me to have my artwork in her new ATC book! So exciting!!

i got to see a ton of fun new products and gorgeous new papers...i am a paper-holic..so i was in hog heaven. I ran into a celebrity every day going to and/or from the show and didn't realize it until the last day. The Crafty Chica!! She is so cute and so full of life. I happened to walk by her on the floor after seeing her a half dozen or more times during the previous days. then it hit me...I stopped and said hi and told her i finally realized why she looked familiar. She gave me a cute bobble head of herself..ha ha..and also two canvas bags with artwork that her husband made. One of which is a Day of the Dead bridal couple. I plan on using that some how for Cat's Day of the Dead RR book.....see Cat i was thinking of you..so i asked her for a second bag for me...it has aheart on it...very cool artwork!

My all time favorite product...a labeler. Very much like the Dymo, but it has interchangeable fonts I am thinking round 6 or8 and tons of fun tape colors..including some metalics and designs. I told them my story of emailing Dymo...i had mentioned to them that they could break into a multi million dollar industry if they only would come up with a few nicer colors for their tapes...their answer at the time was that they were not accepting any ideas for product improvement..what idiots. Any way...this labeler has been available for a while now ...it is made by 'around the block" I have to dig out my notes ...as soon as i find a retailer i will post a link!

Another cool [roduct i noticed was the "purple cow" cutters...wow! guillotine and also with wheels and all sorts of options...they also have a cool hot laminator that poses many fun and exciting design options...my mind goes in whirls thinking of all the things you could do with it..

Prima's booth was amazing...lots of new stuff including laser cut ribbons of all sorts. Their paper designers are precious and so fun to talk to. When i go to CHA it is so fun to run into people you have met before...we are becoming like one big happy family...well sort of. it is loads of fun! Oh and the page frame gals...have added etched pieces to their evergrowing clear plastic mini book line....i stuill one year need to email them to get some samples to play with...it is just kind of weird for me to ask kwim!?..i just love their products~ the clear albums have been such a hit!

oh with my papers..it is kind of interesting how it seems the people that like my papers the most are the foreigners...the Swedish and Australians in particular...it's so cool! My papers have gone global..lol! Now what would be the most fun is to see pictures of what people are doing with them!!! If you have a project leave a message here for me with your email addy adn i would love to post it on my blog....

Speaking of which, i love to reply to comments...but there is one problem, most of them don't have an email attached to it so I can't send a reply....please don't feel bad if i can't acknowledge your comment..if you would like to hear back from me please leave an email....I read each and every email and really appreciate all the lovely comments and compliments! you can always email me directly too if you don't feelcomfortable leaving your email here. Mine is geminiangelart13@yahoo.com~

okay enough for now..and i know i am forgetting something...but i will post more if i remember!

Your Color

2008-02-17T09:58:00.001-05:00

Which Colour Represents You???
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as White

White represents purity, calmness and innocense, and you fit all this. You are angelic to the core and would never dream of hurting anyone on purpose. The events of this world tend to shock you and you cannot wait to escape to a better place. You believe in the good of people. Your kind and loving nature makes you very hard to resist.

White

89%

Green

89%

Yellow

67%

Orange

67%

Purple

61%

Pink

61%

Blue

50%

Red

44%

Black

33%

CHA part deux: my gorgeous roomies...and opening day

2008-02-14T19:37:00.005-05:00

I have to share our beautiful surroundings with every one.....here is what we got to see at night outside of our hotel...i wish that i could have taken pics of the palm tree forest outside of the convention center....this is for all of my fellow northern gals that are shivering in the single digit temps lately! the atrium of our hotel...we stayed at the Embassy suites...breakfast buffet in the morning...with everything you could ask for including made to order omelets and also free happy hour every evening....the lion on top of the rock would roar every hour or so...koi in the streams and the soothing sound of water fall

opening morning....here i am all made up...ready to go...lol
my absolute precious roomies Alicia and Lara. Alicia is on our DT and Lara is one of our very talented designers

The Dream Street Booth, Dana and Tracy's lines on this wall

The other side....Natalie, Audrey and my paper linesClose up of my wall..Alicia did the gorbgeous samples for mine. Her designs are amazing!! She seems to always be able to portray what the designer had in mind for her line...i was stunned!
Lara's papers on the left and Kelly's on the right
Alexis' papers Alexis and Amy's on the right...Amy's are the ones that are the easiest for me to work with..they have music notes on them and some really cool other elements and flowers

Dana and then Tracy's two lines

We actually were able to get a picture of all of us designers that were at the show all together...unfortunately Tara (the owner) had stepped out to phone in orders...and all of my photos of her are either from behind or blurry....darn!

left to right

Audrey,Dana, Tracy, me, Amy(she is feeling my butt see!...rofl...j/k), Lara and Alexis

and my traditional CHA visit to see Tim Holtz' do one of his demos....i figured after 3 previous times a photo might be fun! He is great and ever so talented....
now after i recuperate..more news of fun things that happened to me...not many photos but lots of cool stuff!

to be continued.....maybe tomorrow

I have been very sick today with temp over 100 and horrible cough that is painful since my chest hurts and throat hurts....if i don't feel better tomorrow i am going in to see if i need meds..

set up day CHA 2008 Dream Street Papers Part One

2008-02-14T17:09:00.004-05:00

a little peek of what goes on behind the scenes at a trade show...we started at 8am and couldn't believe we were done with most of the set up by 3pm saturday. here you see all of the crates the booth is shipped in...and the panels in place
garbage everywhere!!! it was crazy and messy. The workers would run it all over on their forklifts and stuff and just push it around. They had a full crew of cleaner uppers with giant carts and brooms cleaning up the debris
Amy attaching the sign with our newly developed high- tech technique...packing tape...lol once we left the show floor we went and grabbed a bite to eat at the restaurant across the street from our hotel..delish mexican food...then walked over for a 2 hour tour....yup sing it to Gilligans Isle...a two hour tour.....Target can get like that..the huge ocean of goodies. We picked up last minute supplies for the booth and personal items and whatever else fell into the cart..then we went back to our rooms....actually we mostly congregated in one room and made more samples for the booth..to bed early....haha! around 11:30..which translates into 2;30am for me being an eastern time girl

Alexis creating her most amazing mini book.....it was a crowd stopper. Her work is just so amazing to me to be continued..........

SECRETS TO REALLY LIVING

2008-02-04T19:31:00.001-05:00

i saw this on the bulletin board on myspace...i had to repost this here...so wise and so uplifting..I needed this today...

1.) Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate antidepressant.
2.) Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.Buy a lock if you have to.
3.) Buy a Tivo (DVR), tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4.) When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to________ today.'
5.) Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6.) Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you did last year.
7.) Always pray and make time to exercise.
8.) Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of Six.
9.) Dream more while you are awake.
10.) Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less foods that are manufactured in plants.
11.) Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
12.) Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13.) Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14.) Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15.) Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class ......but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16.) Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17.) Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.
18.) Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19.) Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20.) Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21.) You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22.) Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
23.) Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24.) Ladies - Go on and burn those 'special' scented candles, use the 600 thread count sheets, the good china and wear our fancy lingerie now. Stop waiting for a special occasion. Everyday is special.
25.) No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26.) Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
27.) Forgive everyone for everything.
28.) What other people think of you is none of your business.
29.) Time heals almost everything. Give time, time!
30.) However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31.) Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch with them.
32.) Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
33.) Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. God provides, remember?!
34.) The best is yet to come. (in Heaven)
35.) No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
36.) Do the right thing!
37.) Call your family often.
38.) Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: 'I am thankful for __________.' Today I accomplished _________.
39.) Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
40.) Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH. LIFE'S A GIFT ... UNWRAP IT! Have a Blessed day. Please share with friends!