Throw Down

OK, ladies. We all luv Johnny. Of course. But, have you noticed Robert Downey, Jr. lately?

The sober life seems to agree with him. Do tell.

So, fickle heart. Who's it gonna be? Does your heart belong to Johnny?

Or Robert?

Round 'Em Up

Christmas Eve here I am with Peyton & Tristan, my granddaughters, helping me bring in Pony (behind the girls), Promise and Buffalo. Indiana Jones, our border-collie mix, is helping. Then the fun begins.

My daughter-in-law, Kari, is photographing this daily event. Every afternoon I bring all 3 horses back to the barn, all at once. We know the routine and our part in it and off we go. However, my horses are camera shy...or more correctly, flash bulb shy. Chaos ensues.

OK, Promise is on the loose. No problem. I often will just whistle for her to follow me and the 2 boys back to the barn. She is, after all, the smartest of my herd. I would never let Buffalo, my favorite, hear me say that. His smarts are more of the "street smarts" variety. Pony is still alarmed and not back in-line. Just takes me a second to get everyone sorted, and we proceed.

Just as Pony relaxes, back in his stall, POP goes that flashbulb. Poor little guy. His manners are sorely tested. Enough excitement for one day.

Post Holiday "What Now?"

Now that the long "do list" and rushing around is over, I've found myself with a sort of empty feeling: A "What Now?" feeling. I am embracing it, don't get me wrong. I LOVED the craft blitzes and all of the sharing, and it has been nice to just kinda float for 2 days. Still, time to move on. Today I opened the new Summerset Holidays & Celebrations for inspiration. Yes! There it is. ps That is my cat, GreyC, looking for a spot to doze. Think I'll join her.

Christmas Crafts

In recent years Sis and I have crafted our gifts to Mom and to each other. For Mom I made this stack of logs, based on an idea from Martha Stewart. Each log held a single sock, with the mates wrapped separately.

For Sis I had fun with this chinoiserie pagoda I found at Pier One for $5. I used the motto "Leap And The Net Will Appear" as the theme.

Sis crafted "lumps of coal" also based on a Martha idea. She made one for me, Mom and the kids. Inside was a necklace she made, individually suited to each of us. My necklace is a fox. Christmas is past; on to 2010.

Black is the New Green

My 3rd tree was an impulse. That crazy SueAnn showed us her black Christmas tree and I JUST HAD TO HAVE ONE. A couple days later, at Border's Books, there was a 24" black tree at a give-away price. It became MINE. I already had these animal head ornaments to represent wildlife here: black bear, racoon, fox and horse. Throw on a miniature bead garland plus a candle topper and call it done. I want to thank all you gals for sharing your enthusiasm for the holidays, each in your own way. It snapped me out of my mood of drudge and obligation. Opened my eyes to the importance of giving of self, not of stuff. Stuff is nice, though! Even though he wasn't here to help me unload $300 worth of groceries today, I still want to thank my Bob for giving his time to take the 3 kids to see "Avatar". Merry Christmas everyone.

Cookies

A little something for the sweet tooth. This recipe was on the cover of Better Homes & Gardens and I just had to make it. What I really like is that this recipe for shortbread cookies is easy to cut and the shapes hold their, well, shape. I am challenged when it comes to rolling out pastry. Using cookie cutters usually results in mis-shapen cookies and a mess left behind. Not so this time. I used cherry preserves in the dough and the icing rather than strawberry; thus the red bits you can see. Quick to make and tasty, too. If you would like this recipe, let me know. No time to post it now.

I'm Back...

Whew. The more I hurry, the behinder I get! Still, I'm making time for ornies in betwixt laundry, wrapping, cleaning, chores. This grand old ship may be my last ornie for my sea-theme tree (though I have some fish and shell scrap that would fit in nicely). I used 3-d dots to attach the ship to a very old newsprint from something called "Leisure Hour", dated 1870. This was yet another eBay purchase. Kinda hard to cut up this newspaper magazine, but that is why I bought it.

Here we have a Scottish Warrier for my Tartan tree. Along with that fabulous red, white & blue ribbon. I have managed to purchase 4 of these old fraternal ribbons from eBay this month. Besides being in such excellent shabby condition, nobody is making things like this anymore.

Whoosh

It is just over a week until Christmas! The days are spinning by so quickly. I just wanted to drop by to say "Hi". I know everyone is busy.

I managed to make this ornament for my sea-themed tree. I don't have many ornies for this tree, and I want to stick with the theme. I just received an assortment of old Victorian scrap with a couple of ships. I used this one, along with the very last of the silver tinsel from Laura. I have a few more drying...that Stickles glitter glue can't be rushed. Check back tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Vanessa

The secret can be revealed. Today is Vanessa's birthday, and the celebration can begin, blogland style. So, who is Vanessa? And what does she mean to me?

For me, discovering A Fanciful Twist was a door into a new world. A world that Vanessa created, out of thin air, imagination, and a playful spirit. She is a gypsy at heart, you know. And a very gorgeous one, on the outside and more so on the inside.

Vanessa cherishes the world's little creatures, like birds and puppy dogs. Frogs, butterflies, lizards, too. She shares this love of nature with us in the most charming ways.

When Vanessa invites you to a blog party (a WHAT?, you say), it is an opportunity to play and make-believe once again. Not that I really played with imaginary friends as a child. Well, except when I was the boss mare for the "herd" of horses during recess in elementary school. The first blog party I attended was Vanessa's Mad Hatter Tea Party this spring. What a lark!

When I read A Fanciful Twist I smile and laugh and sometimes get a little teary eyed. Her stories are full of love and her pictures are awesome. Mostly it is her open invitation into her world that lingers. Vanessa is a joyful, generous, lovely young woman. Happy Birthday To You, Vanessa. And many more, cha-cha-cha.

Checking In

Hi. We are having a cold snap here. Dropping into the 20's, even teens, over-night. My friend SueAnn brought me up short by telling me it is -12 in her little corner of New Mexico. Whoa!

I am fascinated by badges since seeing the 1 Donna O'Brien had (NOT FOR SALE) at the Tinsel & Treasure Show. I found these 2 old beauties on eBay for just a little money. Today I hope to get to the studio to make some badges SeaHorse Ranch Style.

In the meantime, I cobbled together this paper ornament for my Tartan theme tree.

And this one using some sparkly trim my Sis gave me. Rock-on, Paper and Scissors.

Warm Up

The day before I had my Felt Compulsion, I was spurred to finally complete 2 scrapbook pages. I came upon photos of my Dad with my nephews Jason and Matt and Jason's 2 children. I knew I had to preserve these in a tribute. My dad passed when he was only 74, in 2000. I miss him every day.

A couple of years ago I decided to make a scrap page to mark each of my birthdays. So far I've only done one for 58 and this one for 61...back in July. Whew, my ideas simmer slowly. What does this have to do with my post title "Warm Up"; well, I do wish it would warm up from the low 30's AND these projects are just warming me up for another craft blitz.

Felt Compulsion

I have been yearning to get back to my "studio", but days go by so quickly and are filled with chores. Yesterday morning my email brought me an inspiration and a resolve to get to the studio. The inspiration craft was Martha's Felt Corsages, pictured above.

I printed out the instruction and template...but was somewhat stuck on how to decorate the bare felt leaves. So I just started pulling out stuff from drawers. A little of the silver tinsel fringe Laura sent me; some old scrap characters from a recent eBay purchase. And the lesson I learned from looking at Donna's work...More is Never Too Much.

Several fun hours later, this is my version of Christmas felt leaves corsages. Then I was ready to go back to real life.