Working on blog this morning ....

I am redesigning my blog a bit today ..........decided to go back to adding links to other's Etsy stores by adding the Etsy mini features ... if you would like your Etsy mini added to my blog drop me an email and we can do an exchange of links. I just didnt have the energy to put in devolping the blog over the last year or so .But i feel much healthier with all the diet change and the exercise . I feel much more 'alive" inside lately also. Lots of creative energy sooooooooo......... i need an outlet to sell the designs I am working on also.

OOAK Tribal Horse Designs ...

I am working on new designs this week to take to a luncheon to vend.I enjoy working with pieces that have a southwest look to them. What doesnt sell will go in the ebay store and up for barter for soap making supplies. I am looking for oxides in blues and oranges and such for my Cp soap. Also fragrance oils for the soap and edible scented / flavor oils for lip balms and massa ge oils. I like to make the oils up in the colder months since i dont like to ship my oil based products in the hotter months .. HMM? I am really not happy with my camera . I am not sure why all the pics are turning out grainy and out of focus last few weeks.... may be time for a new digital camera .

You can see how much the garden has grown in over a month .......Right now i am harvesting some corn and all kinds of tomatoes. My heirlooms are quite ripe yet but the cherry and pear tomatoes are grwoing about as fast as the weeds :) The rabbits have eatne the yellow squash and all but 2 of the patti pan squash . I am borrowing a dog this weekend to play in the yard and hopefully run off the rabbits .

Yes. I have corn growing..for now :)

Seeeeee.......... corn !!!!!! and the squash bugs havent found my plants yet..

Random corn growing. I tucked corn wherever i had room. i have 32 tommato plants in...most are heirloom varieties of all kinds...

Lemon balm is really growing great this year. Here in few days i need to pick some and infuse in olive oils for my soaps....

Lapquilts in various stages

Here are the 2 I decided to try and finish up today . Spent over 4 hrs on them already... yarn tatting on them and then hand sewing the binding that I make from fabric. Least another 6 hrs work to finish them up. I havent sewn all the horses on yet......once sewn on I will be back and embroidery around the edges of them . On the full body horses I may add bridles in embbroiidery and maybe an appliqued saddle ...not sure yet ) . Both lapquilts are made with a combination of upholstery fabrics. I love the textures and patterns in the tapestry and upholstery fabrics much better than lightweight cottons...




Then here is the second one.. I still need to add more horse heads and buttons for eyes .plus the embroidery around them . I am not going for a "traditional quilt" look. Each one will be a little work of art when finished. Then will come the fun of deciding what to charge for them ......each will be least 100.00. I will get complete pics of each when i have them done

Infusing Rose and Spearmint Oils ..

I usually infuse my herbs in olive oil and let set for several weeks but I wanted to try this method using lard and the crockpot.Lard being what i had on hand and alot cheaper than olive oil. I will be using in my HP soap later on. So i harvested a batch of spearmint the neighbor had growing in her yard and some of my rose petals. I filled the crockpot with it all and then added 2 cups of lard . I plan to let this infuse on "warm" setting for several days . Alot of people infuse thier herbs only for 4 or 6 hours by crockpot but i want to be sure to get a strong infused oil. I want to try to root a few o fthe spearment plants in a pot for my herb garden later on. These may be too big to get to root . But i plan on trying :)

Soap yummy enough to eat ....

Here is some of the soap I made this weekend. This is the "rasberry chocolate swirl " with oatmeal on top.... I swear it smells yummy enough to eat.it is scented with rasberry and then the cocoa powder makes the swirl. I dont think i will sell any of this batch. I plan to keep for myself and my daughter and a few gifts....... I have enough lye left for maybe a smaller....2 lb batch later in the week....think I will make more of this :)

Weeds and more weeds.....

I am building small areas for my salad garden crops. I have chives in one and green onions in another. Then lemon balm in another . I am using scrap lumber pieces . I need to round up some more still. I decided to move where i had started the new strawberry beds. That is the areas with the bamboo frames and plastic laid out. The frames are a broken Papa San chair frame that will work just great with it .You can see the side of the 2nd one of left of the picture .

I am getting weary of chopping 100's of weeds every day so I am going back and laying newspaper down around the rows ......then I am covering the papers with mulch and dirt. Newspaper works great ....just makes a truly UGLy garden area :) All the neighbors have maple trees which means mant thousands of maple seeds that have fallen in my yard and they all spring up and have to be pulled up... I dont use poison in my yard....but this fall I am going to have to spray for poison ivy. It has taken over so much of the fence rows

Rain and More Rain ....

Little too much rain overnight. I had just planted the corn Friday.....it is in the area way in back of yard.. cant see it too good in these pics .. Hope it doesnt wash my seed away :(

I love my turquoise fox necklace I made this weekend . The red beads are a red dyed agate .

This is a babyquilt i was making for a barter . Just have to tat it up and off it goes :)

These are barettes I whipped up. I cant find nice barrettes here anywhere for work. They are all cheap plastic or for kids or big funky bows..pssfft! Micheals Craft Store carries the blank silver barrettes and then add just a little bit of hot glue and some fabric or trim ....

The wild children ...

The wild children of the world :) Just finished 3 of them today..I love to make these primitive dolls . I dont think i could make a pretty and cutesy type doll.... they would be just too boring. I see these as scruffy medeval kids ... I got alot done in the craft room today.... I had some pillowcases to sew up and then I have been working on cutting several hundred strips of wallpaper to be turned into beads .. By using the wallpaper they are quite sturdy and alot can be done with them far as adding paint for textures over the colors. My camera is acting up tonight so maybe tomorrow when I have more patience i can get some good pictures of them . I got the backyard cut . Still feeling tired ...this BP medicine sucks the life right out of me. I have 2 weeks left of it on this cutting back dose and then will be off of it . I will be SO happy believe me .....

Recyling Candles today

I enjoy nice smelling jar candles like yankee candles.....but you always end up with about 1/3 left in the jars. Sometimes i use a candle warmer for them but i really enjoy the glow from candles themselves..So i take the old ones and heat them up to melt the wax...then i use the wax to create new ones. For these i have taken glass bowls that tealights will fit in....then i pour the hot wax in the bowl to just level with the wick in the tea lights. This way i dont have to buy wicks and create new candles at the same time. In the one picture..... You can see where i have taken a rectangle glass dish that holds 4 tealights and i have just started pouring the used candle wax around them. You could be elaborate on how you swirl colors with the old wax also...

Primitive Viking Dolls.....

Before you say... gosh..what UGLy dolls.. I have created these dolls based on primitive viking figures. The dragon headed one is made to resemble a viking ship figurehead and the other is a primitive viking girl with a cloak. They arent meant to be cute :) These are to be consigned to some folk doing the Shelbyville Ren Faire this summer....

Bobbi's Article On Plantain

Interesting article on Plantain..... check it out :) http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.examiner.com%2Fx-14263-Lexington-Gardening-Examiner~y2010m4d19-The-miracles-of-Plantain&h=f3915 I use it in salves . Never tried in salads but i may toss a few leaves in my next one. I have plenty growing in the yard

Life Changes....

So many things going on in last few months...most lately involving "life changes" I did decide to "undelete" this little blog. Though i did go back and take off the last 2 years worth of stuff. Figure it was too far back and no one actually read all that part. though once i deleted it ..wish i hadnt. should have printed it all out first..I could have put it with my journal :) I am back on my diet as a life change. My body doesnt do well otherwise. Lots of yummy salads now twice a day . Eating like i was....grabbing a sandwich at McDonalds 2 times a day was NOT a good idea on my part.. Doing that for 5 or 6 weeks lead to me being not healthy. On a good note ...since i was so sick last wednesday.. i have ate really well. and even lost a bit. I can wear few more pairs of my pants i was saving . Course when i started this diet last fall... i meant to be in a sz 12 right now...not a sz 16 .. considering i was wearing a size 20 in pants and 22 /24 in a shirt back then.. i am very grateful to be in 16's now .

Gargoyles ...

I have always found medieval architecture fascinating. I love the sculptures and statues and the gargoyles most of all. I found these collage sheets of gargoyle images and knew i would have to combine my love of jewelry design with the images. I have started a new page today for designs of this nature. http://www.1craftylady.com

Cold and snowy weekend crafting

It has been a busy week. I have been building the new webstore at http://www.1craftylady.com/ I have been sorting craft projects in piles to finish up . Each one needs one craft item i need to buy next week :) I am starting on lapquilts also. I will be doing those off and on thru the summer. I love this sailboat fabric one i pinned together today. The colors are jsut so bright and cheery. I have 3 large pillows I am making that will go with it too .Tomorrow I will start tatting it together and the handsewn binding .. I meant to work on it this morning...but ended up shoveling half a foot of snow instead . Then was time to go to work ..



I liked the way this neckalce turned out yesterday. I based it on a Native American Spirit Shield. I am enjoying using the feathers i traded for in my designs...

I liked this plaid fabric for potholders. It has beautiful white embroidery in the design. I ended up with couple doz of these to eventually stitch up and put away for gifts. They will look cute in a kitchen gift basket come hoilday time

Dollmaking .....

Started work on the first of the dolls i plan to create over next couple of weeks. This is a "horse spirit "doll. To see more of her go to .. http://www.tribalbarter.blogspot.com/ She also is up for sale . Felt good to be sewing again . The freshly painted sewing room feels good . I have dozens of ideas running thru my head for dolls..cant wait to actually get them all created ....

A productive day ......

I finished painting the craft room and got most the stuff moved back in there...now time to play with the beautiful feathers from Billie jo's "Easter Egger " chickens. They are perfect to create the mane for this horse necklace. I added some quartz and amethyst stones for a southwestern look. It will be over on my sale page at http://www.tribalbarter.blogspot.com/ i hope to start working on dolls the next few days and then first the week to get some new artisan soaps poured.

Waiting on the chai tea to kick in :)

I went thru my pics and printed out some vintage postcard ones i want to mat and frame .. and then i had several small art posters that i will do the same with. Gotta wait till i have the money for the mats and frames... maybe i will get a few more hours at my PT job at Rupp .... Who knew i would be so happy working a concessions stand :P . .... The hunt scenes with the little girl are just way adorable.... Last Saturday i volunteered with a friend to help at the Lexington Art League Event ..was alot of fun. I saw some interesting stuff. Photography wasnt allowed .. soooooo no pics to show ya. :(

I just had to take yesterday off from painting the house to read. I enjoyed a morning of sitting in the sunbeams in my rocking chair and reading "my wicked vampire" by Nina Bangs. I like her series alot..... Then i spent the afternoon working on legwarmers from recycled sweaters and several piece of jewelry .