thursday...

made this gift for a friend.....hope she likes it! (she's a real fall color person!)

click on the pic for a better view!

where DO pumpkins come from?

was going thru the files of pictures and came across this one i shot last year at the pumpkin farm...



happy fall hugz

...another week has passed

Got a chance to do a bit of art this week....

the stone angel spread was inspired by a couple of stone angel statues that stand near where my mom is buried at Holy Cross Cemetary...here in Milwaukee...they stood out from the many many photos i took because they both were missing a hand and then that inspired me to write the prose that i included on the spread...




this gothic arch was inspired bye a tangle of brightly colored fibers that somehow in a way expressed tangled emotions that bind love and art to the world...which i wrote a bit of poetry for the rear of the arch...





And here is a new swap i'm just beginning to participate in at mixed media madams...

this house page is for Sandee she is going to bind her book pages into an art street!
I used vintage envelopes for the base and then added my photo from when i was about 7 years old to the windows...holding onto my little white patent purse that i have inscribed on it "Art $"




These next pages are for Heather Holst...here theme is Mary Mary quite contrary...
I used vintage flower book pages and vintage seed packets and created a base...




and if you remember back a bit when i had the honor of going to my daughter's bf's ultrasound and they determined that they were having a little girl...well....

may i introduce...

LILLIAN ELISABETH!





We all got little goodies for her and I made a diaper cake with the goodies!



And here are the latest family photos that shannon and kevin had taken...




and then miss maddy came home with her school pics...and look how sweet they turned out! ...I'm still waiting for Xander's pics and will post as soon as I get them!!!



BIG HUGZ TIL NEXT TIME!!!

need some creative minds.....

for some suggestions....

for davids side of the family...we draw names for the little kids..(i.e. if you have two little ones under the age of 18 you draw two names...) well we are out of that category...but i'm in charge of organizing it....well many of the families are going thru hard times...so i suggested that maybe we do a book exchange...of sorts...could be reading books, color books, drawing books...BOOKS...but i'm looking for some unique way to present this...to make it fun...for the kiddies...or if anyone has any other ideas...my sil usually comes up with an art project... i just get to take charge of the gifts...


SO ALL YOU SWEET CREATIVE PEOPLE OUT THERE...if you can think of anything...just let me know!!! hugz!!!....

FRUSTRATIONS OF A THURSDAY...

Time passes...and hopefully all will remember the losses of 9/11...although most of the customers today writing checks asked what day it was..and when i mentioned the date...the overwhelming response was..."wow i didn't realize that"...

I still remember the day as clearly as it happened only yesterday...we were on our way to an outlet mall...and we had just dropped off the kids at school...maddysen was only a month old...and we flipped on the radio to hear if there were any traffic jams..to deal with enroute...and the reporter said...well lets check our traffic..although the traffic is nothing like new york right now...and i began thinking...who cares what traffic is like in new york...!!! it was approx. just after 8 in the morning CST....then the day unfolded...like an accordianed paper...and then collapsed around us...

Prayers and love to those affected...directly and indirectly...

Today was a very long day...at work...we are resetting the beading aisles...and the pegs and signs have scratched up and cut up my arms and hands...should have worn a pedometer to log in the miles i tracked carrying pegs of beads from the back to the front of the store...who needs a gym!!!

The new beading gallery and shop opens this weekend...and i will be working in that area...!!! we will be selling high end beads etc...first store in the nation...pilot store...!!! wonder if we will have beetle wings..lol....funny how i see a certain kind of bead..or embellishement and think of sweet kelly!!!!

I actually began a felted halloween cuff yesterday and it is turning out really cool!!! Here it is in stage one...felted base on tyedyed orange wool...fibers and wool roving....bits of broken rosary beads one spunky black cat...to start...

only one side of the backing (orange and black homespun..is finished leaving room for me to still get inside for more stitching....and beads...etc...)

click on the picture for a closer peek...



will work a bit more on it tommorrow...have to see what else i can find to add to it...as i downsize i'm finding all kinds of goodies....that i forgot about! just like special little gifts lurking ready to be found!!!


Well the frustrations...now...came home from work and found a letter from david's union...telling us that our health insurance was canceled as of jun 30th..!!!!!!!(IS THIS NOT SEPTEMBER????????)
and that david didn't have enough time in and now we owe the union 98.33!!!! and that is payable in 10 days...AND THEY TAKE NO LATE PAYMENTS....!!!!!!!!!!! ...and now without..that coverage...(thinking that the 98.33 is the difference we owe to cover david's diabetes meds...cuz we didn't know we didn't have that coverage...when we had it filled last...)....WELL HECK...don't know what we will do...no jobs in site....although they are screaming for help in las vegas.....i get paid tomorrow..but that is earmarked for elec/gas...and phone...and next weeks unemployment check is to pay the other half of this months rent...hmmmmm....
we will survive....cuz i got spunk.......

hugz and love

SATURDAY!!!

Goodness this has been a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng week! I've been cleaning out my studio and downsizing dramatically! Got some of the "excess" boxed up...kind of sad to see it just sitting there...in boxes...but in a weird kind of way..it's a bit freeing too...to purge stuff that i've had that i know i won't use...wishing there were more girls nearby that could come and get stuff...!!!

The kids had their first day of school this week...




Of course Maddy complained a bit that Xander "he's following me around all over school!!!" whines..lol...but we explained that this was a new school and she was the only one he knew and she'd have to be like a big sister...then she was fine! and xander found new friends...hee hee

maddy left maxx at home and told him to wait for her to come home...so she left maxx sitting "innocently" on the sofa with his manny doll...



but little did she know...that lurking in his mind..he had other plans...



NOW LET'S MOVE ON TO THOSE THINGS THAT MADDY DOESN'T LIKE ME TO TOUCH!!!!
MUHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!!! look out HANNAH, AND THOSE LITTLE PET SHOP GUYS... I'M COMING!!!


SWEET RACHAEL gave me this award!!!
Kind of appropriate since all this first week of school all i heard from Maddy was
"nonnie, you KNOW she is my BFF!!!"

Although Rachael's award is for.....

BLOGGING FRIENDS FOREVER!



So without further ado...(supposed to nominate four friends blogs...) I nominate:

Patti over on the rose petal path (go wander around there!)

Sandee who's got a blog for her sanitee!!!

vivien bear artist extraordinaire!!

peggy her blog is always full of fun and amazing stuff!!!

hard to do just 4 as there are sooo many!!!!!

...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAMIEN!!!

HAVE A TERRIFIC WEEK OR UNTIL NEXT TIME!

happy first day of SCHOOL!!!

I"m sure the babies are tucked into bed already in preparation for a new school year!!!
Maddy is going into second grade this year..and Xander into first...they are not only going to the same school..but they are in the same classroom!

Here is a scrapbook page that i did for them to commemorate the kick off of the new year!
(CLICK on the picture to make it easier to see!)



have a good first day!!!

HUGZ