New buttons on Etsy.

And new buttons at Polka Dot Creations.

And lots of fog out the window.

It’s been a day of catching up. I only got half of the orders out today (*sigh*) but the rest will definitely be done by tomorrow. Some batches just take longer than others. This particular one was about twice the size as usual, with a large percentage of international orders. Shipping globally is more time-consuming than shipping locally.

Of course, the kicker is that once I get these out tomorrow, it will already be time to get the next batch ready to go, if I don’t want to fall behind again. And I don’t.

Ah, it’s almost time for the school bus to get here and another evening to begin. Off I go to await my firstborn’s arrival home.

Whoa, almost forgot my little bit for 30 Days of Thankfulness…  Today I am thankful not to be a deer.  The hunt is on this week at the Great Swamp, and I woke up to the sound of shots being fired.  Just heard another one a few seconds ago, too.  So, I’m glad I’m not a deer and that nobody is stalking me with a rifle at the moment.

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Or are you about ready to gouge your eyes out by now?

These are for the boys. The one on the left goes with Aidan’s orange vest, and the one on the right goes with Eamonn’s blue vest. They’re both made in my usual way, with flannel backing, polymer clay buttons, and a few patches of a solid linen/cotton blend. The patterned fabric is from American Jane’s Look and Learn collection - I used a charm pack, which gave me one 4.5-inch square of each pattern in the collection. That worked out pretty well for these small scarves, except that I might have chosen different areas of some of the patterns had I cut them out myself. For instance, I would have focused on little boys playing instead of little girls in those patches on the left. So far A and E haven’t noticed, though, and I’m not saying anything!

Kathi sent me the fabric to make this one for her. Good choices, Kathi, they go so nicely with the Blue buttons! Now, I just need to get this in an envelope and on its way. Sometimes that task takes me longer than it takes me to make the darn things! If any of the rest of you like this blue/purple one, there will be several more similar to it (and yet delightfully different) in my store the next time I get a chance to do some stitching. They’re all cut out and ready to go…

This might be a good opportunity to tell you about a few rss feeds that can help you keep track of my new creations for sale (just in case you’re waiting for a blue scarf, by chance). Subscribe to one or both of these in your favorite feed aggregator:

• New Creations at Polka Dot Creations
• New Creations at Etsy

And as far as the three scarves I posted about today go, there are more views of all of them on flickr, if you just can’t get enough. Heh.

So, what am I thankful for today? I’m thankful that I managed to stay awake on a 45-minute drive this evening, even though I was sleepy. I picked one of my mix CD’s at random to listen to, and it was a very good choice - kept me singing the whole way home. It was quite an enjoyable ride, and not once did I feel too drowsy to get home. Whew.

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As usual, I’m a little late coming to the party, but I read today about NaBloPoMo, which is short for National Blog Posting Month. The idea is to post once a day during the month of November. Well, heck, that’s not really a stretch for me, now is it? So, I’m joining in despite having spent most of the first week of this month in a fog of taking care of other things online and not posting as much as usual.

If you’re up for it, join the party! And be sure to add me as a friend, because right now I look darn lonely sitting there advertising that “Lisa Clarke doesn’t have any friends on this social network yet.” I’m getting flashbacks to grade school - didn’t have any friends in that social network either. *sigh*

Anywho, I have a new tutorial to announce. Yay! My NJPCG buddy Dot has a nifty Scroll Cane tutorial she is sharing with us. I’m thinking of trying this in the Evolution of a Color Scheme colors when I finally get back to working on that. Which will be soon. I promise.

Back to NaBloPoMo for a moment - they have groups you can join there. I don’t for a moment think that I will have any time to really participate in these groups, but one of them struck me as a very simple thing to do as part of my regular post. 30 Days of Thanks is pretty much just what it sounds like. So today I will end my post with one thing I am thankful for:

I’m thankful for many big, important things that I will touch on as the month progresses, but for today, let’s just say that I am thankful for peaceful moments when children are at school and husband is at work, where I can sit and quietly type for a while. Soon one of the boys will be home, followed shortly by the other, and lastly by Neil, and I will be happy to welcome each of them back. But I do appreciate the quiet of this moment.

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As you may know, I’ve been up to my eyeballs in so much stuff this week, but I needed some moments of brainless activity to help keep me sane.  Sewing a series of straight lines is brainless enough for me, so I worked on my non-seasonal everyday napkins.  I did a few every day this week and finished up the last of them this morning.  I really like them - they go nicely with the navy blue and white color scheme in my kitchen.  These are all patterns from Susan Branch’s Martha’s Vineyard Watercolor collection.  I already had the navy blue fireworks and the white/navy toile patterns, which I had made 4 napkins and an apron out of a while back, but I wanted more (in quantity and in variety).  I’m so happy with the way they came out!

I’m less happy with the success rate of my brainless activity at keeping me sane…  I spaced-out on two commitments today.  It’s bad enough to forget one thing, but two?  At 1:30 today I remembered Aidan was supposed to go to a birthday party from 12:00-2:00.  He missed it.  And at 2:30 today, as I was driving to the store to buy orange thread for my next napkin project, I remembered I had committed to making pumpkin bread for the MOMS Club bake sale at our town’s street fair this weekend.  The bread was to be dropped off at 4:00 today.  Needless to say I blew it there, too.

I am feeling so overwhelmed this weekend with things that I have to do and things that I want to do, and things that I don’t really have to do, but feel like I should do.  Normally, I am the queen of lists, but I haven’t written any of this down.   Maybe that’s why I feel so much like I am juggling - and why I keep dropping the ball.

It’s already 11:00 and I still have three important things to accomplish business-wise before I hit the sack.  It’s Saturday Night, for crying out loud.   I should be sitting on the couch with my sweetie watching almost-unwatchable comedy together and maybe sharing some pumpkin biscotti (a treat I haven’t made but really wish I did today).  I should not be answering email, processing orders, or planning what to bring to tomorrow’s guild meeting.

Executive decision time:

• I’ll process the orders that are necessary for tomorrow’s meeting.
• I’ll just bring an armload of Judy Belcher’s new DVD with me to the meeting and not worry about any other titles.
• Answering email can wait until tomorrow.

There.  Thanks for being here while I brain-dumped.  I feel a little better now.   I’d feel a lot better if I had a pumpkin biscotti to munch on, though

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Words of wisdom from Judy Belcher: “Even crap is beautiful tessellated.”  I love it.  Along with the rest of this new DVD.  Millefiori Story showed up yesterday and over the past two days I have watched the whole thing, from checkerboards to quilts to faces.  There are over two hours worth of caning techniques, starting with basic stripes, jellyrolls, and checkerboards and moving effortlessly into mica shift, extruded canes, and a discussion of the ubiquitous and essential Skinner Blend.  The second half of the DVD builds on previous concepts to create leaves & fruit, kaleidoscopic (tessellated) canes, clay quilts, and face canes.  Despite the fact that I’ve been caning for over a decade, I still had a few a-ha! moments watching Judy do her thing.  That’s the beauty of DVDs over books, I think.  Sometimes there are things to learn simply by seeing how an artist cranks clay through her pasta machine.  Everyone moves somewhat differently, and it’s the seemingly unimportant movements that define an artist’s technique and can help you refine your own.

There are nine millefiori lessons, and each lesson culminates in a project.  Jewelry, a clock, salt & pepper shakers, and a night light are among the offerings.  There is an extensive gallery (so extensive that I had to take a potty break in the middle ).  Image after image of Judy’s beautiful work is displayed, and each piece refers back to one of the projects on the DVD.  If you see something you like, you can go from the gallery directly to the relevant project and see how it’s made.  All PageSage DVDs have this feature, and I think it’s fantastic.  Actually, I love everything about PageSage DVDs.  They are professional, well-made, and take full advantage of the DVD format.

Millefiori is one of the most popular applications in polymer clay, and yet it has been hard for me to recommend learning tools when I am asked.  There are several caning videos out there, many of them very good, but aside from the excellent-but-10-years-old Millefiori Basics, they all focus on one particular type of cane.  This DVD is more than two hours full of techniques that will satisfy beginners and experienced caners alike.  I will not hesitate to recommend this DVD to anyone who asks.  In fact, at the risk of dooming myself to an extra several days of packing-and-shipping, I am going to be so bold as to say you really need to get this DVD now, if you have any interest in millefiori at all.

Or, you could wait - a little bird with the initials JB has offered to send me a signed copy that I was thinking would make a lovely little blog giveaway for one of you loyal readers… You’ll have to stay tuned for more on that.

If you’ve pre-ordered a copy, I will be shipping it out over the course of the next week.  I have more preorders for this title than ever before, so they will be going out in waves.  I’ll see if I can recruit a little help to speed up the process - as a clayhead myself, I know you get antsy waiting for your fix of new instructional materials

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It’s swappin’ time, and there’s nothing like leaving it to the  last minute, eh?  You may recall me mentioning the Sweet & Sinister Swap?  Well, the box is due to be mailed tomorrow.  Want to see what I’m putting in the box to my partner, Ginny?

• I’ve had the BOO! banner for some time now - bought it from Nikki of WhiMSyLove, who custom-made it for me.
• The pumpkins I bought at the farmers’ market one recent Thursday, and I painted the stems with black nail polish to make them look a bit creepier.
• The licorice I’ve had in mind since the beginning (it’s considered “sinister” because there are 13 pieces - yeah, I know it’s a stretch).
• I made a pin from polymer clay - three white pumpkins with black stems, and each pumpkin has a “patch” from the Grayscale color scheme.  I then antiqued, sanded & buffed it.  It really didn’t come out like I envisioned, but it’s still ok.
• The card and tags I made in Paint Shop Pro, fiddling around with patterns, textures, fonts & effects. That’s always fun.

Now all that remains is to box it all up and put it in the mail.  I hope my partner likes it.  I’ve never done a swap like this, and frankly the more things I see in the flickr group, the more it drives home the point that my crafting style is very different than many of the people in this swap.

Lacking an appropriate segue, I’m going to just jump into showing you my husband’s pants.  This are very soft, very nicely-worn-in Wranglers that just happen to have a gaping hole in the knee.  Or, at least, they were.  This morning, after mulling over Eren’s skirt at This Vintage Chica, I took a seam ripper and a pair of scissors to Neil’s pants and repurposed them into this:

Because everybody knows I need another homemade skirt. It looks crooked, but that’s just the way I am standing.  This is quite possibly the softest skirt I have ever worn.  Neil broke it in for me over several years, and I think tonight after he dozes off, I may sneak into his closet and look for more pants I can steal recycle.  Heh.

You may also have noticed that I got sucked in by the new Old Navy sweater commercial.  Two nights ago, I was sitting on the couch with Neil watching TV and saying, “I like that sweater with the big pom-poms on it.”  One evening later, I’m out renting The Ant Bully for Movie Night, and somehow I end up trying on sweaters and buying my first ever cup of $3.75 coffee (Oh, Decaf Tall Pumpkin Spice Latte. I think I love you.  Call me.)  The newly-crisp Fall air does something weird to me, but in a good, happy kind of way

I’m going to be so busy this week, it isn’t even funny.  A little bird has told me that the long-awaited Millefiori Story is going to be in my hot little hands very very soon.  And that means I am going to be very very busy packing up those suckers and sending them on their way to eager clayheads everywhere.

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So, I got those zinnias I wanted… Aren’t they pretty? I went to Hillview Farms yesterday, wandered into their little shop, and was told that they didn’t have any flowers already cut. I got a pair of scissors and a bushel basket and hiked out to the field to cut my own. I was kicking myself for not bringing the camera along - I saw so many beautiful butterflies, and a tiny furry creature that may have been a baby mouse, or possibly a baby rabbit. It was tiny, dark gray, and sitting outside of its hole. Cute little thing, and it didn’t even think to run away when I got close.

The flowers look so pretty on my coffee table. Zinnias are kind of a tradition for me. Years ago, when I worked at GAF, I would often stop on my way home in late summer/early fall, and buy a bunch like these. There was one lady who sold them at her house - you pulled in the driveway, beeped the horn, and she’d come out and sell you a small bouquet for $5. If I took a different route home, past a small farm, there used to be a cart out on the lawn where they’d have self-serve flowers. You could take a bunch and leave $5 in the box. I haven’t had a job to drive home from in 7 years, and so there haven’t been many spur-of-the-moment late summer bouquets around the house during that time, and I’ve missed them!

I also picked up a basket of apples while I was at the farm yesterday. It’s just not September without apples! I was told these are Honeycrisps, which is a new variety that’s pretty much got it all - sweet, tart, crispy, juicy, good for eating, good for baking - everything! After that endorsement, I couldn’t wait to try them, and I ate one on my way home. They were everything the apple lady said they were. Well, except “good for baking”- I have yet to test that claim, but I will, and I’m sure they’ll pass! I just need to figure out what to make with them. There’s always the old Apple Crisp standby, which I love, but it might not be the best thing for my waistline right now  Neil suggested Baked Apples like we had at The Blue Violet Mansion in Napa, CA on our honeymoon, 12+ years ago. I’d forgotten all about those. If I can find a good recipe, maybe I’ll make them for breakfast tomorrow. It would be a nice change of pace from our usual granola bar or Pop Tart breakfasts.

I joined ArtsyMama’s Sweet & Sinister Swap last week.  It’s the first of its kind for me.  I’ve done polymer clay swaps before, where you make 15  of the same thing, send them all to the swapmeister, and get back a  package with 15 different things within the swap theme that other people made.  This swap is different, in that it’s a one-on-one thing.  I was assigned a partner, and now we have until October 1st to mail each other a box of items that fit the swap theme.  This is going to be a challenge - staying within budget ($15) and finding things that fit the theme (something sweet, something sinister, something handmade, and something home decor-ish).  Oh, and did I mention that everything has to be black & white?  I know what I want to do for something sweet.  As for the rest, maybe I can just handmake a piece of sinister home decor and kill three  birds with one stone 

I’m thinking some books & magazines might help me get a handle on what I want to do.  I’ve never been a huge Halloween fan, but something about the vintage-creepy feel of this swap appealed to me, and I’d like to focus on that.  That look is not really my forte, so it’s  a bit of  a challenge.  Coincidentally, Somerset Holidays & Celebrations showed up last week.  If anybody’s got vintage-creepy down, the folks at Stampington do.  I flipped through it once, but I’m definitely going to have to go back to it again and see if anything sparks some ideas.  I am also pretty sure I have a creepy Martha Stewart Halloween book around here somewhere that has got to have something worthwhile in it.

So, anyway, between the zinnias, the apples, and the swap, it’s looking like summer is fading fast around here.  The boys start school next week, and already the early mornings and late nights have been sweater-worthy.  My feet, which are up on my desk right now, barefoot, are feeling a little chilly as we speak.  Oh, poor toes, the day is coming when you will be confined to socks.  Enjoy your freedom now, little ones, and when the time comes to envelop you in warmth, I promise to do my best to find you soft and pretty clothes.  You deserve better than white tube socks with holes in the heels.

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But in a good way… I’ve just added six new items based on Alexander Henry’s Birdseed fabric to my shop. Two pendants…

…three big buttons…

…and a ring. There’s more (earrings and bobby pins in particular), but I don’t want to spend my whole day in front of the computer - the sun is shining, a breeze is blowing, and I have to go buy me some flowers for the coffee table! Perhaps I’ll post the rest later. Or tomorrow. Pop by Etsy whenever you get a chance and see what else I’ve managed to list!

I hope your weekend is going pleasantly so far

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Have a handful of scrumptious Farmers’ Market kettle corn and answer a quick question for me, ok?

 Loading …

Thanks! And now on to other things…

Like toes! A certain little four-year-old boy looked up at me the other day and said, “Mommy? Do you have green nail polish?” I didn’t. “Do you think we could get some green nail polish for me to wear?” I thought it was a funny request from a child of the male persuasion, but I said “sure!” and the next time we were at Drug Fair he helped me pick out a bottle of green and a bottle of blue for good measure. Handsome feet, don’t you think?

I did some long-time-coming updates to both the Polka Dot Creations shop and my Etsy shop today. Here at PDC, I’ve got some Posy Hair Pins and Posy Rings in Swamp Calico…

…and Candy Chenille.

Over at Etsy, I’ve added some Posy Hair Pins and Posy Rings in the Triangles pattern and Heather Bailey’s Freshcut colors. I’ve had all of these posies made and photographed since late June, but I never got them listed.

Coming soon to Etsy, the Birdseed Line…

Somewhere in between inserting the final images and getting the correct links in this post, Aidan, surprised look on his face, said “hey! my tooth just fell out!” Much excitement ensued - at 7 1/2 years old, one week before the beginning of 2nd grade, this is his first tooth to let go. I felt a wee bit misty holding his tiny tooth in my hand - my firstborn has taken another step out of babyhood.

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What a drag of a day it’s been. I spent most of it packing orders and they’re still sitting here! Normally it doesn’t take this long to get this many orders through my system, but today I had a few doozies that just didn’t go the normal route. One took me about an hour to deal with. Ugh. I’m glad I decided to do my packing on the floor in the family room today, because it allowed me to hang out with the little people. I caught a few episodes of Arthur that I haven’t seen before. I like that show. And Curious George. I love George. Seriously!

Anyway, I just have postage to print tomorrow morning and then off they go! Whoooosh!

Now on to more inspiring things. Like magazines…

The latest volume of Belle Armoire Jewelry is here, and wow, is it full of inspiration! There are no fewer than ten projects related to either polymer or metal clay. I love Patty Barnes‘ idea of making photo transfers from her grandmother’s china pattern and turning them into jewelry - genius! I’m really big on using old family photos in my work, but I love Patty’s idea because it’s more subtle. And sometimes, let’s face it, it’s just weird to wear somebody’s face on your person, no matter how much you might like them

I’m looking forward to spending more time with this magazine. Oh! and there’s more good news - starting in the Spring of 2008, Belle Armoire Jewelry will become a quarterly publication. That’s nifty: more great articles to read, and more opportunity to submit your own articles, if you’re so inclined.

Speaking of inspiring things to look at…

Fabric, footwear and clay, are all united by color. Isn’t it pretty? If you haven’t checked out the pool yet, you’ll want to go have a look. In addition to these, there are another 100 or so artsy aqua photos to get your creative juices flowing. And don’t forget - the last day to submit your artwork to the Polka Dot Creations Color Challenge for August is tomorrow, Saturday, August 25th! Sometime after that, I will choose my favorite nine entries (which will not be easy, I can tell already) and of those nine, a winner will be chosen randomly. Good luck!

And now for this week’s Flickr Favorites… I went a little crazy with them - I guess I was just inspired by a lot of things! Several old cars and a plethora of food this time around. Why so much food? Must have something to do with my effort to cut back on the snacking this week Click on this image and take a look at some of these great photos up close.

So glad the weekend is here - this week has been frustrating weather-wise and business-wise and housekeeping-wise, and I’m really looking forward to shaking the funk I’ve developed and having a nice, creative weekend!

Lisa

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I wish I had something creative to share, like images of the beads from Dan Cormier’s class (back in JUNE!) that I’ve been planning to sand, but haven’t. Or the half-finished necklaces that I made to go with Alexander Henry’s Birdseed fabric, which can’t be completed until my jump rings get here from Fire Mountain Gems. Or the other two quilt tops I haven’t yet put together. Or an actual quilted piece. Or, heck, it might be nice to tell you all about the new issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry that arrived here yesterday and whose cover I have yet to scan.

But the truth of the matter is that I spent the morning food shopping and the afternoon staring at a computer screen while my kids watched The Santa Clause [yes, they know it’s August]. We had a brief walk outside when I started to feel like we hadn’t had any fresh air in days. It has been raining for almost a week. And when it’s not raining, it looks like it will at any moment. It’s starting to bug me.

And now I am putting off printing the paperwork that will direct my order-packing tonight. When I started posting, I was alone in this room, listening to my new Crowded House CD, feeling peaceful. Since then, both kids have come in here, and now one of them is playing a computer game and the other is acting out a scene from some show he made up. They’re competing with my music. And my peaceful feeling for that matter. Too many things happening at once in here! And I suppose that’s my cue to stop trying to write and start the brainless activity of printing and packing

Lisa

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In the Encyclopedia of Me, F is for Flickr. I’ve become kind of a junkie. I love looking at all of the great things that everyone has made. I belong to around 100 groups, many of which I’ve submitted photos to, and a handful of which I watch on a daily basis.

Did you know you can subscribe to Flickr feeds? At the bottom of nearly every page, there is a little RSS symbol. If you’re looking at the images in the polyclay pool, you can click on the RSS button and subscribe to a feed that will alert you every time a new photo is posted to the pool. If you’re looking at the page with your contacts’ new photos and you click RSS, you will subscribe to a feed that is updated every time one of your contacts posts a new photo. Neat, isn’t it? So in addition to the blogs I watch in Google Reader, I’ve also got some Flickr feeds set up for my favorite groups and for my contacts. Some of those Flickr groups are kind of fun, like the new A Picture Then A Picture Now group. Each photo must be of you holding an old picture of yourself. I posted me and my Kindergarten photo from 31 years ago. And other Flickr groups are just full of artistic inspiration. The more images of creative things I see, the more I feel like being creative myself. It fuels the artistic fire, that’s for sure. To find groups that speak to your own muses, you can search by keyword.

F is for Flickr. And the Fun that can be had with it!

And now, on to a bit of sewing… I finally tackled that shirt pattern I’ve been lusting after, and I had mixed results. My first attempt was with a thrifted bedsheet, and all I can say is thank goodness I tried it with material that only cost me $1.50 because I can’t wear it! I made the largest size in the pattern and it was so tight I couldn’t get myself back out of it when I tried it on Apparently a 12 in this pattern is more like a 6 in real life. A real 12 would have been fine for me, even roomy. This shirt threatened to choke the life out of me. Additionally, I kept making stupid mistakes and ended up ripping out 4 or 5 seams before I finally got it right. Altogether a frustrating experience, but I wanted to finish it, even though I knew it would be too small, because I wanted to see exactly where I’d need to alter the pattern for the next attempt.

Speaking of the next attempt, I tried again this morning and lo & behold, I finally have a shirt I can wear! I think when I make this again (and I will make this again) I will change a few things - maybe make the sleeves a tiny bit longer, or make it slightly more fitted in the waist. I also need it in a solid color so I can wear it with one of the myriad new skirts in my collection

Now I must go flip through my copy of Artful Blogging, which arrived today, and finish the Mike’s Hard Lime I just cracked open. I think blogging while intoxicated could produce some interesting posts, but I’ll save that experiment for another time.

Cheers!

Lisa

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Let me start by wishing my sister-in-law (Neil’s sister) a Happy Birthday.  Despite what the picture may show, she is not a pigtailed 4-year-old this year    I realize this is yet another greeting to a family member who’s probably never going to see it, but just the same… hope you’re having a great 27th, Shana

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the new additions to the store, you’ve probably already noticed that I managed to stock some of those books I’ve been blogging about.  I’m really excited to be able to offer these titles.  I don’t have many of each, and they may not even be permanent additions to the store, but I’ll keep them available as long as there’s demand.

Now, I have a sewing question.  I’ve been waiting not-so-patiently for my copy of Simplicity 3835, the pattern that’s sweeping the crafty-blogging community , and it finally got here today.   In reading the sizing information, I’m getting confused.  My bust size does not correspond with the size clothes I usually buy.  Do sewing pattern sizes have anything to do with the sizes they sell things in the store, or is it a whole other animal?  I’m afraid to start cutting things up until I know what I’m doing…

Something else came in the mail today - my birdie fabric! I’m making a new skirt tonight (because everyone knows you just can’t stop at six ).  What excites me more than making the skirt itself is making up some clay jewelry to go with it.  I haven’t been all that jazzed to make claythings lately, but for some reason I’ve had visions of aqua and orange dancing in my head for days now, just waiting for the fabric to arrive so I could make a perfect color-match.

Speaking of aqua… I decided (two days late) to join in on the Encyclopedia of Me Meme, which I found through Creative Little Daisy.   So, I’m going to kick off with A is for Aqua.   I’ve been an olive/chartreuse girl for some time, and although I am not ready to ditch my green love just yet, I’m finding myself drawn to aqua and turquoise a lot lately.  You can see how it’s all over my flickr favorites, a recent skirt, and my craft room dreams.

Now I have to go think of what the heck I’m going to do with the rest of the alphabet

Hey, it’s Friday, and I just remembered I took the next two weeks OFF!!  Woo hoo!  Once I get the last batch of open orders out the door this weekend, it’ll be nothing but bonding with the boys and crafty goodness as far as the eyes can see.  Oh, and “A&E’s 3rd Annual Water Party Extravaganza,” of course.   More on that as details develop, I’m sure.

Happy Friday!

Lisa

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It’s time for another tutorial! This time we call on the lovely and talented Crafty Goat, aka Angela Mabray. Angela shows us how to combine Sculpey Ultralight with inks and papers to create a unique Thank You Card. The variations on this technique are many, and the finished project is light enough and flexible enough to be sent through the mail.

Give it a try, and don’t forget to post your results on our flickr group!

Speaking of giving thanks, I have to give mine to all of you who sympathized with my back problem yesterday. It still hurts, but I have a lot more freedom of movement today, so that’s good. I should be able to lug books & pack orders tomorrow. Yahoo.

The boys and I have been laying low the last few days, mostly out of backache necessity. We filled up the kiddie pool in the yard yesterday and they splashed for an hour or so. I read a magazine and occasionally dipped my feet in the pool - it was dang hot out there. (Will you look at that incredibly skinny kid to the left? He can’t possibly be mine. I wasn’t a fat kid, but I’m pretty sure you couldn’t count my ribs…)

We’re planning on revisiting the pool for a while this afternoon, but first the boys are watching Signing Time: My First Signs Volume 1 and learning to say milk, more, Mommy, Daddy, water and a few other things in American Sign Language. We’ve had this DVD for at least 3 years and it’s barely seen any action. I don’t know what made them pick it out today, but it’s fun seeing them follow along when they don’t know I’m watching.

I’m thinking of doing a small sewing project later today. I think I have enough mobility for that at this point This skirt that I made at the beginning of the month is really pretty, but I am not happy with the way it fits me. It makes me look more “hippy” than I am (and I don’t mean “hippy” in the cool sense of the word). I can suck-it-in to some extent when it comes to my stomach, but I can’t exactly suck in extra width at my hips. I want to try taking it in on the sides and see if it makes a positive difference.

Ok, the DVD is over and the boys’ play has turned to arguing. Time for some creative intervention!

Oh, and don’t forget, the Posy Giveaway is still going on!

Lisa

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Originally published at Polka Dot Creations. Please leave any comments there.

And if you’re not, you could be. This excellent new tutorial by Adria Filion shows you how to make an elegant faux jade pendant with a creative twist. When you turn out the lights… it glows!

Follow the link, see it for yourself, try it, and post the results to our flickr group! Now! Go!

Now to those of you who didn’t bother to listen to me and are still sitting there in front of your computers, how about a little flickr eye candy? I made a mosaic of all of the photos I favorited this week. How does a photo get to be one of my favorites? Generally it is a color thing. As you can see, I was drawn to turquoise a lot this week.

Sometimes I favorite photos of things I’d like to make myself, or things with ideas I’d like to incorporate into my work or my personal style. But about 2/3 of the time it’s just colors and how they are used that appeal to me. If you click on the mosaic, you can see where each of the individual photos came from.

I have to thank Barbara Fajardo for posting a few delicious flickr links on her blog this week. I really loved the Doors and Windows of Spain, but there were gems among the other links, too.

I have to admit I didn’t “get” flickr for a while, but now I just love it - the way that people can form communities based solely on images is fascinating to me. I’ve found a lot of blogs that interest me just by following links on flickr photos that I find appealing.

Ok, your reprieve is over. Go make some glow-in-the-dark jade!

Lisa

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Originally published at Polka Dot Creations. Please leave any comments there.

My UPS guy has been busy lately. Look what’s newly-arrived…

I wish I could spend all day tomorrow curled up on the couch popping bon-bons and losing myself in these new items, but I promised myself I would get another batch of orders out the door. Man, I wish everyone could come shopping in my basement and save me the trouble of shoving things in boxes.

I’m bleary-eyed and must drag myself into bed. But first… it has been brought to my attention that apparently I am favoring one child over another in terms of blog shots. (Yes, Neil, their father, went through all fifty of my entries and counted how many pictures of each son I have posted). So, in the interest of fairness (and because I kind of like the darn kid) I present son #1.

And now, despite the fact that I feel like chatting with you all about berries and fabric, I am off to bed!   I’ll save those things for tomorrow and try to  get my brain to rest as much as my body wants to

Lisa

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Originally published at Polka Dot Creations. Please leave any comments there.