Stuph I made in July....

Let's face it...July has been hot and humid.  As a result,  I spent much more time indoors with the a/c going during the week.  (And lots of time in a/c in the car when leaving the house.)

Early on, I decided to be creative if I could be.  No time to waste bemoaning and not creating... so here are the fruits of July's labor, although I also did many many little drawings.

This is a little book made mostly from cereal boxes for the pages that were gessoed and painted. The theme was "Paris" and I am swapping it with a friend.  My thought was to use lots of summer color and embellishments.

Earlier I made a skinnier book about gnomes and fairies. It was TOO skinny!  But it has a lot of my original art work used in it and is one of my favorite themes.  In addition I made an ATC embellished with some of the same images I used in the book and you have seen here before.

The item on the left is made from an Altoid tin.  If you take the box apart you can alter the two pieces with paper and paint.   This is one of the chickens I drew earlier this year.  The item on the right is a piece of wood from my husband's throwaway wood in his workshop downstairs.  Paint, paper and rubber stamps with some sparkly jeweled accents transform it.  (Very cheap art to make!)

Last but not least is this tiny mouse. I found the pattern here.  It is 4 inches tall from toes to top of ears. The patterns says "5 inch mouse" so I must have printed it out wrong.  It's sort of cute for a first effort but I am not fond of the gray wool I used.  Need something with a mixed texture. On the other hand, he has become a companion that needs to be hidden from Zephyr, our cat, who caught a real mouse last week and terrified me with it!  I need to make a scarf for my mouse.

So that's what I have been doing...along with laundry, housework cooking and all that good stuff. No vacation but day trips on the weekends and artsy stuff in between.


What have YOU been doing?  Have tried to visit blogs this summer and catch up on blog reading.  Any of you still feeling unwell, hope you return to good health soon! We still have a lot of summer left ...

so stay cool...

enjoy the day!

Time to garden...

It's time to garden. I came downstairs this morning and saw this scene out of the corner of my eye. The sun had awakened them and they were ready to go outdoors at 5:00 a.m.

'Don't have the heart to tell them we won't be gardening today. It will be 90F or more later and possibly 100F tomorrow... so I planted a few things yesterday before it the heat wave arrives without their help.

Remember the tornado is MA last week? The same weather conditions might occur in New England this week, too. (And to think summer doesn't start for a few more weeks.)

Summer time...I have been thinking about it. As a child it is one thing...as an adult is another. For those with the wherewithal, it can be a marvelous time. A/C , fans, swimming pools and pretty gardens can make for a delightful time.

But, I know that here, later today, there will be homeless people of all ages who will spend the day outdoors. In some cities there will be "cooling centers" for the elderly and/or sickly who don't have air conditioning when the temps go over 100.

Summer time heat is bothersome but I am aware of how terribly awful it can be for a lots of other people. My hope is that anyone-- in the heat wave that is rolling across the country-- that people will find the relief they need. After an extreme winter, we may be facing an extreme summer.

Stay cool

stay safe,

enjoy the day...

The saga continues...

Right after Pinto made his appearance on Friday, we received a letter from Lily via her roommate, April.

It seems that sweet Lily

has a crush....

on you know who!

Could anything be cuter than these two made by Peng Peng? Dear, sweet Pinto is sitting near me here and he is such darling little bear--who wouldn't fall in love with him?

We have a new gardener who made his debut on Friday but was lost in the excitement of Pinto's arrival. He is my own creation. Edie always appreciates friends who are 4 inches tall. I needle-felted him to be a friend for Blanche Souris and Rat T Rat and the Sock Monkeys.


Such is life around here. The weekend flew by in a blink of an eye. We were only home to sleep. I didn't take out my camera even once as we dashed about from place to place catching up with shopping and errands long overdue. The weather was just perfect! It barely reached 80F and it was 50F this morning.

Right now I have to dash off myself, so...

Enjoy the day!

I smell a rat....

Not really! But, a little rat has come to live here. His maker, the very talented April Ross of Little Rock, AR, says he is a rascal and I should be aware of it. She should know! She is an artist, puppeteer needle felter and the creator of stories. April doesn't have a web site but here are some photos she has sent me over the years.


See the painting in her studio? That is Big Al. He is no longer with us but he was April's best buddy. She has other dogs in her life, but Big Al was very special. When he became disabled, April saw to it that he had a dog wheelchair so he could get around. She is a wonderful mother to her dogs and they are a bunch of characters who are lucky that she took them into her life. ( She is a prolific artist, too.)


April made this bear. Isn't he just grand? April is truly talented!

Let me introduce you to Josh and Vinetta. They are marionettes who live in a world of their own. April has created an environment for them that is enchanting. They are in a festive party mode here!


When a package arrives at April's home, they are frequently involved! Here they are when I sent a birdhouse to April.


I have known April for several years. We met through mutual friends on the Internet. We may never meet in person but, we have so many interests in common and so many coincidences that it is uncanny. When I posted my new little burro here the other day, April wrote that she has the whole collection (and sent me a photo!). She had also received a greeting card with a burro on it around the time I posted. We had never discussed burros!

This past weekend she put on an elaborate puppet show for a birthday party in the toy shop where she works. Lucky children! I saw the photos and the kids had a ball. She builds fabulous sets which she paints and makes her puppets come to life.

If you read this, April, Mr. Rat T. Rat is nearby. He is a charmer for sure and I am not much of a mouse lover in real life. But I love HIM! He is so cute and so funny. What can I say?

I hope you enjoyed reading about April and her creativity. I could have written much much more..her story telling with photos is precious.

Much to do here today. I would rather make dolls or art but have a few chores and errands that need some care.

Enjoy your day!