Tagged...

Pearl from Sentimental journey tagged me and asked me to play along....This s a get to know you type tag that was made to give us something to do and banish cabin fever. Here I am Pearl, typing away...only for you....

1. Were you named after anyone? nope,,my dad picked it and he cant remember where it came from. I have asked..he said it was to stop my mom from naming me Clarice.
2. When was the last time you cried? I don't cry much for a girl, but I did last night thinking about my daughter and missing her.
3. Do you like your handwriting? Yep. it is big and loopy and fits my personality I think.
4. What is your favorite lunch meat? turkey with best foods mayo and a pickle on the side, white bread.
5. Do you have kids? yep..Stacie almost 30, Ryan 28 and Lisa will be 26 this June...Plus raising Olivia 7 and Andrew 3. My life has always been about kids.
6. If you were another person would you wanna be friends with you? I can be a good friend so yeah I would...
7. do you use sarcasm? oh yeah, I am known for it....
8. do you still have tonsils? yep...shoulda been taken out but were not..I still get tonsillitis every once in a while
9. would you bungee jump? if I wanted to die of a heart attack I would.
10. what is your favorite cereal? lucky charms...i love those sugary charms.
11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? nope
12. what is your favorite ice cream? black licorice...it is butt ugly but I love it and if it turns my mouth a nasty drk green, who cares?
13. what is the first thing you notice about people? Their eyes and if they make eye contact with me.
14. red or pink? well duh? pink
15. what is your least fave thing about yourself...weak fingernails...shoot I don't know..
16. who do you miss the most? I have had a lot of loss and I miss them all.....My mom, my grandmas, baby luke, ron and my daughter lisa
17. Do you want everyone to complete this list....if they want to.
18. what color pants and shoes do you have on...red flannel pj pants with scottie dogs and no shoes
19. what are you listening to right now? the computer hum, cartoons in the background and the kids in the kitchen talking while they eat a bedtime snack.
20. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? periwinkle blue
21. favorite smells? lavender, vanilla, cookies baking, the smell of my mom
22. last person I talked to on the phone? my sister Julie in Utah
23. favorite sport to watch? I don't.
24. hair color? drk reddish brown
25. eyes? green
26. do you wear contacts? nope
27. favorite food? chocolate chip cookies
28. scary movies or happy endings...i hate scary movies...I scream and get anxious.
29. Last movie you watched? Wall-e with the kids, we liked it.
30. what color shirt are you wearing...a black fender guitar tshirt
31. summer or winter...summer!
32. hugs or kisses? hugs.
33. fav dessert? white chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce
34. most likely to respond? no clue....
35. least likely? I doubt everyone who reads this will...
36. what book are you reading? the bible and Not Yet Drowned (fiction)
37. what color is your mouse pad? I don't use one.
38. what did you watch on tv last night? top chef New York and Svu
39. what are your fave sounds....red wing blackbirds, rain on the roof at night and the sound of fog horns on the water and Andrew saying, "I yu you.."
40. rolling stones or the beatles? the beatles
41. the farthest you have ever been away from home? Germany
42. special talents? talking... a lot
43. where were you born? Tillamook Oregon home of tillamook cheese
44. whose answers are you looking forward to? yours.

Consider yourself tagged and let me know cause I want to read this biography!!!!!

It's here! Apronology magazine and my article!

here is a little preview.....The apron pays tribute to both my grandmothers who meant the world to me and the article included a quote from me regarding that very thing. They would be so darn happy for me that it brings tears to m eyes...the little by line I also took a picture of. Olivia is going to be thrilled. Yes, They got my name wrong half the time, the other half right but I am so thrilled, I don't care. Next time I will be picky!!! This magazine is stuffed with some of the best aprons I have ever seen...Over a hundred of them! ENJOY. Now the mail lady can quit looking in her rearview mirror.

Another dog portrait and a decision.......

I approached the very talented Kris Hubick with an idea for a trade.....I needed collage sheets and she expressed a desire for a portrait of her beloved mini Pin.....Here is her pet all done up, red collar and spikes and all. The color choices were hers and of course, they are my favorites too, so that made it especially fun for me. Have you seen her collage sheets? I love the Valentine Dolls...I saw them and fell in love...go see at http://krishubick.blogspot.com/ You can see some of the art made with the sheets...It is pretty fun. I am going to use the sheets to make some Valentines heart for Jean the quilting Ranny.....I have been busy visiting blogs that are part of the "One heart, One World" giveaway...I already have made some new friends and I have seen ideas that make me want to run down to the basement and give it a try...The talent that is out there is amazing and the funny thing is a lot of us still struggle with accepting that it is talent that lets us do this. I get asked if I sell things and the truth is, I don't have the confidence to do it. If asked I will, but to just put myself out there...YIKES! I know a lot of you know what I am talking about. So far I think I have visited about 150 blogs...I think a lot of people just enter then leave, but I have to see what that person is all about and look at pictures. I have been a nervous wreck lately, and not sleeping much so this is what I have been doing. I did finally make the decision to move out and off the island by March first. I am scared, nervous and wondering if I am up to all the work involved but I feel some peace about it. It is going to be another huge change for my little family. We have had every major stress trigger on the scale.. Might as well add one more, then we can move onto our new and happy life!

Paper hearts challenge and one spoiled yellow dog

The heart challenge for the week at http://prettypaperhearts.blogspot.com/ was to use multiple hearts...I put three in the one....I used inks and paint and a new tree stamp that a friend sent me and just layered it up. I also used beeswax again, but only on certain parts to take a way some shine...It is made of a sheet of watercolor paper. Every night when I come in the bedroom the dog follows me and makes himself at home in the bed...He is so big that as you can see, he now takes up the whole double bed....As soon as I am done he waddles in and gets in bed with the two kids, the cat and myself. Surprisingly I have gotten used to hanging on the side of the bed to sleep. It is amazing what becomes normal....He has reached 132 pounds now. When I am still awake he starts out in a tight ball...As soon as my breathing changes..(this is how I imagine it anyway) he stretches out and makes himself comfortable just like in the photo, He is so big, that now, I cant budge him, the poop and he knows it. The response to the giveaway has been so much fun and I just love reading about peoples pets! One blogger asked me if I could do a goldfish...bring it on....

Apronology the magazine hits stands on Feb. first!

I am in it, I am in it! Can you tell I am excited? Just had to show the cover and give a blog scream. One of the other contributors got her copy...I have been darn near attacking the mail lady when she comes for the last couple days...She thinks I have lost my marbles I am sure. I will show it as soon as I get it...Please bear with me and remember, my life is pretty uneventful lately so this is a big deal...woohoo

My giveaway for One World, One Heart......

What a fun opportunity for all of us bloggers to get to know new friends and see all kinds of delicious handmade creations and some fun already made things too....I am very excited to participate in this and if you want to find out more, please go to http://oneworldoneheart.typepad.com/ ... So far, there are over 400 bloggers that you can visit and they all are hosting a giveaway. You can find them all listed on this site and go visit them to enter their drawings! The day when winners are drawn is February Twelfth. Please leave a comment on this post only, with a way for me to reach you if you are the winner....This giveaway is open to any active blogger.

What am I giving away? A custom quilted and painted pet portrait... I am pretty sure I can do any pet from a turtle to a dog....There are several on my blog of cats and dogs so go take a peek...This one that I am showing the photo of, I did for a friend...They are a lot of fun to do and people seem to enjoy them and they look really great matted and framed! All I need is some good photos to choose from and I knock one out....So come hang out with me in blogland and enter my first ever giveaway!

Theme Thursday....

The challenge this week was to create a two inch by four inch piece using any media....I used paper and watercolors and inks for the background and then added collaged bits from there. I used beeswax over the top. My oldest daughter thinks it is the coolest and wants it for a bookmark, so I am going to add an eyelet to the top and string some satin ribbons through it. You can go see what theme Thursday is all about at http://themethursday.wordpress.com/ ....

Dresses are complete

ready to send off to Jenna lee.......I had a look at everyone elses...they are all great! Olivia is going to be thrilled...

wordless Wednesday....

Another dress and what I have been up to......

I have been really struggling to do anything lately! Depression is terrible and unfortunately, I know all about it . Today I felt halfway normal, maybe because there actually was sun and a blue sky . I still haven't been able to find a job, other than Sunday mornings at the church nursery. Last week,there were a total of thirteen jobs listed for the whole island and all of them were in nursing! I am happy for my daughter who graduates in June with her nursing degree, but it's not so great for me. I am starting to realize that I am going to have to pack it in here and go stay with either my dad or my sister. Can I tell you how much this hurts my pride? I have NEVER done this, and now here I am. I hate it. I feel bad for the little kids and I feel like a failure that I cant financially support them. One step from homeless is how I feel and in all honesty, that is probably the reality. Oh blah, blah blah Melinda.....this is not how I intended this post to go, but is honest. You have my permission to skip over it. Really! ...I did make myself go down to the dungeon (basement ) and sew. I finished the top of a quilt for Andrew. It is all different pirate fabrics and will be really cute. He is getting a kick out of seeing it made and knowing it is just for him. I also made another paper dress with Liv's help. Two more to go...I also have been walking on the treadmill every day to try to get some endorphins to kick in...Here is to a better life...somewhere, somehow...Are you listening God? Please.

A three year olds confession......

Last night I am at the computer playing a game...Andrew comes in, a look of horror on his face. He said. "I didnt do somesing." I said, " what didn't you do?". He tugged at my pant leg and said, "I show you." I followed him out of the bedroom and as we hit the kitchen I heard the oven timer going off. Cooper the loyal dog and scapegoat was right at our heels. Now Andrew got in trouble several days ago for pushing over the oven cleaning lever on the stove when dinner was in the oven. Then I couldn't get the darn thing off and dinner was burning. I did manage to set the timer so if it happened again it would only "clean" for two minutes. Andrew apparently remembered after the fact, that he got in trouble and he needed to do some quick thinking! I asked him, "Andrew did you play with this lever?' he said, "no, Coopa did." I said, " So Cooper used his hands to get up there and push the lever over?" he said, "Coopa not got hands." I said, "I know." ....dead silence....the three year old crumples..."Andewjackannen ( Andrew Jack Allen) did it." ( I am hiding a big smile at this point. ) I sent him to the naughty chair for his time out but told him thank you for telling me the truth. He was pretty quiet and then I heard, "I need to tell you somesing." I said, "what? ..."I willy yuv you maga....." Man, I love this little guy!

Back online and did you know I was off?

I had a few harrowing days with my computer, and losing it, would've been the straw that broke the camels back. Blogging and posting pictures is my sanity...and my outlet and my voice. I am literally housebound for the most part with my only company being children and it can get pretty crazy. I have an older computer and the memory is pretty low and I tried to download a new photo program and almost lost everything. I finally figured it out and I am so darn glad! I made my heart for the heart challenge last week, but just now am posting it...The theme was backgrounds...I just used crayons and ink and paint, then threw some images on and used beeswax to coat it...I really like it and it was fun to try the beeswax. It dries super fast so you just do a little tiny bit at a time. I also joined a paper dress banner swap at http://artrageousafternoon.blogspot.com/

I made a couple of dresses and need to make a few more. I like to work with paper and haven't done a lot of it for awhile.. Olivia is excited to get the banner in the mail and claim it as her own. We are going to make a dress together. I also got awards from Pearl at http://pearlssentimentaljourney.blogspot.com/ and Elizabeth at http://thelastdoordownthehall.blogspot.com/ .....I enjoy both of their blogs for different reasons....Elizabeth's for art and Pearls for friendship and she finds the most beautiful vintage pictures...Thanks ladies...I will pass them on after I think on it!

vintage valentine for Theme Thursday

I made it as a postcard, but I also put some old eyelet lace stuff around the edges, because what is a Valentine without the frills? . It is on a painted background that I got from Elizabeth at "last door down the hall". I dont have the greatest printer so I added my own paint and things to brighten it up, then I added to that. Now that I look at it, I think I like it better without the edging...mmmmm, I may have to go pull it off. I may just sleep on this one...Thanks for stopping by!

Altered book....romantic literature.......

This is for one of the members of my altered book group...Her theme is Romantic literature and she was thinking I believe of classic books....I thought of the usual and decided to do something different. The Scarlett Letter was a ground breaker for it's time and one of the first American Romantic Literature novels so I decided on it. It was hard to get a good photo because of my penchant for gloss gel medium. The first page I really like, the second, is kind of about the feeling of being labeled and alone...the darkness suited it I think. When I was a kid we all played author cards at our weekend houseboat that didn't have electricity. You have to make matches of authors and books they wrote. Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of them. Wow! what a good memory of good times....

My first canvas....

I have always wanted to do a canvas and I found one in a closet I cleaned out and just started playing...This one has a ton of layers and was really fun to do...I started with plaster and then crackle and wood gel...some paint and then I drew and painted the girl...Added embellishments and gel medium and it is done. I am happy with it and I like the sentiment. I am really enjoying yellows and oranges lately too. Looking for the sunshine! I could get into this!

heart challenge and Theme Thursday.....

My first 2009 Projects...Woohoo! First of all the heart challenge was to use the theme of winter and incorporate something from outside...i used bird feathers and pieces of fir that I stripped the needles off of....the round little burgundy things are bird seed and the heart is a piece of Cardboard...I didnt' do snow, just because here we normally dont have it....I tried to just use cool forest colors. The image was a free one from Somerset magazine. The theme thursday challenge ( http://themethursday.wordpress.com/ ) for this week is "something new" ..How did I come up with this art quilt? It was made on New Years day and the silk and pins were given to me by my friends Marva and Helen so they were new to me..Also the saying "find yourself full of joy and love" is my New Years wish for everyone...The quilt is painted paper layered onto pieces of dupioni and jaquard with trim, the hair is fibers that are sewn randomly...Thanks for looking!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009! I am looking forward to all the good things that I just know it is going to bring. I am not really a resolution maker though I do set goals... I am definitely in a transitional period and my main big hope is that God will show me where to go from here. So that is my hope for 2009. We didn't do too much celebrating here ....I made a big green Thai curry and we had Hagen Daz peppermint bark ice cream and played Memory on the coffee table....The kids made it until eleven last night..We are still fighting the cold thing....We also sat around and said what we liked most about 2008. I wrote it down in one of Liv's notebooks and the kids really got into the spirit of things....Daniel loved fishing with Ron, meeting his great friend Sam and his birthday party in February...Andrew thought and thought...it was so cute . He came up with his "birday cake with a monsta" truck on it, Catching and eating crabs on fourth of July, ( I ate two five of dem) and going pishing'....Olivia's list was super long. Pink cupcakes and sewing and our great fishing trips and spending time with Aunt Cinda and Uncle Tom and her cousins and her Brownie camping trip and about twenty other things. It shows how far she has come that she has such joy for life and I LOVE that! To all my friends and family, I hope this coming year brings you great things!