It's been a pretty good day...

Now that I'm four days into Spring Break, I could be a mom on the edge of sanity knowing myself and my children. I have to say, over all, things are going quite well.

I had another successful morning of bread making. This time I made buns and a small round loaf. The buns were a little short but tasty. The loaf has not yet been sampled.

The kids are sticking to their chore charts, we ran errands and no blood was spilled. 

The stop at the post office brought a package... My OWOH prize has arrived from Angelina's Trinkets. Thank you!!

Joy of Painting ATC swap

A relative of my mother-in-law is hosting an ATC swap that is right up my alley.

I love painting!

The swap is 3 for 3. Not being able to settle on watercolors or acrylics, I did a set of each.

With One Image challenge published

 
Remember a while back I mentioned some of my challenge pieces were chosen for publication?   Well...my complementary issue of Somerset Memories Spring 2010 has arrived!

I couldn't be more thrilled!!

Trust me...I was excited when I got the email saying they had chosen a few pieces back then but I can't even tell you how much more wonderful it is to open the magazine and see your own work on the page.

I'll be sharing all seven pieces I submitted as soon as I get the package back. The pictures I took before sending them off were really poorly lit and kind of fuzzy. Thank goodness Somerset takes their own beautiful photos!

Weird Science

ATC vs Inchie

Until I had one of each set side by side I hadn't realized how small an inchie really is!

ATC: 2.5 x 3.5

Inchie: 1 inch square

This is my second inchie ever. I don't really care for the size but keep trying.

ATC's and a painting update

I made a couple of quick ATC's yesterday.  The sewn one was a forgotten work-in-progress. It had fallen behind some stuff on my ever shrinking workspace. Time to clean and organize again I fear.

I also did some more on my painting.  I should have stopped before adding all the green. Of course, I didn't take a picture at the previous stage.

I may scrap the whole thing and gesso over it.  Or maybe some molding paste. For now it will sit off to the side waiting for me to decide

Giveaway at Robin's Egg Blues

If you love vintage items...the giveaway is for you.  

Linda has such a beautiful blog..go on over and check it out.

Starting seeds...

So far we've planted:

• basil
• parsley
• dill
• yellow pear shaped tomatoes
• pumpkins
• petunias
• delphinium
• blazing stars
• marigolds

I plan on starting some more seeds but ran out of little recycled containers and my helper ran out of patience. :)

All of these seeds are ones I've collected from last years plants. It should be interesting to see what actually germinates.

New blog look

What do you think? I really need some feedback on certain issues.

1. Does it take to long to load?
2. Is the text easy to read?
3. Are the colors to harsh?

I'm also having an issue with the blue underlined links....they should not be that way!!  Even though I have changed the color in the blogger dashboard they remain blue underlined links. Somewhere I have a bit of code messed up and can't figure it out.  GRRR! I've spent so much time hand coding that my eyes are ready to bug out of my head!

Fixed it!!!  Hooray!  Just one dumb } that shouldn't have been there caused me all that grief...

Hard hats required...

If something looks a little odd when you drop by...never fear...I haven't lost my mind. 

I'm just in the process of making some changes.

Did you change your clock?

Remember...spring ahead 1 hour.

I'm not so fond of the loosing an hour of sleep part of the deal. Although it is nice when the kids sleep in....for once.

Domestic duties...

Lately I've been doing a lot of "fix-it-up" type of work instead of art. Such as a cover for our game table.  This table is a white tile top table that we have had for a very long time. A kitchen table in the family room just doesn't fit in, so a functional cover was needed.

I bought some table padding  and green flannel at the fabric store. The grommets and ribbon to fasten it down were an afterthought. I was originally thinking that I'd use elastic like fitted bed bedsheets but I soon realized I was mistaken. That would have allowed too much shifting of the fabric.

I've also sewn some curtains for an awkward cubby area and a matching curtain for the stairwell. Seems odd if you don't own a split level home but the heat rises up the stairwell shutting off the thermostat therefore making the lower levels very chilly.  The curtain solves the problem. Thanks to my "always thinking" husband for that one!!
BTW--the fabric was from my folks house...the green fit with the carpet so I went with it...no cost solution... Awesome!

Today, I felt I had to have a break from all my domestic duties so, I started a painting...not sure what it will turn into but here is the work in progress.

Stay tuned...you never know where it will go with me. I've been known to scrap the whole thing, spread gesso and start over...

Capri's anyone?

Problem: Pants with a hole in one knee.
 (ok...so I forgot to take a photo before actually cutting the legs off)

Solution: Capri pants.
BTW--she picked the fabric for the extensions. I didn't think it matched too well but it was her choice.

Bread not bricks!!

I did it!

I made bread. Not my usual bricks!!

After nearly 16 years, I decided to get out my Kitchen Aid mixer recipe book for guidance. Before someone asks...  Yes, I use my mixer all the time but never reference the manual.

I still had to improvise a bit since the recipe called for powdered milk and I only had DariFree.  Not sure if the proportions would be the same or not but it seemed to work.

We'll have to see what the rest of the family thinks of it later...

Sweet little owl

I got a wonderful surprise in the mail...

Martha, the winner of my OWOH 1st prize, sent him to me as a very unexpected but truly appreciated thank you gift. 
He totally brightened my day!

Today he'll be observing me in my attempt to bake whole wheat bread from the handle of my china hutch. If I succeed this time, he'll become my good luck charm. I tend to make bricks... I'm a good cook but baking eludes me. I think it's the measuring and waiting part that is difficult.

Wish me luck...

Cellular...

Still plugging away at my Nature AB.....

I got a couple new white pens and am really liking how they look. They are Souffle white ink pens by Sakura of America. (no affiliation...just a happy customer)