Peek at My Weeks (April 4-17)

While I usually do these roundups weekly, we started vacation last weekend, and I wanted to hold off on my peek. Today is the last day of our staycation, and I just can't stand the thought of putting a peek off any longer. So, here's a look at the last two weeks. 

Sunday was Easter, and we weren't expected at my mom's until after noon. We had a slow-moving morning, but I still went out to kick the bamboo. While out, I spied these two shapes (above). At first, I thought it was some kind of wasp nest remnant, but on further inspection, I realized that they're decaying seed pods from a Sweetgum tree. I kept them to possibly use in an art project at a later date. 

At my mom's, she was still frantically trying to get lunch made and had my niece add the frosting to our traditional strawberry cake. For some reason, it's always a mess no matter what my mom tries to do. Despite the toothpicks, the cake layers still slid. And, then my niece added ALL the icing which pooled and dripped from the cake plate. In spite of the way it looks, it was delicious along with the rest of the meal. 

Monday was nothing special of a day really. 

While Pat took Zoe out, he found this little gem of a rusty keyhole and surprised me with it. That man really knows me!

I struggled with what to do the day (besides grocery shopping) and landed on an idea from my list of busy-work tasks I keep on hand.

I cut down old belts to make cuff bracelets. I've actually always struggled with cutting the thick belts but saw somewhere that using a rotary cutter would work. It totally made the task so much easier!! I had this pile in no time. 

It seems that I spent a good portion of Tuesday working on making and business-related tasks. . .after dealing with the bamboo. That time outside always gives me a chance to discover the beauty in nature. 

This little spiral vine caught my eye.

Before long, I headed to Southern Antiques and Accents to update the booth with a few new pieces.

Then, I focused on those cut belts and turned them into bracelets.

Adding snaps is always a bit finicky, and I did waste a few, but now I have a good stack of leather cuffs to accent. Yay!!

On Wednesday morning, I was drawn to the dewy blueberries.

A few hours later, Pat and I headed out to get the first doses of our Covid-19 vaccines. 

After that, we waited around almost all day for the concrete guys to show up to work on the building. They were four hours late and only worked for two hours once they did get there. This whole process is breaking our hearts as it moves at a snail's pace. 

This is what our dirt pile looked like Thursday morning pushed around on the old slab. 

While checking the mail a few hours later, I spied these tiny blooms.

I spent much of the day watching art videos and eventually worked on some of the techniques that were taught.

I got my chores and a few other tasks accomplished on Friday but seemed to be focused on the natural world as my camera roll was full of pretty outdoor pictures. 

This fungus on a downed limb had me tromping out into the briars to get its picture. I think they look like little rainbows or seashells. 

Our big Japanese Maple has been in bloom, and the tiny flowers always mesmerize me. 

Speaking of blooms, I've never seen these little buds on the Horsetail reed before. Aren't they cool?

That evening, we met a few friends for dinner and drinks. In the wee hours of the morning, a horrible thunderstorm rolled through the area, and I woke with a bit of a hangover from the margaritas and lack of sleep. But, it was Bead Soup Swap reveal day, so I occupied myself with hopping through the participants and making sure my post was up.

I also found some buried treasure when I willed myself outside for a bit. 

Treasure may be a bit of a stretch. It's really just an old, rusty hedge trimmer.

And, I made sure to take in the glory of the many colors on the Japanese Maple tree. 

This post wouldn't be complete without a cute kitten picture.

I spent some of Sunday hopping back through the Bead Soup participants I had missed.

And, I discovered a patch of honeysuckle in the yard. 

Since it was the start of our vacation week, we kicked it off with a sunset ride on a friend's boat up Fish River.

The river was eerily calm and perfect for getting some reflection shots. 

On Monday, I took my niece for her second vaccine. Back at home, we fired up the grill for the first time to make sure the day had some sense of vacation to it. 

Tuesday was a friend's birthday and we headed down to Pirate's Cove for lunch and Bushwackers.

After we left there, we took a bit of a detour.

We ended up taking a peek at Bamahenge! It's a full-scale reproduction of Stonehenge. The area also boasts dinosaurs, Greek statues, and a "Lady of the Lake" (which we didn't go see because we're pretty sure the hurricane damaged her.) After that, we took another Fish River boat ride before having dinner with the same friends. 

Wednesday was mostly about catching up on errands and a few chores in the morning. That's also when the rain returned.

And, it's rained every day since. It put a real damper (literally) on our staycation. But, I stayed busy with making art and watching art videos.

As it rained pretty much all day on Thursday. I sat on the couch more than I really should have. But, I chalked it up to vacation. 

I finally started working on the altered-book journal for the Transformation class from Tiffany of Southern Gals Designs. 

As we watched TV in the evening, I worked on these flower fairy doodles that have become a bit of an obsession. 

Pat told me that I need to learn to draw arms, and now that's messed with my head and my process. Dang!

It rained much of Friday, finally clearing up for a little while in the afternoon. As the rain kept me inside, I searched for something to keep me busy. 

I decided to tackle one of the items on my list of jewelry techniques that I've been wanting to learn: sawing metal. Y'all, this skill has intimidated me longer than I care to admit, but I bit the bullet and went for it. I still have loads of practice that I need to do, but it doesn't seem as intimidating anymore. Whew!

When the rain cleared for a bit, I ran a few errands and stopped in the parking lot to take a picture.

I can't help it. I have to capture the beauty that I find no matter where that may be. 

Saturday was utterly dreary as it rained ALL DAY LONG. I barely got anything accomplished as I spent a good portion of the day on the couch. We had dinner out with a friend to get out of the house and enjoy something about the day. 

Here's some of the inspiration I found over the last two weeks. 

• Learn how to natural-dye fabrics with this tutorial at Cut Out + Keep. 
• I love to have old photos at hand for printing out for art journaling. The Graphics Fairy is good about keeping me in stock. These 9 Vintage Women Photos are perfect for so many uses. 
• Door 44 Studios shared a Pendant Wire Weaving Tutorial that's really pretty. 
• For Beaded and Wire-wrapped Jewelry Inspiration, head over to Nunn Designs. And, here's Part 2 of that series. 
• The Yellow Birdhouse has 19 Floral Hand Embroidery Patterns. 
• Take a look at these little ink sketches. They're full of details. 
• Learn to make a Polymer Clay Pendant with another Cut Out + Keep tutorial. 
• This Sea Foam Cuff at Halcraft includes a tutorial. 
• I am in awe at the details in these tiny Bonsai Treehouses. 
• Roben-Marie shares her tips for success for the 100 Day Project. 
• Here are a couple of Inspired Craft Books if you're looking to learn something new. 
• Cut Out + Keep has had quite a few new jewelry designs lately. Here's a caterpillar bracelet (the picture is misleading). Try making the Polymer Clay Daisy Earrings. And another pair of easy Polymer Clay Earrings. 
• These wood sculptures have me oohing and ahhing. I love them!
• Julie Balzer shared her 3 Best Organizing Tips for Art Supplies in a quick video. 
• Learn this easy technique for beaded backstitch in embroidery. 
• I'm so going to have to try this - Thread Wrap a Tassel without Glue, Knots, or a Needle. 
• So, I mentioned above that I need to learn to draw arms. This tutorial on How to Draw Cartoon People might help. 
• Check out the beauty of these assemblage Polymer Clay Canes. 
• I've long been considering ways to use old ceiling fan light fixtures since I always see so many of them in thrift stores. These light globe candleholders are definitely one cool option.
• Here are 11 DIY Felt Flowers. The description says they require no sewing, but a few of them do involve some stitching. 
• I really love the shape of this Crescent Moon Wreath from Epbot. 
• This Wood Burned Welcome Sign was made with something called a scorch marker. I may have to look into those a bit more.

And, that was it for the weeks for me. The sun is actually out today so we're going to tackle a few yard chores before the grass gets too high to mow. HA! I hope you're well and enjoying the spring weather. What creative activities have you been up to?

Peek at my Weeks (June 10-23)

It's time to give you another inside look at some of the goings-on in my world. The last few weeks have been kinda bumpy as I went out of town for several days, and I just haven't been able to catch back up - but I'm trying!

Before heading out of town, I made sure to check the garden and nesting boxes. What a bounty!

I made sure I was caught up on both #The100DayProject and ICAD2018 before leaving. As well, I packed materials so I could work on both whilst away. However, I barely touched my supplies. Fortunately, I've been able to catch back up since I got home (over several days' time).

I decided to work with altering tin over the last few weeks to keep it simple. 

And, I got quite a few components made! Now to just turn them into jewelry!! I also recorded my making of 78-80 and hope to get those up for your enjoyment...later.

Even making the index card art (ICAD 2018 at Daisy Yellow) was difficult to get to, but I got it done.

I also recorded most of these, but will only be sharing a few of them (the more complex and most liked (by me) ones).

While picking up supplies before heading out of town, this contradiction caught my eye. Yes, Wal-Mart was advertising its commitment to American jobs right next to the self-checkout machines that are replacing American cashiers. It just bugged me. Is it just me?

One of the fun activities we participated in while I was away was the painting of a cross as taught by a talented young artist (Emily....I can't remember). I was happy to have some creativity in the mix of responsibility. 

The other fun activity was a trip to the McWane Science Center in downtown Birmingham. While the center is designed for kids (and the kids with us really enjoyed it), my mom and I had a lot of fun exploring the place. I especially liked the bubbles and the touch tank! That's my mom up there with the big bubble. 

After the fun activities, there was much formality, business, and fraternity for the Alabama Grand Assembly. Before long, it was time to head home.

This bridge (nicknamed the Dolly Parton) is one of the last major landmarks before hitting Mobile - meaning we were almost home. 

It took almost a whole day for this sweet kitty to forgive me for leaving her. 

And, it wasn't long before I was out in the yard discovering things like this cool turtle!

Being out in the yard also meant that the mosquitoes were discovering me too. I decided to try my hand at mixing up a homemade bug spray. It didn't work at first because I mixed it in one container before transferring it to the spray bottle. I think many of my oils stayed in the original container. I've since added more oils so we'll see how that works!

I taught the oldest niece how to do acrylic pour painting. These two are mine. I'm SO HAPPY with that top one. The bottom one is great, but the paint shifted in the car on the drive home. 

After almost two weeks, I was able to get back in the pool as we took a night swim. I was entranced by how pretty the lights leading out to and around the pool area looked in the dusk. Once it got dark, bats were swooping into the pool for a drink. It was awesome. 

And, then we spent the bulk of Saturday in the pool as several friends and family members dropped by to enjoy it with us. 

Oh, and the 20% off sale at my booth at Southern Antiques and Accents is still going on for a few more days. You should definitely take advantage of that!

I'm in the process of working on several videos and getting to all those jewelry components, so I hope to have more to share with you very soon.

What's going on in your corner of the world?

Silverlox in the Snow

The craziest thing happened y'all!! It SNOWED this weekend in South Alabama. My last memory of real snow down here was when I was in college twenty years ago. Now, I have no great love for snow. It's part of the reason I'm happy to live in the Deep South, but it does make everything a little magical. So, when Silverlox got blanketed in a dusting of the white stuff, I couldn't help but take ALL THE PICTURES! And, what else am I going to do with these pictures, but share them with YOU? Aren't you excited? Here they come. Sorry, this is indeed picture-heavy. 

I actually didn't think our area was going to get any snow even though most of the areas to the West and North of us were already getting some. However, as the day progressed, it seemed that it might actually hit us right around midnight. So, we stayed up and waited for it.

It had rained all day, but that slowly changed into a light sleet that transformed into SNOW!

We didn't leave the porch while the snow was falling during the night. In the morning, I woke before the sun was up, ready to take a peek at how it had transformed the property (and fully recognizing that it wouldn't take long for it all to melt away into nothing).

Pat and I donned some warm clothes and toured the property.

Even the fire pit didn't look warm. 

We could see the sun just peeking up on the other side of the woods.

The trails in our forest didn't get much snow because of the tree coverage.

But, I was smitten with the way the snow was just sitting on the tops of items like this barbed wire wrapped stump.

How about these palms with the snow on them? Such a weird sight!!

Oh, the mushroom-ed log with the snow. SQUEEE!

And, the snow just sitting on the tree branches, like a coating of frosting. 

The pop of color from the camellias amongst all the white was startling.  

Everything seemed to glow with the reflection of all the white.

How cute is my lemon with the snow hat?

Snow or no snow, it still looks like I live in Narnia. 

And hey! There's me in the snow - proving it really happened! HA!

By noon, almost all of the snow had melted away. The quiet, magical beauty was gone. It was nice to have a quick few hours of snow. Now, I'm ready for it to warm back up! Yeah, I'm definitely an Alabama girl!