I AM REALLY NOT AMUSED!

GRRRRRRR! Yes, a BIG ol' GRRRRRRRR! Why? Because I just learned my computer - not yet 6 months old - has a faulty hard drive & it will have to be replaced. Will e-machines honor their 1 year warranty? Nope! And I HAVE a 2 year extended service plan with WalMart where I BOUGHT it, but it doesn't go into effect until after 1 year. SOOOOOO, I will be taking this one in to a computer service place probably Tuesday where they will install a new hard drive, reinstall Windows 7, etc. I will be paying almost $200. NOT HAPPY! But wanted you all to know because after Tuesday (unless the cursed thing crashes first) I will be totally offline for several days. Sometimes I think I should just go back to snail mailing. Sigh.

CRAFT, CRAFT, CRAFT

As you all know, I took two weeks off from blogging & emailing (except for clients) so I could use my 'spare' (sic) time to MAKE stuff. Even WITH the extra play time, after putting the photos on this blog post, I realize it looks like SUCH a little bit of nothing. Actually tho' there are a LOT of things I can't show now because - sigh - they are meant as gifts & haven't yet been sent to the recipients. And wouldn't you just KNOW, those very things are the ORIGINAL (as in not from another person's pattern or thoughts) creations I'm dying to show you all! WAAAAAAH! It's cool, tho'! I'll get to show them soon. Anyway, here are some of my endeavors.

What you are seeing below are doll body pieces. Please, note that I had to re-do the cursed lil' hands AND ears. Oh, ESPECIALLY the ears because I called them such horrid names as I was trying to TURN the critters, they shrivelled up & looked more like the shoes from the Wicked Witch of the East after Dorothy's house landed! So the ears & hands you are seeing have been buried alive! BWAHAHAHA! Also, I have since put the old AND new pieces together, painted the face, and begun to dress her. She's a lil' fairy person, by the way. I've made this pattern (by the fabulously talented Sherry Goshon, incidentally) before, and MUCH better than I did THIS time. Remember, I do hand sewing. Back then, when I LAST made the doll, I had better hand control. Now my darned hand goes numb ALL the time instead of just now & then. Makes using a needle a tiny bit difficult. I've pierced my fingers & hand so many times I can probably shed tears through the piercings. Sigh.
This next project came out better! I bought all these retractable measuring tapes about a year ago on Michael's sale (CLEARANCE) table. A mere QUARTER each! Saw a cute tutorial for doing covers & - VIOLA! - here is MY take on the project! If nothing else, they are colorful, aren't they?

Now HERE is Froggy One in a series I'll be calling "Frogs of Many Colors" which I intend to do. Found this freebie pattern awhile back, too, and I want to make bright pink, white, turquoise, red, & violet ones! I have a PLAN! LOL! (What IS it with me & froggies lately?)

This next item FINALLY got finished after a LOT of foul language. OMG! I tried 4 - count 'em - FOUR different patterns before I found this one that actually FITS me. Well, they all fit ME. They just did not accommodate all my hair! I have some SERIOUSLY hot & thick hair. Currently, it is just below my shoulders on the sides & about 3 inches longer in back. In Houston's hot temperatures & humidity, having a built-in blanket on one's neck is NOT a comfy thing. I was wearing it in a ponytail, but - for crying out loud - I'll be SIXTY years OLD in September. I realized I looked like Barbie might if she aged, sagged, dragged, had a few extra chins, and was wearing years of bread pudding on her butt. Not appropriate. So I switched to a bun. NOW I look more like Aunt Eller (of the play, OKLAHOMA) or Ma Kettle or Aunt Bea. Uhhhh. So I decided a snood would LOOK cute, keep the hair under control, and, tho' NOT stylish by today's standards, decidedly BETTER than the bun OR the tail. Incidentally, the color in this photo is WONKY! The snood is actually a very pale sage green & the ribbon is cream. They look just alike here. Sigh.

Side view above & front view below! The bow is removable & not needed because the snood is elasticized.

I'm itching to show you all the art project because I am actually VERY pleased with it! But I can't yet ( as I've said.)

Uh-oh! WHY did I have to use that 'I' word? If you have heard any news of Houston recently, you KNOW our state bird (the MOSQUITO) is ABUNDANTLY present due to recent heavy rains. I have more bites than Dracula's lady friends! And thinking of that made me start wanting to SCRATCH again. LATER ALL!

EEEEEEKS! Where's my back scratcher? Where's my Benadryl cream?

THIS POST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE COLOR RED!

I've just been having myself SO MUCH FUN! I will be back to my regular posting again beginning Sunday, & have recently decided that the 3rd Friday of each month will be COLOR day! This month's color is - OF COURSE - RED!!!! Below are some red things I have made over the past 8 years.

1. ATC - the RED series where the challenge was to take a color & make 3 ATCs. The first is Lizzie Borden inspired.
2. Also VERY Lizzie Borden!
3. Titled, "I SEE RED!"
4. I'm suing that darned hairdresser!
5. Gillian, my red fairy
6. 'Cardinal Sin' - but the doggoned collage maker cut off her Redbird head!
7. Cherry-inspired key holder
8. Sweets cookbook
9. Apple Girl
10. Notebook from a class with Jean Bernard
11. Crocheted chenille purse
12. Red Asian pear

WHEEEEEEEE! OFF I GOOOOOOOOOOO .........!

SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WEIDERSEHEN, GOODBYE!

I LEAVE AND HEAVE A SIGH AND SAY GOODBYE!

GOODBYE!!!!!!

Today is Friday & I am actually going to DO it! Starting tomorrow morning, no posting, no commenting on posts, no emailing! JUST CREATING! In my SPARE time, of course! A couple of people misinterpreted what I'm planning to do & thought I'd just be sitting on my carcass playing for 2 weeks. NOOOOOO! Don't I WISH! I will STILL be editing (a girl has to earn her Barnes & Noble and craft store $$, don't you know!) cleaning the house, cooking meals for my ever-starving housemate, washing clothes, toting that barge & lifting that bale ... ooops. Anyway, I will be creating ONLY in the times I ordinarily spend on the computer. I think it's going to do my spirit a whole lotta good! In fact, last night I pulled out the list of stuff I want to try over the next 14 days. I'm stoked! I'll think of you all, and show you what I've come up with on the 19th! In the meantime, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY to one & all! Have fun, stay safe, and ...




BYE-BYE!