Gunter is happily watching "Lord of the Rings" while we all wait for the New Year to arrive.

Wishing you all a happy,  healthy New Year in 2014!   
May you and your families have much joy and happiness in the year to come.

Merry Christmas.

Stacie and Olivia and I all got our birds and we love them all...So many great ideas. Val, I love my scarf. I walk around the house with it wrapped around my neck when I feel bad and need some love. Pathetic I know but I am not doing so great.
 My daughter Lisa (the drug addict) came home pregnant again. She is clean but all the behavior is there usually directed at me. I knew something was wrong with her because she just felt terrible and she usually feels really good.  (which is why she continues to get pregnant I think and no longer needs drugs until it is over.) I took her in to the er 3 times and they didnt find anything. Treated her like a subhuman, which I understand but is hard on me. Finally they realized at 24 weeks that the baby has no amniotic fluid, and it has been leaking out the whole time. The prognosis is grim at best. She is in the hospital until she has the baby and then I dont know what will happen. They are trying to keep the baby in there as long as they can. I walk around in a stupor when I am not at the hospital. I feel bad for Lisa but mostly I feel bad for the baby. I don't know if the baby will live, be ok, or be profoundly disabled. There are too many scenarios to consider. I struggle so badly with anxiety anyway that this has been a real challenge. I am a fix it' person and everything has just got so big anymore that I cant even fix myself. Just wanted to let you all know why I havent said my thank you's! I hate to be rude. I just am lost. Merry Christmas to all of you and as always, thank you for all your friendship. And the scarf Val! xoxoxo melinda

Happy

The birds have all landed in my tree! They are all so unique and beautiful! Val that you so much for hosting this great swap. With children moving away and taking their ornaments from my tree the little birds help fill in the empty spots. What great talent the little group has. I am proud to be part of it.
xoxoxoxoxxo
Little Messy Missy

coming soon........

The birdies have left the building and all should be arriving to their new homes soon..........they are ALL wonderful!!!!

Crazy Talent

I just received my birdie ornaments....all I can say is WOW!  This is a group of women who have a crazy amount of talent!  You are all so creative and amazing! Happy holidays!

stamped clay ornaments

Hey gals!

A little birdie told me my ornaments arrived at our hostess's home, so I figured I'd share the finished project since they'll be in the mail soon.

I have a full tutorial on my blog here if you want instructions...

I started with this:

and after just a bit of work, ended up with this:

And if you're wondering, I don't have my tree up yet. I hung the ornaments on my neighbor's ginormous rosemary plant LOL

The Birdies are Done

It seems like I've been making bird for the last month(because I have,) but my birdies are finally done. They're ready to fly south to Louisiana before flying off to their final homes.  I'm terrible with sneak peeks so I decided to show you something else I made instead.  After finishing my birds for the swap I decided to challenge myself.  My challenge was to create a bird themed ornament using several different mediums in the same ornament. Here's what I created. . . .  

 I used old/somewhat brittle book pages, feathers, a nest, beads and a metal charm. I was pretty happy with the results.  I love multimedia crafts but trying to create them scares me. For me it's actually hard to create by mixing medias; I think my brain just doesn't work that way. I don't know how to start or what to mix together.   Melinda makes it look easy(check out her blog for her creations and many examples of multimedia art.) Both Val and Melinda inspired me to try creating using multiple mediums.  Thanks ladies because I love how it turned out. Now I just need to put up my new little tree and hang all my new ornaments.

The birdies of Melinda and Olivia are flying.........

They are flapping their little wings like bats out of hell........over the clouds and straight to Slidell....ok that was pathetic I know but I had to throw it in there.

 But what is a swap without a peek?

So take a quick look at Miss Olivia's all wrapped but with a teensy bit showing.

Feathers and ribbons..What could it be?

And mine? You ask about mine?

Do you see what I see?

And here they are all ready to be going. Bye Bye little birdies.

xoxoxox Melinda

A teaser!

Here are the ingredients for my birdies! 

sneak peek........

WHAT IN THE WORLD??????????  It's a birdie folks......

Thank you!!!!!!!!

The birdies are arriving!   I can't show them to you...but I can show you the cutie that Chris sent me....just a little Halloween surprise!  I love it!

Birdie Experiments

I've had birds on my mind lately as I've experimented with creating birdie ornaments. For this ornament swap, I wanted to use a different media than my usual go to. I had lots of ideas like wire and paper mache' or wire with beads. I've tried all of these but nothing has turned out the way I envisioned. The good new is it's a long weekend . . . I'm going to buckle down and get some birdies made for the swap. Until then "Chirp, chirp!" (that's birdie for have a great week!)

it's a bird, it's a...

 



 

 

  

   I wanted to do something different. I hope everyone likes them.

Chris =]

Fly Away Birdie ..... Fly Away !!!!

I have dropped the ball big time on this one ....... I sent my birdies flying on their way yesterday ....... and this is the only photo I have of them ....... It really is a sneak peek !!!!

I know ... right !!!!
When they're distributed, hopefully some kind friend will take a picture of him :-)
I was really happy with the way they turned out ..... I went with the paper clay option in the end.

Can't wait to see everyone's feathered creations !!!

Another Birdie

This is another birdie ornament by Melinda and I'm the proud owner.  Melinda painted it for me this summer for the Christmas in July swap.  It's beautiful!

birdie in a bag....

Bird ornament Swap.....

Stacie, Oliva and I have been working on bird ornaments together...Stacie's are all done and packaged. Here is a little peek........

Olivia's are half done and then we will do mine on Saturday......

I haven't made too many bird ornaments but I can show you a few......

A painted bird gourd.....

Little sewn Bird Magnets, but with a hanger they could be ornaments.

Merry Christmas hooties.

A paper and glittery bird

And a bird in his fabric birdhouse ornament.

I love inspiration. Before I make something, I love to google and see what else other people make. I thought it was really cool how Val showed some past birds. Here is my contribution to the idea pool!

giveaway........

I missed out on Vanessa's Halloween blog hop....so busy this year!  I had intended on using my zombie pincushion as a give away....but am giving it away on my regular blog instead.
If interested, pop by my blog starting tomorrow and leave a comment!

Thank you Spring!

  I am posting using my Mom's blog just in case you get confused. Also sorry for the delay, I have been picking up extra shifts at work and haven't been home much.
 Spring, your package came to my Mom's house and she called me at work to tell me it was here! I was so excited I rushed to her house first instead of going home. This was my first swap ever so I was pretty happy to get a "present" in the mail. Mom tried to help me with the tape and I had to tell her to "back off!" hahahaha
 Everything is wonderful.....

The tablerunner I immediately fell in love with. I don't have one so it was perfect. I love the teas and the little journal too. (you cant see it very well in the picture.)

And my VooDoo pincushion? Love it! She is a hipster for sure with all the peace signs.

Thanks again Spring for making my day! Stacie

just thinking.......

hmmmmmm.....is there time?

Birdies it is!

The vote is in and we are sticking to birdies for the 5 and 5 ornament swap!   We have 3 openings left so if you are going to join, do it now!  

Here are a few birdies I've made in the past....











now to do something different!

Thank you Susan!

There was a voodoo doll package waiting for me when I arrived at home today. 

Susan sent me this cute voodoo doll. It's on a glass pedestal. I think the idea of putting a voodoo doll pincushion on a pedestal is brilliant. I wish I had thought of that for the one I made. 

Susan also included some tea for fall, a potholder, pins and a Halloween themed table runner. Doesn't the runner look nice with my Halloween bowl?! All I need is to buy a few pounds of chocolate bars to fill up the bowl.  Thank you Susan I love my voodoo package.

Delivery confirmation says my package was delivered so I'm sharing a picture of the pincushion I sent my partner.  I forgot to take pictures of the tuck-ins I made. Thank you Val for satisfying our cravings for zombies and voodoo dolls. It was fun!

Speaking of zombies, this was the tire cover on the car in front of me this morning.  I couldn't resist taking a picture. I think it should say don't get bitten, but that's just me. I like zombies but I don't want to become one.

For The LOVE Of Little Halloween Dolls ...

Sarah K, you are one AWESOME swap partner .......
I received a totally fantastic swap package today .... Thank you, Thank you, Thank you .... I LOVE it :-)

 Here is my package in its entirety ..... Don't you just LOVE it !!! The little owl tote bag is lined and all super cute .... perfect for keeping a little "on the go" project safe.

 My sweet little voodoo pincushion ..... he's a wrist pincushion. I can't wait to use him :-)

 I adored the whole package, but THIS beauty is my absolute favorite ....she is phenomenal !!!! Her face is beautifully embroidered, and her hair has beads in it ....... her button eyes are just perfect !!!!

She has taken her rightful place alongside her Halloween friends, under my Halloween tree. My cute table runner, will be taking it's place under the tree pot shortly ..... I just needed to take its picture first.

Thank you SOOOOOO much Sarah for spoiling me like you did. This package was a precious treasure trove to receive :-)

BEST EVER!!!!!

Debbi's artistic endeavors found there way to my door... wow...jaw drop...happy dance...

Isn't she awesome!!! Look at those hands!! Wow!! Debbi also sent some wonderful tuck ins. A lovely Halloween Tin filled with candy corn, a beautiful little orange mercury glass candle, some ouija board mints and some hot cocoa. I feel spoiled! Thanks you Debbi for making my month!!! I need name suggestions for my new little friend here so if you have any please let me know. ;0) xoxoxoxo

it was me...

 

 

 

   little messy miss posted about the Day of the Dead pincushion she made because her swap partner liked DoD. I really hoped it was me she was talking about... and IT WAS!!!!! ((insert happy dance))

   I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw her name on the box. It's a DoD dream come true, especially since I'm not spending money on "unnecessaries". Messy Miss made it possible for me to add three new handmade pieces to my collection, a drawer to add small items to, if I can bear to not show off the sides, a felt sewing kit and the most awesome voodoo pincushion  e.v.e.r. She was so thoughtful, she even sent me a heart shaped rock because she knew I collect them.

        Thank You little messy miss for my box and Thank You Val for hosting. I'm ready for next year!

 

 

TTFN,

Chris =]