A new size sign....

I found these tiny tiny stamps at the crafts store yesterday..... and made a few signs with them.... I ABSOLUTELY love these tiny signs!!! ((LOL... I came running in here last night after I made this one, and shoved it right up in the kids' faces, to where it scared them a little and when they read it.. they giggled! Weidro Mom!))

Just so you can see.... tiny, small... and large. I am working on a Christmas custom order, and I needed a stamp, so I called my Mom, asked her if she had it... and next thing I know, I'm getting a package with 15 different stamps in it.... Silly Mom! But now I have some different signs to make for the shop:) I love this Peace on Earth sign! And the FAMILY sign came from the same type of set as the BOO one did... too cute! I so hope I can find these at Christmas! (I bought these 2 sets yesterday- a Thanksgiving set and a Christmas set- both were only $1... oops-wait! They were on sale... they were both only .60 each! :)

Well.... I'm off to go catch up on some work that I am way behind on! The weather isn't helping this weekend... It's cold and rainy and I would just love to lay in bed all day. Too bad the kids don't get that, lol.

..until next time!

Easy Basket Idea...

My Mom gave me these hole punches that she no longer needed, and it gave me an idea... I thought they'd make some really pretty baskets!

Once you figure out which one you want to use... you will need to punch to designs next to each other so they look like one continuous design. Then your first cut is going to be where I have the arrows drawn.... and your second cut is where the stitch line is- this line can be moved depending on how tall you want you basket.

I wanted mine short..... but you can still see the pen marks from the arrows on the sides...don't worry!

Use heavy paper- I'm using something colorful so you can see it better! But a thicker paper will work better. Anyways roll this piece around a Round pen until the paper is curved....

Then decide where to cut it. You do need some to overlap so you can glue it together. Let it dry.... and then this is where it's just like Marlies' pitchers. Glue piece to paper, cut out and paint. (I'm skipping the details, if you need more.. just ask:)

And here's mine..... I started these a Long time ago.... and have just finally gotten around to finishing painting them. LOL... took me forever to decide what color I wanted them... they have been white, linen, cream, moss, green, silver, and then finally vintage white...

These are going in The Painted Lady..... one day...... And what are they going to hold?

But my mini sea shell collection, of course:)

Hope everyone has a great weekend:)

...until next time...

New Birdhouses in Etsy!

Just wanted to let you know that I got the doorknob birdhouses loaded up in Etsy! I have to admit... these are probably one of my favorites:)

I love all the layers in the paint. I was thinking the other night, I just don't know if I could paint a pretty birdhouse! I'd miss mucking them up too much!! LOL I put a lot of work into these little birdhouses. There's several layers of paint, hours of sanding.... and then more painting.....

But I love them:) I even made a few of these to hang on the wall. You can check all of them out in Etsy:)

Before I go.... I want to Thank those of you that commented yesterday. Thank-you! It's nice to be able to vent!

And Casey... When I can remember, I do sign my pieces.... lol.... But most of the time I'm so excited to ship the item, I totally forget to sign it. I need to sign them right before I seal them, huh!

Well.... Now that that is done, I feel like I've got something accomplished! Now to clean the house- Yuck!

Until Next Time....

Health update...

Thought I'd take a minute and give you a 'health' update seeing as I've seen 3 of my main specialist in the past week:)

The first visit was with the doctor that had done the nerve leg biopsies (the one that was done what seems like a year ago...) ....well, it seems that I have No small nerve fibers....nice. Maybe that is why my legs go numb and are covered in spots when I try and stand or sit? Either way... not too much can really be done... But he is trying a medicine that is used to control seizures to see if they can't regrow those nerves. So we shall see what happens. The medicine is so nasty. For the first 2 weeks, I have to sprinkle it on food, and OMG... is it gross! I'll go back to see him in March and we will see what happens then.....

Next was my urologist.... I had my cystoscopy- that's where they peek in my bladder to make sure everything still looks alright, and it did.... so that was good. But I must say.... I love going to a teaching hospital..... It's always so amusing! I'm getting to get personal here (or as the bf put it, a bit disturbing!), so if you think it may bother you... you may want to STOP reading Now! LOL.... OK, so there I was laying on the table, with a nurse getting ready to cath me... and she was teaching another nurse how to do it... when I hear.... "When you put the betadine on the urethra it will wink, you ready.... See... Did you see it wink".... "Yeah, I did...".... It took everything I had not to laugh..... You know-there's just somethings in life you just don't need to know, and now I've shared it with all of you, LOL!

And then there was today's visit. It was suppose to be a recheck on my thyroid. Last year they found several nodules and cysts, did biopsies and everything came back ok... went back 3 months later and they had begun to shrink. But today, when he looked at them on ultrasound, they had grown. Enough to where he kept saying he was 'concerned'... so he did a few more biopsies and they will call me in a week. If all goes well, I will see him again in a year for another followup. nice.... one more thing for me to think about. I came home from the docs today, took some medicine and then slept all day. Maybe tomorrow I'll get some 'work' done....

That is if I totally don't freak out on my neighbors first. Why, oh why, are you letting your little children ride their scooters up and down the street, in the dark... Screaming? Don't they have school tomorrow? Aren't you worried they might get hit by a car? Don't you have any consideration for your neighbors? Maybe I'm over-protective with my kids- but they are in the house at Dark! (and they're teenagers!) There are just too many weirdos out there!

Ok... I think I'm done complaining.... for now. I'm going to go sleep this off.... And try this again tomorrow.

A little of this and that...

I can't believe I let another week go by without posting! Time just gets away from you sometimes. I can say I have been able to get a ton of 'work' done..... and a whole lot of sleep! I think my body has just been catching up from the summer. I thought I was going to be able to take pictures of birdhouses today, but the sun isn't out.... so I'll show you a few of my recent purchases.

So... ok... I finally learned how to use Ebay and man... it is Way to easy! lol..... I did let myself purchase a few things.... and then I told myself that the only things I could buy were things I need for 'work' so we will see how long that lasts, lol.

ok... So this is what Re-ment looks like. I've seen it on other blogs... and I've always wanted some for myself. I guess you could say I have a love of plastic, lol. I did my homework though... I didn't just jump on and start buying.... After I looked around this was the set I decided on. Now I know they're a little big for 1:12 scale.... But I just couldn't resist this set! It will go in Marshmallow Manor one day.... which I know is going to be way off scale, but who's to say that Grandma doesn't have Big cooking pots in her stash... I know mine did!

The measuring cups have got to be my favorite..... The Ladybugs... that stack inside each other! So freakin' cute!

Next was an auction.... My first auction! And I got it for a really good price:) Bet you can't guess why I bought it?

Yup! For the mini houses...... think I may have to repaint these:)

This next item I bought at the thrift store. I was in the game section, looking for chess pieces when I saw this game out of the corner of my eye!

Those crowns on the front are what drew me in.... and when I flipped the box over and saw the game pieces I knew I had to have it.... for $1.98! What a steal!

It also comes with these little castles, but I didn't see castles with my mini eyes, I saw them flipped over as 1/2 scale flower planters, lol..... OMG, am I ruined or what?

And this was a purchase from Etsy! I feel in love with this piece as soon as I saw it. It's a little small, but I think I may be able to make it work, and if not, it would work in a setting for one of my Calico Critters..... I LOVE LOVE all the drawers. I can Not wait to sand it down and muck it up:)

I will have some of those doorknob birdhouses in Etsy this week... they are finished, sealed and everything.... just have to get them photographed and listed! And I have a whole mess of other projects waiting to be finished....

until next time.....

I love the colors of the beach!

....I haven't been away that long have I? I see blogger is changing things around? Maybe now they'll fix the commenting problem.....

OK... Enough complaining... I stopped by tonight to share with you a few pictures from the beach...

 I still can't get over how many different colors you can find in sea shells.....

 There's the soft ones that look like they've been tumbling around in the ocean for years.... Or the jagged ones that may have just broken apart....

 I love the holes... and the dips... and the ridges.....

 And even the tiny ones..... even the itty-bitty ones have personality! Just makes you wonder where they all have been!

Just a heads up... I've been loading up lots of signs over in my Etsy shop.... there's even a few for my witch/wizard/fantasy friends.... and there's more to come! I'll be back in a few days with some of the signs I've messed up... My bloopers if you will, lol...

until next time....

Summer swap

Before I get to the summer swap.... I just wanted to let everyone know that we're OK! Other than a few branches in the yard, and losing cable.... Nothing big happened at our house..... LOL... and as usual I slept through most of it:)
OK... so

I participated in Cockerina summer swap this year:) It was my first swap.... and I am soooo glad I was a part of it!

This is what I got from Auxi! I've always wanted something crocheted in mini! And was so surprised when this tiny little bikini came... And look- it fits perfectly on my pig:)

Auxi sent a hat and blanket, too! I can't tell you how much I'm in love with this set! This is what I had packed to take on vacation with me.... I had planned on doing a photo shoot on the beach with her, but mother nature had other plans! So hopefully here in the next couple of weeks, I will take her to the beach here and take pictures! I even bought her buckets to build mini sand castles with!


And this is what I sent to Sonya! When I found out she was my trade buddie.... I sat down and went all through her blog to give me an idea of what to make.... And when I saw her American home... I knew she need a red, white and blue birdhouse. I have to say... this is one of my favorites!!!

So I thought I'd show you a little bit about how it was made. I make all my birdhouses this way.. First I build a shell...which is the base for the birdhouse. With the house... I knew I wanted stripes... so I took a few sticks, painted them, crackled them and aged them before I attached them to the house. I used a color called linen instead of white because I wanted it to look old.

One by one they got cut out, sanded down some more... and then were added to the sides.

Next I built a base and went ahead and finished the top. The stars were made using a pencil eraser, lol.... I cut out several before I found one I liked.

After I crackled the base I went back and scraped off the sides, sanded it down and then I went back over the whole thing with watered down brown paint and filled in where I sanded off.

...just a close up pic of the roof- Love those stars!!

And this is what I ended up with... :) And the best part- Sonya loves it as much as I do:)

I am so glad I did this. Sometimes... it's good to challenge yourself to see what Else you can do.

Until next time.....