Through a Glass Lightly

Heh, I love coming up with titles based on other titles. It tickles my punny bone.

I was over at Bad Bad Juju and happened to see the Juju Woman’s latest work of art. She does some beautiful stained glass work, and Anjin/ Yabu isn’t shy about posting photos, thank goodness. I get a nice fix of purdy when he does.

Anyway, it got me to thinking on getting back into my stained glass hobby. Yes, I used to do stained glass, mostly by copper foil method, but did some lead came work, too. Copper foil is easier, but not as forgiving as came. Still, it is so cool to cut and grind glass into shapes that fit together to form a beautiful glass painting. Most of the works I did I gave away as gifts. I remember doing a bunch of angels using bevels and flat glass marbles (like the ones people put in vases or fish tanks for decor) for one of my mother’s many Christmas trees. And not to mention a ton of little flowers using said marbles. Biggest one I ever did was the Texas flag in the shape of Texas. My brother-in-law got that one for his birthday one year. This one, however, I kept as a reminder of my many stained glass work mistakes:

As Yabu says, it’s a pain to capture the beauty of a stained glass panel. I think I took 15 pics with my phone and this one was the best one. Even with all the rookie mistakes I made, it is still one of my favorite pieces and a very nice pattern to boot. I think in my heyday I must have made about 20 of these, in different colors and backgrounds. And now as I begin to reorganize and purge stuff in the garage, I may get back into it, if only to make gifts for friends and family.

But first, I’m going to make an Aggie panel for my home! 😉

I Feel the Need For a Voodoo List Again

It’s always something, isn’t it?

The good news is I can say no living beings would be harmed today. My Voodoo List™ today is comprised of the little annoyances around the house that tend to pile up and choke you.

That’s a bit of paraphrasing from Hubby right there.

My Voodoo List of the Week™:

1. Stupid cracks in the walls. I have to count and make notations and then get someone to come and repair them.
2. Portraits still waiting to be hanged. I need picture hanging crap.
3. Prep and clean the bathroom so I can paint it. I have done this five times. Still haven’t painted the stupid thing.
4. Fix the towel rods in aforementioned bathroom. Because kids destroy worlds.

See that crack between the wrench and the screwdriver?? I have to fix that!!! 😀

Irony: I Have It

And it’s apparently a supplement for me.

Yesterday I was telling y’all about getting back into cross-stitching. Today, I have to put it on hold. A friend of mine is having a rough time of things, and we decided to get together to scrapbook this week. We got nothing done yesterday, since we decided to be more of a support group. But today, we took inspiration from Jennifer McGuire:

Courtesy of Jennifer McGuire

So, cross-stitch on hold, until my version of this beautiful collage is done!

Southern Cross

I used to do cross-stitching a long time ago. In fact, I still have several projects going.

Projects that have been years in the making.

As much as I like doing scrapbooking and altered art, I think it’s time I got back into cross-stitching. It’s something I can do while sitting with the kids, and let’s face it: the mess is minimal. Besides, Hubby bought me a ton of embroidery floss and it’s a shame to see it sitting at the bottom of the closet, a riot of color peeking up accusingly at me every time I go in to get paper or glue.

That is the alphabet, designed from a sketch Hubby made waaaaay back in 1988, while in college. You will notice the date I finished it. I’m a bit slow, but hopefully I will get the rest of the projects done this year.

I just need to not start any new ones 😉

Yelling at Paper, and Why I Don’t Run With Scissors

I’m trying to be more involved in scrapbooking this year, so I joined a little club on Facebook that has been a lot of fun. One thing we do is card swapping: we all make a few of the same card and then exchange them. It’s fun, and amazing to see the amount of creativity on display, not to mention we learn new techniques and shortcuts.

Normally, this is not a big deal for me. Making cards is therapeutic, and I enjoy knowing that someone appreciates the effort put into it. But sometimes, nothing goes right.

NOT my room, but close enough. Courtesy of Carfter.org

I had purchased lovely heart embellishments, since we are making Valentine’s Day cards, and now I can’t find them. Usually I resort to doing my scrapping on the floor, since I don’t have a nice, large, comfortable table from where to spread the destruction. As I was looking for the little hearts, I realized that my precious Tonic™ scissors are missing. These are teflon coated and sharp, and I tell my kids to always put them back when done. GAH!!! On top of that, as I sat on the floor to cut the paper I needed with the paper trimmer (which I call Bladerunner™), the bottle of my favorite glue tipped over against my thigh, and as I moved, my thigh was attracting all manner of pieces of scrap paper laying about. My frustration knew no bounds this morning, manifesting itself as I screamed bloody murder to sheets of paper, who in turn were lucky that I couldn’t stab them with my scissors.

So, here I sit at the kitchen table, preparing another mess, and wondering if I could convince Hubby to get a new pub style table for the breakfast area so I could use this one for my scrapbooking. There is always a plan 😉

Apparently I Shouldn’t Be Trusted With Wine, Either

Last Saturday night, I was invited to a wine party hosted by a friend, where we would be participating in a gift exchange involving ornaments. We had a great time, and if anyone ever gets the opportunity to form a wine club, do so!! Yes, it’s mostly ladies who meet, but the gentlemen also have to opportunity to be fawned over and treated as kings of the moment.

Wine does that to women, you know.

Anyway, because I am the only one of the group that doesn’t live in the neighborhood, I have to drive, so my alcohol intake is very minute. At most, I drink maybe half a glass, and then just have water. When I get home, I will then have a glass of wine before bed. That’s pretty harmless, unless you happen to get a phonecall from a friend.

Friend: I was wondering if you could do me a favor.

Me: Sure, what’s up?

Friend: I have a gift exchange coming up, and I would like to give something more personal than a gift card.

Me: What did you have in mind?

Friend: Well, one of your canvases would be perfect.

Me: Oh sure! I can do one. Any theme in particular you would like?

Friend: Christmas, or Harley Davidson?

Me: Christmas it is…

So now I have yet another project to do this week. That makes about 20. But most of them are ornaments like this one:

Busy week for me, but at least I’ll be doing something I love, right?

I just hope I don’t glue myself to the chair…again…. 😉

It’s the Great Pumpkin!

Ok, not the Charlie Brown one, but the one that will decorate our Thanksgiving table. I had seen the Great Pumpkin Challenge at the Ranger™ blog, and decided that this year, I would have something less conventional at our table.

Well, having seen the stuff I make, this should come as no surprise to anyone who reads my blog…

Anyway, this shall be my canvas:

And these shall be my tools:

Maybe….I may change my mind halfway through and make something else entirely different. I might take metal sheets and emboss them, or just paint the thing in purple and be done with it.

You’ll just have to stay tuned…. 😉

Legocentric

Well, this was a rough weekend for many of us. On top of September 11 observances and remembrances, Hubby had taken the opportunity to travel to the Houston area to visit his relatives. He and Eldest had a great time, and even managed to do a bit of shopping.

At the Lego™ Store!!

That’s right!! I have my greedy hands on Fallingwater!! This was my super-early birthday present. I’m already salivating over the prospect of putting this masterpiece together. I figure I will display it upstairs in the bonus room, alongside my craft area. Provided I set up my craft area, that is.

And because he won’t be here for Christmas, he also acquired for moi:

And that’s not all!!!! One of my crossed-off items on my Things to Do Before I Die List™ was Branderburg Tor, the entry gate to the city of Berlin. Pictures don’t do it justice. Neither do Legos, but I do NOT care!!!

So what if it’s for 12 years and up?? I’m in the “and up” range, aren’t I?? 😉

Grungy Wisdom

Yesterday, I posted about getting back in my artistic groove. In case you aren’t familiar with my style, I like to do distressed works, such as this. I like the whole vintage look, and finding new ways to take junk and make it into a work of art.

And this is what I made from the junk I had:

Now, question is, what do I do with it??

A– Gift it to someone.

B– Donate it.

C– Keep it and let it collect dust somewhere.

D– Make it an award!!

I don’t have an account to do a poll, but please leave your choice(s) in the comments. Oh, and try to NOT vote for “C”. Hubby thinks there are enough dust catchers in the house already 😉

Time Doesn’t Flow Like a River

Holy canoli… I was sooo excited to get the kids back in school so I could have time to myself and be able to think again. Yesterday I finally had a chance to ZOMG!! watch whatever I wanted on the big TV. I have hundreds of channels to choose from, and On Demand as well as DVDs.

So what did I do? I put it on the news. After so long without the remote control, I found that I couldn’t even decide on some stupid show to watch. Before long, it was time to pick up the kids after school, and my chance to sing off key in Spanish while wearing a tiara had gone. Fortunately, I am starting to get back in the groove, and found a new project to do.

One man's junk...

Stay tuned tomorrow when I unveil my masterpiece!!