Love, Yesterdays

2012-01-25T07:44:00.001-05:00

New Banner

Okay...the changes are moving along! My brand has changed to "Love, Yesterdays". I have been planning on going from DBA to LLC this year and I suppose this is the direction I will go in. What started out as Alterity Art, turned into Alterity and morphed into Glamour Buttons has finally (I think!) ended up as Love, Yesterdays. I am actually in love with the name, maybe later I will regale you with the stories behind the last few names :)

Now, off to the studio....yes, even that is getting an overhaul!

PS: In case you are wondering what happened with the lace knit scarf project over the holidays:
It was frustratingly frogged as the fiber I was using just wasn't quite working out. I have since purchased a nice creamy wool blend and restarted the scarf. I'm only on day 1 of the 24 days, but I figure if I get two days knitted in a month, it should be done by next Christmas :)

Reinvention 2012

2012-01-02T13:25:00.001-05:00

I have big plans this year. Plans of reinvention. I am not sure where these plans are going to take me, but they will either make or break me! Will it be my product line? My business name? Who knows, although I do have several things in the works that will be unveiled in the near future. Stay tuned!

Day 1 of Advent Scarf and Our Christmas Tree.....9 Footer!

2011-12-09T12:02:00.000-05:00

I know, I know....it's supposed to be day 9 of the advent scarf! I am going to try to catch up over the weekend!

I altered the pattern a little, however. Remember when I had to rip it back several times? I had this hair brain idea to knit the whole section in stockingette. I lost a little of the original pattern, but you can still see it!

Oh, and we finally got our Christmas Tree yesterday. What a fiasco! First, the field was completely swamp-city! Second, we were not prepared at all! I ruined my clogs, my son and husband ruined their sneekers, my daughter stayed in the Jeep with her mini-skirt! Sheesh...you would have thought we were a bunch of city folk! That's what happens when you live in the country too long....you get this false sense of "oh, I can handle it!" It really was deceiving as there was absolutely NO snow, so who would have thought it would be muddy and still cold?!

She is definitely bigger than we thought. It is so hard to figure out how tall a tree really is when you are outside! She stands about 9 feet tall. Good thing we have the high ceilings, and I always wanted a super-tall tree anyways :)

Hopefully I will be posting more scarf tomorrow as well as a decorated tree!

Holiday in the Shop

2011-12-06T22:23:00.000-05:00

I didn't get a chance to get any knitting done today. Last night I did finish day 1! WhooHoo! Today, my daughter and I played Santa's helper...you know....shopping, coffee, shopping, lunch, shopping, more coffee....
Whew...my dogs are barking!

In the mean time, here is a few things I listed in my shop this evening! Click the titles to see in the shop :)

Liquid Reflections Antique Button Ring

Rose Antique Button Stitch Markers

Ocean Drama Antique Button Bracelet

Oh, and there's FREE SHIPPING in my shop until an unannounced time!

Advent Project for the Holidays!

2011-12-05T13:29:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays! and I guess I dropped the ball again! Sheesh...will I ever get organized?! Well, I will be making another attempt to focus on regular postings in 2012. I know, I know, you have heard it all before, right?!

Remember how excited I was to learn how to knit just a year ago? Well, I'm still at it! I really only knit small things and being the freak that I am, I began learning knit lace just as soon as I learned how to knit, purl, decrease and increase! To put my skills to the test, I joined in a little Advent project I found on Ravelry.com.
If you haven't heard of it before and you are a knitter or a crocheter, go make an account and be prepared to lose the next three hours pouring over patterns! But, I digress!

Kristin Benecken found on Ravelry has developed an Advent scarf project in which you knit a little bit (well, maybe more than that) every day beginning December 1. If you are one of the lucky ones (or determined ones!), by December 24, you have yourself a really sweet knit lace scarf! Well, I found the scarf on December 3 and thought I would try to catch up, so I knitted, ripped out, and knitted all afternoon Saturday. Then, I knitted, ripped out, knitted, ripped out and knitted again all day Sunday! Hence the slow progress:

This is actually just the spacer before the first day's knitting!

Anyway, Kristin uploads the next part of the pattern every day. Everyone else in on Day 5...I am going to try to get caught up to at least the end of Day 2. As if I don't have anything else better to do!!! It's quite comical...Kristin heads the project page with "Nothing to do during the days before Christmas? Would you like to join us and knit a lace scarf, getting a some rows of a pattern every day from the 1st to the 24th of December?" Well, Sure I would, Sweetie, but I sure got tons to do! However, I would love to join you in trying!

YaY to Kristin for taking the time out to do this for us all! It's not too late to join us, by the way: Click Here to (hopefully) get to the page. If it does not link you to it, just go to Ravelry.com, create an account and do a search for "advent scarf".

I am hoping to post daily progresses as time permits, and I hope you decide to join us!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T08:06:00.002-04:00

Every Rose Has It's Day

2011-10-20T16:21:00.000-04:00

nazka2002

...and as with every rose, Alterity has begun to wither also. This is not a bad thing and has actually been in the making for about a year now.

With the advent of Etsy's new "Change your shop name" feature, I finally had the opportunity to change my shop name to something more relevant to my products. I had so many names chosen and, of course, they were all taken by the time I finally got online. So, I now unveil to you:

Glamour Buttons on Etsy

Now that that's sorted, there are other changes coming up in the near future, which I will save for next time. Just be in the know that Changes....they are a' comin!

Hot Peppahs!

2011-10-19T08:24:00.000-04:00

So, I have this bunch of hot pepper plants and I need to do something with the peppers before a killing frost occurs. I had been freezing the peppers all these years, but they are just so smooshy and gross when you defrost them. I will not buy fresh hot peppers at the market as every time you turn around, they are being recalled for salmonella! Yech!!!

So, this year I dried them! Seeing as though it is mid-October and the warm, sunny days will not be seen for another 10 months here, I dried them in my oven. I believe it is not wise to dry them in a gas oven, so luckily I have this horrible electric oven that I hate so much! Guess I should start liking it because it saves me from buying a dehydrator!

How exactly do you dry peppers in the oven, you may ask? Well, here's how:

Obviously, you want to wash your peppers, but keep the stems on them and don't cut them in any way. Apparently, when you cut the peppers open, the "hotness" permeates the air while they dry, leaving you with stinging eyes as the "heat" fills the air! No thanks! Keep them peppers whole, my friend, unless you can keep the kitchen well ventilated!

Spread them on a cookie sheet.....single layer - this is so important. You want the air to flow around the peppers to promote even drying. Set you oven to the lowest temperature. My oven has a "warm" setting, which is actually the best setting for drying peppers. Otherwise, just use the lowest possible setting. Set your timer for 3 hours, put your peppers in the oven, leave the oven door cracked open to allow moisture to escape and wait.....

Turn the peppers over when the timer goes off and continue to turn them every three hours. Drying time will vary depending on how many peppers and how thick they are. This batch took three days to dry, each drying session lasted 12 hours. The main thing is that you really dry them well....the skins will be crispy and the seeds will shake inside like a rattle. If they are not completely dry, they will only rot and what a waste of time all that was!

When your peppers are sufficiently dry (you will know!), store them in an airtight container. You can cut them, grind them, rehydrate them, whatever your wishes are! Please keep in mind that a dried hot pepper is way hotter than a fresh hot pepper, so use with caution! But know that you are using peppers that you grew with your love!

Hello World, Meet Tayelor.

2011-10-12T14:34:00.001-04:00

This year, Tayelor is a senior. We decided that I would be doing her casual senior pictures. Here's how they went!

So hard to pick a favorite! If I had the money, I would retire as a jewelry designer and open my portrait studio!

Coming Back....Where I have Been....

2011-10-04T08:20:00.000-04:00

Yea....sounds a little oppressive. It's not at all, really. Just an announcement that I am getting back on track. Business has taken an unexpected turn (more on that later), my daughter is graduating high school this year (more on that later), I am still swimming in the ocean from my vacation in July (more on that later), and my dystonia is getting worse. Yup, you guessed it....more on that later!

I have been tending classes also....learning some new things. Weaving! Okay....I said it. I have been learning how to weave....boy, dressing a loom is super tedious and migraine inducing :) You will be seeing a peak of this soon....

I have also been working so hard the last month or two to prepare for the holiday rush. Sometimes, 16 hour days just weeks before Christmas are just too much and I can only attribute them to poor planning!

I do plan on catching up with you and if you are one of my friends that have stuck around...checking in on me from time to time to be sure I was still alive, I am totally in love with you! You are what keeps me plugging away sometimes :)

Fairy Tale Bead Swap

2011-06-04T06:00:00.003-04:00

Some time back, I joined another one of Lori Anderson's awesome bead swaps...this one had a Fairy Tale theme! My swap partner was Geneva Collins, and unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to photograph the beads she sent me before creating the piece because I was so excited to start building!

And now...for the unveiling.....

Titiana's Folly

I have to include this little intro from Geneva herself:

"Titiana, Queen of the Fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and her mischievous husband Oberon have taken time out from their scheming and love potions for Puck, Bottom and the rest of the crew to gather some enchanted gems from deep within the forest for you to adorn yourself.

Included in this sweet little charm bracelet full of magical wonders is Moon Pearls hand beaded components, assembled by Geneva herself:

The moss green glass fluted beads are "magic seedpods" and were fashioned into charms. The actual bracelet is constructed of Spectra glass beads using fine wire...they kept cutting my beading thread! They are gorgeous golden colors and have a cool textured finish. It is sort of hard to see the beads under the charms, but they are wired in RAW weave.

Also fashioned into charms are Crystallized starlight and dewdrops (Preciosia Czech rounds and bicones) and Golden Globes to symbolize Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (metal spacers).

To top it off, a vintage brass button...Shakespeare's hand. The button is gorgeous and is definitely a modern button (modern meaning of the 1900's). It is actually fashioned after Victoria's hand (Queen Victoria, that is) as Victoria's hand buttons were wildly popular in the mid to late 1800's. It is a gorgeous component, nonetheless, and right up my alley! Of course, I did not damage the button...the shank is still intact. Here is a closer look:

I wanted to include a picture of the piece being worn...please forgive the fact that it was taken in the evening with (oh, no!), yes, a flash. Unfortunately, the flash didn't work out too well :(

So, there is my contribution to this awesome blog party! Be sure to visit the participants below and to comment on their blogs!

I will be unable to participate in the actual blog hop until Sunday. My husband inadvertently signed us up last week for a car racing event his work is paying for ($300/person package) that takes place on the same day as the party. Needless to say, I have to go, so I will be hopping every one's blog maybe late Saturday, but definitely Sunday!

Now, go hoppin'!

Lori Anderson, Pretty Things

Rebecca Anderson, Song Beads

Courtney Breul, Beads By Breul

Loretta Carstensen, Designs by Loretta

Evelyn Hall, Dragon Lady Evelyn

Sandy Richardson, Sandy's Coloring Box

Dana James, Dana's Jewelry Design

Tara Plote, Newbie Beader

Christine Brandel, A Hot Piece of Glass

****Alterity Button Jewelry...You Are Here!****

Joanna Matuszczyk, Filcowe

Jenni Connolly, Jenni Bead

****Geneva Collins, Torque Story...My Swap partner!****

Elisabeth Auld, Beads For Busy Gals

Sally Russick, Wireworked

Mary McGraw, MK's Creative Musings

Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas

Erin Prais-Hintz, Treasures Found

Stephanie Haussler, Pixybug Designs

Shai Williams, Shaia's Ramblings

Johanna Rhodes, Fire Phoenix Creations

Sandi Lee James, Do Be Do Bead Do

Sweet Addy Designs

Valerie Norton, Hot Fused Glass

What's Old Is New Again

2011-06-02T17:23:00.001-04:00

The latest spring Artbeads.com design challenge was "What's Old Is New Again". The piece was to celebrate spring and I had all intentions on getting this done well before the end of April! For this piece, I chose elements reminiscent of Miriam Haskell and added an antique carved button for that actual old piece!

The piece began with pretty pastel resin flowers which I wired to brass filigree components with coordinating seed beads and baby pink opaque fire polish beads. This actually took several tries to figure out how to make everything stay in place! The resin flowers were very fun to work with with the ample hole in the center to the forgiving way they had as they were wired and unwired several times. These resin flower and leaf components were combined with new and vintage glass beads from my stash which were wired together.

All of the components were attached with this great silver rollo chain which is actually a base metal chain with silver plating. I love the rollo chains as they are so often found on vintage pieces and when combined with modern elements truly does give them that vintage flair! What I loved most about these rollo chains this: metal base chains are sometimes a little soft and tend to bend out of shape easily. With these rollo chains, the individual links are soldered shut, so no fear of the chain breaking!

For the finishing touch, I took a large antique carved mother of pearl button and embellished it with resin flowers and leaves. Exquisite!

Disclaimer: This is NOT a paid post. Artbeads.com furnished the supplies to create this piece from my original design free of charge in exchange for my honest review of components used. Artbeads.com did not pay me for my time or this article.

Memorial Day...

2011-05-30T09:35:00.000-04:00

Wishing everyone an excellent Memorial Day....just don't forget what this day is all about :)

UFO's. A Product of ADD?

2011-05-28T00:39:00.001-04:00

No, not that kind of UFO!

I'm talking Un-Finished Object. You know, the things you start that haven't quite come to an end yet? Well, I am actually not even sure that UFO would be a good term for it. It is more like "50-things-going-on-at-the-same-time". Here's what I mean:

I have five knitting projects going on right now: a pillow, dishcloths, double pointed needle cases, lace swatches and something I am currently designing and drafting the pattern.

I have four sewing projects going on right now: 2 dresses, a skirt, project bags for all my knitting projects.

I am currently reading five books:
Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr...to, well, stop smoking.
The Day Christ Died by Jim Bishop...an hour by hour breakdown of Jesus' last day on earth.
Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King...and I'm not even a King fan!
Fixing Freddie by Paula Munier...a free book I got from Amazon's Kindle store
Melting Point by Roger Collins...a World War II fiction novel
and
The Things We Cherished by Pam Jenoff...a World War II fiction novel I am reviewing for Random House - the book is to be released in July 2011.

I have several jewelry projects going right now:
My Artbeads challenge design piece
A piece for a bead swap I have to finish by next week
A button charm bracelet
A button necklace
A ribbon work cuff

Now, it is not like I am not working/reading on these things. I tend to rotate them as my interest shifts. Kinda weird to have so many things going and yet get them all done. Is it multi-tasking? Is it true to life (where I never can just sit and get something done from start to finish due to constant interruptions)? Is it adult attention deficit disorder? Who knows. All I know is that this is the way I am and it seems to work pretty well for me, although I can't say how!

So...do you have several projects going at once or do you see one project through from start to finish before starting another one?

Breathe....

2011-05-25T11:22:00.000-04:00

Breathe?

Well, I'm working on it. I stopped smoking a few days ago! I was in the studio today working on my piece for Artbeads.com listening to my usual '40s music, when the Andrews Sisters start in with "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive". What a perfect song for right now! I am actually stopping in a very different way. No patches, no gum, not Chantix. I am stopping the easy way:

GET THE BOOK!

I bought the book a year ago, read it and put it back on the shelf. Chicken, I guess. Well, I thought it was about time that the book came back down and into my hands. And I will tell you honestly, this really is the easy way to stop smoking. How does he make it so easy? He basically tells you like it is which totally debunks everything you ever thought you knew! You just have to read it to know what I mean.

Let me put it this way: I quit and am using Allen Carr's method...cold turkey and the cold, hard truth. My husband quit cold turkey...too stubborn for Mr, Carr, I guess. So far, I am happy and excited about quitting smoking. My husband? Grumpy, irritable, edgy, nasty. He sees what a great time I am having compared to him, but he still won't read the book. It's a shame, because he does not have to be miserable :( I even tried to help him out by giving him my hardcover and re-purchasing the book again to download on my kindle so that we each have our own copy. Well, the hardcover I gave him still sits on his desk accumulating a thin layer of dust. I am praying that he will come around and just read the darn book!

So I unfortunately could not find the video of the Andrews Sisters singing, but Ella Fitzgerald is just fine!

Help Me Center My Header!

2011-05-21T23:38:00.002-04:00

Because I just can't seem to get it centered!

If anyone has any clue on how I can do this, please comment :)

PS...I have tried everything through the template designer...to no avail it is cocked to the left :(

My Button Shop!

2011-05-18T08:24:00.003-04:00

I admit, I have been out of the blogging sphere for a little while again. No lack of posts ideas, just lack of time to get them up!

At any rate, I just wanted to inform you of my button selling site on Etsy: ButtonAddict.

I acquire literally thousands of buttons every year to use for my jewelry. Last year, I acquired over 17,000! That's a lot of buttons...that's a lot of sorting! As you can imagine, I simply cannot use every single button on my pieces...I am very choosy. So, I sell of the one's I am not going to use! Otherwise, I will be swimming in buttons!

Etsy
buttonaddict

Feel free to skip over there any time to snatch up some of my button goodness! I have been trying to list like crazy as I have so many buttons to unload. I am trying to keep a target of 20 listings per day...not always easy and it doesn't always happen...it takes so long to just list one thing when you are not renewing a sold item!

In other news, as you can see, I am changing my blog appearance again! This time, I really tried to get creative. As usually, epic fail. My margins of the background just are not right, but when I try to upload a file with the specs that Blogger needs for the background, it errors out to tell me that the file is too big to upload! Rrrrrrr.

If anyone can offer any advice, I will gladly welcome it!

It's A Great Day To Be An American....

2011-05-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

I only worry about what is to come from what happened last night.

Take a moment to pray for the safety of America, as well as all the other countries at risk from this group of people.

Remember....

2011-05-01T11:47:00.000-04:00

photo source: The New York Times

I don't like to get political on my blog, but Friday morning after I dropped the kids off at school, I caught a program on the radio driving home. It was a program by David Faber, holocaust survivor liberated at age 18. He is the only survivor of the war in his family, except his sister, whom fled Poland early on, I believe. His story just chills you to the bone. You can hear his story on the Focus on the Family website. It is a three part series, the link will take you to Part 1. If you cannot get to the other two parts from the page you hear part one, do a search on the site for "David Faber".

Sunday, May 1 has been designated as Holocaust Rememberance Day, and there was one thing that Mr. Faber said at the end of his talk. He pleaded not to forget....and that we don't let our children forget.
Consider this as we trudge through our daily lives in freedom and spend a moment today thinking about those in the world, past and present, who do not have this luxury.

Now, go listen!

Nesting Fun...and I'm Back On Track!

2011-04-27T12:57:00.000-04:00

Nesting fun? What is this nesting fun?

Well, "nesting" is what Tayelor, Jacy and myself did every Friday after work until Sunday evening when we were on our own and they were little. Nesting is when you raid the bedrooms for every pillow and comforter available, as well as quilts off the couches! Then you take all the blankets and comforters, except one or two blankets, and you build a nest with it. Take all the pillows to surround the nest, cover up with the one or two blankets, grab your movies or in this case, load your NetFlix que, and have mega-movie-marathons ALL weekend long!

We were poor when we nested when they were little, so I never had a camera to take pictures of those nests, but here is our nest modern day!

Hubby was gone for the weekend in Oklahoma visiting his daughter, so we had all weekend long to nest! So much fun :) Yup, you guessed it. Hubby is not so supportive of the nesting thing, either!

Oh, so what is Tayelor wearing on her head? Why this cute little hat! I got the pattern from Etsy. The hat is to be crocheted, but I knitted Tayelor's.

Lamb Bonnet Pattern

by Mamachee

$5.50

Don't you just want to eat it?! Click the link to get your very own. Super easy to make and works up real quick! I actually made them for my three step-granddaughter's for Easter. My step-grandson? I knitted him a stuffed hand grenade!

Oh, and thank you so much for all your support over the last week. Your kind words pumped the energy back into me this week! I actually got in some awesome studio time and completed 14 more pieces...and it's only Wednesday! Here's a sneak peek:

You guys Rock! I wouldn't be able to do it without you :)

It's Been a Rough Week...

2011-04-24T17:57:00.001-04:00

And I mean a very rough week.

Do you remember my post on Obstacles? To briefly recap, I discussed how I am overcoming the obstacle of non-support of my business from certain family members. Don't get me wrong, my parents and children support my business 100%. As for my husband and his grown daughters...well, my business is nothing more than a hobby where I sit home all day and do nothing.

I just got reminded about that last week.

Once again, I was asked to babysit for a day the week before. I held firm and said "no". As you may recall, because I don't "work" everyday and I sit home and do nothing all day, I am frequently asked to babysit so that the girls can get to work for the day. This time, it was said that "I very rarely ask you to babysit"....that's funny....I seem to recall babysitting 12 times already in 2011 alone! I don't mind in the case of emergency, but where do you draw the line on being taken advantage of? You have had 12 emergencies already these short 4 months! Well, this declination of mine caused so much chaos and drama between her and myself as well as my husband and I. My argument of "How is it fair for her to ask me to take of work for the day so that she can go to work for the day" just doesn't hold water here, folks. Needless to say, it resulted in having very harsh and mean words flung my way...to include the old standby....'my father pays your way through life, the least you could do is babysit'. I'm not kidding...she really said that. Oh, yea...I forgot. Because your father pays for my room and board.....my husband....., even though I cook, clean and do laundry, etc, even though he doesn't pay for anything else beyond that...because I do....WITH MY JOB...if you tell me to hang from a tree, eat a sundae and juggle bananas all at the same time, I am expected to do exactly what you tell me to do.....simply because he is your father who "pays my way through life". This time, she even added "...family doesn't mean s*#t to you unless it is your blood related kids..." Owch. Then she cries...literally cried here...she was crying so loud I heard it across the room while he was on the phone, ..."Daddy, she hurt me so bad because she wouldn't babysit." Hmmm. Clue number one: when a child refers to her father as "daddy" at the age of 26 with a family of her own, you know nothing good is going to come of it....

Needless to say, I was so unmotivated to work at all last week. I created nothing. I blogged nothing. I did absolutely nothing but spend time with my kids who were on spring break. I was ready to sell all my supplies and go to work full time, until I realized......

Hey! Who are you to tell me what I should do for work? Who are you to tell your father's wife what to do with her life? To heck with all of you...I am keeping my business!

I am sure I will have more rough days ahead, but if you ever hear me stating I am going to give it up because of them, please......drive over here and kick me in the butt!

So anyway, I'm back!

My Creative Space...

2011-04-14T14:46:00.000-04:00

I got my supplies to make my Artbeads.com Design Partner challenge yesterday...I am so excited! I plan on toiling over this piece over the weekend...hubby is in Oklahoma till Sunday visiting his daughter.

I was planning on a Miriam Haskell-type design...her work is so exquisite!

The frosted acrylic flowers look good enough to eat...

and the frosty fire polish beads are just too sweet in this light baby pink...although in this picture they have a grey cast I could not get rid of!

Unfortunately, I'm on the bottom of the list for emails with the design challenge, so by the time I get to pick out my parts, many in the theme are sold out :( I wanted to go for vintage type accent beads in pink, blue and green. They needed to be oval shape and about 8mm to fit with the design. This was the best I could do with what was not sold out in their inventory...

There was no plain pink or green. The blue beads in the back are about the best choice. I liked the vintage shape of the pink/green beads, but the green throws it all off. I just may have to search my vintage bead stash to see if I can substitute. If you go back to the top picture, you can see how they just don't blend well. Perhaps I can use them to work up some earrings.

I'll get the pictures of the final piece up when it is done. Maybe I will even do a giveaway with the earrings!

Stay tuned.....

The Cookie Book...Yum!

2011-04-09T21:15:00.005-04:00

I never have been a very materialistic person, but sometimes I just have to indulge!

I had a cookbook when I was a child called The Cookie Book. I absolutely loved this book as a kid! It is a thin paperback book spiral bound with a painted wood front and a plain wood back. It was written by Nellie Watts in 1936...and I had a copy! I got it from my grandmother in the late 1970's. My mother and I even made a few recipes from the book way back when. Well, I grew up and left the book with my mother who cannot remember what ever happened to it (yea, right!). So, thinking about the book quite often lately for reasons I don't get, I searched for the book on Ebay. One small problem....the sellers want between $60 to $100 a copy! Are you kidding?!

After a few days of searching, I found a woman offering a copy for $19.99. I snagged it right up and waited not so very patiently for it to come in the mail. Now that it is finally here, I can't keep my hands off of it! So many memories of pouring through the book wishing I could bake every single cookie in it!

Which comes to the point of this post.....

I have resolved to bake EVERY SINGLE cookie in this book...and you are coming along! Most everyone is familiar with the movie Julie and Julia. Well, that is going to be me! Now that I have my own kitchen, I will be baking every recipe (except the foundation recipes which I will later explain). I am not going to try to do this within a certain period of time, but will try to get at least one recipe baked a week.

And don't worry, if you are nice, I will even share some of the recipes with you :)

For the Love of Cat!

2011-04-08T09:03:00.000-04:00

Miss PennyKat. My sweet little peeners, so lovey-dovey!

You know, it's quite interesting. I'm not much of a cat person. OH MY GOSH....I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE SAID THAT!!! No, it's true. I used to fantasize of punting cats when they came near me. That is, until Miss PennyKat. You see, I rescued her from a friends house in 2000. My friend's boyfriend hated cats more than me and used to whip Penny up against the wall when she climbed on the bed. Okay, now I'm not that mean...I was actually furious. So I took her. Penny and I have been friends ever since! I love her so much! Imagine that...ME!

Which brings me to my point. Miss PennyKat has this weird, annoying habit when she sees me doing administrative or computer work. She jumps up on the table, points her tail straight up and vibrates it (yes, she has been spayed!), then proceeds to walk back and forth between me and the computer all the while ramming her side into my face! She is literally using my face to pet her!

Of course, I can't get a picture of this because her fur would be smashed into the lens! But she does this all the time! Here she comes walking up to me to start her thing....

I have to literally put my hand out for her to rub on or I will eventually end up with a face full of *bleep* as she passes!

She is just so silly because she is always off on her own all day long and I don't see her unless she needs food. But you can bet I will see her on two specific instances: 1) when I am going to bed, she sleeps all night curled up against my tummy and 2) when I am on the computer!

Silly Miss PennyKat!

So, if you have a cat, do they try to get involved in your work day?

Crafting Education?

2011-04-06T06:51:00.000-04:00

Okay, so now we have seen that some of us are talented with our hands, some with our writing, some with our minds. Some have tried and, in their opinion, epically failed. Although some don't think they have a creative bone in their body....ahem...Grace....you actually do if you consider how entertaining your writing is! It pains me that my daughter won't so much as put a sticker on a paper let alone try some of the creative ventures I try to entice her to, but she sure is a hell of a writer. In fact, she wants to be a novelist. I guess she will be living with me forever, huh?

Which brings me to my topic...crafting education. You can find these at colleges, high schools and local craft shops and bead stores. I actually graduated from high school wanting to either be a journalist or an artist. The artist in me won out as I entered college majoring in Fine Arts. I relished in this and was swaying towards art therapy then totally shifted into psychology. Then neuropsychology. I ended up with a Bachelor's degree in Biological Psychology with a minor in Biology from a state university. Problem was I couldn't afford grad school. Bummer. So, I took my degree and entered the work force. I landed a job with Child Protective Services as an Intensive Family Therapist. I met with families 5 days a week for three months counseling them in parenting, daily living, drug and alcohol abuse, etc. in an effort to keep the kids at home as well as attending family court cases to report on the families progress. I was so talented in connecting with the clients that I ended up with the severe cases...way too many severe cases. I ended up disgusted with the bureaucratic red tape and the snidely CPS workers that were just too quick to tear apart families without understanding the dynamics of the family and the lack of parenting education while I watched everyone else care for my kids, so I quit to get back into my creative life. Wow...major digression!

To sum it up, the only traditional instruction I received for the arts was those two years of college and most of that was core design and photography courses. I didn't stay in the Fine Arts program long enough to actually get involved in what I really wanted to. I never pursued any other instruction and basically taught myself through trial and error. Today, I teach jewelry and design classes in the adult education program at my local high school, but still fail to take classes when I want to learn new techniques. I am one of those learners where I want to make the mistakes and want to figure things out for myself. I am currently swaying towards soldering and metal forging....and as you can expect, are making all the mistakes I need to make. At this point, I have very few pieces in my shop that I feel are worthy to sell. The rest go in the scrap bin!

So, for those of you who started venturing in the creative arts early on, did you ever seek training for your crafts or are you a self-learner?