Sidetracked Artist

...this child was born. She was baptized surrounded by her family. In the blink of an eye, or so it seemed, she was crawling, then walking... She loved Elmo and Patti. She really liked her playhouse. Would you like to come inside? What a wonderful artist... then and now. Soon it was time for her first Communion. She loves dressing up and was stylin’ from the start. Halloween has always been her favorite holiday, and she threw some wicked Halloween parties for her friends. There were many birthday parties too. And she can be so helpful! My daughter is loving, gracious, warm, funny, smart, talented, caring, and compassionate. This child of mine is in tune with the world around her with an awareness that amazes me. I am so proud of who she is and look forward with wonder at her possibilities, her contributions to the world. I feel so blessed to have this beautiful child as my daughter. But she is no longer a child...

I've been working on things for Artistic Inspiration .  I finished these summer weight fingerless gloves: And I've been playing with fabric embellishments: Now I'm going to join the " I Made It Blog Party at Everything Etsy ". Hope everyone's having a good week. Cindy

Gluten-Free Blogroll - The Gluten-Free Homemaker The Gluten-Free Homemaker is putting together a gluten-free blogroll. If you blog gluten-free, please go to her site and add your blog. Then check back to see what others are posting!

Due to some chronic health issues ( My Story ), I sometimes have days where I’m not able to do much. I need to rest as much as possible on those days. On some of those days, my brain is in such a fog that it’s hard to concentrate on a book, or work on the computer, and the best I can manage is watching mindless TV shows. Fortunately, I don’t have a lot of those days. But there are still the days when my body won’t cooperate enough for me to work in the garden, or in the kitchen, or even to sit at a table to work on crafts. But my mind is still active and easily bored. So I find things to do on the computer. I like creating things with Microsoft Office Publisher. I don’t know why I enjoy this so much. It’s just fun. And it’s what I have on my computer. This flower was fun to make: I’m thinking of using it in some printable downloads for Artistic Inspiration . Here are a couple of invitations I made with Publisher: They can be downloaded here . I’m working on learning Phot...

My family thinks I’m, well, how do I put this, a little nuts, and they might be right. I’ve been chasing chickens. Not literally, of course, but I am sort of obsessed with chickens. In Medford, we had our first flock about eight years ago. My husband built a wonderful hen house and chicken run on the side of our property, and we got eight chicks from the local co-op. We started them in a large Rubbermaid bin in the guest room, but the smell soon got the best of us. Who knew a few baby chicks could be so stinky? After spending time in a large box in the garage, they were moved to the coop. Soon after, there was “the chicken incident”, which involved the need to “put down” one of the chickens and a decision about whether or not to take the said chicken to the vet and pay him to do the deed. Having already spent too much on the coop, let’s just say that “the chicken incident” ended with a large kitchen knife and a deceased chicken. ‘Nuff said. Down to seven chickens. At about four mo...

I like this poster.  A lot.  I want to put it up on billboards, bumperstickers, and computer pop-ups.  I think everyone needs to see it.  I especially want to show it to some of the people I come into contact with when I'm out and about.  Unfortunately, I don't own it.  It's from http://www.smileandmove.com/ .  Who would you like to share these sentiments with?

Earth Day is April 22.  This week brings us increased awareness of and appreciation for our planet.  Reusing things instead of throwing them in a landfill is one way we can help our planet and ourselves. Most of us would agree that using what you’ve got makes better sense than going out and buying something else. It makes sense both financially and environmentally. Here are some examples of creating something new with repurposed materials: I like this raised garden bed in my neighborhood made from old closet doors. Another creative neighbor has a garden “bed” with a brass headboar. We made this chicken coop from used materials obtained via Freecycle and Craigslist. More information about building a chicken coop here , and additional views of the chicken coop here . Crochet Shopping Bag made out of yarn leftover from another project. Reusable Coffee Sleeve made from leftover yarn. Here’s a link to the “Choose to Reuse” graphic ...