For the birds

**********

The above piece is titled "Stressed Bride" and is for the Gothic Arch challenge at Paper Imagery Designs' yahoo group. The image is from PID. Wanda sent me the background that looked to me like stained glass.

The piece below uses a PID image named "Maxwell." This week's challenge is to use Maxwell in some way. While trying to think of what to do with the image, I realized I was humming the song by the Beatles (in my mind I see it as done by Steve Martin.) So here is Maxwell and his Silver Hammer.

~~~~~

The birdhouse above is by Melanie H., who also sent all the goodies below. This was another trade for PID. The sign on top says "This house is for the birds."

~~~~~

This birdhouse is by Kathleen E. She sent the spool of ribbon as well, and cushioned her package with multicolored strips of paper that I am going to use to try some quilling.

~~~~~

This ATC is by Barb E., and is for the Goddess swap from FiberArtTraders yahoo group. She included this piece of gold/red dupioni silk--beautiful!

**********

We took my MIL to the neurologist last Wednesday, right in the middle of Hurricane Dolly! (It basically was just a big rainstorm that lasted all day. We got about 8" of rain out of it, but only a few small branches came off our trees.) MIL weighed only 98 pounds at the office--down from 105 not too long ago. The doctor started her on B12 shots, which have already produced an improvement in her appetite. We got her to agree to eat a garden salad every day or two, to give her at least some vegetables. We also found that adult multivitamins come in chewable form, so we started her on them as well. She can still be reasoned with, although she has to be reminded of things over and over.

The air conditioner has been running constantly today, but the temperature kept rising in the house, so I think the outside unit may have "frozen." I turned it off for awhile, so we'll see if that works. The last thing we need is to have to pay for A/C repairs.

**********

More swaps received

**********

This little card, above, is by Marge P. and was part of the Out of the Blue Swap for FiberArtTraders yahoo group. She also sent the fabric and ribbon. I love it when I get a bonus!

This Dotee doll (above) was made by Flicsha. Note the dreadlocks!

This one is by Diane K. She also sent fabric and yarn. I kept the green paper that she wrapped the doll in--it is a specialty paper, I think handmade.

The one above was made by Gabriela G. I love her flower-petal hair!

~~~~~

These three birdhouses were made for a swap for the PaperImageryDesigns yahoo group. The bird designs are by PID. The roofs are covered with wood shavings taken from the ash tree we cut down in our front yard a couple of months ago. There is a butterfly made of feathers perched on each roof. If you could see inside, there is an egg decoupaged to the back wall of each house as a surprise! I will be mailing these out in the next couple of days. Then I will be getting some in return--I can hardly wait!

~~~~~

I won a trivia contest on the PID yahoo group a few days ago, and received this grab bag of products in today's mail. There are three collage sheets, the silver leaf, a packet of clear stamps, a package of rub-on words, and a package of decorative clips. I was thrilled that they were so generous! I have plenty of material now to do some ATC's and other collage pieces.

There's a new challenge this week at PID--Gothic Arches. I've started on a couple and will post them as I get them done.

**********

Swap City!

**********

This week's swaps:

Above: Out of the Blue trade by Kara K. The bird's belly is made of yellow caution tape. I love the panda tape she used to seal the package!

Below: Out of the Blue trade by Norma S.--the wings are made from a soft drink bottle! She also sent the fat quarter and the fiber.

~~~~~

Above: Amulet by La S. She also sent the ATC and the beads shown below. I love all the beading and stones on her amulet! She sent along some paper charms which say Live, Love, and Laugh on them--they are now inside the amulet to serve as talismans.

Below: Amulet by Norma S. It has a talisman inside--an amethyst, my birthstone! The amulet is an upside-down pyramid shape.

The one below is by Ange H. It has a small pink heart inside as a talisman. She also sent the beautiful papers for me to use in my artwork.

~~~~~

The ATC above is from the jackpot that I won last week, and is by Brenda S. She sent along all these collage papers, too!

This darling ATC is by Gayle R. and is titled, "Take off Your Shoes, Martha!"
Enough said.

**********

MIL's carpets are now clean, as well as her upholstery. She was very happy to get that done--she had no idea that they were that filthy from the cat. The house smells much better. DH changed the air filter in her AC which was also clogged with fur. Tomorrow we plan to get her living room sorted out, which shouldn't be too difficult.

I mailed off my Dotee dolls, shown earlier--and included with each a Spoon Goddess, also shown earlier, as a bonus. I hope they will be well received. I have one more swap ready to mail--the Goddess ATC's; and I am working on three birdhouses that are due the end of this month. I will probably hold off on joining other swaps for awhile to do some things for myself.

I bought 5.5 yards of a brown pinstripe suiting material, bottom weight, on clearance at JoAnn at 40% off of $5.00/yard. I intend to make some larger grocery bags out of it. I figure I can get two bags out of each yard of fabric. I bought some several months ago and machine embroidered them, but they are really too small to hold much, and when I go grocery shopping, I shop for a month's supply at a time. They will certainly be unique in appearance--no chance of anyone mistaking them for their own!

I also need to get more organized with my art supplies. I am short on room and have supplies scattered everywhere! I need to come up with some shelving to hold all the bins. I have bought lots of clear plastic bins with latching blue lids at JoAnn and Hobby Lobby that are the perfect size for either sewing or art supplies. They stack and have sturdy handles, too.

Do you ever buy a magazine off the rack that looks interesting, only to find when you get home that you already have that copy? Been there, done that yesterday! And what's more, that you have a subscription to that magazine?? Double bummer. Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself. Oh well, one more item to sell on eBay.

**********

Boy, are we tired!

**********

Copper's pooped! I mean he's really tired.

**********

This canna at the corner of my house actually has a bright orange bloom on it. My camera just can't handle that color!

My purple sage has been blooming this week. Aren't the colors just gorgeous together?

**********

I won the June ATC Jackpot on paperimagerydesigns Yahoo group. The designs come from the Paper Imagery Designs website. Here are the great ATC's I've received this past week. I should get some more this coming week, too.

Left: by Melissa H. Right: by Lori R.
~~~~

Left: by Wanda H. Right: by Kathy E.

~~~~

Left: by C.T. H. Right: by Angie H.
~~~~

Left: by Donna H. Right: by Tammy L.
~~~~

Left: by Eileen B. Right: by Daisy C.

**********

I made this altered CD for a "winged things" swap for the PID Yahoo group. The little girl is a PID design.

**********

Here are some ATC's I made on wood blanks for a swap of Goddesses of Myth and Mythology for the FiberArtTraders Yahoo group. The last one I will keep for myself.

**********

The saga of the feral cat is over! Animal Control came out and removed the offending animal at the end of a catch pole, hissing and clawing the whole way. What a relief! She had terrorized my MIL for the last few months, and had avoided every attempt to capture her. The poor animal never was socialized as a kitten, and so remained totally feral all of her life, even though she lived strictly indoors. She was not completely housetrained, and the carpets are a real mess.

This Tuesday the carpet cleaners will steam clean all the carpets and the upholstered furniture. I will take my MIL out of the house during this time. She wants to get a haircut, and then she will spend the afternoon at our house while DH supervises the cleaning at her house. She hasn't been out of her house in a few weeks, so it will be a nice change for her; she would only get anxious and upset if she stayed there.

Last weekend DH sprayed her house for bugs while I cleaned out half her kitchen cabinets. We threw away a large rolling trash bin full of expired food, some of it dating back to 1998. This weekend I finished the job; and also cleaned out her refrigerator and freezer, filling another trash bin, while DH vacuumed her carpets and chairs in preparation for the cleaners. She says she is so grateful for our hard work, but I am waiting for her to say something about us taking her stuff. This is what has happened in the past, and so much was thrown away that it is probably inevitable.

We are trying to keep her independent at least through October, when we will be gone for about a week to visit my FIL and his wife, and then attend my family reunion. My son will take care of her while we are gone. When we get back we will have to make some hard decisions for her welfare. She goes back to the neurologist in ten days to see how she has deteriorated.

**********

DH is hoping to get into the Master Gardener program on the 30th of this month. He enjoys working at a local nursery, even though he has to miss work about two or three days a month due to his illness. His boss is a cancer survivor, and understands his absences. There are a limited number of places in the MG program, but he plans on being there early to make sure he gets in.

**********

DS is still doing training for his Iraq deployment. He is excited about it, mainly for the boost it will give his Navy career. I try not to think about it too much. We haven't heard much from him or his family recently, but I trust everything is going well. My DIL is a very capable young woman and will handle his deployment with her usual aplomb.

**********

Goddesses and Cats

**********

I made these "spoon goddesses" from Wendy's plastic spoons colored with alcohol inks, polymer clay faces rubbed with Perfect Pearls powder, batting scraps, dupioni silk, and beads strung on wire.


They were the subject of Technique Week #3 on Fiber Art Traders Yahoo group.

~~~~~~~~~~

Then I made these Dotee Dolls for a F.A.T. trade. They have a flapper-look to them, don't they?


I used rubber stamps to make the faces, and fancy fabrics for the bodies.

~~~~~~~~~~

Bernard here is an ATC I did for the Black and White Challenge for the Paper Imagery Designs Yahoo group. The title is a wordplay on the song title and the phone book page I used for the background.

~~~~~~~~~~

I received my last button fairy, from Barb E. I love her face! Her wings are stiffened fiber paper over a wire frame.

~~~~~~~~~~

The feral cat saga continues! We trapped the most offensive outside cat and took her to the pound. Now we are trying to trap the inside feral cat. We had it trapped today, but MIL felt sorry for it and tried to slip some water inside the trap with predictable results. It took refuge in her bathroom behind the toilet. When we got there three hours later, she didn't remember letting it escape from the trap. We tried to capture it with a bedsheet (and leather gloves!) but the little spitfire got away leaving us bloodied in the process. So we re-set the trap with food and left it for another try. We have left signs on the doors reminding her not to do anything with the cat, but to call us when and if it gets caught again. MIL wants it gone no matter how we have to do it, but we want to be as humane as possible and not injure the cat.

**********