Kudos Ron Lehocky :)

I don't have a subscription to PolymerCafe as of yet so I have been bugging my poor Barnes & Noble store for over a week to get my copy of the Feb. 09 issue... by golly it came in and I just got finished thumbing through it.... reading Ron's article....I knew that he was going to be featured in this issue....showing his heart techniques...and sharing his passion for children faced with physical or mental challenges....I have 3 of Ron's beautiful hearts and I wear them proudly!...I just felt so compelled to get to my Blog and do a post featuring Ron.... I am one of the blessed *(approx. 20 members) of The Kentucky/Tennessee Polymer Clay Guild that get to spend time with an Artist/Humanitarian like him... :) Ron was featured at Polymer Clay Daily recently....again hats off to you Ron!...I cannot wait until we all get together again....I just hope it's soon...I need a polymer clay fix!....also I meant to post this photo from our last Retreat in my previous post...I will add it here OK?

...Thanks I feel better now!....look close and you might see some familiar faces....of course Marla Frankenburg and Kim Cavender....*they were there to teach us for three days....but...hmmmm....is that Leslie Blackford I see right there?....and on her right....*our left...that is Cynthia Tinapple from Polymer Clay Daily...wow there is Ron Lehocky in the back perched up on the railing....I hope everyone that spends time here reading my blog is having the most Wonderful of Holiday Seasons and I wish you the Hap, Hap, Happiest of New Years!

Can We Catch Up?

Good Golly Miss Molly....where do ya start?...We will just say sometimes Life just happens and ya gotta do what ya gotta do from time to time...*and you are thinking what the Hell is she talking about? :) Life you know? I will start with where I left off a couple of months ago...with the contest...I didn't win...but I guess in the end I did win because I have a pretty much good to go Studio now! YEAH!... just more work on the organization part... Here is a picture of my work space all cleaned up.

and check out how this desk drawer worked out for my Premo!...I got this desk from a grade school that closed for only $10.00 and it even came with a "rat fink" in one of the drawers!

Now on to Key Mammoth Cave Retreat with Marla Frankenburg and Kim Cavender last October....* mental note:I have got to find more time to Blog! I had the best time with this group of talented people...Marla rocks!...If you ever get a chance to take a class of hers....do it!

Marla and Me!

an example of some of the different canes we learned how to make...

the flowers I made and the leaf and fern are Marla's work... *not bad for a novice like me!

When I met these two ladies and sat down at their workspace....It felt like I was at home...it's such a warm fuzzy when a friendship results in only 3 short days...They are Ellen Prophater (on the right) and Sue Sutherland (on the left) of Studio Shoebox...They do such beautiful work...I hope to make the trip to their home in the future to build on that friendship thing!! :)

We had a grab bag game where everyone made something from polymer clay....it was so much fun...what really set it all off is when it came to Kim Cavender's turn to pick a bag...and who's did she get...mine....I proceeded to tell her... "Kim put it back"..you don't want that one...believe me Kim...pick another...well she opened it and it was a necklace I made from her tutorial in Polymer Cafe June 2008 issue....when she opened it I said... "I told you so!!"...needless to say it was a good thing I had on my Depends!!...we all had a good laugh!!... *just kiddin on the Depends thingie!... hope I just made you laugh too!...

Susan Detwiler ended up with my necklace..and she was tickled to death as well as I when I saw how happy she was to get it!...

When it was my turn in the grab bag game I got a pair of earrings that Ellen and Sue had made!..Man oh man I was on cloud 9!!....here they are with a larger piece they gave me to make a necklace out of...awesome work...organic....stunning.... :)

Here is Leslie Blackford sporting her pair of earrings:

I played around the past couple of days in my clay...it's so hard this time of year to find the time to create....any who...I made this ornament for my newest Granddaughter Kiley...I covered a large Christmas bulb with a Skinner Blend....used some gold and silver Premo! mixed for the base of the bulb and notice the detail at the top where it will be hung...anal me...attention to detail....now I only have 4 more ornaments to make for the remainder of the Grand-Kids!

and last but not least my baby boy Sheldon turned 3 years old on the 15th....

Happy Birthday Sheldon! :)

I hope You and Yours have a Wonderful Holiday Season.... Be Safe....and God Bless You Everyone!....

THE END

This is the "Real Deal"....Reality Post

Lila of Lila Tueller Designs posted last month about the real deal!...How you can make everything you post on the net look so together....and you know so much of our time is spent sipping coffee in our p.j.'s at our computers...Now Chelsea from Vintage Chic is having a contest...The messiest creative space contest!! Who-da thunk it?.... so without further ado...I will let my pictures speak for themselves!

Whew...glad that's over...yes people this is the real deal...a narrow...kinda long room...my office/polymer clay studio...Lila and Chelsea my sewing area is in our living room and much neater in appearance...You know the room where guests come into your home through the front door?...I would just die if they came in through the back door!!...they would walk straight into this mess!... :) Some of this is packed up....a great deal of my polymer clay because I attended a Polymer Clay Retreat in Mammoth Cave Kentucky... with Artists Marla Frankenberg and Kim Cavender last weekend and I haven't unpacked yet...so I will clean up before I unpack...and my next post will be all about our retreat....it was a good-un!

"Blackberry Somethin" Recipe

kerry you asked for it so here it goes:

Blackberry Somethin

• 1 cup margarine *( I used butter)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups of sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 5 cups of fresh blackberries
• 2 cups or less of sugar

(heat fruit and 2 cups of sugar until bubbly)

Melt margarine and pour in 13x9 inch dish

Mix flour, 2 cups of sugar, baking powder, then add milk

Spoon mixture over melted margarine

Pour heated berries over dough
Bake 350* approx. 35 minutes

ENJOY!

Heather Bailey's Pop Garden Fabric Giveaway!

Heather Bailey's new fabric collection called Pop Garden is now available!...and she is giving a 4 yard sample pack away!...just run your mouse over the image below,click and sign up to win!!... :)

Did you say "Farmers Market?"...or "First Day of School?"

Yesterday was a Fantabuelas <*won't find in Websters! Day...I woke up early and saw my Granddaughter Avory off to her first day of Kindergarten!...Gammy was so proud of her...Avory was all smiles...her Hannah Montana shirt has a place at the bottom that you press and it plays...."You Get the Best of both Worlds"....

We sat at the bus stop for about 20 minutes with no other children showing up... :(
Then another little girl walked up with her mother....*of course I had to start a conversation with the child! And come to find out she was in Ms. Perkins class too... I was tickled pink ya know?

So then comes the bus towards us...ok girls here comes the bus....bus stops....big huge door opens...there sits a man in the drivers seat ...a total stranger.... bye Avory have a great day!!...

God Love Her!... Does she looked scared to death or what?... turns out she loved her first day of kindergarten...even the first bus ride!... :)

Now on to the Farmers Market.... :)

A picture is worth a thousand words!

First task....

And Wha-La <*won't find that in Websters either... Ha! :)

It is called "Blackberry Somethin"... a friend gave me a load of blackberries from her yard along with this recipe (years ago)...I wrote it down and asked "what is this called?"..... and you know the rest of the story... except the fact that my husband hates blackberries... and they are not in my 2 Basenji's diet either...oh well...such is Life!!.... :)

My Flea Market Bag

First and foremost I need to thank Lisa at "Polka Dot Cottage" *(formally Polka Dot Creations)....Thank you Lisa for the inspiration to start sewing again after so many years and also thank you for sharing all of the buttons you have created! :)

and another thank you goes out to Tanya at "Grand Revival Designs" for the Flea Market Bag Pattern I found while "Googling my Life Away" looking for a purse pattern I would like to attempt!... :) I wish my bag was made in the "Barefoot Roses Collection", but I got the material for this bag at Hancock Fabrics when in search of material...be sure to go check out all of Tanya's collections of fabric....there is a new one due out this Fall called "Happy Girl Style"...

"Melanie's Got a Brand New Bag"

Hope you enjoyed the show... now off to Grill some Ribs and Fry some Hot Bananna Peppers for supper... I wish you a "Great and Creative Kind of Weekend!"

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

Here is the long awaited polymer clay button!!... you know my new Flea Market Bag would not be complete without it!... So the button first... :)

another view....

and another....

and one last view..... :)

Whew.... glad that's over....now on to my Flea Market Bag..... grab a cold drink and pull up a chair!... :)

Woodland Bloom Giveaway Contest

Lila is giving away a purse made from her Woodland Bloom *(which is not yet available) her Henna Sky and also fabric from Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett. This purse takes me back to the 1970's when I was in my teens...I LOVE this purse!!...

It's "Far Out"..."Funky"...and so "Cool" :)

Click HERE to visit her blog for details on how to enter.

From "Fat Quarters" to "Jelly Rolls"

Aren't these fabrics beautiful?.... I found them on Ebay...and that's when the "Jelly Roll" hit me smack dab in the face!!

Along with the "Fat Quarters" came a "Jelly Roll".... What?

I guess you are never too old to learn something new... :) ...I do have my first hand bag completed...Yeah for me!!...all it is lacking is a polymer clay button...I have three of the colors pretty close to what I want... real world things are keeping me from the fun...*(like canning 14 quarts of green beans)....yum...I made the "Flea Market" bag in the colors on the right laying on my sewing machine *(in the previous post)...the red/green plaid and the floral that is underneath of it...more on that later...I can't wait to post the pictures of it...the whole process from cutting it out to the top stitching felt so good!

A Step Back in Time

ok...where to start....hmmmm....I will blame it all on Lisa at Polka Dot Creations...HA!...don't worry Lisa it's a good thing!...I have been telling her for months she has got me itchin to pull out my Mother's old White sewing machine from the corner of my living room and tune her up and sew!...Lisa has been making some lovely things and adorning them with her polymer clay buttons....

Well I've gone and done it.....

Now somebody tell me....where do I start?

I have not sewed in at least 20 or so years...yeah....I am older than dirt! I went into a Hancock fabric store and didn't have a clue....clueless I was!... :) I recently sold all of my Vera Bradley hand bags on ebay....oh, I do still have the one I am currently using which is the style I liked the best...it is called hipster...goes over your shoulder around your neck and thief proof!!...unless they drag me along with them....so I decided my first sewing project would be a purse....I Googled a bit and came up with the two patterns above....The Flea Market Bag from Grand Revival Designs. Check out Tanya's fabrics too!!...I am so in love with them! The second pattern is from Lazy Girl Designs and it is called Sassy Bag. It is made from Fat Quarters...You ask "What is a Fat Quarter?"....you'll just have to Google it like I did to find out!!.... :)

This was my mama's sewing machine...my sister bought it for her in the late 60's...and I am sure my mama was the talk of the neighborhood to have such a fancy machine!...so like I said earlier in my post I have her all tuned up and ready to sew!!

The cabinet my dad refinished and placed the White in it...if you look real close underneath the machine...on the left is a lever you push with your left knee (of course!)....and it is connected along the back to some gizmo that pushes the foot pedal!!...how cool is that?....Way to go Dad! Now when my mama would sew it would start out about 5:00am and she would go non stop until the garment was finished...*(except for the hand sewing, hemming, etc) that was left for her mama to do...my Grandma Dorothy......

These things above my Grandma gave to me...her sewing box, tape measure, old sissors, and last but not least her pin cushion....

My Mama, Daddy, and Grandma Dorothy have all passed and I only hope they are looking down on me and feeling very proud..... :)

"Clay Day with my Sister"

I shared a wonderful day with my sister Kathy yesterday....she lives about 65 miles from me....I packed up everything but the kitchen sink and headed her way around 8:00am....and that is a big accomplishment in itself as I am not a morning person!!... :) We made plans ahead of time as to what we wanted to work on so things went pretty smooth....we took a couple of breaks with a bit of lunch and a trip out of the house for some fried pickles, sweet tea, and a luscious BLT!!...thanks for the treat Sis!...We completed two projects... the first was a necklace from a tutorial by Kim Cavender in this months Polymer Cafe and the second was a bracelet inspired by Bettina (beadworx) latest frenzy with extruded tube beads....you can see her beautiful work HERE on her flickr page....

Kathy's finished pieces above.....

and mine...*note the pictures could have been better...but by the time they were taken it was late in the evening and I had to get back on the road...**A big thank you to my sister for sharing the day with me!!...and I want to wish her a "Big Happy Birthday" for this coming Friday the 6th!!..... :)

She's Here

Our newest addition to the family and my 5th Grandbaby!
Let me introduce you to "Kiley Elizabeth"

Born 5-20-2008

weighing in at 7lbs. 13 ozs.

and 19 inches

Welcome to the world sweet baby girl.

Our precious Gift from God!

The Dancin Rose and Avory Grace

This is the first floral cane I've made. When it was finished and I took a long look at it....I thought...this rose has arms and legs....leave it to me to make the first and probably only rose cane that dances!...

I really enjoyed making this jewerly set for my Granddaughter....also another first for me...and named after her! "Avory Grace"... :)

Spring has Sprung in Kentucky

I haven't fell off the face of the earth!...I battled months of bad stomach pain and after a battery of tests...I had my gallbladder removed....and then a few weeks of recovery and I am good to go!!...Spring has arrived even tho the lows last night were in the 30's....brrrrr....Here are a few pictures of my front yard....enjoy!.. :)

Pansy...my favorite!

White Bleeding Heart

Pink Bleeding Heart

Bing Crosby Tulips

Jonquil