Playing Catch-Up...What have you been up to over the past year Melanie?.... Part 1... :)

THE BEFORE......

Well I guess I will start with....

"The Main Bath Remodel"
*Staring....none other than...My better half....
and a man on a mission...
Steve :)

*Steve thinking...."what the Hell did I just get myself into?".....

Down to the studs we gooooo......

Buh- bye tile...

Green board....Steve's favorite part!

New sub floor...

"My Hunka...hunka...burnin love"

NEW BATH

Don't ya just love it?
*best thing we did was the curved shower curtain rod...
"so much more space in the shower now!"

New pedestal sink, glass shelf, oval mirror, light fixture...

....and "The New Throne! :)

I made switch plates from Polymer Clay
they are made in Mica Shift....
so much depth and smooth as a baby's bottom!
*picture does not do them justice

I am so proud of all of the work my husband put into our new bath....
I just love it! :)

Full Steam Ahead!.. :)...and the winner that wasn't .. :(

You know me and a good "Give Away".. :) Lisa at Polka Dot Cottage had a recent give away. It was for a copy of "Perfectly Paired: Designing Jewelry with Polymer and Metal Clays"....by Patricia Kimle.....<-boy that is a mouthful!! Of course I didn't win... :( But I did just pre-ordered a copy... The past year has been a rough one, but I managed to survive it with a whole new since of what I am made of....and what my priorities are...I am busy in my studio...creating....it feels so natural...I did over the past year create some nice pieces of which I will post in the next several days to share with you...and hubs and I totally remodeled our bathroom...*and I mean totally down to the studs....I have those pictures to share too...*only because I made a couple of things out of polymer clay for it!.... I love you Steve!....so back to the new book....It comes out the first of April and I am ready to venture out into the world of PMC...So stay tuned folks....I plan on making this blog thing a regular!...Blessings~Melanie

Pouring my "Heart into my Art" and a giveaway!

How long has it been? Way too long!... :) I was doing my morning ritual and ran across a blog with a giveaway...and it is just the kick start I need to do what I have been longing to do!....get back to my clay table!...my studio is all in order so that is out of the way from holding me back...and to top it off the giveaway is "Lisa Pavelka" WOW-WE....That is enough for me to get my creative juices flowing...how bout you? Craft Test Dummies....time is running out....just a little over an hour until it ends....I am sliding in by the seat of my pants...oh wait...I am still in my jammies!...A BIG thank you to the folks at Craft test dummies and Lisa! :)
*I will be back with details of my "clay adventures" over the past months! Stay tuned!

Run don't walk....Big Giveaway

This is the "Giveaway of all Giveaway's!" FAVECRAFTSBLOG is giving away Lisa Pavelka Signature Series Polymerclay tools and DVD...

The deadline is April 3, 2009 at 5:00 pm CST.
There are several options to get your name in the hat too!
Don't miss this opportunity to get a set of "Top Notch" tools and Lisa's DVD... :)

Weeping Willow and Ice Storm 2009

Its been a real bad one here in Kentucky...over the past week we got several inches of snow...then a horrible ice event arrived.....couple more inches of snow ending the storm...there are still over 300,000 without power..17 people have lost their lives...I had several family members in the Louisville area without it for 24 or so hours...and close friends in "The Knobs" in Indiana had a tree come through the 3rd story of their home and also no electricity for a few days.....so again I am feeling so Blessed ... I planted a Weeping Willow in memory of my Mom and Dad in our yard years ago...

*We had one in our side yard when we were growing up...we spent a lot of time there...when I was very young I had a play house next to the tree....and we would sit at the picnic table with neighbors and friends and just shoot the breeze!...

That's ME!...and my playhouse...****hhmmm maybe we pulled out a lawn chair to two too!!...that's our weeping willow right there with the chairs leaning on it.....

I planted this weeping willow in our side yard several years ago....as you can see we had a pretty bad ice storm in 2003..and I thought this picture was depicting a true weeping willow! :) It recovered and grew into this massive one pictured below....

You can see the damage the Ice Storm of 2009 has caused this once beauty...:( I will do my best to save it.... I hope you and yours are safe and warm...or cool if you are in a warmer climate!....I will leave you with a few more pictures I snapped from our yard....

View from my Studio window...

The "GateKeeper" I love the icicles hanging from his cheek, nose, and chin... *His expression kills me!!!... Blessings~Melanie:)

Ya Gotta have Faith

I was enjoying my morning coffee.....making my rounds on the net....when I found myself in my 2 basenjis favorites folder....I went here to visit their breeders site..... and thought I would check in on FAITH when I scrolled down to The Latest News and found there will be a new addition to the family....please take some time to read about Faith, her forever family, and see if you aren't just as touched by Faith as I am....God can do anything..."if you don't have Faith you really have nothing" <**that is what my heart says!....and that is what gets me through each day!....now that I found Faith the biped dog she has brought me closer to God and I thank you for that girl!....

I want to share my little friend I named Faith...I found her outside my studio window and captured this photo....

now if this squirrel can hang upside down with her tops of her feet against the feeder and having no tail to balance with and have supper at my bird feeder... then that view of Faith gives me strength ....

I will leave you with....And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1CO13:13

Blessings~Melanie:)

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!