Let Them Eat Cake! And Cookies!!!

I'm getting ready to mix up some Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookie dough and Chocolate Orange Sugar Cookie dough.  I'm going to put the dough in the fridge and bake them in the morning.  I confess, I really love cookies!  And chocolate!  And I don't quite have the will power that I used to have.  Esp. with my mom's cookies!  She was baking when I arrived at her house this morning and oh, I love that!  Reminds me of when I was little.  I would get home from school to find mom baking and that awesome scent floating around in the house! 

But since the cookies aren't ready yet, Let Them Eat Cake!!!  I told you I was into Marie Antoinette.  Well, I made a Marie Antoinette Blank Journel:



Isn't this cool?  Lot's of places to use glitter on here!  These do take awhile.  I really had no idea how time consuming they were.  The front and backs are covered as are the inside covers.  I always do a sweet little envelope and a matching bookmark.  I'm wanting to make some fabric journal covers.  Would give me a chance to run my sewing machine!

This Blank Journal is a custom order.  It's for a little girl so my client didn't want a ton of glitter on it:



The only glitter on this journal is on the vintage card that I used.  I figured the card is at least 50 years old.  If the glitter stayed on that long, it's not going to go anywhere now!

So while I was making journals, mom was making more Tussy Mussy's:







I just love these!  And my mom is so into mixed media now!  I never expected it from her.  She's always been so traditional.  She asked me to bring her more of my Somerset Studio magazines and some of my Cottage Style decorating magazines.  I guess you can teach old dogs new tricks.  Not that I think of my mom as old because I don't.  We're actually like 2 little kids playing with the craft supplies!

In other news, I've noticed a bit more improvement regarding this horrible depression that I've been living with.  Mornings and evenings are still not good but, I noticed the past couple of days, that I feel a bit more on the planet.  It still goes back and forth but I know that feeling grounded will eventually take over and stay put.

I'll tell you, this whole depression thing has been like living in a Stephen King novel.  And now I know where he comes up with all that weird stuff.  He suffers from severe depression.  Edgar Allen Poe had severe Bi-Polar.  He's another one with the weirdo stories and due to my experience the past year, I could write some of that creepy stuff too but I'd rather not remember it.  I really prefer to think of fuzzy little fluffy things like puppies, kitties, birds and butterflies! 

I'm told, in time, that I will forget much of this experience.  I say thank God for that!  Quite honestly though, I would find it hard to believe that someone who went through this would not be changed by it.  I've been dealing with depression all my life and didn't even know.  The "off the charts" anxiety was always obvious to me but the depression wasn't.  It's my severe anxiety that goes with my ADD that causes the depression.  Still, I've never had an episode like this before.  And don't care to ever go through it again.

I'm off to run that Kitchenaid!

Glitter Houses for the Birds!

Yes, I do believe I've mentioned my love for glitter once or twice!  I finished these up this morning:



I love birds but these aren't for outside!  My husband would call these, "Look At Birdhouses"!  He learned a long time ago that anything stitched on or handmade is off limits to him.  Don't touch!!!  That's for looking at!

I glued some vintage lace to the roof of each birdhouse and then added glitter.  They're so sparkly!

And another finish of mine:



I finished this block up this morning before I went into town.  I can't believe I did 6 blocks already.  They seem to be stitching up a little quicker than my purses.  They're only 1 inch smaller! 

Anyway, here is block #7:



Not sure if I'll start on this one right away or if I want to do something else.  I have all these great ideas of things I want to do but I only have 2 hands and 1 brain.  We won't go there!  Ha, ha, ha!

Well, I have an order to put together and then I plan to relax and look through my magazines until my husband gets home. 

Busy Day

I didn't intend for it to be that way.  It just sort of happened.  I woke up and decided that making cookies would be fun!  And it was!  I was only going to do Cherry Almond Shortbread with Chocolate Chips but once that was done mixing and in the oven, my Kitchenaid was still screaming at me!  So I made a batch of Coconut Shortbread.  Whoa!  These are quite yummy!  I just got back from taking some to my neighbor to thank him for shoveling my driveway for me:



My house still smells good!

I then spent some time photographing our latest creations:



I finished this up yesterday.  I am absolutely planning on making one for myself.  And I think I know what the theme will be!  HINT:  I just ordered the Marie Antoinette magazine from Somerset Studio this morning!  Oh, and the movie is so incredibly beautiful!  I'm so glad I bought that!

Anyway, another of my latest creations are these little Feather Tags:



Aren't they pretty?  I usually do paper craft things when I'm at mom's.  She has the most awesome workspace down in her basement!  I'll have to get a photo of our craft space next time I'm there.

Anyway, mom made these pretty tags:



I'm so impressed with these.  Mom recycled some package material that she received with something she ordered.  It's some really neat stuff and mom saved it for crafts.  My mother has always been into the "Green" thing.  That's where I learned it from!

Well, I'm out of steam for now.  I have a couple little packages to put together for shipping and then I'm off to stitch on this some more:



I expect to finish this up tonight or tomorrow.  I may take another little break before starting Block #7.  We'll see what I do.

Have a great evening everyone!

QUICK EDIT:   I wanted to mention Sheila's blog.  She stitched up my "January" Biscornu of the Month.  I wanted you to see the stitched piece as well as Sheila's stitching which is quite lovely!

Now Is The Time.....

Years ago, I loved to journal.  I wrote about my day and things that I wanted to do and so on.  Nothing grand, I just kept a journal to help myself unwind at the end of my day.

Eventually, I stopped doing it.  Not enough time!  Honestly, I just stopped making the time for it in order to have time for other things.  What is it with time?  We seem to have an obsession with it.  Or rather, an obsession with the lack of it!  I guess we as a society have reached a point of having so many wonderful things to do, that we have a hard time (there's that word again) making time for everything.

On that note, here is one of my latest creations:



I used vintage papers, vintage millinery flowers which I hand-dyed myself and loads of glitter!  I really enjoyed this project and plan to do a few more.  I may even make one for myself.  Oh my goodness, one more thing to make time for!  LOL!

Honestly, journaling is an excellent way to help deal with anxiety, depression, ADD and BiPolar.  By writing things down in a notebook, it gets all the chaos out of our heads.  It's also a good way for us creative people to get our ideas out of our heads.  By writing it down, we're not spending so much energy trying to remember everything!

Another new addition to the shop, is a new Tussy Mussy by mom:



Isn't this pretty?  I love it because I love St. Patrick's Day!  It marks the beginning of Spring for me.  This little Victorian Lady is ready to go to the parade with her little shamrock!

I have all sorts of new things to add but can only do a few a day.  It really takes a lot of time (there's that word again) to take photos, load them into my computer, edit them, write up descriptions and upload photos.  Thankfully, I can sit here and stitch while the photos are uploading!

Speaking of which, I'm off to work on my crazy quilt block!  Now is the time.....

Thoughts Of Spring.....

Another cloudy, dreary day here in McHenry, Illinois.  It's not terribly cold and it's not snowing (that's a good thing), but it's dark and grey.

I spent the day with mom, glittering and gluing.  I have some really pretty new things to share but I'm too tired now to take photos so I'll save them for during the week.

The ugliness of dirty, melting snow adds to the boredom of Winter.  I look forward to the snow disappearing and the little peaks of Crocus' popping their heads out of the soil, reminding us that Spring is near by.  I'm really eager to see Robins again.  Those gorgeous songbirds with their bright orange breasts really tell the world that the glorious season has begun.  For us, we usually see the first Robins of Spring about the last week in February or the first week in March.  It's a bit of a wait yet, but such a thrill for me when I see my first Robin of the season.  Much of last year is a big, fat blur to me.  But I do remember the day I saw my first Spring Robin!

Working on my garden quilt does help me to think of Spring:



Block #6 is coming along nicely, isn't it?  As you can see, I've really been playing with Carol Samples templates.  I only used my Waste Canvas technique for the feather stitch and the herringbone stitch.

Tomorrow, Scott is taking me into town to Borders & Michaels.  The latest Marie Antoinette movie is just screaming at me!  I read the reviews and I just know it's a movie I'll watch over and over.  Thankfully, there's no beheading in the end.  I know I couldn't deal with that right now!  As much as I love Amadeus and usually watch it a few times in January, I can't deal with some of it right now.  Especially the end.  It's not an accurate historical representation of Mozart's life, but it's a bit too dark and heavy for me at the moment.

I'm also going to order the Marie Antoinette issue from Somerset Studio.  I can't stand not having it!  The Somerset Studio magazines have helped me quite a bit the last few months.  The colors and the beautiful handmade things remind me of feeling like my real self.  Not the partial zombie that I've been for too long now.  Some of the zombiness has faded away but I still feel a bit off the planet.  Like I'm trying to function with someone else's glasses on rather than my own.  It's screwy!

Anyway, at Michael's, I need glue!  I can't believe how many different types of glue I use for my projects.  And then there's some of the new Martha Stewart glitters!  Oooof!  I love my glitter!

I'm really itching to go antiquing.  The next flea market isn't until Valentine's Day.  That'll be fun for Scott and I.  I may have to ask him to take me to an antique mall next week.  I love the thrill of the hunt and the thrill of a bargin!