IT'S A BIG ONE!

wow, boy, did i let this blog slide last week! but i have a decent excuse: i got busy!!

last monday was thanksgiving here in the great white north, and q's mom came over for supper. my husband is really good at making turkey, though i think we learned a valuable lesson this year - stovetop stuffing is not so good when made inside the bird. i didn't take pictures of the turkey (it looked awesome!), but here's my contribution:

the candleholder itself was a dumpster rescue that q brought me. and you may recognize the fake leaves and berries that i wrapped around it as the same ones i used in the original pumpkin poster. i love re-usable craft supplies!

tuesday, my friend peter allen came over to make paper mache messes with me. i wish i could link you to him, and the project he's working on right now (it's called "the burning project", and it's AWESOME.), which is slotted for an exhibition here in red deer next year sometime. peter has been making all kinds of art for more than 30 years, and HOLY COW did he have tips for me! and i had coffee for him! we didn't really make much of anything on tuesday, but i got all inspired-up to try a bunch of stuff. later. with pics.

wednesday was kind of a messy blur, still with the paper mache. a lot of stuff got started, nothing got finished (yet), and some of my experiments hit the dumpster this morning.

thursday was a big day of painting - fixing up and finishing a BUNCH of toddler tees and listing them over at etsy. i started painting baby clothes last summer, but when the leaves started changing, i packed them all up and forgot about them. until now.

in that box was a size 7/8 girls tee with "olivia's favorite toy" outlined on it. (i just spent about 20 minutes trying to find an image from the book to link to, but you'll have to be satisfied with the pic i drew. i couldn't find anything except the cover art, which doesn't feature the toy - just olivia, lifting up the couch). it's been an 18-month long project for my friend olivia, who is (i think) 6. and kids grow. fast. i thought i remembered buying it a couple of sizes too big when i got the shirt last spring, but who knows how much she's shot up over the summer?! well, here's hoping it still fits.

and on friday, i started making polyclay christmas ornaments. so far, there's wonder bread, holly, and mistletoe. don't ask me about the wonderbread thing - i guess i was just having fun with circles. i'm a BIG fan of the mistletoe, myself. sets of 6, over at etsy. here's a sneak peek.

also on friday, i discovered "coraline". i think i'm on my third time through it, as i'm typing this. (please pardon any typos).. and i'm making a set of coraline magnets. i also have a hankering to make a paper mache black cat from the movie.

saturday, we got a wii. also, wii resort, super smash bros, mario kart, and star wars: the clone wars. that's what q did all day, and we played mario party 7 in the evening, when i took a break from crocheting dorothy from the wizard of oz.

i finished her on saturday night (i lie: sunday morning, 2am, and also, she's not actually sewn together yet.), and i wrote down the pattern as i went! i'm testing it by using parts of it in the construction of the rest of the oz gang, and i'll be listing the patterns over at etsy, too, when they're done.. the dolls themselves will be about 12" tall, and are a custom order for my friend dawn. when i'm done, there will be dorothy, toto, scarecrow, tin man, cowardly lion, and the wicked witch. no pics yet - but this week, i promise.

i'm having a LOT of fun with this pattern-making business, so who knows? i just might get carried away and do some more sets.. any ideas? in fact, is there anything that you can't find a pattern for, that you'd like to see here? i'll definitely be offering free patterns here from time to time, and i might as well take requests too.

ok. it's been so gray and gloomy around here, weatherwise, for the last couple of weeks. we had snow for a while, but it got rained away over the weekend. i'm going to go make stuff. that'll brighten things up!