Project from Hell, Part Deux

I am mostly embarrassed to post this photo. But here it is...Exhibit A...in which you can see what an awful mess I have for a crafting space. The bad part is that this is a 50% improvement from a few weeks ago.

On the left, you can sort of pick out my shelves for my floral containers. In the corner is my gigantic new craft table which is currently buried in stuff I am trying to organize. On the right is approximately 60% of my floral stems, all neatly organized! (At last!!!!)
In the foreground, well.... let's not discuss the foreground. I should have the mess sorted out in the next week or so and will post a picture of the completed craft area!

I am sad to report that the couch has disappeared from view again. I am assured (by the voices in my head) that it is only temporary and that the couch will rematerialize once it finishes its vacation on Jupiter.

Ghoulies & Ghosties & Long-Leggedy Beasties

Today I completed my annual pumpkin carving ritual....2 days before Halloween...that must be a record of some sort for me. Usually, I'm cussing at myself because it's the night before Halloween and my Jack-o-Lantern is still faceless. But, no matter what, pumpkin carving is a required event at my house!

The big question is usually what to carve. This year I opted for my old standby, the cat! I've tried using the Pumpkins Masters kit and patterns but find that good old-fashioned free-style carving almost always turns out better. The Pumpkin Masters designs are cool but are a bit too intricate for my taste and take waaaaaaaaaaaaay too long to complete.


Here is picture of my pumpkin helper----->
This is my sweet little baby, Hercules (aka Herkie or the Herk-Monster). He is a 7 month old Snowshoe kitten that loves to "help" me with whatever I'm doing. He was a little disgruntled when I took this picture because I wouldn't let him outside to help light the pumpkin.

I have 2 other kitties in residence....Zeus (the Abyssinian) is my Mom's cat and Isis (the Lynx Point Siamese rescue kitty) is half mine, half Mom's. She says that whichever part of Isis is being bad then that's my half! She swears that all 3 of the cats are perfectly behaved until I arrive home and turn on the "you can be bad now" sign when I walk in the door. Actually, they spend a good part of the day sleeping and my arrival is the signal that it's time to get up and play!

Project from Hell

We've all had those "projects from Hell." Well, I'm embroiled in one right now...creating my new crafting space. For normal people, this would involve setting up a work table, organizing some craft caddies or drawer space and, after a few hours, those normal people would be able to sit down and start creating wonderful things. I, being the ultimate procrastinator, have let crap pile up for eons, to the point where I couldn't find anything, let alone find a space to work. Thus, I find myself in Hell.

I am lucky enough to have a huge refinished basement rec room, half of which is supposed to be my home theater (surround sound, large couch, big pillow) to relax in. Needless to say, I haven't seen the couch in at least a year because it has been covered with craft supplies. The other half is my craft area which has been so messy that I cart my supplies upstairs to the kitchen or family room to work on whatever I'm creating. Of course, that means I have to cart them back downstairs again when done for the day. Otherwise the whole house would be one big messy craft area and we can't have that! It's been a big hassle to do anything.

Today I found the couch and confirmed its existence. Now the couch probably doesn't care but I was terribly excited that I made that much progress. I still have a way to go but at least I have forward motion and a small sense of accomplishment. Perhaps I'm only half in Hell now! And maybe in a week (or two) I'll be able to start working on my crafts on a regular basis :)

Inner Child at Play!

Paint fascinates me. And it's cheap therapy! The best part is that it lets my inner child come out to play..... something that I should let happen more often!

At right is a Halloween bird house that I made for my Mom several years ago. She likes it so much that it is on permanent display year round on top of a bookcase in the family room!

It's hard to see in this photo but the yellow background is actually crackled and the roof is a dark teal stipple on a black background. This project was truly created from the ground up... I had to make the bird house myself in order to get the lop-sided roof effect. Luckily, I'm not shy about breaking out the power tools!




On the left is a picture of my current work in progress, the Farmer's Market Harvest Plate. Much remains to be done, but at least it is starting to look like something! The light gray areas will be 3 ears of corn and a gray tabby cat.

I'm about to get started on contouring the pumpkins. Lucy will understand when I say I hope they don't turn out looking like tomatoes!

Shutterbug

My creative side, although always evident to others, really came to light for me when I was 16 (in a galaxy long ago and far, far away) when I took photography classes in high school. I've been a shutterbug ever since. My real dream job was to be a National Geographic photographer. Unfortunately, this was entirely unrealistic because I don't "rough it" well at all. If there isn't hot running water or an electrical outlet for my hair dryer, then you can count me out!

At right is a photo of Bridal Veil Falls in British Columbia, taken in June 2002. This is one of my favorites because of the misty ethereal feel.

Imaginary Fronds?

Imaginary Fronds is my dream of opening a Silk Floral/Gift store in my current hometown in North Carolina. I am very much in the planning stage at the moment as my day job (which pays the bills) interferes with the time I need to create items for sale. Also, the price to lease retail space in this town is a bit high. Okay, so I want to be downtown...window shoppers and tourists need to be able to see me from the main thoroughfare! Obviously, that costs more. In the meantime, my basement rec room is jammed full of silk stems and sundry other craft materials to the point of being ridiculous. The item to the left is just one sample of my floral design & is probably my favorite one I've created so far. On the right is my cornucopeia...for some reason, I enjoy making the Autumn pieces the most. It's almost painful to me to switch over to Christmas creations because my favorite season is Fall. I love October, falling leaves, harvest themes and just about anything to do with Halloween!

For now, my hair stylist lets me display and sell my wares in his salon at no cost. I've sold a half dozen pieces this year and am starting to get calls for custom pieces from women who have seen and like my work. Yippee!

I also enjoy painting decorative woodcrafts. My current work in progress is a 14" Harvest Plate (actually 2... 1 to keep & 1 to sell). The design is not my own but is still very cute...harvest fruits & veggies with a gray tabby cat in the middle. I'll put up pictures soon!

I, Blogger

So...I never thought I would start a blog. Too trendy for me. No, I'm not any sort of Luddite but I remember the "saying" when I was a kid in the 70s..."never trust anyone over 30." Well, I'm over 30 (plus some!) and I tend to not trust anyone under the age of 30. Blogs are associated with those whipper-snappers that I apparently don't trust...ergo, they are suspect!

So, how did I wind up with one? A co-worker & friend who has similar aspirations (no, she is not under 30 either!) told me to check out her blog and pointed out how useful it is to showcase our handiwork for all to see. Thanks to Lucy I am here at blogspot.

And to all who read these words....welcome to Imaginary Fronds!

Let the journey begin...