Friday, December 20, 2013

Dragon egg nests finished

I haven't been writing.  I know.  Why?  Because I've been working and have done nothing!  Ha.

Anyway, this morning I am off since the schools had 1/2 days.  I finished the dragon egg nests.  The original nests were so neat and originally I was going to do them that way.  But then I realized how many creatures line their eggs up perfectly in their nests?  Maybe some do.  But not my dragons.






This was the nest awaiting the filling for the eggs.  The original nests used straw but I didn't have that.  And if I'm not sure I'll use it in the future, I don't want to buy it.
 
 
 




So I used mossy stuff and nestled the eggs in the mossy stuff.  They are not perfectly placed.  They fit my thoughts of dragon nests better.  And that is what poetic license is all about.


 
 
Now if you want to see how protective dragon parents are, please look at the photo below.  Papa Dragon and Mama Dragon want to put the nest with its eggs in the house.  There are two screaming children who do not belong in the house trying to prevent them from entering.  It promises to be interesting.  I will look in on them later.
 
 
 
So today I hope to accomplish something else.  I really don't like it when projects take so long but life just keeps getting in the way!
 
Until tomorrow,
 
Pat
 
P.S.  If you haven't already, please go to otterine.com blog and see her latest creation.  She is so talented.  I hope she wins the contest!
 

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Finished Garden Corner

We had another snowstorm and it isn't even winter.  I know we're not the only ones.  But it caused me to lose a day of work.  Boo hoo!!!  I drove all the way to school before I found out it was closed.  When I left home at 7 a.m., it still wasn't closed.  They closed it about 7:05.  The h.s. students were already in their classes since they start at 7 so the buses had to turn around and get them to go home.  It was a mess.  But when I settled down after I came home, I decided to finish some projects. 

I finished painting the 45 crates.  I need to make a few more dragon eggs and that's my goal tonight. 






I also finished the garden corner with a bird bath.  You really can't notice but I squeezed some E6000 clear glue into the bird bath and it will look like water when it's dry.  I used a shell for the bird bath and used beads for the stand.

It will be mailed out tomorrow.







Then I have some friends who also collect certain dolls -- the same ones I do -- and six of us exchange holiday cards.  I finished the photo for the cards today and will address them tonight.  I think they came out cute.




I'll be busy tonight.  Until tomorrow,

Pat




Saturday, December 7, 2013

Crates galore

Hi there.  We have a cold spell settling in but thank goodness we don't have the snow that is in the west.  Temperature is 28 degrees.  Brrr.

Went out to dinner with a bunch of friends tonight.  It was fun and the food was okay.

So today I finished the crates for the dragon eggs.  I spent the entire afternoon using the miter box.  My hands were sooooo tired.  I don't think I'm meant for manual labor.  LOL

Here are the crates.  I think 45 are shown.  Maybe.  There may be a pile somewhere else.  Tomorrow after church I will tackle the painting of them.  Then it's finishing them up.

 
Still struggling with making a birdbath or bench for the garden corner.  It has to be mailed by Monday!  So you know what I'll be doing.

I plan to put our tiny tree up tomorrow, too, since I didn't get to it today.  And Rowena is making noises about her house not being decorated yet.  I have the decorations out but haven't put them up yet. 

I work all next week so if I have any energy left when I get home, I have to do her house.  Oh yes, I also have another swap project.  I love having projects lined up.

Anyway, hope your evening has been great and your Sunday is marvelous.

Until tomorrow,

Pat

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Garden corner view

Hi there.  Warmish temperature.  The cold is expected by this weekend.  However, that was predicted by the woolly worm.  What???  Never heard of it?  Well, when we were living in rural KY, the woolly worm was a weather predictor.  Depending upon its colors, it could be counted on to forecast the winter.  Any dark spot on the caterpillar was very very cold weather.  Medium brown was cold and light brown was mild.  There were "sightings" where people called each other and kept track of the colors.  For example, dark/med brown/light meant frigid/cold/mild.  Beware of the all black one!  There were even annual woolly worm festivals, complete with races where the caterpillars would climb up a rope.  Who could reach the top first??  This is true, I swear.  You just can't make this stuff up.  Anyway, what started this rant is the fact that I saw a woolly worm last week--here in NJ.  It was light brown, dark brown, light brown and then a little dark at the end.  So we are presently in the light brown stage. 

I now have my google back and the ability to add pictures.  It's really annoying when it gives fits.

 
I love the hat and the birdhouse on the top shelf.  The tote bag has gardening tools in it.  I think the whole project came out nice.
 

I am showing you what I've done so far on the garden corner.  I am going to put something in the empty corner to fill it and give it balance, either a table and benches or a birdbath, whatever is easiest to make.  What do you think so far?  Have I missed anything?

Since I can't decide what to do for the outside wall on the left, I will leave it open.  I would rather do that than to put up a fence that doesn't belong.

It needs to be mailed out by Monday. 

Then I am going to start my special project.  I think I can probably do some of it on this blog.  It will be lengthy and isn't due until July 2014 as a contest entry.  I've never done anything for a contest so I want to take my time.  I have the sketch made and things I need, plus a list of what's needed (most of the project has to be handmade) to make the dozens of items.  And I will be tackling some projects I've never done before.  Should be interesting.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Until then,
Pat

Hi again

Hi there.  Well, I tried to write yesterday but for some reason, Google blogger was giving me fits.  And it refused my photos.

So I'll be back tonight. 

I do wonder, though, how much have computers added to our stress levels?  I am old enough to remember the "old days" when things took longer but you didn't lose information after you spent the time to enter it.  Oh well, just my musings.  LOL

Until then,

Pat

Monday, December 2, 2013

New things and storage

Hi.  Didn't have a job today so I worked on my garden swap project.  And I'm still finishing the crates for the dragon eggs.  Then it was off to a friend's where we learned about our 4S phones and what they can do.  Then we stopped at Target to buy covers for them.  I was able to get a simple cover.  Hubby needed one more substantial, since he wears it on his belt and he's more likely to have it fall.  It protects his phone from all nasty things.  And then it was off to Applebee's for an early dinner.  I am tired.

So I decided to go through some of the boxes of dollhouse items I've received that are still in their makeshift boxes.  I keep my assorted and sundry items in plastic containers.  I am going to get a few more when they go on sale or I use my 40% off coupon in Joanns.  I like that the end cube is long to fit those crazy things that need more room.  (I also use these boxes for my dolls' shoes, purses and accessories.  They keep everything neat and tidy.  And clean!




As you can see, I keep my printies in here, too.  Otherwise, they get squashed. 



There's no rhyme or reason to this storage.  The cushions from the patio furniture set is stored in here.  As are other things.

I did find some things I forgot I had:  kitchen knives!  There is a cleaver and a knife.  And I was shocked to find they are sharp like real knives.  They were given to me by a friend and the first time I saw them close up.  Funny!




A week ago I ordered some little items from a company in Thailand and they came today.  Together they cost $9 and that included postage.  I do love bargains. 



These little purple ones are a great bargain for $4.50.  I love them.  They will probably find a home in Rowena's house.  Maybe not.  I guess I haven't decided.  Ha!


These are my favorites.  Just the loveliest yellow.  These are definites for the beach house.  There will be a lot of blues and greens in that house and these will be a welcome addition.









So this was my day.  Right now I'm looking for a tut to make a very basic birdbath at a nominal cost.  I work tomorrow and hope to have enough energy to do some more work on the egg crates.

Until then,

Pat




Sunday, December 1, 2013

Wall on potting center done

Still cold here.  It's winter weather but still autumn.  I'm ready for spring.  Looking for a job for tomorrow.  Pretty slim chance since it's the day after a holiday but I may get lucky. 

Today did a little work outside with hubby.  We're cleaning up the yard for the winter.  We clean out pots, put away patio furniture and do a general clean up.  There are some definite spring projects we have found.  That's why it's nice to do an autumn cleaning, IMHO.

Still have not turned my phone on.  We are getting a library book called "iPhone 4s for Dummies."  I love the dummies books. 

So I wanted to finish the wall today and I did.  What took the most time is looking for braces for the small shelf and the tray.  I found both in a pile of stuff.  When I do house and furniture kits, I save all of the little parts, odds and ends and hope to make use of them in future projects. 


I found a half-round for the shelf.  It is not only a good brace because of its large gluing area but it's also cute.

 
Then I hunted some more and found 2 shapes that were perfect as braces for the work tray.  A little paint and sanding, they were glued up.  And there's a good gluing surface, too. 

 
Tomorrow I plan to attach the wall to the base.  I still don't know what kind of wall to do on the one side.  The original photo has a 3/4 length wall but it's lattice, which I don't have nor do I feel like making.  LOL  If you have any suggestions that will work, without doing a great deal of work, I'd be interested.

So what do you think???  I am also gathering things for the scene.  I hope to have something to show you tomorrow.

Until then,

Pat