What is gratitude?

I know everyone is being affected by the state of our world of late. The people who risk their lives each day to provide a safe and free land for all of us in the US are ever present in my mind. For these people and their selfless acts of patriotism, I give thanks.

I don't know a single person who has not, in some way, been affected by the current economy. I have to honestly tell you that I had never, in my 50 years on this planet, been personally affected by a weak economy...until this past year. My husband spent a few months laid-off from his job for the first time in his 35+ working years. It's so easy to say you understand what it's like to have to cut back and do without, but you reach a whole new level of understanding when your income is cut to nothing. This Thanksgiving my husband is working. For his career and his dedication to our family and maintaining our life and lifestyle by working as hard as he does every day, I give thanks.

I have several friends who are going through a lay-off this very day. I can only say that I understand and that I send you prayers for better days and for an improvement in your situation VERY SOON!!! For all my friends and their support and care, I give thanks.

I can't write this post without mentioning those who are ill. It seems it is everywhere, and I have no doubt that the stress we feel as a world is at least in part, reason for these ills. I have wonderfully healthy children. My husband and I are healthy. And though I constantly take our good health for granted, I feel deeply that we are so fortunate to be well. For all of this, I give thanks.

In times such as these it is easy to forget that we all have much for which we should be grateful. For every ill or problem or adversity I face in my life, there are many others who struggle every day for the things that I so quickly forget about and lament. In my mind, true gratitude is that which we feel when times are tough. It is what we feel when it would be easier to feel sorry for ourselves or to give into the general concensus that all is bad in the world today. Gratitude is something we carry in our hearts in anticipation of things getting better and remembrance of things being worse.

Today I will work to stay in a state of gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving.

Stuff It!

I am forever amazed and excited at the fun things I come across out in blogland. Today, as I was surfing my regular haunts, I decided to take some time to see what was up with their favorites. Look what I found!!!



The International League of Championship Matchbox Stuffers . I had to go see what this was all about and now the creative brain juices are flowing. I have never seen so much fun packed into such a small place. It seems these crafty people take ordinary matchboxes, add their own special touch by decorating them, and cleverly stuff them with...STUFF!!! Lots of stuff! What a fun idea. Anyone who loves tiny bits and bobs will love these photos.
Here are a couple I whipped up this morning to give you an idea of what I'm talking about-one with a Christmas theme, and one Asian. Quick & easy, but I haven't stuffed them yet.




This got me thinking-are there a few of you out there who would be interested in doing a stuffed matchbox swap? I think it would be a blast and I would love to host the swap if there is enough interest. I think 10 would be a great number, so if you are interested, leave me a comment and tell your friends-let's have some fun!

Charmed I'm Sure

A few months back I was invited to join my first-ever charm swap. I have to tell you that it was a bit intimidating, as the wonderful chick who runs it is very particular. The list of rules and requirements was were scary at first, but after seeing the outcome from the group, it was obvious that they were doing top-notch work. The theme was "Circus" and we were to do whatever felt right within that definition. My charms started out at a sheet of nickel silver. From that, I cut a "+" shape (hard to describe) and with some hammering and coaxing, I formed them into the little metal boxes. The next step was to solder all the edges. Soldering is one of my great new loves and I would have been thrilled if they had all gone as easily as my prototype. Did I mention that I always make a prototype? Even in making ATCs, I start with one-work it all the way from start to finish and then proceed if it turns out well. So, after forming the boxes, I used a clipart image for the background and made the little Seal, stand and ball from Fimo clay. The clay required some gluing, so I got the chance to play with 2-part epoxy. After placing Mr. Seal in the box, it was finished off with glass and soldered, including a bail fashioned from wire. I LOVED the way this project turned out, and Amber Dawn

who hosted the swap, was very kind and encouraging. Her encouragement really gave me the push to do more and stretch artistically regarding charm-making. Thanks, Amber!!!

One of the requirements of the group is that you display the charm well, so I used a popcoen bag, folded and embellished with a Circus ticket and ribbon.

Pretty seals, all in a row. Pre-glass cover.

Here it is all finished and ready to send to Amber Dawn.

Since this swap, I have participated a 3 other charm swaps. I love the work I receive in return and I am always blown away by the creativity of people in our community. What a fun way to not only get your creativity on, but to have goodies coming in the mail!!!!

A Sweet Memory

Mom's Little Guy

I was perusing blogs this morning, when I ran across one wherein a Mom was telling about her 7 year old son. Seems this lad had quite a day yesterday-tantrums and all. The blogger went on to tell about sending him to bed with the promise of NO activities tomorrow since he had misbehaved so. After she put the little bug to bed, she finds a note from him on the couch and he has drawn a little face with tears on the cheeks, and written "Momma, I love you. Do you still love me?" He even had a YES and NO for her circle and a line where he had written "Sine here".OH my gosh! Could you just cry? I just wanted to get ahold of him and hug the little guy. Then I was reminded of a story about my son, Robert.

I need to start by saying that Rob was one of those kids who made me work for the title of "Mom". He was a little spark from the day he was born (six weeks preemie) and he contnued to put me through my paces until he was a teen. So, anyway, he moved into the room that had been shared by his older brothers, Jeremy and Ryan, when the time came that they had both moved out of the house. The room he moved into was WAYYYYY oversized for one kid and it was more like an apartment on the top floor of our home. It was decided that the room he had previously occupied would become a guest room, so we set about painting and re-decorating. I am down on my knees, painting baseboards, when one of my older boys says "mom, you have to see this". Down at the lowest point on the wall, cleverly hidden behind the door when open, written in pencil, was "Mom is a poophead". We laughed so hard,thinking of this little bird, angry at Mom, mustering all his energy and getting his revenge. Rob was 15 or so when we found it, and we decided he must have been around 7 or 8 when he wrote it. It makes me laugh every time I think of it.

OK...maybe this story wasn't quite as sweet and touching as that of the blogger I started with, but it was worth telling. Don't you think?

HAUNTINGLY WONDERFUL!!!!!

I love Halloween! So many of my artsy friends feel the same and we all get very excited when it's time to pull out our black and orange supplies and make Halloween art. This year I mentioned that I was involved in FOUR, count 'em, swaps. I just received my package of charms from the Yahoo group swap yesterday. This is what I made...











I also made the little box for the charm out of some fun flocked paper. You may have already realized that this charm started out as a Monopoly Hotel. I used polyclay to make little, tiny individual shake shingles for each house (13 of 'em), as well as for the little ghost who haunts the front porch. I used aubergine colored wire to make the tree and attached it with epoxy, and then painted the details-some well-worn shutters, purple drips coming from the roof and such. I was pleased with the end result and I will put together a necklace incorporating all the charms I received in this great swap.

I belong to another Yahoo group where they have a Rolodex card swap. This has become one of my favorite swaps to participate in. The cards are small enough that they go fairly quickly when you're making lots, and I love that I can place them in a rolodex file and look at them anytime. No fuss, no muss.
Debbie Bick of Frenzy Stamper hosted a chunky book swap. If you haven't been to Frenzy, or if it's been awhile, you need to see Debbie's Halloween merchandise. She loves Halloween every bit as much as those of us who frequent her store and she orders TONS of fun Halloween stuff.

My page started with a picture of Marie Antoinette and evolved into a headless Marie. I have used this Hero Arts birdcage stamp many, many times and found another use for it. My Marie pic came from a fabulous clip art CD I purchased months ago from Lisa Kettel. This piece is titled "Poor Marie, she lost her head"

I have one more swap to end the month and now all I need to do is get ready for the Trick-Or-Treaters! What are you creating this month?

Raise your hand if you're here...

OK. I confess that I have been absent for such a long time that I thought I might never find my way back to this blog. I went and did something silly...I WENT TO WORK! What was I thinking? I very recently decided that I should be a supportive partner and get out and earn some cash. I have some strange thoughts at times. Anyway-I am selling Real Estate in Sedona, Az.. Not a place with any more beauty than this, and I know I have seen nearly every square inch of it in the past couple of months.

With all the changes in my life, I really planned on slowing my participation in art swaps. So, I ONLY participated in FOUR for the upcoming Halloween season. Since I am at my desk I don't have my pics here, but I promise to put them up as soon as I get home. I did a chunky book swap, an ATC swap, a Halloween charm swap and a Rolodex card swap. So much for cutting back!

Since I don't have any art pics, I will share a recent picture of Miss Patsy Cline. She always brings a smile to my face. I hope she does the same for you.

One Good Reason To Live In this Heat

Have I complained on this blog about the horrendous Arizona heat? Well, if I haven't, consider this a LOUD complaint! I have lived here for 31 years. Most who know me hear this statement followed by "and I've spent 32 years trying to leave." Don't get me wrong-this state offers a beauty of the desert type unparalleled by any other. The problem is that in order to make all those cool looking plants grow, the climate must be unfit for humans. Even my dog complains from time to time and she spends almost no time outside in the summer. One great benefit of all this wonderful sunshine is the plethora of garden veggies. We have only tomatoes, onions and herbs this year, as the heat in early July fried our squash, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers and other plants. The remaining fruits of our labor are simply delicious. Even after 3 months of having fresh vine-ripened tomatoes every day, I just have to utter "m-m-m-m-m-m, these are sooooo good" every time I take the first bite. These 'maters are so sweet they could give berries and peaches a run for their money. So, as I sit and lament the length of our summer, I am reminded that as the days become shorter our fresh garden eats will go away for another winter. I just thought of one other reason to live here-we continue to get tomatoes on the vine until November. I doubt there are many places in this country where this is true, so today I am thankful for the (choke) long, (sob) hot, (howl in agony) summers of Arizona. Our garden window becomes the Tomato Ripening Center for those little suckers who fall off the vine a bit too soon. It's fun to see how quickly they go from green to bright red. And just for the record, we have noticed no difference in flavor from the vine-ripened to the window-ripened.