Doggie Adventures

I had another doggie adventure a few weeks ago...I volunteered to transport two sweet Beagles! I picked them up in Gadsden and took them to Trenton. One was a puppy and even though I thought I had cleaned up my truck well, she found all kinds of things under my seat and pulled them out. By the time I got to Trenton I had it all piled on the dash so she couldn't eat it and she was in my lap. I believe this is Maggie in this picture, the older and calmer one. She mostly slept during the whole trip.

You know, looks can be deceiving....CJ looks like the sweetest kitty with his big blue eyes, doesn't he? He can't stand for me to pet any other cat or play with them. He even bit and slapped at me tonight. Maybe he was mad that I was playing with another cat? It didn't hurt, but it still wasn't nice! He bullies all the other cats. I thought getting him fixed would make him mellow out a little, but not so far. You'd never guess it by looking at him though!!

And here's my Daddy's pretty cow....we think she looks like a Betsy! ;)

I've been busy working on new designs for my show and for some new patterns this week. I finished about 10 jack-o-lantern make-do's last night! Can't wait for my All Halloween themed booth!! I hope I remember to bring my camera and my media card to this show!! 

New contest!

Do you know what this is??? Its something I grew in my garden....the first person to correctly guess what it is by posting a comment on this post will win a prize from me! Just be sure to check your email so you can send me your address if you win. I'm not saying what the prize is yet--it will be a surprise, but it will be something good!!

This is my nephew's new puppy, Dexter. He's half Saint Bernard/Half Great Pyrenees and he is the cutest thing. He ran off Sunday morning while Tyler was gone to visit his Mom and we spent the entire week looking for him! We put up posters, put it on the radio, in the newspaper, called all the vets and the pound. Tyler came home Friday morning and we got a call about him Saturday morning. He wasn't lost close to my house, but he ended up right at the end of my street. I'm surprised I didn't see him because I turn right by that house every day!

  I kept Jackson yesterday....always fun! This is him playing with his Papa (my Daddy). They surely were having a good time!! I wanted a picture of them playing together but (of course) the batteries went dead while I was taking these!

If you're wondering what the kitties have been doing....just hanging out and being lazy! I wish I could get as comfy on the couch as Pumpkin does!

I'm making some progress on the pile of dolls I've been working on for so long. Maybe I'll get new patterns on my site pretty soon! I did get a free pattern listed--I hope y'all all got to download it so you can make it for Halloween!

Speaking of Halloween Tyler & I went on Amazon.com to look for a copy of Frankenweenie. Have you seen it? If not, you have to....its really cute, in a Tim Burton kind of way. As usual I ordered a bunch of other stuff. I got a book about planning Halloween parties, some Halloween mad libs for Tyler and another Halloween book for us to read!

New free pattern & Buddy update!

I decided its time for another free pattern for y'all! This is Miss Kitty--she's gonna be on  tv too! You can click here to download the free pattern. Or you can go to my website anytime and click on the free patterns to download them all! You knew I'd have to have a cat as one of my projects, didn't you? ha! I'm gonna share all of the patterns from the tv show for free....there are some Halloween and Christmas projects too, so I'll get them to you soon so you can start getting ready for your shows!!

Remember Buddy? People still ask about him....so here's a new picture of him. I got to visit with him at Momma's when we got together for Mother's day. He's still the sweetest thing, but a whole lot bigger! Daddy's worker likes to call him "Pinto" because he says he looks like a Pinto horse. I still think Buddy suits him just fine!

Have I showed you this picture of Sissy? Maybe not...does she look nice or not in this picture? I think she looks sweet but I could see how someone might think she looks mean. Really she's just relaxed and trying to send me telepathic messages to pet her.She's very shy and when anyone comes to visit she hides. But if its just us, she is always trying to get in my lap, rubbing her paw on my cheek while I watch tv, just wanting all my attention. And if Sissy happens to be in another room, all I have to do is sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (the more out of tune the better!) and she will come running and meowing at me! She's so funny....I love her personality! I just wish she wasn't so shy so others could see, but that's okay if she wants to hide. Oh--another thing she loves is being brushed and she did let my niece brush her a little when she spent the night. I guess my niece should feel lucky...lol!

Apologies....

I apologize if you have gotten a bunch of emails about my last post. I don't know what's up--I have emailed feedblitz to find out what the problem is. So please hang in there if you keep getting them. I will either get this fixed or find a new program to use......

Did I mention that my sister wrote the cutest story? I illustrated it and we put it on Lulu.com so we could have it printed. You can see the book here:

http://www.lulu.com/content/1259144

You might even want to order a copy! ;)

And Helena at http://helenacstudios.typepad.com gave me the nicest  compliment--she gave me an award for artists  that inspire here. Can you believe that? Me inspiring someone else? Here are 3 people who inspire me....

Missy Ballance

CCs Whimsies

Penny McAllister

Saying 'bye for now!

I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I don't know what I was thinking. My flight leaves at 6 am so I have to get up early! I was paying more attention to the length of the flight because I didnt' want long layovers. I hate sitting around in airports! So, after paying so much attention I didn't think much about it. Now I'm thinking about how early I have to get up! I guess tomorrow will be a make-up free day! ha! I think my kitties know I'm leaving. Do you think Mr. Spock looks sad? lol! I'm sure I'll miss them more than they miss me....

I love it that they love to get inside things--boxes, baskets, drawers, lunch boxes, whatever. This was my Easter basket that Pumpkin crawled inside. After I got all the Earth friendly grass out of it, of course! (I left that at Momma's--you can never be too careful with Pumpkin!) This setup was perfect for him--a basket inside a box!

My brother-in-law called us to come look at some stuff in an old, old building. I shouldn't have gone because I have too much stuff and I'm getting ready for my trip, but I couldn't resist! We went on Saturday & we got a really old wooden cabinet that I'll photograph and share pics of later. It cleaned up nicely and I'm already using it in my kitchen! We also got an old saddle, some bottles & jars, rusty ol' junk, old ropes, old screen with wooden frame....probably nothing to most people but we were happy. I don't think my husband really wanted to go, but he was glad we did. It was way back in the woods (I don't know why I didn't take my camera!) and the building was so old. I had to make him leave! lol!

Then Saturday afternoon I saw this dog that someone abandoned or something--my husband had already told me that he saw a dog rolling around in the road that morning. He had to blow the horn to get it to move and had to come to a complete stop. Then we saw it following someone down the road. I think I have seen it before on someone's porch. The next time I drove down the road I got a good look and it was pitiful! Its hair is so matted it has a hump on its back almost as big as its head. It has mats dragging behind it and its filthy. It looked like it couldn't see, but later when I got closer I decided its just because its hair is in its eyes! I walked to the end of the street and no one claimed it so I was going to bring it home, bathe & clip it and see if I couldn't find it a home. It wouldn't follow--it would come smell of my hand, then run. I came back with cat food and that didn't work. (But the neighbor's dog enjoyed those two cans!) Finally some kids in the neighborhood got it to come inside my fence, but it escaped before I made it outside with some water. I emailed and called everyone I could think of. (Except animal control--I wouldn't do that unless I was here to go pick up the dog....) I told the kids up the street that I wanted to cut its hair and give it a bath and maybe someone would adopt it. They said "you want to adopt it??" Like they couldn't believe it....it does look bad but would be really cute. Its white so its really dirty. So if its still here when I get back, that will be my next project, I guess! I reckon I just have too much excitement going on these days!!

Don't forget to be guessing where I've gone until I get back and read my hints for the next few days!! And check out Helena's Spring contest to win a carved bird! I have one of her birds (and I'm getting more too!!) and some other carved stuff by her and they are sooo cool!

http://helenacstudios.typepad.com/snow_pond_primitives/2008/04/a-spring-fling.html

My Easter

I've been tagged again--this time by Lisa of Skunk Hollow Country Store!

So now I'm supposed to tell you 5 things about myself!
1. My favorite food is a fresh tomato sandwich (fresh bread, fresh juicy tomato, mayo and salt--perfection!)
2. When I was little I once wanted to be an airplane pilot
3. I started learning to play the piano in first grade and have a degree in music
4. I have a degree in pschology too
5. I wish I could sing!

Now I'm tagging these people....
De of Bowls-n-Annies
Helena of Snowpond Primitives
Michelle of The Studio at Crow Haven
Linda of Linda's Goodies

So--did y'all have a good Easter? We had a good time! We had lots of food--Potato salad, macaroni casserole, fruit salad, baked ham, slaw, vegetable casserole, hashbrown casserole, rolls, baked beans, chocolate cake, tangerine cake. My sister, Jamie, made the chocolate cake--it was really cute, made to look like a sunflower with chocolate chips in the center and peeps for the petals! I don't know why I didn't know it was a sunflower until she told me--it looks just like one! I believe this is the first year we didn't hunt eggs! I was the only one who colored any to bring to Momma's so we only had 8 eggs. ha! The kids had already hunted them--maybe with a new little one next year we will have an egg hunt! Its always funny too because the dogs find the real eggs and eat them. They have as much fun hunting eggs as we do!

The guy that works for my Daddy has the sweetest dog! His name is Monkey ... or Roscoe . And it looks like he likes getting his picture made too! He is part lab and part mastiff so he is a big dog. I guess he could look scary being so big, but he is a big teddy bear!

Luke needed a ride....

So last Sunday Luke was coming from Georgia to his foster home in Mississippi. He was coming right through Scottsboro, so I had to give him a ride! He was so sweet--he mostly laid in my back seat and slept. A few times he poked his head between the seats so I could rub his head. I was tired after driving about 5 hours, so I know he had to be tired by the time he got to his new home. Hope he got plenty of rest and lovin' when he got there!!

 

It is soooo cold here--its 20 degrees and it even snowed earlier today! So I haven't worked on my studio for a couple of days. I'm ready to get back to work over there as soon as it gets warm enough!!

Dollies have been getting new outfits tonight--I think by next weekend I will start having new patterns ready! Its about time, huh???

Did y'all know I have a new blog? Its www.2friendsblog.com --I started it for our graphics/web design customers to introduce their businesses. We just started, but its fun to look through all the links on there.....

Antique Store Finds

My husband and I decided to go to one of our favorite antique stores....I haven't been in a while and I found some good stuff!! They were having a sale and I even got the dog photo for half price! The other photos weren't on sale so I had to go through my huge stack and put some back. :( By the way--it is really hard to set up a photo of new stuff when you have so many nosy cats trying to see what you've got!!

I wish I could have gotten a better picture of the dog photo I got! I think its a photo, but it could be a print....I have had my eye on it for a while and its going in my studio!

A crown....I had to have that!!

I got these 3 postcards, the Jesus picture and the one on the far right....I loved the look on the woman's face. (Click on the photo to make it larger so you can see...) She is so stern!

This was my best find--the hooked rug in pinks and roses! It has a small hole in the edge that certainly didn't bother me.... I got it for $18! Its big too!

Also got a vintage doll dress with roses, a printed towel, a cross necklace and old bottle. I think all this is going to my studio....

What about my new mantel decoration?????

I have everything painted in my studio bathroom except the door. I'm so excited!! I have to paint some pictures and I'm looking for a cabinet to hang on the wall. I'll get some pictures for you to see soon, even though the decorating is not done. I guess I can move on to the next room while I'm on the look out for things to decorate the bathroom with.

My new doll designs are all painted now--tonight I'll sand them and start staining. None of them have clothes, so that will be the next step. It seems to take so long these days!!

Last night I was in a cooking mood--I'll share my recipes, but if you're on a diet, you won't want to cook any of this!! I brought my recipe box in here so I could share those recipes and it seems to be buried under a huge pile of dolls! So...after I dig it out, I'm going to share my favorite Sweet Potato Casserole recipe and a recipe for Baked Fried Chicken!

I'm still making dolls!!

Well....I thought I should prove to y'all that I haven't stopped making dolls!! Or maybe I'm proving it to myself. It seems like I'm spending more & more time on graphics design and less on everything else! But I have managed to get some new designs started (plus I'm working on one of De's patterns!). So here's a whole pile of dolls I'm working on. I'm just to the good part--putting on the faces and they've been sitting there for days! Strawberry likes it when I stuff the dolls--he always tries to crawl in the box. I really have to watch Elvis around the polyfil--he tries to eat it! Once I had some in my truck and left the windows down....I went to my truck and Elvis popped his head up. He had polyfil hanging out of his mouth and it looked like a white beard!!

I did some paperclay designs too. What do you think of my moon? I am pretty proud of how he turned out! I need a BIG tree for my studio for all these ornaments! If only I had time to get this stuff on my website to sell! I may have to hire someone to do that. I like to do it all myself, but I now have boxes of stuff since I missed my last show. Its kind of hard to hire someone to help you work in the middle of the night. I wonder if I will have to start getting up early like normal people??? lol!! I guess I would have to change out of my pajamas when I get up too, and brush my hair first thing in the morning. Hmmm...I don't know about that!!

Remember a while back I bought a Halloween sweater for Pumpkin? I said that was the last one...but then I saw this hooded sweater with camoflage. So this is the last one...I swear! They really didn't mind--I think Strawberry liked it!

 

I love this picture of Sweet Pea in the hood....I just want to hug him every time I look at this picture!! Too bad the flash makes him squint. I wonder why? My two white kitties are the only ones that do that!

What about this picture...don't you just want to give Pumpkin a smooch?

Awwwwww....

Yesterday I went to see my sister & her dog, Bama. He is so cute & funny! He's pretty wild when she has company though!! He's a boxer...and I love it that his ears aren't cropped! He's so cute that way!

I was just thinking tonight--Humans aren't the only ones who like to spoon...I know for a fact that Mr. Spock & Bilbo enjoy it.

Pit Bulls are gorgeous!

5 days left to enter to win the Valentine ornament. See it on the left?? After you read this post, click on the link on the left to enter!!

Now...Pit Bulls....I think they are gorgeous! And I recently found a website called "The Unexpected Pit Bull" that sells calendars. Go there-- www.theunexpectedpitbull.com --read everything on there....hopefully order a calendar. I just ordered mine! Their mission:

"By illustrating stories of pit bulls sharing their lives with a variety of people and animals, we hope to help inspire a better understanding and appreciation of pit bulls, and combat the negative stereotype held against these dogs."

I wonder what my kitties would think if one of these guys moved in with us?

Doggies found their homes!

Remember the dogs I was going to help transport? I got an update about them and they all found homes! That makes me so happy....

Here they are....how cute they all are. Its no wonder they found homes in a hurry! (You can click the pictures and they will get a little bigger)

   

Here is Boo just before he went to his forever home....

 

And here's Manny...

 

I have to admit, I might have been tempted to bring some home with me! ;) Seriously, I am still up for helping transport some animals when they need me. I have a link to Cheryl's website....maybe you want to volunteer to help out too! Just look at those sweet faces....how in the world could you say no?

Do y'all remember Buddy? I thought I would post a newer picture of him...He has put on weight (but still a little on the lean side) and he seems so happy! And he loves his friend, Blondie!

New Designs in the works....

I am so glad to be back to "work"! I can't wait to start getting some new stuff done! I have so many ideas....it will be a challenge to work on them and my studio at the same time. I wish it was ready to move in, but it will be a while!

I didn't get to transport the doggies today. There were 8 dogs so I was going to take some and another guy take some. Two were adopted, so he just took all 6. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to go, but they got to go and that's what was most important!

I thought I would share another photo....That's me in the middle holding my brother, Jason. My  sisters Ranee' (right) and Lisa (left) on each side of me. (My youngest sister, Jamie, is missing, but that was before her time!) We're in the back yard where I grew up and where my parents still live. Where we had picnics, made mud pizzas and had funerals for Junebugs we found on the ground. Where we chased lightning bugs, ate watermelons until we were sick and played in our playhouse. (I will tell you about me playhouse another time!!) Those trees in the yard behind us are HUGE now! The grapevines are gone and there is a shed on the right now. Past the edge of the yard is where Daddy always had his big ol' garden. I thought it was big, but now he has another big ol' garden on the other side of the house! See that tree in the back on the right? That's where I went to have a picnic with one of my sisters one day. We spread out the quilt and right when she was about to sit down, I saw a snake where she was about to sit!! We were always seeing rattlesnakes there, so I'm sure we thought that was a near death experience!! ha! Way down the dirt road to the right (just out of the picture) was where we had a well house and there was a big wild cherry tree there. Have you ever had wild cherries? They are really good, but so tiny they barely seem worth the time to pick them up!! I just realized that they are about the size of those cherries with a Hi-Ho Cherry-O Game!

It has been fun going through these old photos....I will share more with you later on with some stories that I hope aren't too boring!! Now back to work....working on some projects for Create & Decorate magazine!

Christmas Pooch

My sister bought her fiance this little lab for Christmas....Isn't he the cutest? They named  him Drake!