ta da!!!! It took 3 days and a lot of hard work... and a LOT of rearranging ,, but my art studio got a good cleaning... I took this picture an hour ago... it isn't this clean anymore!!! .. but I am on to the next project.

This is part of the town of 24 little buildings... they are an advent 'calendar' .. The numbers are on the back side... if you go to my etsy store.. you will find them there!!.. This is one thing I have been busy with.

you can always teach an old dog a new trick

I have done artwork my WHOLE life... I have spent a lot of money on art supplies... but never on REAL GOOD markers... I am in the middle of a project and needed some additional marker colors... so I bought some GOOD markers.. just a few.. some colors I didn't have in my 'not so good ' set of markers.... OH MY!! what a difference good supplies make..... There was NO WAY i could go back to my 'not so good' markers... so I invested in some good markers and wow, wow, wow... soon you will see them on etsy!!

beautiful indeed

wow! what beauty is all around us

promises , promises!!!

soon.... something new will be coming soon!!! I have something for Christmas that will be put on Etsy... I love them . hope you will too.

dreams, castles, and lofty thinking

Good morning.. Isn't this castle pretty... I don't think I ever showed it to you!!.. I designed it... stuck it in a box and basically forgot about it. I so wish I could design more of these.. I thought it would make a pretty wedding centerpiece. and I guess I still think that!!! Anyway I am just enjoying showing it off. Since I know you are all waiting for news of my 'project' and I don't have anything to say about that one yet!.. I almost put up a picture of snow .. I am waiting very impatiently for some more of the white stuff. Today I am off to the north country where it is raining and too warm to turn into snow, but I still enjoy my journeys north. So have a great wonderful, marvelous, fantastic day ... and maybe ,, just maybe my project will soon appear on these 'hallowed walls!!'.

Beauty in the eyes of the beholder

Sometimes right outside your very own back door there is great beauty. This little shot of color is something I walk by every time I walk to the garage.

more kids

All ready to go to church. Aren't these kids the cutest ever?

kids , kids, kids

don't ya just love fall? Here is just a sample of our weekend with our grandkids. We went to a fun pumpkin patch and the two oldest picked out their own pumpkins... I think it was more fun for grandma and grandpa then it was the kids!! But they loved all the other stuff the pmpkin patch had.

TWO MONTHS!!!

I can not believe that I havent done this for two months... where did those months go?? .. well, actually I know.. I was in the car.. yep. Here ,,,,, Theree,,,,, EVERYWHERE!!.. it is good to be home. And back working on a project which soon will be posted and shown off and exclaimed and bragged about and announced and exalted and shouted about and hailed and attract attention in everyother way I can think of!!
I am going to have to have my hubby teach me how to use my drawing pad so I can put some drawings on this 'thing' ... I 'talk' much better when I can draw out all my 'thought's... sometimes writing words just doesnt do it for me!!

little buildings again

Yep,,, I am at it again!! This time it is a place of business.
The inspiration came from a building in Stillwater MN. I am thrilled to have figured out how to make the two story building with the doorway in an alcove. So I am ready to try another one. What do you think of this one?

soon a small little building will appear on the horizon of this blog.. watch for it...

not just another day

Saturday morning we woke up and once again I was having a bit of a problem with something that was in the air.. ( allergy of some kind).. so we took a not so wonderful problem and decided to make a wonderful day out of it.. We drove up to Duluth

found a hiking trail in the city that we did not know about

and was beautiful.. drove to Two Harbors and was just in time to see a sailboat race come into the harbor.. what a treat. Then we headed back to our neck of the woods and met with some people we have known for a long time that were having a family reunion and had invited us for the evening. It was a wonderful visit!! so a day that could have been not so great was indeed wonderful... sometimes it is all in what you do and how you do it!!!

families of all kinds

Here is one family.. or should I say part of a family? The brothers and sisters with one small daughter on the side. Years pass, people change but family will always be family... I love how you can tell every one of these "kids" come from the same 'place'!!! Look at the eyes..

July is flying by

wow,, it has been a long time since I 'said' anything!!.. guess the weeks have been busy.. however there is nothing to show you because everything I have done is gone... yep.. no longer in my world. One of the things I did was to sew Barbie doll clothes galore!! .. I really enjoy doing that .. only problem is I didnt get any pictures of the pile to show you. Off it all went to two little nieces who were on their way to Japan. The other really neat thing I did was to take a part an old letterman jacket and make two American Girl doll letterman jackets out of it .. However those too are on their way to Japan with the same two little girls. They were a challenge as that fabric is THICK!!.. I have been working at a scrapbooking store.. which I love to do . Creating pages is always fun, and I really enjoy the customers... most of the time!! I also went to my Dad's house and did a big cleaning and then my sister and brother came out and we watched two buildings on Dad's farm be torn down and of course did some of the clean up. It has been a busy July and it isn't going to slow down. This week I am off to help my sister take care of yet another young niece!!! This time it will be kite flying and bike riding and movie watching with a little scrapbooking thrown in... and so it goes.

Black Forest

My latest little house box. I am so excited I figured out a new way to close the roof that lets me add trim to the edge of the roof. Wouldn't it be fun to get some wonderful chocolate inside this tiny charmer?

sunday afternoon

It is a little hard to see but look behind the trailer at the leaning tree.. we drove in after church and everything was normal... George went out 15 min later and found a tree broke off... right on the driveway.. so he had to finish getting it down before it hit a pick up and then proceeded to cut it out for firewood.. just a nice sunday afternoon nap!!!

Three men and a car

Here is the object of my affection.. This beauty of a car got loaded on a slightly too small trailer and moved .. It was a total miracle!!

saturday when it was really hot

Is this not the cutiest car ever?? .. it was the object of a very busy afternoon.. getting it loaded to go to it's new home

just for fun

La French

Last fall my sister in law gave me a doll... she knows I like old things, dolls, tiny things etc.. and every once in a while we find things for each other!! She surprized me one Sunday afternoon with a doll she had found at a garage sale.. So today , since I kind of have to stay indoors I thought I would put together a picture for her and write a thank you to her.. thought you would enjoy seeing my little 'french' setting also!!

I feel silly,, but just have to say .. thank you to those of you who have left a comment or two.. It truly does make a 'blogger' feel like she is really 'there' !!!! and now forward ho.. on to the day at hand.. It shall be grand!!!

morning thoughts

time with the grandkids is the sweetest time of all.

I have been tagged

I am a real blogger!!! I have been tagged!! .. which is the reason I think I am a real blogger.. of course that doesn't mean anyone really reads 'me'... but it gives me hope!!!
Ok.... 6 unimportant things that make me happy
1. very white , very smooth paper- I laughed when I read Gianna's thing about a good pen .. I have that 'thing' also.. but the paper comes first with me!!
2. a kitchen counter that is not full of 'stuff'.
3. clean bed sheets.
4. a really good story book!!
5. finding something at a junk store that makes my heart sing.
6. a loon song early in the morning
and I have add one more.. the look on my grand kids face when they see me drive into their driveway!!!
course that one is IMPORTANT!! so it doesnt really fit the '6 things' list.
and now I must go out and check on the garden planting that is being done... someone is outside with the bugs and no breeze while I sit here enjoying a breeze from a fan !!

more little boxes

Don't have a clue why I like little boxes so much .. seems I like really big things and really small things... none of this inbetween stuff for me!!.. So here is the lastest small thing.. this box is 2 inches by 2 inches by 2 inches. I love how the dragonflies and butterfly dance above the box...

just so you know... I know that my pictures are a bit blurry and I don't know why.. maybe my camera isnt set right for tiny little close ups... have to ask someone.

change and challange

Today I am working on a challange.. to turn an ordinary garage into a bedroom!! Six men will be sharing this interesting bedroom for a couple of nights... so I have been trying to find beds and lamps and other things... Its been fun. So far I have two beds set up.... another one that will be set up soon ... its a blow up bed and then the hard one .. but also the most comfortable.. the queen size will happen when my hubby gets home from work. I SOOO wish I had a larger house or even another building .. one that isnt a garage!!! .. Maybe soon.

And Then Again

I got new batteries and I think I got a pretty good picture!!.. Here is one of the cottages with a different look .. Same pattern as one of the other brighter ones.. just used different colored cardstock and chalk. what do you think?

open your eyes

We are in Duluth often . We have driven by this often . It is a water fountain. I have seen it often. Saturday I finally really SAW it. We went for a walk in an area we usually just drive in and we walked by this. George said.. " that is the two shores" ... WHAT ... It is so cool and beautiful and I NEVER knew that it was the two shores of the lake. South shore and the north shore.. We have driven the north shore so many times I have lost count . We just drove the south shore a couple of weeks ago. This is a wonderful way to 'see' the shores!.There is always a new way to look at something.

Finally!

It took me longer then a month to get these done. And just a few minutes ago the battery on my camera gave out.. I was lucky to get one picture good enough to post!! As soon as I find some batteries and take a few more pictures these will be on my Etsy store. These are tiny house boxes. They are just big enough for one chocolate truffle or other small candy or a very special piece of jewelry. I also think they would make wonderful favor boxes for a party or a wedding.. They can be made in any color.. and as soon as I get batteries I will show you what one of the houses looks like in autumn colors!!

Little Things

This is what I did last night.. I made a couple of little boxes and then put little gardens on the top. It was so fun to find another way to use all the tiny stuff that I seem to collect. I love the little envelope holder.. but discovered that I have to fit the envelope in BEFORE I glue it to the garden! and I also discovered that you have to see the little pink elephants legs or he looks like a little blob! I used my new light tent.. but as you can see I have a lot to learn.. I was in too much of a hurry to drape the background and I dont have it on a table yet so the lights were not in the right spot. I was doing this on the floor and didnt do a very good job of getting great pictures... It will get better!!

sometimes a song sticks in my head

This isn't the greatest picture but I am so thrilled about how it turned out.. This little project was on my list today also.. Brown paper packages tied up with string... I have just bought a huge amount of red and white string and wanted a really fun way to use it... I covered a box with brown paper.... made the old fashion package handle and figured out how to tie the string so I could use the handle!! Simple but so cute!! I love it.

Garden House Number Two

Well, I got the next project done!!!.. Hey this focus stuff really works.. This little garden house is 4 inches by 4 inches. and it is a little box.. What am I going to do with it you ask??? well,, I have already given one away with garden soap in .. It would work for seed packets, or small bottles of bug off spray. I wish I could find candy the shape of flowers.. that would be fun to put on someones desk! I guess I am on to the next project !!

Projects, projects, projects

Ok,, I am one of those people who have at least 3 projects going at a time.. well, come to think of it I ready have 4 going right now.. yikes.. This is not always a good idea!!.. anyway.. here is another project started and not quite done.. The reason I am posting this is so I HAVE TO finish it so you can see what it looks like when I get it done!!!.. The other 2 projects will just have to wait! Maybe this 'focus' thing is a good thing!!!

This is the beginning

With 3 small grand kids this deck wasnt going to work this summer. So yesterday morning I decided it needed to be changed. I had an idea just didnt know if it was going to work. But I think it did!!

The middle

This is how far I got last night.. I sat and enjoyed the cool evening air ,, getting ready for the next project.

The End of this project

This morning I finished putting the finishing touches in place. We do have a gate ready to put into place also. It is an old garden gate and I think it will look great.

This little guy has a birthday coming up . There is nothing sweeter to this grandma then this smile!. Being happy comes from the inside out and he is a true picture of 'happy'. Life is so good when you see your grandchildren growing up with this much joy in their eyes.

the power of nature

There is something about sitting and watching the power of God. Every single wave is different. Every single splash is different and yet they are all alike! I love watching the droplets fall and trying to see how they are shaped as they are falling. Another amazing thing is the color of the water as it raises to crash. It is an aquamarine blue. The only other time you get to see that color is when the lake has frozen and the ice has been blown up into mounds of ice chunks. It's like seeing a wave frozen in time in a impressionist style. How can anyone not be amazed at the glory of this power and beauty. We are off to see more of this today.. Give us a wind of 35 -40 miles an hour and we can NOT stay away from the 'lake'!!..

it is sunday

I've been walking around outside today. Something I could not have done last year at this time. I feel so very blessed. I am home.. after 3 years of suffering and feeling miserable this is pure joy. Even if all I see outside is work to be done. I am so thrilled I feel like doing it. Every single building needs tender loving care. Paint, stain, clean up , fix up, on and on. But I don't care. I am so excited to be able to do it that to me it is a joy. I look outside and see possiblities not work. I see flowers blooming, and a stack of wood ready for the winter months. I see 'home' !!

adding a picture

Ok,,, I tried ,, I really truly tried.. but I can't remember how to do a couple of steps in putting a picture on.. So .. I have relearn.. forgive me!! but there is so much to see .. so I will wait and share more later.

another family meeting... was great.... and I am so glad we went .. some of my favorite people are my rellys!!! who ever ... I am glad I don't have to get in the car tomorrow!!! over 400 miles in two days is enough drivingl... to visit and back again..now if I was going somewhere. that wouldnt be a big thing!! But I keep coming back to the same place!! albeit a wonderful place called home!!! oh it is so good to be home.. have all my own 'stuff' and feel great... the simple joys of life.. and now on to a really great week..

this is just a tiny sample of how the French family 'does ' hospital visits. It looks more like a party then a hospital visit!! someone remembers food... someone remembers that we have to sing a few songs.... someone remembers a story from long a go that makes everyone laugh and someone remembers to take care of the patient!!! Here are three sisters.. out of the picture is one more sister and brother and a few scattered in laws and of course the patient!!!

WE all remember how when the mom of the bunch was in the hospital.. and we would all come visit it was not unusual to be told to quiet down or could we please move the party to the waiting room?? Yep,,, the French gang knows how to 'do' a hospital visit up right!!! P.S. the patient sleeps very good and gets well fast once we all leave!!!

on the homefront

felt like summer,,,, had the doors open.......sun was shining...... feeling so good ..... am so happy!!! That just about says it all !!

tiny houses

why do I love little houses... don't have a clue ,but since hubby is watching golf( HOW CAN ANYONE WATCH GOLF) it is a good time to work on little houses for etsy...

Hi,,, Easter Sunday.. it has been a long while since I have done a huge Easter dinner and today I have missed it. Church was great. Music was great... just miss some of the things I used to do in the past.. This is a very good thing as it means I am feeling good... unlike my hubby .... strep.... and he rarely gets sick. It has been a very quiet weekend.... in fact one in which I have watched way too many DVD's!!! but it has been nice to just sit with him.

sunshine , lollypops and no rainboows

Yep,, sunshine,, nice,,, really nice.. Lollypops just cause its a fun word and I like fun words. and no rain.. so no rainboows!!! sometime when life goes along at a really nice pace -life is good.. Nothing fantastic has to happen .. unless you call acutally getting some sewing done as fanstatic,, which I do,,,,,,,,,,, but all is well with the world and that is just plain NICE!!

the picture was worth a thousand words

but I choose to clean everything up before I talked about it!! YEP the house was a mess.. I ran away from it yesterday.. but couldn't today cause I really have to do some sewing at that means working in a clean house or a messy house.. and a messy house it awful to work in .. so I have picked up over half of the house and am aiming for the next part.. but just had to sit and 'play ' a little bit. Have to see what the rest of the world is thinking today.. I am so thrilled . WE have sunshine. I think it has been over 2 or 3 weeks since we have seen the sun so it is a BIG deal. Well,,,,,,,, the sewing isn't getting done sitting here either.. so see you soon....

good morning. I should be doing something other then surfing the net but that is what I am doing. I have a long list of 'to do's and thats Ok.. but I just wanted to stop by and say HI.. hope your day goes well, hope you get to giggle or smile or even laugh a little and hope your world is OK.

Oh what a beautiful morning....

oh, what a beautiful day.... We just had a few really nice days. Spent in one of our favorite places.. North Dakota. We saw sunrises and sunsets.. something that you don't see living in the middle of trees. We watched the springtime happenings in a small town with a important river. We did really simple things that replenish the soul. It felt wonderful. And now we are ready to dig into life again and do something worthwhile doing.... it doesn't matter if they are big or little things, everything is worth doing when you do it with your whole heart. So since we just soaked up the western world... Forward Ho!!!

Time to go make a tiny little fairy house... make sure you check in the next couple of days.. I think it will show up on Etsy also.

There is nothing better then to get a phone call from your 2 year old grandchild - who just wanted to talk to Grandma!! ... Even if all you can understand is about 3 words. It makes you want to reach through the phone and give her a hug!! And then when the three year old gets on the phone and says... " I haven't seen you in such a long time. I want to come visit ." .. It makes your day ,,, NO MATTER what else is happening in your life!!Being a Grandma is the greatest gift I will ever get..... Oh.. maybe having my own two kids was pretty terrific too!!!

Miss Mouse is on her way to the Etsy store also. She has brought her friend Miss Gray Mouse!! These are little boxes , They will hold small toys or candy.

I just had a thought ,,,,,, would it be fun to put some earrings on her?!!!

Little hen is on her way to the Etsy store along with her friend Miss Mouse. Little hen looks great when she is done in pastel colors too!!

zing? haven't even had a ping!!

Yep ,, you read that right.. life has not been too full of zings lately. More like, a plop here and there.. it's called having a cold and sleeping a lot.. so hopefully I will be back zinging things soon!!

I wanted to find something fun to take a picture of and add to this post.... so I was looking around my art studio and realized that I no longer have my favorite thing around.. in fact I dont have a clue as to where it is! A long time a go my daughter came home with a small bouquet of button flowers she had made... I think she was in high school ! I have loved those flowers ever since and I must have packed them as we thought we would be moving .. then we decided to stay and I totally redid my art area and somewhere along the line I have lost track of those flowers.. I know they have to be somewhere ,,, the question is.... WHERE??? I am so sad ):... so when it warms up I will have to go on a search for them out in the storage house. In the meantime I will have to put up with the tiny button flowers I made from buttons I got from the thrift shop this week... but they have none of the special zing that my other bouquet has.... rats..and thus ends my post on taking a picture of something fun! P.S. I will get better at taking pictures... I have a plan!

Just had to show you the rose that my husband came home with for valentines day. He is one of those men who remembers to bring home flowers every once in a while and he loves to find something a little different. Isn't this a beautiful rose?

THIS IS THE TALE OF TWO BOXES. Yes, this is a box. They are both made from the same pattern. I just changed colors and trims.

We actually went back to Winterset ,Iowa and finished checking out all the stores and had lunch at a real old-fashioned lunch counter in a drug store. Then on to DesMoines .. We missed a few things.. so I guess we will just have to go back sometime. But for now we have had a little adventure. Who knows another one might be just around the corner.

Here is a stop in Kansas City. We found the famous Curious Sofa store and really enjoyed it. We found lots of other stuff too ,,, in fact a store called 'Stuff' !! However anyone who knows us knows we move fast, by 3pm we were ready for another adventure. We had seen all of Kansas City!!( not really but it was time for us to move on.) So we did!!

Our first real stop was at Madison Co in Iowa... neither one of us knew much about the book or movie.. in fact I am not sure we have even seen the movie!.. but it was so much fun to find the bridges ,, climb out of a really warm car and take pictures out in really cold weather of some incrediable 'buildings' . We also had a lot of fun talking to the ladies at the county information center. We still didnt have a map . We just saw a small sign and decided to turn off the freeway and see what we could see.

here she is!! the first stop on any trip must be the bank for money and the coffee shop. And that is just what we did! At this point she didnt have a clue as to where we were going! However it doesnt take much figuring out when you turn south on 35 and you know its going to be a 6 hour ride. She figured it out . Kansas City here we come. It is important to celebrate life and that is exactly what we were doing. A Birthday was coming up and this was the best way to celebrate it.. The funniest part was I didn't even have a map with!.. We got to the middle of Iowa and I really wanted to know how much farther it was... We stopped at an Iowa information center and was very glad they also had a Missouri map!!!

Your life is not complete till you hear your husband singing and playing guitar downstairs as you are working at your desk.. and the best part is the song he is singing!! Have you ever heard the song " I 'm my own grandpa?' . For the French gang it brings back many memories. And now I am hearing " Sweet Violets"! another one of those memory songs. I ran down and asked why he was playing and singing... ( it had been a long while since he had pulled out the guitar) his answer was ... it was sitting there!!.. I had moved it 6 inches earlier in the day!!! maybe that is all it takes. Move something in your life and bring about a whole new change!!!!.

I have had so much fun this week creating something new. I call them my Egg Huggs... have you hugged your egg today??? I have 6 designs... lamb, chick, duck,pig, bunny, and elephant... And now I am on to another project... Really cool boxes for easter~!!! Seems I love to cut paper!! ... Oh that reminds me I am now really and truly published.. I have one of my projects published in a book that is put out by Bluegrass Publishing.. Its the Diva book. It is such a nice feeling to see something in print... Look for the Egg Huggs coming soon to a computer store near you!! More later.

This is how we spent our Sunday afternoon.....It was cool more ways then one!!

last week I had a moment of inspiration. I finally figured out a way to make icicles that looked the way I wanted them too!. I like the vintage look even though they are 'modern' colors.