The Snarkiness lives on!

Random Happy Round Up

It’s Friday again. Time for my weekly happy for The Happy Book Mail Around. The Giggle book is on its way to the second recipient in Montana. Only 2 more to go and I’M NEXT! Yippee!

I’ve been catching up on a lot of different things going on out there that are cause for celebration:

-Terrence Murphy & Elmo: This one is for the dog and kid lovers out there.

-Finished projects: For the great procrastinators…scroll down to the post below. I actually finished these projects. Finished them completely. It may not look like much but for me, a big deal.

-Crystal Caves: This one is for the adventurous. It would be a life altering experience to walk through this cave. I’ve been in caves before, but this is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

-Artfest: For the creative souls out there, here is your chance to attend this amazing event. Free. No, really. Some very generous soul has donated her spot. Some very lucky soul will get it for a hundred words or less.

-Remains of the Day: For the book makers & journal lovers. This is the class for you! I’m saving my pennies because I want to take this class so bad I can taste it. Here are links to some of the student’s finished journals: tatterededge, sabinblog, ginarossiarmfield, magpiejst and tyggereye. These journals just resonate with me. I'm sewing up a storm but I'm not sure it'll be the same without Mary Ann's expert instruction.

Hope you have a happy Friday! Unlike these two. The pathetic looks they can give when they think they are being wronged!

Finished Projects

I finally finished up the few projects I've been working on. Trying to clear the slate so I can begin work on my handmade journal. I've been gathering paper scraps and the sewing machine is at the ready.

Goodbye to Craft Night (but the blog will endure)

Goodbye to an era! Last night was the official end of our weekly "Craft Night" in it's current inception. We've lost too many members within the past year to keep it going. First Casey bailed out on us and then Andrew (both dead to us) and now it's Luke and Erin's turn. The "dead-to-us" list has grown too large to keep track of anymore. So, it was amazing while it lasted. You were such an interesting and fun group; I'll always hold a place in my heart for all of you and our weekly snark and bacon and wine and gross amounts of delicious food (and the occasional craft) fest. Donna, in deference to Luke's bacon addiction, made bacon brownies as a going away present. For real. You can see the bacon sprinkled on top in the photo if you look closely. The recipe also replaced butter with bacon grease. Doesn't that sound so appealing? The carnivores said it was really good. We'll believe them.Journey on to great things my gypsy friends. To all the rest who are still in the area, please stop by the Barking Dog hacienda any time you want to say hello. The door is always open, as long as Max will let you in. Sorry, he's the deciderer, not me.

Floral Globes

A couple of years ago I was given a gift card for my birthday to Barnes & Noble. I had been exclaiming over the book Kaleidoscope: Ideas & Projects to Spark Your Creativity previous to my birthday and my friend thoughtfully purchased a gift card to cover the cost of that book. I got to B&N and had Kaleidoscope in my hand while I wandered around for a bit.

I'll never know for sure if Kaleidoscope would have provided the promised stunning creative revelations because I got really distracted by Floral Origami Globes by Tomoko Fuse. That's the one I ended up purchasing and ran home with. I apologized profusely to my friend for not using the gift card for its intended purpose but she really didn't mind. I never did buy Kaleidoscope.

Here is what Floral Globes has wrought upon my life:The results are gratifying but here's a warning: these are very, very fiddly to make. The origami paper needs to be cut in half (30 times) so you have 60 rectangles. Then they are folded. Then you have to put them together and then interlock them to form the globe. That's when the hair-tearing and crying ensues. Then, after stopping yourself from stomping on it, tearing it to shreds or burning it, bit by bit, in the fireplace, you manage to finagle that last piece in place. The integrity of the whole is amazing when the final piece locks in. It's suddenly a solid little mass where before was chaos and weakness. The result is worth the aggravation.

This book is many variations on a couple of themes but they all end up looking different with creative paper combinations. Tomoko Fuse has some other great books on modular origami. If you like multi-piece origami this is the designer for you. If you want to start off a bit easier try some of the simpler models in Unit Origami or Fabulous Origami Boxes. Not quite so fussy.

Happy Fridays!

OK, so it's really Sunday but we'll climb in a time machine and head all the way back to Friday so I can post my happiness to "The Next Chapter Happy Book Mail Around". I received 2 books in the mail that have made me very happy: Eco Books & Good Mail Day. I started working on a cover for a book made from plastic shopping bags:

I've been gathering scrapbook paper, junk mail and other random scraps of paper so I can make the signatures. I can't wait to have my own made-from-scratch journal. Yippee! That's my Eco Book happiness.

Good Mail Day happiness: I received a handmade card in the mail 2 days after I received Good Mail Day.

Conincidental, yes, but I'll take it as a fortuitous sign that I'll be recieving a lot of mail art. Of course I'll be making mail art so, if I have your address there should be some coming your way. Soonish. Thanks Ali! Mail art went from something abstract to something tangible in my mailbox. Now I can't wait to create some.

j

Last, but not least, on the happiness front:

Bella, who was living at the Rogue Valley Humane Society, went to her new home yesterday. As much as I love the animals there, I'm always so happy to see them go to a real home. The RVHS is a wonderful place with hardworking staff and volunteers and the animals are well cared for but, it isn't the same as living in your own home. When the animals leave forever with a smiling individual or couple or family it makes my day. Goodbye Bella!

Another Plushie

Another project from Plush-O-Rama:

This one is called Batty Cat Bubbles. I had fun with free form sewing on the face and I love his dainty wings on the back.

There's one other pattern in Plush-O-Rama called Onimushi that I want to try. I think that may be the only other one I attempt from this book. Since I'm not great at sewing I have to moved by a pattern to put myself through the aggravation of trying to figure it all out. I don't find the bulk of the patterns in Plush-O-Rama inspiring enough to whip out the needles. That's just my take on this book; if you are a plushie lover and a brave stitcher (experienced) you would probably find this book a lot more inviting.

On another craft topic, I received Eco Books by Terry Taylor (Lark publishing) in the mail yesterday. I'm absolutely mad for it. I really want to make books but I've never tried. The projects in this book are based on materials you can pull out of your recycle bin: gift cards, plastic bags, old mouse pads, egg cartons. My brain is spinning with all the possibilities. I can't wait to dive in.