December 27, 2007

December 27, 2007, originally uploaded by Crazyquilter.

I saw a journal page of IHanna's and sketched my version of her girl. After sketching, I went upstairs to add the black watercolor and red lips. I originally got the mouth too high. That's why she looks like she has a five o'clock shadow above her lip.

The candy canes came from the bags our pharmacy was using during the holiday season. I have some labels that I got somewhere that worked great for the journaling here.

A long dry spell

2007-12-26, originally uploaded by Crazyquilter.

Early December was really not very productive for me as far as creative endevors go. Between a rotten cold and the disk in my neck, I felt fortunate to do what I had to do. There was no energy left for anything else. I can go just so long though before I start feeling a need to do something creative. Fortunately journal pages fill the need. I still can't look down for the length of time I'd need to knit or sew something.

I did help my granddaughter make a felt jacket for her Sheep today. We both had fun. I placed the needle and held the felt and she pushed and pulled it through. At four she loves to paint, stamp and anything else creative.

Christmas Journal

2007-12-25, originally uploaded by Crazyquilter.

I was wanting to journal Christmas Day evening, but it was late and I didn't want to drag out the paint and prep the page. I pulled some wrapping paper out of the trash and glued it down and journaled on the white parts of the snowmen and the red tissue. Then I glued strips of green copy paper over the dictionary page and wrote there too. The Wal-mart sticker was laying in the bathroom magazine basket. I like it because it reminds me that it was sunny Christmas day after several days of clouds. This probably isn't my most artistic journal spread, but it was very satisfying to do and I'm sure will bring back memories when I look at it.

Early December pages

2007-12-04, originally uploaded by Crazyquilter.

I actually did a Christmas page yesterday, but I didn't get it photographed today. My sweet grandgirls came over and I played with them instead. I thought I'd put up the few pages that I got done during my blogging moratorium. Maybe tomorrow I'll take some pictures and put up the new spread.

Victorian Scrap Ornament

Victorian Scrap Ornament, originally uploaded by Crazyquilter.

I think I'm going to like this blogging from flickr. I am enjoying my Christmas tree and wanted to share it more. I've been off blogging so long that I have no idea if anyone is still reading. Just in case you'd like to make this ornament or a similar one. I printed the angel from the internet on stiff paper. Then I made an oval from wire that I had strung beads on. I wrapped gold thread around it and tucked in the angel. A bit of gold tinsel garland finished it off.

Merry Christmas

Christmas ornaments, originally uploaded by Crazyquilter.

It's starting to look more like Christmas around here. We got the tree up last week, but it took that long to fully decorate it. I've been having problems with my neck. I have a new empathy for people with back and neck pain. I'm on vacation until January second, so hopefully the rest will help.

I've been a bad journaler and a worse blogger lately. Maybe discovering this nifty way to blog from Flickr will help with the blogging anyway. I find it easier to post pictures to flickr by far than to post to the blog. Doing both, with my ancient computer and dial-up internet is torture. I just put several close-ups of my ornaments up at flickr if anyone is interested in seeing them. Several are hand made and I included instructions for a few of them.

My mom made the egg in this picture by crocheting a cover for it. The eggs were blown and painted gold. I made the two embroidered ornaments several years ago. I suddenly got tired of my old seventies homespun tree and wanted a Victorian one.

The gold walnut I carefully cracked, glued a wire inside for a hanger, glued it back together and spray painted gold. I made a dozen of them, but I had to crack a lot of nuts to get that many without breaking them to bits.