Susan Boyle's Interview

For those who may be interested, here is Susan's latest interview where she recieves the gift I made for her...I am so happy she got it, and seemed happily amused to get it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CcceeZhEhE






I look forward to her upcoming CD this fall!

What??

(Susan's New Look)

I have to say this week has been one full of surprises for me...I got a call from my mother in law this past Wednesday morning telling me that she had just seen my Susan Boyle miniature I had made in honor of Susan's outstanding accomplishments on a clip of the Today Show. I was shocked because I had no idea that was going to happen!

The full interview was on America's Got Talent that evening.,...and I was so happy that I got to see Meredith Viera give Susan the little miniature and that she looked happily amused by it. I love Susan Boyle, she is a lovely person and I cannot wait until her CD comes out, I will be first in line to get it if I can!

At any rate, I have enjoyed getting to watch Susan become an outstanding success- I just know she will do wonderfully in the months to come. I wish her all the best!!

Queen Mary of Scots

I haven't been on here for quite some time...shameful I reckon...but I guess like some bloggers, I have been busy with so many things, I forgot to post anything here!

Anyway, I got contacted the other day from a lady in the United Kingdom asking me if I could do a Queen Mary of Scots. Of course I could! Now the problem is which portrait did she want me to do it from? Well, I sent her three and she picked my favorite, the one in which Mary wears a red full dress encrusted with jewels and wears a hat tilted to one side with feathers on it..(My husband and I had a debate on that...he insisted that she had little puffy cotton balls on her hat in the portrait, but I insisted they were FEATHERS!-I disagreed and did what I wanted, which was to accent the hat with feathers, what else?

I completed her last night and sent her off across the ocean, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed that particular commission! I love to do something that proposes challenge...which may explain why I had four kids.....

It's Done!

Well, after 2 weeks of hard labor, hubby got the big doghouse done. He has never made one before, and I have to say, when I saw him building it in the garage, I wondered how we would EVER get it to the back yard. His solution was that all of us as a family- he, I, and the four teens we have- were going to use our mammoth strength to carry it back there. Umm, right...

Well, it didn't happen because after he finished it, he realized it was too heavy for even 6 people to carry between them. How did he do it? He and our strapping teen son rolled it back there a bit at time...go figure...I thought for sure it would fall apart, but I guess it was built way too strong and solid to do that.

Now, the dog is befuddled. He has this fabulous "mansion" and he isn't quite sure what to make of it. I don't think he realizes it is for him. I tried crawling in there and he came in for 3 seconds the first time...the second time he came to the door and looked in at me like I was a kook, then turned around and left. ( I guess I am a kook..but that's another story)....

Well, I will keep trying to convince him it is his. I sat in there today and it was so roomy that I pondered the personal use I could get out of the doghouse. It would be a good place to hide when the in-laws visit...or when I don't want to clean out the fridge... we'll see...

In the Doghouse...

We have a family mutt...he is a Humane Society special and we have had him for 8 years, since he was a pup. Buck is his name and he is part Husky and Terrier mix.

He is what you call an outdoor dog. He doesn't like staying indoors, especially during the winter- mostly because he has a fur on him so thick that you can't hardly bathe him. He knows what you mean when you say "snack", "squirrel", "kitty cat", and "go for a walk"....and he knows "sit", "stay", "lay down", "speak", "roll over", "high five", and "shake". If only I could train him to follow, "do laundry "...

My husband tries to pretend he isn't real fond of Buck...but I secretly think he is. Out of the blue a week ago, husband decided he is going to build Buck a new doghouse. The old one is a simple plastic thing he's had for years. My husband is a lot like Tim the Tool Man Taylor in Home Improvement...he does things in a BIG way.

He went to the hardware store and began off the cuff designing a dog house. This doghouse is going to be so big, I dare say husband and I could both fit in it together...not a bad idea if we need to escape from our four teens in the house...

It will have wood slatted boards covering on the outside, tiles on the roof, a built in dog house heater for the winter, a swinging door , and even a mini porch roof to insure the elements won't get in. I think when he gets it done, the neighbors are going to think my mother in law is moving in it because it almost looks like an in-law quarters...eeek!

When it is fully done, it will be stained nicely and will most likely look like a wooden cottage...I may even go in it occasionally to read a book in peace...who knows? Finished pictures to come when the finished product is outside and ready, so stay tuned! :)

In Honor of Father's Day...

" He who is taught to live upon little owes more to his father's wisdom than he who has a great deal left him does to his father's care"- William Penn



I know not everyone has had a great father, and for that I am very saddened. I was fortunate to have been blessed with a terrific father, and for that I am truly thankful.

I can remember my dad coming home from work, (he worked at Chrysler). and he'd always wear these pocket T-shirts. When he'd come home, I'd often run to greet him at the door and he'd swoop me up and I'd hug him...while sneakily reaching down into his t-shirt pocket...where I knew he always carried a packet of Doublemint gum.

Dad never had a lot of money, but he made sure we had the most important things, like any kind of ice cream or special treat when we were sick... He'd take us as a family to church, and when we three siblings were young- up until our mid teen years- we sang gospel songs together at nursing homes. I think that is one reason today I am so fond of the elderly!

Dad always took us to lots of places for fun, but they weren't costly, he didn't have that kind of money. He and mom would pile us up in the pick up truck and we'd go to a school playground and have fun on the swings, or go to a park and play there. One of my favorite places was the A and W root beer stand- That is the only way I will drink root beer to this day, in a frosted mug at a stand. (Odd, huh?)

I can remember my teen years and going on dates...and going out the door one evening and having him say, "Better button that shirt up a few more ." Ok, Dad, I will...even though it was already up my neck as it was! :) Or the time a guy I dated hurt my feelings really badly and unbeknownst to me, Dad took him aside and had a "talk": with him. My Dad was and is a gentle spoken man , but whatever he said, that was the end of dating that guy! :)He told me before I got married that no dad really ever thinks the man his daughter marries is good enough for her. (I like to tell that one to my husband every once in awhile to tease him...

I want to say I am glad Dad has passed on to me is his sense of humor, and the importance of having a deep faith in God. My Dad jokes, teases, and laughs quite often. Not everyone appreciates humor, but I can relate to that too! I would rather laugh then cry or be crabby any day!

So, happy Father's Day to all, especially you Dad, and thanks for raising me to have fun in life! I am grateful! :)

What I Do When Creating...

Do you ever wonder what other artists are doing when they're working on a new and creative project? What kind of music are they listening to? Do they watch television? Do they sit silently working? Are they sitting in a studio throwing scraps of material everywhere, or spilling paint on their clothes?

Well, here's what you will find me doing...Sitting at a large table by a picture window at the front of our house, my "studio" so to speak. You will see boxes of supplies sorted in various corners, and scads of fabric tucked in plastic bags in those containers...sorted by type of fabric. If you look under the chair where I sit, you will find a million bits and pieces of fabric, ribbon, that bit of trim I accidently dropped but didn't bother to pick up yet because I was waiting to drop more things to make it worth my while to bend over and pick up several things at once. (Sorry about that run on sentence!)

I also keep the curtains open so I can watch the neighbors, what few we have in the middle of cornfields, and see the storms playing themselves out on the unbroken horizon, or the sunsets...(I don't do sunrises, too hard to get up!)

The biggest thing I do though, while doing my art work is that I have to have noise. I know, you are thinking, "If she has four teenagers at home, why would she want more noise to do her work?" Working in silence is not my thing. Not any noise will do though. I have certain kinds of music I listen to...like Paul Potts, Andrea Bocelli, and some gospel music. But, the biggest thing I do, is watch dvds of old t.v. shows and movies. I watch dvds of shows like- I Love Lucy, Waltons, The Andy Griffith Show, Little House on the Prairie, and ( ok, this may be weird)... but I watch The Three Stooges occasionally too.

And yes, you will most likely find paint, clay, and bits of thread all over my clothes...I have a work apron if I could just remember to put it on once in a while...

So there you have it, a little peek into what I do and where I am at when I am making my art. I always think it is interesting and a bit insightful to hear of how others do their crafting and designing a project.

Where and what do you do when you are creating???