Hurricane? In Connecticut?

I knew there was a reason I don't normally watch the news. Dan Malloy (our governor) just came on to address the state about the impending weather conditions we will have this weekend and he's got me all freaked out now... Highways might close, we might lose power for days or weeks, and significant tree damage could occur. Oh, by the way, I live in the middle of the woods down a half mile dirt road. So yeah, now I feel like one of those people I usually kind of snicker at that runs to the store to buy tons of water and batteries. It seems pretty legitimate this time. So scary... I hope it just turns out to be a bad thunderstorm or something.

I mentioned that I had started a new doll in my last post, but I haven't done any more work to her, so I'll just post my little Annie as she is at the moment.

She's the first doll I've had enough fabric scraps to stuff with, so she's much heavier and more comfortable than any of the others I've made. I love her. I have plans for something else to put in her apron pocket, but I still want to do a little more... I'm just not sure what.

Anyways, I hope everyone else affected by Irene will be safe and well stocked. Get your pretty prim candles ready and take care of yourself and your family. Take care and stay safe, everyone. See you again soon.

My new acorns!

I had quite a bit of fun seeing these little guys come into shape. I didn't use a pattern, but I got the idea from Paxton Valley Folk Art's acorn pattern. I used burlap instead of muslin, and I didn't stain them. I might make more, I haven't decided yet. It seems like the more there are, the cuter they collectively become. :)

I don't really have much else to type about that I didn't say yesterday. I gave my blog a much needed revamping and did a little cleaning of my following list. The day I made this, I literally started following like 114 different pages, so I had no idea who was who. I think I'm down to about 70 now, which is still a lot, but they all stood out to me for one reason or another. A lot of the ones I cut out were deleted pages or MIA people (like I usually am...) that haven't posted in forever. I do love finding new exciting blogs to follow, though!

Anywho, I should get to bed or at least consider it. I hope you're all doing well!

It's almost that time again...

Soon, we'll be reaching for our favorite sweaters and smelling that beautiful familiar scent in the air as the leaves crunch beneath our shoes... I simply cannot wait. <3

Yes, I do still exist, and I do apologize for being absent pretty much since last fall/winter. I wonder if I'm just a seasonal blogger/crafter, heh. I did finally finish (I think) the turkey that Ma kept asking me about last year, albeit very late (or early?). Anyways, meet Gobbler, the fluffiest turkey you've ever known.

I'm still debating on whether or not to give him eyes. I'm afraid if I do, it'll make him goofy looking. I kind of like the vibe without eyes, but I haven't decided yet.

Just to give an update in case anyone was following me and read about the job I was excited about last winter... I left the job in the beginning of June because I simply couldn't deal with commission pay. At this point in my life, that career choice simply was not realistic. So I have been looking for something else since then. Several rejection letters and a whole lot of discouragement later, I'm still hoping. I was trying for the big insurance companies in Hartford, since it's the insurance capital of the world, but at this point, I just need SOMETHING. I'm slipping into credit card debt just paying my regular bills, and feel terrible for relying on my grandmother again. I'm even selling a bunch of my old clothes on ebay just to get a few bucks to put towards my card. But hey, as my grandmother says, "This too shall pass." She's very good to me. I wish it didn't take me until my adult years to finally appreciate her the way I do. Silly teenage angst.

Anywho, I hope you're all doing well. I see I lost a few of you in my hiatus, including Gina (sadface), but hopefully I will get myself to do a bit of crafting and blogging more often soon. I do check in from time to time, and I was so happy to see autumn prims popping up in your blogs even months ago, haha.

Enjoy these summer days. We'll be missing them when we're shoveling snow.

A basket of cute.

I took my new babes out of the window this morning and tried to place them somewhere they'd be comfortable. I'm not too crazy about the basket they're in, but for now, it'll do until I get something more suitable. Yay!

I'm baaaaaaack! :D

FINALLY, I got ahold of a new sewing machine (and I mean NEW - it was still in the foam stuff in the box). I was checking Craigslist last night for nearby tag sales this weekend and someone had listed a sewing machine in East Hartford. I woke up at 6am to get ready and drive out there for that baby and it was only $20! Sooooo goooood! I'm still getting used to it, but hey, it's doing what I need it to do (with or without me cussing at it for eating my thread all the time). And the picture above is a sneak peak of what I've completed tonight since being home from tag saling. I also finished up the stockings I had just barely started when my old machine bit the dust. So cute!

This is from a Tennessee Ridge Primitives pattern. The tags spell out "Old Witch". I know the stuffing is pretty pathetic right now because I don't have any Sweet Annie, but I will fill these puppies up some day, haha.

I also just won an auction for all of Tennesee Ridge Primitives' fall and Halloween patterns yesterday, so I'll have all sorts of goodies to keep me busy when I'm not in class. :D

I feel so much better now that I have the ability to craft again. Minutes turn into hours when I start making something, and I absolutely love being able to just improvise when I can't think of what to put where. Like the pumpkin's nose tonight. I knew I wanted a nose for him, I just had no idea what. Then I went to put the rusty bells on him and the kitty and it dawned on me, BELL NOSE! I love it, haha.

Anyways, it's been an 18 hour day of awesome, and I'm about to crash face first on my keyboard. I'm glad I could spend my last day off before classes the way I did. Thanks for stopping in and happy sewing. :]

Blogger noob.

I mainly made this for my art stuff and to be able to type more than is appropriate for a Facebook status (although I know several people who annoyingly post essays on a regular basis). I'll start by posting what I've made thus far. I've only been making prims and sewing in general for maybe a month tops, so it's not amazing yet, but I enjoy what I do (a lot), which is what matters to me right now.

I'll start off with the little guy I made before I had a sewing machine when I was just dying to see what awesome little creation I could use cheesecloth for. This is Spooks.

I added the hat because I didn't like the shape of his head. It was too round and person-like.

Next, upon the purchase of a sewing machine, I made Lily Anne and her little kitty Salem. I was going to leave her without hair, but she looked too weird without it, so I finally caved in and attempted to attach some yarn at the risk of making her look even worse. I believe that it was a fine decision.

After making Salem to sit on Lily Anne's lap, I decided that the kitty was cute, but an entire BASKET of them would be adorable. Lo and behold.. a basket of kitties! *squeeee*

After Lily Anne and my kitty spree, I was feeling kind of lonely at the time, so I decided to make a sweet little couple. This turned into a two day adventure of switching shirt colors and resizing overalls, etc. which finally resulted in Mr. and Mrs. Crowscare. And yes, I left them faceless on purpose. I think they have plenty of personality and warmth just being together. If you separate them, they kind of lose their touch, as weird as that sounds.

Finally, my most recent prim project was the Three Brothers and some candy corn ornies (were not originally meant to be associated, but I felt the candy corn added a lot to the little display I had). It took me forever trying to decide what materials to use for each piece of each face, but in the end, I am pretty happy with the way they came out. Especially the black one. I started off with the classic, very standard prim orange one, but wanted to make each one different. I absolutely love the way they all turned out.

I started dabbling in painting with acrylics, too. I enjoy it a lot as well. There's so many things I'd like to paint now, but I need to fine-tune my detail work first. Shading and texture, in particular. Once I get the hang of it, I can do the more in-depth stuff, but for now, I'm just attempting some plain and simple pictures (Halloween of course). I've snuck in a swing to each one, and I'd like to continue doing this, but I know at some point, it's just not going to fit in. But for now, that little symbol of my childhood peaceful place in the woods at my grandmother's house will make a cameo whenever I can allow. Also, my camera and the lighting used make the pictures look a bit different (crappier and less detailed).

This is my first acrylic painting ever. I love the way the sky came out, but I hate that tree. I only had a few brushes at the time and they were garbage at that. I've since A.) gotten better brushes and B.) learned how to control the amount of paint slopped onto the canvas better.

My second painting I'm not so fond of. I went for a more autumny (yeah, it's a word now) ground scheme, and when I added the blades of grass in fromt of the gravestones, it just made them look like they were on fire. Plus I hate the way the little girl's ghost came out. Yeah, that's supposed to be a ghost. I'd like to learn how to get a more transparent kind of look... In due time. I rushed this in the end and trimmed off a bunch of negative space at the bottom because I already decided I wasn't happy with it (after about 5 hours of work) and just wanted it to be "done". There is soooo much I dislike about this picture, but hey, it was only my second one and you can't win 'em all.

My third and last painting I was a bit happier with, although my brain pretty much froze and prevented me from coming up with anything creative to do with all the negative space around the cat that was just dying to be added to. I was happy that my shading progressed (from non-existant to attempted at least). I am obsessed with detail (I am an Accounting major after all), so seeing myself improve in that department is especially gratifying. :)

Anyways, that's all I've got so far. Hopefully I'll improve lots and maintain the motivation to work on these things. I'll be starting my last semester in two weeks, so after that, who knows? I'll probably be freaking out about deadlines and exams as usual. That could either make me feel the need to be more creative or it could kill my schedule and motivation to do anything but sit and relax once I'm home. We'll see.