Grandma Goes Baby Shopping......

Okay, so I'm a little behind in my blogging duties.... Busy as usual.

I just received these really sweet photos from my daughter-in-law. I love them! Here are just a couple.

I finished the special project for my new, as yet unborn, grandbaby. It turned out really great and I hope they like it as much as I do. I took photos but I can't share them here until after the baby shower, which is this weekend. I also went baby shower shopping today and got all kinds of cool baby stuff.

About 6 more weeks to go. Baby "Linkoln" will be born in April.

Dangly Pendants!!

It's been a busy week for me and I'm glad it's Friday. The weather is supposed to be good through the weekend and I'm looking forward to doing some spring cleaning. Out with the old in with the new.

I'm really looking forward to spring. I don't winter well. Hubby and I have a trip to the ocean planned. Longbeach, WA is one of out favorite places and we'll be staying at a quaint little cottage motel right on the beach. It's called Akari Bungalows. Nothing fancy, very casual, and though we've never stayed there before the photos look very inviting. I'm looking forward to long walks on the beach, poking around town, and of course, some great seafood! It's been way too long since we've had a chance to get away and I can't wait!

I have some new dangly, girly, pendants in my Etsy store if you would care to take a look. I'm finding that some of the things in my Etsy store sell rather quickly, (which is great for me but maybe not so great for you if you're looking for something in particular), you may want to be added to my mailing list. I send a mailing out whenever I put something new in my store or I have some news to share about updates and whatnot. Or, you can always email me with a request for something special. I do custom orders all the time and all you have to do is ask. If you've seen a photo here or on my website, (or anywhere online), of something that I've make and you would like me to remake it for you I usually can with no problem. A few of my designs are OOAK, (one-of-a-kind), and in that case I will not repeat but everything else is open.

Valentine's Day Bracelet Sale!!!!

In my Etsy store!!!! February 9 through 14 only!

Amelie

Here is another folk art doll that I just finished. Her name is Amelie and you can tell by her wings she's a little angel. The wings are actually made of feathers. I love her! She's going to live at my house for awhile.I learned how to make these little dolls from a booklet by Nancye Williams. If you would like to learn how to make your own little folk art dolls Nancye has an online class on the Ning social network called Nancye's Art Dolls. You should check it out.

I spent Saturday updating the gallery pages on my website. A major undertaking that took all day. Whew, no wonder I've been putting it off! There should be some new things for you to see and if I've taken down a photo you are going to miss just let me know and I'll put it back.

Still here....

I know, it's been awhile. Life got in the way again.....

The pendant above is a one-of-a-kind glass lampwork cone with dangles. I say OOAK because it took a very long time to create and I tend to hold my breath when bead takes that long in the flame. There are no guarantees that it will come out of the kiln without a crack. I put it in my Etsy store this morning and it sold within seconds to a very good, (and grateful), customer. Thanks G.!

Winter is progressing nicely. We're noticing we still have some light in the sky after dinner. There's also some buds on the trees. I know spring is still a ways away but I think we're on the downside of the long wintery days. At least I felt that way until the weatherman said there may be some snow mixed with rain next week...... Ugh!

I'm finding myself with a little more time on my hands lately. My son and his family have moved from the island to a town about 25 miles away. Since my grandchildren will be going to a different school soon I won't have them here as much. I'll miss them fiercy and I'll have to find other things to fill my time, (like that will be a problem!). I think it will work out better for their family in the longrun. Not such a long commute so hopefully they'll have more time to do the things they want to do and spend more time together as a family.

I'm going to have to start thinking about my newest grandson who will be born in April. His name is going to be "Linkoln". I've got a couple projects in mind so I need to get started. I was thinking maybe some handpainted furniture. His room will have a "puppy" theme. We used to have a store in our area that sold unfinished wood furniture. I wonder if it's still there....

Mrs. Wiffington

I've been itching to try sculpting a folk art doll since I purchased a tutorial from Nancye Williams a couple weeks ago. Nancye is a gift designer, (among other very artistic things), whose blog I follow regularly. Nancy is offering her doll making booklet here and she is now in the process of setting up a Ning social network for an online doll making class.

So after creating "Mrs. Wiffington", (on Ebay now), I can't wait to try another doll. Soon, I hope....

I had my bookkeeper here today to help me get the last of the tax preperation done so hopefully by next week I'll have that all buttoned up and I'll have more time for the stuff I enjoy. I really HATE paperwork! It's been so hard to concentrate on making beads when I've had all this uninteresting bookkeeping stuff to do. I was pretty new to the business side of things this year so I did'nt really have a concrete record keeping system. I limped through and got lots of help from my bookkeeper, (thanks Cindy!), but now I know exactly what to keep track of and how to do it. It will be so much easier next year.

My birthday is this weekend so hubby is taking me out to dinner and to see "Gran Torino". I love Clint Eastwood and I hear it's a pretty good movie. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

Record breaking flooding too close to home.....

Here is a photo from the front page of our local newspaper and is a shot of Stanwood, the little farming community that I have to pass through to get to my home on Camano Island. The water to the left of the photo is floodwaters covering farmland,(there are farmhouses out there also). The land that forms the horizon at the top of the photo is Camano Island and the highway that runs the length of the photo is the only way to the island other than personal watercraft. Meaning there is no ferry. Drive on and off. We came really close to being totally isolated a few days ago and the little downtown area of Stanwood came really close to being underwater. Hundreds of volunteers filled sandbags to insure the water didn't breach the banks. The rain and snow melt stopped long enough for the water to recede somewhat so the town and the highway are safe for now. The flooding is the highest it's ever been in recorded history! Too close for comfort. Thousands of families in other areas of Washington were not so lucky and many have lost everything to flood waters. If you would like to help out with a donation just go to American Red Cross.