KittyFish Ready to Swim ...

That's right ...



she's got beads added to the crown of her head



sequins & seed beads decorate each side



and last but not least, KittyFish got her face

all that's left is sending this little critter to her new home

wishing safe travels & happiness to her new caretaker

Flowers, a Pelican and a Frog

Thank you to everyone that took the time to comment on my last post - the response that I received was better than I would ever have anticipated. I started feelin a bit twitchy about having it still at the top, so thought I would share some new photos.

This tree is in my neighbors yard ... it's just now beginning to bloom, but before you know it it'll be completely covered in these wild blooms:

This one below is from the desert rose in our yard (at least that's what folks around here call them - they have a crazy gnarly trunk similar to a fig tree, but some amazing tropical looking blooms). It bloomed last year when Don first planted it, but not as much as it's going to this year - there are still about a dozen or more blossoms just waiting for their moment to bloom:

Two years ago Sadie and Don planted a bunch of marigolds up against the backside of the house. That first year they did really well, last year not a single one came up and suddenly this year they have decided to come back ... here's a loner from the bunch that sprouted (pictured much larger than actual size - gotta love macro):

And here is one strange visitor - we're a few miles in from the peace river and about the same from the gulf, so NEVER see pelicans in the neighborhood ... until yesterday:

This guy (am assuming here) has decided to visit our yard - even let me get fairly darn close to take pictures, too ... so odd. Today he was hanging out across the street at the neighbors and when Sadie and I got home from errands, Don said he had a heck of a time shooing the pelican out of our garage! Maybe this guy is tired of the beach ... OR maybe I'm wrong and it's a girl looking for a safe place to build a nest! (guessing here - don't know the habits of pelican's). Personally, I find it kind of cool that the pelican decided to come around.

Finally, as some of you may know, sewing is so NOT my forte. I would love to say this is an attempt at modesty, but honestly, I am not a good seamstress ... in an effort to change this (and because I really like funny little plushies) I have been trying to sew more and more ... I went to a baby shower yesterday and made a pink and brown frog for the new baby ... I'm not sure how well it was received ... seems to me the mom-to-be wasn't very impressed. Ah well. Can't always bat a thousand. Because of this (and because I have lots of pink and brown fleece left over) I decided to make another one ... this one is about half the size of the first (measures 7"x4.5") and instead of stuffing it full of fiberfill (since I am nearly out), I decided to stuff it full of lentils (uncooked, of course!) ... it has no features and not a single embellishment (like its predecessor), but I think I love it! Here's the pink side:

and the brown:

hehe ... didn't take forever and a year to do and the little critter makes me giggle. This is from a simple pattern I found somewhere on line (sorry, I can't seem to find the link anymore, but if anyone recognizes it, please let me know and I'll be happy to add the link) ... I think I need to make more pink and brown froggies.

Wishing you all things that make you grin! ~M~

Spooktacular 'Anything Goes' Party

10/20/08 Update:

First, I would like to once again thank Vanessa for hosting such a fun (if not EXHAUSTING) event - that girl sure knows how to throw a party!

I would also like to thank every single one of you for taking the time to stop in and leave me a comment. It does a soul good.

Without further ado, the giveaway winners are ...

Mock Sugar Skulls: Marilyn Butler, Sara at Pipscrap

& Sandra Evertson

Kitty: Sabii Wabii

Disclaimer from the beginning: Rather than wait (till after work) and show up to the party in the early evening, I decided to stay up way too late (and show up to work on the groggy side of me) ... nice to know my priorities are in the right place ... lol ... be patient with the one of little sleep. :)

Thank you, Vanessa, for hosting the Halloween Anything Goes Party!

As is very common for one such as myself, I had all these grand intentions of telling spooky ghost stories & decorating as if I were a slightly twisted version of Martha Stewart (on crack, no doubt), but it seems I lack the necessary time management skills to properly execute my grand visions ...

Don't fret too much ... I WAS able to produce two firsts for all of you pretties. I sure hope you enjoy the treats ...

First up - Mock Sugar Skulls! I spent a lot of years in Phoenix, Arizona and was exposed to Day of the Dead at a fairly young age. I was always drawn to the celebration with all the fantastic traditions, altars and skeleton art that went along with it. This year I was thinking that I would paint my face like a sugar skull ... which lead me to thinking that it would be cool to try to paint some as Halloween decorations. Here's my first batch:

I was thrilled when I found little bags of small plastic skulls. I coated the skulls in Gesso. Initially I had used markers on them, but quicky learned that the markers I had didn't stick - the littlest moisture and they were all smeared beyond recognition. Next I played around with paint and a tiny brush. Much better. I couldn't resist doing a few in simple black on white (go figure, right) and then I let Sadie pick out a set of colors for the other two. Below are close-up's of the five pictured above ... three of them are part of my Halloween giveaway ...

And that's not all. I have also sewn my very first plushie! I found a free pattern "Pointy Kitty" by Hillary Lang, a Wee Wonderful original pattern (free as in: make one for yourself, your kids, your friends & neighbors, but please do not sell toys made from this pattern - seems more than reasonable to me).

The pattern was easy to follow & I am really happy to introduce you to kitty:

Kitty hasn't been named, yet. I'll leave the naming to the other winner of my giveaway.

So, that's four winners in all. Three will get a Mock Sugar Skull and one gets Kitty. Leave a comment if you would like to be included in the drawing ... and have a most Spooktacular time visiting all the party pit stops. Hope to see you again soon!

10/18 update - All comments posted up to 6:00 pm (EST) Monday, October 20th

will be entered in my giveaway drawing.