Tears For Cecil

Politics aside, the whole Cecil story really touched me. Maybe because I'm a Leo, maybe because I love animals, I don't know, but I shed tears for this beautiful lion and felt I needed to make something to remind me of this senseless death. So, I started by pounding the hell out of a A&W10 can to start as my base and came up with this little tribute to Cecil.

I remembered I had made these lion heads out of polymer clay for my mom and I one year and mine had been a necklace that eventually broke apart, so I used that as my Cecil head with a big orange silk flower behind it for the mane. Added some black Distress Ink and Stickles to the tips. I used the parts from an old necklace for the foot claws and beads.

I even found a little crown in my stash to add for his "King of the Jungle" persona, as well as a pair of old earrings for epaulets. I've been making lots of paper beads this year too and used those for his arms, legs and tail.

His belly is a little steam punky. I used an old mint tin with a sliding top. Planning on putting an article describing his story rolled up inside. I made some little tears on a chain that hangs down from the gears and arrow.

It's hard to see his tail from the front, but here it is peeking out from the side. I have him hanging at the entrance to my studio so I see him when I walk in. Rest in Peace Cecil, you were one of a kind.

Happy Father's Day!

A very Happy Father's Day to all the dad's and granddads in my life! 

First, to my dad, Jeff, whom I lost 3 years ago. Still miss him and his wonderful sense of humor. 

And to my hubby, Roger, who helped me raise two of the best young men in the world. 

My father-in-law, Grant.

My grandpa, Fred (dad's father) who passed in 1981

My grandpa Orville (mom's dad) who passed in 1985

To those we miss and those with us still, a great big hug to all!

Family Faces

Getting lots of pictures from both new babies families over the last few months, so I've been busy digi scrapping.

This one is in a quick drop from the Aurora Borealis CS collection. It's Betsy (grandma) holding little Finnley's hand. Just precious.

Here we have a gorgeous family picture of Morgan, Tarn and Finnley in a Nice to See You (CS) quick drop layout.

And here's one of Tarn and Morgan's wedding photos in a Just Dandy (CS) quick drop. 

This is Vanleigh and her auntie Ashleigh. Super cute photo in a Peacock (CS) quick drop layout. 

And finally, we have grandma Laura Leigh (I still can't get used to saying that) and little Vanleigh in an adorable photo together, also in a quick drop from the My Funny Valentine collection from CS. Vanleigh wins the chubby cheeks award this month!

Fancy Schmancy Stitch Markers

I've recently gotten back into crocheting and knitting. Maybe because I'm teaching a friend who lives in my neighborhood how to crochet and I've been surfing the net for patterns a lot lately. Anyhow, I've been using this gigantic stitch holder used for knitting to mark my rounds for crochet.

Quite silly isn't it?

I have knitting stitch markers that just slide over the needle, but they don't really work when you're crocheting. 

I saw a picture of some crochet work with what looked like a lobster claw clasp and some beads used as a stitch marker and it clicked. Hey, I have a bunch of those lobster claws in my jewelry findings. Out came the beads, findings and jewelry pliers and voila!

I made 2 different sizes in black and copper. They are really quite simple to make, just a lobster claw clasp, a head pin and some beads.

And here we are, a much better way to mark crochet rounds. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful, wonderful Mom! This picture is one of my favorites of her taken in the late 90's. Just love that red hat and the beautiful daffodils next to her.

Digital scrapbook page created with Club Scrap's Bold Blooms, Sprinkles and The Blues kits.

Plarn?????

What's Plarn, you say? 

Plarn is Plastic Yarn made from recycled grocery bags. Really simple to make and you get quite a good length of "plarn" from 1 bag.

When I started my project I was going to use all different colors of bags, but as I got going I liked the beige colored bags with a little black in them so I decided to stick with those for the whole project. 

And here we have it, a "plarn" sun hat with a "plarn" flower to adorn it. It took about 25-30 grocery bags to complete the hat. It has a velvet ribbon threaded through it. It was fun and I would definitely do it again. It looks like a straw hat till you get up close. 

Vintage Disneyland

I've been scanning old slides lately and came across some great vintage 1960's pictures of my husband and his sister at Disneyland.

I love that Disneyland is timeless. 

All digital elements are from Club Scrap's Pure & Simple collection. One of my favorite color combos ever.