tee hee...

Quicktime movie...Charlie Brown meets Outkast.

christmas shopping...

So far out of all the people we need to buy or make gifts for I have only marked off three names. That leaves at least twelve family members and a bunch of friends more to mark off! EEEK. One day I might get my act together and have my shopping done early!! Maybe. But probably not.

For the rest of you procrastinators out there...some great links for shopping! If you have a favorite shopping link to share, list it the comments section for everyone to see.

For unique polymer clay and PMC jewelry, polymer beading components and her Holiday Shop, visit Heather Powers at HumbleBeads.com.

For wonderfully whimsical Christmas cards or a 2006 calendar, visit Anette Heiberg at Wynlen.no

Have you ever seen Tine Wiggens' Soul Birds? If you haven't (even if you have), fly on over to TineWiggens.com to have a peek. Tine also designs sweet, whimsical mixed media collage as well...check it out.

Know anyone who would love a fused glass pendant or handspun, hand dyed wool? Faun Donald is your go to gal then. Check out her Etsy shop here.

A StumbleUpon user decided to put together a list of other StumbleUpon users who sell their arts and crafts, music, and miscellany. Check it out here. Lots to choose from...I'm sure something for everyone!

I'll post some more links as they come to me!

new necklace...

This is the first lariat I've ever made. I was inspired by Heather's knitted/felted lariats. (The one in the picture? That's mine...I was going to give it to my sister-in-law for Christmas but decided to keep it for myself instead!)


sterling silver, czech glass, $38 plus postage. FREE gift wrapping available!

Click on the image to view more details.

while searching for old christmas photos...

I discovered that Ray and Charles Eames received some incredible Christmas cards throughout the years. To view them visit here and search "christmas ray and charles eames."

new bracelet...

Last night I worked on a new bracelet and a new lariat necklace. The bracelet is finished and I am totally smit with it. The lariat is almost finished...I ran out of beads before I could complete it! I hope I am able to find the same beads again. Sigh.


My four year old hand model displaying how nicely the sterling component lays across the wrist...



sterling silver, kingman turquoise, african trade beads, miyuki glass. SOLD!


please ignore the disgusting, dry, scaley hand...momma needs a manicure quick!

Just click on the pictures to see images of the bracelet alone.

windmills...

Windmills of the gargantuan kind anyway. You'll come across these wind plant fields on Highway 277 just north of Bronte. From what I can gather, they are part of the Nolan County phase one or two.



These things are impressively huge. You'll notice the size comparison between the telephone poles and the windmills...HOOGANTIC. Driving back and forth between San Angelo and Denton we often see eighteen wheelers trucking one piece of the base or a blade or two. If you ever go through Coleman on your way to San Angelo, drive past the airport. They store the silo base pieces there right next to the highway so you can really get a sense of the size.

carved stamp swap teaser...

I finally got my stamp swap stuff finished and in the mail on Friday. There is something to be said for assembly line style work some times don't you think? Anyway, we've been having quite a good time here at the Lyons' Den with the carving of the stamps and the stamping of things that comes shortly thereafter. Logan wants to carve something of his own very very badly. Unfortunately he takes after his mother in that he can't think of anything "good" to draw for the carving. I'm having the same trouble trying to think of something to draw to use with my print gocco. Caleb is content to do the banging the back of the stamp part and the sprinkling of the glitter part which is good because while the thought of a four year old weilding a lino cutter is unappetizing to say the least (and I'm sure CPS has already been contacted)...but a two year old? Um, yeah, not so much. Logan will sit still and listen long enough to let me keep his left hand protected with my own and his right hand guided safely through the knife weilding process. Leather gardening gloves for a brown thumb are good for something after all!

Anyway, without further ado...some teasers:



I hope everyone likes them! Can't wait to see what everyone has come up with for the swap.

* * * * * * *

I still have thank you's and tags to catch up on...sometime this week I swear!

i smell another project coming on...

How cute would this be on a little Christmas tree? I love my wooden cranberries on the big tree, but I think a felted ball garland on a table top tree would just knock my socks off. How 'bout you?

robert's snow: for cancer's cure...

Remember this from last year? Seems it was wildly successful last year (understandably so) and droves upon droves of talented illustrators clamored to participate this year. Click on over and take a look. There are too many wonderful snowflake ornaments to enjoy.


ABDUCTION INTERRUPTION
Artist: Jeffrey Ebbeler
Medium: acrylic, colored pencil, string

Of all of them I think the one above is my favorite this year. I always have a soft spot in my heart for cowboys...especially when they're lassoing space ships.

* * * * * * *

I have some long over due thank yous and tags to catch up on...they'll be around sometime tomorrow!

in love...

with this and this. Then there are these...oh! and this I really love. My kitchen says it would love to house this little family. I found another little squirrel for Bertha too.

Damn you Smith and Hawkin!

bertha...

this one's for you!

while waiting for paint to dry...

look what I found via stumble:



You can make yourself into a South Park character...if it floats your boat, of course.

I am finishing up my dolls (still) for the book contribution and will probably be scarce for the next couple days. Logan is sick with some kind of bug and a possible ear infection. Lynn will be away on business tomorrow and part of Thursday, then Friday he's having outpatient surgery for a hernia. If I'm lucky, by Friday Caleb will be sick too and then the entire weekend will be spent nursing the whole house back to health! BOO, HISS, for viral/bacterial infections and belly button hernias. I will be eating fists full of vitamin C and thinking germ-free thoughts while finish up my last deadlined project of the week.

By the way, have you been to Paper Source lately? Sheee-it, I can't get away from that place for less than a hundred bucks.

Also, if you're still looking for a Christmas gift for the guy who has everything, try this on for size. Link via my brother, Nic. Do you think it was a hint?

pssssst...

Don't tell anyone, but yesterday in the midst of making dolls I ordered a mountain of carving blocks (for Moki's carved stamp swap...go sign up! The deadline for sign-ups is tomorrow, the 12th.) and a print gocco (because I found out you can use it to etch metal too...apparently all I needed was one more good reason to finally drop the bucks on it).

I am excited to try out the carving. About a million years ago I took a printmaking class that was offered through the San Angelo Fine Arts Museum summer arts program. We carved our images into chunks of pine 2x4. I really enjoyed the class. I still have the scar where I jammed a gouge a half inch into my hand to prove it too...work AWAY from yourself. I suspect the carving block will be a lot easier to work with than pine. As far as the print gocco, I have been eyeing one for about two years now. I've seen so many people do so many wonderful things with this little machine that I just had to have one myself. Honestly, I'm a bit intimidated by it. Why? I don't know...fear of the unknown I guess? Once all my new toys arrive I'll post how they're all working out...should be fun.

some swapping fun...

The ever delightful Moki (with all the gorgeous red headed babies) is hosting a cool little swap. Click on over and join in on the fun!

oh my word...

Felted wool goodness to be found at Trisha O'Donnell's website. "Green Santa Box" is my favorite, with "Wacky Santa Box" as a very close second. If you don't pass out from the cuteness, be sure to sign up for her email list so you too can be notified when all her awesome holiday papier mache is ready.

drool...

How awesome are these beads?



This particular glass artist makes the neatest beads. I am absolutely in awe of her boro glass beads...really just gorgeous.

some pix...

Logan and Caleb are camera hogs, er, hams. I have made them this way...especially Logan. Logan had a camera in his face for every fart, burp and giggle from the day he set foot on this Earth. Caleb, being the second child, has not had EVERY fart, burp and giggle recorded for posterity, but I'd say it's pretty close to every. In any event, we all had fun hamming it up for Grandma today. Pictures in the "office" (as Logan calls it), pictures in the computer area, pictures outside. I haven't had this many pictures taken of me through the course of one day since my wedding (eight short years ago).

A couple shots from today:


All the stuff on these shelves used to be in piles or boxes all over the floor in the middle of this room before Operation thank-God-Mom-drove-up-to-keep-her-grown-daughter-on-task Clean Sweep. The sad little backless chair is being put to pasture tomorrow.

This is her replacement.



The same little backless chair...she's a workhorse but really a backrest is nice to have every once in awhile. Her spot will be filled with two of these...if I can get them in orange.

update...

The clean sweeping is almost complete and what a difference total organization makes! I found things I didn't even know I was looking for...how sad is that? The good news is it won't happen again. My mother has instructed Logan to remind me to clean up my desk and studio every morning just like I remind him to clean his room every night. Because I don't want my kids to wake up one day only to realize their mom is a housekeeping-hypocrit I will make sure my "tidying up stuff" is taken care of just like I expect Logan's to be too.

Tomorrow (today) will be photo shoot day and then I have to put nose to grindstone to complete my pieces and bio for the book (my deadline is the 18th and I want to ship on the 14th at the latest) and complete an interview whose deadline is the 14th!

I'm off to bed now...busy days ahead.

new necklace...

I'm a January baby and garnet is my birthstone. Luckily, I happen to LOVE the stone in all its many colors. I had to test out this necklace too...just to make sure that it felt nice on the neck (which it does, by the way). It looks great with a plain old white v-neck tee and jeans and would be equally nice with a sleek sweater set or that little black dress.


garnet, fresh water pearls, czech glass, sterling, copper, brass
apl pendant measures one inch tall and 13/16's wide. $70 plus postage.

tagged...

I've been tagged by Heather to put 20 random things/secrets about myself out into the ether.

Here goes:
1. I am the WORST procrastinator in the world for things like cleaning my work spaces, putting away winter clothes, returning things like luggage to the attic. The worst!

2. I know my husband is the best ever and I rarely take time to point out to him specifically that I appreciate everything he does. I regularly tell other people how wonderful he is though...how backwards is that?

3. I collected Muffy Vanderbear dolls and accessories through high school and part of college. They're all in boxes in my parents' garage now.

4. I majored in interior design in college...I hated drawing proposals. I wanted to get straight the specs and work toward the finished product.

5. There are rooms in my house that still have builder's white paint on them...that will be changing shortly though...we're discussing paint colors right now.

6. My Halloween lights are still up in the front yard. I did take the spider webs and spooky yard stakes down though. The lights will be down this weekend.

7. If I could get away with it, I would leave my Christmas tree up all year. Mainly because I love Christmas, but a little because I don't like packing up all the Christmas stuff after the holidays (see #1).

8. I will have a consistent paper line that someone else prints and sells for me.

9. I will write a book. At least one book, but probably more.

10. I love to bake and cook but I don't like to shop for or clean up after the fact.

11. I would like to go to cooking school.

12. I would like to go back to college and study weaving and textiles.

13. I am the oldest of six children, all from the same two parents. My parents are still married. I wouldn't change any of it for the world.

14. I am terrible about keeping in touch with people. Terrible. I think about people all the time but when it comes to actually calling or writing, time just gets away from me.

15. I am terrible about mailing things. Orders are no problem, ever. Bills are never a problem. It's the little boxes of things like liver of sulfur pebbles (which have been boxed and ready for mailing for two weeks...they will post TODAY). That's why I'm a HUGE fan of surprise packages...no pressure to mail them by a certain date...and you know, they're usually mailed out within days...go figure.

16. I hit a plateau in my weight loss three months ago...I finally burst through it this week! Three pounds! FINALLY.

17. I love the idea of a pet bird but don't actually want one. Ever.

18. I can't throw a centered pot to save my life. I bet if I took the time to practice I could do it. But in a half a semester of college I couldn't get the hang of it. Plus, I really disliked the instructor.

19. I obsess over things I become interested in. For instance, lampworking and glass fusing. There are artist's sites I visit everyday just to see if they have new work posted. Then I reach the point where I want to actually try it myself. Then I spend tons of money buying the tools needed and rarely continue on with more than a passing interest. I guess the problem is I like to do so many different things that I can't focus on one or two.

20. It's safe to say I have Attention Deficit Disorder, but I am afraid to start taking a prescription for it because, while I have seen all the good the medications can do, I have also seen the bad side of it too. I feel like I'll be wasting too much precious time trying out meds instead of just working through it.

swoon...

In between all my whining and complaining about the terrible twos and toddler regression and inevitable motherhood occurrences in general, really adorable, totally precious things happen that remind me to shut the hell up and try to enjoy the WHOLE process. You can't always pick and choose what you want to experience in this life, now can you? No, you can't. And I need to remember this more often.

As with all things TWO YEAR OLD, naptime is in flux too right now. At about fifteen months the household settled into 10am naptime for Caleb. You could set your watch by it. Meltdowns began around 9:50am. If a day was deemed unworthy of meltdowns before naptime, I was greeted by a wee little (Caleb has always been a hoss so this is, of course, comparatively speaking) babe climbing into my arms to curl up in my lap and fall asleep. Everytime it happened my heart melted. It still happens from time to time now, but with a two year old who is on the taller end of the chart instead of a little guy who fits perfectly in the crook of my knees.

Today was one of those days. Except it wasn't 10am, it 10:45am. And there was no melting down (that's been going on all morning...and I know it's because he can't articulate what he wants to get across...poor little dude), no picking fights with his brother, nothing. He just climbed up into my lap and then tossed and turned and maneuvered my hands and arms here and there until I finally realized what he was trying to do: curl up in my lap and fall asleep. Once we got it all figured out and just right he was out like a light in just a few minutes. I sat here at the computer just appreciating the moment because I know it will be gone all too soon. Logan almost never wants to curl up in my lap anymore...he's a big boy now. It makes me get a little verklempt sometimes. Speaking of Logan, a few minutes later, he rounded the corner from his room and said, "awwwww, little baby sleeping. That's so cute, Mom. You should take a picture." Then he spun around back into his big boy world of train tracks, legos, Teen Titans and Ninja Turtles. Waaaahhhh.

ask and ye shall receive...

I'll have you know I've been trying to post this entry since early yesterday afternoon. The Blogger Gremlins are not my friends.
* * * * * * *
All morning I worked around the house cleaning and dusting and straightening...all things that SORELY needed being done. The entire time I kept searching for some kind of motivation to F I N I S H cleaning my studio and work spaces. As if my book projects, special orders and almost finished for-sale pieces weren't enough motivation right? By the way, if anyone discovers a cure for the procrastination gene, will you call me? Please? That would be great. It's just soooooo much easier to get things done when I'm not working in the one four inch by four inch clear space on my desk. Everytime I clear my work spaces I become extremely prolific in my work...I discover a new technique or finish, think to combine things I never would have combined before. These should be enormous (hoogantic) motivators to keep my space straight. BUT! as it works out, I start working on something, pull out all the necessary supplies and tools and voila, instant wreckage of work space. I have to make a conscious, concerted effort this time to keep it straight. HAVE TO!!

In any event, on to the "ask and ye shall receive," "be careful what you wish for," portion of our show. I spent all morning seeking motivation, asking for motivation, looking for more than the OBVIOUS motivation. Then motivation arrived in my inbox. Again, I don't know how much I can divulge at the moment but the bottom line is I need to take pictures of my work space and the deadline is in less than a week and a half! THAT! my friends, is motivation.

Off to work I go with the eight foot monster that is my motivation cracking his motivational whip! Yeehaw!

help is on the way...

During our trip to San Angelo it seems I contaminated my babysitting pool with Caleb's cooty bugs. Beth woke up to nausea and vomiting and Grumpa Ric wasn't feeling too hot either. Curse the luck!

In the meantime, I've been limping along getting done what I can get done...which isn't much because I find myself cleaning up the same areas three and four times a day. When I'm not repeat cleaning, I'm repeat yelling at the boys: pick up; stop fighting; don't bite; don't push; don't call your brother that; put your clothes back on; don't take your diaper off by yourself if it has poop in it; etcetera. Did you know when a child in the throws of the terrible twos enters a room, all other children, regardless of age, instantly regress back to their own terrible twos? Believe me, it happens, I'm living it daily right now. I should totally strike that entire sentence right now for fear that my mom will read it and decide that she can't make the trip tomorrow morning. I won't though, because so far today has run pretty smoothly. Granted, it is only 10:30 in the morning, but stranger things than a full day of no bickering, biting and crying have happened before. Plus, Lynn will be home all weekend too and can take the boys out, far, far away for the day.

My brain is so jumbled right now! I need a list. I'm going to go make a list. I'll be back later...made a new necklace last night...garnets and pearls with one of my pendants.

travelling...

Last weekend was the annual Texas Pinball Festival as well as Caleb's second birthday. My husband, his sister and brother-in-law and my brother, Nic, have been anxiously awaiting this weekend since last year's weekend. I don't share the same enthusiasm for pinball as they do and had no desire to try to wrangle the boys at the festival all weekend and I didn't care to stay home by myself with the boys all weekend either so I packed us up and we drove to San Angelo instead.

We made the trip down to San Angelo in record time. Caleb fell asleep as we backed out of the driveway and Logan was just ready to be there. After about fifteen minutes on the road, Logan proclaimed, "Mom, I! CAN'T! WAIT! to get to [uncle] Patrick and [aunt] Bethie's house!" We made our way to Weatherford...we sometimes stop in Weatherford for snacks and potty breaks.

me: Logan, are you hungry?
LJL: No.

me: Do you need a drink?
LJL: No.

me: Do you need to potty?
LJL: No.

me: Do you need to stretch your legs?
LJL: No.

On to Eastland we rode...we stop in Eastland for breaks when we don't stop in Weatherford.

me: Logan, are you hungry?
LJL: No.

me: Do you need a drink?
LJL: No.

me: Do you need to potty?
LJL: No.

me: Do you need to stretch your legs?
LJL: No.

On to Cisco, Cross Plains, Coleman, Ballinger, Rowena, Miles and still the same conversation each time. People, I drove 290 miles with a two year old and four year old without a single stop. Did the earth fly off it's axis on Friday? An absolutely unheard of occurance on a Lyons Family road trip, I assure you. Well, we did stop about five miles outside of San Angelo when Logan felt car sick. He let me know he wasn't feeling so good and when I asked him if he wanted me to stop he hesitated for a minute and then said, yes, we should probably stop. So we did. And then he milled around for a bit, assumed the hurl position a couple times, but luckily never actually got sick. Then we hopped back in the car and made our way to the house.

Saturday my mom baked cupcakes for Caleb and then we decorated them sort of like this. Of course, I forgot my camera again (what is wrong with me?!?), but there were plenty of cameras around in my stead so once somebody (ahem - Mom, Beth) emails some to me, I'll post pics. Lynn's parents came over to celebrate with us too, plus my brother, Nolan, and his wife, Jana, made the trip up as well. I think a good time was had by all.

After the birthday party we ran over and bought two lampworking kits (they were on sale!!) at Hobby Lobby. One for me and one for my brother. We set up the equipment and started playing right away. I bought propane tanks instead of MAPP gas tanks so it took F O R E V E R for the glass to melt and then I got woozy from the heat...I think I had a touch of Caleb's bug, plus I was enjoying a tumbler of Jack Daniels...anyway, Nolan took over and was busting out round beads by the fourth wind. Once I can get over to Home Depot for the right gas tank I'll be playing with my kit again. Can't wait!

Sunday was spent going to church, having lunch and visiting with my aunt and uncle up the street. Time got away from us on our visit and Lynn didn't want me driving home after dark by myself so we left at the CRACK of dawn on Monday so Logan wouldn't miss his speech therapy class at 10:30. The trip back to Denton was uneventful, accept for the fact that Logan renamed McDondalds PancakeDonalds and fifteen miles outside of Denton we drove under the most ominous looking skies I have ever seen...they seemed about eight feet above the highway, with tails hanging out of the clouds everywhere. I fully expected the wind to push the Jeep on its side, it was so windy. And then the rain came...it was the kind of rain that makes it impossible to drive more than ten miles an hour and makes you pray you have enough tread on your tires. We made it home with time to spare and got Logan to his class early too.

Our Halloween was mild, only a handful of trick-or-treaters and Caleb would not wear his costume. Absolutely refused. Complete with screaming and kicking and thrashing about...the TERRIBLE, awful, stinky twos are upon us again here at the Lyons' Den.

This brings us to November. NOVEMBER!! Only fifty-three shopping days left. I better get started on my shopping and quick!