Shadow box Charms

Okay these are officially a pain the butt! First getting them to stay together to foil, (yeah those little hearts are stuffed and stitched!) then of course the paper shifts, and to top it off the glitter on the back does a weird funky thing (on one of them). I was asked by my daughter to make one. I did two, just in case. I am glad I did, since I don't think there will be a third! LOL!

Charms

I have not been very active on my blog. Well it all started with a soldered charm I made for my friend Linda. She celebrates Halloween and decks out her home every year. I am always invited to the "open house" held by the people on her block, they go all out for this holiday. so as a token of appreciation I try to make or bring a little something as a thank you. This year it was a coffin shaped charm with her initial "L" in drippy red glitter, and some scary little clown children on the back (I should have asked, it seems Linda has a real aversion to clowns, who knew?)

From there it has snowballed to making them for friends of Linda's and mine. I have to tell you working with the lead-free solder is a pain, but I am having a lot of fun. I have been fortunate enough to sell a few of them, and have had interest from a local store. I just wanted to share what I have been up to. I feel so neglectful but with work I do not get much time to get online it seems.

Well I hope you like them!

****Check out my blog shoppe (upper right hand corner button) for charms and prices.

PeTiTe GhOuL Pt. 2

Finished!!! Just applied the beeswax and buffed the finish out. It is dark in my room but any brighter and the shine causes glare. I will take a photo during the day!

A "blurry" close up of her face. I really need to take photos in the "daylight".

One more of her, again please excuse the lighting, wanted to grab a photo before bed. Below her another painting waiting for the finishing touches....

PeTiTe "GhOuL"

I have taken Ms Suzi-blu's Mermaid class. I took her first class a couple years ago, as well as others, and really enjoy them. I have not posted my Mermaid drawings, but I have a couple ready to start. However, soon it will be Halloween and I have been inspired to create a "PeTiTe GhOuL" for the occasion. My other Halloween Kitte Girl sold and I was asked to create another painting for the Holiday. I am also a big fan of Tim Burton, and found myself creating what looks like a hybrid of Suzi/Tim type character. I love her. Here you see the beginnings. She has been transferred to the wood and her face has been started.....

A couple layers done....and some black glitter and she is off to a great start. Yes several more layers to go, and then to paint the trim. I gave her pale skin a greenish/gray hue, and she has "pumpkin" orange eyes. Little skull earrings and some spiderweb (complete with spiders) trim.

I will be working on her tomorrow, so much more to do yet. Things to add, and painting the trim. It is hard to get a good photo because the trim at the top does not allow the piece to lay flat so scanning it is difficult. I will take better photos when she is done. Then you can see the sparkly glitter on her dress!

Cold and Wet Days...

It was cold and damp out today. Steve went to our son's to work on his truck, which left me to putter around the house on my own. Stephanie was off to a baby shower with her in-laws, and Kim away at school in Kalamazoo. My friends busy with their family, so I was on my own. So I made these cards. I have to make some for our Art Group meeting this month, and with all the baby showers I have coming up, I decided to make cards that could be used for showers or baby birthdays. I cut, punched, colored and glittered. They are almost finished. I had a chance to play with my copic markers. I have been buying a few here and there. They are a lot of fun.

My son received these wonderful copics from a friend. He gave them to me today since I have started buying a few myself, and well, don't have that many. He is a wonderful artist and can draw, but prefers his music (for now). So he decided to let me play with them a while....lucky me.

So although the weather was dreary Saturday and overcast today, I did manage to accomplish few things here at home. Time is slipping away. It seems to speed up the end of summer, and gather steam thru the Holiday season. Too fast, too fast. Although I look forward to getting together with family, the thought of snow and winter makes me wish for it all to slow down.

Flea Market Finds.

Yes we have a "bonanza" today!!! Scored these lovely vintage flowers. Bought the whole lot. She had saved these from hats. She wanted to find someone who will put them to good use, enter me....

Lovely old velvets and organza flowers......

Love the soft colors and the fine stamens on these flowers.

Sweet fabric lily-of-the-valley...

More sweet flowers...

A big bag of bits.........

Found two cute suitcases.....

Steve found this cute bank for me. He liked that it had the lock. It was sweet that he saw this and bought it for me.....

Found the plastic Infant of Prague. The vendor and I had a laugh over the fact that the bottom said $2.00 but she told me $1.00.

Aren't these sweet? The fellow selling them did not want to take them back home, so he made an offer I could not refuse......

Found three cute tiny "yorkie" china figures to add to my shelf...

I found this second pair of tiny "yorkie" china figures also!

Those who know me, well they know I collect birds. Not just any, I prefer the shiny Japanese ones. However today I found this cool Chicken pitcher for next to nothing so he had to come home with me.

This is why my chicken pitcher is on the table...no room! I need a new cabinet?

Found these chenille spreads for $2.00. They are for crafting (have a couple small rips). I want to make a couple of cute pillows, or some baby things?

This adorable chair for just a couple dollars will look cute at my desk...

Of Course I found this "fabulous" Bling Ring and well, who could resist this......

(It was in the bags of Jewelry) All in all a fun morning, and I wasn't really looking. It was fun seeing all the people selling stuff, and then we stopped for some fresh produce. The air was crisp but refreshing and what fun we had looking over all these fun finds.

Tako-Tsubo

Tako-Tsubo Syndrome

About 70-80% of cases of Tako-tsubo Syndrome (TTS) occur in post-menopausal women under some form of extreme, exceptional and prolonged mental stress,... with no good way out, no relief and often feeling deep resentment (such as the loss of a dear one...)

(Note: a word of caution... , in a minority of patients, less than 20% the stress is physical such as massive trauma, surgery or severe pain, or other type of stress. In very rare cases, no "cause" can be found.

a diagnosis of tako-tsubo syndrome can only be made after excluding:

• coronary artery disease (especially proximal left main or left anterior coronary artery stenosis),
• acute coronary syndrome,
• acute myocardial infarction,
• myocarditis, pericarditis, aortic dissections and so forth...

And that leads to the good news, Folks! If this syndrome is recognized, over 95% of patients pull through that fairly easily (with most of the time complete recovery of the electrocardiographic changes and recovery of the cardiac shape and function. This may take a few weeks)

On Sunday I experienced this syndrome first hand. I can honestly say I did not feel stressed at the time. In fact I was quite happy having sold a few of my stamps I no longer used or wanted (there are still a few available in my blog shop). At first I thought I was having on of my stomach flare ups, but it got a bit worse so we were off to urgent care. They gave me something for the stomach pain and I actually felt better. The doctor seemed a bit concerned and ran some blood-work for my heart, but sent me home saying he would call if it was anything serious.

Well next morning I still had not heard anything so off to work I went. When I got home I was greeted by phone calls telling me to go to emergency. Thats when they told me that my heart enzymes were elevated. Well several tests, and a heart cath later they pronounce I had "tako-tsubo" or as they called it "broken heart syndrome".

Since this condition is totally recoverable they are treating me with drug therapy and monitoring my heart. I was relieved to know I do not have coronary artery disease or any blockages. It was fascinating to see the heart. During the cath you are totally awake and you get to see exactly what they are doing (it was completely pain-FREE, trust me I would tell you if it hurt). It actually made me feel good to know I would recover and that for the most part I was heart healthy.

So what triggered it? They feel stress was the trigger, I don't know because I truly did not feel I was stressed at the time, until my stomach acted up. The more I rad up on this condition they do mention something about possible pathogens that can trigger an episode. Who knows. I am just happy to be home and recovering.

These flowers arrived Thursday from Vicky and Mike, I feel very blessed to have such good friends.....

Here are the lovely roses that my good friend Terri and her husband Chip brought by when I came home from the hospital. I am very lucky to have such dear friends.

I am feeling much better, and recovering nicely. My puppies missed me. They even managed to share Bailey's bed.