Mom and I created my Favorite Gift

This hummingbird ornament is my favorite gift this year.My Mom started making it for me.She got my feathers and went wild .I had given her one of the painted glass ornaments we had made to decorate.She took my feathers and glued them all over the ball.After a while her fingers got sticky and the tacky glue got sticky and everytime she stuck a feather to the ball,one would come off(LOL).She got so aggravated.I finally told her to leave it alone and let it dry , then she could finish decorating it.

Well the next day she showed up and took one look at it and told me she was going to throw it away.She said it was ugly and she didn't know what to do with it.It didn't help that my DH told her it looked like a squirrel ball and kept joking about it.

I told her we were not throwing it away , so I took my feather ball ornament and added some spanish moss to cover the glue and holes between the feathers.I told her it would be cute with a walela (hummingbird) in Cherokee , so we added the walela and a natural twine bow and hanger.She was so excited , I can't believe that ugly thing turned out like this she said.She wrapped it before it had time to dry , but luckily it didn't stick to the tissue paper , she wrapped it in.She was so proud of it after it was finished .

I cherish it because it has alot of memories behind it , many laughs , her proud accomplishment (even though I finished it ) and I know it was made with LOVE.

Decided to take a picture instead of drawing it.

Hope everyone was blessed with some magical memories this Christmas !

Favorite Gifts

Was planning to post a drawing of my favorite gifts , as Violette had suggested.But I didn't get a chance to draw tonight.So maybe tommorrow.
Curious J kept me busy today.I got him a tickle and giggle Curious George for Christmas and he doesn't like it.He loves to watch his shows but he doesn't want to touch this monkey.Maybe in time he will come to love it.He did love the Curious George tool box I got him.
This is the beautiful card I received from Glitter Sis Pam.
Hope everyone's having a Peaceful day !

Memory Ornament

This is the memory ornament I made for my family.My Dad loved the ocean and fishing. I covered the silk ball with a shirt he wore to my daughter's wedding. Added some shells , seaweed , small pieces of cork and real beach sand. The fishing pole was made from bamboo we used at my daughter's wedding. Those little fish are from a bracelet I found at the dollar store. A twine bow , little feather and a picture charm added the final touches.They turned out great and everyone loved them.We shed a few tears , but I know they will be treasured for years to come.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

This is the ornament I recieved my from my GPS Secret Santa.It looks wonderful on my tree and will be treasured for many years to come. Check out Nicci's art at www.brushedwithmagic.com

Thanks Nicci and Merry Christmas !

Hope everyone's Christmas is full of magical moments and lots of Love !

Christmas Fun Meme !

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate ? Hot Chocolate !
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree ? Santa sets them under the tree , not a big fan of gift wrapping.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white ? Color , I have some vintage lights from the 60's , on the house and they are very colorful.
4. Do you hang mistletoe ? Yes , but this year I have fake because of Curious J.
5. When do you put up your decorations ? Some time after Thanksgiving .
6. What is your favorite Holiday dish (excluding dessert )? Collards
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child ? Going to Grandma's on Christmas Eve to open gifts and see all my cousins.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa ? What TRUTH ?
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve ? Yes , we go to my Mom's on Christmas Eve and open gifts.
10. What kind of decorations are on your Christmas tree ? This year I have our traditional tree up and most of the ornaments are gifts we received over the years.Cats ,Native American Angels,Harleys,Owls,Pinecones,Santas and many others.
11. Snow ! Love it or Dread it . Love to see at least one beautiful snowfall each year.
12. Can you ice skate ? No
13. Do you remember your favorite gift ? Pony
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you ? Getting together with family and friends.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert ? Banana Pudding --YUM !
16. What is your favorite Holiday tradition ? Filling the stockings and cooking Christmas Day.
17. What tops your tree ? A Native American Angel that was a gift from my sister-in -law.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving ? Giving
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song ? Jingle Bell Rock
20. Candy Canes ! Yummy or Yuk ? Yummy !

Creating Ornaments with My Family !

My Mom,Daughter,Grandson and myself had a little get together yesterday to make ornaments. We had fun creating these marbelized ornaments in many different colors.Now we have to let them dry and get together again to add embellishments.Will post a picture of the ornaments then.




Happy Holidays !

Quiet Sunday

Today has been very quiet.I finally put the christmas tree up and decorated it.Got up before daybreak and started working on ornaments ,I'm making for gifts.I had some of the old silk ball ornaments , covered them with textured yarn and glued some rhinestones on, added a bow.I was pleased with the results.Will post a picture tommorrow.

Hope everyone had a peaceful day.

Burning Brightly for Lisa Oceandreamer

Secret Santa

I finished my ornament for the secret santa exchange last week. But I've been slack about mailing it , promise to get it sent out tommorrow.

I love making christmas ornaments. The picture is of ornaments I made to sell.

Hope everyone is getting into the christmas spirit.I decorated my front porch today and was going to decorate my tree tonight , but I didn't get to it.Oh well there's always tommorrow.


JoyceAnn

*****Celebrating My Mom's Birthday*****

Haven't posted lately , been busy.My Mom's birthday was the 28th of August and we had a Luau to celebrate Sunday.It was fun and we enjoyed seeing friends and family.
We finished our Ya-Ya friendship Shrines a couple of weeks ago.Mine was created by TysNinnie and is beautiful.I love the mermaid , she looks so serene overlooking the ocean.
I've been working on some altered books for Halloween and Christmas.This is my first attempt at altered books and I'm enjoying the process of creating each new page.My first book will be all about witches.Well , got to get busy on the next page.

Peace and Keep Creating ! Joyce

Saturday

Wow ! Finally had a day to myself.Woke up and had my coffee in peace.Spent some time on the computer checking e-bay and catching up on Violette's website.Got dressed and headed out to a yard sale and the Habitat for Humanity Store.I spent about 2 hours in the HFHS,believe it or not.Found some things for my altered books ,e-bay and a couple of treasures for myself.
It was around 2:00 when I got home .Made lunch,straightened up the house and washed a couple loads of laundry.
Enjoyed the pool for a couple of hours.It felt wonderful just to have time to myself and enjoy the warmth of the sun and the coolnest of the water.
Was planning to work on some art projects tonight but a friend came over , so didn't get to it.
All an all it was a peaceful and relaxing day.

Friendship Shrines

On sunday we celebrated Curious J's birthday . I think we had about 50 to attend .It went really well.The kids enjoyed a Spongebob pinata and swimming.The adults just enjoyed the weather and friends.

Finally completed my first shrine.Kai hosted a friendship shrine trade over at Violette's website.I enjoyed making something different.Let's hope whom ever recieves mine will like it.I liked it so much I almost decided to keep it.Will post a picture after everyone recieves theirs.

Plan to start an altered book tonight.This will be a first for it too.But they look like it would be fun to create.Well , need to check e-bay and get started on the book.

Keep Creating , Joyce

Curious J's Birthday Party

Curious J , my grandson had his second birthday August 2.
Tommorrow we are having a big birthday bash for him.
SpongeBob will be the theme.The weather is suppose to be wonderful , in the 70's.We're cooking Crabby Patties (hamburgers) and Kelp Chips (potatoe chips). I'm making punch that looks like the sea , with gummy fish .I love creating and decorating for parties.

Looking forward to seeing family and friends.

Need to start cleaning and getting prepared.Will post pictures next week.

Sea Spirits

This is one of the Sea Spirit dolls I created when my ankle was broke.
The body is paper mache.Painted them and added small shells for the eyes,nose,mouth,belly button.Spanish moss for hair and a shell head-
band.Small shells were used for the jewelry also.Each doll has a sea bean which is said to bring good luck.Made fishnet from cheesecloth dyed with watered down paint.Added some sea glass and sea shells to the net.I like the way they turned out but will make some changes on the next ones I make.They're kinda wild looking , maybe I should call them Sea Hagglers.

Slacker

I'm back ! I've been very slack on the blogging scene.Were do I begin?
My oldest daughter got married July 8th.It was an outdoor wedding in my backyard.Spent a month cleaning the house and yard,almost sun up to sun down.The small simple wedding (LOL)turned into a crowd of 200.
The wedding and reception were both held in my backyard.Wish I had pictures to share,but my digital camera died a couple of days before the wedding.It was a great wedding,the weather was wonderful and the ceremony was beautiful.

On July 11th,my uncle was in a wreck.He died from the injuries on July 15th.May you be at peace Uncle Don.A wedding and a death all in one week,left me feeling very stressed out.My dh and I decided to ride to the beach the weekend after the funeral.It was time for renewal from so much stress.

We visited my brother and his wife at Holden Beach.It's a small beach,family oriented and not to commericalized.There were no stop lights or hotels/motels along the beach front.Anyway I loved the area and hope to go again soon.

After the wedding , the garden started to bear, so between everything else going on , me and Mom have been canning and freezing , Greenbeans,
corn,tomatoes,okra and squash.I canned some salsa.It was the first time I had made salsa ,was pleased with the way it turned out.We had taco salad one night last week and the salsa was very tasty.

My sister's blueberries are bearing .Saturday I went blueberry picking.
I love to go berry picking , I find it very relaxing.Made fresh blueberry pancakes Sunday for brunch.They were delicious.Froze some to make blueberry cobblers later.

So as you can see , I've been very busy . Bought a new digital camera and thought it would be compatible with the dock I have . But of course not .
So now I need to purchase a new dock before I can download any pictures.

Still doing the 101 potraits , although I'm a little behind .Hoping to catch up.

Praying for Peace,Joyce

Junk Mail Art Swap

A while back I got involved in an art swap.The swap was called Junk Art.We were to create a piece of art using junk mail.This is the junk art I recieved.It was fun to look forward to getting something in the mail besides bills and junk mail. I think it is beautiful.


Keep Creating ,
Joyce

Nature

I took this photo from inside my dining room.He was a handsome little buck.Would have been picture perfect,if my windows were clean.Nature offers so much natural beauty.This little fellow was munching on some honeysuckers.Do you know what honeysuckers are?It's another natural beauty,a wild vine that blooms these trumpet shaped flowers.They smell so good and you can pull them off the vine and bite the end off and suck the nectar out.They're so sweet and delicious !

My little bluejay made it through Friday night.Saturday afternoon I put him on the ground,hoping he would try to fly.I went in the house for a while and when I went to check on him,he had died.I buried him and said a prayer.HOPE he has a wonderful journey to the spirit world.

Sunny Spirit Magnet

This is my magnet I created for Lora's magnet swap.It is called "Sunny Spirit".I've got to get it in the mail tommorrow.Had a lot of fun making it.

Spent most of this day,watching a young blue jay that had left its nest.It wasn't quite strong enough to fly yet.The parents were trying to protect it from my cats.I finally caught it in a big box and put it up on top of a building that is near the nest.I hope the mother will still take care of it.

We're putting down laminate flooring in the kitchen.Everything is a mess.
Will be glad when it is finished.

Pray for my little feathered friend ! Joyce

101 Portraits Challenge

Started a new project last week.Violette has given us a new challenge,101 portraits.We are to draw or create something about ourselves for 101 days.My first self portrait was a child-like drawing.I hope I get better as I go.My 2nd portrait was a Feather Blessed Maid.I'm posting a picture of her.We will create a journal with these portraits.I believe it will teach us alot about ourselves.Thanks for this challenge,Violette.

Happy Mother's Day

My Mother's day was great.I spent time with my mom.I bought her a new hummingbird feeder ,windchimes and a potted plant.She was very happy all her children were home today.My Mom is a very simple person.She is very special to me.
My daughters cooked dinner tonight.Steak,baked potatoe,salad,garlic bread and apple dumplings for dessert.Loved their cards and gifts.

Hope every MOTHER was blessed today !

Giving Thanks

It's a beautiful Saturday morning.Started this day by giving thanks for everything I'm blessed with.Then I'm heading off to the P.O. to mail a package and I'm going to help my Mom and Dad plant the garden.Will write more about the garden this afternoon.
We got the garden planted.Can't wait till we have fresh greenbeans,corn,
tomatoes,squash,okra,peas.I was going to take a picture,but I forgot the camera.Thank-you Mother Earth for providing us food and family time.

My brother-in-law came by to invite us for dinner.He grilled hamburgers
and cooked mushrooms,onions, garlic for the topping.They were delicious.

Don't forget Mother's Day tommorrow ! Let her know she is treasured !

What do you see ?

A beautiful dandelion or an ugly weed.I think this is a beautiful plant . It makes a great filler for your salad in early spring.This natural herb may have saved my grandson's life.My daughter developed a rare liver condition when she was pregnant and I discovered that dandelion heals the liver.It has many healing properties.
It has this beautiful bloom to remind us of nature's way.As a child I spent time making dandelion crowns and blowing away the seeds,or little parachutes we called them.So I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.I love those dandelions in my yard.
I hope to teach my girls and grandson to treasure this plant.

Next Project

Last night I worked on a 4x4 for an art swap.This swap requires using junk mail .This swap will commemorate Earth Day.I used a postcard that I had recieved from a florist.I glued a picture of the ocean and sand dunes. Added a frog holding the earth with a mermaid tale, a stamp with blue birds and some cutout words.Then I decided to add some bubblewrap.I ended up covering the whole postcard.It looked pretty good.But then I got to thinking it would be impossible to get a good picture with the bubblewrap.So I'm going to try to take a picture and post.May have to create another one.They're usually posted on website. It looks pretty good.So on to the next art swap.Need to create a magnet.

Peace To All,Joyce

Choo ! Choo! The Creativity Train

I finally finished my box car for the creativity train.My box car is called Graffiti.It was made from a drawing,I did a few weeks ago.I took a picture of the drawing and copied it to the size needed.The top of box car was made from a drawstring from a fruit sack.Buttons for the wheels.I decided to add some color,so I colored the smiley faces.The box car latch is a piece of a picture frame hanger.It'll be fun to see everyone's box cars together to form the creativity train.

Buzz ! Buzz ! Buzz !

Still buzzing around.Yard sale starts tommorrow.I've been digging out,pricing,cleaning,making signs and flyers.Hope it goes well.
Worked on the train last night,need to finish details.I've got to put it in the mail Monday.Got to get bezzy ! Wishing everyone a great Friday !

Busy as a bee !

I've been busy as a bee this week.Watching my grandson,getting ready for a yard sale,planning a wedding .Yesterday we went shopping for summer clothes for Curious J.Bought him a couple of outfits and a Sponge-bob swimsuit.He was thrilled with the swimsuit.He's a big SpongeBob fan.I've got to get my creativity train put together tonight.We're making a train to celebrate Violette,an artist who inspires alot of people.May post a picture when I finish.Well got to go,need to be buzzing along.Clothes to wash,yard sale items to price and a train to create.Plus american idol comes on tonight.

Have a great day !

Feather Blessing

Welcome to my blog spot. It's Monday! New month , new beginning. Spent the day taking care of my grandson Curious J. We spent an hour outside today. While we were walking around in the yard I was gifted with a feather. Hope it brings a special blessing.
I'm working on a art magnet , that I call sunny spirit. It includes a orange feather. I will try to post a picture when it is finished. I'm making the magnet for an art swap.

~Feather Blessings ~

JoyceAnn