HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I wish everyone a Safe, Healthy and Happy New Year!

Remember....dont drink and drive...have a designated driver or call a taxi.

the christmas wave

Found this on Facebook and thought I would put it on the blog to keep it going!

We Wish You a Merry♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Christmas♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪We Wish You a Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♥ ♥ ♥We Wish You A Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪...And A Happy New Year!♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪... Copy and paste~keep the wave goin

Craft Show Over/recipe

Well my craft show went pretty good considering that hardly anyone came. : (
It rained and rained all day, non stop. For awhile it poured so hard I thought the roof was going to fall down on us! There were a few unhappy Vendors.

This normally is a big event with a great turnout. Last time I sold everything!

Like I said I did really good. I made back my costs..booth,supplies and had extra shopping money. I was happy with the final results. Even my 11 year old granddaughter did well, she sold a few of her handmade bracelets. She then went shopping (around the craft show) for christmas gifts and a few things for herself. She was happy. :)

I sold all but 3 of my wine bottle stoppers...I brought 12 with me. They went pretty quick. Sold almost all of my handpainted ornaments and large clothes pin clips.

I also have 7 orders, they were easy- peasy, got them done in time.
I was asked to attend two shows this spring. Hmmmm must think about that....... Shows are so.....you know.....aacckk!

Now I am sitting here with a sinus and gland infection and laryngitus! On antibiotics and hopefully will be better by Christmas Day! I sound like I swallowed a mouse.... squeek squeek!

Here is a recipe from Susans Scrapbook Shack on Facebook and her blog

Spicy Goldfish Snack


18 oz Pepperidge Farm Goldfish
1 cup vegetable oil
1 pkg Ranch dressing mix
1 Tbsp Dill Weed
8-10 sprinkles lemon pepper
8-10 sprinkles red pepper flakes

Mix all together well in large rectangle pan. Stir frequently, letting sit out overnight. Store in tin.
Recipe courtesy of Brandi Hagli~

ENJOY!!!!

Craftnique

Craft Show

I am getting ready for a huge craft show/event on the 12th of Dec. I will have a large area to display my items. A corner spot with a wall behind me.

I will have Christmas and non Christmas items, gift ideas a variety of items and various prices.

I have a few ornaments so I am not sure if I should put up an artificial tree and hang the ornaments on that or just display them on a table. Any ideas, suggestions/opinions?

We will be able to set up the night before which is a great.

If you have any ideas, hints, or suggestions I would love to hear them.

Also do you take Credit Cards or checks? Or just cash?

Have a great day!

A cold...ugh

I got hit with the cold bug..the kind that has you in bed for a week, stuffy nose, runny nose, headache, cant think, cant move kinda bug.

Now I am finally up and about but zapped of energy. Start something but cant seem to finish. It still lingers..you know sound stuffy occaisional cough, clear the throat kinda thing....ugh. Two weeks of this!
If you get hit with this ...just get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids and rest rest rest.....................

I got behind on my crafts, so frustrating when you know you have things to do but no energy to do it. Just slept the days away! I am usually like the energy bunny if I catch a cold I keep going and going...not this time!
My family was worried..mom doesnt stay in bed..she must really be sick!!

The last 2 days in bed I did get on the internet and watched a lot of crafting ideas on you tube. A lot of ideas and creativity out there. I have the Ranger Melting Pot and found a lot uses for it on you tube. Wow! ....Now to get the energy and try some of them.

Keep safe and warm.

until next time
Hermy

Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thank you for your Service...past and present

Lets support our troops, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Vets, Veteran's Homes, to name a few. We should support,volunteer and donate to these causes that help our Veterans and their families. You can contact your local American Legion Post for information.

handpainted Turkeys set of 2

Handpainted resin turkeys, great for the Holiday table decor.

When I saw these I had to get them.

It has been awhile since I painted on resin. I forgot how much fun it was. Start with a basic color, add a different shade and add different colors and the turkeys come "alive".

I know Gobble gobble.... : - )

listed on www.craftnique.etsy.com

and

listed on www.craftnique.artfire.com

Taquitos and Cheese Recipe

This is a quick and easy recipe that my family and friends love.
Thought I would share.

1 box frozen taquitos (beef or chicken)

1 medium can green enchalada sauce ( mild, medium or hot..your choice)

1 pkg shredded cheddar or monteray jack cheese (or shred your own)

cook taquitos in oven according to package directions.

after cooking pour (or ladle) green enchalada sauce over taquitos

spread the shredded cheese on top

place back in oven and cook until cheese has melted, about 3 minutes

yummy

great for a pot luck.

New items

I just listed this large clothespin Note clip in my Etsy and Artfire shops.

This would be a cute gift for a teacher.

My youngest daughter is a teacher and she needs gifts to give for her fellow teachers/friends. I painted this design on the clothespin and she liked this ...I wonder if Santa ordered one for her to place on her desk?

Artfire Crazy Train Rider for today is http://www.artfire.com/users/krschurr

she says " I sew athletic wear for fun and function. To that end, the best fabric available is used, and all seams are finished. Customize your shorts or leggings! It's great fun."

She also has a variety of other items in her shop. Stop by and see what she has.

I take care of a 3 year old during the day. He calls my Craft Room "Gramma's work" Every now and then he will say "Gramma lets go to your work". Today we went to "my work" and he said I needed to clean it up so he helped me clean my "work". He put my paints away. Right now he is taking his nap so I think I will go to my "work" and put the paints where they should be ( I keep them in order of color) and maybe get some painting done!!

so many ideas

Yesterday I came up with so many ideas to craft, to paint etc. etc. I would start on one then go to another and on and on. By afternoon I finally just stopped. Nothing was done but a lot was started!! LOL.
Now my craft room has unfinished projects.....oh well...nothing new!! I will get it done.
I did write down my ideas so when I do get back to these projects I will know what I am doing ( I hope!).

When I decided to just stop I went on the internet.
Ha...I went on Etsy and Artfire Forums just to read.....I learned soooo much!!

The forums are so helpful.

I learned how to shorten my username for my Facebook fan page. That really made me happy because I didnt like having all those letters and numbers.
I left my Homepage as is but I needed to adjust my Fan Page.

If you have a Fan Page and you are wanting to do the same, click here.

http://www.facebook.com/username/

The question was asked by www.artgirlx.etsy.com

This answer came from http://www.perfectlypaper.etsy.com/

I also learned how to put a facebook widget here on my blog.
On Artfire you can import your etsy items to your shop..learned how to do that!
On Artfire I learned how to use my blog in my shop...need to get that started.
Like I said....I learned a lot!

Now I must enter ~~~the craftroom~~ ~ and see if I can finish what I started!!

Happy Friday everyone!

Ready to paint!

It seems as soon as Fall arrives I get the "painting bug". More so than any other time of the year! I think it's because I love snowmen, gingerbread, Oh heck~~~ I love the whole Holiday Season!

Getting started takes time,depending on what I am painting. Preparing the surface to get it ready to paint. Make sure I have all the supplies needed.

Then the base coating.

I like to paint more than one item at a time. This way while one is drying I can start on the other. Sometimes I will use a hairdryer on low to speed up the drying time. If I am using oil paint I use matte krylon and spray it on to dry.( Oil paints take a long time to dry even when using the Krylon) . Depending on time~~ sometimes I use both acrylic and oil paints on one project.

Here is a picture of two Nutcrackers that I am painting on a large clothespin. They are in the base coat stage.

Once the base coat is applied and dry I will shade in his face. From there I start to shade and highlight the rest of the nutcracker.

When I add the details my Nutcrackers come to "life".

It is always fun to see the results.

I let them dry completely before I apply Varnish.

Here is a picture of the finished piece.

helping each other

Well today is my turn on the artfire crazy train. www.craftnique.artfire.com
It is nice to help each other and promote our shops. This Crazy Train was started quite awhile ago and we have many riders. I think we have riders well into 2010. What is so nice about it is that everyone IS promoting. Either by blogging, tweeting, facebook, email, forums etc. You can tell by the increase in views. You know what? That is the way it should be. Helping each other.

It is on "a trust" thing but so far so good. Sometimes you cant promote for some reason or another aka: illness, vacation etc. but they(we) will come back. Some even make up for it by promoting more than one shop at a time to catch up.

Artfire Crazy Train was started by www.PicardCreative.artfire.com

I promote on my blog, email, craft forum and my Facebook page and I have a Facebook Business page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lompoc-CA/craftnique/67095135775?ref=nf

I dont have a Twitter account. I dont know why I dont! (LOL). If you have one is it easy to use? Is it better or the same as Facebook?

This social internet stuff is addicting!!!


Have a great day!

flip flops!

Look at these flip flops. They are so pretty. She has many more in her shop

www.fabulouscreations.artfire.com

Stop by her shop and look at all the styles. They are really nice! You can wear most of them anywhere. A variety of colors and designs.

Crazy Weather!!

We have had some crazy weather here on the Central Coast. Actually all of California from what I hear!

It was warm for a few days then cold then warm....never knew what to wear!

Friends came to visit and we had a bbq, the weather was nice. Next day it was overcast! The next day...the STORM hit and it hit the entire State. The rain wouldnt let up, poured and poured. I shouldnt complain...we need the rain. The wind well....it was very windy.

That storm lasted 3 days and now it is in the 80's to 90's in some/most areas!! Hot! Beach weather and what am I doing??? Sitting in my craftroom painting! Yup sitting indoors!

Painting and painting,......................................

I will be the featured shop on the Crazy Train over on Artfire the 20th and 21st of Oct. (http://www.craftnique.artfire.com/)

I have craft shows coming up so I need a lot of items.

Here are a couple of items I painted for Fall/Halloween.

I think tomorrow I will take a break and enjoy the outdoors...I hope the weather stays nice.....

Have a great weekend!

Fall

So many things to do. I have a lot of ideas for painting Fall items...I just need the time to do it all! lol. I have plenty of surfaces to paint on.


I enjoy painting for Fall and Christmas. Combination of the weather and the fact that I love snowmen!! Christmas! Santa!!! The entire idea of it all~~~~~~~~~





I added these coasters to my artfire shop.

I painted the background and pumpkins on plain cardboard coasters. I varnished to give them a glass like shine. I then cut and glued cork to the back. Cutting cork in a round shape isnt easy! Half way through I wondered what I got myself
into!! lol! Of course I could have used a circle
cutter ...hmmm maybe next time!!



I also painted the design on a large clothespin/memo clip to match.



I am a warm weather type person but I will admit to the fact that I do like the Fall colors!! and ...ok I kinda like the change (just not the cold
weather)









If you are living on the Central Coast California The Ride 2 Recovery riders are cycling from San Fransisco to Los angeles. Today they are riding from Pismo Beach to Solvang. Fri, Solvang to Ventura and on Sat Ventura to Los Angeles along hiwy 1. They are our wounded Veterans. If you can, stand along their route and cheer them on. Let them know we appreciate their service.

Everyone have a great day!

Artfire

I have been busy painting. I posted a couple of items in my artfire shop www.craftnique.artfire.com and I will be posting more in the next few days!.

~~~~~~~~~~~~...................Artfire Crazy Train.................~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.catinalife.artfire.com
Today our artfire crazy train artist is Catinalife. I think you can tell by her shop name she likes cats! lol
She has some beautiful jewelry in her shop. I especially like the Chain Mailli work. Awesome! What I like about her work is the variety of color. She doesnt just stick with gold or silver.
Browse on over to her shop and take a look, you will like what you see!


.http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&sc_id=57749&seller_id=569&op=new

Vacation

Donner Lake Truckee River

We had a great time on our vacation. We visited family and friends, old neighborhoods, it was great! We traveled to Sacramento, Reno, Virginia City, Auburn, San Jose, Gilroy and King City. The weather was hot but we loved it!

Interesting to see the changes in each city/town. All for the good too! We took our bicycles and rode them when we could. So nice and peaceful when you just "cruise" along on a bike through the streets and parks. At my sisters, I was riding down hill so fast, I felt like a kid WOO HOO!!. THEN I had to ride uphill to get back to her house..a reminder that I was no longer a kid!! LOL

Took my new camera along on our trip. Took some pretty good pictures, easy to carry along. I really liked it. Now the darn thing keeps blinking that I need to replace the batteries...put new batteries in and still blinking! Yup going to return it! I still have the rec"t etc.

My Camera

My Camera, my first digital camera. Bulky yes, heavy yes but I love it.
It is slowly not working anymore and I am having a hard time parting with it. My husband keeps saying "get a new one"(probaby tired of hearing me complain about it LOL)
I had to have it fixed a few months ago,it was a recall and fixed for free.
Now the batteries wear down quickly. I have to take the batteries out as soon as I am finished using it. That means no sudden "gotta get that" picture. LOL by the time I get the batteries in the object is gone. Now its new thing is... I will get ready to take a picture and......it shuts down!!!

I did find a camera that I like, price is good, has more megapixels and zoom than my "old" camera. I should just go and buy it!!!

The funny thing is that the camera I like is the same brand as my old one (canon) but is smaller and cost less than my old camera did!

We are taking off for a few days and I will need a new camera...Ok..I will buy a new one..I can STILL take some pictures with the old one right??

Huntington Beach and a Bicycle ride

Huntington Beach US OPEN

My husband and I decided to visit our son in Huntington Beach over the weekend. What is normally a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive ended up being a 4 1/2 hour drive. Not only did we hit the friday trafffic in LA it was the US open Surf Competition in HB!!!!

My son lives about 6 blocks from the Beach so driving anywhere was out of the question. Instead we rode bikes! On Sat. we rode down to Main Street parked and locked our bikes and walked to the Pier. These pictures were taken while standing on the Pier. A lot of people, Vendors, Surfing , Volley Ball and great weather. It was a fun day.

I love to ride a bike, especially when the weather is nice. I am talking a nice slow pace ride. I have a cruiser bike. I see things that I normally wouldnt see when driving a car. I had a 10 speed but sold it. I never knew what gear I was in and I had trouble getting it in gear! LOL! Heck I had a sting ray bike while growing up!!! Pop a wheelie..yeah!! Ok cant pop a wheelie with my cruiser bike and probably wouldnt be able to now anyway but hey.... I am happy with my bike and it even has a basket on the back!!!

Balloons!!!!

Today I had my first sale on Artfire! Yeah!! Doin the happy dance!! Not only was that exciting, turns out the buyer has a unique talent herself!
I sent her an email thanking her and letting her know her item was shipped. She responded right away with kind words and at the bottom were 2 links.
One to her artfire shop
Bonnie's Jewelry on Artfire which is run by her and her 2 sisters as she says in her bio:

"About our shop name: Barb, Elizabeth, and Bonnie (the one who answers any of the questions you might have.) = BEBs Treasures = Items that are cherished and/or deemed valuable BEBs Treasures = Cherished items from we 3 sisters."

They also have a shop on Etsy with the same name. I was looking at the items on Artfire ( I still have to go and look on Etsy!!). There are some beautiful items in their Artfire shop. They really do nice work.

Now getting back to unique talent, she signed her name "Bonnie the Balloon Lady"...What? Balloon Lady?? HMMM.....................
The second link was
Bonnie's Balloon Portfolio

Well..I had to click on that link and OMG!! Some amazing balloons. I have seen twisting and turning balloons into shapes but these are fantastic. YOU HAVE to go and look! She is a Professional.
I cant copy paste the pictures to show on my blog because of copyright. Besides, there are too many that I like....Mickey Mouse, Sponge Bob and more....many more. Oh and then there is face painting...awesome. Bonnie or Balloon Lady...entertains at family restaurants and family events. If you live in the Pocahontas Ar. area you can book her for an event or check her out in person. She lists where and when on her Portfolio site. Just take a look at her amazing work, let your kids and grandkids look too..they will love it.
Let me know what you think!
Have a great day!
Hermy ( Craftnique)

Just Blogging

Crazy Train on Artfire....

http://www.artfire.com/users/daisyleedesigns there are a variety of items in this shop, from hair bows to earrings. here is a beanie. Isnt it pretty!

I did recieve two blog awards (in one day!) back in June. I have been so busy and now here it is July and I am finally getting around to it.

The first one was recieved from

www.andreawdesigns.blogspot.com

and the second one from

www.theshutterbugeye.blogspot.com

I will send blog awards asap. I am on the computer that likes to shut down all by itself. Need to get my laptop and post on that.

In the meantime Thank you for the award.

Check out these two blogs they are great. I find myself reading them everytime they post a new one and I enjoy the photos!

Have a great Wednesday!

Flower festival Floats

It has been a busy time for us.

I finally found some time to post some pictures of the Floats that made it in the Flower Festival Parade.The Floats were made from the flowers that grow in our area. Each flower is glued on one at a time. They were up all night preparing for the parade.

These pictures were taken after the parade. The floats are parked a long a side street so we can look and take pictures.

The large float was the Festival Queen and her court.

The weather was great for the festival weekend.

The parade was small this year, only a few Floats. I guess the Economy is to blame.

New Lap Top

Well I bought myself a laptop. Lucky for me it was on sale. I got it for half price! I also bought a router and now I can roam the house and yard freely while on the internet! Yay! I always used a desktop. This is all new to me...you should see me and this....pad.... no mouse thing. LOL.
I have to figure out how to use the cd/dvd, pictures etc...Whew! It's like starting over!!!

The Flower Festival started today. The carnival, music and food booths. I live a block from the park, from certain rooms I can hear the music from the entertainers on the stage.
In my previous blog I forgot to mention that they take the flowers and make floats for the Parade. Some awesome looking floats. The Flower Fest. Queen and her Court ride the biggest float and it is completely decorated and designed by the prisoners from Lompoc Federal Prison. They do a beautiful job. All the Floats that enter the parade are voted on, 1st prize, 2nd etc. Also the bands and other entrants are voted on. I will be out taking pictures on Sat. Hopefully have some posted here for all to see.
In the meantime I am going to play with this new toy and try and figure out my way around. LOL

Have a great day!

Flower Festival

I live in what they call "The Flower Capital of the World". Flower Fields all over the area. Beautiful, like a carpet, full of colors and oh the fragrence.

Then they started building houses, shopping centers and of course they took away some of the beautiful flower fields. We still have a few fields left, thank goodness. In fact if you ever saw the email of the American Flag created by Flowers in a large flower field, that is about 4 blocks from my house.

The flowers are in bloom now and just beautiful.
Here are pictures of a field not too far from where I live.

The last week of June we have our annual Flower Festival. It starts on Wednesday with Carnival rides, booths etc. Then on Sat. we have the parade going down H strret to Ocean/hiwy 246 turns right and all the way to O street. It ends at the park where the rides are and the craft booths. Crafters from all over, booking one year in advance. This is a BIG deal. We have people coming from all over to attend the festivities.

For more information and photos click on these links.

http://www.beachcalifornia.com/lompoc-flower-fields-photos.html

http://www.flowerfestival.org/ffevent.php

Browsing instead of Creating!

I should be finishing some projects that I started yesterday. I got on the computer and started browsing shops on Artfire and on Etsy. Some amazing stuff by so many creative people.

I could sit and look all day......

This bracelet is so pretty! The artist has a lot of beaded items, necklaces, earrings brooches. So many beautiful items in her shop. The artists is also an author of some nature Books.! You can see her work at RockyCreekGems

Then I found this tile pendent at NinjaJenn. She does some awesome work (and a great blogger too!). NinjaJenn will even make a pendent or ring using your avatar! How cool is that?

Her tile pendents and rings are so nice I cant decide which one I like best!

I like the colors and peacefullness of this one.

Then I found this shop Kraftouchtreasures

There are so many different things in her shop. From pretty to cute. I love these and yes there are more in different colors too!

So many more but I do have to get busy and finish up my projects. Oh! remember a few blogs ago I had an idea with small gourds and polymer clay. and I said I would put up pictures when done!!??

I finished one (still working on the other! LOL) Here it is. My Gourd Man Business Card Holder. You can see more pictures of him at http://www.craftnique.artfire.com/

One Lovely Blog Award! Thank You!!!

Thank You!

What an honor!!


I am doing the happy dance right now!!


I recieved this "One Lovely Blog" award from Creations With Heart


What a nice surprise and coming from a very nice , talented and helpful person that I "met" on the internet makes it even better!!

There are a few rules to follow that I need to share with you.

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.

3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Unfortunately, I can't give it back to the person that gave it to me, but I do get to give it to 15 great bloggers

1. The Skin You're In

2.Sea Glass Jewelry - Out Of The Blue Seaglass Jewelry

3.Nostalgic Nature Art

4. Pinkfink's Creations

5. New places to buy Alisun's ...

6.catmacdesigns

7. Christinas ramblings and cr...

8.Meekiyu's Dream

9. My Paradise Moon by LuLu

10.Crazy K Bath and Body

11. GemKitty

12. Karena Bella Jewelry

13. marcie adary

14.Designs By Patricia

15.DawnWillBreak's Blog

Please accept this award and pass it on to other lovely bloggers.

Artfire

Ha! ha! I am still sorting Moonstones, jade, sea glass and other stones. I washed them first, laid them out on a tray than as I walk by I sort. I feel like I am doing a jig saw puzzle...you know..it sits there and you work on it for awhile than on to something else. There are some pretty stones in there!! I am putting alike stones in jars and sea glass in a separate jar. Actually it is relaxing in a way....

Artfire has given us options to set up our shop pages. It is nice. It is like creating your own web page or blog page.. I worked on it a little yesterday. I plan on changing my banner but it will do for now. I choose green for my background color but will probably change that too. LOL It even allows you to put widgets from your etsy or whatever other shops you may have. You can see what I am talking about on my homepage www.craftnique.artfire.com

Todays featured shop from Artfire is ChantillyLace. She has a lot of pretty items in her shop. Hair accesories, jewelry. She works with pearls, lace and fabrics. A lot of vintage items used in her work. you can click on the link to see her shop/items. If you cant click on the link try this one. I know you will enjoy looking around her shop. www.ChantillyLace.artfire.com

Have a great evening ! Until next time
Hermy

Moonstone Beach, Cambria, Calif.

Cambria : distinctive shops, art galleries and walking trails along Moonstone Beach.

We live just south of this small coastal town. It is a nice relaxing place to go for the day or weekend. On Sunday my daughter, granddaughters and 2 friends of ours decided to take a drive to Cambria and go to Moonstone Beach to collect Moonstones, Jade and Beach Glass.. which covers the entire beach area. No sand just these small stones everywhere! Moonstone Beach has a nice park with playground and swimming pool and then just beyond that is the beach. Not too far of a walk.

We brought along our buckets and shovels and started searching. Next time we will bring sifters, even though all the rocks were pretty we only wanted the jade, moonstones and beach glass.

The moonstones were clear and shimmered in the light. So pretty. The story I heard is that at night when the moon shines on these stones they shimmer and sparkle along the shoreline. Hmm.. that gives me an idea.. good excuse to rent a room at the Moonstone Inn which sits right on the beach!

The jade came in a variety of sizes and different shades of green. So pretty. All you could hear was "OOHH"AHHH" or "Gramma look at this one".So much fun!!!

The white rocks you see in the pictures are actually the clear moonstones. We only found the white to off white and clear stones. I have heard that some are blue but maybe not in this region.

We had such a wonderful relaxing day.

My daughter and her two little ones decided to walk further towards the cliff and found tons of beach glass. They also discovered the high tide and big waves. LOL they came back with a few piecesof glass and soaking wet! GOOD THING WE BROUGHT A CHANGE OF CLOTHES FOR EVERYONE!
The beach glass was smooth and frosty looking almost like a stone. It wasnt the warmest of days so they were wet and cold and in our excitement..we forgot to take a picture of the beach glass!!

Will have to remember to do that later.

We ended the day just sitting in the sun and deciding what we can make with our stones and glass..

What a great day we all had!

Cant wait to go back!!

Baked artichokes...

My family and I love artichokes.
We live near a few artichoke fields so when we buy from the local Farmers Market or Roadside Stand we get really big artichokes for a great price. I usually boil them ,then we dip the leaves in butter or mayonaisse then eat till nothing left except the fuzzy stuff and scraped leaves!
That is our favorite( and only) way to eat them. Very easy and delicious.
Before boiling... I wash them, cut off the top portion and then with scissors cut the points off the leaves all around then I cut off the stem and rinse them really well.
A few years ago a friend said she always stuffs them with macaroni and cheese, we tried it but went back to the boiled method.
I love cookbooks, collecting and sharing recipes. The other day I found a recipe to bake artichokes ..hmmm sounds good.... Nope... Awful. Not the same. Plus it was a lot of work!
My husband and I decided that we will stick to the boiled method!

Artfire Crazy Train is featuring http://debvandetdesigns.artfire.com. She has a nice variety of items in her shop from girly to gothic. Whatever suits your taste. I like the switch plate cover with roses, very girly and very pretty. Click on the link to see her items.

The sun is out so I am going to go outside and get some vitamin D!!!
until next time..............

Bright idea!!

Today I spent most of the day in my craftroom working with polymer clay. I then had this bright idea and it was a good idea. I made it, baked it, let it cool and .....I broke it!!! Yup broke it in three places!!! ACCKKKKKKKK!!

So now, do I try again? Make it thicker? It really is a good idea. I think I will try making it again.

I did get a few other items done. Here is an Incense Burner. Back to the craft room to try again...

been awhile

Well it has been a few days since I blogged. I have been busy with one thing or another. At first I thought this week would be slow, nothing marked on the calendar, no set plans etc. Good week for just "me " time
Ha.!!!. One appointment after another, then a few "mom can you" phone calls and its only Wednesday!!! Well maybe tomorrow I will not answer the phone (yeah right).
Over at Artfire the Crazy Train is chuggling along.
We have this cute crochet soapbag http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=ViewListing&product_id=179338

You will find more at her shop http://www.absolutelyamy.artfire.com

Then over on http://www.AlisunsToo.ArtFire.com
The artists says:
"Always Get Too For One. Buy an item. Shop for another item OR ITEMS that equal the purchase price. Pay the shipping price ONLY if it weighs more than 13 oz. That's it. Have fun shopping! This is where you will find all my destash, and stuff that doesn't fit in my Alisun's Custom Crafted Jewelry store (www.alisuns.artfire.com)."

At http://www.michiganmud.artfire.com you will find some pendants, rings, and other unique items made from polymer clay.
Here is an example http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=ViewListing&product_id=148152

Who knows?? Maybe you'll find that certain item you were looking for!!!

I think I will go and get some "me "time before the phone rings!! LOL

Until next time,
Hermy ( Craftnique)

My Uncle, Jack Martin

Yesterday my Uncle Jack passed away. He died in his sleep which we all say "he died doing what he loved the most...napping."

He lived in West Virginia . He was my dads younger brother.I was fortunate enough to visit my dads side of the family every summer growing up and made a couple of visits as an adult. I have many wonderful happy memories of visiting Grandpa's farm and my relatives. My uncle was the last of my dads family to go.( Aunt, 2 uncles & my dad) (My dad died in 1994 of Lou Gerrigs disease or medically known as ALS). So... that family Chapter is now gone.

Uncle Jack was everybody's favorite. Loving, kind, a gentle giant. All the Martin girls from my older sister to my second cousins...we all were going to marry Uncle Jack.

The last few months he wasnt well and had some medical problems, I had planned on calling him today. I am going to my moms house and we had talked about calling him. She wanted to see how his Dr appt went and just to say hello.

I live near Vandenberg Air Force Base so whenever a rocket or missile goes up I try to get a picture of the event and send it to him, he loved that. Tuesday a Delta Rocket went up. I heard it rumbling, grabbed my camera and ran outside but the rocket had already disappeared . I did get some cool pictures and planned on sending them to Uncle Jack. Now they sit in my computer.

I decided I will post them here in honor of my wonderful sweet uncle. I will miss him. God Bless You Uncle Jack.