For some reason, I have to keep checking my watch to confirm what day it is. It seems like Saturday. I don’t know why.
Frontier Waste Solutions
When it IS Saturday, we have a ‘date’ with some dumpsters at the Sebastian County Road Department, where we can take the stuff we’ve been wanting to get rid of (with some restrictions, of course) between 7am and 2pm. HOORAY!
We’re having a beautiful day today, sunny and 76 degrees.
These light-weight hand-painted wooden teardrop-shaped 2″ dangle earrings will help you celebrate fall in comfort and style. $13.85 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S. HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy
My computer says it’s 68 right now, but our thermometers say, “60”. Whatever the temperature, it feels a bit cool and is rainy. We’re grateful to have a warm, dry house and no have-to errands today.
I just added two new signs I painted to my Etsy site –
I’m working very slowly and carefully, trying to add my own free-form engraving/etching to the glassware I put chemical etching designs on for my friends. I have no idea if this will turn out well enough for me to give to them, or I’ll end up pitching them and starting something else. I’m having a good time trying, though it’s a bit stressful and I’m having to do just a little bit at a time.
I hope that this rainy Wednesday is a nice one for you and that you are able to find something enjoyable to do with at least part of the day.
“Rosh Hashanah, meaning “head of the year” in Hebrew, is the celebration of the Jewish New Year. During Rosh Hashanah, Jewish people around the world ask God for forgiveness for mistakes they’ve made over the past year and remind themselves not to repeat those mistakes in the coming year.”
I wish you a happy and safe new year.
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@PaulMillerArt On X – I thought this was a photo when I first saw it. An excellent photo. And then I discovered it WASN’T a photo! I think this is truly amazing art work. I will look to see if I can find and show you more.
USAGIF.com
We leave for Lunch Bunch in a bit. I’m hoping that Kay and Bud’s daughter, LaDonna, will be visiting from Albuquerque. She’s always busily doing something new, so it’s really interesting to talk with her. We don’t have any errands today, except for getting our mail. My husband will probably insist that we visit our nearly-finished new bridge so that he can gripe that it’s not open yet. :0)
The weather is supposed to be nice, so I might work outside this afternoon. I haven’t been able to get upstairs to play in my art room this week. Something else has come up each day, sucking the time out of the day, so it would be great if I could get up there. We’ll see.
Wall Hanging – 9×12 “I’m Ready” – “Living with Gusto” Sign Series – $17.95 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.
I love Phyllis Harris’ work. She has several books and coloring books on Amazon. :0)
STUPID MOVE OF THE DAY –
I won this contest hands down (pun intended) yesterday. I needed to open a box of baking soda in order to pour it into an over-center container I use. I was using the scissors to open the top more and ‘suddenly’ the handles of the scissors snapped shut, pinching my hand just below my thumb. It happened really fast, hurt like crazy, and had me bleeding all over the place. Thankfully, I was in the kitchen where it could be wiped up, band-aids found, etc. I only have a little bruise today. It isn’t even very sore. The intense feeling of stupidity remains.
My outdoor to-do list for today is 4 planters around our garage pad. (There are two small ones and two regular-sized brick ones. ) If I can get them done, I’ll post pics later.
Nursery World
If I finish those, I’ll try to get to my art room this afternoon. I’m still practicing with the pen type engraver. It’s a good thing I have a lot of practice time. The jury is still out on whether I can actually do well enough to create the Christmas presents of etched glass I’m envisioning. I’m also having a great time producing some signs with sayings I like.
Attitude Sign – 6×8 Hand-Painted Sign on Hardboard – “Attitude” – $14.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S. HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy
As I type, it’s raining! Real raindrops falling from the sky. I think it will stop before we need to leave for Lunch Bunch and errands, but I’ll just get into the mood to enjoy being drowned if it doesn’t. :0)
6×6 – Living with Gusto Series – “Chance to Fly” – $12.99 with FREE SHIPPING to contiguous U.S. HandmadeHavenByLinda On Etsy
I’m practicing every day, trying to get the feel of my new engraving pen. It’s a good thing that Christmas is still several months away. I’ll need a lot of practice…
I spent some time yesterday playing with my new engraver. It seems very sensitive to me. As a beginner, I’m finding it challenging to press down on the pen hard enough to make a solid line, but not TOO hard so it stops. Seems a bit hair trigger to me, reacting to my bumbling. I’m glad I have time and scrap glass on which to practice until my technique improves.
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We have a quiet day today – a very welcome thing. I hope that things are good with you in your day today, too.
Boys’ and Girls’ Names Signs – Made to Order – $5.75 with FREE SHIPPING to contiguous U.S. HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy
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My husband got some stuff in the mail yesterday he ordered online. As he opened the package, he pushed one small package in my direction and said, “This one’s for you.” Inside were 2 dozen cut-out wooden blank signs designed to be used in your garden. He and I haven’t talked about my garden much this year since it was such a bust, and I guess he was trying to quietly encourage me regarding NEXT year. He’s a keeper. :0)
I also got the new dremel type tool I ordered. On looking at it and the attachments closely, the parts are all for grinding, rather than etching. I ordered the wrong thing. :0( My brother-in-law suggested that I use the term “engraver” rather than ‘etcher,’ in my search and I think I was successful.
This is light weight, used like a pencil, and is cordless. It has several different diamond bit tips. Best of all, since Amazon is having some kind of special thing going on for Labor Day, it is supposed to be delivered TOMORROW – SUNDAY!
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I’m about to go in and get the makings of chili into a crock pot for tonight. I’m also doing several loads of laundry, changing our sheets, and other exciting things. The one I’m looking forward to, other than writing some more blog posts, is playing in my art room. :0)
So a happy day here. I hope that you are having one, as well.
I set our alarm last night so we could monitor our irrigation system. One started at 7:30pm and the other at 8pm. The one in the back started first, so we went out the porch door. There was a deer standing off to the left, watching us! As we watched her, movement caught my eye. To my delight, a roadrunner was running away from us, toward and then beside the deer. I just waited – enjoying the beautiful sight for a minute.
We made some progress on our problem, getting a couple of pvc pipes unclogged and making sure everything was getting water. We still have the problem of something spewing water in the well house. We’ll tackle that one tonight.
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The Noun Project
Meanwhile, there is a light flashing on the floor under the dishwasher. I just got out our paperwork, but there is no ‘trouble’ section. I’ll just try to reset the system, if possible, and we’ll see what happens. Such is my life as the new technical trouble-shooter in the Lewis household. I feel overwhelmed by the task so far.
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The Artful Parent
I had fun in my art room yesterday afternoon, though the piece I’m working on needs to dry between steps, so I do a bit, let it dry overnight, then do the next step, whatever I decide that is. I’m having a lot of fun.
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Women’s Health
Shout-out to Marsha, who seems to be safe from Hurricane Idalia so far. The storm seems to be going just to her north. I hate it that anyone has to suffer from the latest from Mother Nature.
Shout-out to Cathy, who is in hump day of Week 5 of her chemo and radiation treatment. Please join me in sending her love and strength.
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Notecard Set – 5 Different Hand Painted Designs and Envelopes – “Thumbelina.” – $19.95 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.
This creative painting would make me smile every time I saw it. :0)
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We’re having a really nice morning here, with 74 degrees F. right now. We have the front and back doors open, enjoying a beautiful, cool breeze. The high this afternoon is supposed to be 89, I think, so a good day for August in Arkansas.
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I finished some inspirational/motivational small signs yesterday in my art room and got them up on HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy. The stencil painting is a bit raised on the hard canvas board and the lettering is more raised than that. Here they are –
Wow. I’m drooling over this plant! It’s recommended for Florida aquatic gardens. I’m about as far from that as it’s possible to be here in western Arkansas. I can still look at it and dream, though. Isn’t it spectacular?
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Primrose Schools
Life keeps getting in the way of my getting upstairs to play in my art room. I’m hoping I’ll get time up there today. I did NOT get my new Dremel, so the glassware is sitting, waiting to be worked on. Meanwhile, I’m having fun with the bleeding tissue paper, stencils, and other media. My progress up there is very slow, but the fact that I’ve managed to get up there at ALL is better than I’ve done in quite a while.
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Journal – “Dragonflies” 5.5 x 7 Spiral Hand-Painted with Lined Pages and Pockets – $17.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.
I’ve been eating lead by the bucketful lately and my scales are guffawing at me. The only thing missing is a hand that comes up from the scales pointing a finger at me, or one with a face so one hand can cover the laughing face’s mouth while the other one points at me. UGH. What little creativity I have is being used up making excuses for why my weight is going up and I’m not exercising. :0(
We MAY be getting a bit of a reprieve in our weather tomorrow! 102 today with ‘excessive heat warnings’ and ‘heat advisories’, but 88 and a good chance of some rain tomorrow. “Rain?” What is THAT? “Dannnnn-cing, YEAH!”
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Women’s Health
Shout-Out to Cathy, who has finished Week 4 of Chemo and Radiation. Sending strength and much love your way.
Giphy
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My SIL was asking what “pounders” were that I was talking about getting yesterday. Real art people apparently call them, ‘stippling brushes.’ You pour out some paint, dip the ‘stippler’ in the paint, but keeping it pretty dry, then ‘pound’ the paint from the stippler into a stencil you have applied to a surface.
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Greeting Card Package – Set of 3 different hand painted cards – “Thinking of You.” – $14.99 with FREE SHIPPING to contiguous U.S.
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow make me feel like a kid a Christmas. I ordered some things to experiment with in my art room and they started arriving yesterday.
I got a bunch of stencils and a set of ‘pounders’. I’m not sure what these are really called, but they are sticks with various-sized foam endings. You put them in paint and then ‘pound’ the paint onto the stencil you’ve affixed to whatever. I’ve used STAMPS, but never stencils, so this is really fun to try. I’m planning to try to make some 4×6 and larger signs with sayings I like on them.
Also to be delivered is my new smaller dremel tool that I’m planning to use on my glassware etching project. I’m hoping this will be lighter, smaller, and easier to control, with variable speeds.
I played in my art room awhile yesterday, starting on one small sign. There are several steps in these with a lot of drying in-between the steps, so I’m taking my time and grinning a lot.
Even if I don’t produce anything, it’s fun to feel my juices flowing, my head rattling with ideas for new things. I haven’t felt that in quite a while, so I’m enjoying this a lot.
Framed Quote – 5.5″ x 7.5″ – “Best Friend” – $14.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S. HandmadeHavenByLinda
Boys’ and Girls’ Name Signs – Made To Order – 4″ x 4″ Personalized name signs great to add to a gift, put in a baby shower basket, affix to a backpack, assignment book or journal, prop up against something in their room. Just the thing to remind them how special they are!
It’s totally uncivilized outside. The heat simply smacks you in the face the minute you step outside and doesn’t release you until you’re lucky enough to find some air conditioning. I’m feeling really lucky, now that we’re home again from errands, that we have a good system and can stay cool. Our animals go out, stay a minute or two, and then want to come back inside.
We have our bug spray guy coming between 2 and 4 today, to spray for things known or unknown, large and small, dangerous or merely annoying, hosing out place down inside and out. He’s wonderful.
I’m amazed that we have anything living outside at this point. Our elephant ear plants that came up late seem to be doing fine, though.
We went to check on the bridge replacement project on the way home from errands. There were workers there, and they were moving the machinery around, but we couldn’t tell what they were doing. They are moving very slowly on this project. I’ll be grateful if the new bridge is open by the end of the year, judging by the speed now.
Child’s Apron – Hand-Painted – “Falling Leaves” – Size is 2-6 years. The apron is 19″ long and 12.5″ wide, not including neck loop or ties. $19.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.
Plaque – 9″ x 11″ Oval Hand-Painted Solid Wood – “Cherish” Ready to hang. This is a nice gift for someone who shares your life. $41.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S. HandmadeHavenByLinda
While I’ve been writing these posts, I’ve also been communicating with friends and family via various media. I’ve seen some beautiful things on Twitter, and will soon look at Pinterest. I’ve enjoyed a few songs from YouTube. Scanned the news. Non-hurried morning with a cup of coffee and a chance to think about what I would like to do with the rest of my day.
I almost finished the ‘wreath’ Christmas cards yesterday that I’m making for my friends. I should finish the last step today. Then I’ll let them sit for a time before looking at them again to see if they pass muster this time. If they do, I’ll store them carefully, plus list them as a custom order on my Etsy shop, HandmadeHavenbyLinda for the holidays.
I’m still putting masking tape on the glassware I’m going to etch. I’ve etched things in our sandblaster before, but I’ve never used the delicate stencils I’m using with the liquid etching medium I’m trying before. I have no clue what I’m doing and I’m quite a bit intimidated at this point, delaying the time I actually dive in and try it. Maybe today. :0)
Earrings – Dangle/Wire – 2″ One-of-a-Kind Hand-Painted Light-Weight Leaf-Shaped Rose and White -Wooden $13.95 with FREE SHIPPING to contiguous U.S. Earrings
99 degrees this afternoon – excessive heat warning with heat index of 113. I am filing a note of diplomatic protest that this is totally uncivilized.
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Gfycat.gif
Happy Birthday to my friend, Kay. We celebrated Friday at Lunch Bunch, but today is her actual birthday. Have a blast, my friend.
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Women’s Health
Shout-Out to Cathy, who starts Week 3 of her chemo and radiation tomorrow. Just wanted you to remember how awesome you are, Sweet Lady, and that I’m thinking of you.
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Childrens Museum of Southern Minnesota
I cleaned my art room enough yesterday that I had a place to play. I started again on my ‘wreath’ Christmas cards, using watercolor paper this time and a multi-media approach, with bleeding tissue paper, white web spray, magic markers so far, with more to come.
I also started the glassware etching, putting some stencils on the glassware. The next step is masking tape.
I have no idea whether these will turn out okay, but starting this early gives me time to trash my efforts over and over until I hopefully come up with something the might be good enough to give my friends. I’m having a good time trying.
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Painted Container with Lid – Hand-Painted, One of a Kind – Glass – “Stained Glass” – The piece is 7.5″ tall including the lid. The lid has a rigid vinyl piece that allows the lid to fit very snugly into the bottom. The circumference of the container is 13″. – $41.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.
Mini Notebook – Pocket Notebook – “Live, Laugh, Love” – 3-3/4″ x 5-3/4″ x 3/8″. 100 blank pages for your thoughts, dreams, lists, reminders, memories. Great size to carry in your purse or tote, glove compartment or school bag. $14.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.
Totebag – “Patriotic Flowers” Extra-Large Hand-Painted One of a Kind – 17.5″ x 11.5 x 4″ gusset extra-large beige canvas tote hand-painted on one side with red, white and blue flowers. Good size for carrying hobby stuff or groceries. $19.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.
Ahhhhhh! We have the doors open so the cool breeze is running through the main part of the house. It’s cloudy, sprinkling, and a delicious 75 degrees F. right now. Just beautiful. I stood outside on our driveway pad drinking in the cool under my umbrella this morning when I let Amber out. What a nice reprieve!
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Earrings – Clip-Ons – “Blue, Purple, Rose & White” Hand-painted, Light-Weight, Wooden $13.95 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.
No areas are glaring at me this morning that need to be ‘healed,’ and the rain gives me an excuse not to be working outside this morning, so I may actually give myself permission to play in my art room. I have so many ideas rattling around in my head right now that I don’t know if I’ll actually accomplish something, but I may just enjoy listening to some music up there while I mess around. :0)
Memory Box – Hand-Painted – “Autumn” – Dimensions are 5 inches tall, 9.5 inches wide, 4.75 depth, and 31 inches circumference. $26.95 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.
Contact me at lindawlewis1@gmail.com with questions or go to the link for the memory box at HandmadeHavenByLinda.
7×5 Hand-Painted Sign – “Handle” – $14.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S. If you have questions, please contact me at lindawlewis1@gmail.com Here is a link to the sign on HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy.
Memory Box – Hand-Painted – “Purple Floral” Width of the round box is 7.5 inches. It’s 2.75 inches deep, and 3 inches tall including the lid. Circumference is 23 inches. $26.95 with FREE SHIPPING to contiguous U.S.
Earrings – Clip-Ons – “Blue, Purple & White” Hand-painted, Light-Weight, Wooden -.75″ in diameter one of a kind. $13.95 with FREE SHIPPING to contiguous U.S.
Note Cards – “Purple Glory” – Package of 5 Different One-of-a-Kind Hand-Painted Note Cards and Envelopes. Each note card is blank on the inside for your message. The cards measure 4-1/4″ x 6″. $19.95 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.
I just LOVE the happiness radiating from this sweet young girl. The painting makes me smile each time I see it.
It surprised me this morning to see that the weather people on the 5News website have a sense of humor. Temperatures have been at or above 100 and will be basically all of next week. They describe the weather today as, “A heatwave is set to BEGIN (all caps mine) heading into the weekend.” I actually snorted when I read it. :0)
I’m planning to try to get the rock beds that run across the front and back of the house weeded today. My husband just sprays to kill the weeds, but that doesn’t make them actually go away. We end up with ugly dead weeds, instead of livelier green ones – not much of an improvement in my eyes. So I’ll do short sessions, trying to stay out of the direct sun, and see if I can get the job done. If I do, THEN I’ll hose the areas down with weed killer to try to prevent a regrowth of the weeds.
A new project will start soon – We created a critter we called, “When Pigs Fly” and hung it up high with a line from a branch over the driveway several years ago.
The problem is that after several years a storm brought not only the pig down, but also the branch from which he was hung. We plan to refurbish the pig – thoroughly cleaning him and then repainting him. My husband was talking about trying to hang him up on another branch. He weighs about 75 lbs, and I REALLY don’t want my husband up on a ladder trying to tie the line to the tree branch and then tying the pig to the other end of the line and trying to pull it up.
I told him I loved the idea of securing the pig’s feet to one of the huge boulders to one side of our driveway – like he was getting ready to take off and fly. His wings are out from his body so this could look good.
(We did the same type of ‘securing’ of this “Guard Dog” to a boulder on the other side of the driveway from where we would secure the flying pig.)
My husband looks like he might go for that idea. I’ll try to work on the pig in the mornings – when I can make the time – when I can turn a fan directly on me and do a bit of the refurbishment each day.
Mini-Purse – Canvas Hand-Painted with long Cord Strap – “Purple and White Delight” – 5″ x 7″ with a zipper to secure your valuables. It is large enough to carry your cellphone plus valuables. The long cord allows you to wear it cross body, hang it on your shoulder, or tie it to your belt. $17.95 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.
We actually don’t have “Hot Man” on the mailbox because it has been TOO HOT for us to make the effort. AND the forecast is for “Hotter temperatures the next 10 days.” The website shows 100+ for nine of the next ten days and little to no chance for rain. My husband is hopeful that the grass will become his favorite ‘brown and crunchy’ so he won’t have to mow. I can’t blame him. I’m more than grateful our a/c is functional.
We haven’t changed the mailbox decoration in some time, basically due to laziness and having other priorities. Since school will be starting here in August, I talked to my husband about it. We agreed that we’ll change from
“Sylvester and Tweetie Pie”
to
“Yosemite Sam”
just in case the school bus kids (or someone else) watches what we put up.
We have a totally different traffic pattern in front of our house now with the bridge between us and town being rebuilt, so it will be interesting to see if we get any comments. (Oh, update on the bridge – we drove down to the site yesterday. They have finished two of the three supports needed for the bridge. Things have gone slower than the workers would like because the sporadic heavy rains we’ve been having fill the area with water that has to be pumped out in order to proceed. )
Journal – “Ship’s Wheel” Spiral Bound Hard Cover Hand-Painted with 3D Wooden Wheel – 5-1/2 x 7 hard cover spiral bound journal. 10 manila ‘envelope’ pockets inside. $17.99 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S. Questions: lindawlewis1@gmail.com Link to item on HandmadeHavenByLinda
We’re leaving soon to get our mail, see if anyone else is there for Lunch Bunch, and shop for a few groceries before coming home.
creativeartworksblog 