Spring had a change of heart

I don’t know about you but I don’t remember having such a cold spell during the spring in NYC all the 15 years I’ve lived here.  I had to go out to grab more wire and lunch for the boss — and while I’m wearing leggings under my thin pants, I braved the streets with my favorite pair of heels these days.  I thought I’d rather feel pretty than walk comfortably, but I made it out and back. (The price of vanity!)

So it seems Spring had a change of heart.  This IS cold.  It’s that kind of cold weather that makes you wonder what made people think wearing just a t-shirt in 40-something temperatures was safe, let alone sane.  It’s THEIR body, so I am just concerned about keeping myself warm.  (I did go to the office in my knee-high boots in anticipation of rain.)

I had brunch this morning with my chicken sausage and whole wheat low carb bread, so I’m skipping eating anything this lunch time and coming back with my lunchbreak quips.  (Literally posts written and published within my lunch hour.)  It was that or grab my wire and keep crochetting.  I’m mighty proud of what I’ve come up with and am still testing my maiden creation.

I’m pretty happy with how sturdy it is but I’m already improving on it as I’m working on the next piece.  I crochet the wire onto each stone individually and then assemble them into a cohesive piece separately.  The stones are undrilled tumbled (meaning smooth) nuggets ranging from rose quartz to different types of agate.  It’s a very colorful mix but the gold serves to highlight the composition even more even if only the front portion of the stones are visible.  They are a little chunky and heavier than your normal single pendant but it’s not like having a rock tied around your neck.  (Comments welcome.)

So how did I do with last week’s Friday Five?

1. Mail my letter to L, send out a postcard.  Doing the letter today, the postcard next weekend.  (Heading to DC!)

2. Write an art journal entry.  Did this twice.

3. Finish and list at least one item on Etsy.   Uhmmmm… got busy creating but no listing.

4. Go through the contents of the fridge and throw out the stale stuff.  Did half of it but couldn’t throw the other half.   Promise to do this before the weekend.

5. Take out the spring/summer footwear.  Done!

I just wish spring would come and stay… We still can’t put away out thicker jackets and coats because it still IS terribly cold.  The allergies, though, are here with all the allergens floating in the air.  Beauty has it’s price, after all.  You get all the flowers blooming everywhere, but when they bloom, they release spores and other tiny things that give us human beings allergies in its many shapes and forms.  We just have to live with it.  That’s the reason why come allergy season, I heed my pediatrician’s advice to my then always sniffling toddler years ago to take an allergy pill in the morning everyday.

Can you believe May is just a day away?  I am almost relieved that April is over.  This month has been heavy on the heart for many reasons, and no matter how I try to stay upbeat about things, the best thing that’s happened is the month has passed.  I look forward to May, though.. my boy is turning 10 in a couple of days!  During this time of the year, I always go back to that day  I held him as a newborn on my hospital bed, whispering things to him.  I look at him and I don’t even have to ask — right before me is God’s love embodied in this wonderful, loving, compassionate human being I am proud to have brought into this world.  Someday, he’ll make someone very happy when he chooses who he will spend the rest of his life with — and he will be a good father to the babies he wants me to help take care of.  And I will.

Lunch break’s done.. Back to work!

 

 

 

Sigh no more (Wishing the allergies away)

I’m trying to be productive despite the onslaught of allergies. Sigh… I love spring but I hate that it brings in the allergens.  I’m very sensitive to them in the atmosphere, and I start sneezing or feeling them in my air passages when the windows are left open.  Sometimes I end up having to drink meds even as I am about to sleep when my eyes get all watery, and the outer layer of my eye “swells”.   It doesn’t surprise me anymore when I end up sneezing as I walk out of the house.  I really should be on my allergy meds every day now but I keep forgetting.  (Drinking my multivitamins, though.)

So I’ve been trying out the techniques I learned from the craft fair last April 13.  Below you’ll see Maria of  Another Stamp Company who was such a great instructor for ink sprays and stamping on tags.  (It was more because the work space was more easily controlled with a smaller canvas.) You can visit her blog here. I only got two Dylusions ink sprays, but I have a four-pack of Walnut ink.   I also got a craft mat and I’m so glad I did, because it helps in creating the effect Maria was teaching us about.

Unfortunately, my first attempt at “duplicating” what Maria taught me was done after dinner, so I don’t have enough light to take photos.  She did demos of how to make the inks work together on paper, on the craft mat, etc.

I will do a separate step by step later on and hopefully be able to impart the techniques I picked up.

My hands are stained with ink despite washing with dishwashing detergent and applying nail polish remover.  I guess I’ll just have to keep washing them over and over until they are totally gone.  I’m not complaining.  I’m quite happy with what I’ve come up with, and only wish I had more colors.  I try to be cautious with trying out new mediums and trying to see how good I can work with them before splurging.  This way, I know now that I can and love the way the inks work together so they are on my wishlist.

I thought I’d blog and stop by here as I wait for the manila folders to thoroughly dry.  Next step is to stamp them and maybe rub distress ink on the edges to “seal” the border.  I even managed to do larger layouts for the journal I’m finishing tomorrow and sending off Monday.  (Finally!)

I’m really glad that I did go to the craft fair.  All the more I’m convinced I should try and head to the Springfield, MA event in June.  (Check out the complete schedule of the Heirloom Products craft fairs for the rest of the year here.)  I’m already researching the bus trips from NYC to there and back on the same day.  I have ordered a die cutter as a result of the many materials I discovered there, and once I get it, I can go crazy with the tools!

I feel like a young girl let loose in a doll store just thinking about all that.. then I start sniffing again.  (Sigh..)

I wish the allergies would go.  Then again, I’ve been plagued with these ailments since birth.  It’s a matter of getting used to it, I guess, along with mouthing off the warning when I start sniffing in the office that I’m not contageous, just suffering from allergies.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it won’t trigger asthma.  (I have a wedding in 4 weeks!!)

At least my eyes have been spared — today.  They can really be a bother because my eyes get itchy and scratching starts to irritate them bad —  I have to stop scratching them when that outer layer starts to swell.  That’s when I gulp down the allergy meds and then head off to la-la land.

Time for me to hit the sack just now..  Have to put away my stamping/dyeing gear on the kitchen counter…