Bookmarks...Bookmarks...Ohhhh all of the bookmarks!!!

I finished the last of the bookmarks for the library and wanted to share them with you. I love sharing and I really LOVE that you come to visit to see what I have been up to. Thank you ^_^

Those that follow along with me will probably recognize this sketch.  It's a copy of my pencil and charcoal drawing I did back in 2010 after the BP oil spill.

Simple dragonfly stamped onto a piece of paper from an old book. I love using my little scrapbook papers to help make these POP a bit.

A unicorn....love love love unicorns and all the mystical legends about them. The saying I did for this one reads " Reading can take us to mystical places"

A copy of one of my mermaid pencil and charcoal sketches. Don't ya think the bubbles on the scrapbook paper adds just the right touch? Me too!!!

Finally, one of my underwater pencil and pen doodles. I so hope that those that pick one up at the library enjoying using them. I so enjoyed making them!!!

Until next time..........Hugs,
Regi

My paper monster came out to play!!

Haha...yes..I have a paper monster and it was on the loose yesterday!! I normally keep my work area really neat (just have to...drives me bonkers..ok ok..more bonkers...if I don't keep it neat) EXCEPT when I'm working with paper. It can and does get really MESSY. Little pieces everywhere from my cutting and shaping. Little hole punches all around from my.....well.....hole punching..hehe!! I don't mind it at all being messy then except when it comes time to clean it all up. When I step back before cleaning, it looks like a monster has invaded my space and it did..ME!!

Our a/c went out Sunday afternoon and after several times of the a/c man coming out, he finally fixed it late yesterday...YEA!! To keep cool in between I opened up all my windows in my back room (my studio so to speak or it was until the cats took it over) turned on the ceiling fan and dug out my paper. I wanted to make some more bookmarks to take to the library. I love donating my little creations and they seem to like them too....so, that's a good thing!!  I sat down with a piece of paper and doodled out some sketches in pencil, took a photo, downloaded to my computer, printed them out on cardstock, watercolored them and then added some scrap paper to the top. OHH, and tied some yarn and/or hemp rope onto them. I did three different ones and made six of each. Here's what they look like.....

The first one is one of my mermaids. She is sitting on a rock and holding onto a pair of fish balloons or perhaps they are her pet fish and she is taking them for a walk or swim...that would have to be for a swim. I imagine it would be hard walking on fins, eh?  Her little saying on the bookmark is "Dive Into a good fantasy story!!".

The next one was inspired by my sweet, mischievous little Pumpkin. She loves to play with my yarn and buttons (I can't leave any out anymore because she dumps them out and pushes them all over the floor...silly cat) The sweater idea came from her pushing herself into the bottom of my basket I have some old pieces of sweaters in that I use for my Santa ooaks. Like I said....silly cat!!!  The saying I put on this one was "Nothing beats unraveling a good book".

The last one I made yesterday was this little cutie. I adore elephants...especially baby ones. So cute and adorable when they are holding onto momma's tail. The saying for this one.... "Always Hold onto a good book!!".

The a/c is fixed but I'm patiently waiting on the plumber to get here to put in our new electric hot water heater. (the old one bit the dust late Monday night) It seems our sweet house decided she needed some new accessories...hehe While I'm waiting I might just let the paper monster come back out today and do a few more sets of bookmarks. ^_^

Until next time............Hugs,
Regi

PS....here's another one I added today to go to the library. One of my faerie maidens (three with black hair and three with red)

Moon Shell, augure shells, lace murex and more!!

As I was sitting and looking at my newest mermaid ooaks, I decided that she needed more of a base. The shell she is trying to wiggle out from sitting in was found on one of our beach walks on west beach in Gulf Shores. I found several pretty shells that day and decided that I wanted to use them with this piece as well as some of the sand from there too. (brought the sand home quite by accident...it had hitched a ride inside a few shells..hehe) I think it added to Char by tweaking her base. What do YOU think?

She of course, as I told ya'll in yesterday's post, is sitting in a fighting conch shell. Some of the other shells surrounding her are a olive shell, moon shell, auger shell, lace murex, scallop, two broken pieces of a whelk shell and sand from the walk. I think she looks perfect now.

I'm gifting this to a friend that just happens to live on West beach. I think she will be excited to add her to her growing shell collection displayed on several bookshelves in her beach house. I made a little book of Char's story and a certificate of authenticity so she can always remember where this ooaks came from.

Thank you for stopping by and please...come again real soon and until next time.............Hugs,

Regi

Can't catch MEEEE!!!

Way beneath the ocean waves, there is a game waiting to be played on the ocean floor below. Broken shells have been lined up in a row and then some scattered to and froe. A red crab is sitting on a large, flat rock and with a clitter and a clack of  his great big claw....sounds the whistle...it's time to start !!

This game is fun and is one that teaches. Teaches mermaids how to dart and dash in between the broken shells to learn to squish and squeeze their fish like tails...to keep out of reach of danger. Of course, there is no danger today as they are just playing their game of broken shells.

One little mermaid by the name of Char has darted and dashed and done quite well. That is until she darted into one that was a tight little fit. She squiggled (that's wiggled, giggled  and squealed all in one) until she was halfway out and then started laughing and calling for HELP!!

Char is one of my hand sculpted clay ooaks (one of a kind sculpts). No molds are ever used!! She has a strong wire armature underneath her clay body. Her tail and face scales were dusted in fine MICA powders to give her that shiny, watery look. Her face was detailed using acrylic paints and her eyes hand painted on tiny bone beads. Natural tiny shells cover her tata's (yes...she is quiet shy) and she is sitting inside of a natural   fighting conch shell. Yes...it's a broken one. Remember..she was playing the game!! Her hair is dyed wool and is embellished with tiny glass beads and real pearls. Char and her game piece (that's the shell..hehe) sit at 6 1/2 inches and are supported by a strong wire base.

I have so many broken shells from our beach walks that are just calling out to be used for more mermaid habitats. I do believe I'm going to be sorting through all my collection and see just how many I do have. I'm going to have to take a flour sifter on my next walk so that I can get some of the tiny little shells. No no..I don't use it for flour anymore...just sand!!

Until next time..............Hugs,
Regi

Broken Shells are beauties too!!

Most that come to visit know that we live in a southern coastal town. We love our life here...there is just something about the smell of the salt air. The laughter of the seagulls help push away any stress that may try and sneak in and the beach walks relieve any remaining worries or cares.

I love finding shells...big, small, whole and even broken. They are all beauties to my eyes and my muse sings loudly when that one particular broken shell stands out. I suppose she has been a bit anxious since I haven't been able to carry out any of her ideas as of late....but last night she was just beside herself. It seems in my container full of broken shells that one contained something that I had no clue was there. A tiny mermaid that it seems....kinda got herself.....stuck!!!

It was so nice to be able to sculpt again. I started her last night and finished sculpting this morning. I have to take breaks to clear my vision but I'm happy with being able to do what I so love. I mean...this artist needs her therapy and there is none better than getting to squish the clay!!! Well....to me that is..hehe

I have this piece baking and will detail her once she is cooled down. I did add some purple, green and blue MICA powders to her tail before baking. I just love the sheen it gives my pieces. I have to be thinking of her story too, which my muse is currently whispering to me.

I don't know if I will get this completely done by today as it's AWARDS day at the school and the Chazman is receiving one. YEA for the CHAZMAN...so proud of my lil guy. So can't believe that he will be in 5th grade next year. Whew...he's growing too fast. Thank goodness I'm not aging though!!!  Tonight we are going to the S'mores on the Sand event to eat s'mores of course and listen to music and the waves hitting the shore and the seagulls laughing to celebrate that school is almost out. Such a good life here...SUCH a good life.

Until next time...........Hugs,
Regi

Mermaid muse is a splashing

Pooh and bother...bother..bother!! I am still experiencing some technical difficulties.....with my eyes... but I have to say that they seem to be slowly coming back into focus as I get this diabetes under control. YEA!!  I'm still wearing my super strong reading glasses and I can't sculpt just yet but I have been going bonkers not working on "something". It seems my mermaid muse has been giving this some thoughts as well and she came today just a splashing about an idea she had for me. I have to say, it's a good idea and one that I'm hopefully going to be able to do!! She had me pull out my sea green assortment of beads as well as my ocean blue assortment and then sweetly sang of a seahorse galloping through the sea.

Isn't my seahorse a handsome fella??  Well...he will be when I'm finished with him....I hope. ^_^   He is going to be an earring cuff that hooks to your ear. I started him this afternoon...wrapping a bronze wire around the base wire and adding beads as I go. I plan on making a pair of dangle earrings to match the beads I'm using in his body too. So happy to be working on something!!

I hope that you are staying busy and having some creative fun. Would love to hear what you're working on. Thank you for coming to visit with me too....it means the world to me!! Until next time.............Hugs,

Regi

Oh My...I received a goodie box ^_^

OMGOSH OMGOSH OH MY GOSH ....was I ever surprised when my doorbell rang and there stood a UPS man with a package for me. MEEEE....YEA!!! It's always so nice to receive a goodie box filled with ummmm...well...GOODIES!! My sweet friend, Johanna, sent me some AWEmazing items in this little box. She herself is a fantastic clay artist and jewelry designer and crocheter. (so jealous about the last...I can NOT do it...no matter how much I try. Pooh and bother..hehe) Let me just show you what was in my goodie box, shall I?? Ohh no need to answer that because ya know I'm going to. ^_^

I was right, ri iight? AWEmazing items. A little bit of this and a little bit of that and all of it has my muse to singing loudly. I can't believe all the goodies she sent me. Ohh ohhhh not pictured are a tiny little ball that had glitter and another tiny ball on the inside and a small bag of the cutest frogs. I guess ya'll can figure out where those items went. The Chazman confiscated those...HAHA!! He also informed me that he wants me to make a mold of the dragon head so I can make him a necklace and so that he can have the plastic one to use with his Bionicles. Apparently, it will fit perfectly in their hands. The skeleton bead he wants me to use and make him a new WhooDoo for his swamp tree. (if you don't know what my WhooDoo's are then just click HERE)

Aren't these lovely? She made me the beautiful bracelet which I'm going to love wearing out and about. I really love the little heart and key clasp. Here's one of the crocheted bookmarks she sent me...so love her work. (still jealous that I can't do this but in a good way..hehe) She also sent me a white one and a pink one...they are in books already..hehe

Just peeking out of the photo on the left are some crochet needles and another tool to use with my clay. She also sent me some of her texture wheels (I can use the crochet needles to roll them with..she's sooo smart) The pretty yellow one has the imprint of a leaf on it. I'm very excited to get to experiment with these. She also sent me some glitter. I love me some glitter. I mean what girl doesn't like glitter. Of course, some guys do too, which means I'm going to have to hide it from the Chazman. He already made the comment that the green should would look good on one of the monsters he likes to draw. YIKES!!

Now...these are my FAVORITE things she made and sent me. I did know that she was making me a set of clay tools to use but I had NOOO idea that they would be this awesome. I have already told her she needs to make them and sell them. (so happy I got mine for free..hehe) I love the swirls of color in them and purple just ROCKS!!

Three of them I know that I will be using a good bit with my faeries and mermaids. The ends are (looking around) nipple makers. YES...you read that right...nipple makers. HOW awesome is that? She made three different sizes. Her muse really has a good sense of humor, no?

I love all of the goodies and am excited to get busy and start using them. Just what do I start with first? It's so heartwarming to have friends that send little gifts every now and then and they always seem to come at just the right time...when they are needed the most. Hugs and thank you thank you's Johanna!!

Now...I have been working on something for her even before she sent my package. Once she told me she was making me clay tools....I just had to make something special for her. She always comments on my paper items I make so I thought perhaps one of those would be nice. I want to add a few more things from my  supply stash too since she was so nice sharing with me and hopefully I can get her goodie box mailed off soon. Here's her tea party poster.

If you click on the photo you will be able to see it so much better. I used one of my old silverware spoons..I mean you have to have a pretty spoon for a tea party, ri iight? Used several great vintage postcards that I cut and then put back together. (faeries, dragons and teddies..OH MY) Glitter and german glass was used which of course you can't see in the photo. (Pooh and bother) I used one of my dragonegg beads to help balance the piece so when she hangs it on the wall it will hang just right. The little Tea time tag hanging from the spoon states "Dragons, Faeries, Ted E Bears and Humans Welcome" and at the bottom of the tag I stated "WARNING: Dragons might scorch Ted E Bears". (our little secret as Dragonladies..hehe)

Now....what to get started on? ^_^     Until next time.............Hugs, Regi

Day Four of Teacher Appreciation Week!!

All these little gifts I've been making for the Chazman's teachers this week don't come close to really showing them how much we appreciate the impact they have made on our son's learning this year. They do such an awesome job all year long. I'm glad that there is a week set aside to be able to tell them Thank you!!  I wish that they could just move up a grade like the Chazman and go with him. ^_^

Today is day four and it's a supply theme. Our budget is a tad bit small but that didn't mean I couldn't make a gift that covered the theme for today. I LOVE Dollar Tree. What in the world would I do without it? You can find just about anything you need there and at a great price. I mean a $1 or less for anything in the store. That's what any budget needs. Yes, yes..that's where the supplies came from, even the cute little tins I put them in.

Every teacher needs a ruler, ri iight? Thinking back to my past in school I can remember exactly what some of mine used theirs for and it wasn't for measuring anything. OH NOOOOO.....I wasn't at the wrong end of the stick but there sure were some that were...hehe!! In perusing through Bingland the other day there were some really cute tags to use for this week...so of course I borrowed a few...again!!  The tag for the ruler states "YOU RULE...thanks for a great school year".  What supply gift would be without a pencil...none...so we added a pencil with a tag that stated "You were the WRITE teacher for me". Cute write...ummm I mean right? If you add a pencil then of course you have to add a highlighter and a bag of binder clips.  I even made some cute little note cards with a wise old owl sitting on top of a stack of books. NOT that I'm calling any of them OLD but they sure are WISE. @_@   Now the one item that the Chazman LOVED was the little bottle of hand sanitizer. Not so much the bottle itself but the cute tag we made. At the bottom of the tag we wrote " Pump..Pump...Squirt...Squirt...A little germ juice couldn't hurt".  Here's a pic of all the items:

We added some tissue paper and some of the clear basket shred and then placed each item in. The Chazman said that Mr. H will be getting the red tin (ALABAMA fan remember) and his other teachers will be getting either a yellow one or a green one. I told him to decide when giving them out this morning.

Something small and simple can make such a HUGE impression on someone. I hope that if you have kiddos in school that you have told their teacher "THANK YOU" for a job well done. Of course, that is if they have been good teachers!! If not, then get that ruler out!!!!

Until next time.........Hugs,
Regi (and the Chazman)

Day Three of Teacher Appreciation Week!!

OMGOSH....I can NOT believe that I am actually getting to do my post in the morning (like I"m suppose to)  instead of late in the afternoon. Yea me!! Monday and Tuesday were late postings because I was cleaning a BIG, messy beach house and didn't get to post until late but today...today there is no cleaning. Well...there really is..MINE!! I want to apologize to ya'll now though in the quality of some of the photos....it's difficult taking them at 1am. Can we say Whooo Whooo? All my fellow night owls will I know!!! @_@

It's day THREE of Teacher Appreciation Week and it's SWEET day. There are so many cute ideas floating around out there in BING or google land and it's fun looking at all of them for inspiration. Inspiration they did give too...that and my muse whispering in my ear and trying to grab a few of the sweet treats..hehe  After looking at everything and knowing that I wanted to make sure a part of the gift was something they could use and keep to remember the Chazman by I (hey..stop poking me muse) I meant WE came up with something that I think the teachers will really like. A movie night POPcorn container filled with candies. I mean, who doesn't like a good movie night and all the goodies that go along with it.

I started with a popcorn container...well..duhhh Regina, they could figure that one out...hehe. Found some really cute ones at the Dollar Tree....two for $1. Good price, ri iight? The perfect size for a single serving of popcorn for future use and the perfect way to show off their gift. The goodies we placed inside were a box of Cracker Jack's which I so wanted to opened and had to contain myself...I wanted the prize inside. Remember eating those as kiddos and getting some really cool prizes, like rings and little people. They don't put those in them now and I guess I should really just shhhhhush since I am telling my age here. :P   Ya'll know me and know that I could not just put a box of Cracker Jack's (not opened and prize still intact. I promise..hehe) into the container. I  had to add that "sumthin sumthin" to make it POP. HEY...I made another funny...get it? Cracker Jacks are popcorn and I said.....oh you get it!! While I was floating around BINGland I found this blog that had some really cute ideas and one that she let us borrow and use for free. The cutest tag and I swaney it was made just for me. Nooo..not really but it was perfect. Go visit the domesticatedlady and read her post about a cute idea using this tag too. Thank you Melissa!!

See there...even she used the POP in popcorn to make this tag even more awesome. I love the movie theater theme around the tag. Didn't I tell you it was perfect for my Cracker Jack's...that I didn't open...I swaney...even though I really, really, REALLY wanted to.

Now what would the movies be without smarties. I could eat several rolls of them..ok ok...I USE to could eat several rolls of them. They need to come out with sugar free ones...just sayin!! Again, I couldn't just plop some smarties in the container. I had to make them STAND out and HAHA...I surely did...make them STAND out...in a pair of pants. ^_^  This idea came from a blog that had made a teacher's Valentine gift last year. Can ya guess what pants and Smarties could possible have in common? Think now....I know ya'll are real SMARTie pants...HA!!  Trish and Bonnie over at uncommondesignsonline are the ones I borrowed their pants from. Oops...I mean their pants tag. Thank you ladies for giving me inspiration!!

Sorry about the blury shot....1am just doesn't have the best lighting.  Cute idea though, isn't it? The tag I typed says "Thank you for helping me become a real SMARTie pants this year". So hope they (drool) enjoy their smarties and I swear...I didn't eat any of them. I gave the extra few rolls to the Chazman.

Momma always taught me when doing designs of any kind to always make it an odd number, so that's what I did. Besides, I figured they would like more candy AND it wouldn't be HERE to tempt ME. A simple idea from several things I saw while exploring using M&M. There were some cute poems that pointed out the colors and what they stood for but I couldn't use them because..well...my container wasn't big enough..hehe
Sooo.. I tied up some peanut M&M's in a small clear bag...tied it off with some jute cording..added a little tag that simply stated "You're an M&M (Magnificent & Marvelous)".

Again...sorry about the shot. (grimacing). 

Now that I had all our cute candy ready...I simply placed it inside the container....added a cute movie ticket tag with a "Thank you from Chaz" and they were ready to go.

Tomorrow is supply day and I'm going to start working on them as soon as I post this. Until next time...Hugs,

Regi

Day Two of Teacher appreciation week!!

Tuesday....card day!! Not only did we make "Thank you" cards for the Chazman's teachers but we also made some corner paper bookmarks to go with them last night. I know that cards get thrown away but hopefully they will use the bookmarks for a long time and think of Chaz when they do. I love making these bookmarks and if anyone else would like to make some just let me know and I will do a "How to" post just for you. OK ok...others will be able to learn too but that's the fun of sharing how to make things...ri iight??  Besides, you will know it was done especially for YOU. ^_^

Our first card we made was for Mr. H...the Chazman's main teacher. He is a super HUGE ALABAMA fan, just in case you start wondering why we did this particular card.

The Chazman said he just smiled when he saw it and really liked it. I'm so proud of myself....see the bookmark? I can't beelieeeve I actually got the BAMA in the right places when folding...hehe!!

The next card we made was for his second half of the day teacher, Mrs. L. He said that she really, REALLY liked hers too.

We put her bookmark on the corner of her card as well but I took it off for the picture so you could see the whole card. ^_^

The last but not least card we made was for his speech teacher, Mrs. P. He said she really, really, REALLY like her card.

Inside each one I placed the same note and then signed our names and the date at the bottom. I really want them to know just how much we (not just Chaz but us as parents too) appreciate the fact that they chose such a wonderful profession, that of being a teacher.

Nowww....tomorrow is sweet day and boy are they going to get a treat!! Until next time.............Hugs,

Regi (and the Chazman)

It's Teacher Appreciation Week!!!

I love this time of year. The school year is winding down and it's almost time for the Chazman to be home for the summer. WOOT WOOT!!  Before that  happens though, there is still three more weeks remaining and this week is a special one. It's Teacher Appreciation Week!! I love making little gifts to let the Chazman's teachers know just how special they are and that I appreciate all the effort they put into teaching. They have really made this a FUN, learning year and these teachers are the BEST!!

Like every year, the school sends home a "suggestion" list  for us to use for each day of the week. We don't have to follow it but I think it's fun making new things that go with the theme for the day. Here's our list.....

Monday-a flower or small plant. Tuesday-card or letter. Wednesday-sweet treat  Thursday-school supplies and Friday-Donate a book or G rated movie to the classroom.

Now for today's theme of  "give them a flower or small plant" I just had to take it a step further. I mean either one of those would have died in time so I wanted to make them something they could reuse each year and remember the Chazman while using it. I kept it in the plant family or the planting family...hehe...as in being a gardner. I saw these awesome plant stakes a good time back and fell in love with them. Someone had taken silverware and had drawn some simple vegetables on a piece of paper, colored them and wrote the name on it. So so cute!! So I did the same thing. I have some old silverware and have been wanting to use it so this theme was the perfect reason to pull that box down out of the top of the closet and put them to use. I varnished the little labels once they were dry so the weather won't fade them or tear them up. Now...I couldn't just give them two spoons so I put the spoons inside a pair of gloves they can wear while tending their garden.

Once I got these put together,  I sat looking at them and just felt it needed a little "sumthin sumthin" to go with it...soooo I made a small "Gardening Tips" booklet.

I think I gave them some really good tips too. Like...did you know that you can get rid of those nasty weeds poking out from in between your sidewalk or garden pavers by pouring HOT water on them. OR....did you know that you can make a safe and nontoxic potion to spray on your flower pot gardens or window box gardens to keep slugs and aphids away by placing one peeled onion, two peeled garlic cloves and one tsp cayenne pepper in a blender...add three cups water and blend til smooth. Let it sit overnight and then strain the liquid into a spray bottle. Coat plants generously and tell those nasty critters bye bye bye. (Psst..the solution will keep in the refrig for about a week.)   ^_^

I made two sets of these as the Chazman has two teachers. Sniff sniff...my baby is getting big..they started changing classes.  He also has another one that I surely could NOT forget and that's his sweet, speech teacher. I have given her some of my earrings during the year and she always sends me the sweetest note thanking me and telling me she put them on immediately. That just makes a heart feel so good...well..it does this old artist's heart anyway. Since she seems to like my jewelry, I made her some pretty earrings and in keeping with the "plant" theme I put a silver Tree of Life charm on them.

It really BUGS me when the computer doesn't show the true colors of something. These glass beads are the prettiest burgundy with swirls of yellow and pink in them. HEY....I made a funny...talking about a plant theme and I said it BUGS me...hehehe...get it???

I attached a small notecard with each gift and wrote this little saying...Thank you for planting the seed that helped Chaz's knowledge to grow!!

Now I could hardly wait til Chaz got home this afternoon to find out if they liked today's gifts. Of course, I did have to wait but it was worth it. He came in the back door with thumbs up and said all three LOVED their special gifts. Ahhhhh....that really does make my heart feel good!!! Now on to tomorrow's theme!!!

Until next time........Hugs,
Regi


I had fun last year working on gifts too and I just now realized that the theme's were the same then too..hehe Go take a "PEEK" if you weren't visiting the old Southern ooaks tree then. Perhaps it will inspire those of you that need to make a few teacher gifts yourself. ^_^