Transom window

The full transom window laid out

This is what I call the "jigsaw puzzle" stage

I'm on the finishing stages of a transom window and I can't wait to see it installed!  The window will be in their kitchen, but it's open to the dining and living room, too.  It's my own design created specifically for this couple so I've only seen in in my head and in my preliminary drawings.

The colors were picked to go with her favorite color of blue, and his favorite of red.   The gray and white are to keep in simple, not overpowering to enhance their living space without overpowering.  And besides, they love the neutrals, too.

Favorite Tools

Working in glass, there are lots of tools in my studio.  Two of my favorites, however, are above.  The grid cutting board is excellent for catching little flakes of glass so they don't spread all over the studio, and the running pliers make such wonderful "breaks".  For those who don't know, you don't actually cut glass, you score it, and it breaks along the line (where you want it to "run").  Thus, running pliers.

I won TWO prizes!

Gift Basket

I won not one, but TWO, summer reading prizes!  A gift basket with a local pancake mix and kitchen utensils plus a wonderful stuffed white tiger with tickets to a local cat conservation center.

Our new plush pet "Roar"

Our library really has an awesome summer reading program for all ages and when I saw all the great gift baskets they were giving away I enthusiastically began logging the books I was reading (one drawing entry per book).   Nineteen books later I won, and I spent a relaxing summer doing one of my favorite activities to boot.      

Summer Bouquet

The summer sun is blistering hot, but I enjoy taking a few minutes to run outside and clip some summer flowers for the table. 

Let's see today I gathered: Shasta Daisy, Purple Coneflower, Dwarf Zinnias, Catmint, and Honeysuckle.

While I was out there I noticed the sunflowers and weeds are completely out of control in the backyard.  Somehow weeding is not as much fun.

Summer Garage Sale Projects

My kids are getting stir crazy and starting to drive me crazy so it was time to dig in a craft bucket and find some projects we've been waiting to do.  Odds and ends we have picked up at garage sales.  They each found something to do with very little coaching by mom.  Yahoo!

One chose an MC Escher inspired fish puzzle (I'll teach him about Escher later)... 

a parrot by the boy always looking for "birdies"...and a rainbow suncatcher by my rainbow boy.  Remember those suncatchers from when you were a kid and you melt the little crystals together?  

My project: reading as many novels as I possibly can for one summer week.  One Julie Garwood and two Lori Copeland.

Family Reunion

On the 100th anniversary of my mom's farm, we celebrated in the afternoon with clay pigeon shooting, archery, and a nice family visit. Followed in the evening with a campfire, and an obscene amount of fireworks. Sparklers and family photos rounded things off around midnight. Luckily, we were on our way home when the torrents of rain started which is a very good thing because the picture above would just not have been the same in the pouring rain.

St Francis Gets a Facelift

Cement statues can look a bit boring and grey so for a long time I've thought my St. Francis statue needed some enhancement. Then I saw a show on PBS's "For Your Home" and knew exactly what I wanted to do! A guest on the show demonstrated how to age your statue and harmonize it with your garden. I went right to work...

I started with a very light brush of white acrylic paint on the highlights. Then comes the part I would never think of: dirt. You add dirt to the creases and crevices with a touch of the white paint, which is no longer white when you poke the dirt into the recess of the statue.

At first my kids were content to watch me, but before I knew it they had taken over the dirt part. Gotta love a project that involves art, gardening, and kids!

Has anyone tried brushing on buttermilk to encourage moss? I wasn't sure about that one.