I could have a 30 foot long work table and still only have 10 square inches in which to work at.  I've been making some necklaces lately for custom orders and such.

But, when I'm not pushing the beads and metal around…

One of the things I do is take time to play…  After turning my hobby into my job, I found it important to find new and fun things that make my heart flutter and are inspiring.  My family is very musical and I grew up loving music.  Still not sure why I put my violin down for 10 years, but it's better to pick it up late, than never.  This is my friend Mike.  We played in a garage band together back in high school…called The Worms.  I always forget where that name came from.  Last night we played for four hours and it was a blast. 

This is my new friend, Anne Huskey-Lockard.  She's a gal I've heard a lot about through the arty grapevine, but hadn't gotten to meet.  Finally!  We met and chatted over 3 cups of coffee and I think she summed it up best here.  "A kindred spirit" indeed, there is acosmic connection amongst artists (ok, the internet helps too) that we can find each other through the miles of corn fields that separate us.  And it's comforting to meet people that understand this strange existence of being an artist.  Anne recently injured herself, so if you could stop for a second and send her some healing thoughts, it would be most appreciated.  As it turns we have a few friends in common, so I look forward to summer and chats about new ideas and visits to her studio.

These are some of Anne's box canvases rich in layers of paint and collage.  Unbelievable when you look at all that's going on in her work.  She makes art that you can really get lost in….  Click the picture to enlarge it.

Anne is also the coordinator of the Peru Arts Co-op that meets at the cute, Cafe Du Cirque.  I love a coffee shop with a green front door!  It's a great place with lots of charm and smiles.

Hey!  My friends at Plaid are having a Spring Craft contest.  Break out the Mod Podge, roll out the Fresh beads, and get the skinny here!  What do you have to lose?

Here's a Spring Tweet necklace I made using Plaid's Fresh resin pendant as the base with paper cut outs Mod Podged on it and a Fresh silver leaf charm stacked on top. This + a white V-neck T = Sweet for Spring!

Saturday I went to a fiber festival in Portland, Indiana.  It was a blast!  If you're into fiber arts of any sort, or want to learn a new craft, this is for you… Felting, spinning, weaving, rug hooking, beading, and more!

Vendors and visitors bring their crafts for a few days of visiting, selling, buying, and creating.  I went to see old friends, buy some wool for new felting project proposals and to find places to teach workshops. 

Save your pennies because there are a million cool things to spend them on.  The thing I love about fiber fests is learning something new.  This time it was "rug hooking".  I ended up buying a very cool kit from Jan Ryan with a burlap base and lots of things to hook, like strips from recycled wool suits and hand dyed yarn.  Of course I have dreams of making a ginormous rug, but I'll be content if I can make my sampler….you know how it goes.

And here's a budding polymer clay button and bead artist.  A girl after my own heart, I loved her set up.  She is my felting teacher's daughter.  I'm amazed at how tall she's gotten after not seeing her for a few years! 

So happy to see my other felting teachers, Matt and Jamie.  Giggles all around, I didn't tell them I was coming so it was a fun surprise.  You can have all your fleeces (sheep shearings) processed at their fiber mill, The Wooly Knob.  P.S. Matt (on right) wove the garment he's wearing. A-Mazing!

The stars of the show, sheep shearing demos were going on outside.  Now, you've the itch to go to a fiber festival or seven so here are some links to help locate one in your area…

www.woolfestival.com

And if you're local to Indiana, Matt and Jamie have some listed here.

I have my alarm set so the radio comes on in the morning instead of beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep…it's no fun to wake up to an unsettling "alarm" is it?  Why do we do that to ourselves?  Anyway, I lay there and listen to it for a bit while I come out of sleep and remind myself what I'm doing for the day.  One of the contests is called the "impossible question"–I think you win a free lunch at Pizza Hut's lunch buffet if you get the correct answer (in case you were wondering).  So one of last week's IQ was:

42% of people are happier if they have _________ within a mile of their house.

The Answer: A Best Friend

I loved it.  I believe it too!  Because you are more likely to see them, share some stories, some burdens, more importantly-Laughs, right? 

The same day I heard that question I decided to invite my best friend here in town over for lunch on a whim.  Turns out, she was having a crummy day because her car was kaput…like unrepairable kaput so it was good timing for comfort food.  As you can see it was a modest lunch, but we had a nice visit, commiserating about her car, eating, talking budgets, and giggling in the middle—all that in a 45 minute lunch break.  And what a difference it makes in your life!

Remember those green tea muffins I made awhile back?  The recipe is from the Collection of Words blog that I can't seem to find a link to anymore.  This is a great recipe, fast to make, beautiful in color, not too sweet, good with your favorite hot beverage….I could go on, but here's the recipe instead so you can see for yourself.

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
one stick butter (1/4 cup)
one egg
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk (plus 1/4 cup extra if needed)
2 teaspoons powdered green tea
1 teaspoon vanilla

Set oven to 350.  Melt the stick of butter in a bowl, add the sugar and blend together (or cream).  Add the vanilla and egg and stir.  Sift together tea, flour, and baking soda.  Add the dry to the wet mixture and add the milk.  Stir.  Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

When I went to Kathmandu, I scoured the place for anything felt-and boy did I find it!  Whole stores of felty goodness-I was in heaven.  This is a peppy little brooch I picked up.  I loved it for the random color combo, the stitchery around the edges and this:

a most clever pin-back! 

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