Slacking...

I'm a terrible blogger.  I get so involved in reading all the other blogs I love so much that I seldom think of  adding posts to my own blog.  I usually only activate the mental blogging button when I'm involved in a challenge or blog hop of some kind.  But really, that's not all I like to read about.  I love to check in with my favorites daily, to see what they've been up to...not just creatively, but I like to read about their families and pets and projects.  I need to make a better attempt to keep a daily log of sorts.  Now that I'm retired, the days kind of run together...I'm always busy with something, but it never seems like I'm really DOING anything.  So, for my own peace of mind, I need to document the things that make each day special. 

Starting with today, I guess.  Today I'm needing to visit the post office to mail seven of these:



They are for a charm swap...I send seven, and I will receive seven, one each from seven different jewelery-making ladies such as myself.  I used raw wooden "tiles" that I painted, decoupaged, distressed, and then rubbed and buffed after applying a low-gloss finish to make them water-resistant.  I glued them (and in some cases, wrapped them) with filigree "frames" from various sources.  I can't WAIT to see what I get in return!

My newest craze, thanks to a swap partner and like-minded crafter named Sheryl, is something called dotee dolls.  They're little (anywhere from three inches to probably six inches) stuffed dolly-like creatures with a hanger and a "tail" (usually made with beads, from what I see online).  Usually armless, but not always.  I've seen them talked about (on Swap-bot), but never thought they'd be something I should investigate, make, and swap.  Until now.  When Sheryl suggested that we swap dotee dolls, I thought...Why not?  And, given my unfortunate addictive personality, now I'm hooked!  I didn't think to take pictures of my first dotee, named Megan, before I sent her to Arkansas to live with Sheryl.  However, here's my second dotee, made for someone I don't know...the theme is "March".

Her face is embroidered onto felt and whip-stitched onto the head part of her funky little one-piece body.  She is wearing a frosty glass heart necklace, and her "tail" is a bunch of glass beads from my stash.  I really need to work on my hairdressing skills...I'm using Fun Fur yarn, and it is veeeeery difficult to work with!  This little lady has a serious case of bed-head. 

So that's the fun I've been having.  In addition, I continue to create yo-yos like there's no tomorrow, and to make and then rip out granny squares because they aren't quite pleasing to the eye.  Actually, I spent a fortune buying every color available of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran yarn (eBay), and although it's heaven to the touch, I am so disappointed in the colors.  They're kind of...well, the word "muddy" comes to mind.  You should see the heathery lavender...it looks like what happens if you mix all your paint colors together.  Soooo not pretty, and I have, unfortunately, four balls of it.  Once again, I'm reminded of the perils of being an impulse shopper.  Poverty and disappointment follow these events.

Signing off now, trying to forget about the poverty and disappointment, and to focus on the charms and the dotees!