WOW can't believe I haven't posted in over a month! Hope everyone had a great holiday!! My life is wonderfully crazy as always. The babes are almost a year-can you believe it?!?! Our daily routine includes many servings of Cheerios these days. The other day when I poured them out on the trays I saw a heart in the middle of one. I set it aside and of course lost it. So next pour out I was on a mission to find another. Found one. Turns out it really isn't that hard actually.

Here we are with our "monster faces".

Sometimes we can even get the claws going too! I don't want to wish these baby days away, but I am looking forward to when we can make stuff together. Does any one have any non toxic media suggestions for little ones? Everything goes IN THE MOUTH. I mean everything. We went out of town after New Years. We have a mini van with split seats that allows me to climb in the back while we are driving so I can interact/give a bottle etc. Well I climbed back for no particular reason actually only to find one sleeping blissfully and the other awake with a mouth full of foam that he had been working out of a small exposure in his car seat. (Totally makes me furious with the car seat manufacturers especially as this wasn't a cheap seat, but that's another post.) The other day a wad of string. This morning a tiny moldy leaf from God knows where. So anyway, I guess we could finger paint on the high chair trays with food. I have helped them hold a marker while they move around on paper. We made a few cards this way. I'd like to play with something where they have total freedom though. Have a great weekend!!!

Don't Forget To Thank Your Angels

How I do love nap time. I feel guilty at how much I love it. So yesterday when the phone rang waking one of the babies, I was annoyed. The girl from the dealership was getting back with Mr. Pearl and Pebble. So I called him, gave him the message and let him know I didn't like her because now one of the boys was howling. He laughed and was surprised she called the house because he had only left an e-mail contact. So I go upstairs to retrieve my babe in distress and as I glanced in the sleeping boy's crib, I saw this I had left gift bags from our Adoption Day ceremony next to the cribs, I thought out of harms way. Apparently not. I put one babe in the coral and woke up my other little man. He had a wad of paper pulp stored in his little cheek, and a wad stuck up on the roof of his mouth. I can't find anymore of the paper, so he must have ate the rest. But WOW! Talk about my daily dose of Divine Intervention!!!! I had just finished reading Heaven Is For Real the night before so I was even more convinced that the Angels assigned to our house were really doing their jobs well!!! So given my recent blogging activity record, I probably won't get another post out anytime soon. Just in case here is a little picture from the "Christmas card stash". I love how it shows the wonder and fasination that wee ones have with the most simple of objects.

Have a wonderful Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!

Sweet Orange

My humble offering here for Erin's color challenge. Orange is my color although I think I may have veered a bit from the citrus pallet she chose for me. Actually these earrings are the first that I made, and the only piece I finished. There are felted components unembellished and more crocheted medallions unassembled. And a few ideas still swirling around in my head. Which I think was part of the point of the challenge anyway. I love orange it seems. For some reason it is never the first color I "go" for. I don't know why. There are a zillion shades, tones and mixes of this marvelous color and yet for some reason when I think of orange I think of Home Depot and pylon cones. Ridiculous. Be sure to check out the other designers blogs to see what wonderful pieces they have made. If you click on the title links they will take you to Jessica's pages featuring her spectacular color pallets. Happy Hopping!!

1 Norma Turvey ~ Teal ~ Color Crave

2 Jeannie Dukic ~ Green ~ Mineral Tones

3 Mary McGraw ~ Teal ~ Embellished Hues

4 Jo Tinley ~ Red ~ Decadent Tones

5 Rebecca Anderson ~ Pink ~ Tulip Tones

6 Kristi Jaro ~ Red ~ Temple Entrance

7 Stephani Gorman ~ Green ~ Dew Tones

8 Melissa Meman ~ Green ~ Fruit Star

9 Kathleen Lange Klik ~ Teal ~ Silk Hues

10 Cynthia Riggs ~ Red ~ Autumn Comfort

11 Heidi Post ~ Teal ~ Flora Bright

12 Cece Cormier ~ Teal ~ Merino Teal

13 Amy Freeland ~ Gray ~ Cultured Tones

14 Alice Peterson ~ Blue ~ Island Play

15 Rose Noble ~ Gray ~ Autumn Stacked

16 Kristina Johansson ~ Yellow ~ Sunny Flower

17 Kirsi Luostarinen ~ Teal ~ Dragon Hues

18 Tari Kahrs ~ Orange ~ Citrus Tones

19 Mallory Hoffman ~ Purple ~ Petaled Dark

20 Molly Alexander ~ Brown ~ Peppered Tones

21 Regina Santerre ~ Red ~ Frosted Berry

22 Emanda Johnson ~ Teal ~ Color Purl

23 Amy Severino ~ Orange ~ Winged Tones

24 Bobbie Rafferty ~ Teal ~ Lime Hues

25 Tanya Goodwin ~ Gray ~ Pecked Tones

26 Lisa Lodge ~ Blue ~ Nocturnal Tones

27 Hope Smitherman ~ Blue ~ Bloom Tones

28 Linda Landig ~ Green ~ Cacti Dark

29 Ambra Gostoli ~ Teal ~ Perched Autumn

30 Lori Bowring-Michaud ~ Blue ~ Sharpened Blue

31 Pippa Chandler ~ Teal ~ Hungarian Hues

32 Keirsten Giles ~ Purple ~ Mineral Brights

33 Jennifer Justman ~ Blue ~ Autumn Rays

34 Sandy Richardson ~ Purple ~ Moroccan Brights

35 CJ Bauschka ~ Teal ~ Teal Air

36 Shaiha Williams ~ Teal ~ Sushi Hues

37 Kay Thomerson ~ Purple ~ Autumn Spectrum

38 Sally Russick ~ Purple ~ Golden Gate Tones

39 Cilla Watkins ~ Purple ~ Autumn Infused

40 Shirley Moore ~ Purple ~ Frozen Heather

41 Jenni Connolly ~ Gray ~ Paw Tones

42 Tamara Soper ~ Green ~ Field Tones

43 Sharyl McMillian-Nelson ~ Blue ~ Nested Blues

44 Jen Velasquez ~ Pink ~ Sweetened Tints

45 Maria Grimes ~ Red ~ Bright Bloom

46 Elisabeth Auld ~ Gray ~ Petaled Tints

47 Susan Kennedy ~ Pink ~ Zinnia Tones

48 Shannon Chomanczuk ~ Gray ~ Autumn Leaf

49 Holly Westfall ~ Yellow ~ Sprinkled Tones

50 Patty Gasparino ~ Red ~ Color Carton

51 Angela Little ~ Pink ~ Singapore Brights

52 Lizzie Zawinski ~ Green ~ Budding Hues

53 Kristen Stevens ~ Pink ~ Scooped Tones

54 Dawn Doucette ~ Brown ~ Jarred Tones

Best Thanksgiving EVER!!!

Well it's OFFICIAL!! All the legalities are finalized and we are officially parents. The picture is a few weeks old-from Halloween. I made the hair from wool roving which apparently was quite distracting. It's been wwaaayy too long since my last post. Had a little hospital trip. Chest pains, a ride in the ambulance (so embarrassing) a bunch of tests and a Prilosec prescription. Oh well better safe than sorry and if you have to choose a diagnosis........ Wednesday is the 30th and that means Erin's Color Challenge Hop!!!! Click on the link on the right for more info! My color is orange by the way and of course I am NOT done!!!! We had a lovely trip to New Jersey for the Holiday. Went way to fast. The weather was gorgeous. I love sunny cool fall days. I did not pig out and felt marvelous! Babes did good in the van. But both are getting all top front teeth in and are a little uncomfortable. I do not know a good way to close this post and I need to go. Have a great day!!!

I Heart Macro

I love the line and the abstract quality. It's the same attraction I have to the water splashes on the shower door. Somehow there is a unique and individual story to each mark.

It is actually the shadow of a grass that Mr. Pearl and Pebble found on the grounds of the market while I was getting our coffee beans.

Love this shot. For some reason the golden glow isn't as intense here as in my album. Hmmm. Same computer. Dunno. That is a computer issue. I'm thankful I can do what I can do. (Add that to the list Erin!)

And as I walked around the yard, I saw this lonely dude. He's not quite as spectacular, however I do like the maroon bottom he's got. For some reason he is just a "weed". Still a little beauty though. The air is crisp, but the sun is shining and that makes it a perfect day. Enjoy yours! Oh and don't forget to click on the macro button over to the left. It will take you to Lori's blog over at Waterstone where you will be able to see everyone who is playing along today. Everybody is welcome, so go get your camera!

I Heart Hedgehogs

Here is the painting that is this month's inspiration for Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge. I love this painting. And I found it to be very very inspiring. Haven't assembled a piece of jewelry yet, but I did pull out my paper, polymer, pens and pencils. That is a good thing. One of the first things I started doing was just doodling on bristol with water soluble pencils and art markers.

Then I started doodling on wooden disks.

I filled in some with my art markers and really loved the color. HOWEVER when it came to varnishing, the reds tended to bleed. So now I am trying to figure out what sealer/varnish is best.

I like this one. It bled, so I took some Prismacolor pencils to it and coated it with gloss varnish/medium. Maybe now I can just use wax?

Or just leave things "naked"? I have a bunch of Aanraku bails coming. Hopefully I can get some put together to my liking and stick them in my shop. Someday.

I also played with my polymer. I want to play with my earth clay, but needed instant gratification. I like him. I have a few more that haven't been carved out, painted, inked up, stained and sealed yet, but I think I will go for it. So thank you Art Bead Scene, this was just the challenge I needed!

Macro Sunday

This time of year seems to revive my cooking desires. And there are things that I am pretty picky about. One of those things I insist on is grating my nutmeg. I love the little nut. I love scraping the "outerness" off, creating these wonderful facets and revealing all sorts of fabulous patterning. I love grating it, releasing the aroma and feeling the soft shavings left behind. I swear it enhances a recipe far more than pre-ground in a jar nutmeg. But I'm sure that could be debated and is a matter of opinion. So don't worry I don't think less of anyone who doesn't whip out their Microplaner when a quiche is on the dinner menu. (I know you find this to be a great relief!)

Another thing that I find fascinating is the "pictures" I see in such things. Do you see a smiling bird with really long legs too? (Yes, of course I'm tired, but he IS there.)