Yeah, it's almost that time again

I just love this. Going to be hard to give it up and put it in the booth. This is a small snowman hat. Measures 5 inches tall, and from the edge of the brim across to the other edge, 5 inches wide. Has been distressed with our coffee mix. I added a homespun material band, made the distressed tag, and glued two small pine cones to the brim.

After I finished this yesterday afternoon, I carried it out onto the deck so I could get a few shots with the camera. Jake was very interested, so I lowered it for him to sniff. Mistake. He promptly tried to take it from my hand, thinking it was a new toy.

Sigh. What is a dog mom to do?
Linda

Did we learn a lesson?

There is a local festival at the park this weekend. Consequently, the dog park is closed due to the need for additional parking. We (3 dog moms) decided to make our own dog park in Melissa's backyard. So last night, Dega, Coal, and my two had a play date in Dega's yard.

Dega is a Wheaton Terrier. Jake is a mix of Airedale Terrier and Schnauzer. Melissa and I have noticed a lot of similarities between the two dogs. However, Jake is the youngest and the smallest of the group. Does this stop him from trying to be the top dog? Hell, no. Does this stop him from barking in other dogs ears? Why, no, not at all. Did this get him into some trouble, finally? Glad that you asked...

For the most part it was a calm evening. My two were fascinated by a small squirrel up in the trees at the back of the yard. Coal, being Coal, just wanted to lay next to his mom. And Dega, being Dega, was laying on top of the glass patio table taking in all the action. Occasionally, Jake would bark at Dega. Jake tends to get jealous when Gracie and Dega have an interlude. Dega has been ignorning Jake for months, acting just a tad afraid of the little shit. But last night we were all in his yard, he had had enough, and he turned on Jake. It was just a matter of the older, bigger dog putting the runt in his place. But then Coal saw an opportunity to get into the act, and within seconds we had Dega and Coal picking on Jake, who was down on the ground crying for his mommy, and Gracie (bless her little heart) ready to tear Coal a new one. The Diva was defending her brother.

The moms stepped in, as we will do, and broke it up. No damage was done. No bites, no broken skin. Just one terrified little boy who immediately glued himself to my side. This is the way of the dogs, and now the balance is back where it should be. Jake has learned his place in the pecking order. Gracie is strutting her stuff. She knows she stepped up to the plate when needed. And I continue to learn something new about dogs, every day, every week. Ya gotta love it.
Linda

Fall

I took these pictures in 2010. This is the view from my friend Pat's house. She owns a chunk of these woods, and it keeps her in her home. I wouldn't move either if I could look out the back windows and doors and see this. I'm posting these because we have zero color in central Indiana, and it is doubtful we will have any autumn splendor. This was our third year of drought, and although the rain that has fallen since August 1st is replenishing our earth, it is too late to help the trees change their color.

I love to see the trees change, and when it doesn't happen I somehow feel cheated. One of my favorite pastimes is to go out with the camera and just take a truck load of shots like these. The wonderfulness of digital is low cost after the fact. Maybe, this year, I need to find the beauty in the color brown....

Thanks for stopping by.
Linda

Serenity Now

The Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. May 2011. Enjoy.
Linda

Violated

I was robbed last night. This is not the first time in my long life that someone has stole material objects from me. It is simply the latest.

The sense of violation is so sharp, so devastating that it takes your breath away. Until a little time passes, until you can say "I am okay, my babies are okay, we were not hurt", then it starts to ease. But now the hard shit starts: getting another drivers license. Getting another social security card. Getting....

I worked at the store yesterday, and came home by 3:30. Around 4:15 I decided that the dogs needed to run, so we took off for the dog park. My routine is to roll up the windows completely, lock the car with my purse in it, and go into the park. I have keyless entry on the Ford, with the keypad. We were in the park for around 90 minutes, in clear view of the parking lot. No one saw or heard a thing. When we walked out, I noticed immediately that the passenger window was busted out. My purse was gone.

The thieves had charged almost $1,000 at the Avon Walmart within minutes of leaving the dog park. Thanks, Wally World. Those self check-out stations help the damn criminals, ya know that? YOU don't care. Sorry. I had to vent. The thieves then went across the street and tried to charge over $500 at Target, when Target said no, we don't think so. They also filled up with gas. An hour after that little spree, they tried to buy almost $700 of groceries, but were declined.

I lost all of my identification, my insurance cards, my social security cards, etc etc. There was only about $10 in the purse, but it also had my little Canon camera. Cathy and I had been taking pictures of crafts earlier in the day. I had forgot to remove the Canon. The thieves also have keys to my car on the fob, key to my house, key to the store that Cathy owns.

This post is to warn everyone to be more careful about what you carry with you. In the future, the insurance cards will not be in the wallet, nor will the social security card. The purse will never again go to the dog park, or anywhere else I have to leave it for whatever reason. And as I type this, I am listening to a story about a woman in the area who was watching television last night when 2 intruders walked in and stole that very television, along with her credit cards.

No one is safe. And the authorities have made it very difficult for the victims to obtain what they need for normal living. Think about it.
Linda

Lazy Dogs

The dogs hate it when I haul out a camera and all they want to do is settle in for nap number 8 of the day. On this particular day, we had recently returned from a long walk. They had then played out in the yard, and both were getting sleepy. Too bad. The light coming in from the south window was soft, as it normally is this time of year. I wanted some new pics. And these two are my favorite subjects.

Don't you wish you could relax like these dogs? Total contentment. Have a great day.
Linda

Dogs and their toys

Aren't they adorable? Yeah. Just so cute.

When Gracie and Jake get a toy, they play with it very differently. Gracie will immediately remove any squeaking device held within the cloth. She then meticulously removes the eyes and ears. Evidently there is a method to dismantling a toy that I don't know about.

Jake, being a boy that came from a Shelter, plays with his toys. He still likes to roll over on his back with the toy in his front paws, moving it around above his head, holding it gently in his mouth. Jake takes care of what he has. But he also has a sister.

A new pattern has emerged that kind of worries me: Jake tries to steal toys from other dog's toy baskets. This has happened twice, and the other dog moms are telling me the boy doesn't have enough to play with at home. Yeah, and the other dogs don't have Gracie in the house.  So I guess I will break down and buy, just a few, today and see what happens. I feel bad that Jake wants something to play with. All I have to do is convince Gracie not to destroy it.

Have a great weekend.
Linda

Busy Thursday

Hope you are having a great day. I am doing a quick post before walking the dogs and heading for work. This is a Maya Road large tag that I covered in some old Cosmo Cricut paper as a base. I stamped the post card image and then used two vintage images from Crafty Secrets. A little bling and ribbon finishes it off, with a "boo" tag I distressed and stamped.

I absolutely, positively have to get all of the fall and Halloween projects completed this week. Absolutely. Then it's time to start on Christmas. Ya gotta laugh....

Thanks for stopping by.
Linda

Witch Hat

For weeks my house smelled like stale coffee. The above is one of the reasons why that oddity occurred. This is a witch hat, about 15 inches tall. It is made of double layers of muslin, and to finish it, I painted it black with craft paint, and put it out on the patio table to dry. The next step was to mix coffee, cinnamon, and ground cloves and again paint the hat. Let that dry.

During all of this process, the air conditioner was on due to the high humidity levels and day time temperatures. So at times the various projects I had going were on the kitchen table drying. Hence the smell in the house.

The things I get involved in.......

Anyhooooo, we now have an Etsy shop button on this blog, and on the Allyscraps blog. Just click on the word ALLYSCRAPS under the thumbnail pictures. If you have any questions, please just drop me a note or leave a comment.

I must go stuff pumpkins. Have yourself a great day.
Linda

More Halloween Treats

My favorite time of year. Autumn and Halloween! Cathy made the witch, and isn't she adorable? She is painted muslin, with a calico print blouse and skirt. On her hat is a rusty star for adornment.

The pumpkin duo are also of muslin that has been painted, with a wood stem and spanish moss for hair. We used a variety of materials for the eyes, nose and mouth. This duo are sewn together, with rice in the bottoms so they will sit correctly.

Visit our Etsy shop! It's under Allyscraps, and I'm doing my best to get an Etsy mini logo on the blogs.

Thanks for stopping by.
Linda

Halloween Tags

Cathy and I are having so much fun making Halloween decorations. It is our favorite time of the year. We now have an Etsy shop, under Allyscraps. These tags were made with orange cardstock and some vintage Halloween images. I inked the edges of everything with a walnut stain.

Wouldn't they make a great place setting or party favor?

Have a great day.
Linda

Puppy Pool Party

The dogs getting adjusted

Dega being chased, but he deserved it

Beautiful standard poodle

Dega contemplating chasing the poodle

Coal going out into the deep after a ball

This weekend is the Splash Island Puppy Pool Party. We went yesterday afternoon. You will notice that Gracie and Jake, my dogs, the dogs that I paid $10 each for the event, are not in the pools. Yes, indeed. I knew Gracie wouldn't get wet, she never does. Such a Diva. But I thought for sure that Jake would run through the water having a good old time. No. Never happened.

Towards the end of the hour, Jake did finally enter the wading pool and walk around a few feet. But that was about it. From the minute Melissa removed Dega's leash, he was off and running. She spent the entire time running back and forth on the deck (humans are not allowed in the pool) keeping track of her dog. Dega was a wild man. I enjoyed just watching him.

I spent some time trying to catch my dogs, who, once they had their leashes off, decided to enter the general grounds and run around trees. No, guys, we are here for the water.

It wasn't crowded this year, which was nice for us, but not so good for the fundraiser. We are all feeling the crunch. Enjoy yourselves this fine day.
Linda

Storms

Last night was the type of thunderstorm that we had not had in over 6 months. I enjoy a good thunderstorm, as long as I'm safely inside somewhere. But by 8pm, I had an alert on my smart phone from the National Weather Service about a possible tornado in our area. The local Fox station removed the regular programming and started with the weather coverage.

The front was moving fairly slow, and we watched it on television as it crept to our town. But when it hit? Good golly Miss Molly.  Both dogs were on the bed with me, not shaking or panting, just wanting to be close. They know mom will protect them. I am thankful they aren't afraid of the weather. I've had dogs in the past where I could end up spending hours on the floor with them, trying to keep them calm. No, my two slept, but both stayed within arm reach of me.

The threat of serious weather is over, it is cooler, and I am loving this. What a strange weather year it has been, with a super warm spring, then drought, and now catch-up on the rain. Life in the midwest is not dull.
Linda

Puppy Pool Party

This weekend is the 6th annual Puppy Pool Party at Splash Island in Plainfield, IN. This is our local water park, and once they close for the season for humans, the dogs are allowed in the pools for a fund raiser. It is against state law for humans and dogs to be in the water at the same time, so us two legged people have to stay on the deck.

Gracie refuses to get her fur wet. So she will stay with me. However. See the above of Jake. I seriously doubt I will have a problem getting the little guy to go in the water. Free balls and frisbees are provided to entice the dogs. Doubt I'll even need that.

Those are my knees in the third photograph. Jake was taking a break and, well, if mom is near he has to touch me in some way.

Whatever you do this weekend, have a good one.
Linda

Halloween and Dogs

What ya doing, mom?

I am ignoring you, you know that, don't you?

Halloween large chipboard tag

One of the things I really love about my little Canon Powershot is the wide angle lens. I can be quite close to the dogs and still get a decent picture. In the two above, we were in the kitchen and they had heard something outside the front of the house. Just for the record, I asked Gracie to look at me, repeatedly. She wouldn't. The Diva has her own set of priorities.

Cathy and I have been in high gear making Halloween crafts to sell. This year we have a variety, from stuffed pumpkins to witch dolls, and wall hangings. This is a Maya Road chipboard luggage tag that I base painted with craft paint. I then cut out an assortment of papers and some vintage images. A little bling in the lower right hand corner, and some ribbon from Michael's finished it off.

If you are in the area, see us at Gilley's Antique and Craft Mall on US 40, in Plainfield, IN. We are dealer 620.
Enjoy yourselves.
Linda

Blessed Rain

The Hibiscus once again bloomed

Watching the neighborhood

We have had rain. Lots of rain. I am not complaining. Oh, no, believe me, I would not complain about rain. After the third summer of drought, seeing trees die and lawns burn, I would never complain about rain again. It blows my mind that a few inches of rain revives the plants. My Hibiscus out front were still green but without buds. Now look at them. There are fresh blooms every morning.

The only down side is the attack of the killer mosquitoes. I use that phrase in jest, but the outbreaks of West Nile virus are increasing in our state. The mosquitoes are little and vicious. I was out on the deck with the dogs for just a few minutes last night after dark. I have bites everywhere.

Enjoy your day. Stay safe.
Linda