Blessings....

 One year ago right now (6:50 or so) i had my cerebral hemorrhage. And that event totally changed my life and my way of thinking and feeling. I am so grateful for this past year. I could just as easily be some ashes blowing around my favorite place. I swear i'll never take anything for granted ever again. So this is sort of my 1 year birthday for my new life. Thank you for stopping by for a visit. I really do appreciate that!

Brother and Sister

 Little Honey and Rubie Dubie, curled up for a nap

Bears and Buns-Knit and Crochet

 I've been busy with making my rosaries and have had a little pile of bunny and bear bodies waiting to be stuffed and sewn together for a while now. So i took a day, put the little critters together and here they are!

 This little bear is Tulip! She is knit with 100% all natural soft cotton yarn and stuffed with polyfil.

 She is a sweet little bear who is looking for a little girl (or a big girl) to love...

 This is Everett

 He got his name because the yarn he is made with is the same color as our evergreen trees. His fuzzy "fur" comes from his mohair like easy care acrylic yarn.

 He's waiting for his new friend too...

 And last but not least, this is Tilly! Tilly is crocheted from a pattern i have had here for years and just never got to try it out. She is crocheted amigurumi style. She has a sweet little round head and a little pot belly and i love her. She is crocheted of a mohair like acrylic yarn, and also stuffed with polyfil.

All of these little bears and buns are safe for children young and old, as their features are embroidered on and their little arms and legs are sewn on securely. Come and visit them in my shop by clicking here

Lola's First Poem...

This kid is amazing... and yes, she did come out slow...

(I'm crazy about her...can you tell???)

Cat Bird

Balance Beam practice

Rosie on Safou's cage...

Dusting off the Old Playpen!

 Look what came out of the closet! Lola's old fashioned playpen.

 and somebody else is really enjoying it

 Zoey is scooting all around, getting up on her knees and rocking back and forth...

 everything goes into her mouth for inspection

 she's rolling around

 choosing her own toys and playing with them

 eating her books(hahaha)

 it is amazing how fast she is growing!

Another Artist in the Family...

 I am so proud to announce that out of thousands of talented students in this Capital Region, my Grandson Seth was chosen to display his artwork in the 25th Annual Arts and Enrichment Student Art Show.

 Here he is standing next to the piece his art teacher chose to represent his school. He was a little overwhelmed with the attention we were giving this achievement, but he took it like a pro and posed for this picture next to his art work.

There were so many wonderful pieces of art exhibited at the show, but as you can see, i only had eyes for this fabulous artist...

Make yourself comfortable...

If we all learned to relax like our cats    

Maybe this world would be a better place...

More new Rosaries for Spring!

 I am obsessed with rosary making...just can't stop myself. I love making them and holding them, and i have to detach myself from each and every one or i would keep them all!

 The pocket rosaries are fun to make because i can use bigger and oddly shaped stones, and it all works! This pocket rosary is made of lovely multi colored and banded fluorite beads

and this one is made of tiger eye beads

 and this one is made of beautiful clear sparkly cut glass crystal beads, and has a tumbled piece of blue lace agate for the Pater bead.

  This is my first Anglican Rosary, made of golden sponge coral beads and gold lipped shell coin beads, and a lovely bronze crucifix

And there are more traditional Catholic rosaries, like this one made out of amber colored cut glass crystal, and the wire, cross and center piece are gold tone.

i think this one is my favorite so far. The cut glass crystal Ave beads are pale silvery blue, and the Pater beads are decorative Bali silver beads....For more information on my rosary work, stop by and visit my Etsy shop and take a closer look!

Hot Hannah

 I still cannot believe that is a comfortable seat for Hannah Pearl.

It is a gas stove, but is made of cast iron, and it gets pretty hot when it is running high like that...I guess some really do like it hot!

Cat and Mouse

By one of my favorite artists, Lola. I Love the cats paw pads...and i think the mouse is already a ghost...

New Rosaries in the Shop!

 I've been taking a little break from knitting and crocheting to give my hands and fingers a little break. So what do i do? Pick up the metal smithy tools and start bending wire. Talk about being hard on your fingers and hands....

 Lately i've been obsessed with making rosaries and chaplets. I find it to be

 just as relaxing as knitting and crochet. This is a full sized, hand chained traditional style rosary.

 A full sized hand chained rosary takes a long time to put together. You have to prepare and stretch the wire, plan your design, and bend the hard wire around each and every bead, connecting them as you go along. It's well worth the time and effort tho, because once finished you have an heirloom quality rosary made to be passed down to friends and family. This rosary is made with beautiful blood red and sparkling clear faceted glass crystal beads.

I also make smaller, more affordable pocket sized hand chained rosaries. They consist of one full decade of the rosary, and are meant to be more portable. I make these smaller versions the same exact way as the full sized rosaries

This one is made of the semi precious stone, Tiger Eye, and has a modern masculine feel to me, but is suitable for both men and women

and this pocket rosary is made of semi precious fluorite rondelle beads i chose for their variety of colors.

For more information on my rosaries, pocket rosaries, mala  and prayer beads, please visit my shop, Moon*&*Stars Studio, or click here

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

 We had a super busy weekend here. The weather was lovely-mid 50's on Saturday and some sun shining down on us. On Saturday we went to my Mom and Dad's house to color Easter Eggs.

 Seth, the oldest cousin, was a Master at egg dyeing. Lola and her cousin Ryan did a great job too!

 This was Zoey's first Easter, and i was watching her while the kids were coloring eggs, when she reached over and tipped the green egg dye all over the table , and her pants too.

 She didn't seem to mind at all....

Lola LOVES hard boiled eggs, and ate almost as many as she dyed.

 Seth contemplating his next moves. He is an artist thru and thru...

Next morning, Easter Morning, we all went to Katie's house and had and Easter egg hunt and brunch.

 Here's Jack and Ryan with their loot. We missed cousin Lukie, who was sick all Easter weekend...poor kid....

 Lo posing with her egg bucket full to the brim

 And here's Zoey watching from the sidelines. Next year she'll be running around with the rest of them!

Here's a close up of Zoey and her Easter bunny. Can you see her little choppers coming in on her bottom gums? Lots of drooling going on....

  The brunch was wonderful. Everyone pitched in and made special dishes to share. It's always great to get together with Family. And i got to snuggle with my two little bunnies...

Happy Easter and Happy Spring to Everyone!