Kudsudama Ball Ornaments

I am participating in a Christmas Ornament Swap over at Yarnigras.blogspot.com. The theme was Christmas, and we were to make 5 ornaments, send them to the hostess and she would send back 5 random ornaments from other swappers. They all had to be hand made. I am really excited to see what comes back. 

The ornaments below are about the size of a softball. Each Kudsudama ball has 12 flowers. Each flower has 5 petals. Each petal needed to be folded and glued together.  In total I folded 300 petals, to make the 5 Kudsudama balls. You can find a great tutorial here.  It took me a  really long time to fold all of those little papers.   

 But in the end it was worth it. I added a loop of ribbon to each one so they could be hung on a tree or from hook. Elyssa and I had a  hard time deciding what beads to use for the centers and for the petal tips. Then the dilemma of should we spray paint them or not? Or leave them be so they yellow with age on their own... Oh what to do? In the end we left them white to let them age on their own. 

I am very happy with how they turned out. I am now making a really big one out of magazine pages that I can spray and hang in a corner somewhere. 

October Photos of the Month

One day I will blog again... I promise! But for now I guess I will just have to deal with the fact that all I am capable of is putting together a Monthly Photo post. Sadly there is so much I want to share but have not had the time to  do so.  

This was a month full of artsy endeavors. Elyssa started to draw faces and eyes. Last month it was dogs. She creates these pieces very quickly. I just love to sit and watch her work. I think for a 12 year old she is 

ah-mazing!  She is not intimidated by a blank sheet of paper like I am. 

This years harvest/ halloween brought us to a strange place. Ashton does not want to dress up anymore. It makes me sad. He is growing up so much. He will be 15 next week.  

Elyssa decided to recycle one of the costumes in the trunk. I didn't really get any pictures.  I suppose I will always paint my face, just because I can. This is the first year I have strayed from the butterfly theme in quite sometime.  I did go into the restroom and startle myself at least once when I looked in the mirror. The black and white was so striking. 

My artsy endeavors are not near as amazing as E's tend to be but I do have fun with it. 

I have found it to be absolutely therapeutic. Zentangle has been found to lower blood pressure and have the same effect on the brain as  meditation, and since I don't meditate, zentangle and prayer will do nicely. 

Sometimes I get those pesky heart palpitations, which bring on feelings of anxiety. At those times I take a time out and grab my fancy pens and a piece of scrap paper and let my imagination go to town. With in about 10 minutes I feel much better.  The top piece was done on a scrap of card stock, it is only

 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. It is the perfect size for doing a quick zentangle. 

This piece was done on 8 1/2 x 11 piece of printer paper. It took up most of the page and most of the evening to complete. 

September Photos of the Month

I had major issues with Blogger a few weeks ago, so I was not able to post this in a timely manner. It turns out my kids had downloaded an extension or something like that and it was interfering with my uploading and posting. But that is all taken care of now. 

I decided to Zentangle in blue, I really like the effect. 

Elyssa took this picture when she went on a ride with her dad. 

Brothers out for a ride.

Taking a break

A dear friend of ours got married. 

My favorite! 

Lots of dog art these last few months. 

Back to school Picture, Ash 9th grade.

August Photos of the Month

In August we were able to take 2 camp trips back to back. 

It was crazy but we had a very good time. 

Lots of work involved in getting ready for a trip to the lake.

 I am sure you all have been there.

Unfortunately I did not take my camera on the last trip

so I have no photos to share of the trip to Pineview. 

Oh well, maybe next year.

But for now I will share my favorites. 

 This is my lil' buddy, Garrett. 

I love everything about this picture: the colors, the subject, the background, the bandaid.

 What is camping without a campfire? 

 Justin, leading morning worship at the lake.

 Justin and Scott baptizing our dear friends: 

Taylor (top), Carl (middle), Regina (bottom).

 Justin had never been involved in baptizing anyone.

 It was a very special time for him and he felt very honored to have been asked. 

Church on the beach we had a fairly good turn out!

Good bye Skye Puppy

Our dog died this morning at about 3:30 am I know this because I heard her barking and then she gave out a little yipe and a whine and I heard her collapse in her kennel. Being the middle of the night and I was half asleep I didn't get up to investigate, much less make much sense of it. But this morning Justin told me she had died. 

Today we are going to remember her as the happy little social butterfly that she was. 

 Instead of wasting little bits of meat that are left over after dinner, I cut it up and feed it to the dogs from a fork. Surprisingly they know exactly how to eat off of one. 

 She was not very active but every once in a while she would find a stray sock and attack it. 

 She loved to go for a ride for all of 30 seconds and then she wanted to be done. 

 At the lake sitting on a wave runner.

   Camping. She was a happy camper and loved to visit other campers. 

 She always followed me everywhere I went. 

 Apparently she wanted to go to Hawaii? 

 Happy girl!

For the last year or so this has been her favorite spot. Under the sofa. She slept a lot this last year, she had cataracts, her teeth were falling out and she was getting skinnier all the time, but you couldn't tell because she had so much hair. 

I think all dogs go to heaven, see you there one day skypup! 

July Photos of the month

So much has happened in this last month that I can barely wrap my mind around it. It has been a busy month to be sure. Lots of  fun was had by all. There have been some life changing events as well.  However I am going to let the pictures do most of the talking, because I am one tired girl!

Newly decorated bedroom, This used to be a room for J's hobby stuff. You could not even walk in this room! I don't know how he was even able to work in there and enjoy it. But now it is a cute room fit for a teenager. E painted the lamp shade. 

Art I made for the room. 

It says: 

{LOVE} It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, Love never fails.

 1 Corinthians 13:7-8

My favorite stop in Idaho.

 Crystal clear waters, Cold, Crisp, Beautiful. 

I may or may not be inspired to write a haiku about it. 

More photos from our river rafting trip in Idaho.

Elyssa drew this dragon and framed it. It was auctioned off at the family reunion for $20. Now her confidence is up and I have seen a dramatic increase in her desire to draw, and her skill level. She is pumping out those sketches!

 Ah Dixie! Such a sweet little girl, well as long as she knows who you are!

 A girl and her dog. 

Climbing a rock in Soldier Hollow, Justin is helping the kids scout their way down.