i've been decorating. adding autum colors. i've been playing on flickr. adding autum colors. this is what i came up with. i'm happy with the look.
blessings
marie

A PAcked FaNNy ReVEal

i'd like to introduce Lila Mae. WHO?? my new mannequin design. she started to morph back in march. then we had the 2 floods here. at the time Lila Mae was without a name and only had on a few pieces of her vintage trousseau. she was packed away for a few months during the clean up, about 3 weeks ago i pulled her out of storage. a lady she is, and a lady should always be properly dressed (poor thing was half naked).
now she will always stay clothed. i permanently attached all her garments. sewed & glued. (i do have a few pieces to tweak and maybe add a few extra pretties). her sweet little vintage/victorian inspired dress is something like a DR. FRANKENSTEIN experiment, i say it in the most loving manner. the whole dress is bits and pieces of vintage this~~n~~that's. the bodice is from a 1950's dress, the bustle in the front is a vintage half slip. her skirt is pieced together with satin and some scraps of material from other projects. most of the lace is vintage. her lace collar is my favorite. found it at the thrift store. i think that's the day i started getting inspired to create her. the beaded collar is pearls, love it! of course her fanny is packed. this girl really got back! lots of ruffles, all different types of fabrics. i just love her FANNY! i hope you all enjoy her. i was hoping to get her over to my booth space. i don't think that's such a good idea now since i have everything marked down 50%. she'll probably head on over to etsy. i'm also considering taking her to a few craft shows. we'll see!
blessings
marie

WHERE WERE YOU 9/11/01

glitter-graphics.com

Nine years have past since America was attacked. On 9/11/01 I was on my second day of training for a new job at a nursing home 5 minutes from my home. My hometown Atlantic Highlands, NJ is a small old Victorian town. Filled with lots of local history and a stones throw from lower Manhattan. Atlantic Highlands is a 40 minute boat ride to the Financial district. There is a ferry service that operates out of the Atlantic Highlands harbor. People from all over the area use the service. Commuters going to Wall Street, or folks going to the city for the day. The ferry makes Manhattan seem like it's just across the street from the small town that I call home. The view from the Jersey side looking across the water towards the Manhattan skyline is awesome. After 9/11 the holes in the skyline where the towers once stood remind us daily of the innocent lives lost. And looking at the skyline now has lost some of it's awesome beauty. As I said  I was on day two of training when the first plane hit the tower, I saw it on TV from a patients room. I knew in an instant we were under attack. I actually walked out of work, told the boss I would be back. I didn't go back. I went directly to get my kids, I took them out of school. When we got back home the small town of Atlantic Highlands was one big traffic jam. Our volunteer first aid squad had reached out to NYFD &NYPD offering the use of the harbor and the ferry boats. This was going to be a  means of rescuing people trapped at ground zero. The traffic jam was local (and then some) Doctor's, nurse's,  EMT' ers, any person trained to give medical attention to the victims. I was one of the nurse's, and my job was to stay in Jersey and help the victims off the ferry and start a triage system. Doctor's and nurse's were being sent over on the ferry's to help bring victims back to Jersey and get them in hospitals here. NYFD & NYPD met the ferry boats in the middle of the bay to call off the "rescue mission", we were told "there are not any survivors" OH MY GOD!! THAT WAS ALL I COULD SAY. My blood ran cold! By this point both towers were gone and NYFD/NYPD knew the extent of the loss of life. I stayed at the Harbor all night helping folks being brought out of the city via the ferry's. They were displaced because every form of transportation was shut down. We had a haz mat/decon area set up and helped over 1200 people feel a little safer. I WILL NEVER EVER FORGET!!  those that died as victims and those that lost their lives to save lives. On a little side note there should not be a Mosque on hollowed ground!! period.
Blessings and love to all those that lost a loved one September 11, 2001.
Marie

THIS IS WHAT A FANNY PACKED LOOKS LIKE

 the youth of today, the generation that has grown up with slang such as   "on the DL", "phat"and "booty" have a unique twist on words. i think you know what i'm saying here. they have a great vocabulary(lol), some of the terms really crack me up.  one i love is "baby got back". now, i think that really means a padded tush. none the less i always imagine BABY with a huge rump. i guess every lady of the victorian era would have been described as a "got back-er". their "got back" look was romantic fluff. i'm sharing a sneak peek at what's packed on this back. there will be a full reveal with in the next week. please come back and see!
blessings
marie

FUNNIN' WITH FALL

i have been playin' wit' photobucket. i used a few of the editing options on the basic account photobucket offers. first i made my picture a cartoon, then added a little color to the nest. i left the other items in the original picture alone. a little whimsy. i'm likin' the look.  the bird's perch is made from a re-purposed christmas ribbon spool. i just decoupaged pages from a vintage dictionary onto it. the pears i found at the thrift store for .30 cents, they are made of wood. i guess the first owner didn't know what to do with them. hummm when in doubt decoupage. i got the fun idea for the photobucket editing from chari@ happytodesign.blogspot.com. thanks chari!
 i plan to put aside 40 minutes a day to work on projects. i figure eventually i will have something finished! the only reason i'm scheduling time in the craft room is because of the changes that have crashed down on me recently. i'm closing my booth down at the end of the month (everything is marked 50% off now). i'm returning to work full time. i have put school on hold until the spring semester. so, all that being said my therapy is 40 minutes in the craft room. stay tuned i have some cute little projects i'll be psoting.
blessings
marie