This is my coworker Holly Decker's housewarming present.  I had been saving the plates with the retro colors hoping for a chance to use them and they seemed to go perfectly with ?Grasshopper's" new house.

For Baby Brianna Leigh

We went to see Keri and family today.  Papa Doug hadn't yet met our newest family member Baby Brianna.  If you have read my entire blog you will know that my son Luke died in 2010 as a result of a work related accident.  In the years since our daughter in law, Keri,  has gone above and beyond the call keeping us very close to our grandkids.  And yet, she is going on with her life and we wouldn't have it any other way.  Right after we lost Luke we used to watch that strong girl strap the kids in the car and leave us to go home to a lonely house, baby bottles and dirty diapers.  While we missed our son terribly it broke our hearts just as much to see Keri struggle so.  We were happy when Chad entered her life and he became the dad that our beloved Hunter and Brooke desperately needed and the partner to help Keri going forward..  And our blessings continue, because just a couple of weeks ago they had a baby together, Brianna Leigh. Once again they graciously kept us in the loop and brought us in on all of the festivities and let us know that we would be welcome to love this baby and be Nana and Papa to baby Brianna.  I had made a mosaic initial for Brooke for her 4th birthday and Chad met me at the hospital with another wooden B to bring home so baby Brianna could also have an initial on her wall made by her Nana. <3 p="">

Intensive creation Sunday.  Getting ready for my youngest granddaughter's birthday in February.  I hope to get a quilt done by then as well. Spending more time creating and less facebooking and blogging.

Polymer clay could probably keep me busy for the the rest of my life as my medium of choice. And if its being set in a mosaic, I get to indulge both my passions.  I have been making gifts over this Thanksgiving break from work.  I could do this all day every day.....seriously.

Just got back from a great 5 days in the Sacramento (Grass Valley/Nevada City) area and a 3 day intensive mosaic workshop with Sue Crocenzi.  What a creative RUSH.  Such an inspirational artist and all round sweet person.  I bought a piece of Sue's art to help me remember some of the artist insider techniques tha

t were taught

Sue Crocenzi

Its been a long time since I have posted, but I haven't been idle.  I am currently immersed in mosaic. Pique Assiette, polymer clay, even embedding FABRIC in thinset a-la Laurel Skye. The two brilliant rectangular mosaics were results of a best buddy and I jetting off to Florida for a 2 Day Laurel Skye workshop. It was great, EXCEPT the weather was colder in February in Florida then it was back home in Kansas!!  IMPOSSIBLE but true. After Laurel's workshop I was so excited by the possibilities of what I had learned I immediately began trying some of her techniques with polymer clay. Please Lord let me live long enough to fully explore this magnificent art form known as mosaic.

A very good friend of mine was back from her home in Hawaii over the 4th of July. Independence Day is a big deal in my little home town.  We got together a couple of times to talk about the wild days of our youth.  We have such a good time just talking.  I wanted to give her a gift that would remind her that as far away as she is from her roots  in Kansas she will always have a "HOME" here.  I decided to make this for her 2 hours before we were supposed to meet for a beer.  I was a few minutes late putting on the finishing touches, but she seemed to think it was worth it

I kept my 2 little Bayless grandkids this weekend and in keeping with the spirit of a "mosiac weekend" we made mosaic crosses with some of Nana's supplies.  I could see they both had definite color waves in mind as they made their tile selections.  Sometimes it is hard to stay out of it, but I want them to learn the excitement of designing and I just cut a few tiles to make some little pieces for them.  They did an excellent job and their Mom thought they were beautiful!

It was a busy mosaic weekend.  On Saturday I had my friend Linda over and we grouted her stepping stone and my mosaic bowl.  I have been putting it off because grouting isnt my favorite part of the process.  It's dusty, dirty and I have practically ruined projects by using too much water wiping excess grout.  But overall I'm pleased with the way the bowl turned out. I might have liked a little darker color of grout but Linda told me she loved it, with the colors of white, bone and just little dashes of pink and green. Some of the dishes used for this bowl were from my childhood home and belonged to my beloved aunts, Lorna and Verva. So while I had intended this bowl to be a gift, I found after working on it and seeing these tired worn plates that I had eaten from as a child made into something pretty....SIGH....I now cant part with this part of my sweet memories.

Then I moved on to make some progress on this bowling ball.  WHO KNEW THERE WAS SUCH MASS to cover on a bowling ball?!  It is a JOB to make headway on this thing.  The teacher at the class where I started it had me use Weldbond and early into the project I was wishing I had used my old standby silicone.  Pieces hold better on a veritical surface with silicone.

Tape helps to hold the pieces until they have a chance to dry.

 The best way to make progress is to leave it out and put a couple rows on when you walk by and notice the last ones you did are set and dry. Kind of a love/hate thing I have going here.  This is MY bowling ball from 15+ years of bowling in my 20's and 30's.  At that time I loved my bowling nights which represented freedom with my friends, and working on this, I cant help but think back to those happy days. I live to create "memory art".  It helps guarantee that some of the items that cause those warm fuzzy feelings in your heart can remain close by and given a new purpose in a totally lovely, new way.

I am SOOO stuck on Polymer clay now.  It is so versatile...like no other medium in my humble, self-educated opinion. While I continue to have a love/hate relationship with it (it sometimes burns in my cheap little polymer clay oven and I have to get creative with post baking embellishment) it is the thrill of the challenge which creates the fun.  The box with the bronze row on the lid is one of 5 boxes I will be making for a pay-it-forward facebook craft challenge I agreed to at the beginning of the year.  The bottom box (with the antique drawer pull I unearthed at a local flea market) was a birthday box for my friend Linda's birthday.  I really thought the box more or less stole the show from the gift inside.  I wish I had used a more substantial box then the paper one I had available.  It turned out nice and I should have went with a wood base..