Mini Faerie Habitat & Paverpol

I bought  a jar of Paverpol. I am excited about this new product and the ways that I see for incorporating it in my mixed media and even doll projects. It seems to be an amazing product.

I designed and did some sketches of a mini faerie or elf habitat. I want to use found objects and I have some of the materials that I gathered & processed waiting for me and now with the Paverpol I can use more stuff than I previously had my doubts about. The elves, faeries and small creatures for the whole project I plan on doing with pantyhose, wire and stuffing, this makes it easier to create them and they turn out amazingly.

This is something that has been on the waiting shelf for a while now, so as soon as we get back I will start working on it as well as on the Phat Phaerie swap and a mixed media painting I want to do using Paverpol too.

If I want to buy more Paverpol I have to do so now, they do not ship it in winter because it can freeze and then it's not good any longer.

I feel excited and happy about this project and it is a good way to get up and crafting again. Three motives to start doing what I love the most.

Happy crafting to all

You Know What....Musings of a Swap and a Trip.....

Like everyone else, I have my ups and downs about crafting, I am now in down mode, but an online friend, who is a fantastic, funny and caring person (who is also on her down phase) and I have agreed to do a swap between us, using the Phat Phaerie pattern by Kate Erbach.

She is very cute and not all that difficult to do, not sure if I can start and finish her as soon as I would like. I have to pack and leave everything here at home ready and also make sure my plants keep watered with those glass or plastic tubes you fill with water and then stick top side down in the soil.

We are going to go on a vacation, the whole family, our first one since we left Cuba back in 2002, a long time ago!!. I am so looking forward to it, just relaxing, swimming, sunbathing, enjoying the company of my lovely and wonderful family and the best is to get to spend A MARVELOUS Mother's Day away from home being on the beach that we all love so much.

Packing is another story altogether, with the security measures and what you can and can't bring with you on the carry on is more challenging, I think besides the carry on we all will take a checked in baggage and all the sunblock, lotions, creams, lip balms, and whatever, will go into that. But even though it makes packing a bit more complicated, I am not complaining about this challenge, after all, these strict security measures are to keep all of us safe from an attack of any kind, so they are ok. Can't understand why people complain. They are indeed a small price to pay for our own safety, the people we love and fellow travelers..

I know I am taking at least two books with me, I always read for a while each night before going to bed, I love it when it is quiet and can immerse myself in the story with no interruptions.

So, let's see if the Phat Phaerie gets done or at least started before we leave. Will surely post photos of her when she is done.




 

Protective Sleeves-Keep our Info Safe

As we progress in this world  of ours full of new technologies, some of them are supposed to make our life simpler as we hurry on doing other seemingly important stuff, but some of them can cause us to be more prone to hackers, those that can steal our identities when banking online or doing other things that today are fairly common and then use our info for countless fraudulent activities, etc.

But now we have electronic pickpocketing. It's a real threat and can very well be  within the next few years the number one way our credit and debit card can be stolen. For now the easiest credit card for them to steal all the info from and go on shopping sprees are those that use radio wave technology. The Radio Frequency ID ( RFID ) chip in a credit or debit card emits the account number, expiration date and other information. they are the ones you just wave in front of a cashier scanner, they require no signature or pin. So for those who have these cards you are just hurrying along transmitting all your info. (Here at home we do not have this kind of cards.)

There are millions of new credit cards and passports that use these tiny two way radio chips, so it's so easy for thieves to employ electronic pickpocketing and scan your credit card numbers and other info without touching us. And did you know that these scanners they use can be bought online? They go from anywhere $8 to thousands.

So as we are busy hurrying along, on a sidewalk, subway, streetcar, market, they can be stealing  all our info even our passport info, through the chip they have, as we run around carting our bags. 

You can buy protective sleeves or protective wallets and purses or you can use heavy duty aluminum foil, cardstock or plain heavy paper and duct taper to make your own protective sleeves  for your credit cards, drivers license and passport as well.

All this info about electronic pickpocketing is easy enough to find online, just Google it and you will be amazed.  And also you will find sites that sell these already made sleeves, wallets and purses

As I do not have to hurry anywhere, although that seems to be an important factor in this world of ours and I do love to do crafts, I have already purchased the heavy duty aluminum foil, cardstock and duct tape to make our own protective sleeves. And in my new design for a purse that I want to make for myself  I am including a protective layer of heavy aluminum to keep my info as safe as can be.

Better safe than sorry!  Mejor precaver que lamentar.! I will post pictures as I  make them!  

What More Can I Ask For?

It seems that my blogging has not been fruitful at all. It has been quite a long time since I launched myself into this world with little to show for it. Truth be told I have not been crafting all that much either. Just one or two things and lots of plans and good will. I guess we all go through this phase one way or another in our lives.

I am also missing my old friends, specially the first true friend I made when I arrived as a teen to my birth place, Cuba, strange and beautiful place. But for me as I was then, full of feelings of bewilderment and some sadness of leaving behind what had been a wonderful and happy experience for many years of my life in New York.

I miss the feeling of having someone, not of your own family circle to share that part of my life with. Remembering fun and adventurous experiences we shared when we were young. Here I have no close friends, as I do not expect to have any like my best friend, I guess the true friends we make early on in our life are irreplaceable, those with whom we have shared special moments, the feelings and secrets told of first boyfriends, all those marvelous adventures and discoveries, we make as we venture forth into womanhood. they all form part of the past that we shared.and cannot repeat.

So, let me be clear, I am happy and fulfilled as a woman, as a wife and specially as a mother. I do not regret the choices made even thought some came with a heavy price tag that I carry in my heart with great sadness, the one of not being able to be near my parents or see them again or be with them in their final moments, but God has given me a wonderful family and blessed me with them.    

I am full of love and pride for them and for what we have achieved. I thank God for my family, for my happy nature and always present optimism, for not seeing a cup half empty but as half full, For waking up each morning with a smile on my lips and knowing my family and I have a wonderful life ahead of us.

I know that nothing in life comes free, we all have to make choices for one thing or another and we just have to accept this. I guess that as I grow older, (64 years old), I would dearly love someone with whom to share my love for crafting, to go walking with, to share an idea for a project or a new recipe over a cup of coffee. For now I have the good and fond memories of my friends and the love of my family, what more can I ask for? 

Maybe some of you who happen upon my blog and musings and read this, have felt or had similar experiences and so you can understand.