Okay, I'm a Bit Schizophrenic...

After this last posting, I decided it was a better idea to just start a new blog.  Not sure if that's the best idea, but I wanted to focus on my mosaics, and re-name the site, so I deleted Periwinkle Vintage.  Then I  missed it, so I "undeleted" it.   Whatever.  I'll keep this site because there was a lot of fun stuff there, and it documents a short period of my blog life.  Not very exciting, but fun.  Plus I can find all your sweet comments and blog URL's.  Don't know if I'll continue posting here, but it's here for posterity.

Come visit me now on Cheryl Miller Mosaics, at cherylmillermosaics.blogspot.com./  See ya !!!

---Cheryl

Are You Serious?

I've just been sitting here, playing around with my old blog. Obviously I abandoned it long ago. I'm surprised it's still here, taking up space on the internet. Stale, out-of-date, but still here. So what the heck, I'm posting in the faint hope (actually more in 'wonder') that someone might hear a dusty cough, a faint cry for attention echoing through the blogosphere..."i'm still here, i'm still here..."

So how is everybody?? I've been checking you out, and some of you are no longer blogging. I hope that's all it is, not that you're REALLY no longer here, if ya know what I mean. Anyway, I'll try to get some comments made here and there so you'll know I'm alive. Feel free to drop by and say hello.

Oh, and what have I been doing?? Mostly, I'm a mosaic freak these days. If you remember, I was heading in that direction when I stopped blogging way back when. In fact, I dug into my ENORMOUS stash of stuff and (brace yourselves...) GAVE AWAY a couple truckloads of crafting materials and collected treasures, so I could move my mosaic stuff into the studio. It was really very free-ing (is that a word?) because I discovered I couldn't move on, couldn't go forward creatively with all those old materials shouting, "Use ME! Make ME into something!!" So buh-bye! Out with the old, and all that jazz..... Some lucky sucker happened upon a ton of goodies at the Goodwill, and I wish them much happiness. I'm over it.

I'll dig up my camera and take some pics of my mosaics. I need to put together a portfolio anyway, so gotta get busy. Those who know me well are no doubt asking, "why is she putting together a portfolio? She'll never do anything with it..." Fie on you, you doubters!!! Hope springs eternal! Maybe I'll even fill up my empty Etsy shop. Pour, sad little blank space...

Enuf for now! Love you all, and hope to hear from you. Let me know what you're up to.
Love ya,

Cheryl

Hello?

Okay, Dennis is mad at me 'cause I won't get on-line and let my friends know that I am, indeed, alive, blah, blah, blah.  I just checked in and saw 19 comments on my last post, including one from a guy named Bernard, that I definitely would like to respond to, but, alas, couldn't find his real address.   Hmmmm...... I am so sorry.  If I could explain, I would.  Well, if you've got enuf time, I suppose I could.  Oh, nothing serious.  Just...me.  Dennis tells me to forget about the crafting perfection and just tell you guys about all of my self-doubt, crazy-flakiness, I-don't-want-to-do-this-anymore, wah, wah, wah...maybe I will.  Could be fun.  And, I am pretty convinced that I am not the only whack-job in the craft community.  In fact, the more I write, the more I think that I may have something to offer here.  Frankly, we're all nuts to some degree or another, so let's get real about who we are when we're not creating masterpieces.  I speak for myself, of course.  I DO think about you all, and appreciate your affection and friendship.  By the way, I'm still breaking glass (when the heat allows me to go out to the garage), and I'm also working on my novel, which I started about 12 years ago after I had a dream about a quaint seaside village that harbored (get it?) a serious mystery...any of the rest of you hiding YOUR novels-short stories-acrylic paintings-symphonic compositions-interpretive dance choreographies-three-act plays starring someone a bit like yourself, etc., etc., etc.???  Love you all, Cheryl

Getting Stuff Done

Finally made the snowman my friend ordered.  I haven't made a doll in ages, so I kept putting him off.  Once I got to it, it only took a couple hours.  I asked her specifically what he should look like, and she wanted a very traditional looking snowman, three body sections, the hat, the stick arms, everything.  When I used to make dolls all the time, they looked more like people, though they might have a snowball head with a face, or a pumpkin head, or whatever.  Lots of animals that were "people," too.  This guy isn't as wild.  I need to photograph some of my old collection of "critters," just for posterity.  I promised to show the Wizard of Oz set once upon a time, but I obviously haven't kept that pledge.  Note to self:  follow through on what you say you will do, or just don't ever say you'll do anything again.  That way, everybody will know they can't depend on you, so there will be no pressure.  I think I like that idea the best.

My husband came out this afternoon with my camera, saying I never have any "in process" pictures, so he started snapping away.  Here's the ultra-messy part of mosaic.  Smearing the grout with a tile float, in my lovely yellow glove.  I don't like wearing gloves--usually I just use my fingers, but they're so sliced up right now that I decided to wear ONE glove, on the wounded hand.  I'm constantly wearing band-aids these days.  My fingers will probably get all infected and fall off.  Then I'll start grouting with my toes.
Here's Jack, my "adorable" little helper, who parades back and forth through the broken glass, lays down at my feet to hack his brains out because he has unwisely chosen to eat a pine cone or an old horse chestnut, and wrestles with his big brother, Biscuit, stirring up clouds of dust to drift into my wet grout.  Look.  He blends in with the dirty gravel.  Little pill...
Ta Da!  The finished product.  This took me about 3 or 4 days, with painting, gluing the pieces, then grouting, then endless touching up and scraping away the grout, buffing, etc.  Let it cure overnight, and then I'll use grout sealer on it tomorrow.
Kinda fun, huh?  I was going to use it on our front porch, but my husband reminded me that the cats will no doubt "inaugurate" it, because they think the front porch belongs to them.  That will never do.  Now I have to find a place for it in the house.  I will, because I love it.  Somewhere.  Maybe right in the middle of the living room floor.  That's where I store everything else.  How do you girls keep such beautifully organized and spic 'n' span houses??  I think there's something wrong with me...
Thank you, to all you dears who have left such fun comments!  (You know who you are!!)  I love you all, even if I haven't been responding as quickly as I should.  But I won't promise to do better, because then you might think you can depend on me! (See above treatise on the secret joys of irresponsibility)...

Now get back to work.  Go make something!!

I've Gone Insane

That's the only explanation I have for my latest crazy obsession.  Of course, I've liked mosaic for a long time, but I have only just recently gone bonkers over it, having a smashing good time in the garage, and cranking out all sorts of fun things.  Koo Koo Bird....so far I'm being selfish, and hanging on to my creations, but soon I will have so many that I'll become bored with the first creations, and I'll be ready to sell them.  You know how it is.  When the cute new baby comes along, the old ones get put back on the shelf...

Sorry for this blurry picture.  My first mosaic mirror!

And the garage looks dreadful.  Razor-sharp chips of glass everywhere.  I can't be bothered with sweeping up yet.  Gotta keep smashing, keep smashing, keep smashing.......
This is my latest project.  I bought this crappy old coffee table at the GW for $2.99.  Tightened up the screws and gave it a couple coats of white paint.  Then comes the fun part, as you can see. It makes me crazy with joy!  So pretty.  Today I actually finished the gluing down of the whole top--I'm tired.  Tomorrow I'll grout.  Woo Hoo!  I'll take a pic of the finished project.
Daughter and husband had their last day of school today.  Now my girl is a high-schooler!  Amazing.  Tomorrow our oldest son goes through community college commencement.  That's pretty amazing, too.  All kinds of celebrations!! 

Check out my shop--I put three slips in there (one sold already).  There will be lots more stuff very soon.  Time for that shop update I keep promising!  Stay tuned....

"I'm Just a Simple Country Doctor, Jim!"

Remember that oft-quoted line from Dr. McCoy in Star Trek??  That was his disclaimer, expressing his frustration at being expected to do more than he could handle.  Well, nobody is expecting me to do more than I can handle, except maybe myself.  Actually, that's a bunch of baloney, because I'm not doing much at all.  Just taking a little break from the blog world because I get lost in it and can't think about anything else.  Poor, one-dimensional Cheryl.  So sad, so sad...

See this lovely meal that the hubby made for me the other night?  I'm spoiled rotten, I tell ya.  He's absolutely incredible.  All I have to do is whine, and he pours me a glass and makes me dinner.  What a guy.

That same evening, we moved out to the front yard after dinner for a little r & r... this is Smudge, our beloved cat (well, one of many) who is sort of a "dog-cat."  He's so relational, he's more like a dog than a cat.  If anyone arrives with a glass of wine, Smudge is immediately on your lap for "happy hour."  He likes to lick it off your finger.  (I know, I know, not good for kitties--but he doesn't get much--he's old, you guys--let him enjoy his golden years).
You may have seen these plastic Adirondack chairs around the stores this year.  I loved the color, and I've always wanted Adirondack chairs, so we bought these cheapies.  Warning:  one of them was apparently weaker than the other.  It had a flaw in it, and as the evening wore on, I got lower and lower and lower.  I managed to snap this pic at the last second, just before I found my head on the ground, and my feet...well...you can see...  I want the wooden chairs.
When I'm not drinking with the cat, I've been having fun with mosaic stuff.  These hearts will go on my wall (somewhere!)  I have seven of them.  And that other thing is a tissue box cover.  I'm a little obsessive, as you well know.  When I go off on a toot, it's a doozy for as long as it lasts.  When I'm done, I'm DONE.  So unreliable, unpredictable, undisciplined.  Whatever, I say.
Not that you wanted to see all these lame pics, but I promised a shot of my periwinkle door out back.  We still have a ton of "cute-ing up" to do out here--a porch, an expansion (I wish...), a window, some flowers in the pots, ivy growing up the trellis and around the door, oh, so many dreams...
Inside, it's frightening.  I brought all my stuff home from the Boutique and crammed it in my shop.  Now I need to get it organized, photographed and posted on Etsy.  I won't be putting everything up for sale.  I have to sort through it first.  Some things I've made just because I wanted to try it, and I don't want to steal anyone else's thunder.  Need to be original, ya know...
I've also used this space for temporary storage, so you see a lot of seasonal goodies, waiting to be stashed for future sales.

Oh, my...this is just the tip...I'm a little overwhelmed.  Now you can see why I've been stalling, and spending my time smashing glass and drinking with the cat.  

Gotta get a grip, here, Cheryl.  Time to get back to work.  Nice to talk to y'all!

Oh Blogger, Where Art Thou??

Sorry for being absent for so long!  And I don't even have any pictures today.  What a pitiful excuse for a blogger.  I'm alive and well, and so is my family.  I've just been off on a toot, thinking about other things, not taking any good pics, and not spending much time on the computer.  I have a heck of a time concentrating on more than one thing at a time, and when something new comes along, I always have to figure out how to incorporate that into my life without abandoning the other things I'm interested in.

My husband and I are musicians, and we are getting back into leading the contemporary worship in our church, which we-left-three-years-ago-but-now-we're-back-and-it's-too-long-a-story-to-go-into, so I'm working on getting my head wrapped around that job again.  Looking forward to it, but I need to get back up to speed with the songs, etc., so I'm working on my "worship leader mojo" these days, and not doing much crafty stuff.

However, I have been out in my garage, happily breaking glass with a hammer and doing mosaic stuff, just because I want to.  It's something different, and it is nice to completely lose myself in the process of selecting tiny fragments of broken china and fitting them together, like a puzzle.  Plus, I have to create/decorate a little flower girl's basket for an upcoming wedding, which won't take any time at all, but I just need to get to it.  AND, I have a friend who loved my dolls way back when (when I used to make fabric folk art creations), and she is waiting for me to create a snowman for her.  I keep putting it on the back burner, (which is NOT a good place for a snowman, is it???) so I need to get my rear in gear this week and stop procrastinating!  

That's my current status, in a nutshell.  I'll go take some pics of the utter mess I've made in the garage (bits of glass EVERYWHERE-- my husband will be so pleased....) and I'll come back soon!