A Cuppa Coffee Catch Up With Crafty

Hello Bloggy Friends & Passersby~
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OUICK NOTE~ if you do not like wordy posts....

just scroll down & look at the pictures!

This is just a 'visiting with you' post...

and ended up ridiculously long! LOL

And if you do enjoy these kind of posts... read on. :0)

Fair warning.
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I hope you all are having a lovely summer!

The children & I sure are.

I cannot believe how fast the days just whizz by in the Summertime.

What happened to the never ending Summer days of our youth?

I guess they belong to our own children, now-

while we parents get the tasks of the 'Grown Up' world.
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Once again,

I have let much, too much time pass between postings.

I do hope that you all forgive me;

and that I may have a reader or two left in Bloglandia.

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If not- no worries!

I write this blog for my own enjoyment anyways...

but I do cherish the wonderful connections

and friendships that I have made here.

So... I will say once again, a heartfelt, but oft broken promise

to try to blog more frequently -

with the hopes that you all understand

that my absence never means

that I do not still adore each & every one of you!
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So now you may ask...

"Crafty, what on earth have you been up to lately?"

Well, my friends... a bit of this....a bit of that... and mostly 'The Usual'.

This means, that I spend most of my days doing the 'Mommy Thing'...

and most of my nights, doing my 'Crafty Thing'. :0)
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The children & I have been thoroughly enjoying

every last drop of our Summer-

by spending lots of time in our backyard pool,

having lots of friends over, picnicking,

days at the Lagoon (Beach), and nights BBQing in the backyard,

and layin out on our trampoline, looking at the stars.

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We had Jeremiah's 7th Birthday party at the Lagoon,

visited the waterpark, and the kids spent a week at Camp.

(BTW- this meant that I also got a well deserved vacation, myself!

Which this Mommy made sure to enjoy every minute of.)

In between refereeing children's spats, chaufering & my endless Mommy Duties- I also spend lots of time in my little garden, tending to my flowers, herbs and the smattering of vegetables that have made it this far. It may not look like much to some of you who have truly glorious gardens.... but for me... it is my own little slice of Heaven! And since it doesn't take much to please me- I am absolutely delighted by it.
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Unfortunately, right after the initial plantings last Spring, my knee became badly infected, and really interfered with my gardening efforts. This meant that the newest plants got off to a poor start- and I wasn't always around to catch the varmits before they devoured my babies. So, much of what I planted, either didn't do well, or didn't make it at all. This doesn't bother me too much though- except to inspire me to do better next year!
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Every day when I see a new blossom, or when one of my veges gets bigger- I get so excited and dance around like a silly kid. I continuously take pictures of my plants- over & over, as they grow & change. I must take nearly 300 photos a week! Then I drag every man, woman and child that will come, to go out and examine them with me. I am sure that all of my neighbors & friends are sick to death of seeing my postage stamp sized garden specimens!
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So then...I resort to posting about them here, and on my Facebook page! See?

Here I go again!
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This is one of my zuccinni blossoms.

I just adore these giant happy sunshine yellow flowers;

and the only thing that keeps me from plucking them to wear in my hair-

is that I know that will prevent my veges from developing.

But it's hard to resist, I tell ya!
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These pics are from about 2 weeks ago-

and I cannot believe how fast these guys grow,once they get to this stage.

I swear, I'm like a kid,

each morning when I come out to see

what new beauties have been left in the night!

Here is our first zuccini.

You should see it today! It's HUGE! I'm just letting it go,

to see how big I can get it.

Now I am kicking myself for being 'too busy', or 'too tired' to fertilize.

Hmfph! Another thing to do different next time.

At least I remembered to scatter my eggshells

to keep the snails from eating my crops.

...and here is our smallest feline...Tootsie.

She is so funny-

I cannot take a step without her coming to see what is going on!

Here are my baby plum tomatoes.

These were from some seeds from a batch of plum tomatoes I grew,

and then scattered 2 years ago.

They sure took their sweet time coming up,

but tomatoes are always worth the wait.

The funny thing- that some of you may have caught

if you read this post earlier-

is that I mistook them for a habenero pepper plant!

Silly me!

You would think I would recognize a tomatoe plant when I see one,

but noooo... I was fooled.

It was happy mistake though;

as I would much rather have plenty of tomatoes, than peppers. :0)

(2 weeks later update: I picked my first tomatoe yesterday-

and it was deee-licios! I cant wait for the rest of them to ripen up!)

Here is a little patch of herbs & geraniums.

A close up of one of the basil plants.

I actually like the pretty flower spires-

except that they dull the flavor of the leaves once it starts to bloom.

Oh well, the price of beauty,I guess. :0)

I goofed bigtime on this one-

I have been using the basil leaves all along, bit by bit-

but I should have harvestd a whole bunch of thm a month or two ago,

and made batches of Pesto Sauce for canning

(jarring? is that the right word?).

I can still do this now; but as I mentioned,

the flavor is not as good.

Oh well- something to remember for next time.

It is a good thing I keep garden journal to record this kind of stuff!

A close up of one of my favorite succulent 'Chicks n' Hen rossettes.

(I *think* they are called echeverias (or sempeverias?)-

but I forget.

Something to look up again!

Unless one of you kind readers happens to know-

and if so, please leave me a comment wit their true name.)

This one is just a baby, in my little succulent bowl-

but they get nice and large when I plant them in the garden.

I like to keep my mini succulent garden bowl

right next to my patio table, to enjoy while I sit here.

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This is my spot where I hang out for most of the day.

This is where I greet the sun, have my coffee,

work on my lap top or art, where I watch the children from

& also where I do most of my rituals & spell work.

It's a nice peaceful place to create & just watch the world go by.

Here is Mr. Manchucco, the guardian of my lil succulent bowl.

My brother brought him to me in 1995, from Watuco, Mexico.

He is a special totem, and brings a smile to my face every time I see him.

This is the far corner of my flower garden.

(And my beloved Benni Hanna Buddah).

I love this purple flower tree.

It gets these beautiful orange berries on it in the Fall-

just in time for Halloween.

It started as a 'weed' that I let grow;

and I keep cutting it & shaping it into the tree shape it has become.

It actually needs some more trimming now-

as do my out of control geraniums.

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They have gotten SO big,

that they are competely hiding the rose bush

& tomatoe plants in back of them!

I have to continuously chop them down

& spread them throughout the garden;

because they get so long & leggy that they flop over

& break when I water them.

Here are a few of my herbs & one of my turtle friends.

I LOVE turtles... and keep them around me all the time.

In fact... I have 3 of em on my finger as I speak!

A sweet little turtle ring.

One Mama & her two babies on each side of her.

I bought the ring about a month before getting pregnant with my first child.

Now, I know the ring represents me & my two children.

(Of course, if I ever have any more I may have to find another ring! Lol)

I like to fill my garden with special shells, stones,

cobalt glass bottles & little garden statues.

It makes me think of a secret garden &

the little creatures that inhabit it.

My children & I leave little offerings

for the Garden Faeries & Divas that dwell within.

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In this part of the garden, I have lots of mint,

2 kinds of thyme, rosemary & basil.

I had a nice lavendar bush-

but it got too dry & didn't make it.

Luckily I have more in other parts of my garden;

so I am not completely without.

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I feel so blessed when I harvest my herbs for teas,

cooking & magickal purposes.

I am working on getting new varieties.

Mugwort is high on my list for next year's planting.

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And now to journey inside...

and take a peek into my tiny art studio.

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I have a special new gift that was given to me.

I am so excited about it-

I want to share the news with you all too!

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Look!...

A new sewing table!

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Something I have always wanted, for ever & ever...

and now it is in my very own craft room!

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A very generous lady gave it to my sweet man for me...

along with some other wonderful goodies for both me and my children.

It is actually perfect for a lot of purposes;

one of them being a super place to use my lap top.

It's little spot for the machine

is a great place for my lap top to hide when not in use-

and it has air & cord holes drilled in it.

So no overheating. I am ridiculously pleased with it!

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Thank You to Mrs. Okabe! And Thank You to my Sweet Man!

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And now... for some of my latest Crafty Creations...

This is a little greeting card I made a couple of days ago,

for a sweet neighbor friend.

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I just adore these vintage pin up images from the early 1900's.

The ladies have this sweet secret sort of smile, that to me, says-

I know I am pretty...and I am not ashamed to show it!

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I also whipped up a pair of matching gemstone earrings

& a garden bouquet of flowers and herbs.

Then my daughter, Makayla (much to my surprise!),

dressed up in one of her witchy dresses,

complete with faerie wings and an afro wig-

and went to deliver the birthday booty.

That kid is such a character. (Wonder where she gets it?)

I am still kicking myself

for neglecting to take pictures of the whole ensemble...

but by the time I had finished making everything

(in between making dinner for my tribe)- I was pooped.

Hence....no photos.

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But I do have some other neat stuff to share with you from my craft room.

Tiny little creations!

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This is my very first ATC- ever!

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I'm calling her -"Witch Baby"

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(And I know, I know... with all of the altered art I do...

how have I never crafted in this bitty size before?

Greeting cards are about the smallest (paper) creations I make...

but no more! ATC mania... I caught ya!)

Next thing I know...I will be addicted to Inchies, or Altered Matchbooks.

Lol.

This next one is the first of a batch of Witchy Halloween ATCs.

I am soooo excited that my favorite time of the year is almost here-

and I know that a lot of you guys are too!

A wee Halloween Faerie Wand. :0)

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....And my last crafty offering of the day

(not that there are not PLENTY more!

But I know that this post has gotten too long already! )

Another little ATC creation....

"French Children's Dress Up Party"

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I am truly enjoying crafting in this new size.

It is a nice way to play a bit,

without the pressure to 'produce' something spectacular.

It's just for fun.

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It reminds me of Art Journaling, but the book doesn't get closed!

And, I don't worry so much about spoiling a page.

Which I KNOW I am not supposed to worry about!

But I always do!

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I have a touch of Artist's OCD, I think.

It is REALLY bad when I am starting a new notebook or journal-

I just love the pretty covers & papers so much,

that I don't want to 'mess them up' with writing in them.

Silly- I know. I'm working on it!

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And, of course, as you may have seen from a couple of my recent posts-

I am still having a ball with my digital creations.

It is a whole new world of art, that I am just now dipping my toes into.

I have only been doing it for about 2 months...

but in that very short time, I have learned SO MUCH!

(just by playing & experimenting.)

I get really excited when I think of how far I have come-

and that someday soon,

I will be creating the sorts of peices

that I never dreamed I would be able to!

But I know that, as with everything,

it is just a matter of time & practice. ;0)
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Okay, my dear bloggy friends... I am off.

My children are in the swimming pool

& I know that soon they will be clamoring for something to nibble on!

And that means that I must pry myself from my fun...and you

... and go be Mommy for a bit!

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Thank you to all of you who take time from your own busy days,

to pop in and visit with me.

You have no idea how much your friendship means to me.

And I just love when you leave your sweet & encouraging comments.

You justmake this Witchy Mama's day!

Thank You!

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I wish you all wonderfully crafty & magickal days.

I hope to have a 'real' post for you soon!

(aka- an informational or creative post.)

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~Danae <(:0) aka 'Crafty'

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PS~ I would love for you to visit Crafty's Cuppa Coffee on Facebook.

You will find me here. :0)