Carousel

I found this on the Canon Park website. When you turn the carousel the horses and gondola go up and down, not in unison either, does it like a real carousel so while one horse is up, the one next to it is down... very cool. Nice work Canon!

Recent Drawing

Made to Suit

I'm making my own journals now! I can make them personalized to you or your loved ones. Not only with initials but with the different prints!

Finally!

So, if there is anything I have learned in all of this, it is this.... always trust your instincts and always go for a second opinion! My Doctor kept telling me nothing was wrong with me, but I knew that there was... I went to a DO instead of an MD, and I was feeling incredibly guilty about it. I felt like I was cheating on my Dr, lol. Anyway, because I got a kidney stone, the DO went ahead and tested my thyroid for a particular hormone, even though all my preliminary tests of my thyroid came back normal. I am SO glad he did!

My PHT level is supposed to be between 12 and 35. Mine is 96! It has something to do with cortisol and the breakdown of calcium, which is why I got a kidney stone! And remember how I told you about the side of my face swelling up? It's because I have a stone in my saliva gland!

Still don't know what's causing the high PHT level, I need to go see an endocrinologist now, but at least I'm on the right path! I feel 100% better just because I'm on my way to a diagnosis! I'll keep you posted, and I'm already crafting again!

Miserable

I'm miserable. I know I generally showcase my latest work on here, but I haven't been able to work at all lately. I've been sick. Not sick as I could be, so that is good, but still sick enough to feel like I can't get out of bed some days. The crazy part of it is the Drs I'm seeing. I go in and tell them, sometimes show them, my symptoms and they tell me not to worry about it. Don't worry about it?   So, let me tell you some of the things going on with me. First, I'm changing colors. Yes, you heard me right, I'm changing colors. The skin on the back of my neck and under my arms is getting darker, the Dr says don't worry about it. My eyes get so dry it hurts to blink or feels like there is something in them, which there is not. They have matter in them all the time. My mouth gets so dry I have to constantly drink, if I don't my saliva turns to foam. The Dr says to suck on lemon drops. I have open sores on my upper body that have fibers coming out of them. The Dr says, don't pull the fibers out. As you may have surmised, the Drs have been incredibly helpful.   The list of symptoms could go on... Swelling in the side of my face, pain in my neck and back, extreme fatigue, low grade fever, nausea, unrinary tract infections, kidney stones, I could go on....   The thing is, these things are starting to affect my day to day life. I basically don't have one. I never know from one day to the next how I'm going to feel, so I've basically quit planning things. I homeschool, and most days I force myself up to get it done, only to end up right back in the bed, but at least I'm getting it done. On the days I run a fever, we forgo school altogether. I feel like I don't have a life anymore. This illness, whatever it is, is my life now.

Classroom

You can check out some of my day to day stuff at my other blog http://courterclassroom.blogspot.com

Still not better

Well, still no diagnosis. Big Surprise.

So, about two months ago, my neck was tight, felt like it needed to crack but I didn't have time to see my chiropractor. So, I forced my neck to crack. Which you are never never supposed to do. If you turn your head and it cracks, fine, but never ever force it. I worked for a chiropractor, have been a patient of one for years... I knew better, did it anyway. As soon as I did it, I knew it was different than any other time it has ever cracked. It was loud, and sharp sounding, not dull like the norm.

That night, I told my husband my neck hurt. The next day, it was hurting worse, and my husband pointed out that my neck and the side of my face was swollen. So, I called my Dr and since it was a holiday weekend, I told him I'd come in on Tuesday, after the holiday. I think it was Memorial Day. So, for three days I stayed lying still as possible propped up on pillows, one of which was a chiropractic cervical pillow to support the cervical part of your spine. I was absolutely miserable....

So first thing Tuesday morning I go to a chiropractor. Not "my" chiropractor because he's a 45 minute drive one way, and at $4 a gallon... well I think you get the point. So anyway, I went to a local chiropractor. My husband had talked to him earlier, so he knew I'd been in pain all week and was coming in. So I go in and told my neck was hurting me and he told me to lay on the table so he could adjust me. I pointed out the swelling on my face and asked him his opinion, to which he replied "I don't know. It could be anything. You could have been bitten by a bug" Then he adjusts me and says I should be better by the end of the day. I wasn't.

My regular Dr gave me scripts for muscle relaxer, pain meds, and nausea medicine because the pain meds make me nauseous. He told me he wanted to schedule me for a CT scan because it was a bit concerned about the swelling. Fine. Sounds good. So, home I go to sit, supported by pillows waiting for medicine to kick in. I'm not someone who can sit still for long, or likes to sit still. I was going nuts that I couldn't stay in contact with ppl because I couldn't sit up long enough to even go and check my mail, or get on the net. I went and bought a laptop so I could access the net from bed.... Then I thought about MY chiropractor, the out of town one. I called him. He talked with me on the phone and listened to me tell him about what happened, what it felt like, range of motion etc. He said it sounded to him like there was some pooling of fluid around my temporal artery and that a CT Scan most likely wasn't going to show anything. He did say for me to give him a call after it was done and have a copy faxed to him and he'd take a look at them.

So the CT ppl call me and tell me that it would be another two or three weeks before they could get me in for a CT because of my insurance required pre authorization. That Saturday I called my Dr and told him about not being able to get a CT Scan for so long. That day the swelling had also gotten worse, along with the pain. The swelling had moved up the side of my head and down my neck. So, he told me to go to the ER and get in right away because he didn't feel like the CT could wait and if it was an emergent situation they'd not need authorization.

The hospital Dr said it was a muscle spasm. He also said I was wasting his time. It was ridiculous. I'll tell that whole story another time. Point is, my chiropractor out of town has been able to help me over the phone than any doctor in the area... it's just ridiculous

Who knows what the next step is. I'm just tired of not getting a diagnosis. They give you one pill for the pain, which makes you nauseous, so they give you a pill for that. Then that pill makes you sleepy, or makes it hard for you to go to the bathroom, so they give you more meds for that.... it's an endless cycle of pills upon pills with still no relief....

My abscence

I've been MIA lately, sorry. My computer crashed, and then my body did... so not doing any work right now... not at least until my Drs can figure out what is wrong with me and then make me better... I'll post my latest stuff ASAP
God Bless

Can you hear Him knocking?

My latest piece. As you can see, it is 3D and sits about 1 1/2 inches up off the page. I was happy with the way this overall piece came out, but If I could redo certain parts of it I'd be happier with it. I may go back and redo the parts that bother me, but for now this will do.

It really was a lot of fun to work on. When I first started it I became a bit overwhelmed by it, but I began looking at it in "sections" instead of one overall piece. That made it much easier, then just glued the sections down and Wa-La!

Sport Logos

Trying my hand and sport team logos!

Garfield and Odie

Garfield and Odie, my latest piece

3D Paper Art Cutting

My latest creation.... obviously based on a scene from the Disney Cartoon Bambi. All copyrights belong to Disney.

Each different colored piece you see was cut out individually and glued together to form the picture... it was then anchored down for the complete picture.

If you are a fan of a specific person, cartoon, character, etc... let me know and I can turn it into a 3D art cutting!

New Paper Picture

This is a new paper craft I am attempting. It is based on John Lennon's cartoon character from the Beatles Cartoon from the 60s. This is just a piece of the whole thing, when it is done, it will be all of the Beatles.














Here is a completed photo:

Flowing Hair Cutting

I was surfing the net, looking for pictures of women, women with long flowing hair, to do a cutting. I came across all sorts of things, but this one of Evangeline Lily spoke to me. I really wanted to do a cutting that had a lot of hair and detail, so I took this:

And after doing the paper cutting, I ended up with this. Again, this is cut from one sheet of paper and anchored down on another piece.

Layered Colored Paper Cutting

My latest paper cutting. I tried something a little different this time, in that after I cut it out, I layered different colors behind it and cut more.
It was more work than any of the previous cuttings, but at the same time, I really gives it a lot more depth and detail. Let me know what you think!

Animal Papercuttings

I thought I'd try my hand at doing some cuttings of animals. Here are a couple:

The zebra is white on black, the pug is black on white.

Birthday Countdown

This calendar works similar to an Advent Calendar at Christmas. It starts 30 days prior to the child's birthday. Each day, the child opens a window and takes out an item and glues it to the top of the calendar. I made one for my son, and my other son is already asking for one! Kids really enjoy these.

Heath Before and After

In Memory of this wonderful life, and not his tragic end, I did a paper cutting of Heath Ledger.

My Medium

Every artist (artist... me?... lol) has a medium. Could be paint, oils or watercolors, pencil drawings or whatever they choose to use to create. I vary over time as to what I do and don't like to do, but it seems the one thing they all have in common is.... paper. (Can paper be a "medium"?) I find a lot of templates on the internet (kudos to those who create them.) Lately, I've moved away from a clear cut template and started making my creations from pictures that I have. This one here to the left was my first attempt at what I call "papercutting". It was okay and all, but I needed to hone my skills a bit.... My friends were tired of seeing their pictures regularly cut up!

The picture above was what resulted. (Neat, but still something is missing.... )After a few attempts at those, I moved on to the final look of paper cuttings... The picture yo

u choose to do has to have a certain amount of shading in it, or it may not come out just right... The final result.... Black and white cut out. The detail can be great or a few, but the result is still unique no matter which you choose to do. Some of these can later be transfered on to pumpkins at Halloween, or watermelons during the summer months... (or anything that's carvable really...)

I am SO new at this...

Okay, so I jumped on the MySpace bandwagon a couple years ago, but I've never posted a blog... the occasional bulletin? Sure, but never a "blog". Aren't I too old for this??? The thing is, I enjoy making things, crafting, drawing, whatever keeps my mind from becoming idle and then I end up either giving the things away or throwing them away. Many times I've heard someone say

"Oh, this is so cute".

My response? "You can have it if you want it!"

People tell me all the time I should turn what I call "boredom" into a way to make money. I just like making stuff, should I really charge for keeping myself busy? But the question has always been, how do I market my things? No way I can afford a booth or kiosk at a craft show. The local flea market maybe? Doubtful. So, here it is, my "craft" (otherwise known as boredom). My creations. My Snipits.

Shellz-Snipitz