Hello Again!

I can't believe more than a month has passed since my last post. September flew by.

It has been a difficult month, and because I didn't want this blog to be a place where I depressed people or where all I did was whine, I really haven't had much to say (I haven't even visited anyone else's blog for awhile, something I wish to rectify on my day off tomorrow.) Although I'm getting more hours at work, it is not going well, as the retail store I work for has a well-deserved reputation for treating their employees like sh-t.  Still looking for a full time job, but so far, no response.  So discouraging.
 

The roommate situation is not working out either.  Let's just refer to the almost 5 year old as Spawn of Satan (SoS for short). The child has several out of control, shrieking, screaming, body flailing tantrums every day. I fully expect to see his head spin and pea soup to spew from his mouth. (And no, he does not have ADHD; by his mother's own admission, she didn't start to expect him to obey or to discipline him until he started kindergarten in August.  He is simply an undisciplined brat - the intellect of a 5 year old, the emotional maturity and self control of a 2 year old. I wish I had known this before I let them move in.) Well, anyway, my home is no longer a pleasant place to live in, and because I'm extremely broke, I have nowhere else to go.  Quite frankly, I feel as if my home is no longer MY home anymore, if you know what I mean. When I started thinking "maybe I could just rent myself a room somewhere and move out of here", I knew that something was radically wrong.

So, that's my life right now. I've asked them to move, and hopefully they will be gone November 1st.  I know I haven't always been extremely regular in posting, but until the work and roommate situations have been resolved, my posts may be even more infrequent.  I hope you'll bear with me for awhile, and won't completely abandon me.

Now, on to the REAL post:

I've been working on several craft projets, one of them being a couple of collages.  I've been collecting collage materials for years: old postcards, vintage greeting cards, old calendars, stationary, gift wrap, pressed flowers, old photographs, vintage wallpapers, magazine clippings, glitter, feathers, etc.  I go to thrift stores and garage sales to try to find cheap picture frames for my projects.  I feel kind of shy about sharing these (what if everyone thinks they suck?), but I thought I would do so anyway. So, here are a few of them (Sorry for the poor quality of the photos; can't get the lighting or the color right and having a hard time losing the glare on the picture frame glass).

This is my latest. I titled this one "The Garment of God":

 

 

 

A few others that have been hanging on my walls for years:


This one is my favorite. I call it "A Charmed Life":

"Love and Roses": I kind of wish I had not placed the images on this one in such a rigid, angular manner.  Oh well, I can always go back and change it when I get the chance.

 

 

 

I think this one was one of the first ones I did.  It started out with a Paris theme, then I sort of deviated from that. 

 

I'm now working on a couple of collages for Christmas.  I love the Christmas cards, gift wrap and gift tags from the 1930's, 40's and 50's.  So cute.  I've got these to work with:

And these:

This card, sent in 1954, is one of my favorites:

Except for the last card, these dog cards are actually reproductions.  I think they're just darling.

I absolutely love Christmas and decorate lavishly for it.  Someday, when finances are better, I want to have one of those houses that goes all out on the outdoor decorations.  But, for this year, I'll just have to concentrate on decorating inside.  Can't wait for it!

Thanks so much for your visiting, and for listening to me whine.  And for posting your comments. I love reading them.