Do I write 24/7? No way. #crafting #writinglife #hobbies

Would it surprise you to know, I don't write all day, every day. I'm a 9:30 to 4:30 writer. I have tons of stuff to do around my house and have to squeeze it in-today is fix the washer day; tomorrow is a new plumber coming to fix the dripping pipes under my master sink; somewhere in there is the a/c man to figure out why there is weird programming on my Nest thermostat.

I have other things to do too, like reading!! And I'm embroidering on a needlepoint pillow and a 12 days of Christmas lap blanket. I adore watching a good movie and stitching. I like stitching so much, I'd stitch in church if I could.

So I thought I'd share what I completed last year:

Craftmaster - Finding old stuff in the parent's home #SOS #RB4U #MFRWorg #amcrafting

While cleaning out my parents’ garage with family, a brother in law unearthed a picture wrapped in white paper, rectanglular in shape. Passed to me to determine if giveaway or have siblings look at, I folded back the paper and squealed. My sisters came running. We found the crushed rock and gravel picture my mom had made.

This picture hung above the china cabinet in the dining room for many, many years. Then Mom replaced it with a homey scene. I guess I didn’t notice it was gone for a long while and when I did, thought she’d donated it (along with the horse head lamps).

Here’s what we found: 

Escaping the daily grind @sloanebcollins #PlottingPrincesses #Escapism #PearlsPerils #amreading #MFRWorg #scrapbooking #feedmysoul

I'm pretty much a loner, and need to escape the daily grind of a big city and a demanding day job. So when I'm taking a break from writing (or have the dreaded writer's block), I find other ways to feed my soul.  I don’t usually play a lot of games, and was never into video games, but lately I’ve been playing a game on my iPhone called Pearl’s Perils, a hidden objects game.  But it’s not like any iPhone game I’ve seen before. This is the official description from the Facebook page: “Get swept back to the romantic and sordid 1930’s along with our trailblazing heroine, Pearl Wallace, ace pilot and world explorer. Pearl’s glamorous social life grinds to a halt when her father mysteriously dies and she inherits a strange island filled with perilous secrets. Journey with Pearl and her deliciously sarcastic best friend, Iris Hillman, as they travel the world, uncover a global conspiracy, and navigate a chilling mystery you won’t soon forget!” 

The story line is fun, and the artists are truly talented. The scenery is lush and beautiful, and true to the time period of the 1930’s.  The story takes place on Artemis Island, and in Paris, New York, and Russia.  While following Pearl on her journey and trying to solve a mystery, you earn coins, cash, and energy, but you also get to build and design your own Artemis Island. That’s the most fun part to me.  As the story progresses, you earn, badges, coins, and cash to help you purchase decorations and buildings.  I usually play the game on the train commute to work, and before I go to sleep. It’s my chance to escape the daily world and go to a romantic era and location, and design a place I’d love to live. 

I used to do cross-stitch, then for many years I was hooked on scrapbooking.  I still have all my supplies, and keep all my photos and memorabilia so I can get back to it when I have spare time. I like to do a scrapbook for each vacation, so I've got stacks of boxes, one for each trip, ready to go.  So until I can actually work on those scrapbooks, I've been doing shadowboxes for each vacation.

This one from Hawaii is still a work in progress, but I'm almost done!

Books are my other choice of escapism.  Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance, and Cozy Mysteries are my favorite genres.  In books, I can go anywhere I want.  I think part of why I love Cozy Mysteries so much is they take place in small towns, and have a cast of characters the reader gets to know and love.  And there’s usually a theme to each series: knitting, cooking, sewing, magic, crafting. 

I just realized as I was writing this post that I tend to lean toward small towns even in my choice of escapism: the small towns of Cozies, and the island in iPhone games.  I’ve always wanted to live in a small town.  Life seems so much simpler.  You don’t have a long commute, have to deal with strangers every day, there’s a slower pace, and a sense of community that is lacking in a sprawling big city. 

My husband and I prefer to vacation in places where we can get back to nature.  We might venture into a big city for a day, but we don’t stay very long, and would much rather be out among the mountains, forests, coastlines. 

So until we can build our cozy little cabin on the outskirts of a small town in the mountains, or a forest, or on the coast of Maine, I’ll keep reading my favorite genres, designing an island of my own, and remembering vacations in shadow boxes.

What ways do you escape the daily grind of life? Books? Movies? Games?  What are your favorites? 

Under the Princess crown with #mystery author Nancy Haddock #crafting #BerkleyPrimeCrime #amreading #MFRWorg

Under the Princess Crown with

Nancy Haddock is an award-winning, national bestselling author. Basket Case is the first book in the Silver Six Crafting mysteries with Berkley Prime Crime. Her earlier books are La Vida Vampire, Last Vampire Standing, and Always The Vampire, and feature Gidget with fangs.

Speed Round:

Favorite movie: Father Goose
Favorite book: Way too many to name!
Last book read: Magic and Macaroons by Bailey Cates
Favorite color: Aqua
Stilettos or flip-flops: Flip-flops or barefoot
Coffee or tea: Both
E-book or paperback: Both
Pencil or pen: Pen

Favorite song: “Surfin’ USA”

Streak or not: Not

Favorite dessert: Coconut meringue pie

Vicki Batman ~ Fall is in the air! Michelle Miles isn't the only crafty girl out there. lol

Fall is in the air!

Michelle Miles may be a crafting genius with her pumpkins; however, I am crafty sometimes, too.  I'd gone to the grocery store and thought I'd peruse the Halloween/Fall aisle cause—you never know. And lo and behold, something did catch my eye: a candy carrier. Since the boys are grown, I don't need candy sitting around because I'd buy chocolate (tried the caramel Milky Way yet??), and I'm like most red-blooded girls, I'll eat every freakin' piece so it isn't wasted.

For this door decoration, all I did was loop ribbon over the handle to hang from a tack on the top of my door. I tied a festive wire ribbon into a simple bow with florist wire, then wired it onto the handle of the candy carrier. Here's Ethel:

@VickiBatman : Ponders You Made This, crafty girl?

You made this?

I like to do needlepoint. I'm not the world's best. I've seen those intimidating grand prize winners at the State Fair. The crafters do the fanciest stitches in the tiniest silk threads on intricate canvases.

I'm more a paint by numbers kind of person.

I find a painted canvas and match the colors in the project to the cotton floss found at the local craft stores. I'd tried wool and bits of fiber found my eyes and nose. A huge sneezing, itchy fit followed.

Floss is affordable; so I splurge on the fabrication. When my creation is finished, I head to the nearest needlepoint store to make a pillow, handbag, stocking. I'm always a little nervous the clerks will snicker about my project, but they never do. They always, always say the nicest things. And when I pick up the finished product, I'm totally amazed. They make my work look even better.

But the paint by number thingy, Vicki? Surely, someone as creative like you can do more?