Happy Halloween!

Hope your Halloween is just scary enough and includes tons of candy!

We carved our pumpkins on Sunday and my son's pumpkin took a hatchet to my pumpkin to cover up the spot where the squirrels had eaten it!!!  They are such ANIMALS!

Driftwood Garland

I just LOVE driftwood!

The texture, the interesting shapes, but mostly, the colors.  My partner in crime  husband and I have gotten a little hooked on collecting driftwood.  We have been going to a nearby Lake Michigan beach and collecting tons driftwood.  We have a big idea for a Christmas project, so we think we need a lot of it. 

 But, I have been getting antsy to use some of it, so I took a bunch of small pieces and made this cute hanging garland, which now lives in our vestibule!

Cute, right?  I just drilled a small hole in each piece, then strung them up on wire.  Do you remember this project?  It's the same idea and it could not be any easier!

Would you ever collect driftwood for a project?  

Squirrel Update, etc...

This is not my baby squirrel, just a random squirrel that I found on Pinterest, but he is just as cute!

http://2winks.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html

The squirrel lived through the night!!!  So, my sweet husband took the baby squirrel (named Francisco) to the Wildlife Refuge.  I had to do something at my son's school and so Mark got roped into the "squirrel of 2013" project.  We have been married 21 years so he is totally used to my "animal emergencies" and general nonsense.  

Anyway, he drove Francisco to this awesome refuge.  The woman there estimated that he was about 6 weeks old, she said he never would have survived the night, it was just too cold.  He was still a little cold even though we cranked the heat up in the garage and filled his cage with towels.  She said it sounded like he might have a little respiratory infection so she gave him antibiotics.  She thought that as long as he responded to the antibiotics, he would be fine.  Yea!  

She also had 3 or 4 other baby squirrels about his age that he would live with at this refuge until spring when they would be released.  

How sweet!  A happy weekend can be had by all!

In other news I spent a couple of mornings at my son's school painting a backdrop for the Third Grade Worlds' Fair, which apparently, was a huge success.  They had all different kinds of food and activities.  

Ferris Wheel

Part of the skyline.

And finally, it's the weekend!!!

I will be doing some painting, hopefully some hand printing, some kiln loading, and of course...

What are you doing this weekend?

Bouncing Baby...

SQUIRREL!!! 

Let me back up a step.  First we found a totally DEAD opossum in our yard.  It was so foul, it just dropped dead by the back fence.  It didn't miraculously disappear by itself, so today, with the help of our son and his friend, we...ahem...disposed of the dearly departed.  It was sad, and disgusting,  but mostly disgusting.

Then, in what can only be interpreted as the universe trying to correct itself, we saw the cutest baby squirrel in our yard.  I had the most fun watching it and having it follow me around the yard, until it finally occurred to me that I was not in a Disney movie, it was not going to talk to me and something wasn't right with the situation.

What was this baby doing out alone, it was tiny!  And it was cold out, and getting dark soon!  We watched for a mama to come and get him, but it didn't happen, so I panicked!

I walked over the tiny little guy with gloves on, in case it freaked  I freaked.  I sort of crouched in front of it and it walked right over to me and as I put my hands down, he crawled into them, shaking and shivering!  It was just the cutest and tiniest little guy.

We put him in a cage in the garage with a bunch of towels and left a message for the Wildlife Rescue.  They called back, assured us that we did the right thing, and made an appointment for us to take him to the refuge tomorrow morning.

So fingers crossed that this little cutie makes it through the night.  

I am a crazy squirrel lady!!!
Do you remember this?  Obviously we have issues at Factory 506!

Hand Print Season

I know it is not even Halloween yet, but do you know what is fast approaching?  Hand Print Season!!!  I love hand print season and I don't care that my son is 10 years old and probably won't want to do it this year, we are totally doing it!  I never get tired of them!!!

 I mean seriously, look at that cute turkey hand print!  My son painted the hand print and I did the finishing.  I love turning hand prints into things.  I must have gone temporarily insane on this one because I didn't do any lettering on the front.   

This one is from the year my son would only paint things if they were blue.  We still refer to it as his blue period, you know, like Picasso!  :)  But who am I to argue with his artistic vision, so we rocked that blue turkey like it was our job!!!  It is still one of my favorites!

PS.  Since I am firing that beast of a kiln up for those LaTasca pitchers anyway, I have room in the kiln to fire hand prints on plates again!

 Who's with me on this one?
  

Squirrel Holder

I thought we made a teepee, but really, it is a fancy squirrel holder.  

I mean really, the nerve!

 But it explains what is happening to all of the toast crust around here.  But who is the toast thrower??? I know it is not me, because I am the crazy squirrel lady who feeds them acorns!  :)

Hand Painted!

Guess what I did this afternoon?  I painted sangria pitchers and may I just tell you, it was one of the most fun afternoons I have had in a while!  So, I mentioned yesterday that I have been hired to paint pitchers for a restaurant, and I worked on them for about two hours this afternoon and I just had the best time.

 I actually painted these same pitchers, for the same restaurant, for about 10 years.  Then...I became burned out on the design (which I always loved) but after painting it about 1,500 times, I had had enough.  So I walked away from these pitchers and never looked back.

Then, earlier this summer, I ran into the owner of the restaurant.  He told me how much they missed the pitchers, the replacements were not as pretty, nobody liked them, they broke too easily, etc...  And for some reason, I was ready to paint them again!

So here I am in the early stages of the LaTasca Sangria pitcher.  I am so excited to be painting them again!

The first load will be going into the kiln on Wednesday!

By the way, pitcher aside, LaTasca has fantastic sangria, red and white!

Hi and an Update!

How sad!  This poor little blog been neglected!  Lots and lots of things have actually been happening at Factory 506, but none of them have made it here yet.  So, how about a little update?

Apples have been picked...and eaten!

Signs have been painted at my son's school.

I decided that I needed to bring home several loads of beautiful rocks from Lake Michigan.

S'more sticks have been made, and used...many times!

S'more bars have been set up.

LOT'S of these have been eaten!

I have become obsessed with big feathers and have collected about 10 birds worth!

I have also become obsessed with driftwood and have brought home about three car loads full from Lake Michigan.

I stressed out and had to use more Rescue Spray than I would like to admit.

I made some yummy soup.

I got My SON got a Rainbow Loom and someone has become a fishtail expert!

Fall Happy Hours have been enjoyed.

I started painting an old jacket!

Yikes, I got myself back in business and will be painting sangria pitchers for a local tapas restaurant!  

I painted a bunch of stuff for Halloween, including this pumpkin that I will hang on my front door. 

And as you probably notice from the boarder on some of my photos, I have gotten a little too excited about Instagram!   

What have you been doing?