The Wigglebutt Blog

Did you know that 2013 is over??? Seriously...when did that happen and why did no one tell me!!?? The last few weeks of the year were kinda whirlwind~ish. Me and my Honey took a vacation.  Together.  Over the Thanksgiving holiday. (The last time we took a vacation together,  longer than a 3 day weekend, was in 1998. Yep. Really.) It was only a week, but it was wonderful☺ Once we got back it was time to do some canning,  baking and prepping for Christmas at home and a lot of catch up from the time off   and getting ready for year end stuff at work. Plus, I was a few weeks behind on my Year of Jewelry Project, (wha?? REALLY??   HaHaHa!!!) and I was determined to finish ALL of the projects. And dammit! I did☺ Instead of boring you with pics of each of the 8 projects I had to play catch up with, I just made this awesome collage☺ I did sign up for the 2014 Year of Jewelry Project . I WILL finish all 52 pro...

I am, as usual, playing catch up on my weekly project . Sign-up opens Dec 1 and I think I want to sign up again for 2014☺ Glutton for punishment? Maybe☺ Chain Maille earrings. These worked up pretty quickly and they weren't as difficult  as I thought they would be. I got the free pattern here and I already had the jump rings left over from another project . The pattern is for a star but the Hubs said he thought it looked like a snowflake and I think I agree with him. I am currently three weeks behind and I don't think  I will be catching up in the next week or so cuz the Hubs and I  will be jetting off to.......... (wait for it) ~~~~~~~~~~ HAWAII !!!!!! on Thursday morning (yep......Thanksgiving morning) Yes... Thanksgiving Day 2013,  which coincidentally is the day after our  20th Wedding Anniversary (which is Nov 27☺) and  the day of my Birthday  (yep ~~ the big  50 happens on Nov 28) (...

Wow! OK, I have posted 3 times in a week...Hmmmm I could say I'm trying to get better at posting more regularly but that's not necessarily the case. I am, however, still playing catch-up on this little year long project . The project is currently at week 46, I am posting week 43 today. Not too far behind☺ I am SO glad to be finished with this bracelet! I started this months ago.....the first time. I have torn this apart and restarted it 5 TIMES!  Aarg!!! None of them were good enough and each one I liked less than the previous one. Looking back, I honestly believe the first try was the best one. I like this last try least of all, but I am NOT DOING IT AGAIN! I absolutely LOVE the focal, another gorgeous bead from JulsBeads (Pssst.....She's having a sale in her Etsy Shop , by the way☺) and I like the colors of the accent beads, but that's about it. The rest of it, I'm not loving. Except for the fact that it is...

Graduated Byzantine Chainemaille Necklace I made this when I needed something for my hands to do. I took concentration but no real creativity, it was a complete kit. It is silver plate (not the non-tarnish coated) so I was able to antique it. Ahhhh... Much better☺

I will have to say that this last month has seriously sucked and being a grown-up isn't all it's cracked up to be, at times:( On October 26th, we said goodbye to my baby girl  Lily. One of the hardest things for a fur parent   is to have to decide whether to continue to watch their baby suffer or to end the pain and say goodbye. I thought that that was one of the hardest decisions I would ever have to make. Fast forward just a little over a week .... I sat in a small, quiet consultation room with my Mother,  helping her make the same decision about my step-father. My step-father passed away on Monday Nov.4 less than 2 hours after being taken off of his breathing tube. Michael John McBride You were much loved and you will be sorely missed.  My mother seems to be coping well.  Like me, she is comfortable with her own company and she and Mike recently adopted 12 year old Sadey. I think Mom is going to ...

I don't know why I have issues with stringing bracelets, but it always seems to be such a struggle to get them  'just right'. This one I loved, then I hated it (almost took it all apart) and now I think I am OK with it. I wasn't even planning on making anything this weekend. This was going to be a "clean up and organize" weekend and I started here Apparently this was a huge mistake. This is my 'lampwork' drawer and I have never really had it  organized in any particular way and I need to find a home for all of the  cabs I have for wire wrapping, so I needed to condense. This was as far as I got. (Drawer and contents currently taking up a large parcel of floor) I came across the red, white and black set of Juls Beads and decided that I was going to just GO FOR IT and pulled out my sterling silver wire (which I am usually terrified to use because I waste  so much wire when I have a vague idea and it doesn'...

I have a  Love~Hate  thing with fall. Love the colors. Fall colors, earth tones are my absolute favs! Love the fact that the gardening and yard work is finished for another year. As much as I love my yard and garden, I'm pooped☺ The view from our deck  Sept 28, 2013 Hate the fact that Winter is very VERY close. These colors will only be here another week or so then the trees will be bare. The snow won't be far behind;( I should feel lucky, I suppose, since last year at this time it was snowing. (My husband has a morbid need to keep track of these things.) We did have a little bit of 'ugly' earlier in the week, just not in my neighborhood. Anchorage and Eagle River got dumped on pretty good. The view from the front door of the shop. Monday morning Sept 23, 2013 And, as you might imagine, most of the cars in the pic were there  to have their snow tires installed. Surprise! Well, in honor of Fall, and the fact that the ...