Well, I have been trying to rebuild my mad-making skills. And to do that I have been going through my “Make It Someday” file on my laptop. These are cool things that I saw while in bed for the last 2 years and hoped to try out someday.

That someday is here! I have been feeling better and better, and while I have a couple of paintings going, I decided last week, I needed something to do that would be finished in a day. Enter stage right…Sharpies! I have a spring coat that I have been wanting to decorate with sharpies for some time and thought that a trial project would be a good idea. I scanned the closet for a couple of candidates…A knit dress and a dressy blouse that looks great on, but is a bit dated. (Note the shoulder pads and material) I haven’t photographed the dress, but here is the blouse.

I have had a picture of a Swedish wallpaper design for sometime and thought about doing something like it in my basement, but I couldn’t wait. So here it is! Scroll down through the close ups and see how it looks. The Sharpies bled around the lines making a sort of gray that I really like. I started using that to enhance the look of the final product. Thanks for looking.

Yep! Featured! Don’t think I’ve ever been “featured” before…nope…never! Introducing “Hairy Bobb” everyone.

April 13th I submitted my first “Instructable” on how to make your own brain cell. (Perhaps a fatal error in marketing my Neurons…like divulging source code, or the recipe for Coke.) Anyway, within an hour of submitting it, I got an email from the robot  that I was a featured instructable! WOW! It was like being on Oprah, or snagging a Nobel Prize. I was flabbergasted! (does anyone really “snag” a Nobel?)

Anyway, I also entered the tutorial (that’s what an instructable is) in the “critter contest” and the voting started on the 25th. It closes TOMORROW, so if you would like to help me get one of the coveted “$25 gift certificate from Lion Brand Yarn. Plus an Instructables Prize Pack including a one-year Pro membership, Robot t-shirt, patch, (I REALLY want one) and stickers,” 

 PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE… GO TO THE LINK AND VOTE!!!

This might be the only T-shirt I would ever actually wear with pride*

thanks everyone.

*does not include the “will work for shoes” T-shirt my sister-in-law gave me

Yep, another new even dozen up on the Neuron Rebellion website! Enjoy. (and let’s all thank the genius I married…Kevin) Some stand up, some have moustaches, some are just plain odd…of course there is nothing new there. You may also notice a plethora of hats…well, I guess it’s this awful winter’s influence, it’s even seeping into my brain!

Some of you may know my Genius Husband (yes, it’s capitalized cuz it serves as his name in this case…ha! “case” a pun! …I hate puns.) dislocated his shoulder on the 2nd of February and is now in physical therapy himself. Yesterday was his first day and he is well on the mend! (Lyndsey…if you are watching…WE MISS YOU!)

Blah, blah, blah, I’m done. Oh, one more thing… You HAVE  to Check This Out! Code Organ

My brain is tired today. But I am grateful for the stuff I have been able to do lately. First and foremost, take care of Kevin -a little bit…he dislocated his left shoulder a week and a half ago (desperate cry for attention no doubt… that he richly deserves) but is well on the mend, but one handed and tired because he’s not sleeping well. So I have been trying to help the one handed man. Refer to my last blog for how that might be going (He’s the Brain and I am still Pinky) alas, he deserves better!

My sister-in-law provided the use of a camera (what a sweet heart) and I have most of the next 24 Neurons shot (Peanut and the un-named pair, are out of focus and need to be redone…I knew legs were a bad idea!) But since my days are full of helping Kevin, I have been held up trying to get them posted…please hang on…they really are coming.  And then, of course, I need the genius I married to post them to the site…what else will postpone it, I can’t imagine.

There is an old Peruvian proverb that says, “Everything takes longer than it does” Welcome to life lesson #809…

I have to tell you about my wonderful husband. He is a ‘bit’ of an intellect (totally understated fact) and the other night I asked him what he was reading to relax at bed time.  He informed me he was reading Romans (a book in the New Testament) in French. I began to laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh! When I was finally able to speak, I asked him, “Do you realize who you married?!!” I mean really! Talk about “Pinky and the Brain“! He relaxes with the French New Testament, and I can blow bubbles with my spit! I love him to death, but he is really getting the raw end of the stick…wait that doesn’t sound right…oh, never mind.

Meanwhile, my brother is getting calls from “Discovery” (can’t remember if it is the magazine or the channel, of course) to talk about all the cool inventions he makes, like the secret door knock lock, while I happily sit in bed figuring out how to make socks stand up!

IN OTHER NEWS: With 30 + inches of snow on the ground now covered with an inch of ice, I’ve been sitting warm and cozy in bed watching whatever I haven’t already consumed on the Internet and sewing Neurons. I am working on a set of ‘standing’ Neurons, and I have a deep desire to get into mustachioed Neurons but only a few have seemed to be willing or in need of that accessory…they continue to rebel! It has not missed my attention that Neurons with legs who can stand could possibly march, and the rebellion become that much harder to put down…BUT I SAY “the battle will continue to go on until the war is over!”

All rambling aside, I am sorry to report that our camera is not working…YES, we do suspect the Neurons…there are dozens running amok in the basement and they can’t be trusted. While I am surprised (because they love attention), they will stop at nothing to interupt  my attempts at a ‘normal’ life. If we end up replacing the camera, you can be sure it will be kept in a more secure location…needless to say, that is the reason for the lack of new Neurons appearing on the website. As you can see my friends, the battle still rages here between the ‘bad brain cells’ and the ‘good brain cells’.

Must go back into the fray, Judge Judy is on and I love  to ride the bike and watch!

First of all, THANK YOU! To everyone who purchased or encouraged me in this venture! It’s been more fun than I ever imagined!

We (and I mean the ‘royal’ “we”…meaning Kevin) has sent Neurons to Ireland, UK and all over the place! Amazing! Also, something I didn’t expect and that is the stories you all have contacted us with, where they are going, and why…very inspiring and gratifying! Thank you all so much for sharing.

I have a local independent school about a block away and each Christmas they host an “Art Thing” that I regularly donate to (my niece attends) so this year they got a few Neurons, of course. They have inspired some of the students to make their own (to their mother’s dismay…sometimes using new socks!). I got to see them last week and they were WONDERFULLY HILARIOUS! We have been thinking we would like to add a page to the website that features your attempts at Neurons or your Neurons in their new homes…What do you think?

I am working on getting a few more new ones up soon (health and rehab and all still make life a bit unpredictable), so wait for it….wait for it…..

Just for a bit of something completely different: My brother Steve (the David Sedaris to my Amy Sedaris) has a wonderful little bit of fun I want to share…9 hole buttons very cool…

Oh, and the Artwork site is getting very close to being ready, so thanks for your patience!

Ta Da! Welcome to my brain! I sort of feel like this first entry is my “Oscar Acceptance Speech”,  so…

First, I want to thank my wonderful husband, Kevin, who has done ALL the hard work of setting up this wonderful site and now I have a place to let those whacky brain cells loose on the world! Thanks, Kevin! I hope you won’t regret this too soon! There is so much in this world I couldn’t do without him!  He really does make my wildest dreams come true. (Plus, yesterday, he pointed out that I had a buttoned shirt on inside out.) Secondly I would like to thank my gracious God and all those who interceded on my behalf to Him for my healing. I wouldn’t be here…(well, I would ‘exist’ but would still be sick) if it weren’t for all of you and His gracious healing. So you have a part in this, too. And lastly I would like to thank my sister-in-law Karen, who when she saw my first remedial effort, encouraged me to make more and share them with the world.

This is going to be fun! I have a few ideas besides the Neurons which I plan to share here as I continue to “rehabilitate” my brain and body. Oh the things I want to make and show you! I may, on occasion, share someone else’s work (I have a wealth of genius family members) which I may run across and find wonderful.

Please DON’T expect this updated daily…I don’t have the energy or the sense of time (part of the rehab). Nor should you be wasting your time on this EVERYDAY! (Jennifer, you are the exception, and anyone else finding themselves bedridden.) I don’t have any “rules” per-say, so expect rants from time to time, but if I get cranky for a period of time, I will have Kevin pull the plug on me, until I am in a happier place.