Beginning a new year ...

This year I plan to do a lot of junk crafting, starting tomorrow, the first day of 2009. (That's just 51 minutes from now, by the way. What a dedicated blogger I am. Staying home on New Year's Eve in the Entertainment Capitol of the World just to keep my faithful readerup to date--yeah, I know at least one person reads this.)

Here are a few of the projects I have planned.

A mosaic birdbath for my neighbor who talks to my dog, tends my flowers and gives me grief because I can't seem to keep any of my plants alive.

A plastic bag dog leash. I'm not sure of this one but I think if I cut those grocery bags into long strips, I should be able to weave or crochet them into a pretty sturdy leash. It's not like I'm trying to keep a Great Dane in tow, just a terrier but man or boy, he just wants to go, go, go. I want to give him his head for a while because he eventually stops, sniffs, wets, and runs again so an extra long leash should be a big help to me and my slower pace.

More toy soldiers for next Christmas. I have a a wide latice-work fence on the east side of my abode and I'd like to have a dozen of these guys standing guard there.

Some kind of lightweight but sturdy carry-all for too many electronic devices. There's the I-pod, the cell phone, the digital camera, the ear buds, the USB connections, a mini tape recorder and sometimes this great Toshiba laptop. I don't usually tote the computer with me but the rest of the stuff is close at hand at all times. I know. It's overkill. My car is like an oversized purse but the rest of my life is fairly sparse.

A secret project involving soda cans. (I don't want to give out too much information because if the project flops, nobody can make fun of my effort ...(she says with lower lip hanging out.)

Egg carton Christmas ornaments. I remember doing this a bunch of years ago. They were pretty nifty. If I start now, I might get a few finished by the end of 2009. First things first, though. Gotta tell my friends to save those paper cartons for me.)

A miniature garden bench. Mike, who works with me (when we're actually working, that is) found some hardware where he usually puts his trash for pick up and he brought it to the dungeon (aka office). That will be a fun project, I think. (As soon as I figure out how, I'll share his blog here.)

Lots of angels of all kinds. I'll hide them in the trees, under lawn chairs, behind doors. I'll hang them from fences. I like angels.

A secret project involving bamboo and paper flowers. I saw this really cool Asian-style beauty at Bellagio on Christmas Eve. At $179 (plus tax) it was about $175 more than I was willing to spend. I'm not cheap, just practical. I know I can do something similar. When I'm working on it, I'll post a photo of the original and a photo of my masterpiece.

This list is just for starters. I have a few more wrestling around in the recesses of my brain just waiting to get out but it's getting close to fireworks time and ringing in the New Year. I hear my neighbors calling for me to come out and toast goodbye to the old.

Thanks for reading in 2008 and come on back in 2009. I'll be providing instructions for some of my projects and yes, there might be a test.

Happy, happy, happy.