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2024 Project Reveal...

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Hello Everyone! I would like to reveal this year’s MAJOR project..a painted plaster medallion to be mounted as wall art. The project was actually “born” in 2016 when I attended a short course taught by a master plasterer. My favorite part was when we did decorative plaster as that was the most crafty. We were given the opportunity to take our class made medallions home and I jumped at the chance. Me with Medallion, 2016 At the time, I didn’t know how to paint artistically, the closest being when I painted wood trim in my home unit. I DO remember the instructor mentioning using an oil based primer as a first step. Struggling with how to present this project, I will start with material from 2016. I do have some process videos but I am leary of posting on the Blogger platform, so I will be posting a couple of them on Instagram @planetnicecrafts and Etsy PlanetNiceOdyssey as they have been more reliable. According to my old photos, the decorative medallion w as created with two ingredi
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Hello 2024!

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The holiday season is at a close. The holiday lights are depleted to non-existent and we are left with really dark mornings…this is so depressing sounding for Planet Nice. So, what do we need – SNOW. That’s right we need it and be careful what you wish for because for us in the Chicago area at least..we are getting it RIGHT NOW. How was your holiday season? Mine felt like a whirlwind. Soon after Halloween 2023, I took a vacation to Washington DC. What a great trip, I hadn’t been a tourist there in a very long time. The weather was warm and it wasn’t crowded. I was completely unprepared for all the walking, I had some very sore legs starting on Day 3 sightseeing. There are a few trip pictures AND my final drawing project posted on Planet Nice Odyssey  (I know, relentless branding). Here are additional trip photos: Tadeusz Kościuszko statue near the White House The Lincoln Memorial - how could one not be moved by this hallowed place? First thing in the morning at the National Museum of A
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Presenting Planet Nice Odyssey

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Hello Everyone! Well, it has happened – “Planet Nice Odyssey” was available on Etsy so it was officially registered and the shop became “live” on October 2 nd . Please use this link: https://planetniceodyssey.etsy.com when visiting the shop from here on the blog because I get extra credit points when I drive traffic to Etsy and it is traceable back to me. Ahhh, the world of social media. I haven’t kept you that much in the dark – it has taken about a month to make progress on listings, policies, and shipping strategy. There was a mini-meltdown amid the effort when I realized that I will need to additionally store packing materials to hopefully, find homes for the items and then a long-term decrease of Planet Nice Craft’s storage footprint will occur. To put my account and the shop together, I followed “Starting an Etsy Business for dummies®” by Kate Shoup and Kate Gatski. Throughout the years, I have found the for dummies® series helpful in establishing beginner level knowledge on
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An Announcement, An Unveiling

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Hello Everyone! I hope you have thrived in at least one way during this hot summer. The summer that had kick in it until yesterday?  Now on to Fall or Autumn. All is well here; some extra self-care was required because allergies were worse than in previous years. But there is nothing wrong with more self-care. Not much free time devoted to crafts except for a session on repair work that had been stacking up. What has been happening and this is the big REVEAL is the development of PLANET NICE ODYSSEY (PNO) on Etsy. YES! Okay this is not official yet as I haven't signed up, but I'm getting there. What is this new adventure? I haven’t exactly drafted a mission statement but in macro terms I would say it is a presentation of craft materials, goods, and experiences/services by the practitioner of Planet Nice Crafts, me. The purpose of this blog and PNO is to share my adventures in crafts with some baking, gardening, jigsaw puzzles, reading, and other hobbies of necessity (plumbi
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Summer Smoke and Sizzle

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Hello Everyone! Welcome to Summer. I have already experienced a variety of weather conditions from cooler temperatures with smoky haze to full on summer heat and humidity.  Chocolate Mint Geranium The picture above is one of two plants that I am maintaining for this garden season (remember the years I had the 20’ x 20’ garden plot? I cannot believe I did that). Now, I am down to this lone geranium survivor and some struggling kale. Today, I am thinking about goals. At work, I had my mid point review this week and my manager mentioned that I should start thinking about where I want to be at the end of 2024 to start developing goals or resolutions for next January. I have transferred the conversation to my personal life and started it by re-assessing the 2023 goals. One of my personal 2023 goals was to take Drawing 1 and 2 at the Chicago Botanic Garden, drawing is difficult and I had been wanting to take a class for a long time. I budgeted and planned my vacation time because in my exp
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This Year's Theme Revealed...

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Hello Everyone! Well, the theme so far for 2023 is Tying Up Loose Ends. Projects ranging from home repair to tree trimming to sewing are being completed - some have lingered since 2021. How do I feel about this? I'm glad progress has been made and there is so much left to do. First up, sewing. Two promised Christmas presents from 2021 were completed and sent off in January. The first was a coaster set made with fabric already in possession but a fancy variegated polyester thread was purchased new along with a tear away stabilizer. I had never used stabilizer before - it was suggested for the zig-zag stitch edge. There is water soluble stabilizer too - the tear away was the only available at the brick-and-mortar store. If you look real close you may see bits of remaining stabilizer but I let it go. The coasters are reversible so that is pretty neat. And the great thing about the zig-zag stitch, you can go over previous stitching no problem if for example, an edge was missed. The imp
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Holiday Season Baking

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  Christmas Tree, 2022 Happy Holiday Season and New Year! I am so happy that I found some time during the last 12 Days of Christmas to post. Baking has been in the forefront. With Thanksgiving so early in the month in 2022, the preparation of my traditional fruitcakes started mid-November, November 12 th to be exact! And to be honest, I haven’t even tasted my portion yet but the reviews so far have been good, more citrusy than in previous years. This holiday season’s baking has also included rose scented geranium pound cake, breakfast bakes, three types of cookies (rosemary alfajores cookies, chocolate-dipped matcha shortbread cookies, and vanilla meringue cookies), and pumpkin pies. Some of the time, I followed the recipe perfectly; other times, I didn’t. The breakfast bakes were new and easy recipes that were served for Christmas brunch; one was a crab croissant gruyere, the other sausage bread cheddar. That is all I am going to say about the breakfast bakes and instead, present the
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