cjacks.com

Welcome to cjacks!

I am so happy you have decided to visit my blog. Here you can see some of my musings, creative projects, recipes and whatever else catches my fancy. You can also check out my social media.

Between Waking and You

This song was generated to express the love once shared between the two main characters in my novel project – Isolden and Bastian.  This is one of my favorite ones about them and I love the image – definitely captured how I see them. Listen on Suno Lyrics…

Gone Too Soon

This round, I decided to do a song with my own lyrics. I had to tweak them and generate a few iterations to try and get the AI to break the lines where I wanted it to, but now that I have a better feel for tweaking my own words so it turns into a melody closer than…

The Sun Will Soon Arise

Years and years ago, I used to write novels with my partner, Jonathan.  In fact, we even put one out long ago on Amazon, not that it ever sold a solitary copy, I might note, but still.. And yes, we did it under a nom de plume. Don’t get me started on the cover…

Cracks in the Silence

A friend of mine recently introduced me to Suno to make AI music.  I hadn’t had a chance to use it until the other day. I was feeling pretty down… thinking about my partner of 18 years who died October 12, 2022. Though it is going on four years since…

Cost of Progress

Today we ask Google (Bing, Siri blah blah) for information instead of asking those with experience. My knee-jerk reaction is to ask my elderly folks (I am pre-Google, obviously).  But I stop and think: I don’t want to bother them when I can get flooded by…

Seed Stitch Knit Cowl

In my never-ending attempt to finish half-done projects floating around and use up some of the enormous stash of crafting material avalanche threatening to suffocate me, I finally can cross this off my list. I started it last year when I, again, decided to try…

Kitsune

A while back, I found an image I liked and it inspired me.  Unfortunately I can not locate the image.  But, I really enjoyed trying to find 9 “elements” for a nine-tailed fox and adding antlers.  Kitty View OneView LargerKitty View TwoView LargerKitty View…

Cat Felted Figure

A felted cat figure made with cat fur.

Watercolor Doodles

I was in the mood to dig out the watercolors the other day. It had been a while since I last did one, so I decided to try a few doodles to scrub off the rust, so to speak. I didn’t have too much of a plan besides trying a sunset or two.  That evolved into using…

Pattern Review: Pineapple Peacock Shawl

This is going to be a pretty short review.   I have made this pattern a few times and really enjoy making these. They work up pretty fast, but you will need to watch your counting.  Be sure to lay it out occasionally to ensure there are no skipped repetitions!  I did…

Pattern Review: Crochet Boho Tank

Pattern Review: Crochet Boho Tank

I made the top available here a few years ago and opted to give it a whirl for a second round. This time, though, the yarn I used made much bigger squares, which is not a big surprise because the pattern called for a yarn that took a 4.5 mm, and the yarn I used called…

Finished Cat Toy

Cat Toy from Project Scraps

I love repurposing and using stuff that otherwise could end up in a landfill.  Below is one such project. It is fun, quick and easy to make your feline buddy a toy that will bring hours of enjoyment and use up some scraps from your latest project. This is a very basic…

Onion Soup

Recipe: Onion Soup

Onion Soup Recipe Ingredients 1 Stick of butter (1/2 cup) Splash of Olive Oil.  I used my homemade rosemary infused oil olive, but any will do. 5 medium-large onions, sliced – on a mandolin if possible for consistency. 3 cloves of garlic, minced Saute over…

Front of Kimono

Pattern Review: Kimono

A while ago a friend gave me a really beautiful piece of silky material.  I am guessing it is a polyester blend, but it flows like silk! I held onto it for a while, trying to decide what to make: a skirt? a chemise? pants?  I ended up deciding to try out one of the…

Holographic Moon

Foil Moon

I was gifted a really neat pack of foil scratch paper a little while back and finally “etched” out some time to try it out (get it? “Etched?”). I found a mandala moon pattern I really liked on Pinterest.  Below you can see my take on it using…

Photo by Jeremy Vessey on Unsplash

When the Fox Cries

I am a big proponent of always learning to stay sharp, engaged and creative. There are so many learning opportunities online, either structured or self-guided. I discovered Coursera.org a few years ago and occasionally take a class, just because. Recently, I have been…

Painting: A Flight that Unites

Painting: A Flight that Unites

It has been a while since I have done a painting, but after seeing the “Glass” trilogy (Unbreakable, Split, and Glass) I became a bit anamoured by the logo for Blinding Edge Pictures.

The logo really struck a chord with me, reminding me a lot of Dargenhara – a charac…

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