Wednesday, May 30, 2012

wall jewelry

so much of my work is on the small side
(this piece is only 5X8)


I have found that adding a chain at the top really sets it off


the knob at the top adds something special too
that's just a bauble glued to a nail head
easy peasy


Monday, May 28, 2012

t.n.t. - a color explosion

t.ea
on.
t.uesday

*

the flowers are in explosion mode these days


and bringing them into the house creates a little explosion all it's own


the best way to manage it is to just put all the flowers in the sink


and from here I can see my iced tea
(rosehip and cherry by Ahmad)
and my "sister" saying
(my kitchen sink is surrounded by little reminders of the important things in life)


I ended up with three bouquets today

*

there's one on the dining room table:


one on the kitchen table:


and one on the piano:

*
I hope you had a lovely and long weekend ...
for my part - it sure was nice to not have to make lunches at 5:30 monday morning :)

... it's the last tuesday in May, can you believe it?

Friday, May 25, 2012

shop local

I created this treasury on Etsy by looking up only local artisans
it's easy to find the folks near you who are creating and selling on Etsy
they have a "shop local" search feature
I was amazed at all of the cool stuff in and around my hometown
why don't I meet these people at the grocery store?
... but maybe I do!
:)


 

Yellow Linen Tea Towel with Bicycle - SweetnatureDesigns Pixie Hood in Green Leaf Brocade - Crystalsidyll Aquamarine Silver Earrings AB Rainbow Oxidized Sterling Silver Wire Wrapped ..... Spring Showers ..... - SugarRococo Carnival ticket booth summer pastel 8 x 10 photograph - LittleFotoFox
Little Green Enamel Bowl - TheTinFrog Lime Green Reclaimed Baby/Sock weight Cotton Yarn - 324 yards - KnotYourNeedles Crochet Prince Crown  Excellent Photo Prop  Newborn size Light Blue - YarningToBe PUCK - barkingart
Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar with Shea Butter, Jojoba Oil, Castor Oil, Cocoa Butter - sweetwaterspringsoap Stinging Clean, hot process, hand crafted soap bar. - NettleNonsense On The Wire- Giclee Archival Print 11x14 - JamiesArt 6x6 Square Photo Album Scrapbook with Ties - Fits Instagram 5x5 - Scroll
Postage Stamp Necklace Butterfly Soldered Pendant - Orange-Tip & Checkerspot Butterflies - BrownEyedRose Waiting ..... a limited edition print - maryklump Fix You cable necklace in aqua/teal and orange resin and sterling silver - Mother's Day gift - LollyJoLolli Carrot Patch print 8 x 10 Garden Rabbit - ElementAlove

Thursday, May 24, 2012

moleskine notebooks


mohl-a-skeen-a

I guess that's how you say it
but in my mind it will always be

mole-skin

and I imagine a cute little mole just gotten out of the bathtub




wish out loud



I love the colors they come in .... I turned this little green one into a wish list keeper










dream in the daytime





and this little pink one is for keeping a bucket list ... but hey, a shopping list works too












... these are mini ...
only 2.5 X 4 inches

I painted the cover designs with white acrylic paint
and then added a protective acrylic coat
the sleeve I made out of watercolor paper and used paint for the title

the designs I had already noodled out on rocks ages ago
I just transferred the designs onto something flat and colorful
(and perhaps more useful than a rock)

Cyndee Starr at Eloise's Collage has been doodling on notebooks
I think she got the wheels turning in my own head for this idea
thanks Cyndee!

Monday, May 21, 2012

a greening

we had such a stretch of dry weather


... it felt so odd ...



but now the rain is back - and things feel right again



"right as rain" is what they say

*

my tea today?
a cozy cup of bengal spice with a splash of milk
7:30 at night taking a turn through the garden
my little shadow is our Bouvier: Theodore
he's always close by
looking for troublemakers
keeping us safe
:)

Thursday, May 17, 2012

river in spring

I haven't been out to capture the morning in watercolors for a few weeks
... and I have missed so much!

today's is from my favorite vantage point
a bend in the river where the water is very expansive
almost like a lake


I painted in the background washes roughly
and then came home to add in the trees and ridge
it's not much like reality - but hey - it's my impression of it today
clear and reflective
:)


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

how the wine bottles turned out


you may have read my post last week about my glass adventure
now that Mother's Day is past, 
I can show the results
(these were gifts)
*
these are the bottles before firing:
(left) balsamic vinegar bottle           (center) bacardi rum bottle                 (right) run of the mill wine bottle
 *
the process 
(known as "slumping) 
involves heating the glass bottle in a kiln up to 1400 degrees
and then gradually bringing the temperature back down
doing this flattens the bottle nicely:
(left) balsamic vinegar bottle                              (center) wine bottle                              (right) rum bottle
 *
the fun part was decorating them:

*
for the rum bottle, I decoupaged the reverse side with a postcard image and old book text 
then I added the faux sailor knot around the top:

*
for the wine bottle and the vinegar bottle,
I added copper wire and beads around the bottle neck
and I also wire wrapped a cheese knife
the wine bottle makes a perfect cheese plate:

if this looks like fun to you,
look for local ceramic or stained glass shops
sometimes the "paint your own" ceramics places have classes just for this
it's fun - and makes a great gift!

Monday, May 14, 2012

sun flavored

it is an impossibly beautiful day


iced tea and sun hat


bubbles and blue sky


if you live up here ...
(near Seattle)


... you know how impossible this is


*

has spring sprung where you are?
or have you jump into summer too?

Friday, May 11, 2012

spring banners

 I finished my project
- that's always a good feeling!


spring banners


stamped using my own carved stamps

tea bag papers
vintage book pages
watercolor paint
machine stitched
strung on sisal twine

only $18
(a shameless plug)



Wednesday, May 9, 2012

glass adventure

last night I went to a wine bottle slumping class
I thought it was a hot shop (glass blowing)
but their specialty is stained glass


the owner is artist Stan Price and the salmon paintings on glass are his


the shop had lots of examples hanging in the window
both of his own art and of student art


he calls his studio a "learning studio" and his focus is on classes and workshops 
... for the average person as well as for the stained glass enthusiast ...
it is always an inspiration to me to visit someone's art workspace
I have a fresh sense of what is possible
and a new respect for a completely different medium



the wine bottle part was fun and I'll tell you more about that in a later post
they won't be ready for a couple of days
but I knew you would love to see some of the beautiful art
*
have you attended a class or workshop lately?
I'd love to hear about it