Provencial Bouquet - Day 4 of Box a Day Mission

Ya, I know ... it's been way more than 4 days.  Call this Good Intention meets procrastination !

Beau opened this box, he thought he saw a wood roach and rushed it to the Garage, where he opened, and thankfully, reported it was bug free (not that bugs would hurt mosaic any; it is just the thought ... he did head off however, to spray the attic ... just in case).

This piece is called Provencial Bouquet and is dated (one the back), March 2002.     And, of course, I remember it well.   It was made with a set of dishes I brought home called .... drumroll please .... Provencial Bouquet.   I suppose I was not to imaginative in the names, having a tendency to name pieces after the primary china pattern.  The dishes had the flower motif in the center and the edges were rimmed with the small blue flowers and dots.  It measures 11" Tall, 12" wide and the shelf stands out 5 1/2".  It has 4 pegs and weighs a whopping


This is, of course, a Peg Wall Shelf piece.   The first year or two that I worked mosaics, I had a tendency to craft functional items.   Functional pieces are wonderful blocks to build skills upon.  It is a real pretty piece, such a shame it's been in the attic so long.

I'm going to list it on Ebay and if it doesn't sell (Ebay is not really a great place to sell mosaics), I'll put it in my shop.    

In The Garden, Day Three of Box A Day Mission

I'm already behind, as well as falling short, on My Mission.   Beau did get me the box for Day Three, and I did open it, but then it sat on the table in my Studio for the next Three Days.     I'm still calling it day three though.   I figure, it's my Mission and I'll call it whatever I want.  

In the Garden, a mosaic wall plaque created (signed and dated on back) create December, 2001.    And, although this one was also before the Art Diary, I do remember it clearly.    I picked up 8 large Correll Dinner Plates at a yard sale (of course).   They were an off-white with the flowerpot motif and words, In The Garden, on each.    You know Correll, those plates that are supposed to be really difficult to break.    And yep, they are.    I tried using my Nippers and, instead of breaking apart in chunks, they shatter into slivers of very thin glass.   I went through all 8 plates to get one flowerpot and words set.    At one point, I hit one of the plates with a hammer (ya ... I was getting agitated), and nothing; it didn't break.      So, if you need really sturdy dinnerware; I highly recommend this brand.     I never purchased this type of plate again. 

Anyway, back to 'In the Garden'.    This piece is 13" wide by 8" high by 1" and weighs in at 2.10 pounds.  Other than the Correll motif, it is created with plate glass, from saucers, I think and some of the Blue Roses China that was in the Day 1 Mission Vase.   This style is called pique assiette, which means randomly places.   It is surrounded with dark blue glass gems and is on a piece of MDF, which makes it suitable only for indoor display. 

I'm going to put it my Shop for a few months, at a very reasonable price, and see if anyone is interested. 


 

Fabric Beaded Necklace, No More

A couple times last year, as you may recall, I created Fabric Beaded Necklaces from a variety of vintage scarves and fabrics.     I took these with me to a couple craft fairs and then put in my CTStudios shop.      A couple sold at the art/craft fairs, and although they garnered a lot of views in the shop, their were no further sales. 

I've been thinking about these for awhile ... along with the charm and fabric bracelet items in my shop.   I mostly think that they are out of par with what I create.   They were a fun little sidetrack, but largely not what I'm about, or what I create.    So, I decided to just get rid of them and then I wouldn't have to ponder the thought any more.     Kind of like one more act of downsizing, I suppose.  

So, I pondered the options ...

• Garbage ... well no, they certainly do not warrant that extreme of a measure ...
• Donate to Grans or Restore .... good option 

and then ..... I was thinking that the other thing on my list today was to get a box ready to ship the Big Blue Rose Vase to my sister.    And, just like that, the answer.  

I took all these sweet little fabric beaded necklaces (that, honestly, probably went out of style in the 90s ... I'm always just a little bit out of date) and stuffed them into the Vase!    I'll send most of them to my sister.    (She is a psychologist at a Veterans Home (Men & Women), and I thought, perhaps, she could give them out to some of the ladies when they were in need of some cheer ... or give to her local Goodwill, or whatever.  I put two in my closet ... perhaps I'll wear them someday, and I put two in Lilly's future dress-up box. 

Whew ... closed up the box and felt so accomplished .... one more act of downsizing and no more seeing something in my shop, that really doesn't belong there.  

Duck On In ; Day Two of the Box A Day Mission

 Beau, in preparation of my 'clear a box a day' from the attic mission had set one at the edge yesterday, so this morning, all he had to do was climb half way up and grab the box, delivered to me with a smile.

Duck On In written on the side of the not very heavy box.    Vaguely familiar, but if there had been money stacked on my being able to describe the contents, I'd be a few dollars shorter.   So, again, grabbed the box knife and cut it open.   Carefully wrapped in paper and placed amongst a bunch of styro-foam beads ...

 Well yes, I do remember this piece.   Beau had a set of coffee cups with Ducks on them when I married them.   After looking at them for a good 10 years or so, I was getting ready to add these to the donation box when the Duck On In thought struck and I headed with them out to my studio, where I cut those ducks right out of the cup and put it all together on this very simply wall plaque.   The back is signed and dated February 2002, before I'd started the Art Diary, so it was completely undocumented.  

What to do with it ... well, decided to list it out on Ebay for a Very Reasonable cost, as putting it back in the attic isn't going to be an option.     If it doesn't sell in the week, I'll place it in the Box for the Habitat Restore.

Blue Floral Vase

Periodically, I get in this downsizing mode.  The ultimate desire being to have only those things that we love, or those things that we use; disposing of all the clutter.  Much easier said than done, as you might imagine.  Well, I'm back in this phase.   (In fact, I'm so in this phase that I haven't even been going to yard sales !).   So far, through the last week, I've turned over 5 boxes of stuff to the Restore and listed a small variety of listings in Ebay.  

Along these general lines, I found myself thinking about all that stuff in the attic.  See, when I used to finish art projects, I'd dispatch them off to closets, and then, when the closets were, full, Beau would haul to the attic for me.    This morning, I asked him to go up and bring down one box from the 'art' section, with the perception that I would take whatever it was and make a decision on what to do with it ... and then do it.  

He came down with this box, which was marked Blue Floral Vase.

It was my handwriting, but Blue Floral Vase certainly was not ringing any bells.    A couple quick swipes of the box knife, and there she is ...

And whoa ... a whole lot of remembering going.  

I purchased a set of china, believe the name was Blue Rose, at a yard sale at a give away price.  It seemed much to nice to chop up for mosaic tiles, so I sold it on Ebay for $150.   Unfortunately, I either didn't pack it well enough, or the Post Office over manhandled it, and a number pieces were broken.   The buyer sent it back to me, I refunded her money and filed my claim with the Post Office.    Interestingly enough, they gave me the majority of china, somewhat broken, back.   So, in the end, I still had the china and spread it out and processed all of it into mosaic tiles. 

I created this vase with that china, along with some solid plate glass in white and blue.   She is grouted in white.  She weighs 6 1/2 pounds (certainly heavy enough to hold a large bouquet), stands a proud 10 1/2" tall, is 26" around at the middle and narrows to a small opening of 3" across.  

Now, I said I was going to decide what to do with whatever came down TODAY.   What pressure.    I thought that I should take pictures and put her in my CTStudios shop, but in the end, that means that she would go back into storage of sorts .... ah gosh ... this deciding in a day suck !

Perhaps I'll send her to my sister; I've not given her a vase and this one would certainly be a surprise.

Vogue 7990, Mens Swimsuit, Pants, Caftan ....... Sewing Pattern

This sweet 80's pattern was tucked between the Misses Patterns in one of the pattern boxes I recently brought home.   I contemplated the picture, thinking about, how perhaps, if I made those swim trunks for my Beau that he'd look like that  ....  But, then again, decided I really didn't want him to look like that, as then, many other women would also be trying to get a look, 

So, I put it in my shop for someone else to contemplate. 

More Sewing Patterns

A week back, I stopped at a Church sale and came home with two big boxes of sewing patterns.  Yep, more sewing patterns.   Seems that now I've got this little business started, I might as well see if I can grow it a bit. 

As always, I started sorting them, by brand, by number so I can go through and check them to see if they are complete, tape any tears etc.  

As I was sorting through the first box, I realized I was recounting events of someone's life.    The chronological age started at 1973. 

1973:  This person was sewing clothes for Misses Size 10 and girls size 2.  Most of the pattern pieces were stuffed back into the envelope and  good number of the pieces are missing.  (A donation for Pattern Rescue)

1974:  The person is still sewing Misses Size 10, but girls size is now 3.   The pattern pieces are folded together before they are stuffed into the envelope.  They are still missing pieces, but not as many per pattern.

1975:  The women patterns are now Maternity and the girls size is between 3 and 4. 

1976:  This person is now sewing Misses Size 14  and girls size 4 and 5.  There are no baby patterns; either she didn't sew for baby, or something happened.  The patterns are nicely folded together and put into the envelopes; very few pieces are missing.


 1977.  This person is now sewing Misses Size 16 and Girls 5/6.  The pattern pieces are folded individually and placed within the instruction sheets; there are none missing. 

Then, the box runs out; no more patterns.   Did I see a person here learn to sew, as well as gain maturity and responsibility (not to mention 2 sizes)?   Did she stop sewing here, or were there other boxes that didn't make it to the sale?     I wonder.  

Coming across pattern lots is quite fun; a bit of fashion of the particular times and intrigue to the (probable) woman who created the fashions; a small glimpse into their life.  

Daisy Flower Pattern Becomes a Barbie Doll Hat; Tutorial

I keep a variety of the patterns I bring home for my personal interest or use. I was going through the box this afternoon when I came across this loose pattern piece ... (McCalls 3863).   I checked and I didn't have the actual pattern; just the one sheet. 

It says Daisy Trims, and I decided it was to make a Daisy shaped flower and thought, perhaps, I'd put an old vintage beaded earring in the center and make a brooch for my sister.   

So, I pulled out some felt and started on my own interpretation of how this would go together; and quite quickly, while putting in the 8 sets of darts, realized how wrong I was.    I went online and found the pattern in another shop; it's simply a decoration to go on a tablecloth and the marks were not darts, but cutouts.

Then, it hit me; with all those darts bringing the edges inward, it would make a great hat for Lilly's Barbie Doll.   So, I made three.   It's very simple; comes together in less than 10 minutes.   So, if you have a little girl in your life who loves to dress her Barbies ....

On mine, blue has wide darts, which makes the hat fit Barbie almost like a stocking hat, the black brown print has medium darts, making it fit her perfectly and the yellow is quite a floppy hat.    She looks great in all three!

Tutorial ...

1. Cut a round circle from a piece of felt between 3" to 3 1/2" across.  (The bigger the circle, the floppier the hat). 
2. Mark a circle about 1" to 1 1/2" in the center.  The will become the area that is the crown. 
3. Mark and sew your darts.  (I simply used a ruler and marked off into 8 quadrants ... being precise is not necessary).   The smaller you sew the darts, the looser the hat will fit.   
4. Put either a straight or decorative stitch around the edge to hold the darts down.  

Embellish any way you wish.   I used beads and buttons on the crown of two and just decorative stitching on the third. 

May I'll make her outfits to go with them.  I still have the Barbie pattern out.

McCalls 2360; Strolling down Memory Lane

I was going through the next batch of patterns to list in my shop the other day, and came across this one .... McCalls 2360.   Oh WOW.

As I recall it, Alex was 15 (2001) and going through his Goth stage with big, wide leg black pants.    I refused to pay the $70 pair Tripp Jeans cost and, in a more desperate moment he suggested he could make them himself.   Well, I was all over this concept, being a firm believer that young men should be able to cook, clean and do some simple sewing by the time they leave home.   When the weekend came, we piled into the car and drove to Slidell to Hancock Fabrics.   After a good two hours of contemplation, he picked McCalls 2360 to be his pattern and had selected three different fabrics.    I was so happy; my son actually wanted to learn to sew.  (Perhaps I foolishly equated that to mean he wanted to spend quality time with his mother .... ya right).

Cutting and laying out the fabric went fairly well, but the rest ..  lets just say it went downhill.   He really didn't want my help, and he wasn't much interested in reading the instructions.  His frustration level peaked frequently and he refused to double seam or overstitch (don't remember the actual term) as it was too time consuming and gave in long enough to allow me to put in the zipper for him. 

But, I have to say, he did get them put together.   They didn't stay put together too long, but we didn't talk about that.    I don't even recall what happened to the other two pieces of fabric and the pattern was eventually tossed; it was missing pieces.   

Well, at least he left home with cooking and cleaning skills.   (I put this pattern in my shop, just in case you have a teenager and would like to experience this one yourself !)

Clothes for Barbie

I'll start this by saying that I have a large container of Barbie Dolls.   I pick them up here and there, usually for a quarter or fifty cents.   I buy them for their heads.   I suppose that I envision that one day my sewing skills will become good enough to incorporate these heads into mixed media dolls that will hang on walls or suspend from the ceilings.   I'm definitely not there yet. 

But one of these dolls made it to Lilly's toy box.   I assume I left it laying around and Beau tossed it in.  

Two weeks ago Lilly, when Lilly visited, she found and immediately adopted this very nude doll.   She spent a good deal of time trying to put a diaper (a handtowel) on the doll.  She refused any help; it was as though she were on a mission.   Now at two, I don't know if her concern was dolly was nude or if dolly needed a diaper so she wouldn't pee on the floor.  Who knows.   She finally allowed me to change the dishtowel to a small paper towel, which we taped on her. 

All of this got me to thinking about how, as a little girl, I loved to dress up the couple Barbie Dolls I owned.  Which got me to thinking about making Barbie some outfits ..... (Not that Lilly will enter this stage of play for a year or two; but, what the heck). 

Enter  .... Simplicity 7073 (just happened to have in my store), 11 1/2" Fashion Doll Clothes; Sewing Patterns for Dummies.  

Introducing Barbie in her first two outfits !

Yard Sale Saturday, 7/10/2010

The yard sale circuit is unusually quiet for this time of year. Hardly any ads listed in Thursday paper, which is closely matched with what I find when I go out on my circuit. Hardly any. I do, however, get up and go. It's part of my Saturday morning routine.

This morning there were 4 in my circuit ... of which I found two items of interest. 

This now makes 4 small guitars that I have in my inventory awaiting design.   This one is unique in that it is smaller than the other 3.   This one stands a mere 23" tall, whereas the other child size guitars are almost 32".   These are up soon ...

The second find was the 5 X 7" picture frame.   I looked at Target and Belks but couldn't find anything I liked ... but this one seemed just right; a few lines but nothing overpowering.
 

This is my son Alex and his love, Mary.  I think the frame fits them perfectly.  

Mahjong

Mahjong
Okay, I'll just admit it .... I seem to be quite hung-up on the major time waster of a game !

Donation towards the Cure

I've often thought about participating in the Susan G Komen, Walk for the Cure, however, the truth is I just don't have enough friends or family to meet the Sponsorship.  A lousy excuse, really. 

This year I received a note from Carolyn Flood indicating that she had made a goal of raising $2300.  And, not only is she walking, but she's also participating in a variety of fundraisers and was looking for donations.   She asked if I could help with a couple donations and my answer ... Absolutely.   I admire her resolve (on behalf of her Mother) and commitment. 

I had her select three items from my shop on a gratis basis, and I added in another two. 

If you any of your art items to spare to a good cause, or a couple dollars, I encourage you to check out Carolyn's link.

Other than Padillies, A Wasted Week

When we returned from the last Road Trip, I'd received a Jury Duty Summons.   I suppose it was about time; it has been about 6 years since my last visit to the Jury Pool.   So, Monday, exactly as requested, I made my appearance and dutifully sat around all morning.   I was assigned to a Jury Pool starting Wednesday.   Tuesday, Beau and I completed a whole list of chores, which have been patiently waiting, and then, again on Wednesday, I returned to the Jury Pool, only to have the plaintiff plead out at the last minute.  

Then, I was happily strolling back to the car, when, for no apparent reason, I fell off the edge of the asphalt (which sits a couple inches higher than the easement) and severely sprained my ankle.   Ouch.  I inched back to the car, made it home and hence, have been mostly sitting on the couch, foot elevated, every since.    Talk about boring.   Why is it that sitting around doing little to nothing can make one so tired?    I've watched television (of which I' not that fond), work on the computer, read and sew on a Padilly.   Oh, and yes, sleep and eat; way to much of the later.  

But, I did make some good progress on four Padillies.   These are in stage 4, now missing only beads and accessories.   

The current plan is they (12 total) will be combined into two wall hangings, which will be called Padilly Family Tree.  I'll also write a story page for each of the characters, along the Family Tree theme.  That will be, I'm sure, quite awhile down the road. 

The ankle is make good progress; the swelling is coming down and it no longer looks like an extension of my calf, but still very bruised and tender.   Tomorrow I plan on moving off of full time couch duty and perhaps, assume a schedule of 1 hour on, 1 hour off.    I'll have to see how it goes.

Hand Painted Placemats - Four Sets

I finished the painting on the placemats last Sunday, and here and there, in very short sessions, complete the stitching over the last couple days, as well as applied my shop stamp and a coat of poly acrylic to the backs.    Lined them up this afternoon to photo and ... well ... the photos did not come out real well; a bit of glare coming in the windows and I'll start over, perhaps tomorrow. 

I like how these turned out.

Painting a Few Placemats and the final Garden God

After a two week wait, I've finally got around to pulling out the paints. 

To begin, Beau drilled a hole in the last concrete Garden God so we could hang on a tree (the hook didn't appropriate setup in the concrete) and asked that I go ahead and paint it.  

I don't think he's going to give him a name. 

I decided to warm up by creating a couple sets of table placemats.  I'll perhaps, put a couple in my shop and one set I want to send to a niece who is getting married in August.    (After here, I plan on moving to the 3 guitars that I've picked up recently).

Creating these placemats is a multiple step process that I've been working on over the last couple days.

• Cut  4 strips that are 72" x 20" from the roll of artist canvas.   
• Paint the front of the canvas with acrylic paints (with a couple different techniques).
• Apply a wash to the backside of the canvas. 
• Apply layers of spray paints
• Add writings .. some freeform, a Lancelot Poem, etc. 
• Add stampings in a variety of colors
• Two coats of Polyacrylic to seal.

I like to work the canvas all in one piece, versus cutting down to placemat size for continuity.  I'm wanting these unplanned.  The same patterns and ideas on each placemat, put not in specific order ... like graffiti on a wall.

I should finish up on the painting phase tomorrow.    Here's a couple examples so far. 

1st layer of acrylic paint and 2nd layer of spray paint

3rd layer of stencils, stamps and doodles.   I decided to leave the writings out of this set.

Here is one of the canvas that is complete.

I'll be working on these more tomorrow.

I Seem to Have a Serious Procrastination Problem

I've been trying to transfers one or two project posts from my old Bellsouth Personal Page Calender each day in to my Blogger Archives.    This is like a stroll down memory lane.     Or, perhaps, I should call it a stroll down Procrastination lane.

Case at hand, I just finished adding a project that I completed in September 2002, which I referred to as Spring Garden Stool

As I was transferring the text and pictures, I was thinking about how this piece of functional art was still sitting in its box in the attic.   I obviously haven't touched or thought about in since late September 2002.

There was that time between 2001 and up to Hurricane Katrina, August 2005 that I was totally absorbed with experimenting and creating with mosaic and concrete.   I constantly had multiple projects going on simultaneously.  When I finished one, it typically either went to the yard if it was designed as yard art, on my walls if I created for myself, or was packed into a box where it went into either a closet or the attic.    Although I have listed a couple piece of mosaic work in my Artfire Shop, for the most part, it is still all tucked away in closets and the attic.

Seriously, I'm going to try and start pulling these pieces out and make decisions this year.    At least, I hope I will.

Concrete Garden Gods, Sculptural Masks

Back in early January I sculpted four concrete masks using a sand technique.   Then, they were wrapped up in a plastic bag with water to cure.   I checked on them early March and moved them to the back porch, where they have been keeping a watch on whatever it is that goes on back there.

Well, since I've a variety of things lined up for painting, I moved these to the front.    Originally there were four masks, but on one of them, the hook did not properly embed in the back.   I started to throw it out, but Beau put a claim on it.   He's going to drill a hole in the forehead for hanging on a tree.

For the remaining three ... painted them with a base coat to seal the concrete, and then painted on some personality and sealed with polyacrylic.   These guys weight between 2.4 and 2.12 pounds and are roughly 7" wide and between 8 and 11" tall.

Proudly presenting the three newest Garden Gods. 

Blueberries from Country Fair Farms, Franklinton, LA

In early June, here in Louisiana, the strawberries have expired from the heat and we are beginning blueberry season.  We are great fans of the blueberry, so, of course, we take appropriate action.

It was in the upper 90s yesterday, with a humidity to match yesterday.  (You always know it's more than humid when the outside of your windows fog over).  So we got up at 6:30 am, had a quick cup of coffee and was out the door by 7 a.m.    Our favorite blueberry place is Country Fair Farms in Franklinton, LA.   This is a pick your own kind of place for $1.50/lb or $8.00 for a 2-gallon bucket.  This is a big increase from last year, when the price was $1.00/lb, but still an incredible value.   Country Farms has 15 acres of Blueberries.

This is the earliest in June that we've been and I'd say they were about 25% ripe and ready, so picking took a bit more time.   In previous years, when the percentage of ripe was much higher, the blueberries almost jumped off the bushes and dived towards out buckets.   But, this year we had to select.   Next year, we'll wait until the 15th or so to go.

We picked up 6 buckets and selected a row for picking.   About and hour and a half later, we emerged with full  buckets !  We are not discussing how many we eat while picking.  And no, I'm not worried about eating them without washing.  We then pour the blueberries into plastic bags and place them in the scales.

And the Grand total came to 30 pounds of blueberries.

Once home, we transfer them to freezer bags, and yep, you guessed it, put them in the freezer.    Each week, we'll transfer some to a bowl to defrost and we'll use them on our breakfast cereal, in muffins and, my favorite, mixed in with chocolate pudding.
 
I love the summer months ... first strawberries, then blueberries, and any minute now the watermelon will be ready.