He has decided that as long as Twinkle is near by, the best place to be is out of reach.
But they are working on the relationship.
Today was a great day for getting acquainted, its sunny, bright, and beautiful.
While the two new "frenemies" explored each other's boundaries, I harvested tomatoes for the last time, again. This is the 4th time I cleared out late tomatoes, thinking it was the end of the line for the plants. Vine fresh tomatoes aren't a typical side dish for Thanksgiving in Kansas. But it sure will be this year!
I might even be picking flowers from the garden for the table!
(I am out of town a few days, this was pre-posted on Friday)
Your comments on my last post were very moving, I can see that so many of you care about mementos of the past and understand my joy in receiving some of Aunt Caroline's things. My heart feels for those of you who were not allowed a remembrance from a loved one's estate.
I've been on both sides, when my mom passed, my sisters and the rest of the family were giving and caring. We were all careful to make sure that anything with a sense of family history stayed with a family member and wasn't accidentally sent to auction. But when I lost my father, it was a different, and not so pretty story, due to completely different circumstances (nothing to do with my sweet sisses, of course!)
Losing a person you care about is hard enough. Dealing with ugliness at that time is devastating. As crushed as I was to lose my mom, I will always remember the days after she died with joy and deep love for my family. They made those days beautiful, even with the heart ache.
Knowing that you all understand and feel the bitter-sweetness of my trip to Aunt Caroline's home makes me doubly happy to share some of her treasures. So I am keeping the giveaway open, and offering a second bundle of trims to give.
All comments on the previous post, as well as THIS post are entered.
The reason for our trip to Florida was for me to meet my sisters at Great Aunt Caroline's home to help our cousin organize for a sale. Our generous aunt had remembered each of us in her will, and over the years had sent packages of sentimental goods and gifts to us from her possessions. The home and contents were left to our cousin, who was every bit as generous as Aunt C. and told us to chose anything at all that we wanted from the home.
Funny, we didn't grow up knowing this charming lady who passed away right before her 101st birthday in June, but you could sure tell we were related by her taste in furnishing and collections! Looking through her things, I felt so "right at home". She and I had such similar favorites, everywhere I turned, I was squealing with excitement over some little tid bit or goody.
I felt the same way a few years ago, when I first saw a painting done by my great grandmother, who I never knew. I looked at it and thought, 'that could be my work'. Same style, same feel.
When I first got to know my greatest of Great Aunts (in my thirties), the connection was immediate. We loved many of the same books, colors (her house was full of PINK!), artwork, etc.
So, it was an emotional day, when we were visiting her home without her there. Sad that she was gone, but warm and happy, seeing things that she had loved and knowing how thrilled she'd be that I loved them too.
Of course, I was worried about being greedy. I didn't want to take stuff that others might want or that my cousin could sell for a profit. But she was every bit as generous as Caroline and kept assuring me that my selections were just fine and Caroline would have wanted to share.
I was in HOG HEAVEN with the 100 years of craft supplies!!
So, I loaded up on laces and trim, beads, and baubles. And didn't put a dent in it. She had boxes and boxes of trims and ribbons and laces and jewelry making supplies. Our cousin had already donated most sewing supplies to a local quilting guild, but the amount that was left was still overwhelming.
I filled a vintage suitcase with trims and supplies, but then was
worried about checking such a delicate piece of luggage, so I packed
that suitcase inside my other suitcase and boxed up things to check. (gotta love Southwest Airlines and their free baggage policy!!)
The trims and supplies that I got will be used and enjoyed, and I know that Aunt C. would have been happy with that. Over the years, she has given me many remembrances, so I won't feel guilty about using the things I got from her home.
But I did get a couple of sentimental keepers too. A couple of her hand made pot holders, some little glass birdies from her sunporch, and this table cloth. I've spread it on the bed to show it off, but it is actually for the dining table.
My great grandmother made it, with silk from WW1 parachutes and hand crocheted squares. It is in beautiful condition, and I'll do my best to keep it that way and pass it on to Sugarwing's grand kids someday.
Caroline liked to make jewelry, using old pieces, just like my sister and I do. We discovered that her grandfather used to make jewelry too. The crystal beads are some that my aunt strung, and the necklace on the left is one that Sissy made by taking apart a necklace our great, great grandfather made.
Every time I wear it, I'll be feeling the love and the history wrapped up in it.
Remember the 100 cards that kind hearted readers made and sent in for Caroline's 100th birthday? She treasured those cards and loved to look through them all over and over.
Family members went through the cards to take some as keepsakes. I got a few for myself too. Thanks again to all of you who helped make her birthday special!
I'd like to offer a bundle of old trims as a remembrance of Caroline. If you'd like to win some, leave a comment on this post.
Its done! I have the Grumpy Fairy book hand glittered and ready to sell. I've actually listed it in my Boutique and it is available now, if you would like one.
The story is illustrated with my watercolor and ink paintings, then each picture is layered over vintage flocked wallpaper in coordinating colors.
The pages are printed onto high quality, gloss card stock and it is bound in white. I really like the colorful, but soothing palette of colors and took a lot of joy in pulling it all together.
The fairy on the front cover is hand glittered, and I've added a touch or two inside the books too.
You had to guess when you saw this wreath on the bed in the first photo, that this picture would be coming, didn't you??
Beth came along to keep me company today while I glittered books. She worked on some Christmas ornaments in sepia while we chatted. But first, I helped her with photos of these glorious gown she is listing on Ebay. We have had some cold weather, but no hard frost yet, so the flower bed in the center of my drive way is still blooming a bit. We thought it made a pretty setting for the prom dresses.
YUM!
Isn't the skirt on this one about as frothy as a concoction can be?
After taking the pics, we had some fun with Picnik, and made this one ghostly. It was done in "ghostify".
This photo was retouched with "vampire scope", but I don't think it is actually spooky, just a cool look. I hope that these applications are available after Halloween, too, I really like this one. I used it on the ruffles above too.
I'd better get back to glittering. Too bad I can't just photo edit that in….
And remember, if you want to win one of my Grumpy Fairy books, I'll be giving one away next weekend as the gift for my October Giveaway.
All comments, all month count. And I also want to thank so many of you for the kind, kind words you sent my way. I needed that.
Thanks for all your well wishes for poor little Bookie. His fever is
gone, and he is doing better. But I can tell that he is still feeling
bad, he follows me around and stares at me, like he is begging me to
help him. It just breaks my heart to see him in pain and confused about
what is going on with him.
My trees are coming along well. I have some of the actual vintage ones that I have dyed and glittered listed in my Boutique.
There weren't very many to list, because I was using them all up in my own projects! I've been decorating the trees themselves, and also using them on the Putz houses that I've been remodeling. But I've got lots more soaking in the bleach right now and will be dying them tomorrow.
Sugarwings has offered to help, so I'll be dying them in Kool Aid. I've never tried that but hear its wonderful to use.
There are a few more finished pastel trees in my Etsy shop, too. Not many until the fairy grand baby and I get that soaking sinkful finished. Hopefully, we'll do that tomorrow, because I need to RE-DO the glitter on my Grumpy Fairy books over the weekend!!
The printer made a mistake and the covers that I spent hours glittering were cut wrong. But I didn't cry. My lip might have trembled a bit, but I took a deep breath, and took the box of pages back and asked for a redo. I'll just need to set aside a few more hours to glitter these new covers. Oh well. That kind of mistake happens, I just have to deal with it and get glittering.
While waiting for the new book covers and for the dark trees to bleach out, I started planning my Silver Bella booth.
Next week, we are going to Florida to help clear out my Great Aunt Caroline's home, so I want to have everything done and ready before then. When I get back, I'll do price tags and pack it all up. I'm happier if any show I do is packed and ready at least a week before the event. It makes life so much more calm and enjoyable!
So, in the front half of my studio, I'm setting up a 10' x 10' booth to play dress up with my goods. We have a very small window of time to set up the booth on Vendor Night at Silver Bella, so I want to be as prepped as possible. No surprises, no problems, all planned ahead.
Plus, it would be hard to relax on my trip to Florida, if I was fretting about all the work I've left behind. And this is a special trip, Sugarwing's first time on an airplane!
We have a day to go to the beach in Jacksonville, then down to Orlando for a day at Sea World, and another day that we don't have plans for yet. We can't take her to Disney World… a long story that I'm sure you don't want to hear… If you've spent time in the Orlando area with a 3 year old, I'd love some tips on where to take her for that last free day.
Any ideas?
And please remember, that all comments go intothe drawing for a copy of the Grumpy Fairy bedtime story book as the gift for the OCTOBER GIVEAWAY.
My Handsome Husband whisked me away to Chicago for the night to see our favorite musician, Lucinda Williams in concert!
Typically, I'm not a concert goer. Too bad, my husband loves them, and would really appreciate it if I'd go with him to more shows. But Lucinda is such a favorite of ours, and the setting was a more intimate club, not a big convention center or stadium. We had great seats, and she is so real and down to earth, I'd go to a lot more concerts if they were as nice as this. Not too loud, not too crowded, just right. Geez, do I sound like an old fuddy duddy? But, I've always been like this even in high school. I'm just not a concert person.
Even though the hall was all black and set up with typical stage lighting and paraphenelia, I had this pretty view above our table. The building used to be an old theater and they were smart enough to save the intricate plaster work on the ceiling when they remodeled it.
Before the concert, we went out to dinner at Art Smith's cozy little restaurant, Table 52. I'd seen him on Top Chef Masters, and if you've ever read my blog, you know what a tv junkie I am, so I was excited to go to a place I'd heard of on one of my regular programs. I was as excited as Sugarwings would have been if she'd gone to Arial's grotto for dinner.
And not only was it a lovely place to eat, the food was amazing. And I do like good food.
The next day, I flew home just in time to make it over to my friend, Angie's house to be a part of a surprise party for her. She had NO idea that we were all in her home waiting for her, it was so cute to see her reaction and to see all the love and caring that her family put into the planning.
See the painting behind us? She
got it at an estate sale, and took it to Antiques Roadshow. She was
told it is worth $8,000, not bad for a $30 estate sale piece, huh?
Why do I show bad photos of myself? Yes, I was pretty tired, (and look it, too) after two days of travel and being stuck in Chicago traffic, and waiting at the airport for hours on standby, trying to get back a bit early so I could be home for the surprise.
But honestly, NO ONE would look good next to Angie, she is such a beauty.
I guess you could say she is the fairest of them all.
Tonight, Sugarwings and I are having a girl's night. Its just the two of us and we are going to spend it watching Snow White and making caramel apples. She loves to act out her favorite parts of movies, so I bought her this gown to wear and I am prepared to be the wicked witch. I am always assigned the scary parts, the wicked witch, a flying monkey, or the big, bad wolf.
In the meantime, I have a few hours before she gets here for our Snow White Festival and will start assembling the Grumpy Fairy books. I'm extremely happy with the paper quality, and color. But am not so happy with the mountain of work ahead of me, binding them all myself.
Especially since I decided to hand glitter highlights on the pages. Stickles is a wonder product, and the sparkles won't rub or flake off like gluing down regular glitter, so I think this is the answer to getting Sugarwing's wings to look sugary and not having glitter all over the reader's hands.
I'll let you know if I ever get any ready to sell… I hope to have them in the Boutique in time for holiday shopping, and also have some to take to Silver Bella. But I will for sure have one ready to give away for the October Giveaway.
All comments all month count for the prize. (I do appreciate your comments!)
Artist Class, I'm looking forward to not only my part in the class, but doing the projects that others will be teaching too. Not all the projects are listed yet, but she is planning 12, plus daily tips, tricks, and techniques.
Here is the $10 discount code that you can use to sign up for ALL TWELVE of the offered classes, plus be included in all of the prize drawings I will have to offer.
karlascottage
Thanks for using my code for if you sign up!
Personally, I am way beyond swamped right now, getting ready for Silver Bella, but I plan on catching up with all the Artist Class projects after the holidays. That is the joy of having an online class, I can look through them all in my jammies, late at night, whenever I get a chance to, not on someone else's schedule.
Of course, knowing me, I won't wait. I spend way too much time on the computer and will be too curious and excited about it all to wait "until I have time". Because "until I have time" is kind of like saying "once upon a time, in a land far, far away".
It is FICTIONAL. I never have time!! And never will have time to do what I want, but heck, I just do it anyway and it all works out somehow.
Of course, there is always time for Sugarwings! But then, she might be the reason why I don't seem to have as much time for other things…
When I drive her out to school, I love to linger and look around. The gardens and the play yard are so creative and fun! They grow food and flowers for the local farmers market and the huge (organic) garden is the first thing you see when you get out of your car.
As the looming sunflowers died out for the year, they were bundled up into a tee pee for the kids to play in, and Sugarwings calls it her fairy house.
And this thatched roof play house makes me feel like I am on Gilligan's Island. Or Survivor. Which is on tonight, and I have my fingers crossed that the evil troll man goes home.
How is that for a jungle gym? It makes me want to climb and play on it! I love that this school is against big plastic junk toys. They focus on all natural materials and lots of imagination.
She loves her school, and as much as I miss her during the day, I know this is a good place for her. Plus, I'm enjoying the short drive out to the countryside to get her there and back, its a reminder to me to stop and appreciate my surroundings and realize how lucky I am to live in such a pretty area.
And of course, I always know how lucky I am to have this pretty baby in my life.
My house was empty over the weekend, just me and my dogs. When not parked in front of the DVR with a bowl full of popcorn, I spent time making some jewelry. But mostly, I watched way, way too much TV.
My TV addiction has become a serious problem. I might need an intervention. Or follow Beth's advice and get a job as a TV critic.
I was in a girly mood when I did this one. Hmm, I think I'll switch the blue oval rhinestone with the rhinestone flower, this isn't balanced… I also think some pink crystal beads would be nice to add.
That is why I make my jewelry far in advance of an art show. I look it over, wear it, see if it hangs well and is comfy, or catches on anything. Changes sometimes need to be made.
Sugarwing's Daddy brought home a free dollhouse for her. While I think it is magnificent, and actually kind of looks like our house (if I added some black shutters to it), its a bit overwhelming. Wow, it is huge!
"That's what she said."– see, I watch too many "Office" episodes, I am quoting Steve Carrell.
This mansion has hinges on each end so that a third of the house swings open, as well as part of the roof lifting up. I'd say it was hand made, with a lot of care.
And big HEAVY ply wood.
My fairy grand baby already has a nice doll house in her room. This one is sturdy, wooden and hand made too, I found it at a garage sale for $20 a few years ago and painted it to match her room when she was big enough to play with it. Its large, but not overwhelming like the white one her Daddy brought home to her.
Plus, it is furnished in just her style, with the blue flying monkey and rainbow haired troll dolls feeling right at home there.
There is a vintage log cabin with no roof that we use as a book case in her room too. Its also from a garage sale, it was $10. I lost the roof somewhere, and painted it white.
It was probably worth something before I "fixed it up".
There is also a doll house in my studio. This one does double duty, I dump her toys out and take it with me to shows, its a great display shelf. Its tall and lightweight and adds a visual impact to my booth.
I certainly couldn't do that with the 2 ton, 20 room version that my son brought home this week. Heck, maybe I'll use the new one for a dog house, its big enough for all three Dorkies to move into.
Notice how Twinkle automatically poses when I get out my camera? She thinks the photos are all about her. When I pick up the camera, she sits and waits to be admired. The dog is turning into a bigger ham every day.
See what I mean? She can't imagine I'd take a photo without her in it. If you've wondered why I call the Yorkies "Dorkies" its because of their silly, and adorable behavior, like this.
Yes, Twinkle is pretty good company, she is right at my feet all day while I work, and is endlessly fascinated by all that I do. I find myself showing her what I am working on, and her little head tilts to the side like she really cares and is intrigued by what I came up with.
And of course, she thinks some things just look like dog toys. She really wants one of these chicks.
Not that she is getting one. I kept a few for myself to make some things, and the rest are listed in the Boutique. I've sold a LOT of them, but there are still some left. But I can't recommend them as dog toys, no matter what Twinkle says.
This morning, we celebrated a friend's birthday with a brunch at my house. It was a simple meal, organic vanilla yogurt, fresh fruit salad, and Rhodes cinnamon rolls hot out of the the oven, with a birthday candle stuck in them.
Since she was turning 40, a group of her friends came up with 40 charms for me to make into a bracelet for her. We've done this for a couple of other pals in our circle on their 40th too.
Since 8 different people bought, or made the pieces, it really looked like a charm bracelet full of tidbits collected over a lifetime. Some had special meaning, like her kid's photos, a coffee pot (to symbolize our regular coffee gatherings), a bowling pin (from bowling dates together), her initials, etc. But some were just cute little things that were "filler".
Since she owns two dorkie pups from one of my dog's litters, I really tried to find a Yorky charm for her. But, one of her dogs is a giant, king sized terrier, that I swear is half golden retriever (we had goldens at the time too, so I really think that is possible…), so I figured that this over-sized blue dog looked enough like him to work. To make the charms with her kid's photos:
I bought frame charms from the craft store, and cut out at plain bit of green paper to fit them (her favorite color).
Then, I found photos of her kids on my computer, edited them to black and white, and emailed them to the copy store with instructions to reduce them so that the faces were just under 3/4" inches.
Color photo copies seem to work better under paper glaze than the pictures I make with my own printer. The ink never runs with photo copies.
I cut out the faces and glued those to the green paper, and covered it all with a layer of paper glaze. Love that stuff! It is self leveling, so you don't have to be perfect with it. You do need to watch it as it dries, though and pop any bubbles that form. (use a pin)
After it was all assembled, I wrapped the bracelet in a green, vintage hankie and put it into a decorated cone. The Dollar Tree store was selling packages of these gold or silver cones 6 for a dollar!
They were pretty as is, and make great favor wraps, or small gift packages. I added a medallion with her initial, and then pinned some festive ribbons to the bottom with vintage brooch that she can take off and wear on her jacket.
This photo is a bit redundant, since I've already shown you the bracelet, but hey, look at my new lady!! She is from Rusty Chandelier one of the BEST antique malls, EVER. She isn't named yet, or finished. I am thinking about covering her in old French ephemera like I did the hand that Robin gave to me.
Especially since this gift just came in the mail! Zita sent these French Canadian books to me and the pages are just perfect for redoing the face of my new lady, huh?
She'll be wonderful for selling hats and necklaces, plus will class up my booth a bit!
Before I get to work on her, I need to go and tidy up after the brunch. I never mind the after party mess, its usually a time to think about who said what and what funny things came up, and to enjoy the pretty dishes and bowls as I am washing them up.
Just like picking up after Sugarwings. Her leavings often give my heart a little tug, like this pile of her favorites set on the stairs waiting to be carried up to her room.
Yesterday, I met Beth at an auction to just hang out and visit. I couldn't stay long, and had no plans to buy anything.
But how could I pass up this marble lamp for $20?
Actually, I was pretty proud of myself for only buying a lamp. I love auctions as much as Sugarwings loves ice cream. Or as much as I love ice cream, too.
Just the thought of ice cream makes us both jump with joy.
Usually at auctions, I go home with buyer's remorse, because I lose control and bid on things I shouldn't, or even worse, had not inspected very well. My advice on auctions, is to get there early enough to take a really good look at whats for sale. If you don't see it up close, you might miss out on a flaw that could make it worth much less than you thought.
Yep, speaking from experience there.
Luckily, I kept my bidding under control, well except for the one time when I was telling a story to Beth and gesturing widely, almost bidding $35 on feed sacks that I didn't want.
I'm so glad I didn't over-buy. Because just the day before, I was struck with button maddness at an antique mall and bought 3 big jars of buttons (did I mention that I have a few buttons already? Well, only a few buckets full, I guess). So today, I am sorting, cleaning and bagging buttons.
I made up three cauldrons full of Halloween colored buttons for craft packs, and adding vintage flowers to the pots. They are in the Boutique now if you need any.
These are the same as the cauldron I glittered and filled with brooches for the September Giveaway.
This is probably it for me and Halloween. I've got to move along to Christmas and getting ready for Silver Bella. Right now, I have little Putz houses spread out on my table ready to create sparkling villages. I'd better get to them. The halls don't just deck themselves you know.
