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

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?

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!

:)

 

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

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!

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

:)

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

:)

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!