every respectable flower child will be sure to be wearing one of these this year for may day or may faire. this is a one of a kind hand felted woolen flower crown with tiny seed beeds sparkling in each center of the simple little blossoms, with pretty leaves at the back. it is quite soft and very comfortable, not to mention adjustable. my talented friend valentine thinks of everything. get one for yourself here.
here's a little hat i fluffed for my daughter to wear to school today... little angora felted cloche with a simple wool felt shamrock applique. cute.
anyone who knows my (married) last name knows that it is about as irish as you can get- so soda bread is a tradition for our family year round, but especially on the feast of saint patrick. i like to use the recipe from the new basics cookbook on page 623...grandma clark's soda bread. it is much lighter and cakier than traditional soda breads, and not at all dry. some soft sweet butter. mmmmmm. deeeeelish. the whole house smells so fragrant...
here's to all the new yawkas out there on parade! and the rest of the planet too!
cheers!
kung hei fat choy! this chinese new year celebrates the year of the rat- the first in the cycle of the chinese zodiac and a most auspicious animal- they are revered in the East for their anthropomorphic characteristics of wit, charm and ability to amass great wealth.... look here for all sorts of resources for learning about chinese new year. we all made some old school red chinese paper lanterns to decorate with...did you know that the reason lanterns and other decorations are primarily red is because it is believed that the color red, bright lights and loud noises scared off the evil monster, nian, who came down into the village to eat people? read more about chinese new year folklore here and here. fireworks, noodles, sweet moon cakes, mandarin oranges....
and whatever you do, don't sweep the house!!! you'll sweep out all the good luck!
whilst resting yesterday, (still on the mend here), the kids wanted to decorate for the holidays so the good daddy got a few choice things out of the attic...the advent calendar, some little trees, a santa or two... and we made little vignettes around the house to slowly welcome the season of comfort & joy. every year at mcconnells i buy a little santa from the sweet woman, betty. years ago when we came to visit valentine, we did the whole art show circuit and i got this little angel with sweet braids and a dress made from a vintage hanky. then as a gift my dear friend gave me this little kitchen baby. last year i let the children choose and they chose this santa with a little felt tree, and finally this year another santa made from a recycled wool blanket with silk trim and beautiful vintage buttons down his coat. ... he clings to a brass french horn and a teddy. i love her little handpainted faces, such attention to detail. each year is a fantastic display of artistry and ingenuity. little snippits of beautiful objects that once were transformed into something magical.
i heart betty's dolls.
...who as i once mentioned is not only a really nice guy but the reason i started drawing. he lives in south jersey in a sweet old house that belonged to my grandparents. when i was a kid it was no man's land...but being right outside of philly and a.c. it has gotten quite busy now. although upon visiting this summer seemingly the house itself hadn't changed from what i remembered...right down to the smells. the two big pines out front off the porch were still enormous as they were back in the days when my sister and i would hide and collect pine cones (we didn't have those in the concrete jungle so i thought they were magical...and they are!!!) the crabapple tree was gone, but the woods were all there and the house and the lattice around the door and the light up doorbell...all still the same. it felt so good to visit there again, it was at least 20 years and seemed like yesterday. where does the time go?
anyhoooll---
make a wish....
i sure do hope it comes true
and i hope we see you again soon
carpe diem
xoxo
your loving niece
still another of my collections is vintage baby planters. for those of you keeping score: that's hands, madonnas, vintage baby planters, quilts, blue ball mason jars, mermaids.... i think that is it. i think.
i use them to keep art supplies in like brushes and pencils and the like. i nearly gasped when i found this one last weekend: the first "boy" one for my collection...he looks like elroy from the jetsons. precious.
while out and about at the little antique stores saturday, i realized when i came upon these two amazing plates that i already have quite a collection of blessed mother miscellany: night lights, tee shirts, statuettes, paintings, plates, prints, holy water from lourdes, medals, rosaries, novena cards, books, etc. sometimes you have a collection you don't even know about. now that i have discovered my new found obsession with all things mary, i intend to gather them in one special shrine like place in our home. collecting is fun again. aren't these pretty?
mom, keep your eyes out for the unusual...
i just finished my first week back at work and the whole time, everyday, i felt as if the fabulous Ru Paul was going to miraculously appear and perform, as only he can...you better work! work it girl! work!
well, he didn't. although just thinking about it was good enough. needless to say there wasn't much creative activity this week, that is, aside from getting my classroom and curriculum designed.
i suspect there will be an adjustment/transition period....but now i am off for two days and determined to make something, anything beautiful... that and a relaxing cuppa in the a.m.
somehow i came across fluffy flowers in the weblog world...perhaps through etsy or another site...and i have been enamored by these recycled creatures since the day i set eyes on them. so, when a very nice lady bought some of my jewelry (yippppeeeee) i gave a little back to the craft world that i love so much and got the children each one of felicia's fluffy yummy little handmade goodies.
Meet, Fancy the bunny, Montana the kitty, and Fred, the gnome. All made from recycled socks and gloves and sweaters....each comes with their own little bio and personality- all wrapped up pretty...
AND she send me a darling little felted bowl. (thank you felicia!) please visit her etsy shop and see all her handcrafted critters- and think handmade when buying your next gift!
today the postman made me a very happy little apple, because he came bearing packages: the kind i like... presents por moi~ and i must share i because it is only fair the entire web universe sees the work of my dear talented friend, the fair lady swanson, whose work you can see in her etsy shop. She is an amazing woman, mother, friend, artist, potter, jeweler and and and...oh, i could go on and on.
take a peek....a honey pot for the new beekeeper.... isn't it just bee-autiful? and thoughtful? and bee-autiful? and so thoughtful. i just love it. (let's hope we have lots of honey to put in it!)
merci mon ami! it is really just the sweetest gift...
