Still Nesting

I finished a couple more projects into the wee hours of Saturday night, or I guess that would actually be the wee hours this morning. I had been saving this last nest, a nice nosegay shape, for quite some time, along with the pearl clusters, which had been part of a ponytail holder. Together with the vintage millinery leaves, old button and piece of a doily, it just seemed to say "wedding." I still have a few more finishing touches to add.

The baby shoe is another one of my pin cushions. I love finding baby shoes at an antique mall, so I can alter them up in some way. It seems nice to preserve something so significant. I always feel sad when I see them for sale, instead of handed down generation to generation. And since I have no plans to alter my children's baby shoes, or my own, it's fun to dress up these vintage finds.

I also made a wire-wrapped primary color bracelet just for fun, with beads I found on a recent trip to Pittsburgh. Not sure if the bracelet will be for me or will go to my Etsy shop, but that moment of reflection seems to be required for everything I make. I always want to keep everything, but that just isn't sensible, considering the amount of stuff I make, as evidenced by this post and the one immediately below.

Lastly, I added some new charms to my most recent "artsy" charm bracelet. The original charms were ones I received at Art and Soul, Portland, in 2008. The newest charms (the ones on the top row), were received in the recent Cloth Paper Scissors magazine charm swap (the geisha, the nicho, the brown clay with turquoise string and the wrapped sheet music). The "Blue Willow"-like teacup is from my art friend Constanza, who is downsizing for an apartment and has tons of cool stuff for sale in her Etsy shop. The leaf and the Art in Ashland charm are from a swap with another art friend, Michelle Geller of Hold Dear. I love my charm bracelets! Every one of them, and every charm, has a story.

I feel a little guilty spending so much time inside--in the basement no less-- making art on beautiful summer days. But, weekends are my only art time, and at 90+ degrees and humid, I don't necessarily think of that as a beautiful summer day--especially when I can see my next-door neighbors enjoying their in-ground swimming pool--while my pool-sized back yard looks like a pool-less football field full of dead or dying grass, shriveling in the heat.

So off to the basement I go. Time to pick up where I left off at midnight. Oh, but if you think I went to bed when the clock struck twelve, silly you. From midnight to 3 a.m. I worked on my novel. I'm 16,000+ words in and feeling good. Please stop by my writing blog. It could use some visitors! Sneak peek of chapter one is way down the road, but it will be there. Sometime.

A Few Childhood Mementos

I took these pictures for my ZNE Book Club assignment and decided to post them here, too. Our assignment was to reflect on where we stash our little treasures we accumulate and what special life mementos we have kept.

There are a couple places new acquisitions go, depending on what they are, and I consider them in a "holding pattern" until I decide what to do with them. Besides having a candle shelf in my linen closet, I have sort of a junk jewelry drawer for all small miscellaneous. That drawer presently also has some coupons and a crocheted bird in a fabric bowl. That's where my high school charm bracelet, pictured here, resides. It is too noisy and kind of tattered to wear, but I still love to look at it. Every charm means something. This is "back in the day" when brides gave their maids a charm instead of a new car for being in the wedding.

There is also an armoir in my office, full of my yarn stash, mailing supplies, a jewelry box, and my grade school girl scout sash, pictured. Look at all those badges! I see one for scultping- I have no idea what I did to earn that.

And finally my baby shoes and a little silver spoon my mom gave me, although not my baby spoon, are tucked (usually) into the drawer of the little antique desk in my office that is too rickety to sit at.

We were supposed to solder a charm and make a magic wand to close out our assignment. I did actually get the wand started, and it is painted silver and gold at the moment. It is also in a holding pattern and may get moved on to my witch hat swap holding pile (along with my stuffed crow and rat that were in the armoir) since it would be a key accessory.

Our new book for September is Alphabetica by Lynne Perella. ZNE is absolutely a wonderfuly group of talented people, and we are having great fun right now with our new and improved chat home on Ning. Come check it out:http://zneiscraft.ning.com/.

Thanks also to Falcon or Spastikat of Artists who Love Art on ebay for my crocheted flip flops in our secret swap and to Sue Johnson of CaaT for my incredible goody box in our Art and Scent swap. The candle is burning right now!