The Crafting of the Snark

Christmas on Mars

2010-11-01T21:30:00.000-07:00

The latest project that I'm now working on has the unlikely title of "Christmas on Mars". This Evergreen Federal Bank sponsored event in Grants Pass, OR is the latest brainchild of Brady Adams. The back-story goes something like this:

Unknown to most people Santa has not only been delivering toys to the boys and girls on Earth, but also to the children of Mars. When Evergreen Bank tore down the old Riverside Hotel in order to build Riverside Park they accidentally damaged Santa's toy delivery system to Mars. In order to make things right with Santa, Brady agreed to build a rocket ship to ensure that toys continued to reach Mars by Christmas morning. Are you still with me?

So that's where a bunch of artists (including me) come in. We're now building a huge rocket ship, Martian toy store, and a whole bunch of Martians to run the place. You literally can't make this stuff up. Well I guess you can, but no one would take you seriously. So here's the proof in pictures...

This is Del Hearn posing with his huge rocket ship creation. Several artists are now building the interior, complete with Martians astronaughts.

An early test to make sure the engines are working properly. These huge rockets will have their own lighting and sound system!

A Martian Christmas tree. Kind of a cross between Dr. Suess and Tim Burton.

Some of Janet Higgen's Martians in progress.

More soon as construction continues!

Pumpkin Time

2010-10-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year. The weather is mercifully cooler, the trees are exploding with fall color, Halloween is coming, and of course there are pumpkins. There's something therapeutic about pumpkins. They're a cheery orange, they have an organic, earthy appeal, and no two are alike. What's not to like. As those who know me can attest I especially enjoy carving these gargantuan gourds.

This year I'm up to my elbows in pumpkins as I try to meet my obligations to clients. So far I've carved out about ten big pumpkins, and I have a few more to go. I use a surface carving technique where I cut my designs through just the skin of the pumpkin. I don't bother cutting open and scooping out the guts. After carving and painting I use a sealant to preserve my pumpkins, giving them a respectable shelf life. Last year one of my clients kept their pumpkin on display until May! They typically last until Christmas or so.

Here are some of this year's crop 'O carved pumpkins:

Prospect Park

2010-08-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

In all the years that I lived in the general vicinity I never set foot in Prospect Park (except the Brooklyn Bontanical Garden once years ago and that's a seperate fee area so I don't count it.) Prospect Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the same designer of Central Park. The park is 585 acres. Here are the things I learned about Prospect Park today in the 3 hours I wandered around:

The squirrels here are very shy. I thought this fella was going to rip the camera out of my hands. You never know what's edible when you're a rodent, I suppose.
You need to look up when in a city, even if you know you will be branded tourist. You'll miss much by only looking from pigeon strut to traffic light level. I wandered through the Chinese Pavillion and in the middle, up high, hiding in the peak, was this beauty:I caught my breath when I saw this stained glass. It's in really good shape. I understand that the pavillion building is around 100 years old, so I was surprised at the condition of this window.

Harry has a wall. I never knew....

Some of the best advice I've seen to date:

I think we all need to heed this advice. Keep this in mind next time you're outside.

Greetings from New York City

2010-08-12T17:34:00.001-07:00

My sentiments exactly:

I had to travel all the way to NY to find this message.

Art Gallery

2010-08-06T05:33:00.000-07:00

We stopped at this intriguing art gallery in Crescent City, CA. Unfortunately the artist wasn't there and the shop was closed so I didn't get his name or any further information. I would like to go back and do some shopping - I need some things for around the home:This would look great in the garden:I need a new lounge chair for the living room (looks comfy, doesn't it?):And I sure would love to have a new desk:

Bits and Bobbins

2010-08-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

The good news is....the sewing machine works. It sews so neatly and quietly -I love it! It monograms and has a double-needle sewing feature and all these groovy stitch patterns that my cheapy hobby sewing machine does not. I'm missing some kind of ring that holds the thread in place and I think there were a couple more feet for it but I can use it as it is now and, for 5 bucks, I will not complain. I can order all the accessories online.

I'm scribbling along in my Drawing Lab class sponsored by ART. There are 5-7 labs to complete each week and they vary in style so widely; I find many that I love working on and some I have to struggle through a bit. It's been an enlightening process. I've discovered that I don't do as well with drawing purely from imagination:This lab was called One-Eyed Monsters. You draw an eye and then create a creature for that eye. It was fun but my monster lacks animation or character. I drew another that ended up looking like a peacock:
Monster indeed.

I really like drawing anything that involves drawing objects in dimension. This was a lab about drawing a toy:I enjoyed working on the shading. Shadows have always been difficult for me but, since I started this workshop I'm noticing more how light falls on people and sculpts faces. I want to learn to draw with less line and more depth.

Someday I will tackle perspective. Once I get to using perspective in sketching (it's unavoidable really, if you want to understand drawing) that's when I throw in the towel and stop drawing for years. I hope to pass that hurdle this time around.

Thrift Share Monday

2010-08-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to thrift share Monday. Please share your weekend thrifty stories with us at Apron Thrift Girl. I was busy all weekend so I didn't hit the sales until Sunday morning. I found 2 nice hoodies for a buck a piece. The gray one is 80% lambswool from Great Northwest. I thought I would use it for felting but after a thorough scan I realized it was in like new condition and it fit me. I'll have to wear it out before I can use it for craft projects.The brown shirt is cotton from Shaver Lake. Looks like it has never been worn. It seems a tiny bit too small for me but really, I'm going to lose those extra 15lbs any day now and then it will fit just fine.

Here's the score of the weekend: A Brother XL3010. This is an older machine but it has excellent reviews and I've seen used ones on sale online for $100. This one is great condition, although it is missing a couple of the accessories. The seller said that it needed a tune up and it would be good to go but I'm not sure it even needs a tune up. The motor purrs along and all the pieces seem to move smoothly, so I'm hopeful it will work. I'm going to fiddle with it tomorrow and actually try to sew something. The best part? I paid $5 for it. I couldn't leave it there at that price.

I hope you all had an incredible thrifty weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-28T08:47:00.001-07:00

Photos by TreeGeek

Thrift Share Monday

2010-07-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Thrift Share Monday. Please hop over to Apron Thrift Girl and share your thrifty finds with us. Or go there to ogle other people's amazing thrifty finds. The yard sales in our area are winding down as the summer heat builds up. I went to one (one!?!) yard sale on Saturday. There I found a nice winter coat, brand new. Fit perfectly. It was hard to even think about winter in the 90+ heat on Saturday but the coat was so cute that I had to try it on. It came home with me and is hanging in the closet awaiting the first frost.

I'm always looking for art/craft supplies for my artsy dabblings. I have found many useful tools, expensive art paper, sketching pencils, etc over the years. More recently, I've been making journals and I'm always looking for ephemera to make interesting journal pages with. I also like a good mystery. So I couldn't resist these: I found a full set of blueprints, life sized, 1 each for a Ruddy duck, Pintail duck, Teal and Great Horned Owl. Why on earth would anyone make a full set of plans for birds? Life sized, no less. At first I thought they were for making decoys but when I brought them home and studied them fully, I realized there is no indication that is what they are for. Odd. I think they will make great journal pages. I love finding bizarre stuff like this. Does anyone have any ideas why someone would go through this much trouble?

Drawing Lab drawings

2010-07-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

I have been taking part in an online drawing workshop and I'm loving it. I've always been intimidated by drawing and I get frustrated when the result isn't perfect (whatever that means) and then I don't attempt again for a few years and then I try again and get frustrated and wait a few more years and suddenly I'm middle-aged and I Still Can't Draw. Go figure. I recently acquired a copy of the newly published Drawing Lab by Carla Sondheim. The labs in her book are drawing exercises designed to help one loosen up and see the creative potential in every sidewalk crack and eyedropper full of ink.

Portraits made with an eyedropper and acrylic ink colored with markers.

Water colors randomly painted on a page- search out and outline whatever image appears.

Without the pressure of creating perfect art I can draw up a storm of insignificant marks that encourage me to keep moving ahead. Carla is a genius! It helps that I'm in a workshop and on a schedule to get things done. Schedules seem counter-productive in art but I need the structure and the deadlines. If I wasn't in this workshop I would have done one or two exercises, gotten frustrated and put the book on the shelf. And then would occasionally feel vaguely guilty about it and want to go back to it someday. Which becomes never.

One Liners - pics drawn with a continuous line without lifting pen from paper.

Artists of the Round Table (ART) is hosting the free workshop. The drawing lab workshop is now closed but ART offers many other kinds of artsy workshops. If you join the Yahoo Group you will get updates on all upcoming workshops and you will have access to the lesson plans of previous workshops. OK, I'm going back to the drawing board (oy!). Hope to see you in ART land.

Wrong handed portrait - portrait drawn from a photo with non-dominant hand.

Coast trip

2010-07-18T08:03:00.001-07:00

Our usual summer heat has finally caught up to us. Since it was so hot yesterday afternoon we drove to the northern coast of California to hike, have dinner and catch the sunset. It's amazing the difference that 50 miles and an ocean make. We needed jackets when we got there. We wandered around Crescent City and enjoyed the sights and the blissfully cool, yet sunny day. We went to Point St. George first:Then we went to Crescent City Harbor and watched the harbor seals and sea lions. Lying around. Not doing a whole heck of a lot. Well, some yapping and stinking was going on: A random sculpture: Another random sculpture: The fish commemorative plaque and cement sculpture: It says "Crescent City Harbor District Inner Boat Basin, Dedicated October 5, 1974, To the people of Del Norte County, A project of the Crescent City Harbor Commission". A grand gesture to be sure. Who doesn't want a cement smiley fish in their harbor?I hope you had a good weekend so far. Enjoy the rest of it.

ROD Journal #2

2010-07-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a Remains of the Day (ROD) journal I made mostly from pages I received in a swap. There are 2 signatures with 6 pages in each one. The cover is made from melted plastic bags with stitching over the top, inspired by the "Shopper's Joy Book" in Eco Books. I'll fill up this journal with travel pictures from my upcoming trip in August.I received some beautiful swap pages:I'm still not sure how I feel about this style of journal making. I was so excited about it when I started the ROD class but I don't know if I'll be comfortable working in a journal that is so visually busy to start with. I'm going to plunge in and add words and pictures during my trip and see how I feel about it then. Can't really tell if it will work for me if I haven't actually tried it out!

Just another day at the office

2010-07-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

Colors of Summer

2010-07-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

The flowers have been exceptional this year. I guess they like cool, wet springs better than hot, dry ones:Now that the temps are heating up they'll start to fade away. But what a show!

Rogue River Ranch and Trail

2010-07-04T10:09:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I visited the remote Rogue River Ranch, next to the Wild Rogue Wilderness on the lower Rogue River. It's a wonderful corner of the world and I enjoyed comparing notes with the caretaker there. Buck and his wife are new to the place and are both working their butts off to maintain the beautiful historic ranch. Being in such a remote area they are way off the grid and rely on solar panels and a hydro generator to keep the lights on. The ranch is three hours from Grants Pass, or the coast- much of it on dirt roads- so they take very few trips into town. However, due to the rafting traffic down the Rogue River, they get lots of visitors. Snow closes all access to the site, so they close down completely in the winter, starting at the end of October.

I hiked the Rogue River Trail just downstream from the ranch as it winds its way through some of the most spectacular scenery in the region. The photo above shows the Rogue River as it drops into Mule Creek Canyon, a deep slot canyon carved into basalt. This canyon is the narrowest section of the lower Rogue, so narrow in fact that it's possible to wedge a raft in sideways during low water years. Just downstream from this pic is the dreaded Coffee Pot, a wirlpool that traps rafts every year.

Immediately downstream from Mule Creek Canyon is the sublime Inspiration Point, perched high above the Rogue at the confluence of Stair Creek. From this point I stood transfixed, watching Stair Creek Falls spill directly into the Rogue.

The view just downstream from Inspiration Point.

Pinnacle Point just upstream from Blossom Bar rapids.

Three kayakers showing the proper approach through the notorious Blossom Bar Rapids. This rapid was once impassable until Glen Woolridge, one of the first river guides, blasted out the rocks with dynamite to create a passage. This is still considered the most dangerous rapid on the river, as has taken several lives over the years.

Still, it's a very makeable rapid if you know the proper approach through the rocks. I love this pic of a rafter and his sheepdog calmly making their way through the rapids. Note the life vest on the dog.

Pancreatic problems cut my trip short, but it was all worth the long drive out to this remote corner of Oregon.

Happy Friday!

2010-07-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Happy Friday! Please hop over to Jaime Ridler's site and let us know what made you happy this week.

I received two wonderful books in the mail: Little Birds & Drawing Lab by Carla Sondheim. I've completed my second project from Little Birds:And I can't wait to dive into Carla's Drawing Lab book.The back cover beckons: "introduce more creativity and nonsense into your art and life". Who doesn't need more of either? The Artists of the Round Table (ART) community is sponsoring an online workshop featuring this book starting on July 5th. I'm counting the days....Please join us. It's free to anyone who wants to participate. ART offers all kinds of free online workshops- check 'em out if you enjoy artsy pursuits.

And, the most exciting news ever! I'm going back to NYC after 7 years of being away. It's only for a visit but I couldn't be happier (well, I could be happier if Kelly was going but someone needs to tend to the surly mutts) . Museums and old friends and music and theater and street muscians and....well, I'm hungry. I've been away too long.

And OK, despite my whining, there are some things to love about summer:

And it hasn't been that hot yet this year. At least here in southern Oregon. It's been a glorious summer so far. And I'm happy about that. Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

Photo by TreeGeek

Peacock from "Little Birds"

2010-06-27T19:59:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday I received two extraordinary books in the mail. They are each deserving of their own posts so I'll start with the one that I spent my whole weekend with:I ordered this book from Amazon. There were no reviews at the time but I was compelled to order it anyway. I'm so glad I did. It's diverse collection of sewing projects: mobiles and embroidery and quilts and softies and ornaments and wreaths, oh my! It's published by Stash Books and compiled by Susanne Woods.

There are quite a few different designers that contributed patterns but the projects have a kindred style to them- modern and colorful but with a folksy twist. My only issue with the book as a whole is that there aren't any guidelines about project difficulty. If you are an absolute beginner at sewing, this probably isn't the book for you. That being said, I'm not exactly the world's greatest seamstress but I did manage to make this:This is the Fancy Peacock designed by Amy Adams. This was the project I was drawn to first (although I've marked off a total of six projects from the book I want to try).
I'll admit that had I some construction issues. I didn't really understand how to make the beak. The instructions say to use their photo as a guide but, since I'm a low intermediate (advanced beginner?) sewer, even on my best days, I didn't really understand what I was looking at or how to make it happen. Oh well. I also reversed the front and back pieces for the tail but that was totally my fault. The instructions were very clear on how all the piecing should go. Adams warns that the body needs to be heavier than normal to counterbalance the weight of the tail but for mine, even with a rock in his belly, the tail is still pulling over the whole piece. I stuffed a hair tie under his butt to hold him up for the pictures. I'm trying to figure out some kind of nest I can make for him to keep him upright. Do male peacocks sit on a nest?

I found the tail to be somewhat unwieldy all around, it was hard to space and sew the pieces so they fanned out properly and I had to tack it in different spots to keep it from flopping every which way. Still, I'm thrilled with the results and I just adore my little birdie. Next go round I'm going to try a few things differently that I think will help - stiffer cardboard for the tail for one. I also may make the tail slightly smaller. And I'm going to stuff the body so he's a lot heavier. Maybe some lead shot?

I really enjoyed making this and I can't recommend this book highly enough. If you like to sew this is a book you would enjoy having in your collection.

Kusudama & the Plague

2010-06-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

I managed to complete another Kusudama last evening: This model is from Tomoko Fuse's book " Kusudama Origami". That title is somewhat confusing as kusudama and origami are two different things. Here is an explanation lifted from Wiki: "The kusudama is important in origami particularly as a precursor to the modular origami genre. It is often confused with modular origami, but is not such because the units are strung or pasted together, instead of folded together as most modular construction are made."

There. That should clear it all up for you. Actually, it's pretty simple: Kusu - glued, origami - never glued. For those of you dying to rush out and make this model, it's called Clustered Flower and joined using the Latern assembly method. I plan to try more dynamic paper in my future attempts. For this practice run I used standard 4" origami paper.

I had lots of time to finish this model last night because I couldn't mow my field of weeds. I started mowing and then saw this:The Pacific tree frog. There is a plague in my yard. As I was mowing they were hopping away in every direction. I started inching along with my push mower and finally just gave up. They can have the damn lawn.
They are pretty dang cute. They are hiding all over the yard, not only in the lawn: Sigh. I'm not going to kill frogs to have a manicured lawn. Hopefully they'll eat the bugs in my veggie garden. And there's a very fat and happy robin hanging around. So it goes.

More Kusudama

2010-06-23T17:18:00.001-07:00

Here is a sneak peek at the next round of Kusudama that I'm attempting.There aren't nearly as many pieces to fold as some of the other models I've made so I should have a complete one soon.

Thrift Share Monday

2010-06-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

It's time for Thrift Share Monday hosted by Apron Thrift Girl. And I'm glad it's Monday - the Saturday yard sales wiped me out. We went to about 15 sales and (unfortunately) only two were worth the time. I think a lot of people running yard sales around here have mistaken their beat up card tables set up in their yard for an antique store. I want to let sellers in southern Oregon in on a little secret-just because something is old doesn't mean it's automatically worth a lot of money. If you're wondering why late in the afternoon on the second day of your sale you've barely sold anything it's because your prices are TOO HIGH. Yes, those clip-on Christmas birds from the 50s are worth more than 25 cents but only if they are in GOOD condition. I realize condition is open to interpretation but when parts are falling off, the paint is peeling and pieces are missing that is not generally considered good condition. And sellers, please stop trying to pass off 10 year old technology as something more than a doorstop. I know you paid a lot for it all those years ago but here's another secret - it's not worth anything anymore. And please don't dump it off at the local thrift center when you can't sell it because they can't sell it either.
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OK, I'm done now. Just a wee bit frustrated. I found this little lovely in a free bin:We didn't know what it was but we took it home to ID it. It's a farrier knife from Heller Bros Co, Newark. These were made without patents before 1902 (we think) and we can't find the patent so it's pretty old.
We went to a sale where they were pretty much giving it all away. There were clothes that fit Kelly in their rather generous free bin:All those jeans will be good for work clothes. They were selling other things for prices so cheap that even I (cheapskate that I am) was embarrassed. I picked up this embossing tool:

There were various other items thrown in and also embossing powder. I haven't used one of these before but I've heard of them so I thought I'd give it a whirl. All for $1. I found this nice mosaic plate for 25 cents:It seems like something that would come from Pottery Barn but it wasn't marked in any way so I have no idea. Definitely newer, made in China in the last 5 years or so. I love the colors. I also scored this lamp:For 50 cents. It was so cheap that I was actually confused. It works, it's clean and well made, all the parts are there. When I saw the price on this lamp I began to wonder if this was in fact the seller's stuff or if it really belonged to someone else, like the owner of the house who is away on vacation. They seemed like really nice folks so I didn't dwell on it but it did flit through my mind.
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We ended up at one other really amazing sale. There was a sub-division with many sales going on. Kelly picked up some guy stuff here and there but I was still empty handed after the 6th house. We then passed a sale where 2 couples were shouting out "everything 25 cents". They had boxes and boxes of all kinds of books and pottery and odd stuff like this embroidered bird:

Someone had some mad skills. There was a much bigger piece with jungle animals all over it and I'm kicking myself for leaving it there. After all, it was only 25 cents. But sometimes I'm an idiot. I also found these intriguing buttons:
And this absolutely silly but lovable fish plate which I just had to have:
This is something called 1000 faces china, made in Japan:We bought this one by accident. I thought Kelly wanted it and he thought I wanted it so it ended up in the pile unquestioned. I'm happy about it as I rather like it. You can see the faces in the center rings.
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Lastly, there was a set of four Santa mugs. I don't usually buy Christmas stuff but these were cute and I'll use them for holly vases when the season calls for it.
Please post your own thrifting adventure over at Apron Thrift Girl. I want to know what treasures you found this weekend.

Bacon for President!

2010-06-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

We knew this day would come...

....but it doesn't make it any easier. Love you Oregonians!

Canoes aren't for the faint of heart. Took the old girl for a swim in Horsetooth Reservoir. All was placidly peaceful and sublimely tranquil, until the jetboats and jetskis started making wake. Boy howdy, I hope them large mouth bass enjoyed my chimichanga from last night.
6 months ago, I didn't even know (or care) what a soffit vent was. While I was not initially too thrilled about needing to install them, any excuse to buy a reciprocating saw works for me. My home-owning to-do list now revolves around what can be accomplished with my new toy. Paint the bathroom? No problem! Wash the windows? You got it! Get the neighbor's cat out of the tree? Yes, please! No project is too complex for a man packing this kinda heat, baby.Parrots are for Somalian pirates, I keep a jittery mutt on my shoulder, straight up burl-manly. Careful, he's been know to lick faces without warning.

"Uh, hey BigTimber...this is a CRAFT blog, remember?"
What the hey now...(looking around the room for something crafty)... HOMEBREW! Our craft brewing potentail has increased with the purchase of 4 additional carboys. Currently, brews in the works are Cherry Brown Ale, Orange Wine, Cherry Mead, Pineapple Wine, and Lavender Mead. As always, recipes are much consulted, but little followed. Some smell...tangy? It's an acquired taste.

Another Happy Friday

2010-06-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

What made you happy this week? Please share with us on Jamie Ridler's blog The Next Chapter: The Happy Book Mail Around. For me, it was getting my craft room cleaned out (again). I'm giving away a bunch of craft books - check 'em out and let me know if you are interested in any of them. I love being able to pass along things I'm no longer using (or will never use but just had to have at the moment). When I can get honest with myself about what I'm truly intereseted in it makes it easier to let the clutter go. But my clutter can be someone else's treasure. So I like to keep passing things along.

I've been making Kusudama for awhile now:I really like making these for gifts but I wanted to add a little color and style to them:I'm still playing around with different designs. I haven't found a style I like yet but I'm sketching out new designs to try. This is a big step for me as I'm so not process oriented. I usually jump right to result and then am disappointed when it isn't "perfect". I get frustrated because I haven't taken the time to learn the possibilities of the medium. So, then, I just drop that craft and try something else, hoping to achieve that artsy perfection on the first go. And on into infiinity.... So, I'm working on changing this behavior. Not easy for a leopard to change its spots, but I'm hoping not impossible.

Have a great weekend!

Books ! Books ! Books!

2010-06-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

My craft room is drowning. I need to make space, clear the air, get rid of some of the stuff. I went through all my arty crafty books and, as much as it pains me, it is time to part company and send these babies on to less neglectful homes. If you are interested in owning any of the following titles please email me (Monkey Mind under Cast of Characters there on the right) or leave a comment and I'll get back to you. All I ask is the cost of shipping. You don't need to take all of them, just the ones you want. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have about them:

Creative Scrapbooking by Melody Lord - gone
History of Art by HW Janson
The Art of Bev Doolittle by Elise Maclay- gone
Brush Your Cares Away by Jack Bailey
Great Kitchens by Whitaker, Mahoney, Jordan
The Victorian Book of Potions and Perfumes by Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell
Jewelry from Nature by Cathy Yow
Glorious Greetings by Kate Twelvetrees
Simple Gifts by Garden Way Publishing
Painting & Drawing from Photographs by Ursula Kaiser- gone
The Art of Rubber Stamping by Suze Weinberg
Creative Rug Hooking Anne D Mather
Watercolor Workbook by Bud Biggs & Lois Marshall
Let's Sew by Nancy Zieman -gone
This Book Will Change Your Life by Benrik
Kaleidoscope by Elizabeth Keely Wilson

Lettering & Alphabets by J Albert Cavanaugh
Writing the Natural Way by Gabriele Lusser Rico
Victorian Decoupage How to Book by Michelle Lovric
Paint Effects Master Class by Sacha Cohen

They are all in good to great condition and have lived nestled away in a smoke free environment.

Garden Flowers

2010-06-14T14:26:00.001-07:00

I so wish this was my garden at home:But it's not. It's the garden where I work. People are paid to plant and weed and water this garden- unlike the forlorn flower garden at home. Does anyone know what any of the purple flowers are? The yellow ones in the first picture are California poppies and the pink flowers in the third picture are some other kind of poppy. But I can't name a one of the three purple flowers pictured.

Proof that the Utah sun can make a man crazy*

2010-06-11T23:42:00.000-07:00

*Re-enacting scenes from the Lion King with my darling terrier.

Poppies

2010-06-08T15:24:00.001-07:00

Summer is not my favorite season. Too much heat makes me tired and grumpy. There are some perks though:

Birthday Cubicle

2010-06-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

It is a tradition around my workplace to go a little wild with surprise birthday decor in the workspace of the birthday victim. Usually the decorating occurs when the victim steps away from their desk on their birthday day (or on Friday for weekend birthdays). Since I took off on Friday and my actual birthday was Saturday I thought I was safe from the decorating frenzy this year. Not so. This is what greeted me when I go to work this morning: Normally the conspirators wait until the victim is on break or lunch and very quickly put up all the birthday decorations in a 10 to 20 minute window before they get caught. This method doesn't allow for much excess since time is the mitigating factor. You can only blow up so many balloons and hang so many streamers in 15 minutes- even with the whole department pitching in. Because I was off on Friday, they had all the time in the world. That'll teach me to take any days off around my birthday. I crawled underneath the streamers for a photo op:Here is a close up of what I'm holding in the above picture:One of my fellow workers left these morels on my desk. Beautiful, delicious morels and so many of them. Can't wait for dinner tonight! Another co-worker made, from scratch, Strawberry Shortcake. It was divine.

My birthday has carried on a bit more than usual this year; normally it's one day and it's over. I had a party on Saturday and a celebration today. Lucky me!

This octopus is a gift from another co-worker. This wasn't a birthday present but I wanted to share. I love the colors!

Bearfest Wild Bunch

2010-06-04T19:01:00.001-07:00

Our very own Treegeek has been recording his blood, sweat and tears in the making of Bearik Estrada. Bearik is part of the Grants Pass Bearfest 2010 where local artists were commissioned to create a sculpture using a fiberglass bear and a Harley motorcycle. Treegeek's bear is currently on view in downtown Grants Pass:Here is a sampling of the some of the other Bearfest 2010 sculptures on display:

The Bearinator:

Ooga Booga:

Iron Bear:

Miss Rosie Rogue:

Snarley Davidson:

Notice the tatoo on this one's tooth. The bears will be available for viewing this summer. Stop on by!

2010-06-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

Boatnik Parade, Grants Pass 2010

Here are some of the fifteen BearFest bears on Harley Davidson motorcycles in the 2010 Boatnik Parade.

Brady Adams, BearFest creator and former President of Evergreen Federal Bank, hamming it up with his grandson before the parade.

Here's Brady leading the Bearfest bears. Bearik Estrada is following directly behind.

We were treated to great weather this year, unlike many Boatnik parades in the past.

The Bears will be on display in Grants Pass all summer long near the corner of 7th and J Street. Here's a link to a video from Channel 5 news in Medford featuring the Bear Hotel (where local artists create all kinds of public artwork), and this year's BearFest bears.

China Gardens

2010-05-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

The weather was gorgeous yesterday. We decided to try to find the elusive China Gardens off of USFS Road 4612 in the Siskiyou National Forest. Touchdown! China Gardens is listed as an old mining site but when we got there we discovered what looked like an old homestead. There was evidence of mining, probably by Chinese immigrants, hence the name. Here is what looks like an old barn: The throne room:And evidence of mining: There were majestic Doug firs surrounding the area. You can see me, barely, to the left of the base of the tree:This is a marker on one of the Doug firs indicating the presence of an active red tree vole nest:Old shakes (Shakes are hand-split, shingles are sawn) covering the barn roof:
The California Ground Cone (Boschniakia strobilacea) is popping up all over the forest:We are happy to report that we did not get eaten by a bear. There was fresh bear poop in several locations but we made it out without any canine/bear encounters. Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Friday - Letterboxing Edition

2010-05-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

First I was curious. Then enticed. Then driven. Then absolutely in the thrall of my new found hobby- letterboxing. I don't think there has ever been something more perfectly tailored to suit me (except maybe lasagne). Treasure hunting meets art. Is there anything better (except maybe a chocolate raspberry milkshake)?

At this point my enthusiasm is trumping any actual expertise I have about the process but I'll do my best to explain: you go to this website (or this one) for clues. You arm yourself with a nifty trail name, a hand carved stamp and a journal and then you go forth and seek out a letterbox. Actually finding one is exciting. Some stranger, somewhere unknown, went through the effort to put together and hide this box for you to find. Inside the box is a journal and a stamp. You stamp your journal with the box stamp and you stamp the box journal with your stamp. Capiche? Many of the boxes contain handcarved stamps so you're finding a little piece of artwork in an unexpected place. And you get to take it home. Isn't that enticing? Here's an example of a stamp:

If you have kids, they will love this. Each family member can have their own stamp and their own journal. For more concrete information check out About Letterboxing.

Here I am in close proximity to a letterbox. Shhhhh. Don't tell anyone.Hope you all had a happy week. Tell us about it in a post and link it to The Next Chapter: Happy Book Mail Around. Have a great weekend!

Ode to Unfinished Projects

2010-05-26T19:01:00.001-07:00

From the two unfinished books To the color studies not completedWhy do you taunt me with your incompleteness? Why do I abandon you? Why can't I follow through?

Sunny Side Up

2010-05-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.

Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx

This is our sweet Sunny boy. Not the brightest torch but he has a big heart. Good boy!

Thrift Share Monday

2010-05-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

It's time for Thrift Share Monday sponsored by Apron Thrift Girl.

Years ago I worked with a woman who found the ultimate treasure (to me) at a yard sale - a personal journal written by someone from a different generation. The journal she found was written by a woman who wanted a career but in 1920s society was being pressured to marry. Much of the journal was about this woman's struggle with her desires and her role in society.

I've spent years looking for old journal of my own. I love personal journals. I can't say what ignites me so much but I've been keeping my own for years and I love blog posts abut journals and journaling - sketchbooks, color studies, art journals, diaries- I find them all fascinating.

Saturday we stopped at an estate sale. It was in a trailer park so I figured there probably wasn't too much of an estate. There was a box of notebooks in a corner looking forlorn and untouched. Kelly found it first and then I went through the whole box looking for paper ephemera for my journals. As a was looking through the box it took a while for it to sink in - I was looking at years of someone's personal travel journals. Long entries of handwriting with maps and brochures and pictures taped in. The one on top is a log of a travel trailer journey undertaken in a Dolphin in the late 80s. The orange one is from 1982 and the black one (the only one written in German) is from 1954 - the year the author came to America. There were quite a few more binders and notebooks but I ended up taking just three - the ones that really spoke to me. At the bottom of the box were these:About 40 pre-war German postcards. It looks like they were glued into some kind of family album and then pulled out. You can see in the upper left corner where she labeled some of them. The cards are in excellent condition except for where you can see the glued paper in the back. I think I might be able to remove it without destroying the postcards. Here are few I especially liked:The last thing that I had to have from this estate was this picture:It's about 13" x 20", mounted on thick cardstock and says Gossip 303, Hans Comotio on the back.

The estate seller explained that the woman died and all her heirs are in Germany so no one was interested in taking any of this stuff. From a wartime teenager in Germany to a senior in Brookings, OR with bountiful road trips in between. No one interested? Hard to believe.

All of the above (plus a book) is in great condition, no musty smell, no damage and I paid $1.25 for all of it.

God's Eyes

2010-05-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

These are called God's Eyes (Ojo de Dios):I've only ever seen simple popsicle stick versions of these until our local favorite restaurant, Nacho Mama's Cantina, started carrying them.They are made by local artist Alan Laurie and are quite stunning. They are bigger than they appear in the photos - about 14' across. The colors! I just love the colors. Someday I hope to own one of these.

Another Porter Moment

2010-05-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

Brought to you by Donna. Isn't he a handsome devil?

Happy Friday - Good Mail Day Edition

2010-05-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! I really want to thank Jamie Ridler again for sponsoring the Happy Friday blog. When Friday rolls around I start thinking about all the bright spots during the week that I can include in my Friday post. There are always bright spots.

This past Monday there were three pieces of mail in mailbox that were all for me and they weren't bills or junk mail. This is what is meant by a Good Mail Day. I didn't want to be distracted so, instead of ripping them all open on the spot, I waited until I finished my dinner. OK, I rushed through my dinner while the pile of envelopes beckoned.

The first letter was from Apron Thrift Girl(ATG), who sponsored a pen pal swap awhile back. The ground rules were simple - use a recycled envelope & vintage or recycled paper. ATG paired up with me. She used a junk mail envelope and added collage elements to it. Inside that little wrapped package (above photo) was this: A vintage card, sequins and a hand written letter on a recycled catalog page. When was the last time you received a hand written letter?

The second package contained journal pages from another swap. In this swap each participant made 11 signatures modeled after Mary Ann Moss's Remains of the Day journal class. I received this beautiful little bundle:And here's what was inside:Ten 8.5 by 11" sewn, scrappy pages from various participants unknown. I can't wait to make a journal out of these pages. The host of the swap, Gathering Up Bits of the World, also sent a package of delicious paper goodies. What a treat!

The third letter I received was from Carmen at Writing from Life. She sent me a pack of my favoritest tea in the whole world- Green Jasmine. Thank you so much for thinking of me Carmen! For those of you who haven't indulged, the smell of jasmine tea is heavenly.

This getting mail thing is so much fun that I guess I'll have to start sending letters and joining more swaps. There's nothing like personal mail in one's box.

2010-05-11T20:53:00.000-07:00

Bearik, all done and ready for the mean streets of Grants Pass.

Here's Bearik, astride his Harley and sporting a fresh layer of automotive clear coat. The bike rests on a custom built trailer for use in the up-coming Boatnik Parade on May 29th.

For the holster I crafted a fake gun made of industrial A/B putty and painted with acrylic. As a final touch I decided to customize the handle with a grizzly bear like the one on the California state flag.

A Porter Moment

2010-05-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

We'll be taking a break today from our regularly scheduled blogpost to bring you a Porter Moment:This post was sponsored by Crafty Snark Donna. Without her generous support these pictures would not be available to the public. Thank you for making the world a better place, one dog at a time. And, quite frankly, the spider post below is kinda freaking me out so I need to bump it down the page a bit. Thanks Porter!

2010-05-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

Here there be (wee) Monsters

Last weekend, while hiking at Cathedral Hills park, I encountered a spider wasp (family Pompilidae) hauling away a large female Trapdoor Spider. At first glance it would seem that a wasp would want nothing to do with a big, fierce spider such as a trapdoor which has a body length of one inch, a leg span of 1 3/4 inches, and outweighs the wasp 4 to1. In fact spider the wasp is the real predators in this matchup. Female spider wasps hunt down spiders, paralyze them with a well placed sting, then haul them to a nest site where they then lay eggs in the victim and bury it. The wasp pupae then emerge to slowly feed on the still-living spider. And you thought you were having a bad day.

If this trapdoor spider reminds you of a small tarantula you wouldn't be far off. They both belong to the same infraorder called Mygalomorphae. This group also includes the very nasty and venomous Funnel Web Spider from Australia. I sent these pics to a spider specialist at Southern Oregon University who confirmed that this was a rather uncommon Trapdoor, but was unable to key to species. Apparently the four species of trapdoor spiders in our area can only be identified to species through the males. Ah well, food for another generation of wasps!

Happy Friday - Collections

2010-05-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome once again to another edition of Happy Friday. I was reading Paul Murray's post yesterday about his collections and was enchanted by his odd assortment of obsessions. Why do some of us stockpile things that we really have no use for? At least with my piles of buttons, fabric and yarn I can justify to myself that these items will come in handy for projects that I might someday do. But what about the things that I hoard for reasons I can't explain other than that they make me happy in some undefineable way? Things I don't need or have more of than I can ever use, like these straw trivets:I had to impose a moratorium on purchasing these. They're available at yard sales in droves and usually cost less than a dollar. I would buy dozens of these things if my space were unlimited. Why? I have no idea. What would I ever do with them all? But everytime I see them I smile.

The other thing I'm a sucker for is little plastic toys. I pull them out of free bins and buy them by the bag at garage sales. I like hiding them around the house and tucking them in drawers and on the bookshelves.

I really don't like clutter but I just can't resist certain things. Somehow these small items make my life feel less hectic and more full - the opposite of how true clutter feels. What odd collections do you have? What can you not resist hoarding because it reflects some part of you?

Walking

2010-05-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

Since I sit at a desk all day and commute an ungodly amount of time I decided to add regular walking to my workdays. I walk 3 x a day – 2 ten minute walks on my breaks and another 10 to 15 minutes at lunch time. It helps tremendously. Sitting in front of computer all day is really hard on one’s body and psyche. The walking really lifts my spirits and gives my back a chance to stretch.

Rural would be the word that a real estate agent would use to describe the community surrounding my place of employment. There is a general store a block from where I work and a little cluster of stores and a school on the other end of town. Not much else. No ethnic restaurants. No cute little shops or thrift stores. Nothing to part me from my money. So walking I go. This little lane provides the perfect 10 minute stroll:All the fenceposts along the lane have been excavated by Acorn Woodpeckers. The weather is so amazing right now- ranging from the 50s to the low 70s. I love these cool spring days. I dread the coming of summer. It gets very hot during the day. But for now, I'll enjoy the perfect weather.

Belly 'O thy Beasties

2010-05-05T18:27:00.001-07:00

This one's for you Donna, Baby.Can you guess the brew, based on this emblem? No ? Amateurs!
C'mon Donna Baby, I know you dig the Mexi Pilsners, but you gotta remember this patriotic brew. For old time's sake?
That's right, we took a tour of the brewery that distributes to 11 western states. Inside the belly of the beast, we stumped our brewery tour guides with so many nerdy brew questions, they just started pretending not to hear us or see our raised hands. "When did Budweiser introduce screw top caps?" "What is the weighted average alpha acid of the hop blend you use?" "When did rice become an ingredient in your beers?" Don't know? I didn't think so!Yuck! Too many samples, I need a Brandistani beer to calm my nerves!College kids across America, this one is for you. Yes it might taste delicious now, but start home brewing, and then you'll know the magnitude of your fermented sins! When you die, leave it to the yeasts, coyotes, and ravens to determine your fate!That's right, cuz if it ain't brewed at home in the US of A....it ain't worth imbibing!
Unfortunately all those horses from the commercials are kept in a horse prison.
For all you wonderful folks back home:Now crack a Bud, and praise the lord for fermentation!

The (American(not nearly as hardcore)) Kite Runner

2010-05-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

Springtime in the Front Range country, and you better believe the wind carries more than the smell of stock yards and brewery steam; it was a straight up kite frenzy festival!

Kite kits had been made by a local group called Strong Bones out of Tyvek house sheathing and shish-kebab sticks. Who cares if I had to cut in line ahead of some girl scouts and kids still wearing their Saturday soccer gear, I had to get my hands on one of those kite kits!No kite would be complete without some incredibly realistic nature scenes. And anywhere there are trees, you'd better believe the foresters are right around the corner checking out tree health to ensure that future generations will have abundant timber supplies. Oh, and Big Foot likes to eat foresters too.After my masterpiece was completed it took flight, lifting onto the crisp zephyr while the entire field of children fell silent, in awe of the most gorgeous kite ever made by a childish adult.

Everything was going pretty well until a vicious gust blew in off the plains of Kansas and my kite began to do what one parent called "death spirals" plunging to the ground, like a hand made crayon-coated zeppelin. I really don't know why he called them death spirals, my kite only nailed his daughter in the head once or twice until I moved to another part of the field-- gosh, so sensitive. Stop crying, we're supposed to be having fun!Well, my day was complete.

2010-04-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

On the home stretch with Bearik Estrada, and oh so close to done.

This is Bearik in primer tan. This coat of paint revealed every single mistake and imperfection in my bondo work, so I still had a lot of filling and sanding to do.

After blocking in the color I definitely felt like I was on the right track.

After blocking in the color I added highlights and shadows to help give the project definition. Here's Bearik, 99% done and nearly ready for the final application of automotive clear coat.

Close-up of the head with reflective glasses, badge, and "Bearik Estrada" name tag. And attitude. The Grants Pass Police Department is behind the project and graciously donated shoulder patches to help outfit Bearik.

Next week I'll have the final pics of the project with Bearik on his patrol bike. We're in the process of building special trailers for the bikes so that the bears can participate in the 2010 Boatnik Parade: Saturday, May 29th at 8 am. After the parade Bearik will be found patrolling the streets of Grants Pass, Oregon with the other wonderful 2010 BearFest bears.

Thrift Share Monday

2010-04-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

It's time for thrift share Monday with Apron Thrift Girl. I haven't been able to participate in recent weeks because the weather has been rather cold and rainy and no one was having any sales. There is a thrift store in town open year-round but they always seem to have the same inventory, most of it dreary junk that no one wants. I just get frustrated when I go in there. Usually only in the dead of winter. Out of desperation. I wait with anticipation for "the season" to begin so I can do some real thrifting.

There was rummage sale sponsored by some local group (Elks? Lions?) at our county building on Saturday. I got there at 8am when the sale opened. There wasn't much. I picked up the following 2 items:The bracelet is well made and I rather like it. For 25 cents I wasn't going to complain. I bought other piece (same price) imagining that I would use it to make a journal cover ala Tracy Moore. I like to dream. I also found a large prescription bottle filled with buttons. They were mostly plastic but there was a large shell button in there that was worth the 25 cents it cost me for the whole bottle.

I left that sale feeling somewhat in a funk. I guess I was expecting more since it was the first sale of the season and my expectations were high. There wasn't much except for all the usual stuff I see trotted out at too many sales: scuffed & dirty tupperware, worn-out sheets, stained t-shirts, archaic technology, water damaged books. Sigh. I'm a veteran thrifter, I know this is how it goes. You can stop at 20 bad sales for every dream sale. And there is no way to know. You have to stop at every one perchance it's one of those epic sales you tell stories about for years to come.

I drove around and saw signs for an estate sale. I followed the signs down a dirt road I've never been on before. The road was rutted and I drove slowly and my spirits began to lift a bit. It was one of those picture-perfect mornings. The sky a deep blue, the temperature comfortable, me driving down an unknown road to some unexplored place. I began to remember why I go to yard sales. I go into neighborhoods I would never otherwise visit, following the promise of great treasure. I get to be outdoors (usually) at the most inviting time of the year weatherwise. I see people I know from the community, I meet all sorts of pets...it's the Whole Experience, not just pursuing the acquisition of cheap stuff. It's an adventure. I've scored some great items over the years but I've also met great people, seen some amazing gardens and innovative architecture I wouldn't otherwise have access to. I've spent many a summer morning socializing with sellers as I rummage through their stuff and listen to their stories. Not a bad hobby really.

This was waiting for me at the estate sale at the end of the rutted road:A queen sized linen/cotton blend Pottery Barn duvet cover with matching bedskirt. Good quality and almost new. They were in a box with another really nice duvet cover (king size), 100% cotton, but no tag identifying the brand. $5 for the whole box. Things were looking up. Never mind how much I just convinced myself it was about the adventure. Score!

I headed next to the Catholic church's rummage sale. I've been before in years past and my expectations were low. Until I saw the fabric box:I swore I wasn't going to buy any more fabric before I use up what I already have. I usually don't have a problem ignoring fabric scraps as often the stuff dumped in boxes under tables at sales is cheap quality or weird material or sickeningly cutsey. But these I could not pass up at 25 cents a piece. These are quality fabrics, all with more than a yard left. The scraps in the plastic zip-lock bag (50 cents for the lot) are small squares of various styles in incredible colors (unfortunately the ugliest piece in the whole bag happens to be the one on top in the picture. Sorry!) I'm going to use them to make fabric journal covers.

I went through the mountains of clothes and found this. It's a nice linen shirt, not necessarily my style but I like the way it looks and fits. For 50 cents I figured I'd give it a go.
This next item is odd and I don't quite know what to make of it. Here is the cover:Yes, that says four color-etch prints by Lionel Barrymore. There are 4 small prints tucked inside (3 shown): The prints are very highly colored and have a silvery sheen to them. There is a whole little story about how Lionel painted scenes of the sea when he wasn't being Henry Potter plotting the demise of Bedford Falls. Who knew that he was also a fine artist? These prints are in a folder labeled " presented with the compliments of" some Realty company. Part of a welcome wagon package? The set was a buck and it kept beckoning me back. I often buy odd little things like this. I have a raven's brain. "Shiny and glittering"? Must bring it back to the nest!

Finally, this item I purchased for 25 cents:There is a hand written label on the bottom that says "Old Tin Glaze. Austria. $16". Sure enough, Austria is etched on the back of the piece. It's a bank with no way to open it except the old fashioned way. With a hammer. I have no idea what tin glaze is. I'll have to do some research.

It turned out to be a good weekend. What did y'all find?

The Sweater Saga comes to an end?

2010-04-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

Well kids, I finished my epic sweater. All in all, it was a very educational process. I'd never done fair isle knitting before (for those non-knitters out there, that's where you use several different colors of yarn to make a pretty pattern, and to do so you bring one strand of different-colored yarn behind another color. Also called stranded knitting). I'd also never steeked anything (sewing a seam into your knit piece, then cutting the shape you want--totally counter-intuitive to a knitter) (see here for story on my first ever steeking).

Steeking in progress

Well, all that went pretty well, then I tried to try on the sweater...and the sleeves were too tight, and too short. Sigh. And this is the kind of sweater that you have to undo the whole thing from the top down to undo, and then redo, the sleeves. And unfortunately, I had just cut a big gash in the top of the sweater, so this puppy is staying whole, no matter what. So, I improvised, and cast on at the end of the sleeves, lengthened them, then blocked the sweater and tried to stretch them out a bit. This worked pretty well, except for the small seam in the middle of the cuffs. But I'm going to say that I meant to do that. Yeah, it was, um, part of the pattern. Yeah, that's it. That's also why, um, the cuffs flare out so much, yeah, part of the pattern (wink).

So then I was supposed to find grommets and install them in the neck V, to hold a nice drawstring. Well, the grommets didn't go so well, so I said screw it and just fed the drawstring straight through the stitches. We'll see how that holds up. By that time I was ready to be done with the #$%!! thing and wear it already.

So now (drumroll), here is the Sweater Saga in its full visual glory:

Insomnia Sweater v. 1.2 (sorry, no pics of v. 1.0) (see here for story behind v. 1.0 and v. 1.2).

Insomnia Sweater v. 1.2 in slow, agonizing throes of death (actually the frogging went pretty quickly, except for those $%$&!!! seams).

My first steeking. Not as traumatic as one would think. Although, when those sleeves turned out too small, I almost imploded ("Holy f$%#ing s$%t! WTF am I supposed to do if I need to redo something and I've f#$%!!!ing CUT my STITCHES!!!!"). But everything turned out ok in the end. Hooray for happy endings.

My finished product (Insomnia v. 2.0). Note the lovely fair isle detail, and the lack of stupid grommets (yeah, who needs grommets anyway?). Oh, and that lovely steek. (For those of you attempting to knit this pattern, I cut maybe four inches off of the original steek length, and still think it's a little risque, or (this one's for you Cece!) prurient. And the sleeves? How lovely. Now hopefully I won't give this away, like I do, for some godforsaken, unexplainable reason, with most of my other projects.

p.s. This one goes out to the Crafty Snarkers, who know all about steeking and grommets from my tipsy Thursday night rants. We miss you!

Happy Book Alive & Well

2010-04-23T00:05:00.000-07:00

The Giggle circle's Happy Book arrived safe and sound and loud and beautiful in southern Oregon. It arrived just in time to enjoy two lovely spring days before moving on. The next leg of its journey will be to CreatureBug in Washington. While I don't envy the wait, I'm a bit jealous of the people who will receive it further down the line -it's really fun to see what others have done.

Our cover is starting to look like a Christmas tree with all the ornamentation attached to it: A page of shiny things:My favorite Shel Silverstein poem (Sick):The sun finally came out. Following the prompt to doodle sunshiney prettiness and soak up sun would have been hard if the book had arrived last week. As of yesterday, I finally remember what the sun looks like:
A collage. The heart is an origami card (hard to tell in this photo):And a page full of stickers. I didn't quite fill it up- I'm sure someone in the giggle circle will be man enough to finish the job :By the time it makes its way halfway through the 27 Gigglers I predict it will need to travel in a large box. The last person on the list? Oy vey! You'll need a forklift by then.

As much as it pained me to do so, I packed up the book last evening and will send it along this morning. Enjoy your time when your copy arrives. A week goes by really fast!

Happy Has Arrived

2010-04-20T12:15:00.001-07:00

I have the book! It is fabulous! What a wonderful thing to have waiting for you in the mailbox after working all day with administrative details (not exactly the stuff that artistic play is born of). I like all the notes from the previous Happies, thank you all! For those of you still waiting for your copy- it's worth the wait.
I'll send it along ASAP if I can ever part with it!

Spiral Living Center Skillshare

2010-04-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

Today was Spiral Living Center's Skillshare in Selma, Oregon. The skillshares are great community events; volunteer teachers share their knowledge and provide hands on training for inquisitive minds. There are some wonderful, informative classes going on and the best part is - it's all free! Here is a small sampling of what was available today:

Tool Sharpening & Repair workshop

Bike Repair Workshop
Raising Goats WorkshopBeautiful dyed yarn made from goat fiber

Bio Char DemonstrationAnd this adorable wee one making a planter box with grandpaHope to see you all next time!

Happy Friday!

2010-04-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

Kalimiopsis/Siskiyou Wilderness Spring 2010

This Happy Friday thing is almost too easy. Fridays hold inherent happiness for those of us who are 9 to 5 shlubs. Happy Tuesdays would be a lot more challenging for me. Monday workdays seem to go by pretty fast but Tuesdays draggggggggggg on and on and on. For me this last Tuesday really dragged because I was signed up for a class on Tuesday night that I was super excited about: Pencil Me In taught by Karen O’Brien. Karen's mantra is "I want you to learn to love pencils!". She shared invaluable information about watercolor vs. dry pencils; the uses of clear gesso and absorbent ground and how these mediums affect everything from the strength of the paper to the quality of the color rendition. We learned the difference between H pencils and B pencils in practical application-we made sketches with each type using variable pressures and different drawing styles to test out their possibilities.

Not only am I now a big fan of pencils but I'm a clear gesso convert. I never knew about this wonder product. When I go into an art supply store I'm overwhelmed. There is too much to know, too much to buy. Will I use it? Do I need it? Classes can help clarify these things. Working with materials before running out and spending your life savings on things you may never use again is a good thing. The absorbent ground worked well but clear gesso is worth the cost. And it doesn't really cost that much.

Karen is a great teacher. If you ever get an opportunity to take a class with her, do it. It will be time and money well spent. The class was three hours and just flew by. Why is that work goes so slow but the fun stuff just zooms on by?

It has been a cold and rainy spring here but growth prevails! Here is a skunk cabbage in flower.

2010-04-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

Bearik Estrada is coming along nicely, if a little slower than I would like. The last several days have been devoted to what seems like endless sanding. Here I am under several layers of dust and looking 30 years older.

After several packages of sandpaper, and half a gallon of Bondo, I'm just about ready to paint.

Here's Bearik rockin' his new welded sunglasses! Can't wait to add reflective mylar to the lenses.

With any luck at all I'll have the project painted and assembled in about 10 days. The BearFest Bears will be prowling the streets of Grants Pass, Oregon this summer where they will be on display at various venues. Come Fall the bears will either be auctioned or sold , with proceeds going to Wildlife Images Rehabilitation and Education Center. http://www.wildlifeimages.org/

Scrappy Journal Swap Pages

2010-04-11T16:24:00.001-07:00

I finally finished my 11 Remains of the Day journal pages for a page swap sponsored by Gathering Up Bits of the World. I can't wait to receive my set of journal pages made by the others in the swap group.

Another Happy Friday

2010-04-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jamie Ridler I now pay attention to my happiness quotient during the week. I still get grumpy about things but I notice more often than not that my days are mostly good and things are always shifting in different and interesting ways. Learning to roll with the mutable quality of life makes living a lot less stressful. This is easier said than done, but the Happy Book project has worked its subtle ways on me. I pay more attention to the positive and let the negative roll on by. Usually. Sometimes. Well, I try to.

Ah well, happiness is not about perfection. Meanwhile the flowers keep blooming...

This beauty is known by the suggestive name of Pussy Ears (Calochortus tolmiei).This is the flower of the Pitcher Plant/ Darlingtonia (Darlingtonia californica)
And this last little beauty is a Trillium (in the Lily order - I couldn't find the Latin name because there are too many common names! I'm not sure which is which.)
All the flower photos were taken by the ever talented Tree Geek, master of the macro lens and bondo bears and who causes Harley bikes (not bikers!) to quake at the very sight of him.

Thrift Share Monday

2010-04-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Apron Thrift Girl is sponsoring Thrift Share Mondays and I thought I'd join in. I'll be cheating a bit as we didn't do any thrifting this weekend. We spent most of Saturday hiking in the woods with dogs and friends and Sunday was Easter so, not much thrifting opportunity anyway.

I wanted to share my finds relating to arts & crafts. As all you artsy-crafty types are well aware, that scrapbooking, knitting, sewing, painting habit can get very expensive. Dick Blick art supplies can be had at good discounts but are still shockingly expensive when added up and Michaels coupons can only go so far. We won't even discuss yarn- those picturesque little yarn shops that dot the countryside? I could pay my electrical bill in winter on what it would cost to make a sweater from yarn purchased at one of those places.

Perishable supplies like paint & glue are hard to thrift (and usually are half dried out and mostly used up) but I've really good luck with paper, fabric and tools. My completely thrifted fabric and wool scraps collection will be the subject of its own post. Today I wanted to share my thrifted tools.
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I love paperwork- mostly journaling, bookmaking, origami and collaging. Really important tool:

This isn't the latest in paper cutter technology with lasers and widgets and thermometers....but it actually cuts the paper in a straight line. For a buck and some elbow grease, it works great for me.

Here's a paper trimmer specially designed for scrapbooking sized paper:This too cost a buck. I think these are around $20 new.

This is a tool called Clik-it from Karen Foster. It has proven invaluable in book-binding. It's basically a screw-punch and had only been used a couple of times when I saw it. I agonized over it but in the end shelled out $5 for it:It has instructions, all the parts and a pad designed escpecially for the punches, all together in a nice wooden box. It works like a charm. I don't know what the retail cost of these are since they aren't available anymore. It has been replaced by the Scraparatus. If I ever see a Scraparatus at a yard sale, I won't hesitate to buy it.

I'm not a scrapbooker but some of the tools, like the Clik-it, have proven very useful in other crafts. It seems a lot of women go all out and buy everything scrapbook related and either never really make anything or keep upgrading to the newest products. Either way, they tend to get rid of their stuff at yard sales. Lucky me!

The Newest Snarker

2010-04-01T07:52:00.001-07:00

A belated welcome to our newest Crafty snarker, Porter.He's embraced the crafty lifestyle with gusto. Porter's style and sangfroid has made the crafty snarkers question their perception of crafting and the world as a whole. Porter presents an edgy re-interpretation of mass market produced toys. His design is simple: take an assembly line toy, de-construct it and provide a symbolic ritual bathing to bring the toy to a purer state.Who needs legs when someone can carry you? This is his message.
Here is Porter in repose with one of his newest creations. We embrace your artistic spirit Porter! You have crossed the line from craft to art - the snarkers will never be the same.All pics taken by Crafty snarker Donna. Porter is awesome!

Happy Flower Friday

2010-03-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

Slideshow made with Smilebox

I wanted to show off some of the great early spring flowers that are popping up southern Oregon.

The single white flower that appears twice- that's a Fawn Lily.

The other white flowers with the purple flowers in the background are white Shooting Stars Dodecatheon pulchellum (photo by TreeGeek). The purple ones are....wait for it...purple Shooting Stars! Betcha didn't know that.

The yellow flowers are Oregon Grape. I had no idea that Oregon Grape was so odiferous, in a pleasant way. I kept catching whiff of it while I was taking photos. There were an astounding number of bees and wasps crawling all over this plant. I took a few snaps and moved on. I didn't want to disturb the feeding frenzy.

The purple and pink fuzzy flowers are Pulsatilla (aka Pasque flower). The wiki article says these are toxic but I have herbalist friends that use a tincture of this plant for anxiety. You don't need much for it to work but no one should mess around with toxic plants unless they are under the supervision of a trained herbalist.

The two fields of flowers are Indian Warrior Pedicularis densiflora (both photos by TreeGeek). Someone was telling me that Pedicularis plants are in high demand. Apparently they help with spasm-type pain. I'm not sure exactly how they are prepared for medicinal use. They may look familiar to those of you who know Indian Paintbrush - they are very similar in appearance.

What's blooming in your area? Happy Spring!

2010-03-24T21:51:00.000-07:00

Bearik Estrada in progress

I'm taking a break from the fumes of fiberglass resin and bondo to post my progress on Bearik Estrada. After cutting limbs and resetting the jaw I reinforced the legs and arms with wire mesh covered with aluminum foil. The foil allows me to fiberglass over the modified parts without wasting too much resin.

I the built the mouth, teeth and nose out of A+B epoxy putty. This stuff dries to a rock hard finnish in about two hours-great stuff! I worked from a couple of quick sketches I did from CHiPs episodes on Hulu.

After the A+B putty was dry I began adding texture using automobile body filler. Working fast I used pieces of straw to add the texture.

Arcata

2010-03-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

Spent a long weekend in Arcata, CA. I love all the colors and the funkiness of the town. This mural was in Eureka. Beware the Kraken!A great new thrift store in Arcata. Very cheap.An odd mural on the Humboldt State University campus. Compelling, but odd.

This place is also in Eureka. It's a new restaurant/bar opening on May 1st. I wonder if the inside looks similar?

The Quilt Man Hath Cometh

2010-03-18T17:01:00.001-07:00

Every quilt begins with a dream.
If you buy one from a popular catalog, that dream began with a starving paraplegic child in Indonesia. I hope those toddler tears help you feel cozy at night.

That was just it, if an orphan with a 50 year old jerry-rigged diesel powered sewing machine could make a quilt, why couldn't I?

So this quilted tangent began in the fall of 2008. What happened in the ensuing years, you ask? Oh buddy, just you wait!
Some folks tell ya you need rulers, rotary cutters and an actual recipe for the quilt, one that is followed. Let me tell you, this ain't true!**Actually, you should follow the quilt recipe, please read below.
The quilting I do is the quilting that would be done if Che Guevara and Pancho Villa had a love child that was born an old lady wearing bandoleros filled with Singer needles. No pins, no thimbles, and no regrets.

Another enjoyable night of quilting under the influence
Quilting after imbibing a delicious libation is always a good idea, because your seams seem straighter when you're seeing double!

Things I learned from quilting:

Don't be afraid to fall into an abyss of patchwork
Keep things straight and measure if you get a chance (no seriously, this is a good idea)
The adage "measure twice and cut once" is actually true, sorry Pancho!
Substituting is okay of you are a teacher, but substituting quality fabric with the low dollar bargain bin remnant stuff, or corduroy/denim for linen, or a Budweiser & a machete for a pattern and a quilting class is not okay. Keep it real, quilt like a gangsta.

Okay, so after many months of work, the topside patchwork was finished. All done right? I have finished quilting, no? Well, quilting is actually a type of bedding composed of several layers generally combined using the technique of quilting .
Wait, hold up. Several layers? Yes, this includes a batting and a backing.
That took more time.
I chose a monster piece of black batting that did not have to be pieced together in the middle (the final dimensions of my quilt are 110"x 124").
I chose a flannel backing and a reserved and modest border so that if we had easily-nauseated guests over, we could flip the old girl over and they would not puke at the sight of my patchwork.

So, like an enormous fabric BLT, I had the layers of my quilt ready to go. I found a nice lady on the internet with a fancy machine to piece them all together (Quilt them).
But my dreams were dashed.....crest fallen, hopes ravaged, life over, it was time to burn my quilt in the street and ride a train to Barstow and oblivion. I was told that my gorgeous fabric sandwich was "un-quiltable".

Dear God, they'll never find my quilt or my body.

The problem was, it was too un-square, with lines all over the board. She thought it would be like quilting a square mile of bubble wrap in zero gravity...not possible.

Well, let me tell ya, a second opinion is worth a million bucks. I found another nice lady with an even bigger quilting machine and she said she could easily get it done. Sharon at Old Town Quilting in Fort Collins, CO is a master of quilting. She was able to take my rough-shod first ever quilt and work small "darts" into it. A dart is a small acute triangle folded in order to gather areas where extra fabric exists and quilt over them , helping the end product to conform to a square (sorry, Che!)
Sharon decided a meandering pattern would be most forgiving given the bare-back nature of my work. I had originally wanted a leafy pattern due to my infatuation with vegetation, but I took her advice, realizing that my quilt was lucky just to be quilted.
Another option would have been a "tie-type" quilt, where instead of sewing the layers together, a small portion of thread is used periodically to fasten them together. Old Man Brandy said that is how the Kansas ancestors made quilts, but that is just not my style. Like an extra large BLT...no, hey, garçon, I said EXTRA large...really, that is as big as they come? Okay. So a true quilt is like a BLT with a thousand tiny staples in it, not a single toothpick stuck in each half. I cringed at the thought of one yarny tie thread holding my whole mess together. Any price was acceptable, I needed that damn quilting!

So it has been a long and sometimes frustrating and agonizing journey. But, it was all worth it.Quilt #2 is in the works, and don't tell anyone, but I bought some rulers and a rotary cutter and a 12 pack.

More Creatures

2010-03-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

These are gifts. I wanted to document them because I will never see them again. I've made several of these things previously and didn't take any pictures. What was I thinking? I often wonder if the recipients truly like these things or do they see them a cheesy craft project? Or both? I have mixed feelings on the matter. They are fun to make but I hate to give people things that are really just bad crafts. I'm afraid these may be the macrame and crocheted poodles of the new millenium.I need to stop reading Homemade Hilarity and Handmade Gone Wrong- I lose all sense of perspective.

Another Happy Friday

2010-03-12T08:20:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the latest edition of Happy Friday! I finally, finally started on my Remains of the Day (ROD) journal. And I love it! The idea is to use up all the ephemera and scrap of every day life (and leftovers from craft projects) and create pages from these “remains”. The pages go through several rounds of sewing before being bound into the cover. I’ve been working away for a couple of hours every evening, sewing together bits and pieces on the pages. It’s a very relaxing and engaging process and, while you do need a sewing machine, you don't need any great sewing skills. As long as you can find the on switch, wind the bobbin and thread the needle, you're good to go.It seems like the completed pages are piling up quickly but when I looked over the other night at the pages still to go, I was surprised there are still so many waiting in queue. I have a feeling that I’ve made too many pages anyway. I think I have enough for two journals. Or enough for one journal and the page swap being sponsored by one of our class members. I can’t wait to receive pages from other RODers.

Meet the Crew

2010-03-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

Here are my various sock creatures with a few felt and wool ones mixed in. I've shown some of these critters on previous posts, but I wanted to show the whole gang together. Here is a list of books that the patterns were adapted from:
Stupid Sock Creatures
Plush O Rama
Stray Sock Sewing
The white one in the middle is a very rough adaptation of Martha Stewart's stuffed dog doll from one of her Holiday crafts magazines. I was recovering from surgery when I made that one. It looks not so much like the original - it's a Percocet interpretation.

Happy Friday!

2010-03-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another round of The Happy Book Mail Around. Please join us and post your happy for the week.

I'm currently putting a backing on my first (cheater's)quilt. The top part of the quilt was purchased at a yard sale for one dollar. The seller had scads of beautiful fabric for a dollar per bag. She was obviously over her fabric habit. This was mixed in with the random yards of material: One dollar. Who was I to argue? All the hard work was done (what did I know?). Those of you who have ever quilted will understand that a quilt top does not a quilt make. There are a lot more steps that follow to make a usable item of it. Batting, backing, sewing and then sewing some more. But the whole project is going well and I'm pleased with the results so far. I'll post a picture when it's complete.

Cloth Paper Collage

2010-02-28T07:27:00.000-08:00

Came across this project the other day and felt the urge to try it. I used cardstock instead of muslin but otherwise followed the directions. I originally made this to use as signatures for my journal project, but I think I would rather cut it up into postcards to send out as mail art. This was really fun, I highly recommend it. It's a good way to get rid of all those bits of paper you've been saving. I think I'll try the cloth version on the next go. It would make a great cover for a handmade journal.

Felize, Onnellinen, Shiawase...

2010-02-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Happy Friday. How to say Happy in other languages: Spanish-Felize, Finnish-Onnellinen and Japanese-Shiawase. I’m not sure how accurate the translations are but there you have it.

I finished more projects this week:

Origami Bauble (AKA Little Turtle) from Unit Origami by Tomoko Fuse
G
Café curtains. Finishing this project was a milestone for me since I’m an insecure and untrained seamstress. Curtains, however, are pretty easy and I’m pleased with the results. I especially like these curtains because the material looks gauzy when daylight is shining through and opaque when it's dark outside. All you theater geeks know this material as scrim.

I also finished my sister’s birthday present but I can’t unveil it yet. I want her to be surprised.

I’m very inspired by this video. I just love her and I really need to hear over and over that one should create without looking for hidden benefits. Creativity isn't about results or sellable items. It's about process. I have a really hard time remembering that because the final product tends to be my focus.

Also, there is a demonstration later in the video that shows a really cool crayon melter device in action. I may have to get one of those.

2010-02-22T21:59:00.000-08:00

Hey all. Thought I'd update you on my latest project: the Grants Pass BearFest 2010. BearFest is the creation of Brady Adams, President of Evergreen Federal Bank. Much like Chicago's famous fiberglass Cows the BearFest features fiberglass bears that have been decorated, fiberglassed, painted and placed on public display.

This year's theme is bears on Harley Davidson motorcycles, tentatively called the "Wild Bunch". First let me state that I have little to no interest in motorcycles, or cars for that matter. Really, anything with a combustion engine is something of a mystery to me. Wrenches and I don't get along very well. Given that I was somewhat hesitant about taking on this project, but I got an idea and couldn't help myself.

The full-sized hog I have to work with looks like the bike from the 1980's cheese-fest TV show "CHiPs", so I got the idea to do a takeoff called "Bearik Estrada". See rendering.

So far I've been working on converting my gray hog into a white CHP patrol bike. This involves the disassembly of gas tank, fenders, oil tank, and seat so I can paint the components. I've got the parts painted and most of them reattached to the bike.

Let me just get this off my chest: Harley's are poorly designed. They're heavy, loud, and it seems that every time you want to remove one part you have to take apart at least two other items. This is obviously intended so that the average guy trying to work on his own bike gives up in frustration and just takes it to the damn shop.

Venting over, feeling much better now, thank you.

That said, the work seems to be going fairly smoothly... so far. More soon

Happy Friday!

2010-02-19T09:54:00.000-08:00

Friday comes around so fast... Hope everyone is having a happy week and participating in the Happy Book Mail Around with Jaime Ridler Studios. I've had a great week that started off with the Jacksonville Chinese New Year last Saturday. And I finally signed up for the Remains of the Day scrappy journal class; I can't wait to begin! I also received a packet of beautiful paper scraps from Tara Finlay to kick off my class. It's been a great week.

Selma Oregon, overlooking the Siskiyou Mountains. Photo by Treegeek.

Chinese New Year - Jacksonville Style

2010-02-18T18:46:00.001-08:00

We had a break in the rain just in time for the Chinese New Year parade on Saturday, Feb 13th. Southern Oregon isn't exactly crawling with Chinese culture but there was quite a bit more Chinese inspired marchers and themes than there has been in the past. Given that, you'll still notice some anomalies:

Fabulous Paper Stash Giveaway

2010-02-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

Tara Finlay cleaned out her paper stash and very generously gave lovely packages of paper scraps (and other assorted items) to 5 lucky recipients. I was one of them. Here is some of the loot:I think it's time to sign up for Remains of the Day journal making class and use some of this bounty. Thank you so much Tara!

Happy Friday Links

2010-02-11T22:53:00.000-08:00

Is it Friday already? Back to the Happy Book Mail Around! I'm uncorking the champagne bottle after this post because, for the first time EVER! I won a giveaway on a blog. I was poking around the Remains of the Day blog again (I know, I know! Just take the class already!) and I found this blog. And I entered her giveaway and I won! Never had the Random Number Generator picked me. Until now... When I receive the loot I'll post some pictures.

Free Downloads! Everyone probably knows about these great programs already (and free! Did I mention that?) but I'll post them in case someone out there hasn't heard of:
Gimp: I'm still working out how to use this but I was told it's very much like Photoshop. I've gotten some fun results but then I'll add or subtract something and not be able to fix it. I should probably read the "Getting Started" online manual.

Inkscape: This is a vector graphics editor similar to Illustrator. It's techincal and daunting but I like puzzles and this is fun to play around with. If you start selecting random functions all sorts of interesting hell breaks loose. I'm sure it does something useful somehow.

And an amazing website:

Vpike: This could distract me all day. Type in an address and take a walk down that street. Want to see the old neighborhood? Check out a place to vacation? This site is fun. I'm not sure how often it will be updated so it could get dated really fast.

Spent last Saturday at the Humane Society - that always makes me happy. Two more of our beautiful gals found homes last week:Tica went home with three of the cats from the shelter. She was last seen sleeping on a queen sized bed.Cheyenne finally found a home! She's been living at the RVHS since she was pup; she's been there 2 years! She was so deserving of a home and finally someone recognized her for the wonderful dog that she is. I hope you have your fairy-tale ending Cheyenne.

Waldo Cemetery

2010-02-10T20:38:00.000-08:00

Since I moved here almost 6(!) years ago I've been hearing about the Waldo Cemetery. It's an old graveyard and not easy to find since the town of Waldo is long gone. You have to hike around for a bit to get to it. It's a small cemetery with a handful of markers (some are missing but are marked with posts) and all the graves are pre-1930s. Most markers are from the mid 1800s. I can't help but wonder- who were these people? What did they look like? What did they care about? What did they dream about? Were they loved and missed by family back east? What was their life like in the southern Oregon wildlands in the 1800s? They couldn't just trot over to Shopsmart or Dairy Queen when they needed a bite to eat or pop on over to the clinic when they were sick.
We can read history books and go to reenactment villages but I don't think we can ever really understand what life was really like for anyone in the past. There are so many complicated layers to a society at any given point in time that I think it's not possible to really know. I wish someone would invent a time machine!

2010-02-08T15:52:00.000-08:00

The Snarkiness lives on!

Random Happy Round Up

2010-02-05T08:20:00.000-08:00

It’s Friday again. Time for my weekly happy for The Happy Book Mail Around. The Giggle book is on its way to the second recipient in Montana. Only 2 more to go and I’M NEXT! Yippee!

I’ve been catching up on a lot of different things going on out there that are cause for celebration:

-Terrence Murphy & Elmo: This one is for the dog and kid lovers out there.

-Finished projects: For the great procrastinators…scroll down to the post below. I actually finished these projects. Finished them completely. It may not look like much but for me, a big deal.

-Crystal Caves: This one is for the adventurous. It would be a life altering experience to walk through this cave. I’ve been in caves before, but this is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

-Artfest: For the creative souls out there, here is your chance to attend this amazing event. Free. No, really. Some very generous soul has donated her spot. Some very lucky soul will get it for a hundred words or less.

-Remains of the Day: For the book makers & journal lovers. This is the class for you! I’m saving my pennies because I want to take this class so bad I can taste it. Here are links to some of the student’s finished journals: tatterededge, sabinblog, ginarossiarmfield, magpiejst and tyggereye. These journals just resonate with me. I'm sewing up a storm but I'm not sure it'll be the same without Mary Ann's expert instruction.

Hope you have a happy Friday! Unlike these two. The pathetic looks they can give when they think they are being wronged!

Finished Projects

2010-02-01T11:24:00.000-08:00

I finally finished up the few projects I've been working on. Trying to clear the slate so I can begin work on my handmade journal. I've been gathering paper scraps and the sewing machine is at the ready.

Goodbye to Craft Night (but the blog will endure)

2010-01-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

Goodbye to an era! Last night was the official end of our weekly "Craft Night" in it's current inception. We've lost too many members within the past year to keep it going. First Casey bailed out on us and then Andrew (both dead to us) and now it's Luke and Erin's turn. The "dead-to-us" list has grown too large to keep track of anymore. So, it was amazing while it lasted. You were such an interesting and fun group; I'll always hold a place in my heart for all of you and our weekly snark and bacon and wine and gross amounts of delicious food (and the occasional craft) fest. Donna, in deference to Luke's bacon addiction, made bacon brownies as a going away present. For real. You can see the bacon sprinkled on top in the photo if you look closely. The recipe also replaced butter with bacon grease. Doesn't that sound so appealing? The carnivores said it was really good. We'll believe them.Journey on to great things my gypsy friends. To all the rest who are still in the area, please stop by the Barking Dog hacienda any time you want to say hello. The door is always open, as long as Max will let you in. Sorry, he's the deciderer, not me.

Floral Globes

2010-01-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago I was given a gift card for my birthday to Barnes & Noble. I had been exclaiming over the book Kaleidoscope: Ideas & Projects to Spark Your Creativity previous to my birthday and my friend thoughtfully purchased a gift card to cover the cost of that book. I got to B&N and had Kaleidoscope in my hand while I wandered around for a bit.

I'll never know for sure if Kaleidoscope would have provided the promised stunning creative revelations because I got really distracted by Floral Origami Globes by Tomoko Fuse. That's the one I ended up purchasing and ran home with. I apologized profusely to my friend for not using the gift card for its intended purpose but she really didn't mind. I never did buy Kaleidoscope.

Here is what Floral Globes has wrought upon my life:The results are gratifying but here's a warning: these are very, very fiddly to make. The origami paper needs to be cut in half (30 times) so you have 60 rectangles. Then they are folded. Then you have to put them together and then interlock them to form the globe. That's when the hair-tearing and crying ensues. Then, after stopping yourself from stomping on it, tearing it to shreds or burning it, bit by bit, in the fireplace, you manage to finagle that last piece in place. The integrity of the whole is amazing when the final piece locks in. It's suddenly a solid little mass where before was chaos and weakness. The result is worth the aggravation.

This book is many variations on a couple of themes but they all end up looking different with creative paper combinations. Tomoko Fuse has some other great books on modular origami. If you like multi-piece origami this is the designer for you. If you want to start off a bit easier try some of the simpler models in Unit Origami or Fabulous Origami Boxes. Not quite so fussy.

Happy Fridays!

2010-01-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

OK, so it's really Sunday but we'll climb in a time machine and head all the way back to Friday so I can post my happiness to "The Next Chapter Happy Book Mail Around". I received 2 books in the mail that have made me very happy: Eco Books & Good Mail Day. I started working on a cover for a book made from plastic shopping bags:

I've been gathering scrapbook paper, junk mail and other random scraps of paper so I can make the signatures. I can't wait to have my own made-from-scratch journal. Yippee! That's my Eco Book happiness.

Good Mail Day happiness: I received a handmade card in the mail 2 days after I received Good Mail Day.

Conincidental, yes, but I'll take it as a fortuitous sign that I'll be recieving a lot of mail art. Of course I'll be making mail art so, if I have your address there should be some coming your way. Soonish. Thanks Ali! Mail art went from something abstract to something tangible in my mailbox. Now I can't wait to create some.

Last, but not least, on the happiness front:

Bella, who was living at the Rogue Valley Humane Society, went to her new home yesterday. As much as I love the animals there, I'm always so happy to see them go to a real home. The RVHS is a wonderful place with hardworking staff and volunteers and the animals are well cared for but, it isn't the same as living in your own home. When the animals leave forever with a smiling individual or couple or family it makes my day. Goodbye Bella!

Another Plushie

2010-01-21T17:59:00.000-08:00

Another project from Plush-O-Rama:

This one is called Batty Cat Bubbles. I had fun with free form sewing on the face and I love his dainty wings on the back.

There's one other pattern in Plush-O-Rama called Onimushi that I want to try. I think that may be the only other one I attempt from this book. Since I'm not great at sewing I have to moved by a pattern to put myself through the aggravation of trying to figure it all out. I don't find the bulk of the patterns in Plush-O-Rama inspiring enough to whip out the needles. That's just my take on this book; if you are a plushie lover and a brave stitcher (experienced) you would probably find this book a lot more inviting.

On another craft topic, I received Eco Books by Terry Taylor (Lark publishing) in the mail yesterday. I'm absolutely mad for it. I really want to make books but I've never tried. The projects in this book are based on materials you can pull out of your recycle bin: gift cards, plastic bags, old mouse pads, egg cartons. My brain is spinning with all the possibilities. I can't wait to dive in.

Plushies

2010-01-20T18:56:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago I purchased the book Plush-O-Rama by Linda Kopp. It's a book of silly plush toys that you can make for yourself. I fell in love with Gregoire, a design by Rosa Pomar:I didn't have a way to enlarge the pattern at the time so I just copied the one straight from the book. I figured it would be a good experiment and I would make a larger one in the future. I made the creature and after several experiments with the lips I finally got it looking OK.
Nowhere near as cute as Rosa's version but since I'm not much of a sewer, I was happy with it. The mouth forms a pocket and I realized that my MP3 player fits perfectly into his mouth pouch. That makes him useful as well as silly. I have to wrap the earphones around his neck to keep it all together; that's sort of disturbing and not terribly practical. I haven't figured out the best way to deal with that issue -I thought about making a little backpack or front pouch but he's so small that I would have to cram the headphones in. Not a good idea.My sister asked for one for Christmas (yes, this past Christmas, not the coming one). I have a ton of wool pieces I bought at a yard sale and I couldn't decide the best one so I made three of them.The red check is the strongest fabric. I like the blue check the best but the material is disintegrating. The plaid is cute too and seems fairly strong. I need to sew lips and faces on these things. The lips are the biggest issue. They don't really sew on the way it's described in the book. At least I can't figure it out. In the picture from the book the lips look amazing. Mine didn't turn out nearly so well.

The book has some inspiring projects. I think I'll have to try a few more. Stay tuned for Batty Cat Bubbles designed by Amy Proff Lyons. Batty is my favorite one in Plush-O-Rama.

The Parsing of Happiness

2010-01-17T12:10:00.003-08:00

I feel honored to take part in Jamie Ridler's The Next Chapter: The Happy Book Mail Around. All 105 participants are receiving a copy of The Happy Book for one week. We can make any additions to the book that we desire for the allotted time period, then mail the book to the next person on the list. There are 4 books circulating and I'm proud to be the 5th member of the "Giggle Circle". My book starts out with Pamela in Saskatchewan and then stops in Montana, somewhere unknown, then CA, then to my mailbox in the tiny town of Cave Junction, Oregon. I love the idea of a collaborative process. This is my first foray into this world.

For those of you who know me, you are probably giggling at the idea of me taking part in anything that has the word happy in it. PHTTTT!! I'm not always the crazy skeptic, there are a lot of things that make me happy! When I get the book I'll take pictures of my happiness. Make lists of my joys....I'll prove once and for all that it IS possible to be a happy perfectionist/skeptic. It is.

I'll start now. Here's something that makes me happy-the three miscreants:I post on this blog as Monkey Mind but I used Gemmy Girl when I signed onto The Next Chapter. That's my superhero identity. I have the power to turn invisible and pass through walls. What super power do you desire?

Meet the Creatures

2010-01-15T18:56:00.000-08:00

I purchased the book Stray Sock Sewing back in December. Here's what happened:A re-worked version of a "Long Eared Mini Doll" and 2 "Little Red Pigs". Not so red. The pigs are especially fast and fun to make. Check out their little feet:
Making the feet was my favorite part. The secret? Cotton balls!

Christmas for procrastinators

2010-01-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know Christmas was a few days ago (or a week...), but hey, when you're visiting relatives and stuffing your face every waking moment, there's hardly time to blog, is there? So here are some pictures of our Snarky cookie party:

Our lovely, non-traditional, Incense Cedar tree, that we chopped down ourselves, with help from fellow Snarks Cece and Bryon. As you can see, it has several of the tiny yarn animals adorning it, the latest of which is our Craft of the Week, the alcoholic octopus.

Apparently, there's this tradition for fans of the Detroit Red Wings to toss octopi onto the ice during games (don't ask me, I don't know why). Since a relative of one of the Crafty Snarks is a Red Wings fan, I gave him the drunken octopus for Christmas, so he no longer adorns our lovely abode. However, I better not see him being tossed into any hockey rinks, because that sucker took me hours of painstaking time to craft.

Here are some Snarks Crafting Christmas cookies. Mmmm...coookies....

Luke made this lovely number, which, as you can clearly see, is a Russian figure skater made of gingerbread. Here, I think I have a better picture...

There we go. Isn't she lovely?

And of course, the traditional "AE" cookie, which, um, I'm not really sure what it stands for. I'll get back to you on that. But look at the craftsmanship! Amazing.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season! Now settle in for the long winter and stay warm and crafty!

Edit: The "AE" is for our fellow Crafty Snark Andrew, who is rockin' out in Washington right now, working for Olympic National Park. Absent in body but not in spirit...we miss you Andrew!

The sweater saga

2009-12-04T18:36:00.000-08:00

The story of the sweater continues. After many late, knitting-marathon nights, I finished knitting the body and the multi-colored pattern.

This was the first time that I'd ever attempted knitting such an intricate pattern with more than one color, and I think I did ok, despite not really knowing what the hell I was doing. Having a good audio book to listen to really helps. This is a picture of the top of the body with the pattern. The green piece of yarn running down the middle is the center of the front, of which I shall shortly proceed to sew two seams on either side, and then proceed to CUT DOWN THE CENTER WITH SCISSORS!!! Oh my god, what am I thinking?!?!! For those of you in the know, this is called steeking (See here for a great account of steeking for the first time. And then buy the book. Do it. Now.) And for those of you who don't realize why this is such an abhorrent idea, you aren't knitters and you'll never understand. But I digress.

So I sewed. Here's a picture of the seams, before the fateful cut.

And I (gasp) cut...

Oh, that wasn't so bad.

So then I pinned, and sewed the facings.

And now, the (almost) final product.

Now I just have to finish the neck border and block. Then I'll magically know how to surf!

2009-11-23T16:56:00.000-08:00

How you like these apples?Your Grandma wishes she could quilt like this.

A Challenge

2009-11-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

Guess the number of dogs in the photo below (hint- there's more than it seems at first glance)The first one to guess correctly gets a free dog. Which one you receive will depend on who is on the s$^% list that day.

Sugar Skulls

2009-11-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

I know the Day of the Dead has passed but I had so much fun making these that I wanted to share. The skulls came 9 to a bag at Dollar Tree. When I went back to get more they were sold out. Very disappointing. If anybody has any lying around and wants to give them up I'll be happy to decorate one for you in exchange for your generosity.

Rip it, ribbit

2009-11-05T16:08:00.001-08:00

Sometimes, when you've slaved over something, then taken it out and re-slaved a couple of times, and you're still not happy with it, even after you've forced yourself to wear it a couple of times and then tried to ignore it, there's nothing left to do besides froggit (you knitters out there know what I'm talking about). So, we start with something like this:(trust me, it may look ok, but it was really horrible). As a beginning knitter, I knit this sweater in several pieces, then stitched together. This, in my opinion, is the worst way to knit anything. You're supposed to knit a sweater. That's why it's called knitting, not sewing. I knit and re-knit the sleeves on this thing two or three times before just giving up and wearing it. Once or twice. Then it disappeared into the black hole in my closet.

So one day, I was innocently going about my business, when I saw this book. And it had this sweater on the front...and the sweater spoke to me and said, "knit me!" and I thought that it looked like the perfect pattern for this particular yarn that I had, that just happened to be used at the moment by a very un-savory sweater, and all was lost after that. So I started ripping...and picking out #$@&!! stitches. Like so:
Here is the infamous sweater about a third of the way un-done:So now I'm knitting my little heart out, and ignoring the fact that I don't quite know all the techniques used in the pattern (neck steek?) (using a sewing machine??).
I just fell in love with the pattern and am totally convinced that when I'm done the sweater will look exactly like the one in the picture, and will make me look exactly like the model in the picture (and I'll magically know how to surf) ...right?

More Tarnation

2009-10-29T13:05:00.001-07:00

WHAT IN TARNATION!?

2009-10-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

Heavens to Betsy, life ain't easy for the purdiest gal in town. Scuttlebutts aside, it ain't just them flannel mouths calling me "hotter than a whorehouse on nickle night".

One amongst these four heinous criminals committed the murder, I do declare we won't have peace here in the town of Roadkill until we rid ourselves of this dispicable and, furthermore, gruesome depravity. So roostered they was riding shank's mare!

Here we have the severed head of the last four-flushin' mudsill who done skipped craft night and so dearly lacked a valid excuse.

Them veils can't hide the yearning for power in this one here. Too many nights alone in that bone orchard. Anyone who takes her monthly bath in Holy Water must be awful fond of that communion wine, yes indeed.

My goodness gracious Sheriff, you cut a ravishingly fine figure, finer than cream gravy if I do say so myself! I always say the bushier the mustache the longer the ride, so to speak. Now go on Sheriff a smile for that there fancy picturebox.

To determine what the hell all the slang means, click here

Pumpkin Carving & Bleach

2009-10-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

Here are the pumpkins we carved for our Halloween extravaganza: The 2 bigs one in back were carved later. And the white thing in the middle is a ghost made from cheesecloth and glue. They're really fun to make.

Here is Erin showing off part of her heart-throb cowboy belt buckle in process:

And here is Luke with bleach. Why? Who knows. If you do please leave a comment.
The "hey-there sailor" picture of Emily and the Kelly carving picture did not turn out. I'm still working out how to use that damn camera. Sometimes the pictures are great - sometimes not. I can't blame the camera for that. Operator error all the way.

Paper Mache

2009-10-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

I love this stuff! Why haven't I worked with paper mache sooner in my life? There is so much you can do with it -the possibilities boggle the mind. If you think I exaggerate just check this out: Stolloween. I'm too much of a dabbler to ever be the master craftsman Stoll is but I can work at being half as good. Here is round one on my pumpkin:

I used old bank statements and other paper destined for the burn barrel. It's a great way to recycle.

For the second layer I used brown paper bags. On Stoll's site he gives all sorts of basic how-to information. It's a pretty flexible craft, in terms of glue to flour ratios and types of paper you can use, but we'll see how the actual painting part goes. Painting requires artistic ability and could very well be a disaster for me. Anyway, it's so much fun. I love papercrafts and rarely do anything sculptural that isn't modular (ie: folding the same model over and over again). Tonight, I paint. Wish me luck!

U-Pick Pumpkins- Kerbyville Farm

2009-10-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

I don't know why it's so much fun to pick out your own pumpkins, but it is. Especially when the weather is so grand and you have a field full of pumpkins to take your pick from.

We also picked our own tomatoes, though there aren't many left.

The farm sells a lot of squash. The farmer picks these for you.

Dragon Dedication

2009-10-07T09:14:00.001-07:00

Here is the completed yard-art sculpture that Kelly's been working on. Check out his earlier dragon post to refresh your memory. It's been awhile.Kelly was commissioned to finish the sculpture in memory of Chuck Jacobs (AKA Billy). The dragon was the latest project Chuck was working on when he passed away in August of 2007. Metal sculpture was new to Chuck- he had been a furniture maker for many years and wanted to learn something different. He wanted so much out of life, he couldn't be idle for a moment. He was always building, traveling, raising a ruckus, adventuring in some fashion. His wife, family and all their dear friends from the area gathered on Saturday, October 3rd for a dedication/memorial ceremony. Chuck had finished the globe, the dragon's head and a partial tail before moving on to his newest adventure (wherever you are I'm sure you're giving someone hell). Kelly finished off the body, making the scales one by one, and then did his own interpretation of the wings. Chuck had left a vague picture in his workshop but no other information on what his vision/plans were for the final details.

The ceremony was at the Selma Center. The weather was blustery (like Chuck) but the rain held and there was even some rays of sunshine to highlight the coppery tones of the dragon.

It was great to have Betsey back in town, even though she wasn't here nearly long enough. Here she is gazing through the world. Come back to us soon, Betsey!

Crochet is so damn MANLY, it hurts

2009-10-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

So, what do you do with 5 old towels that have served their country well, but have grown less plush and kinda smelly with age? Thanks to CeCe, I learned that when it comes to crochet hooks, size DOES matter. First, spiral cut the towels into one long continuous strip. Then, after some push-ups and protein drinks, rev your engines and start making knots.

Whatever you do, do NOT let an amped-up crotchet stud like this enter your calm & tidy abode, after all, this is Cave Junction. One minute you are contemplating the beauty of serpentine-influenced flora and the next minute you've got braided aqua-marine terrycloth racing stripes glued to your rusty new 1983 Camaro and a crocheted hanging fruit basket. But there ain't nothing fruity about that gun show to the right, folks.

Look at the size of those balls, of yarn. Almost done, this will be such a great floor mat for my broke-down cinder-blocked monster truck. Scientists first discovered the testosterone molecule using crochet hooks. It's a fact, Google it!

The pattern represents the life of the hallowed & illustrious & chaw-rific tobacco plant. Green vibrant earthly, freshly the joy germinates; then brown & seasoned, perfect for a packed oozing lip-full; alas my friends and we are full circle, green again the color of my nauseated, jaundiced face after the holy tobacco plant has made me one with Gaia.

2009-10-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

0.8x4oz.=3.2oz.

Craft Night in Mid September

2009-09-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

Oh what a craft night it was! Things actually got crafted. You can tell winter is coming even though the days are still warm. We're all crafting. Well, except me. Some horrible dog whose name I can't even say right now TOOK APART the origami floral globe I painstakingly put together 2 weeks ago. The craft group cheered me on as I pushed through my frustration and completed a tidy, sturdy globe. Which the b%^* took apart on Tuesday. She didn't even shred it, which is almost worse. If she had destroyed it I could have said "oh well, it's ruined". Except it's not. And now I have to put the damn thing back together. Anybody want a free dog?

Guess who the ace dismantler is!Here are our projects for the week:

Cece's Sock!

Cece with sock. She's so freaking adorable with her blue sock!Kelly is working on bronze sculptures of Easter Island style heads. This is carved from wax and will be used for the actual bronze casting. As this craft develops I'll be posting more information.And Erin's totally splentacular, amazing and just so f^$&ing adorable Sea Nettle, made from a Hansigurumi pattern (sorry for the photo quality, my bad):And totally unrelated to our craft night but cool anyway:Some lucky devil in Cave Junction has this for a mailbox. I just love it! Nancy

Oregon Caves National Monument Hike

2009-09-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

On Labor day we hiked the Big Tree Trail at the Oregon Caves Monument. The highlight of the trail is – one wild guess!-a big tree. The big tree is the largest Doug Fir in the state of Oregon, estimated to be around 1300 years old (give or take a few hundred years), with a circumference of 41 feet and 160 feet tall. It’s not a Redwood by any standards but it’s a really big tree. Since most old growth forest is gone it’s hard to remember that trees overall used to be a lot bigger. Here's the tree: I had a great time. Don’t let Kelly tell you I was bitching the whole way up the trail, I was not. OK, maybe I was, but just a little. A teeny tiny bit really. No need to blow it out of proportion. Kelly did point out that we were hiking on a trail in the mountains and most likely there would be some elevation gain (1100ft, to be exact). I was much more reasonable after he told me that. It’s not like I starting yelling about moving to Kansas immediately or muttering wildly “where the $%&^ is this *#$& tree” or anything like that. I really did have a great hike, especially on the downward descent. The tree is magnificent, the trail is well-maintained and the forest is enchanting. We saw a deer that was relatively untroubled by our presence, it kept hopping a short distance ahead on the trail until it got wise to our direction and moved parallel up the mountainside. The woods were alive with rodents, all industriously preparing for winter (or not - who knows really?). We saw little black, very noisy squirrels and lots of chipmunks, although I can’t ID any of them with the genus/species. There are a lot of squirrel-type critters in the west. Birds were calling, mostly the Stellar’s Jays although I did hear some Nuthatches and Chickadees. I’m glad I stuck it out- it was a memorable hike.

More of the Pets that Tolerate Craft Night

2009-09-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

More pictures of our snarky pets...Velcro the wonder cat with the polydactyl paws..And a better shot of Io.

And here's a terrible shot of China. China is currently off on a backpacking expedition so, when she returns I will attempt to redeem my photographic skills and get a better portrait of her. As for Kita- I'll just have to try again. For such a tunky gal she sure does move fast!