She Was Laid Low :(

Yeppers it's true, a virus has snuck up from behind to invade my body! :( At this point my head and my stomach are in direct competition with each other and I am not a happy girl. So I think I'm going to let LW pamper me with tea, toast and love today, and leave you guys to do the creating part. :)

Oh but I will leave you with a few of my favorite pictures of my little paradise :)

These next two are especially for you Miss LeAnn!! :)

Today is a great day to Create no matter where in the world you are!  p;)

A Couple of Just For Me Projects

I think January is my favorite time to make art. Maybe because the holidays are over for another 11 months and the ones in the up coming year are still a ways off. But mostly I love January as an Art month because I can pull out all those want tos, need tos, and lets play projects/ideas. You know the ones you've been shoving on the back burner, or bribing yourself with. Now that's a true me characteristic. Okay when I get this and this and that done then I can play with... :) Know anyone like that???

So just for a bit (not long enough to suffer withdrawals mind you) I've put my beads, wire and tools away. We have two of these lamps. And as lamps go they are fine, however even with a cute row of fringe on the shade it still looks like a rice worker's hat. :(  Add to that the little matter that the shades are filthy and won't come clean.

Lampshades sold without a lamp base are next to impossible to find here in town. And when you do they are the type where the bottom and top frame wires are separated and the shape is created by stiff fabric covered plastic. I had it in my mind to put the shade on a bit of a diet by making the circumference of the bottom wire much smaller. Sooooo with a lot of cursing and more cursing I figured out a way to do that and then attach the top to the bottom wire so that my shade didn't have to be stiff plastic. :) Why yes if Mrs. Ross had heard her daughter, I'm sure there would have been a bar of soap with my name on it. ;)

For the shade I used 2 of my grandmother's embroidered and cut work linen napkins. I have a tablecloth and 9 napkins. I refuse to use them any more on the table because it never fails that someone spills or wipes red lipstick on them. :( These are irreplaceable so I have been working the pieces into other things. That way I still have the pieces and I'm using them instead of letting them mildew in the drawer. So I used 2 napkins sewn together with a self casing. I ran a vintage piece of ivory grosgrain ribbon through the casing so that it would fit over the frame. By doing it this way I didn't have to cut into the napkins and by removing the stitching I'm back to 2 napkins.  

  

For the base I thought I would let my new rust addiction have full rein. You know an antique cast iron finial of some sort nicely rusted, paint peeling sort of thing. Haaaa Haaaa HA. After layers of white paint, the iron paint then the rust medium, crackle medium... well,... all I can say is even squinting your left eye and covering your right,.. rusted cast iron would not be your first or last guess!! ;)  All LW could think to say was "well it's not really that bad,  and where did you say you were going to use it?" Time to get serious. I stuck another thick layer of crackle medium on and when it dried I slapped yep slapped a nice uneven coat of white paint on. Okay it looks better. Might even pass as rusted cast iron kinda. 

  

So when you put the top and the bottom together it looks like this. Yep I'm happy with it. :)

I can't tell you exactly why but I have always wanted a pair of well loved pointe shoes, I just have. A while back when I saw 3 very well loved pairs on eBay I threw in a bid for $1.99. I guess no one else wanted them so I'm now the proud owner or 2 pairs of really well loved and one pair of sorta loved pointe shoes! :) I took the two really well love pairs and played a bit with them. They didn't come with their ribbon ties so I made some. This pair I collage sheet music for Swan Lake in the inner soles and added a bit of my tea dyed lace and manta cloth for ribbons.

The other pair I cut out a few flowers from a piece of cotton fabric and glued (shhh don't tell, I was lazy and didn't sew them on) them to the tops and the inner soles. I tore ribbons of the same fabric for the ties.

The table cloth in both pictures was the one my grandmother embroidered to match the napkins. I can not even begin to imagine the hours it took to create these. They are more then precious to me. And although I do use our keepsakes rather then sticking them away it breaks my heart when they are not respected for what they are. I want to be able to pass these to my grandmother's great grand children. This is the way I can enjoy the love placed in these pieces and still have them to pass on.

 

Today is a great day to create no matter where in the world you find yourself.   p;)

Any day Is A Good Day To Go Junkin!!!

Boy "Ain't that the truth" !! Even if you only score a small haul. And that's especially true here. Thrift stores are a concept that is only now beginning to catch on in Mexico. There are second hand stores of a sort called "Bazars" they carry used clothes and stuff but it's a long stretch to vintage. Our "flea market" is the same way. As far as Antique stores, Mazatlan doesn't have any. I would have to go to Guadalajara or Mexico City for those. SO when Martha said let's go do a bit of Junkin this afternoon, I'm already out the door. :) We have a couple of little Bazars we check every so often, takes us about an hour then we spend the rest of the afternoon sitting and sipping cappuccinos. :)

I finally held out long enough that the shop own finally sold me this trophy cup for a price we were both happy with. Of course I was pretty safe in holding off cuz I doubt there was anyone else in the city who wanted an old beat up sliver plated trophy for hunting with most of the silver rubbed off the base of the cup. Makes you wonder if the cup was part of the celebration ceremonies after the contest, hmmmm??

Okay I know it's a real stretch of the imagination but I'm thinking that will a bit of crackle medium and white paint, and it already has a good rust thing going on at the base of the flowers....??? Well it could be kinda really perfect for that whole Danish-French Country look??? Well maybe you should check back here in a bit before you make your final decision!  You just never know :)  

Found a few little silver plated spoons with some of the plating rubbed off and some nice patina going on. The three on the right are small demitasse size. Just the perfect size to stamp words on and use as focal in necklaces.

The little spoon on the left was a little boy baby's spoon See his name engraved on the handle. Antonio Guillermo must have been a much loved little boy. The other spoon besides having some really cool character marks has a R engraved on it. Cool character marks and a R for Ross, why that fits me perfectly ;) Ross is a good maiden name don't you think????

Martha and I found this lovely piece of Super Bling in the cabinet of an old watch repair guy's shop. It's in dire need of a bit of love with the pin gone and missing a few rhinestones but heck how can any self respecting blingaholic pass this baby up??? And besides all those sparkly rhinestones that's a crown on the top. So you just know there is a divine vision just waiting to be created in that Baby!! :)

So all in all it was a perfect day of junkin and 2 friends sipping cappuccinos!

I have this bit of phrase hanging in my little art corner and it pretty much expresses my goal for the next 30-40years. "Today is a Good Day to Create"... (no matter where in the world you are)...  p;)

Yaa Hooo New Art Books!!!

Not to worry this is not a book review, cuz honesty I am hardly qualified to review the table of contexts of any art books. But after all these years of living with myself I have a pretty good idea of how best I learn. And I gotta tell you I love both of these new books for totally different reasons.

Cynthia Thornton's book  "Enchanted Adornment" is truly (no matter how trite it sounds) an enchanting art jewelry book. As we all know  Cynthia is Green Girl Studios and creates some of the most bewitching metal clay charms. In her book she has created 20 projects that she very skillfully walks us through. And yes they all either involve polymer or metal clay. And yes I don't work with either, and I doubt I will be working with either for some time still. It's not that I'm not just itching to learn to create with metal clays. However both techniques require very specific materials and equipment that I don't have and have no access to here. Soooooo these will remain on the proverbially back burner. The thing is there are all kinds of substitutes for the pieces that are created from clay. And I have certainly become the "Queen of Improvising" since moving here. Which is a good thing because it really stretches and exercises my "little Grey cells". :)

 

But it's not the technical aspects of the book that has made it my all time most favorite art book. Cynthia has the most infectious imagination, and story telling abilities. She has created a wonderful elfish faerie tale around her projects, which makes the book just plain fun to read!! She has included lots of wonderful ethereal sketches with her descriptions, instructions and stories

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No I don't know why Blogger decided to turn this picture on it's side. But I'm willing to bet they (whoever they is) love sitting around cooking up ways to completely frustrate us and remind us just who exactly is in control!! :(

Cynthia's instructions are very easy to follow and understand and her photos show you the whole piece so you don't have to guess what something looks like by seeing a closeup of 2 inches of a piece.

She finishes her book off with an "inspiration gallery" featuring 14 different mixed-media jewelry artists creation's of elfin delight.

The other book is Jean Campbell's  new release "Steampunk Style Jewelry" Gads I'm really enamored with this book also. Although they are nothing alike this one also reaches out to play with my imagination as well as providing well thought out easy to follow instructions

 

Jean also features 20 different pieces of art jewelry that are heavily influenced by a bit of the Steampunk feeling. Unlike Cynthia who is the creator of all her featured pieces Jean has brought together 20 different artists The photos and instructions are very easy to follow, and assimilating new techniques is easier then you might have thought.

Jean doesn't tell any tales or let us sneak into the land of elves and faeries, but I found her book just as entertaining and imagination stretching. She has included all kinds of interesting facts, trivia, and just plain fun information of the true life of the world of steampunk. In the side bars she explains where it's roots are, what influences the Victorian and Edwardian periods had in it's development.

One thing is for sure when you get done reading all her nifty side bars you are garuenteed to win the steampuck section on the Jeopardy board!! :)

Jean also has a great gallery of designs by some impressive mix-media jewelry heavy weights that already have my imagination shifting into high gear
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So I guess you can see why I am as excited as a little kid to have these books to play with. Unlike the bloglandian artists up north I don't have the chance to go to different conferences,workshops and retreats that the new year and spring brings. I have to depend on well written, (and entertaining) books and the rare video to expand my abilities, learn new techniques and explore different types of art. I truly am a book and technical tutorial junkie (and proud of it) !!!! :)

Time for this little junkie to take her new books and curl up for a second read through. Have a most audacious today or tomorrow depending on where in the world you are  p;)

It's a Table Cloth No it's a Curtain No it's a.....

Actually my Bloglandian pals it's a, gads I'm not sure what the official name for this garment. A shrug I suppose, or a little cover up, a wrap, maybe a to wear in public "bed jacket" ???? I have been noticing these little jacket/sweater/vest things made of vintage lace in a number of catalogs. Magnolia Pearl, and Anthropologies want a queen's ransom for these little lovelies. There really isn't anything complicated or difficult to making them so I thought I'd give it the good ol college try. I found a great vintage crochet lace curtain at a yard sale awhile ago. Perfect I thought. So perfect I even payed to much money to get it. After I got it home washed it and gave it the picky-eye once over I realized that it was literally disintegrating in my hands. The sun will do that here in less then a year. :(  On to plan "B", the fabric store had some bolts of machine crocheted lace for sale the other day for $1.00/meter. Heck at that price if it didn't work out I could always use it for scrap. So I bought a couple of meters, kinda eyeballed a knitted wrap I have and made a pattern.  Then played around putting it together
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I thought I'd use some black velvet ribbon as a edging because I was leaving all the edges raw ( a little nod to deconstruction). Now you might remember that one of the things on my list for the States was velvet ribbon??? Well I couldn't find any at Hancock's or Joann's so I came back with nada. Okay since it was a bit of the deconstructed, well loved look I was going after I decided I'd try to make some ribbon with the black velvet fabric I had. Heck if it didn't work there's always the needy scrap bag  :)

Around the bottom and the edge of the sleeves I also added some of my favorite tea died vintage lace tatting.

I left the edges raw on both. I ran a bit of very thin velvet ribbon ribbon through the lace and tied two little bows at the top of the sleeves.

A couple of big snaps on the front to close. But snaps are soooo icky especially here cuz they oxidize in a heart beat. Dum da da dum... you know all those rhinestone clip earrings everyone has a few of in their junk drawer??? Well they make perfect faux buttons with an attitude! :)

SO what do you think??? I know it's doesn't have a Magnolia Pearl label on it but it mustn't be to ugly cuz the only time Annelise will let me wear it is when she is stuck at home looking for the last place she left her head ;)

Okay I'm off to hide this little number while Annelise is occupied, if I'm lucky she won't find where

 I stashed   ..er.. she lost her head for a day or two ;)

Have a most audacious today or tomorrow depending on where in the world you are   p;)

Dia Los Reyes...Day of the Maji

Today in the Catholic/Christian celebration of the Epiphany. The day the 3 Magi arrive in Bethlehem. Here in Mexico it is the last day of celebration for the Christmas season. In the olden days this was the day gifts were exchanged. Now most families exchange gifts on Christmas Eve, with a smaller gifts exchanged today. The day is traditionally celebrated with a sweetbread called Rosca and hot chocolate. Here is a great explanation I found on the Mexican Department of Culture website. It's a translated version (google) so it doesn't read very true. Like using the word thread when talking about the pastry :) But you'll get the gist.

The Rosca de Reyes is a crown, which is decorated with nuts and crystallized simulating colored jewels that were embedded in the crowns of the Three Kings which mean Peace, Love and Happiness.

> The hidden child remembers the moment when Joseph and Mary hid the baby Jesus to save him from Herod.The little doll is the little Baby Jesus (frozen Charlies) I used the other day to rust.
> The fact relates to eat the bread of communion with the sacred character of newborn.
> For Christians, the circular shape of the thread symbolizes the eternal love of God, which has no beginning or end.
> The candy or crystallized fruit in the world are distractions that prevent us from finding Jesus.
> The doll hidden inside the thread symbolizes the baby Jesus that kings were not because the star disappeared.
> Various studies say that the origin of the Rosca de Reyes comes from France, where he created a great thread where a bean was hidden inside.
> Today, in France one eats bread is named after galette des Rois or Kings Cake, has a flat shape and puff pastry.
> In Spain is called King cake, made with orange blossom water and decorated with nuts is very similar to the Mexican thread.
> Depending on the size of the thread, is the number of dolls that are entered on the same side and on 6 January afternoon or evening with family.
>It is considered that this practice serves to celebrate the last meeting of the festivities of Christmas and in many countries it is customary to exchange gifts to remember the gifts the three kings gave to BabyJesus.

Traditionally here in Mexico those who are lucky enough to find the baby Jesus in their piece must host a Tamale party on the 2nd of February "Candlemas Day"  which is 40 days after Christmas & the official end of the Christmas season on the christian calendar.

 

Disclaimer: These pictures are not of our Rosca that LW bought at our neighborhood pastry shop. :( Why you may ask ?? Well before we could get the camera out to take a picture for Pattie to post on her blog Tali ( the large yellow lab decided she was going to be sure she was the one to host the tamale party... yep the rosca met an untimely end when it was pulled off the counter onto the floor. Well it's a lot easier to eat off the floor if you can't hold it in your paws. :)

Now for all you out there that love to collect recipes, here is the recipe for Rosca I found on the Mexconnect Web site. posted by Karen Hursh Graber: 

   Recipe for Rosca

For the dough:
8 1/2 cups flour
8 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1.6 oz.(2 3/4 cakes) compressed yeast
For the decorative paste:
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour
Preparation:
Crumble the yeast cakes into 1/2 cup warm water (about 85º F.) Mix with all other dough ingredients and beat the batter well until smooth and elastic. On a large baking sheet, shape the dough into a ring, resembling a large wreath. Cover the ring with a clean cloth or towel and let it sit in a warm place for two hours.
     Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350º F. If you'd like to hide the infant in the cake, tuck a miniature plastic doll inside. After the rosca has risen, and before putting it in the oven, prepare the decorative paste by creaming the butter and sugar together, beating in the egg and gradually mixing in the flour. Use this paste to decorate the sweet bread in the form of rays coming out from the center.
  Bake until the rosca is golden brown. Decorate with candied fruit; in Mexico, candied cactus, called biznaga, is used.

Remember to serve it with lovely Mexican Hot Chocolate!! What?? Now you want that recipe too???? The Readers Digest Version is, to make a very good (real) hot chocolate stir in cinnamon and vanilla be sure to use whole milk and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar. If you want to long version you can google your fav TV chef and copy theirs.
 
I'm off to pout now cuz I only got one piece of ours today, and Talli keeps licking her lips telling me how good this years cake was!
Have a most audacious today or tomorrow depending on where in the world you are   p;)

Wooooo Now This Is Cool

Oh My Gosh this is the coolest stuff!!! It's called Sophisticated Finishes--Rust Antiquing Set!!! Have you guy's used it????? Way back months ago I posted a nasty plastic bird bath  I had painted white then crackled and painted in rust. Here is the post, I think it turned out pretty darn good for being only smoke and mirrors. Right about the same time Tristan of Enchanted Revelry  posted that he bought some medium at Michael's that made anything rust. Now that sounded way cool to me if not quite believable. So on my wish list for the trip to the Northlands I put "magic rust juice"  This is the stuff I found at Michael's in Asheville no maybe it was Charleston. As LW will quickly attest, I must have made 20 trips to Michael's while we were up there!! :)

When we got home I had to ground myself from playing with any of my new art stuff until after the holidays. Otherwise I don't know about you but I would have never gotten all the Christmas plans done :) The other day I couldn't wait any longer I had to dig something new out to play with. I had 3 new pot metal religious metals. and 2 little plastic Baby Jesus frozen Charlottes..Charlies). They are actually the little dolls baked into the Epiphany Day cakes. More on that come the 6th. So those are the pieces I thought I would use to play with the magic rust juice. Okay don't tongue lash me toooo hard please but I forgot to take the before pictures :( But we all know what the cheapo pot metal charms look like and the BJs were just a white plastic. I think they turned out WAY NEETO BANITO!!!! I mean look at the metals they look like they have been in the ground for a good 699.7 years don't you think?? :)

 

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The light in the pictures isn't quite true, because there is really a lot more rust color to them. My only complaint and it might just be I need to give them more time to cure, but  it doesn't want to stay good and stuck on the metal. I am going to reserve judgement for a couple of more days cuz it has only been 30 hours since I finished with them. Some things need a good 48-72 hours to completely cure. I also didn't sand or prep the metals as the instructions didn't say it was needed, but that might be what needs to be done to assure the rusts adheres to the metal. 

I am really pleased with the way the two Baby Jesus frozen Charlies came out!! They really look like they are rusted metal dolls until you pick them up and realize how light they are. 

 

Don't they look like they just came out of some ancient Byzantine archaeological excavation ???

Okay so this took about two days to get the layers of iron paint and then the rust antique solution built up on them. Then a couple of days to dry and cure. Heck that's even faster then the sea salt air here can rust stuff. It's a good thing I only bought one kit and the bottles are small cuz with my ever so slight rusty stuff addiction LW might have found himself living in a nicely rusted house :)

Oh I can't wait to play with my new torch!! :) Have a most audacious today or tomorrow depending on where in the world you are  p;)