Winging Their Way.....

Valentines......................

I haven't played with paper much lately,

So this was fun................

Making my valentines..................

I need to work with paper more.................

Therapeutic !!!!

                                                                         

A Bit of Mexico in My Mailbox!

Our Lady..........

Our Lady of Guadalupe

My dear friend Cathie just had a wonderful getaway  

to Mexico with her husband Bill. 

While there she came across a small stand where they were

selling some  pieces of artwork........

She was kind enough to bring this piece home to me.

Don't you love it!! It's painted on a piece of rusty tin,

and has such a great folk artist style.And for me the subject and colors,

couldn't be more perfect!!

Thank you Cathie, thank you for the wonderful gift and thank you

for knowing that it's exactly the kind of thing that 

"this someone" with rust running through her veins would love!!!

If you haven't ever been to Cathies' blog

and are in need of a bit of tropical .........(and right now who isn't)

 pop over and read about her vacation.

She's also an amazing artist, gardener,

 collector , and all around interesting gal......

(In the interest of full disclosure, she's from Iowa,

and you know those Iowa gals are a wild and quirky bunch!

I love 'em!!!)

  

                                                                           

Chinese Nail Guard........

The Year of The Dragon........

A Bit of Horse Gear.....

     Remember this?

The bit of brass reads.............

David P. Cosc.

Malden Mas.

no. 60

(as near as we can make out)

I found this chain complete with the two metal pieces at

an estate sale. I am guessing that since it was

near a box of old horse tack that 

it was also horse gear.

Could No. 60 be the number of the horse?

AND......

The view outside my window.........a little bird feeder I made from an old light fixture

and some prisms.

It's seen a lot of action this week!!

                                                                        

Recycling Wool

Scrapping Together A Small Lap Throw..

(I made this pincushion a long time ago...using a piece of  felted sweater) 

Small Lap Throw.....or??

This is the second one of these I have made.

They are fairly small, under four feet in length and width.

We use them mostly when we are watching tv and need just a little something,

or when we are sitting out on the porch.

 They're also kind of  handy to just throw in the car.

This one is made from a piece of Pendleton blanket I found.

Someone else had already cut into it and crafted from parts of it,

that is why the design is offcenter. I had to use it as it was.

The "vine" is made from old sweaters from thrift stores.......shrunk and nicely felted........

The fun thing about sewing with the sweaters is you can manipulate and shape them so easily.

 I  also shrunk the piece of wool so there are no unraveling worries,

and also that way you don't have to turn the edges under.

The buttons are from my button jars,

odds and ends of embroidery thread were picked up here and there.

However,  the floral fabric for the binding was purchased new.

I had it in my head that I wanted to use a floral fabric for 

an unexpected contrast, and I couldn't find anything that would work. 

I have made several things from felted sweaters,

have you?

Tell me!!!!!

                                                                              

                                                                        

Memory Jug #19

The Latest Addition To My Collection.......

I found this memory jug online.........

It came from the Pennsylvania area.

11 1/2inches tall, it's made on a stoneware gin bottle.The items include

wirerim glasses, scissors, keys, metal sword,

wishbone , several interesting buttons,

and of course.....a peach pit!!

This is the second old jug I have bought that has a small bottle on it that has

broke over the years. If you are making one and want it to stand 

the test of time, I would avoid small bottles 

no matter how cute they are.

In The Garden:

Yesterday I planted peas. The weather has been so mild here, almost spring like,

except there isn't the length of days.

For the last two years by the time I could get them in the ground,

 the weather turned so warm that they didn't do very well.

This is my first year with raised beds so I decided

to experiment a bit.

Yes it's early, but if the climate is changing , maybe we have to as well??

(Of course it could start snowing at any moment )

They might not do anything .......not enough sun?

I'll let you know.

                                                                            

Roadtrip........

 Took a Little Trip....................................

We went on a quick little roadtrip between

Christmas and New Years.................

 stopped at a couple of antique stores................

This is what I found........Do you know what it is?

Does this help?

OK, totally out of scale, I know.

There were two very nice (correct size) madonnas there as well,

But I had to make a choice, and thought I could easily

find another Madonna at a later time.

The niche......maybe not.

This niche is from a church in Oregon.

Maybe a wall outside?

The back part has not been exposed, 

so it was obviously built into something.

I love the chippy blue color!!!!

This spring we would like to do something "grotto like"

with it in the garden.  On a VERY small scale.

We have a lot of rocks and pertified wood that we could use,

and probably some rusty and crusty with it as well. 

A memory jug grotto??????

The only other things I brought home.............

some 30's fabric and two old Chinese frames.

The frames won't stay straight so I decided they were perfect for the

this room , 

the one we call ..."The Burrow".

We were sad to see that one of our favorite antique stores was no longer there, and that another of our favorites had downsized.

One of the dealers we talked to said:

"I am just barely making it. It's in my blood so I am not quitting, but it gets harder every day.

Between paying my rent and comission, and my road expenses.......It's just hard.

Not to mention it gets harder and harder to find quality merchandise."

Don't forget, each dealer is a small business........

buying vintage or used is a great way to BE GREEN,

and more fun than composting!!