Paper Princess

I love crowns, to make then, to wear them and to give them as gifts.  I think this stems from my childhood and wanting to be a princess. Now that I am an adult, I no longer want to be a princess (I can save my own self, thank you very much), but my love of wearing a crown has never gone away. I created these crowns for two of my friends. They like to dress up as much as I do.

These crowns are constructed out of paper making them very light weight and easier to wear. Each was painted in this bronze metallic color.

I cut out a crescent moon and added the fine silver glitter. Some paper flowers, butterflies, and long steamers of ribbon for were added for that touch of extra princessness.

Knitted Gift

If you happen to remember last year I started on a pair of blue bamboo knitted gloves from the book Knitting New Mittens and Gloves. Well those got put on the back burner as winter became spring and outdoor activates took precedence. Now that fall is officially here I once again picked up my knitting basket. To my dismay I am not able to find the already started gloves. They are here somewhere, but my two year old has taken a liking to my yarn and everything made from it. I needed a last minute gift for a friend’s birthday so I went to work on these purple fingerless gloves. I probably should have gone to the store and bought something as I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish them, but I love giving and receiving handcrafted items. She loved them which made the late hours worth all the effort.

Witches Ball

Thanks to everyone who left their kind words on my blog about the hat for the ball...
Now for the bad news. I have no pictures of myself from the ball. I was so preoccupied with everyone else’s costumes that I forgot to take one of myself. Silly!!! Here is a picture, minus me, of my corset.

We had the most amazing night. I was fortunate enough to see Koreshakti Tribal Fusion which is a remarkable blend of contemporary belly dancing accompanied by industrial, traditional, hypnotic live music. Another reason as to why I forgot to take more photographs. I was so enthralled with their performance that I did not want to miss one moment of the entertainment.
If a picture ever pops up of me I will post it



I Never Claimed I was a Milliner

My hat making skills leave much to be desired. I am working on a costume for a masquerade ball that is happening at the end of this month. I decided to add a hat to my costume. I visited the local costumer and looked for a hat to decorate. Unfortunately for me, I have a VERY small head. Nothing fit. So I had this bright idea of making my own. When I worked for the Civic Theater in the costume department, many years ago, I was asked to create some very simple, clip in the hair, hats. It should be easy, right. Not really. I put pencil to paper and drew up some plans. After many stops and starts, this is what I created. My mother would call this a 20 pacer. Good thing the ball is being held in a darkened room.

The basic hat construction is out of poster board. The velvet came from a second hand skirt and the feathers were pilfered from a feather duster. I think the overall look turned out well, just don’t get to close.

Originally I was going to add two large bird wings to each side of the hat, but at the last minute I changed my mind. I thought they might be too heavy and would collapse the hat.

Pile O’ Goddesses

Paper making is one of my many other hobbies. These goddesses are made from paper pulp. I whipped these up for a craft faire I am attending at the end of the month.

Venus of Willendorf

Sprial Goddess

A Wreath Fit for Any Door

I have been asked to create a “Halloween” item for a basket that is being raffled off at the end of this month. Because my time is so valuable right now (neck deep in costume making) I fell back on old talents. In another life I was a full time florist, for 10 years as a matter of fact. Wreaths are one of those rare things I can put together while, balancing the checkbook, planning dinner, chasing after Neil, talking to my mother on the phone and running a load through the washer.  It’s been more than 11 years since I work in a flower shop yet, I still dream about flowers and the crazy ladies I worked with.   

New Earrings

These are for a friends birthday.

Fairy Dreams

By the light of the moon a child dreams of a magical place. The song of silver bells and laughter rings out through the ancient majestic trees. Fairies dance in light of the shinning face of the sister, and the child dreams on.

Hint of Spice

Market air shimmers with the scent of exotic spices, unfamiliar music and the sense of adventure around every corner.

I made these for a cousin in Walla Walla

Earrings are my new muse.

Dia de Los Muertos Potholders

Dia de Los Muertos is a very well celebrated holiday in our house. Each year I like to add something new to our ever growing collection of decorations. I found this really great pattern for a crocheted skull at Crochet Yourself Happy !!!  I added some leaves and flowers and made potholders.

A Very Dear Friend Turns 40

Julie, my life-long friend, is turning 40 this Monday. We meet in grade school and have been very close friends ever since. She now lives in Montana and I could not get there to celebrate with her. So to honor the day of her birth I put together a box of goodies.

No birthday is complete without a crown for the birthday girl. This started out as a cheap ($1) paper crown. After glitter, paint, paper, glue and a few gems this is what I created.

I made this bunting out of left over fabric.

Julie is a fan of owls so I made her this purse out of Japanese fabric.

And for a little touch of retro she got this owl apron. The pattern is the same one I used to make my Dia de los Muertos apron. She will look very "professional" while she is baking cookies for her family.

I hope her special day is filled with much merry making and joy.

Heart of Gold

My garden is in harvest mode. We have had corn, peas, two batches of potatoes and collard greens. I have already put up three types of pickles and am now debating on what I should do with the abundance of tomatoes. But noting is more exciting than this wee-little cantaloupe. Cantaloupe is a new crop for us and while many would say growing one, little, still green cantaloupe is no real feat in gardening; we look upon this as a success. It might be small, but we hope that it will someday grow into a real cantaloupe.

Summer Work

Wow, what has happened to summer? I know that it has been a long time since I posted my last blog and for that I am sorry. Between out of town guests, gardening, multiple birthday celebrations (too many to count), yard work, the occasional swim and all of the things we put off due to snow, most of my time has been sucked up into a one-way void. Yet with all of the summer mayhem that happens from June through September I have been able to create a few new pieces of work.

Here is a glimps of a project I am working on. I really hope to have about 6 of these done by September.

I hope all of you are enjoying summer/winter (depending upon which hemisphere you happen to be in).

West Port Pirates

Ever year we like to take a trip to the ocean. I am particularly fond of the Washington Coast. In the past years we have stayed at Kalaloch, but this year my mother-in-law wanted to go to Pacific Beach. I had never been there, but I have an adventurous spirit and am always ready to go anywhere on a moments notice. This is the first year that the annual trip was made into the Davis Family trip. All of my husband’s family was able to attend. Right before we left one of my sister-in-laws informed all of us that there was to be a Pirate Festival in West Port. One to never turn down the opportunity to dress up in pirate garb I packed my gear with excitement.

The Streets were lined with celeabrating pirates

The Famous Seattle Seafair Pirates made an appearance

This two man craft came ashore

There was live music.

Saddly I can not remember the name of this fabulous duo.

Even my little one got into the spirit

He fished for treasure with his daddy

We had a great day looking at landlocked boats

My Grandmothers Frosting

I was asked by a dear friend what I had been up too lately… well, between cleaning out the basement, chasing around a two year old and getting ready to spend 5 glorious days at the ocean, I made a real honest to god home-made cake for my mothers birthday. To celebrate I pulled out a book of my grandmothers recipes. My grandmother was an interesting woman who lived a most extraordinary life. She grew up in Shattuck OK in the early part of the 20th century. Her mother died when she was 15 and her father was sent away to prison for bootlegging. She was left to raise her younger sisters with very little help. She had a high school diploma, attended art school and spoke several languages. After my grandfather died my family moved in with her so she would have help on the ranch. She was a part of my daily life until I moved away to Seattle. We were very close and when she died I was devastated. I still miss hearing her stories. One of my grandmothers greatest gifts was her baked goods. In her house you never, and I do mean never, got a piece of toast that was not burnt or a cup of coffee even a hardened truck drive could drink, but she made the most amazing pies and cakes. They did not look like fluffy, air filled pastries you can buy from a sparkly clean upscale pastry shop. Her baked goods had heft and they were never pretty to look at, but they always tasted like heaven. For my mothers birthday I made a family favorite, Caramel Frosting.

My grandmother always put this frosting on a chocolate cake. My mother is not crazy about chocolate so I made a yellow cake instead.

As you can see I am wearing my new apron, I forwent the black cocktail dress and heels and went for comfort instead, my grandmother would have approved.

This frosting is a bit tricky but I knew I had it right when it smelled like my grandmothers frosting.

Now if I just had my grandmothers oil sludge in a cup and one of her stories I would be truly content.

Aprons and 3" Heels

Several months ago we went to visit friends in Montana and I saw this fabric in a shop in Missoula. I am an extremely thrifty sort of person and I find it is very difficult for me spend money on myself. This fabric was a bit on the pricy side and I walked away without buying any of it. On the way home we had not even made it over the Montana/Idaho border and I was already kicking myself. So I called my friend and pleaded (I didn’t have to beg too hard) with her (she was nice enough not to say, “I told you so”) to make the 45 minute drive from her home to purchase 2 yards of this glittery Dia de los Muertos fabric for me. Julie understands me so well.

After much contemplation I decided I needed to make something that would highlight this sparkly fun fabric. I come across this Simplicity pattern for a retro apron in a local shop and I knew I had found just the right item for my new fabric.

A few weeks ago I found this vintage mint green rick rack in a large box of trim at an estate sale.

I added a pocket with just a hint of the mint green rick rack.

And I lined the inside with this black spiral fabric.

I can hardly wait to wear this apron. I think I might need to make cookies tomorrow.
Now where did I put that little black cocktail dress?