Car Talk and Crayons

Car talk, you know when you are in the car with your hubby going places and you solve the problems of the world ?  Well, hubby and I have been married for over 50 years now and for the last five years, he says a thousand years but five years is more like it, we have been "joined at the hip".  We have most always traveled together and that is the time when we solve the problems of the world.  When I would go off and photograph weddings and proms he was always there for me.   I really don't think the world  listens to us but we try.  Makes for good conversation while traveling in a not to exciting stretch of road.  Now when we go to town and buzz around it is not serious problems we solve.  Like a mile and one -half from our house is a "pond" of sorts and when it is full  of water the migrating Canadian Geese fill that little thing up and right now it is nearly empty and two or three long legged white birds are living and walking around there.  Now where will they go when it is totally dry?   A sub division we drive past are building two new "doll" houses next to one on the corner and what new business is going in down the street?  Those are the town problems we solve and goings on we observe.  

Somehow the subject of crayons came up.  How you ask?  Who  only know but hubby said he remembers getting a box of 64 of the beautiful sticks of wax.   64 !!!!! Now that sounds like manna from heaven to me.  I remember the biggest box I ever got was  a mere 24, it was usually the 8 count ones but I loved all of them.   I would get a new box of 8 and color til my hearts content.   It would be tragic when I had to peel the paper back to release more of the beautiful colors.   Inside the lines I would color, making sure all the strokes followed the contour of whatever I was coloring and outlined each and every picture.  

One day we were going to Wally World AKA Wal-Mart for some treasure and hubby said "I'll be right back"  well, me being Miss Nosey Nurse  I had to go see what he was doing.  He had picked up for me 120 count of crayons.  Yes  your read correctly 120! This just made a tear come into my eye that he bought me crayons. 

 The Crayola Crayons were packaged in a big box with a box of 24 and two of 48.  These are the colors in the 24 package.   Color names like tickle me pink and robin's egg blue.

The two boxes of 48 with wonderful different colors.  They proudly sit in my art room now at a place of honor on my table.  

Now September is coming to an end and the first day of Fall or Autumn was Friday September the 23.  So happy Fall to you all.   Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world.  

Can't wait to show you all the bottles I have been decorating but that is for next time.   Don't want to wear your  eyes out.   xoxoxox

No Earthquake Today, Frida and the Borg

No earthquake today for us.  It is not to  unusual that we have any here in Texas but last week we had a 4.4 one last Sunday.  In fact we had three total but  two were baby ones about 77 miles from our home.  It just shook Eldon's chair and rattled the globes of the chandelier we have in the bedroom.  I actually thought Eldon was playing a trick on me.    We found out though that our area with Oklahoma and New Mexico have had more than a dozen earthquakes in the past two years.  In 1931 we did have a 5.8 shaker and no I wasn't around then.  Just a little excitement around here, Mother Nature just clearing her throat.   She is giving us a beautiful fall so far and as you know it is my favorite time of year. 

I have a sweet friend that surprised me with a pendant.  In the mail was a little package, you know good things come in little packages.  It was a pendant of Frida Kahlo.  I wore it a few times but I try to surround myself in the bathroom while getting ready with things that I enjoy looking at.  So I had this sweet little frame and Frida is now hanging in a place of honor along with my photo of Eldon and I with space guns on a Borg spaceship and us with the race cars.  Good memories to view for me.  On the back, which you can't see is the saying of Art Heals .  Love that saying.  If you don't know Frida, she is a 20th centruy Mexican artist who was a great artist and a had a strong will.  Please google her if you want.  There was a movie about her also that was interesting. 

Here she is proudly hanging on my wall.  The frame I did have to overhaul but it cooperated quite nicely and I thought the butterfly on it went well with Frida. 

 Eldon and I with the Borg.  Just in case you don't know about them, they are nasty things on Star Trek.  Their ships are large cube looking contraptions.  I have a small one if you ever care to see it.  Once a friend who owned a Hallmark store called and said "Annette, the ornament this year is a cube thing and my mother collects the Star Trek ornaments.  Would she want one of these" ?  I promptly said you bet and save me one while you are at it.  I cannot get enough of the sci fi world.  I know it doesn't go with some of the frilly things I create but there are different sides of all of us-possibly.

There you go a quick peek at what is going on in my world today.  Thanks for stopping by and see you next time.    xoxo

From the mid 70's to an Altoid Mint Tin

The 70's, my that was an interesting era.  Don't think I want to go back to it with bell bottom pants and some pretty wild colors.  So much going on during that time in our life and certainly the world.   WHEW !!!  

 Now when you do a short lived, you noticed I said short lived, hobby back then and saved it with all of it's doings I certainly think you need to make a special display out of it.  Now what was this hobby you ask?  It was TATTING !!!!   You have this special little shuttle, holder of a bobbin with fine thread and spend hours and hours to make 1/2 of an inch of it.  Not only was it slow but very hard on your nerves.   I made about 18 inches to one yard of it.  Closer to 18 inches though.  this has got to be a lost art that our little great grandmothers did and some grandmothers made.  You used a tiny crochet hook with these little torture instruments.  It is pretty on clothing and hankies but I would have to have naked hankies if I carried one.   Naw, Kleenex is a good thing to have around.   I just hated to give up on it and declaring that a little piece of thread won but it was the winner over me. 

Cristina Zinnia Galliher of Roses on my Table is teaching some great techniques on her site and one is Shrines.  I didn't have a clue what a shrine was in our art world but if something is calling to have a shrine made of it tatting is.   So after some extensive digging, I hate to throw anything away, I found the pretty doings and the instruments you used.

Meet the Altoid Tin,  I did forget to say they are some curiously strong mints made in England and they come in little tins.   On the outside of the tin is a little hint of tatting.  I slightly altered the look of the tin, warning they do not come decorated like this. 

The inside of the little tin.  Of course you can see the shuttle, holder of the little round bobbin with some of the tatting spread around both sides of it.   So now the tatting and its torture parafanilia have a little resting spot and trust me I will not ever use the shuttle or any of it again. I did think the lace is pretty and now certainly appreciate it.   Inside I wrote tatting is patience and it is if you do any of it at all.

I did line the inside of the shuttle section with gimp.  If you look very close you can see a section of it.   This is gimp.  When I went to a local store and said something about gimp the lady looked at me in discust.  I don't think she knew what this was called.    The goldie gimp and the pretty lace I used in this was from some of my Gilded Girls Stash Society.  The treasures you get are to pretty to use but trying to use them, some of them. 

There you go this is what is going on in my world for the moment.  Well, this is over and onward and upward to another project.  I still do believe ART HEALS and it does.    Thanks for stopping by.  See ya later.  xoxox

Hog Heaven

Hello and welcome to September.  I can feel it in the air, well after today when it gets to the 80's.  It should be the last of the 100 plus days.  The weatherman says it.  So that should be gospel in TV land.

I remember when fall came  while our daughters were growing up.  Fall  meant kids starting back to school and a schedule of sorts. Fall sports of Volleyball and Football and the ending of the baseball series. Of course the grass slowing down in it's growing and less mowing for us and we get to put up our fall decorations of the colors of oranges, reds and yellows.   I may have been the only mother in the world that enjoyed the freedom of the summer and no set schedule, but I bet not.

I have discovered this group called---get this-Gilded Girls Stash Society.   Isn't that a great name for us Stashers ?   I need to take pics of the goodies you get once a month. Everyone needs more stash to play with don't we ?  So it was to die for and I hope they aren't like some of my other wonderful treasures, to pretty to use but I am going to try.  The beautiful laces, that I am a sucker for, and fabric and just findings in general.  It is a tad pricey but you know trying to find them on the Internet or even shock upon shock actually going in the automobile and hunting for them in the stores.   I do remember one day our beautiful daughter Debra came to see me one day, she lived in another town and was a second grade teacher.  She had this big sack of lace for me.  I don't know where she got it but there were yards of it and she wanted me to have it to play with.  So of course I had to use it and create.  I just found the box that it was stored in and was in hog heaven.  Guess it doesn't take much to make me feel like I am in hog heaven.

This month I was sent in a pretty glass vile some beads and findings for making jewelry.  I have never in my whole life made jewelry like this.  I did use to do beading in the 70's, it was fun and I gave away a bunch of it.  No one seemed to mind to receive it.  I even made toe rings for our daughters.  They had toe rings on when they went bare footed.  Pretty cute.

So Annette you say, quit teasing us and let us see what you did.   Well, you asked.  It is not perfect as it is the first piece I have created but certainly not the last.  It has  the beautiful fall colors that redheads can wear with ease but the rest of us wear it also.


Be sure and remember to double click on the pics and then you can really see them. 

A close up of the beautiful vintage glass flower that I put together.  I was so excited that I didn't break it. 

A side view of the glass tulip and the other pretty crystal bead.

Another view but with some of the pretty greenish beads.  There were little chains that I took apart and everything.  I felt like I worked at Tiffany's jewelry . Well not really but did feel pretty good about it.  I put it together while watching the Texas Rangers play ball.

The completed necklace.  Now I didn't design this beauty.  Shea did one of the owners of the Gilded Girls, she and her mother.  A couple of talented ladies.   I feel like jewelry design and making is certainly an art.  So many types of art out there isn't there?

There you go my fun little project and what is going on in my world.   Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world.