Bzzy Little Bee

Hop, Jump and Skip

I'm not much for poetry but oh, how I find jump rope songs delightful!  I remember singing about the days of the week, about how high elephants could jump and about how many boyfriends lived in France.  And then there was the sound of the rope hitting the ground, accompanied by the stomp of tennis shoes on concrete and the whish of the rope slicing through the air.  It was like little girl rap!  When my little sister was very little, we'd have fun inventing new songs and here's one that always made us laugh:

A letter from the lady
From the Florida State
Came Monday in the mailbox,
It was three days late.

It asked me for a dollar,
I offered fifty cents.
It was to buy a ballroom
For the ladies and gents.

They sent an alligator,
The reptile of the state,
He was the cash collector
Just sent out to pass the plate.

I opened up the doorway,
He gave my spine a chill.
I ran and didn't wait
For change from my ten dollar bill.

My little sister, who was very little at the time, was learning about Florida in school that week which is how we hit upon the idea for this little  song.  There's something just so perfect about little girls jumping and singing.  Do kids even do that any more?  I sure hope so because the world can always use another song about hot peppers and about my mother, your mother living across the street.

There's Always Room For A Jump Rope Song

Glass & Metal Go Together Like Chips & Salsa

Let The Sun Shine In!

Yey!  Two more off my To-Do list!  Bruce and I took a Dalle de Verre class a few years ago and made these glass panels.  Dalle de Verre refers to a technique which uses chunks of thick slabs of glass which are then joined together with cement or nowadays, epoxy.  We had these panels but couldn't figure out a way to display them properly.  So I made some steel frames for them and voila!  It's amazing how ugly rusty metal shines up so beautifully with a little bit (well, OK, a lot) of grinding and sanding.  And I love how the metal frames add a whole other dimension to the glass.  Now the glass is much more sculptural so not only do you see the light coming through the glass but also the shadows cast by the frames.  Bruce made the glass panel on the left and I made the one on the right.  So I call the pair either "Water & Fire" or "Chips & Salsa" depending on how the light hits them.  Or if it's close to lunchtime.
 

Stormy Designs - Featured Etsy Blogger

Etsy: Buy Handmade
stormydesigns.etsy.com

One very cool group that I've joined on Etsy is called the "Etsy Bloggers Street Team" which is made up of Etsy shop owners who also blog.  It's a way to promote each other and one way is through blogging about a different special member each month.  This month's featured Etsy blogger is "Stormy Designs".  Stormy does amazing work with polymer clay and the above pictures are a small sample of her fabulous creations.  That daisy cuff looks so much like ceramics! And that blue vase is to die for!  Check out these links to see more of Stormy's work:

http://StormyDesigns.etsy.com  = Stormy's Etsy shop
http://stormydesigns.blogspot.com  = website
http://StormyDesigns.biz/blog   = blog

Another One Checked Off The List!

Ready For Their Party Clothes

Remember these guys?  I posted them back here in November.  I wasn't thrilled with them at the time so I sketched a page of ideas of how to finish them.  Well, I finally completed them and here they are:

Can You Hear My Hearts A''Thumpin?

The top middle and bottom left hearts are covered with colored foils and the rest are all painted with acrylics.  I think the center green one is my favorite.  It would be pretty to try a white heart with blue detailing to make it look like Dresden Blue china.  Bruce named the blue swirly heart "Starry Night" - so I'm thinking it might be fun to make some real brushy swirly ones in Van Gogh colors.  Agh - and I thought I was done with these but isn't that always the case: one idea leads you down the path to many more. Oh well, what's another project or two more on the list of things to do - the never-ending, elastic-waisted, ever-expanding list of things to do.

My Latest Project - House of Cards Mixed Media Birdhouse

A King's Castle Fit For A Queen

Isn't it funny how sometimes ideas for projects just sometimes pop into your head unexpectedly?  The idea for this little house of cards woke me up in the middle of the night a few weeks ago and I'd been mulling it around, trying to figure out how exactly to make it.  I tend to sketch and plan out my projects very carefully before I ever pick up a brush or glass cutter, but this one only ever existed in my head.  I had an inkling of how to approach it but other than that it was very much spontaneous and flying by the seat of my pants.  I actually had to use quite a few different tools on it - like my scroll saw and Dremel and jeweler's saw.  The base itself is a plain purchased birdhouse to which I added the embossed metal shingles and those shingles took FOREVER to make - whew!  You can't really see but there is small wire flower on the front of the house to the left of the wire-wrapped perch.  This was one of those "crafting blindfolded" kind of projects, the kind that you don't know where you're going when you start but you trust in the process and have fun in the making and hopefully end up with a happy surprise at the end.  Tweet!   

Time To Kick The Habit

It's Not You, Babe, It's Me

Say what you will about corporate America, but I love my Starbucks.  When a new one opened down the street a few weeks ago, I was there early the first day to welcome all the barristas to the neighborhood - and to pick up a venti soy chai with a cranberry orange scone while I was at it.  When all the Starbucks closed early a month ago for some kind of hush-hush training / "calibration", I grieved as though it were a national day of mourning.  Whenever we travel, I take great delight in pointing out all the Starbucks along the golden highways.  Can you believe that there's actually a drive-thru Starbucks not far from the legendary Donner Pass?  Just think how the ill-fated Donner party could have avoided all that high protein snacking had they been able to pull their wagons into that Starbucks years ago and order tall Frappucinos hold the whipped cream please.  It boggles the mind.  But alas, as much as it kills me to say, the time has come to bid my beloved Starbucks adieu. 

You see, for the last year I've been a venti soy chai addict.  It started out innocently with maybe having one every three days.  Then it became having one every two days.  Then one every day.  Soy is good for you, right?  So it was OK - expensive but OK.  So why did I lie to my doctor when she asked me if I was still drinking "the Starbucks" every day?  I squeaked "Nooo" and shook my head too vehemently to be convincing. This while I'm standing on a scale. She peered at the unforgiving numbers on the scale, then gave me a look and a "tut-tut" which in doctorese and mom-chat means "You're not fooling anyone, butterball."  At home, I wondered if maybe there might something to my doctor's remonstration. I had packed on a few more pounds this last year.  Huh. Then it came to me: I'd switch to a non-fat chai!   What a great way to save on calories!  Before I went to Starbucks the next day, I practiced my order so that it would roll easily off my tongue "venti non-fat chai, venti non-fat chai."  I could do this.  Natch.  But when I got up to the counter, I freaked.  What if I didn't like it?  My afternoon would be ruined.  Oh, the agony! How about if I ordered a tall non-fat chai and a tall soy chai?  Then I'd have a backup just in case. Hmm, that could work.  I'd only drink the backup soy chai if the non-fat chai tasted bad.  Well, it sounded like a good idea at the time.  Cut to the end of the scene - with me having polished off not only the tall non-fat chai but a venti soy chai as a chaser as well.  As I licked the last bit of foam from inside of the second cup, I came to the conclusion that there was no going back to just one chai at a time.  The line had been crossed. Yet that was an impossible illicit love that could not be. The cost was too high to pay.  In dollars and calories.  So I quit my daily Starbucks cold turkey.  Right then and there.  It's been a week now and it's actually been OK.  I can do this.  Now when I drive by the nearby Starbucks and it winks at me fondly, trying to lure me back, I giggle and wave back but I don't stop.  At least until it gets hot enough to start ordering iced venti soy chais.  Which should be soon.  Damn the torpedoes.

Playing Heavy Metal In My Car

Diamond Plate and U-Channel Steel Are A Girl's Best Friend

Yup, this is what the back of my car looks like lately.  Like something Jethro Clampett threw together - all rusty and greasy and smelling of oil.  That's because Monday morning I went over to the metal shop to buy some material to use in my welding lab which I had in the afternoon.  I've been taking welding at Otis School of Design for the last year and it just keeps getting better.  I started out making frames for some glass panels which I had made years before and wanted to display.  Well, now I've gotten ahead of myself and I've got a bunch of metal frames but no glass panels for them - so I guess it's time to fire up the glass kiln.  But oh, how I love welding.  It's fast and immediate and durable.  And what other medium can you buy for only twenty-five cents a pound?  Twenty-five cents a pound!  Really!  That is if you buy remnants which are what you see in the picture above.  For about thirty dollars I got around a hundred pounds of steel in all sorts of shapes!  Hah!  Thirty dollars at Michael's will buy me - well, not much.  That's the metal you see on the right side of the picture.  On top of that is a small 9" x 12" frame which is meant to "float" about half an inch from the wall when hanging.  A fused glass panel will drop into that and it will be part of a set of three frames.  The yellow bucket contains all my welding tools like angle magnets, gloves and dirty old rags for wiping metal.  I love that leather jacket in the center of the picture.  It's worn for protection against the sparks and heat. Oh, that's a toaster oven under the jacket -  for polymer clay.  Ah, but that's another story for another day. 
 

Better Late Than Never

With So Many Valentines To Chose From, How Can A Person Just Send One?

Ooh, I promised to post one Valentine's card for each day of the month of February and then I flaked out after February 22.  So to make up for that I'm posting this one big post with 7 more Valentines to catch up and finish off the month with a total of 29.  Good - having left this unfinished was just bugging the heck out of me and now I can cross this off my list of things to do.  See you next year little Valentine cards!

Vote For Me, Valentine!

I Think More People Would Vote If All
The Ballots Were Heart-shaped

A Peter-Pan collar, MaryJanes, bobby socks, and a wide head band - I want this look!

I've Got A Brand-New Pair Of Rollerskates

My, What Teeny Tiny Little Rollerskates!

This card is actually a tiny little thing - about an inch wide.  Isn't it adorable?

Crafty-Hearted Love

Hey, Don't Go Running With Those Scissors, Toots!

I love how Debbie B., years ago, signed her name across the little girl's face.  Too funny.
 

Lady Of Spain, I Adore You

Excuse My Surprise, But That Heart You're
Holding Looks Suspiciously Like A Water Balloon, Dear,
And This Fan Doesn't Drip-Dry

I  wish you could see the embossed silver glitter on this card.  It's so pretty.
 

The Object Of My Affection

How Can You Say No To Such A Cutie?

Adorable!

You're My Rockabilly Baby

Don't Fence Me In

This little card is so sweet.  The little girl reminds me of Fern in "Charlotte's Web".  And I love her wide legged "dungarees".

Come On Baby, Light My Fire

Pyro Love

Oh, there are just so many things to say but I don't want to overload the Typepad servers so I won't even start.

Good Enough To Eat

Fun & Funky Needle-Felted Cuff

Ooh! - Rebecca over at Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen very kindly posted a how-to that I did for making a needle-felted cuff.  Check out her site - it's full of scrumptious soap and beauty products which sound good enough to eat. (And I blush to tell you how many times I have indeed tasted face creams and lotions.  What can I say, they really did look yami.)  Thank you, Rebecca!!!!

Here's a link to the tutorial!

Duet For Feathered Friends

Classically Trained Birdies

You and Me, Babe

We'll Have A Romantic Evening -
With Just You, Me
And The Placesettings

It's Almost Here!

Counting The Grains of Love

Isn't this a sweet card, so colorful and glittery and uh - hold on - wait - what the.. am I mistaken or is that really blood dripping down inside the hourglass?  Ohhhhh, yuckkkkk.  Man. I guess sometimes it's just better not to look too closely at things.  Damn. Now I'll never get that image out of my head.  Geez.

Having A Bad Hair Day

On walking past an exhibitor furiously twirling a stick with some yarn:

Me:  “Ooh!  What are you doing?!”

Exhibitor: “Twirling.”

…..

……

Me: (waiting for the big reveal) “Yes?”

Exhibitor: “I twirl this yarn around this stick which has elastic and make a long cord.  It’s a great thing to do with kids.”

…..

…..

Me: “Cool!  It’s so pretty!  And then what do you do with the long cord?”  (holding my breath knowing, just knowing that I was about to be given insight into the next wondercraft to hit the known universe.)

Exhibitor:  “Oh, you can tie it in your hair or use it as a doorstop to keep out drafts.”

Me:  (excitedly)  “Wow! That's cool!  And what else?  What else?!” (My mind whirling at a million miles an hour at the possibilities but still drawing a blank.  Here’s comes the secret – I know it – here it comes!)

Exhibitor:  “Um, it’s a great thing to do with kids.”

Me:  (sound of 1,000,000 mph brain coming to screeching halt)  “Oh … cool… that’s nice…. it’s so pretty… well thank you….”

Which made me realize that of all the arts and crafts which I’ve ever done, ever since I can remember, there was always a catch basin category into which fell all the handcrafted items which had neither a function nor a form but were really just meant to keep hands busy and pass the time. But after investing so much effort, I felt obligated to attach some sort of purpose to those long knobby-knitted ropes and endless loomed daisies and what better way than by turning them into potholders and yes, even hair ornaments.  Most of my school portraits are of me with long carefully crafted coils dangling from my ponytails. But the funny thing is that sometimes giving a purpose to a little bunch of well-crafted uglies only makes for an even bigger well-crafted ugly. Dear God – I just realized how much of my childhood was spent with crap I made hanging from my head like a demented hairy Christmas tree.  OH MY GOD.  It’s like suddenly realizing that you had food on your teeth and no one ever wanted to tell you for fear of hurting your feelings.  I HAD CRAP HANGING FROM MY HEAD!!!!!  CRAP!!!  FROM THE SIDES OF MY HEAD!!!!  WHY DID NO ONE SET ME STRAIGHT?!!!!

Deep breath.  Sigh. 

Well, OK, on second thought they really are sweet pictures with me all smiling and proud of my dangly creations and somehow I did get a boy in the fifth grade to declare his love to me in a Valentine’s Day card so I guess those head decorations weren’t all that bad.  Maybe they really were cute after all.

Hmmm…  well, perhaps I was too harsh in my judgment of that twirling stick lady and should revisit for more details.  Hey yeah, my hair is long enough to wear in a ponytail again, don’t ‘cha know.

If You Can't Figure Out What To Make With It,
Then Just Stick It In Your Hair

Contrary To Medical Science, My Heart Is Bigger Than A Fist

Darling, You Make My Heart Smile

I gotta tell you about this card.  This card came as part of a vintage card lot that I found on Ebay and it was like coming upon a long-lost friend because I actually remember passing out this card (well, not this exact same one but a copy of it) in the second or third grade.  I loved this little hippo!  It was part of set of Hallmark cards that came wrapped in a red plastic wrapper - all little zoo animals.  Isn't it funny how vividly memories come back when we least expect it?  I hadn't seen this little gal in close to forty years!  Amazing!

Just Singin, And Dancin' In The Rain

Halp!  It's Raining Big Drippy Hearts!

This card is just so sweet and darling. I love her Ginger Rogers eyes.  And is there anything more enchanting than walking in the rain with an umbrella?  Like a broad-brimmed hat to frame the face, a good umbrella makes everyone look gorgeous.   

CHA - Better Loosen that Belt

Aren't these great??!!!  Lead us down that crafty path, Kathy!

The Craft and Hobby Association Expo ("C-H-A" for short although I like to call it "CHAW") is going on at the Anaheim Convention Center this week and if there ever there was a Sizzler's all-you-can-eat buffet for the crafting world, this would be it. We went this morning and, man, are we stuffed! This is where all the craft supply manufacturers gather to present their wares to retailers and designers. It is one big, honkin' Craftapalooza.  Everywhere you look, you see craft world all-stars - Carol Duvall (I nearly fainted when I saw her), Lisa Pavelka - the polymer clay queen, Donna Dewberry - the One-Stroke painting legend, tons of other TV and blog celebrities and then my all-time favorite, Kathy Cano Murillo, the Crafty Chica herself.  She's at the show promoting her wonderful new line of Latin-flavored craft supplies for Duncan Crafts and this morning taught a fun class called "Create-A-Saint".  Everyone started out with a plain white figurine and then decorated it using all the gorgeous new Crafty Chica glitters, paints and glue sticks.  Kathy was adorable, encouraging everyone and chatting about her adventures.  I was originally going to make my figurine Valentine's Day inspired - all red, white and covered in hearts but somehow I found myself adding flames so instead of Santa Valentina of the Sweethearts, I ended up with the Virgen of the Perpetually Burning Love. That's her on the left.  Bruce made a lovely black attired nun who seems ready to start singing "Dominico-ico-ico". But wait!  It gets even better!  After class, we ran downstairs to the Duncan booth to pick up our very own Kathy Cano Murillo bobble-heads!  Bruce and I topped out after about three hours of walking the exhibit hall and even then we only saw about a quarter of everything there.  But that's what tomorrow is for - when I'll go back for a second helping of all that crafty goodness. 

Here are the links:
Craft Chica Blog
Craft and Hobby Assocation
Duncan Crafts
Sizzler 

You are My Honey Bunchito

I Want To Be Your Honey Bee

I love waffles.  With hot apple topping and a dollop of whipped cream on the side.  But honey will do in a pinch.  Yami, yami, yami.  Oops, that's not a waffle.  It's a honey comb.  Well, ok, I love honey  -  with a side of waffles.  Yami. 

Diamonds Are Nice But High-Grade Uranium Is Even Better

True Love is Radioactive

I love this card.  Not every Valentines card comes with a Geiger counter and little silver embossed hearts.

I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart

You're My Sombrero Honey

Isn't this little guy cute?

Watch Where You Point That Thing!

Nothing says I love you like a gun

How can such an adorable card just be so wrong? I've had this card a long time and it's one of my all-time favorites but would you believe that I only just noticed the rifle?  Not that I have anything against hunting mind you - but come on - when I think of Valentines, I think of chocolates, I think of cupcakes with silver decorations, I think of little black velvet boxes with shiny sparkly things inside.  I do not think of big game hunters with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on old "Soup-in-the-Pot." ("Soup-in-the-Pot" was the name my husband's grandmother bestowed on the family weapon used to put dinner on the table.)  Ah, good times, good times.

Go Van Go

Oh, wipe that sneer off your face
and kiss me you fool!

Isn't this card hilarious?  I love how the graphic artist of this card depicted a fine artist as a snob and dressed in the stereotypical artist garb of beret and flouncy bow tie.  The color combinations really are hideous. I don't think the artist of this card held fine artists in too high a regard.  Hysterical!!

Charming Your Way Into My Heart

What girl wouldn't be swept away
by such a declaration of love?

I love this card!  It seems to be from the 1930's judging from style of the boy's clothes and haircut.  Isn't the cottage in the back just adorable?  I want to live there!

You, You Light Up My Life

Thank you for the flowers,
but from the looks of that raincloud,
I'd rather have an umbrella

This card is so sweet!  It makes me smile.