Spring Cleaning & Etsy

Well, I've been busy doing some more spring cleaning & clearing out here.  I've been donating stuff & passing some on through our local Freecycle group.  But some treasures have also landed in my Etsy shop, like the fun vintage puzzle above.  What's not to like about an apple with 2 smiling worms that hold it together?  I remember playing with this as a kid, so I figure it's from the 1950s.  My Grandma lived with us & worked at The Higbee Company downtown, and often she'd come home from work with a book or educational toy for me.  I'm pretty sure that's how I got this apple puzzle.  It's up for sale right now.

I also found this slide rule pencil cup.  Back in the 1970s I used to buy a few special gifts from the Neiman-Marcus Christmas catalog.  This one was a favorite of my Dad's...he was an Electrical Engineer & used this pencil cup on his desk at work until the day he retired.  With graduations & Father's Day approaching, I thought I'd offer it up so it can be used by someone else. 

The big key above has been hanging in our basement for as long as I can remember.  I'm quite sure it's from the 1950s & a souvenir from my Grandma & Grandpa's road trip out west.  It was originally a thermometer, but since that had seen better days, I removed it & now it would be great for a mixed media art piece, since there's a big indentation in the front.  The patina & detail on this one are great.

Hard to see, but it's from Yellowstone Park. 

 

I have many more treasures in my shop & I'll be listing more as I go along.  There will be more rubber stamps & studio destash, too...like I said, it's still spring cleaning time!

Please stop by to have a look.  Thanks!

 

 

 

Remembering my dear friend, Kimber

I know I haven't posted in awhile, but a couple weeks ago I got devastating news.  My dear friend, Kimber, died suddenly...just before her 55th birthday.  While Kimber & I never met face to face, we've been friends for about 10 years through on line groups & email.  I don't know the details of how she died, but it seems she went quickly & hopefully with no pain.

I had just sent her birthday present...a hand bound journal & washi tapes...and it even arrived the day before her birthday for a change.  The box was still on her front porch when her brother found her Tuesday night.  She never even got to open her gifts. 

Kimber was also an artist & I have many pieces she made for me in my studio.  I think of her each time I see these works of art.  I miss her so much & while I know the pain will lessen over time, it's so sad that such a bright creative light has been extinguished so soon. 

Her blog, A Journey in Creativity, is still on line if you care to see some of her creative adventures.  The self portrait above is from her blog.

Kimber touched so many people with her art & friendship...she will certainly be missed by so many people.  Rest in peace, dear friend...rest in peace.

The Birthday Girl!

There aren't too many things better than sleeping in the sun when you're a kitty...

Unless it's playing with that ball that keeps going around & around...

Or watching the birdies outside...it's good to be the kitty in this house!

 

Today is Sunny's birthday.  She's all of 6 years old now.  It's a nice, sunny day here & she's just having fun enjoying what she does best...which is what everyone should do on their birthday!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNNY CAT!!!

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Today is also the 43rd anniversary of that fateful day back on May 4, 1970 when the Ohio National Guard murdered & maimed students at Kent State University.  Always remember...four young lives ended far too soon....Jeffrey Miller, Allison  Krause, William Schroeder & Sandra Scheuer.  So sad.

Remember...always remember them.

 

 

 

 

 

Treasures from the Sea

I've been working quite diligently to clear out stuff in the basement here.  There have been shelves I haven't been able to even reach...until lately.  The other day, I discovered a rusty old coffee can on a shelf & inside were these treasures from the sea!  Sand dollars...inside a rusty old can...inside a box with other stuff piled on top of it.  In NE Ohio...imagine that.

 

I'm pretty sure these were collected on a road trip that my Mom & Dad took in the early 1980s...shortly after I had moved to San Diego.  They drove west from OH across the northern tier of states...and stopped to visit my Uncle in Tacoma, WA.  I'm figuring they went to the beach & collected these sand dollars.  From the sand that was inside of them & the rust from where they probably entered the can wet & never saw the outside again...that makes sense to me.  I imagine they were thrown into the can & put into the trunk of the car...made their way back here & into the basement to be washed...and just sat in that can until I discovered them the other day.

 

All of these pix were taken right after I washed them...so they're still pretty dark.  I've read that I can bleach them...just for a short time...but now that they're dry, the colors are kinda cool.  I love the bits of rust, too.  I'm not sure what exactly I'll do with them...but it sure was fun to discover these as I had no idea they were here.  What a treasure.

 

Quilts

Anyone who enters our house can see my love of quilts.  They're everywhere. 

On the walls...as pillows...on the bed...piled up on window benches. 

Some are hand made.  Some are store bought.  All of them are beautiful. 

All of them get used...that's what they're for after all.

This quilt is my most prized one.  My Mom told me how she cut every little hexagon to make this Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  Her Mom...my Grandma...then pieced it all by hand into a twin size quilt.  It was also hand quilted by a quilting bee at their church. 

 

Every stitch by hand...every one. 

I love how Grandma combined such unusual colors and prints, yet they all work together.  I'm sure she used what she could find as she was a single Mom raising 2 kids during the Depression.  My Mom was born in the 1920s, so I figure this quilt was made during the 1930s.

 

When I moved out on my own, I begged Mom to let me have this quilt.  My timing wasn't quite right...she wasn't ready to part with it.  So...I decided I'd make my own version of Grandma's quilt.

I started my quilt back in the 1970s...then it got packed away as I moved to San Diego, then all around the country.  One year while I was still living in San Diego, Mom gifted her treasured quilt to me.  No reason to continue with mine, right?

Well, lately I've been feeling the pull to work on my quilt again.  I've pulled together the 1930s prints I had packed away.  I added to my supply with reproduction 1930s prints found in Etsy shops.  I'm working on my quilt again!

My quilt is an interpretation of Grandma's.  She always had a solid color flower with the yellow center in each of her blocks.  I'm combining solids & prints with no pattern to how I do them.  My quilt is unified by the 1970s gold & white print centers that are the same print as the green & white print paths through the flower garden. 

I'm hoping to eventually finish a queen size quilt for our bed...with each stitch done by hand. 

 

Just like Mom & Grandma.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asparagus & Leek Quiche

Yes, I know I have a cooking blog.  No, I don't keep it updated.  I've been busy here this week between taxes & clearing out stuff to donate through Freecycle...but we have to eat, right? 

 

Well, this yummy quiche above is sort of a work of art, no?  I think it qualifies to be on this blog.  No recipe, really...just 4 eggs, some half & half...whisked & poured into a store bought pie shell that was filled with sautéed leeks, Swiss cheese & bits of leftover asparagus.  I reserved some of the asparagus spears to decorate the top...left it all in just a bit too long, but it sure was yummy...just a bit more "golden" than I would have liked.  Even tasted good the next day...out of the fridge & left to warm to room temperature.  YUMMY!

 

I plan to get back to art stuff next week...today I'm searching for the book tape I bought on Etsy & put somewhere so I would be sure to find it...but now I can't find it.  I know it's hiding where I least expect it to be...and I will find it...I have to.  I guess it's back to the studio to search. 

 

I hope you can have more fun with your Saturday...but it's way too cold here for me to go outside, so at least I can be productive in here. 

 

More Spring Cleaning...

So...I'm still at it...and will be for quite some time.  SPRING is being fickle here, so I'm occupying my time with finding vintage treasures to sell as well as giving things away through our local Freecycle group.  If you haven't found your local group, it's easy with the link I've provided. 

 

It amazes me that I am still finding things I didn't know were still here as I clean through this place.  My Mom was definitely a hoarder...not in the trash all over the place & dead animals kind of way, but boy did she buy things!  I've inherited some of those tendencies, but I try to keep mine in check.  Luckily, I am able to help others as well as offer the best stuff for sale in my Etsy shop.

 

Back in the 1970s, my Dad worked on a contract with Anheuser Busch.  Dad was an Electrical Engineer & that contract took him to many of the AB brewery locations across the country.  He always came back with a souvenir for Mom...but she wasn't a beer fan, so I'm finding some of them as I explore.  Bud is not my beer...but maybe you know someone who would appreciate these. 

There are 6 of the glasses above in their original box...they have never been used...maybe you know someone who has a home bar...these would be perfect or that...and they have SOLD!  Thanks!

 

I've also uncovered some souvenirs of a trip my Mom & Grandma took to Florida in the 1940s.  The little ATC sized pix in this set are fabulous...and are that old fashioned linen texture that was so popular for postcards of that era.  It took 1.5cents to mail this back in the day!

I've also started to part with some of my vintage cookbooks.  I love to cook, but some of these just have to find new homes. 

From 1970..."465 Quick-to-Fix Recipes Using Campbell's Convenience Foods".  There's even a page about adding a special touch to TV Dinners to make them even better!

And from 1954...The Pillsbury 5th Grand National Baking contest...there were $100,000 in prizes & this one received $2,500...that was a HUGE amount back in 1954!

 

I'm adding quite an assortment of vintage treasures these days...as well as supplies from my overwhelming stash in my studio.  Please stop by & take a look...you may find a special gift for someone dear...or for yourself! 

 

Mention that you found me through my blog in the order comments...

and I'll include a special gift for you.