Domestic Creativity

First some creativity.
We are finally decorating the children's bedrooms.  We couldn't find any good curtains, in the right size or color for the kids rooms.  I remembered the huge rainbow playsilk from Desertdyeworks that I had tucked away in my gift stash box.  Look - it works perfectly as a curtain!

This type of sheer curtain is very easy to make.  Find a drapey fabric that has finished edges all around.  Fold over the top edge, to form the tube that will slip over the curtain rod.  Then use buttons or some sort of decorative themed embellishment to secure the fold.  In this case, I used little flower embellishments and sewed them on at 8 inch intervals.  You could use buttons, bows, ribbon or any type of sewable, gluable, or fusible embellishment.   I did stitch these on, but you could also use some sort of glue or fusing adhesive to secure the foldover and embellishments.

This playsilk worked so beautifully that I ordered two more of them, in blue and green colortones, for my son's room.  I think we'll use a variety of buttons, his choice, to secure the fold on his curtains. 

You can do all sorts of variations on this theme, even stitching with a sewing machine for a much more durable curtain.  Experiment with longer pieces of cloth, let lots of it fold over and tie the excess with a gorgeous glitzy tassel.  I'm getting all sorts of ideas for my own bedroom now.

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Now for the less creative domain in my house- the kitchen!  I don't really mind cooking, but I hate the whole shebang that amounts to an organized family meal plan.  I dislike meal planning, making grocery lists, getting the timing straight.  There is a lot of organization that goes into the family meal planning and I dislike every bit of it.  Well, I discovered a service online that does all of the parts I hate, except the cleanup.  I now pay http://www.mealmixer.com $1 per week to create a menu based on our tastes, provide me with the exact recipes, and with a detailed grocery list organized by categories.

You have no idea how happy this makes me.  Now I sit down at the computer for about 15 minutes on Friday, get my meal plan set, print out my recipes and print out my grocery list.  I don't have to spend 2 hours pulling out cookbooks, cross referencing ingredients, or trying to make an organized list.   For one dollar a week, I've eliminated the most stressful annoying part of our family meal planning.  Now I can actually enjoy the cooking and the meal.  I spend less money on groceries too, because we buy the food we need once a week, rather than continually stopping by the store for one more thing.

the moral of the story?  - well for me, that was acknowledging that meal planning and organized grocery lists are sheer torture for me.  I'm glad the solution was so affordable.  Heck, I wouldn't plan anyone else's meals for $100, let alone $1. 

A Colorful Giggly Easter!

An Easter Greeting from my daughter

4x6, ink and easter egg dye drawing

Little critters in the Easter baskets!  all the way from Canada...
Popcorn Monsters by Banjopuppets!

Pegasus and her Princess flew in from Acorngirl in the Southeastern USA.

The handstitching is amazing.  I'm in love.

Have a happy, colorful and spring-smelling Easter!

Things I Buy..

Here are a few treasures that I've recently purchased or traded for. I really like these! If you want to see more of their work, click on their shop name, to the lower right of the item picture.


Cherry Almond Body Frosting (Really it's moisturizing lotion!)
from VixenandVenus

Mother and Baby Mermaids
from fairiesnest

Wee felt pirate dolls waldorf inspired
from acorngirl


Fresh Cut Roses - Vegan Cold Process
from showertreatsoap



Stein from hafelepottery

Metal Bamboo - the whole story

Sometimes the themes I am most resistant to result in the most interesting pieces.  Why is that?  Is it the unfamiliarity that causes me to stretch and look for more pleasing outcomes.

When I first started to work with the bamboo motif, I really didn't want to do it.  There really is only one feasible way to forge it, which means not a lot of visual variety.  It's not a native plant or a familiar plant.  It's a bit trendy.  It just wasn't in my design vocabulary.  Then I got a request for it.  For some reason, I couldn't say no.  I had to plunge myself right into it. 

I didn't have the tools for the forged version, so I tried a welded version.

That was ok, but took a lot of work- first forging, then welding, then hammering some more.  So I took the plunge, set up a fullering tool, and tried the forged version. 
Oh let me tell you how I moaned and groaned, swore it wouldn't work, swore it was too heavy and swore to go back to the welded version.   I did the welded version again.  I moaned and groaned, complained, and thought "there must be a better way."  (Notice all the complaining that goes on in my work development?) 

 Well there is a better way, the standard way that everyone else is doing.  I set up the fullering tool again, rearranged a few tools, cut some manageable sizes and broke the process down into reasonable steps.  Amazingly enough, I got these results (posted here already.)

 
Click on each picture to see the larger version.  If you want to see a discussion of how to make the forged steel bamboo, click here or go to http://www.metalmeet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9509  Scroll through the entries to get to some explanations and links to another website with photos.

I am still working on the actual commission and should finish it before Thanksgiving.  In the meantime, I created a wallpiece using some of the extras, to go in the exhibit.  It's photographed on the floor, a bamboo laminate floor. ( I haven't yet dedicated a wall to big-nail-photography.)

I love it.  I didn't want to do it at first and now I love it.  It's simple, yet there's still so much room for expression- in the simple lines, the few leaves, and the negative space.

As a part of the experimentation, I also created some of the bamboo and bamboo leaves in bronze.  I'll show you those results in a few more days.  I had some extra leaves to turn into these lovely forms.

Now think about it.  I never would have done any of this if someone hadn't asked me to create something that I'd never done before.  I never would have done any of this if I hadn't said yes and made myself follow through.  I never would have tried something new and come up with something as lovely as those pieces. 

The moral of the story?- Keep saying yes and then figuring out how the heck to do it.

Felting Soap

We felted soap! We looked up a few online tutorials and had at it. Start with some good handmade soap, available on Etsy or often at a local crafty farmer's market. We chose Showertreatsoap on Etsy, because she makes the most delightful rose scented products. I buy the rose scented soap and laundry powder. In this case, she found a few odd sizes of some of her other delightful scents for me, because she knew the kids were going to try out some soap felting.

Get your supplies ready- handmade bar soap, wool roving, and old nylon stockings. You can cut the nylons up and knot them at one end to make a nylon stocking bag.
You need a few hands willing to get wet and sudsy. Bigger hands have an easier time with this than little hands do.
You need a basin of warm water for sudsing and some clean water nearby in case soap does get into eyes.

A responsible and cheerful adult should supervise, to make sure that soap doesn't get into eyes, mouths or noses.

Remind the kids that soap tastes horrible and that it stings the eyes. They shouldn't touch their face while they're working on the project.

Start wrapping the soap with wool roving. Try to wrap up the whole soap. If the kids are doing it, resist the urge to step in and do it right for them. Keep your hands off and let them do it, offering a few tips if necessary.
The kids might not do it perfectly. The wool wrap might be a little loose. You might end up with a few thin spots in the wool felt. Remember, it will be their soap, their project, and their feeling of accomplishment. You'll be surprised at how great they turn out (the soap and the kids.)

Take the wool wrapped soap and put it in the nylon stocking. You can hold the stocking open while the child puts it in.

Get the soap wet in warm water, as warm as is comfortable to a child's hand.

First they rub it around gently in their hands, working up to firmer and firmer rubbing. You can take the soap long enough to show them how to flip the soap around in their hands, but otherwise, keep your adult hands off. This will take awhile. Encourage them and keep them rubbing and rubbing and rubbing, using more and more consistent hand pressure. This is really good for them and the messy suds are fun.

You can check the progress after 10 or 15 minutes.

That bar needs a little more scrubbin' and rubbin'.

When they really can't stand to sit there and do it anymore, take the bars out and be done with it.

Lay them out in a sunny spot to dry.

Here they are, all dry and ready to send off as a gift or use in the bath.

Don't worry about the imperfections- thin spots or unevenly felted spots. They're beautiful just as they are. These are like nice little scrubbie mitts. When the soap is all gone and fully rinsed out, you can then use the leftover felt to make a pouch, or in some other project.

Kids like this project. It's messy, requires a little elbow grease, and results in a useful and attractive end product. It involves multiple textures; fluffy, wet, slippery, and coarse. It's also a bit magic, transforming soft fluffy wool into a coarse matted fabric. The kids get to enjoy their handiwork again every time they take a bath or shower.

Take care and Enjoy!