better

I am feeling a little bit better today - able to photograph and post at least. I actually have 5 sales to get to the post, but I am not sure I want to go wait in line with a hacking cough and runny nose. One goes to Australia and two to Canada - They can wait another day.

Here are some new posts to the vintage chapter of my Etsy shop.

This image above is from a first impression of the 1933 Girl Scout Handbook. I love this book, but have not found too much use for it.

sick in bed

I visited family in Phila and came home with a new cold on top of an old sinus infection. I have hardly left my bed. But I have been able to knit once in a while and photograph some vintage finds for Etsy. I played around in Photoshop on a number of thread pics -This Brownie sold right away!

Three number three keys

I am trying to photograph and post vintage finds in my Etsy shop, SecondSeed. This is the best time of year, for my shop anyhow, to sell vintage objects. I had a request for just a number three typewriter key - these are three different ones. The middle one is actually glass framed in a metal ring. I do love the plastic ones myself. I want to make a another set of flowers with the keys as the center. I think I will use vintage color maps this time for the petals.

sadly - no sewing

The new amazing sewing machine is in the shop- under warranty, which is good, but 16 days with no machine is not so good. I'll be knitting and hand sewing until then - maybe some new inspiration will come of it. I have the machine (pictured above) in the basement - but it needs to be wired to a plug. If only I knew an electrician with some time on his hands. What do you think Allen?

mouse and mockingbird

another foundling

I am going to complete two or three more this week and then move on to something else. I have two damaged fingers from pushing the needle, I am crossing my fingers that the article in Stuffed Magazine creates sales...You can find this one in my shop - www.secondseedinstitches.etsy.com

Merry Merry

Aster took this above pic of some candies she got from Santa. Below is Allen with his vintage cozy and below that is Gage in a new shirt and hat.Aster and I got a photo booth set up and this is a pic I took and played around with in Photoshop. I have decided it is nuclear winter and this poor deer is the only survivor.

And below is my pathetic attempt to make a stuffed animal last minute for Aster. I realized on Christmas eve that I had no stuffed animal for her for a christmas present and I did what I could with what I had to make her one. He is not really complete, as he has no back legs.

Candied Orange Rind

My Favorite Holiday treat!
Orangettes
(makes about 6 cups, adapted from Martha Stewart Living)

Ingredients:

6 medium navel oranges
6 cups granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
6 cups water

Directions:

Using a paring knife, make six shallow cuts in each orange from top to bottom, cutting through the rind but not into the fruit. Use your fingers to gently loosen the six sections of rind off each orange. Use a longer, sharp knife to carefully slice off any extra white pith. Slice rind sections lengthwise into 1/4-inch to 1/8-inch strips. Place strips in a pot, cover with cold water, cook on high heat just until the water starts boiling. Drain & rinse rinds, return to pot, cover with cold water again, repeat the boil/rinse/drain steps, set aside.

Combine water & 6 c. sugar in a large, wide-mouth pot, cook over medium-high heat until mixture is boiling and sugar has completely dissolved. Carefully add sliced rinds into pot, turn heat down to medium, leave on a rapid simmer for about an hour, until rinds are translucent. Remove pot from heat, use tongs or a slotted spoon to fish out all the slices from the syrup & arrange in a single layer on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet or old newspaper. Pat a couple of paper towels on top of rinds to lightly blot up any excess syrup, but don't go overboard. Dredge slices in extra granulated sugar until well coated, return to wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Circus Mouse

This mouse is a retired circus performer - he is tired of traveling all the time and needs a good home.

Somewhere btw 30 seconds and all night

I watched When Harry Met Sally while I finished this little mischievous mouse this morning.

Historically funny writing and a nice nostalgic look at the 1980's, the movie put me in a wonderful mood.

Volume 4 Issue 1

Its here! I receive my copy in the mail the mail today - I need to run over to Barnes and Noble and see if they have the magazine for sale yet. Yeah for me!

Shop at Thread!

I delivered some flowers to Thread on Friday. They are made out of book pages and type writer keys and have felted wool leaves. Mike took this cool photo of one - I just love it. YOU HAVE TO GO TO THREAD AND SHOP! I found so many amazing, underpriced, very unique gifts for friends, family and myself! I just love this store and its owners.

This adorable juicer is just $24

A Yellow Shafted Flicker visited today!

He is sitting on a branch on the left in the pic above. See the little red speck on the top of his head? The yellow underside is amazing in the winter light. And he is all speckled on his breast. You would think he was showing off to me.

I was so excited to see him! Although I do love the Sparrows too. They are like dandelions to me - so pretty, but too many of them does get annoying.

One More

This is one of two custom Foundlings ordered for a brother and sister. I have to force myself to finish the second one - I dislike custom orders, they take all the fun out of the creation of these guys, but I shouldn't complain, they will be loved.

Blossom

I am not exactly keeping up with my one foundling a day goal. But I am working diligently on them. Blossom gave me a lot of joy as I thought about Spring and flowers all the time I was making her. I also finished some other projects and have been knitting. As my mom often asks, "Why does Christmas come at the busiest time of the year?"

Oops - I missed yesterday!

But here is one for toady - I named her Veda Vole, she doesn't want me to take away her baby black squirrel.

One a Day

One more foundling and two cats

Gizmodo

Nemo

Stuffed Magazine

I am busy making Foundlings and really enjoying myself as each little face develops its personality. I will have two of my Foundlings featured in the January issue of Stuffed Magazine! These two little guys haven't been sent home from there trip to California yet - but they will be for sale when they return. Some of there friends are in my Etsy shop waiting for adoption. Say hello to them out at Secondseedinstitches.etsy.com.

It has been awhile...

I have been working and teaching a various places and trying to keep up with my own business, and sadly I have neglected this blog (among other things). I have two more art venues coming up. Second Storie is Saturday, November27th, 11 am to 5 pm and Sunday, November 28th, 11 am to 4 pm at The Visual StudiesWorkshop auditorium and Hearts and Crafts is on December 12th at Javas Coffee Shop on Gibbs Street. I have been making as much as I possibly can for these last holiday sales. I hope you can come see me and the many other amazing artists.

Buy Local, Buy Hand Made, and Be Happy!

Estate Sale Selling

I go to a few Estate sales when I can. There is an awesome website called estatesales.net that lists the dates and times, maps and pictures for the sales. I have noticed some particularly amazing photos on this site- these are unchanged by moi - these are the exact snapshots that the organizers take to showcase the items in the sale. I think this first one had a lot of influence on my recent collage work.

I may frame this one and hang it in the living room. I just love the set like appearance, the colors and balance, and I especially like the blinds reflected in the TV.

Owls and Other Animlas

I am actually keeping this first owl for myself. He is all cashmere and probably the best shaped owl I have yet to make. The others are posted and for sale for $55 on Etsy, both in second seed and in secondseedinstitches.

Life

Aster raked the leaves on Sunday - just to take pics. I think this looks like a Loreal Paris ad.

I have decided to quit Anthropologie. I really like working there, but I feel like I cannot keep house or make dinner or spend any decent enough amount of time with my family. Since I mostly work nights there - that was the job to leave...

only a few hours after I e-mailed Anthropologie my resignation and two weeks notice - a manager at Naartjie quit and I was promoted to replace her. So now I have to work two nights at Naartjie. I also teach on Thursday Evenings and I am simply tired of not being home for dinner. I have been living on root beer and pretzel hotdogs while all I think about are wonderful healthy meals. I need to get organized to make a number of dinners on my free days to be able to pull out of the fridge or freezer last minute. Today is one of those days - I don't have high hopes.

enough about me

This Friday offers numerous wonderful exhibits. VSW presents artist and poet Jen Bervin to speak at the Black Mountain North Symposium at 2:30-4:00 PM at the Memorial Art Gallery. The Black Mountain North Symposium is a three-day conference and festival of the arts in Rochester, NY. It celebrates upstate New York’s experimental arts, whose lineage is partly traceable to the migration of artists and scholars from a radically innovative school situated in the hills of North Carolina from 1933 to 1957. Jen Bervin's work is so lovely, I assume she will be speaking about her new book The Desert. This book is made by her (hand) machine sewing over the text to reveal a found poem. (She made an edition of 40!)

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