Monday, November 24, 2014

A Felting We Will Go...

Needle Felting is a technique recently learned at craft club. Some wool, a special needle, a piece of foam and an imagination is all that's needed.

A store in my neighborhood - Fiberwood Studio - sells a colorful selection of wool. It took very little wool for my animal projects so it was not expensive at all. I did invest in a couple of needles but with a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby that also was inexpensive.

Here are a few finished projects I'll pass on to the grandchildren this holiday season:






These next four are pages of a "Pocket Book" for the 1-year old:





Thursday, November 20, 2014

SPICY!

Spent a few minutes today going through my spices, herbs etc. Some of them looked pretty old so I started sorting them. Turns out I have 60 different jars and only 10 have not expired!  Guess I'll be making a stop at Penzey's soon to pick up some fresh ones, but only a dozen will actually be replaced for now.  If you're interested, here's a link to a Penzey's coupon!

Look through your spices - can you top my list of 50 expired spices?

accent
Adolph's
arrowroot
basil
caraway seeds
celery seeds
chervil
chili powder
chives, freeze-dried
cilantro leaves
cloves, ground
coriander
cornstarch
cream of tartar
cumin, ground
cumin, seed
curry powder
dill weed
fennel seeds
garden mint
garlic powder
garlic salt
ginger, crystallized
ginger, ground
Italian seasoning
Lawry's seasoned salt
lemon pepper
mace
marjoram
nutmeg, ground
old bay seasoning
onion, minced
onion, powder
orange peel
paprika
paprika, Hungarian hot
parsley leaves
pepper, cayenne
pepper, coarse ground black
pepper, crushed red
poppy seeds
poultry seasoning
rosemary leaves
sage, ground
sesame seeds
tarragon  leaves
thyme
turmeric
yellow mustard powder
yellow mustard seed

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Broken Dishes Mosaic

A visit to Goodwill recently provided most of what I needed to create another mosaic. A wooden crate and several plates. The cashier was a bit taken back when I said don't bother wrapping the plates. I plan on smashing them with a hammer.

The inside of the crate is painted gold, but the outside bare. Appearing to be pressed wood but sturdy enough to handle what I had in mind I taped off the inside; lightly sanded the outside, and sprayed it with white primer.

The solid color plates were wrapped in an old towel and smashed with a hammer on the driveway to break into small pieces.  Because the pattern plates would be the focal point I used my craft club teacher's tile nipper tool. It provides more control than a hammer.

Once I had a variety of pieces I decided to use the pattern pieces as flower petals and surround them with dark blue pieces.  I did have some solid light blue and yellow pieces but they didn't provide the contrast I was after.

As with my previous mosaic, I used a premixed combination adhesive/grout. It was like frosting cookies and worked great to adhere each piece to the crate.


An acrylic paint "Payne's Grey" provided a pretty blue to tint the white adhesive/grout before grouting.

The final touch is a border painted with the "Payne's Grey"  on the handle inserts and the top edge.

Now - what should I use it for...yarn, magazines, or gift it back to Goodwill?


Sunday, November 2, 2014

The Power of Fragrance

The sense of smell is something I hope never to lose. A cup of coffee; cinnamon; bacon are just a few of the scents that wet my appetite. An apple pie in the oven; a turkey roasting; and sauteed onions and garlic will make my head turn immediately.

Something else though are perfumes and colognes. When I was a young girl, women wore fragrances to mask body odor or to cover up cigarette smell. That habit seems to have waned with the advent of antiperspirants and so few smokers. I don't remember when I stopped wearing cologne; probably within the past 6 or 7 years.  Eliminating fragrance at work became an "unwritten" rule.

Some of my favorite memories though are triggered by fragrances worn by women. One of my favorite aunts always wore "Shalimar". The fragrance can be described as vanilla, powdery, and sweet. I enjoyed hugging her because I loved her smell.  My mother's was Coty L'Aimant - a delicate fragrance combining rose, orchid and golden jasmin softly embraced with sandalwood and vanilla. After mom passed away 34 years ago, I found her L'Aimant small solid perfume container in her jewelry box. I still have that jewelry box and perfume container. The fragrance is quite faint, but still there.

My fragrance is Chanel #5...a complex fragrance which does not allow any of the components to be isolated out of the composition. It is one of the very first gifts "sweetie" bought for me when we were dating. He kept buying me that fragrance for many years. Over time we mutually agreed to stop purchasing gifts for one another and I'm still OK with that decision; but I sure do miss that Chanel #5.
The thought of purchasing it for myself never occurred to me.

This past week while cutting through Macy's at Mayfair I walked the gauntlet of women's fragrances. Typically I ignore them and even go out of my way to avoid that area, but for some reason I walked right through the middle. On impulse I stopped at the Chanel counter and asked if they had Chanel #5 in a spray bottle. Of course they did - in two sizes and three forms. So I bought the smallest bottle. Not cheap that's for sure! Lets just say before tax; it was very slightly under $100. Of course I bought it. I love it and intend to gently spray it on every once in awhile.

I hope if you hug me, you'll like it too.