Adventures in Art

Last year I scanned some of my artwork, and since that blog is gone now, I thought I'd re-post my pictures again. I don't draw as much as I'd like, but when I do, I prefer to draw portraits in charcoal, conte, or pencil. (My apologies to those who have followed my blog adventures and have already seen these; I'll be doing a little re-posting in the next few days, so bear with me during these flashbacks)

Looking at these pictures now, it feels like I sketched them eons ago--I think I need to draw something! ;-)

 

Peggy Lee in  pencil

 

Astrud Gilberto in pencil

 

Tina Turner in pencil

 

Diana Ross in charcoal and conte

 

Margie Joseph in charcoal and conte 

 

Doris Day in conte

DIY Turbie Twist

As someone with long hair, I'm a fan of the Turbie Twist. Turns out, they are not that hard to replicate. All you need is your sewing machine, an old towel, and elastic. I used coordinating elastic to match my towel, but a hair elastic would work in a pinch. Turn your old turbie inside out and use it as a pattern for a new twist. If you use a vintage bath towel as I did, you can line up your edges with the towel edges, so there's no hemming required either. Yay! I serged the inside edges for a clean finish, but a normal zigzag stitch works too.  An easy ten minute project to looking very vintage glamorous post-bath! ;-)

 

Vintage Crystals

I bought these crystals at an estate sale for a few dollars. At this same sale, I purchased boxes and boxes of studs from the 70s for leather belts. I didn't know what to do with the studs or these crystals, but I loved them!

 But then I came across some vintage jewelry pieces which had sadly lost their crystals. Junk jewelry to some, but with a little superglue, we were back in business! :-)

 These "Glamour Bobs" were only 99 cents at the Salvation Army, still attached to their original card! 

The Cows at Night

I know lots of poets, but I had never heard of the poet Hayden Carruth until someone shared his work on Facebook. In case you have never heard of him too, I wanted to share his poem "The Cows at Night."

The Cows At Night by Hayden Carruth
 

The moon was like a full cup tonight,
too heavy, and sank in the mist
soon after dark, leaving for light

faint stars and the silver leaves
of milkweed beside the road,
gleaming before my car.

Yet I like driving at night
in summer and in Vermont:
the brown road through the mist

of mountain-dark, among farms
so quiet, and the roadside willows
opening out where I saw

the cows. Always a shock
to remember them there, those
great breathings close in the dark.

I stopped, and took my flashlight
to the pasture fence. They turned
to me where they lay, sad

and beautiful faces in the dark,
and I counted them–forty
near and far in the pasture,

turning to me, sad and beautiful
like girls very long ago
who were innocent, and sad

because they were innocent,
and beautiful because they were
sad. I switched off my light.

But I did not want to go,
not yet, nor knew what to do
if I should stay, for how

in that great darkness could I explain
anything, anything at all.
I stood by the fence. And then

very gently it began to rain.

Quilt For Baby Elsa

My dear friend Bri had her baby girl, Elsa, on Saturday, June 9th at 8:02PM. Thankfully, I was able to finish up her baby blanket just in time for my visit back home last week. Phew!

Here's a few pictures of the top before finishing:

 I loved picking the colors, but my favorite part was the running stitches I did on each white panel by hand. It was a little bit time consuming, but I love the wonky handmade stitches, especially for a baby quilt.

Hope you have many sweet dreams, Elsa! Welcome, little one! :-)

Another Vintage DIY Hair Clip

I think I bought this vintage 60's jewelry component in a jar of junk jewelry at a garage sale. I was excited to find that it had all the original rhinestones! I used Gorilla brand superglue to adhere the component to a metal hair clip.  I cleaned the plastic flowers with a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol first.

 Almost any vintage component with a flat back can be glued to a hair clip. The style pin you use and the type of glue depends on the size and weight of the component. While I would have loved this on a bobby pin, there's no way it could support the component's large size and weight.

 

In action at a picnic at Niagara Falls State Park

Quick Sticker Fix

This sun glass clip (you put it on your car visor to hold your sunglasses) came in a baggie of miscellanea from Value Village in Niagara Falls, Canada. I'm not really a fan of this movie, but I do love kitty cat stickers! :-)

Vintage Earrings Turned DIY Hair Bobbies

This row of sparkly screw back earrings at the thrift store for $2.99 caught my eye.
I immediately envisioned fancy hair pins! I cut the screw backs off using wire cutting pliers. I used bobby pin blanks from Hobby Lobby and E-6000 glue. I impatiently waited for them to dry overnight. And come morning? Success!

 The black flowers are my favorite! I thought the blue floral cabochon made a nice ring too. I bought this ring blank on my trip to Queen Street West in Toronto in January, but I think Hobby Lobby carries them too.

DIY Flavored Vodkas

I've had a great deal of fun making flavored vodkas. It all began with the success of my bubble gum infused vodka last year. I think the hardest part was making the label. I love that it turned a bright pink color!

Creating flavored vodka couldn't be simpler: put fruit/vegetable/candy/herb in vodka and let sit. Every once in awhile, shake it like a Polaroid picture! You can keep it in the refrigerator, but it's not necessary. Don't let it sit in direct sunlight, or you may lose any pretty color (trust me on this one!)

Obviously the longer it sits, the stronger the flavor infusion. I've used mason jars in the past, but for this batch of homegrown strawberries, I used recycled bottles. Because alcohol is a sanitizer, you do not have to sanitize the containers like you would for canning. 

After a few days (up to a few weeks), strain and re-bottle for gift giving. 24 hours in and the strawberry concoction is already a lovely shade of pale red. (Sorry for the sideways picture!). I can't wait to see it in a week!