Red and Whites

I was going to do just a couple of red and white things, but once I started, I loved it so much, I kept going.

Here are a few of the finished goods.

Stop Snowing!

I think I am not alone in wanting winter to go away.  Snow, snow and more snow, soooo tired of it, the shoveling, the dirt and snow tracked into the house, scraping the windshield, wearing 40 lbs of coats and gloves.  I have been working about around the clock trying to not think about it, but I have not succeeded.  Here are some of my creations, which will be followed by about one million things in red and white, I got a little carried away...

Thawing Out

Last week was beyond horrible, the crazy arctic weather and family members having serious medical issues made it stressful beyond belief.  Things are looking more hopeful on all fronts, hoping the good stays with me.

I tried to get some better photos of the new merchandise and I think it is an improvement.  Now to get them listed is the next order of business.

I found these odd little things, and puzzled over their possible use, they have holes at the top and have a white powder inside.  I thought about something to sprinkle over pen and ink letters and I was right!  They are "pounce pots", filled with dried cuttlefish bone that was sprinkled over unsized paper to make the surface more smooth for writing.

Replenishing the Pantry Tin Stock

I sold all of the last group of tins, so have started all over again.  Here are my latest creations;

I have a few other odds and ends ready to list:

Old Tins Meet Photograph Feedsacks

I printed old photos and labels on old feedsacks and stained them all up with walnut ink and used the fabric to cover a bunch of tins.  It is my new favorite thing, I think.

Winter is getting me down, but not completely defeated me yet.  We've had more and more snow and it is so cold, there is not a bit of melting going on.  Spring always arrives, spring always arrives, spring always arrives....Let's see if the mantra works!

A Blue Re-do

It has been almost a week with zero sunshine, typical Iowa January.  Tonight is supposed to be snowmaggedon, it will be quite interesting to see if the storm lives up to the media hysteria about it.  There was finally enough light to go out on the porch and take photos--and I did the human popsicle thing and took 353 photos.  That was two hours out there, my fingers are still barely working.  Part of the photographs were new views of some old blue merchandise, and about half were the new things I just finished.

Here are the re-takes:

Some people count sheep at night to go to sleep, I think about what I can use as a background in my photographs.  Last weeks wakeful night resulted in thinking of making a nest of Spanish moss with egg gourds to put in old ironstone.  I'm kind of obsessed with thinking about adding eggs to everything now, we shall see if I get it done--looks very Pinterest-y in my imagination.

My two new milk paint colors are grainsack and artissimo blue, I think they are quite pretty.

Readjusting to Life after Vacation

Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Christmas

The problem with having an almost perfect vacation is returning home to normal life where things are never even close to being perfect.  We spent 3 days at Disneyland, New Year's eve and day included and it was so wonderful.  We splurged big time on a room at the Grand Californian, the perfect hotel in the perfect fantasyland.  Supposedly, you should never go to Disney at this time of year because of the crowds, but I have to disagree.  We got surprised by the Christmas parade meandering through the park just as we had gotten into our teacups.  We got to see Alice and the Mad Hatter and we never see Alice--Anna tells me I screamed "It's Alice!" so enthusiastically that I made all the people around me jump three feet in the air.   The girls got a photo with Mulan, also a first.  We were on Main Street in the evening just as they lit the castle and made it snow around us--I love magic!  Anyway, my  best New Years ever, but coming down to earth has been a challenge, I must say.

Anna and Grace with Mulan and their cousin Ian and his friend Chris

I did drive through old Route 66, but this is more Disney magic, James and I are standing in Radiator Springs, home of Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen

Slowly but surely, I am back to work.  My first creations of the year are using a new milk paint called "grainsack" and I do love the results.  Here are the first few things, with much more to come.