Happy Pink Saturday! This week, I am featuring some pink flamingos. I picked these two cuties up at a recent estate sale. They stand a whopping 2″ tall. I have always wanted a couple of kitschy plastic pink lawn flamingos – these will have to do for now.
DD had an overnight orientation at UCSD, so I decided to have an overnight as well. After dropping her off, I headed to Old Town San Diego to play tourist. It was nice, but I realized I don’t much like sightseeing on my own. This is my “new normal”. DH has suggested now that all the kids will be out of the house, I accompany him on business trips. I will have to think on that one – my wanderlust hasn’t kicked back in, and I need to learn to appreciate playing tourist on my own… I digress, so Old Town was nice, an infusion of Mexican culture, color, and flavor:
The best part was, on the second day, I met up with my best friend from fourth grade! We had lunch at a wonderful restaurant by the beach. It kind of reminded me of Coogee beach when we lived in Sydney. Linda and I had fun catching up, remembering funny little things, and marveling at the passage of time…
My grandfather came to this country during the turn of the century, seeking fortune and adventure. In some respects, his dreams did come true, as eventually, he was able to return to his home country, a comfortable and respected man. I am glad that he had the sense of adventure and the courage of youth to come, as this established our family in this great country of ours. I have traveled and lived in many places throughout the world, and can honestly say that I am glad to make my home here. In honor of this, I have made a mask celebrating the Fourth of July. PU only – enjoy!
I joined in on the Vintage Christmas In July Swap hosted by Erica of Golden Egg Vintage. She partnered me with Kim over at Musings From Kim K – yay! Kim is a pro at antiquing, thrifting, and estate sales. She finds the most amazing things and creates even more amazing(er) things. In fact, her whole family gets involved in a lot of the creating. So, when my package arrived, I opened it with great anticipation… I will just let the photos do the talking:
I think I can say that I am ready for Christmas crafting! Kim even sent me a Santa blow mold – something I have been on the look out for. Thank you Erica for hosting this fun swap, and thank you Kim for being such a thoughtful swap partner!
Look who came to celebrate the Fourth of July all the way from England! The sweetest little Patriotic girl I have ever seen! She is holding a tiny wreath, and has a cute little grin on her face. Viv over at Viv Out On A Whim organized a Patriotic Ornie Swap, and I was partnered with Hope at Pixie’s Ponderings. Not only is it fun receiving something specially handmade, but it’s great meeting new people and making friends with other creative like minded women. Hope made me the most adorable Elizabeth style clothespin girl:
Thank you Viv for organizing the swap. And thank you Hope for being my partner!
Happy Pink Saturday! After visiting the Lavender Festival, I was inspired to make a lavender wand. If you want instructions, they are all over the web. It’s pretty straight forward, so I just did it my way. I don’t know what type of lavender grows in my garden, but it was definitely not the slender petite variety they used at the fair to make the wands. So, I had to offset the bunch I used. Basic steps: Pick 15 lavender stalks, remove the leaves. Tie the bunch with dental floss, bend stalks over the flowers, weave ribbon around, and tie off. Pretty simple, and the results are even prettier. The hardest part was competing with the bees for the flowers:
DD started swimming with the Masters for the summer. She wakes up at 5:00am, and swims from 5:30am to 7:30am. She then goes to her summer job, teaching learn to swim. After she gets home, she goes cycling, climbing, or some other sport – she is loving it! I decided if she can do all that, then I can at the very least get up and go walking. So, I have been getting up with her, and going walking with one of the dogs, and it’s been great! For whatever reason, getting up and being active so early has made me feel more productive. I noticed our apricots have started ripening, so I had DD help me pick them, and we put them in the dehydrator to dry them. And, I made apricot sauce with the leftovers. In lieu of lemons (no lemons on our trees at the moment) we used calamansi, which grows year round.
And, as long as I was on a roll, I dried bananas too:
And… I even made pesto from fresh basil growing in my garden:
How’s that for a Suzy Homemaker moment! 🙂
There is a resort not far from my home which hosts an annual Lavender Festival. My friend Lisa and I decided to attend. We left early to avoid the heat and crowd. It was so beautiful with the fields of lavender in bloom as far as we could see. It almost felt like we were in Tuscany. I bought some doggy lavender soap for Koko and Hiro, though I don’t know why since they go to a groomer… I guess the idea of them smelling like lavender appealed to me. They even had plein air painters doing their thing.
Fourth of July, is one of the holidays I do not have many decorations for. And that in itself is a good enough reason to craft… So, after doing the Patriotic Ornie Swap, and having all the materials at hand, I decided to make a few more. I managed to find some really cute vintage dolls on Ebay, and used them to make my latest creations. I think they came out pretty cute if I do say so myself:
This week, I made a photo mask for a “June Bride”. Or, it can be used for any other photos. I’m kind of running out of ideas for masks at the moment, so unless you have suggestions, I might just take a break at 20. Anyhow, here is the mask for this week. PU only – Enjoy!
Hmmm, I’ve been following a few wonderful bloggers that frequent estate sales, find the most interesting things, and create even more interesting things with their finds. Well, of course I’d have to have a go at it, and wouldn’t you know it, I came across an ad for an estate sale, and off I went. The sale started at 8:00am, I arrived at 8:15am, and stood behind five people to enter the house. I felt a bit uneasy, like I was intruding… Images of the scene from A Christmas Carol came to mind, where the old ladies are going through Ebenezer Scrooges material goods… The lady in front of me turned, smiled, and I asked her about estate sales…And she explained a few things… This was an estate of her friends parents. The family had chosen whatever they wanted, and the rest of their estate was being liquidated. Orphans needing new homes… Ok, feeling a bit better… Step into the house, lots to see, but I zero in on the holiday craft supplies. The atmosphere was positive, upbeat, and happy. I left with a bag of things and a feeling of goodwill… My first estate sale.
You know what they say is the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That about sums it up for my efforts in making lampwork beads… I make them, list them, and “hope” to sell them. At the very least to support my lampwork beading habit… Am I insane? Whatever, I have fun doing it, and a husband who just wants me to be happy, sooo…
I took advantage of cool weather we had a couple of weeks ago, and sat down to make some beads. And I am finally getting down to listing these beads on Etsy. Once I start making beads, it’s a lot of fun, but my mind is racing in so many directions these days, I don’t think much about sitting down in front of the torch. And now, the weather is unbearably hot, so I may just have to wait till the fall to do it again. Any way, here are a few sets I managed to make, they can be found at my Etsy shop (my insanity is kicking in again! :)).
I added the “Bead Babes” at the last minute. What do you think? do they help? 😉
Lutka And Co.
Cutiepie Misfits
lutkaandco.com 