Mondays with Mother

“Tony, please come take a picture with me,” she pleads. He squats down and she runs over and puts her arm around him to pose for the camera. The adoration is apparent, in her eyes, in her touch, in her pose. 

Every photo states “This is my one and only big brother”.

By the time she was in junior high, he had enlisted and was gone. He never returned to our hometown. He married a hometown girl and they made their living and raised their 3 children in Cincinnati, OH.

But, every year, bad weather and all, they drove back home for the Christmas holiday break. For 15+ years, they made the annual trek. It’s how I remember all the Christmases of my childhood. I, like my mother, grew up adoring my Uncle Tony.

Cupcake Queen

It’s opening night of Silver Bella and a bag full of goodies awaits your arrival. It’s like opening your stocking on Christmas morning…full of treats and wonderful goodies. A precious Vintage Cupcake Stick was included in the bag from Lisa Kettell (http://faerieenchantment.blogspot.com). She’s published her first book, Altered Art Circus. Lisa was a vendor at Vendor Night and it was really nice to meet her.

Her kit contained a doll head on a stick, some crepe paper, a book page, 2 glittered stars and instructions. So with a little craft time today I created my “Cupcake Queen”.

 

I took some off-white felted wool, sewed some blue eyelet on the bottom for a ruffle and a sprinkling of sequins, then sewed it into a cone.

Made the hat from the paper and glued lace around the bottom. Took a strand of lace, tied a knot at one end and pulled it through the inside of the paper cone hat, then glued the hat on her head. Inserted the head into the top of the cone. Took some more eyelet lace and gathered it around her neck for a collar. Glued her arms underneath the collar and glued the glittered stars, one on the collar and one at the top of the hat. Threaded 2 beads on a length of copper wire and glued it into her arms.

The Cupcake Queen is ready to preside over her loyal cupcake court. Thank you Lisa!!! It was fun!!

Merry Christmas!

Pet Lovin’

I want to share these photos of afghans my BFF Sharon made for her furry friends for Christmas!

Bella is the kitty. Check out the MEOW ribbon… Is this not TOO cute?!?!

Emma Sue is the golden retriever, so naturally this afghan is larger.

Complete with “puppy” ribbon…

I was utterly amazed at how cute these two afghans turned out and I just had to share these photos! What a creative gift idea!!

Library Night

I know, it’s 3 days before Christmas and you’re wondering why am I going to the library?!?! Don’t I have shopping and last minute errands?!

 

Now wasn’t that scroll down through those titles soothing? Just like being at your own library…and so blissfully quiet!

Don’t you agree?

Mondays with Mother

School pictures. 

The years go by, the backgrounds and the faces change, but the excitement of “school picture day” is still the same. From the minute the teacher sent home notice of “picture day” the only thing on your mind was which outfit to wear and how to “wear” your hair. Everyone came to school that day all polished up. Two months later, the teacher handed out pictures. No such thing as a “re-take” or a “make-up” day. The photographer came ONE day ONCE a year – that was it, period.  

Mom is 8 years old, 3rd grade maybe. She attended St. Stanislaus Catholic School, Grades 1 through 8. Notice they haven’t invented the “school year” yet (1946-47), you simply wrote the year. The nuns wore habits, all teachers were female and the only adult male seen in school was the old janitor. There was no bus service and no cafeteria. You carried your lunch in a brown paper bag and had a milk ticket. If you lived within 2 blocks of the school, you were allowed to go home and eat lunch and you could take a friend if you wanted. You went outside to play, with the streets blocked off, after lunch every day unless it was raining or the temperature was below freezing. A big old bell called you back inside.

Fast forward 20 years and her daughter attended the same catholic school, grades 1 through 8, and the first class to begin a “merged” catholic school, 3 parishes using all 3 school buildings. Within 6 years the decline in enrollment brought all grades into one building.

Fast forward 50 years and her grandsons attended the same “merged” catholic school, grades K through 6, before the school finally fell victim to the economy and closed its doors for good.    

Mondays with Mother

The “Babushka Babes” - my mother and her first cousin Patricia. A babushka is Polish for “scarf”. 

My cousin Michele and I wouldn’t of been caught dead wearing those babushkas when we were young! Our grandmothers would fuss at us to cover our heads when it was windy or cold out and we would say – how old fuddy duddy is that?!?! Our mothers used to wear those!

What’s really funny is – I’ve always pictured myself wearing a babushka and sunglasses as I drive off in my cherry red mustang convertible… someday…

Fuddy duddy indeed!

Library Night

Come see my new library books I just picked up tonight!

Um, I really need to, um, go wash the, um, …dishes…

Hope you had a great Tuesday!

Mondays with Mother

This is one of my favorite photos of my mother when she was little! The ringlets in her hair, the dress, the band-aids, the scrapes and bruises! You can tell she was not a girly girl. She adored her older brother Tony and I’m sure all those cuts and bruises were gotten trying to keep up with him!

The year’s 1941. Cheerios is introduced by General Mills, the first Jeep is produced,Walt Disney Studios release Dumbo and it’s the middle of World War II. Hard to imagine…

Giveaway!

Head on over to Where Women Create…

for a very fabulous giveaway!!

Vintage Millinery

Don’t you just LOVE velvet flowers…

 

 

No, I didn’t luck out at the thrift store and these aren’t REAL velvet flowers (sigh). But if you’re tired of being envious of everyone’s vintage finds (like me), I’m going to show you how to make your own.

Find some flocked (fuzzy) poinsettia bushes, these came from the Dollar Tree…

 

Remove the flower heads from the stems, then remove the pistils (centers) and any green plastic pieces that may be holding it together.

Some of the flower heads may not have any plastic backing. Those you can simply cut into individual pieces.

Those that have the plastic backing, gently peel off the flower petal from the plastic. 

I always start at the farthest edge of the petal and work towards the center.  You can cut the petals apart one at a time, whenever you like. Not all of the plastic will come off nice and neatly from each petal. Some will tear the webbed backing, some will not pull off no matter how hard you try. You can choose to keep the not-so-perfect ones for a distressed look.

And now you have a whole pile of your very own vintage-y velvet goodness! Use as is, or cut new flower shapes from the individual pieces! And just make sure you make enough to last you through the year as the flocked poinsettias can only be found at Christmastime!

Hope your weekend was special!

Library Night

Being a holiday and a vacation week, I didn’t have a library stop tonight but I do have some new things to share with you.

First, Testimony is a book I would definitely pass on to friends to read.

I read this book cover to cover in one day. It’s a griping tale of two 7 year old girls, best friends, that go missing from their homes on the same day. I would pass it on for friends to read.

 

This is my novel for December. I’ll let you know how it goes…

THIS is one of the best fiber arts book I’ve seen in a long time! I took off for Joann’s with my 50% coupon in hand after looking at the first 4 projects! Why the editors picked that cover is beyond me as it doesn’t do the book justice whatsoever. The 23 projects range from art dolls to love letters by different designers and includes 29 more photos in a gallery format. LOVE this book!

Hope you had an exceptional Tuesday!

Mondays with Mother

Janet is 2 years old and playing with her wicker baby carriage. She’s standing in front of the dining room window.

Here she’s sitting on the front stoop with her older brother Tony and another little boy.

 

My mother would be leaving this house in another year and growing up in the home of her grandmother. Her father (my grandfather) passes away suddenly and her mother (my grama) can’t raise 2 young children and work too. So she rents the house and moves back to town until the children are older.

My grandfather built this house (circa 1940), my brothers and I were raised in this house, and my mother still lives in this house today.

Vacation

I’m not in sunny south Florida, not skiing in Colorado, not even loafing at the sea shore, I’m home putting in a new radiant hot water heating system. Let me explain how much fun this vacation is…

You start with this unassuming coil of tubing and feed it through all the rafters then attach it to the ceiling of your basement. How hard could it be?! Wait I have to drill holes in each rafter?!? I guess I can manage that…

 

I have to feed HOW MUCH tubing through those holes?!?! It’s rigid 1/2 inch tubing that’s a continuous run from one end of the basement, looped through each rafter then fed back to the starting point…GEEZ! A rough estimate – probably 300 ft of tubing is run already. 700 feet left to go…

See those fancy bends at the ends of the run? At least it was some consolation that I got to use my crafty heat gun to make those bends (and it fell off the ladder one too many times & I have to go buy another one!)

When you are all finished securing the tubing, you get to cover it with rolls of silver reflective insulation. If you look really close, the very far left run has the insulation stapled up there already.

Zone 1 is almost finished…there’s 2 more zones to go and my week’s vacation is over already!! (SIGH!) Well almost over…I still have Saturday and Sunday left to go…Think I can finish by then?? Nah, me neither.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

Library Night

Today’s inspiration from my favorite place…

I hope you had an inspiring Tuesday!

Library Night

AND I’M OFF TO SILVER BELLA…