Spring Cleaning & Etsy

Well, I've been busy doing some more spring cleaning & clearing out here.  I've been donating stuff & passing some on through our local Freecycle group.  But some treasures have also landed in my Etsy shop, like the fun vintage puzzle above.  What's not to like about an apple with 2 smiling worms that hold it together?  I remember playing with this as a kid, so I figure it's from the 1950s.  My Grandma lived with us & worked at The Higbee Company downtown, and often she'd come home from work with a book or educational toy for me.  I'm pretty sure that's how I got this apple puzzle.  It's up for sale right now.

I also found this slide rule pencil cup.  Back in the 1970s I used to buy a few special gifts from the Neiman-Marcus Christmas catalog.  This one was a favorite of my Dad's...he was an Electrical Engineer & used this pencil cup on his desk at work until the day he retired.  With graduations & Father's Day approaching, I thought I'd offer it up so it can be used by someone else. 

The big key above has been hanging in our basement for as long as I can remember.  I'm quite sure it's from the 1950s & a souvenir from my Grandma & Grandpa's road trip out west.  It was originally a thermometer, but since that had seen better days, I removed it & now it would be great for a mixed media art piece, since there's a big indentation in the front.  The patina & detail on this one are great.

Hard to see, but it's from Yellowstone Park. 

 

I have many more treasures in my shop & I'll be listing more as I go along.  There will be more rubber stamps & studio destash, too...like I said, it's still spring cleaning time!

Please stop by to have a look.  Thanks!

 

 

 

Remembering my dear friend, Kimber

I know I haven't posted in awhile, but a couple weeks ago I got devastating news.  My dear friend, Kimber, died suddenly...just before her 55th birthday.  While Kimber & I never met face to face, we've been friends for about 10 years through on line groups & email.  I don't know the details of how she died, but it seems she went quickly & hopefully with no pain.

I had just sent her birthday present...a hand bound journal & washi tapes...and it even arrived the day before her birthday for a change.  The box was still on her front porch when her brother found her Tuesday night.  She never even got to open her gifts. 

Kimber was also an artist & I have many pieces she made for me in my studio.  I think of her each time I see these works of art.  I miss her so much & while I know the pain will lessen over time, it's so sad that such a bright creative light has been extinguished so soon. 

Her blog, A Journey in Creativity, is still on line if you care to see some of her creative adventures.  The self portrait above is from her blog.

Kimber touched so many people with her art & friendship...she will certainly be missed by so many people.  Rest in peace, dear friend...rest in peace.

The Birthday Girl!

There aren't too many things better than sleeping in the sun when you're a kitty...

Unless it's playing with that ball that keeps going around & around...

Or watching the birdies outside...it's good to be the kitty in this house!

 

Today is Sunny's birthday.  She's all of 6 years old now.  It's a nice, sunny day here & she's just having fun enjoying what she does best...which is what everyone should do on their birthday!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNNY CAT!!!

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Today is also the 43rd anniversary of that fateful day back on May 4, 1970 when the Ohio National Guard murdered & maimed students at Kent State University.  Always remember...four young lives ended far too soon....Jeffrey Miller, Allison  Krause, William Schroeder & Sandra Scheuer.  So sad.

Remember...always remember them.

 

 

 

 

 

Treasures from the Sea

I've been working quite diligently to clear out stuff in the basement here.  There have been shelves I haven't been able to even reach...until lately.  The other day, I discovered a rusty old coffee can on a shelf & inside were these treasures from the sea!  Sand dollars...inside a rusty old can...inside a box with other stuff piled on top of it.  In NE Ohio...imagine that.

 

I'm pretty sure these were collected on a road trip that my Mom & Dad took in the early 1980s...shortly after I had moved to San Diego.  They drove west from OH across the northern tier of states...and stopped to visit my Uncle in Tacoma, WA.  I'm figuring they went to the beach & collected these sand dollars.  From the sand that was inside of them & the rust from where they probably entered the can wet & never saw the outside again...that makes sense to me.  I imagine they were thrown into the can & put into the trunk of the car...made their way back here & into the basement to be washed...and just sat in that can until I discovered them the other day.

 

All of these pix were taken right after I washed them...so they're still pretty dark.  I've read that I can bleach them...just for a short time...but now that they're dry, the colors are kinda cool.  I love the bits of rust, too.  I'm not sure what exactly I'll do with them...but it sure was fun to discover these as I had no idea they were here.  What a treasure.