Trick or treat

Santa will be ready for painting soon, but first he needs a bag o' toys.  He'll be holding that in his right hand.  Again, I resisted taxing my EK's (elderly knees) and so the perspective is a bit off.  Maybe I should just use a higher shelf....duh....

Today I drove up to the old hotel...and what a beautiful day it was with the sun out and the colors in full bloom.....to retrieve my unsold items and a big check....well, I was hoping.  It turned out to be a nice sum...about what I usually do.  Unfortunately, my paper mache items didn't sell.  Maybe I had the prices too high and that put people off.  Those items are more labor-intensive than the cloth dolls, so I priced accordingly.

So the paper mache santa pictured above will be the only one I do for the Christmas show, and I'll step up production on the cloth dolls.  I like to think I'm a smart businesswoman; I understand supply and demand.  Just don't ask me about stock options, pork barrels or hedge funds.

I get a little tired of making the same old dolls, but I do have fun changing them up now and then.  I have another morning lady in the works.  Remember the last one?

I found some flannel with a martini-glass print, so she'll have some jazzy jammies, and some neon green slippers with jewels of some sort.

I still haven't decided about the gray-or-no-gray issue, but I'm leaning strongly toward the gray.  I decided to mention it to Mr. Gadget, since he was looking down on me from his 6-foot height and noticing the roots.  He wasn't too receptive at first, but he softened...probably because he knows how I am when I'm in the throes of chipmunking.

He started separating strands of my hair--not unlike a chimpanzee grooming his significant other--and discovered it wasn't all gray, but rather salt-and-peppery.  I told him I would do a little research to see what my options might be for helping me through the awkward months.  I guess I could get some of that Halloween spray-on color--maybe something in a purple or hot pink.  Do you think I could get away with that till Easter?

For the birds

Big City Girl was visiting over the weekend and Saturday we went to the old hotel craft show to check on how I was doing....and to see if all of my stuff had flown out the door. That is a common bird-like phrase familiar to crafters who sell their work, and one that has a nice, melodious ring to it.

Since it was early on Saturday, and it was a 3-day show running through Monday, my stuff was pretty much still there, or a least as nearly as I could tell.

So, of course, I assumed that nothing was going to sell and nobody would like my paper mache items and everyone was tired of seeing my same old dolls and I would soon be retiring from this crazy crafting business.

But on Sunday I received an email from someone who had purchased a couple of my dolls.  I had decided this year to put my email address on my tags...something I haven't done before.  The buyer was delighted with his purchases and had gone back for more--only to find that they had fledged. Did I have more, he wanted to know, stashed away at home or in my studio?  My studio!  Boy, how artsy-fartzy is that!

I wrote back to say that no, I didn't have any more dolls in my usually-vast inventory, but that I would be making more for the Christmas show and I would have more to offer then.

And I signed off and hurried right up to the Treehouse to see how fast I could crank up production.  So, the crazy crafting business is alive and well and I'm happy to have something to crow about.

Don't let the turkeys get you

Sometimes when I'm toodling around town I come across something that makes me say, "You'd never see that in California."  Yesterday on the way to my knitting group I had to brake for turkeys.  You'd think when they noticed a car bearing down they might quicken their steps.  But no.  They were like a gaggle of teenagers with attitude.

So, the Paper Mache Santa Project is moving along nicely. I've added a layer of newspaper, and now I have to decide on the arm positions before adding more paper. Later, while I'm wrist-deep in goo, I'll ruminate on the pros and cons of a decision I have to make in the very near future.  Before Oct. 23 to be exact.  That's the date of my next hair color appointment.

Should I, or should I not, go gray?  I'm so tired of the bother of keeping one step ahead of the roots.  I'm tired of not being happy with the color I end up with.  Actually, I'm not too unhappy with what I have now, but I'm unwilling to go through the torture of having it done again (multiple scalp stabbings with a crochet hook.)

Is this a good time to do it?  There is never a good time, I'm convinced.  Will I look older? Probably, but I've been noticing gray-haired ladies lately and some look darn good. I wonder if I could wear a hat all winter? Shave my head?  Get a wig?  Hibernate like a bear? Or just ignore all those who look askance.

Now that I think about it, hibernating sounds like a good choice.  That will save me from having to make two difficult decisions....the hair color one, and the one where I have to decide on which turkey, I mean presidential candidate, to vote for on November 6.

Hold the starch

The Paper Mache Santa Project is underway.

I know they're unrecognizable at this stage, but soon they will come to life--filled with Christmas spirit and hopefully no mold.  I used a dollar-store vase for the one on the left, and a Costco olive oil bottle for the other.  No need to spend money when the recycle bin is handy.  That's one of the great things about paper mache.  If you forget to take the empty bottles and the old newspapers out to the curb, you've got craft supplies at a great price.

So you know how Mr. Gadget and I love to cruise.  I've probably mentioned it before...  Since we usually go with the same cruise line, we accumulate frequent cruiser points that enable us to have certain perks.  And it just so happens that after our next cruise (on Halloween to the Caribbean) we will have reached the top of the ladder, so to speak.  Visualize a short ladder with 4 rungs.  We're presently on number 3.

One day I got to thinking. I seemed to remember taking a couple of cruises long ago, before Mr. G and I were married, on this same cruise line. So feeling rather silly, and a little bit greedy, I called their 800 number.  Would they consider, I asked, adding those cruises to my permanent record, even though it was back in prehistoric times?  After some consideration, they said they would.

So with a great deal of glee, I informed Mr. G that on our upcoming cruise I would be up on rung #4 while he would have to dangle on rung #3. This means that he will be in the sorry state of having to observe me as I enjoy free laundry service, priority boarding on the tenders to shore, and a stock of free booze in the mini fridge.

Well.  As you might imagine, he wasn't too happy to hear that.  So after listening to him whine for an hour, or maybe a day, I told him I would take pity on him and share some of my free booze. I'd even be willing to attempt to sneak him on the tenders as my date. But I informed him in no uncertain terms that I intended to draw the line at the laundry service.  It wouldn't be pleasant if stories got around the ship about the weird lady on Dolphin deck who wears boxer shorts.

Dump day

Today I delivered my crafty items to the old hotel for their show next weekend.  Sometimes I refer to this as dump day. Before I leave I usually tell Mr. Gadget, "I'm going up to the hotel to dump my stuff."

The drive up the several miles of two-lane curvy road was somewhat exciting with an Audi behind me in a big hurry, and a Jeep ahead that continuously crossed over the double line.  But I made it safely and met up with Caleb, a nice young man who was happy to check off the 37 items on my inventory sheet with his mom quietly supervising.

So, here are some of the 37--starting with the pumpkin.

 

 

It's not quite this bright in real life.  I thought it worthy of the show, and if it doesn't sell it'll be home in time for Halloween.  

You've already seen this one in my last post.

This gal was made out of paper mache and paper clay.  I used a plastic Coffee-Mate container as a base.  That's vintage tatting around the top of her dress--made years ago by my grandmother.

I used a styrofoam cone as the base for this one. Her head was originally intended for the librarian, but it was too small.  She was also made of paper mache and paper clay.

This is my favorite witch face.  I sculpted it out of paper clay and used it with my trusty ol' cloth doll pattern.

I'm definitely done with witches for this year.  I guess it's possible to over-witch.  I feel like I've got a haggy hangover.  Next year maybe I'll wise up and start my witch-making process in January and move along through the year at a more leisurely pace.  But first I've gotta make a few Santas...

Ready for take-off

I call her the bowling pin witch.  I used duck cloth for her bowling-pin shape, and added arms with paper clay and a wire armature.

I made her hat out of duck cloth too, and then painted her with acrylics.

Her hair is dyed sheep's wool and the broom is a twig with sissal twine bristles.

 

She's holding a pumpkin made of paper mache.

Stay tuned.  More witches will be making their debuts soon.  It's getting pretty raucous here in the Treehouse with all the cackling.

Stem your enthusiasm

 

I managed to get down to pumpkin level on my EKs today to take this photo of more pumpkiny progress.  That's not a bad stem in my humble opinion.  But bear in mind, this is a learning pumpkin.  The stem is probably a little too big for this modest-sized veggie.  I'm going to leave it be though...because I've had sticky-fingers enough for one day.

I'm in that twilight zone of craftiness where I don't know if this is going to be good enough to sell at the craft fair, or whether it will end up in the disappointment category of home decor.  In a week or so the verdict should be in.

I've come up with an idea for a new project, but I won't start it till I'm done with the witches.....and they've become very demanding this weekend.  One didn't like her face so I had to do a little dermabrasion.  Another worried she'd drop something, so I had to add more clay and drill a hole in her hand....OUCH!  When I'm done I'm going to make a few little snowmen out of empty pill bottles.  As one becomes elderly one is likely to amass quite a collection.  But that's a wintertime project and it's just barely fall--and I'm starting to see some colors popping out.  It's an exciting time to have a treehouse...

Making progress

The great pumpkin project is coming along nicely.  Although, it looks wider at the top than at the bottom which is not the case in real life.  I suppose I should stoop down to its level before taking a photo, but that's not so easy when you've got EK (elderly knees).

 

 

I've finished applying paper strips and am now ready to cover the whole thing with a thin layer of pulp.  I should probably throw out the plastic container of flour-water-glue that's in the fridge so Mr. Gadget doesn't mistake it for his special Coffeemate and add it to his tea.  That would probably put a stop to my regular deliveries of liquor-store-size brown paper bags.

One of the witches is coming along nicely too.

She needs some hair and a few witchy accessories.  I feel sufficiently satisfied with her that I'm willing to tell you she's my own design.  I've decided to stop with that firth and twoth business. I went off on a silly tangent, and this blog is set up so that if there's an over-abundance of silliness all sorts of alarms go off.  Let me tell you, it was a piercing shriek.  I'm going to tell Mr. Gadget not to buy any more batteries.

Just like Santa in his workshop

I've been busy in the Treehouse--stitch, stitch, stitching, paint, paint, painting, stuff, stuff, stuffing--trying to make sure everything comes together before the end of the month when I have to deliver stuff, I mean wonderful works of art, to the old hotel craft fair.

And just for the heck of it, I decided it would be fun to make a paper-mache pumpkin.

It seemed easy enough to stuff a liquor-store-sized brown paper bag with wadded-up newspaper to use as a form.  Oh that Mr. Gadget.  He's always thinking of me and my crafting needs.  I looked around on the internet to see what techniques other pumpkin-makers were using and I soon realized there's a better way. I'll do it that way next time....if I decide to go for two.

In my last post (what was it, 2 or 3 months ago?) I showed you the beginnings of my firth of forth witch doll.  She's moving right along, and here is some progress on the twoth.

 

 

I made the body (the bowling-pin shape) out of duck cloth.  It's very sturdy and nice and firm when painted.  The arms are paper clay over wire.  I have some witchy accessories for her to hold......in case you were wondering if it was my intention to make an I'm-a-little-teapot witch.

I'm happy to report that the black and white kitty with no name has arrived at the Concondo and is keeping guard by the fireplace. 

We never know when a critter of some kind might come down the chimney.  Which makes me realize, I'd better move him before Christmas...

The Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary of the River Forth in Scotland.  I've always loved the alliteration with its hint of a lisp.

So when I decided to blog about the 4 witch dolls in various states of construction here in the Treehouse, I chose to call this one the firth of forth.

Her head is the original one I had planned to use for the librarian....until I realized it was too small for the body I had in mind.  So I stuck it on an old styrofoam cone I've had in the closet for years.  Always good to use-up is my motto.  I cut off the top and stuck some wire through for arms.  The cone has been covered with paper mache.  Today I gave her some hands and a witch hat--both out of paper clay.  Once dry, I'll put some paper-mache sleeves on her, and then decide if I want to make a black cat for her to hold, or something much simpler and less time-consuming.

You may have guessed that I'm a big fan of witch season. I've already started work on the next one in line--which will probably have to be called the tooth of forth.

Staff meeting

I'm back in the Treehouse after yesterday's long day of travel.  The trip was fairly uneventful--with us in our usual seats 17A & B--except for the couple sitting in 16A & B.  Mr. Gadget and I always sigh with relief when we notice there are no crying babies in our vicinity.  Little did we know just how annoying grown adults could be.  But anyway...

As you can see, I brought the earthquake bird back with me.  He was really kind of a good-for-nothing out in California.  He never toppled over, so I never knew when there was an earthquake--even though there were swarms of them this visit.  Being a native Californian as I am, I don't find earthquakes to be particularly newsworthy, but still....I hate to be the last to know.  Earthquake bird will have an easy life back here.  There will be nothing for him to do except attend the occasional staff meetings.

So now I have to get busy and work on a few things for the Columbus Day weekend craft fair at the old hotel.  I have a few things in the works, including some small paper mache witches.  I also have lots of crocheted flowers ready for felting....which Mr. Gadget cheerfully agreed to bring back in his suitcase.  We always have interesting things in our suitcases for the trips to and fro....leftovers from the kitchen, books, electric toothbrushes, computer parts, yarn, and this 'n that.  In fact, I asked him today if he thought an ant could have snuck in.

Tomorrow I'll rejoin the condo craft group that meets Thursday afternoons.  The ladies seem happy that I'm back.  In fact, they tell me there will be cake to celebrate.  Not as thrilled are our next door neighbors, who haven't spoken to us for well over a year--except for a very brief expression of sympathy. They will, no doubt, remain steadfast. Condo living can be very interesting indeed.  I'd better just leave it at that.  I've been catty enough lately....

In honor of Kathy W.

This post is dedicated to Kathy W.,

my most loyal reader and commentor.

Kathy and I went to high school together. 

She dated my boyfriend--after he dumped me.

But I've never been bitter.

I haven't been very good about responding 

to Kathy's questions in the comments.

So I thought....what better way than

devoting a post to the task.

By the way Kathy, your reunion pictures

were the best of the lot.

Far superior to all those tree shots.

So now on to Kathy's questions.

Only 2 condo buildings will be tented.

We have the most determined termites.

The earthquake bird is still standing--

even through the recent swarm.

I believe I've made him sturdy enough

to withstand a 7.0

I haven't seen Danny Deckchair, but I've

read that it was inspired by

Larry Lawnchair.

I would be happy to be lifted up by balloons

in any kind of a chair that would

take me away from the ants.

On the subject of centipedes,

they have a very painful bite.

According to Wikipedia,

"they are very scary to humans

due to their dozens of legs

moving at the same time,

and their tendency to dart swiftly

out of the darkness

towards one's toes."

Let's get together next time I'm in town.

Let's invite the Judith too.

We'll have coffee or burgers.

And thanks for being my one special commentor--

among the vast number of lurkers.

But I'm not bitter about that either..

Drum roll please!

He's finally finished, and I'm much happier with the black and white.

He needs a spray coat of sealer, and then he'll be ready to go into a box for his trip to the east coast.

It was a long slow slog, but I'm fairly happy with the result.  He will sit in our entry way at the Concondo, and I'm considering sewing him a wardrobe of bowties for all of the holidays.

Now, I'm ready for a cat nap.

Skid marks

I've come to a screeching halt.  I'm not real thrilled with the cat and I'm cogitating.

He's going to need lots more work on his stripes, and I don't know if I'm up for it.  Last night I dreamed about how much easier it would be to paint a black and white cat.  Maybe with some white on his face and down his chest.  Maybe some white on the end of his tail, the tips of his ears, and his feet.  It sure would be nice to have him done, and on the quick.  I've been catting around too much lately.

So tonight Mr. Gadget and I are having the neighbor ladies over for dinner.  We do this just about every time we're here because we like to thank them for keeping an eye on things here at the Calcondo when we're gone.

I'm making Italian food.  It's easy to make ahead, and just about everyone likes it.  So we'll have some stuffed shells, a mozzerella-tomato-basil salad, a roasted red pepper salad, and some garlic bread.  Dessert will be homemade chocolate chip cookies arranged on a plate with some delicious toffee candy we found at the farmers market.

On Tuesday we'll be heading east, but before we go we'll need to prepare for termite tenting and fumigation.  The whole process will begin right after we clear out of town.  This involves double-bagging food in the cupboards, doing the same for food in the fridge, and leaving all cupboards, closets and drawers open.  It's a lot of work, and certainly not much fun, but, I've gotta admit, it's much less annoying than getting ready for a colonoscopy....especially one that you may have put off because, really, aren't there a million other things that are much more enjoyable?

Saturday stuff

Nope, I'm not finished with the cat.

I had a bright idea.....I have those every so often....to take a picture of the cat--which is mostly white because that's the color of the dried paper mache pulp.  Then I made a copy of the picture on the copy machine.  Next, I colored some stripes with an orange pencil.  Now I have a half-vast painting plan...

I mixed up more mache this afternoon to use for finishing touches, and I had some leftover so I used it on this:

It's a plastic Coffee-Mate container that I've covered in pulp.  I have a witch in mind, since it's getting up to witching season.  It was so nice of Mr. Gadget to make available his super-sized Marguerita glass for my doll-drying purposes.  Well, maybe he was taking a nap and I sort of borrowed it.  He has a pair so I couldn't foresee an emergency.

And speaking of Mr. G., yesterday he wasn't feeling well.  I figured as much because very soon after he got up he was horizontal on the couch.  He said his back was a little sore and his stomach was upset.  So I did what every good wife would do, I left to have lunch with a friend.  Well, I wasn't a complete jerk--which is what you're thinking, I know.  I brought him a bottle of water, covered him up with an afghan, made sure the phone was within easy reach, and told him to call me if he needed me to come home.  Today he's much better.  That may well be because I wasn't here hovering.

My friend and I usually meet at a mall in west LA.  It's a good midway point.  I always look forward to seeing the latest LA styles and the malls are where they're in full flower.

I just don't get this look, but it's the height of fashion here.  Boots (with socks) and short shorts.  I don't know about you, but in the summer I must let my feet breathe.  I'm all about sandals and letting my toes get fresh air.  I used to believe...in my younger years....that it was much better to look good than to feel good...but not anymore.  I think I was 60 when I came to my senses.  I've even been known to wear the same thing two or three days in a row, but let's just keep that between us, shall we?

I could go on and on but I think I'll just stop right here.  Don't get me started on bra straps.....

Rail and sail

Mr. Gadget and I uprooted ourselves from the couch yesterday and went on an adventure with the condo travel club.  It started out with a short walk down the sidewalk and a bus trip to the train station.  Here's how it went:

All aboard for San Diego.

Some of the scenery along the way.

A donut shop in the small town of Leucadia.

My grandfather was the postmaster there

many years ago.

This looks something like the old p.o. building.

Could it be?

We had lunch at this restaurant.

Can you tell I've just eaten a big, gooey bananas-with-ice cream dessert?

I was charitable and shared it with Mr. G.

We took a harbor cruise.

We saw seals and pelicans and other wild things...

I realized just how out-of-it I am when it comes to hip California apparel.  I need to get out and shop more.

And that's what I did on my summer vacation.

Alone together

Sometimes Mr. Gadget and I go to different movies together.  This always requires careful pre-planning. First, we must find a multiplex with movies that appeal to both of us--an action/adventure for him and a chick flick for me--and ones that start and end around the same time.  Whereas I could occasionally go along with him, in the interest of being a good wife, and pretend to enjoy his choice, it would be more like him having a periodontal procedure to do the same for me.  

So this morning we went to see our respective choices:  Batman for him and Hope Springs for me.  The only problem was that the running time of his was almost 3 hours and mine was just an hour forty.  This could have been a problem if the movie theaters hadn't been in a mall where I was able to spend the extra time browsing in the book store.  But I did kinda wonder how Batman could be that long, so I questioned him about it.

"How could it be that Batman needed all that time to fix whatever he was called on to fix when a couple who've been married more than 30 years can completely transform their relationship in just over an hour and a half?" 

"Well,"  he said,  "sometimes it takes Batman a long time to put on his cape."

"Maybe so," I said, "but there's gotta be more to it than that."

"Oh yeah, I just remembered," he said.  "There was a real long line at the Costco gas station when he stopped to fill up the Batmobile."

A cat tale

Once upon a time there was a cat who didn't really qualify as a full-fledged cat because his creator was having great difficulty getting to "The End" part. 

It wasn't for lack of motivation.  She looked forward to working on him daily. She couldn't blame the cumbersome necessity of having to move him into the back room when it was meal time so she could serve her hubby supper.

It wasn't even the pesky process of mixing the water into the mache--with the dust flying everywhere--once she figured out it made good sense to mix the mess in a ziplock bag. Nor was it the distraction of the Olympics...because she found the TV easy to view from her work table.

The ants can't be blamed either.  They don't care much for paper mache if it's without condiments. It's not the swarm (scientific term) of earthquakes in the area. A little shakin' is never an excuse to lay down on the job.

Since there appears to be no legitimate reason for the cat creator's apparent inability to finish this feline project, it seems her only recourse is to subscribe to the Mr. Gadget Fool-proof Method of Finishing Stuff and call it "good enough."

Wannabes

Here's a lovely bunch of crocheted flowers that wanna be felted flowers, but it's not quite their time yet.  

The Calcondo is overflowing because of all my areas of interest.  It's a wonder Mr. Gadget hasn't left me for another woman--one who is less a crafter and more a housekeeper.

The cat project slogs along.  It's slow-going because of the process of adding multiple layers of gluey paper and waiting for it to dry. 

And then I usually notice an area that needs a little reshaping, so I add more paper and let that dry...and on and on.  Mr. Gadget, who enjoys doing woodworking projects, has suggested I might find it easier to finish my creations by following his model.  When you just can't look at your handiwork any longer, he says, you proclaim it good enough.

I'm using fast mache (paper pulp that's similar to clay) for filling in areas that need it, and for building up the cat's paws.  I like the texture of it and may end up covering the whole thing with a thin layer. 

Will he being worthy of a trip to the east coast to sit under the table in our entry way?  I guess time will tell.  If I do ship him, at least I won't have to buy any  bubble wrap to keep him from bouncing around in the box.  The flowers should do the job nicely.

The buzz at the beach and beyond

This morning Mr. Gadget and I took a ride down to the beach to walk along the bike path.  We never know what we're going to see at the beach. There's usually always a surprise. Today it was someone riding one of these:

Did I ever show you what we saw on the 405 freeway on our return trip from No. Calif. a few weeks ago?

And just today, as I was doing a few dishes at the kitchen sink, I looked out the window and saw........you're going to think I was drinking.....a car pulling a trailer that looked like a hot pink pig.  I know, I know.  It's craziness.  It's California....

So, a quick update on the cat.  There's not much of an update really.  But I did mix up some of the fast mache and glopped it on a few places.

It's great stuff to work with and I might be using it when I get back to the Concondo and need to do some speed-crafting for the old hotel show.

Gotta go now.  It's almost time for the Olympics.  I'm a sucker for those spoiler alerts.  I'm probably the only one...