THE MERMAID'S TROUSSEAU SWAP

Don't you just love the package? This is one of two (!) boxes that I received from my swap partner, Joanna. When I first saw the post about the Mermaid's Trousseau that Bryanna was hosting, I was intrigued. But also apprehensive as I had never participated in this kind of a swap before. Bryanna assured me that I would be fine, so I signed up. The idea behind it was things you think a mermaid would have in her trousseau.

As I opened the box, more beautiful packaging was inside.

A lovely star fish in place of a bow.

A beautiful starfish pin with pearls.

An amazing bottle

The bottle and star fish in their new home.

Then, yesterday, the second box arrived. It had the same wonderful packing label (which I cut off and saved for who knows what!) and was filled with more great stuff. I love the shell 'ribbon.'

A beautiful fish pin, swimming in aqua tulle.

This lovely mirror, with a pretty pink sea star and a sand dollar.

This is the back side of the mirror. So now I do not know which side to display. I guess I'll have to change it weekly.

A magic wand!

The back side of the wand. Again, which side to show?

Coral candle holders.

There were various other things in my trousseau. too. I just have to thank Joanna, again, for such lovely gifts. I had a great time thinking of things to include in her box, as well. She will do a post one of these days so you can see what she got.

And for a sneak preview, below are two pictures of the mermaid I made for her. I figured a mermaid's trousseau needed an actual mermaid.

Miss Cori, a mermaid from under Coronado Island, surrounded by some of her trousseau items.

A close-up view of Joanna's new mermaid.

ORCHIDS

I took most of these pictures in Hawaii. In case anyone hasn't figured it out yet, I love taking pictures of flowers! And I love flowers, though I am not a gardener (I am allergic to bees) and I do not like to get my hands dirty. I know I could wear gloves, but I don't like the way they feel. A little strange, perhaps. Still, I am content to take pictures of other people's flowers. The thing I most like about orchids is they don't look real, with all of the strange shapes and colors they come in. They are truly a magnificent creation.

MY LATEST, STILL UNNAMED, GIRL

Here she is! I am surprised there is no blood on her. I will NEVER do organza again. Way too much work and it takes far too many band-aids.

I painted the body white and then used very fine white glitter. It kind of shines like the fabric. For the jewels, this time I used a vintage rhinestone button that was from my grandmother's button collection (now mine.)

As pretty as I thought the white would be, it didn't come out quite like I was visualizing. It does look prettier in person, but the organza has a mind of its own and does just what it pleases. Also, this one turned out almost as big as the first light pink one, even though I cut the chicken wire the same size as the hot pink one. It's the organza. I used 175 yards and have 3- 25 yard spools left if anyone wants them.

My next project is to make a smaller one.

BEHIND IN EVERYTHING

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I was out of town for a funeral. Feels like I was gone far longer than 2 days. Anyway, before I left, I participated in the Paper Tales Junque and Trunk show last Saturday. It was a lot of fun and, I think, a fabulous success! I also received one of the two boxes from Joanna, my swap partner for The Mermaid's Trousseau, hosted by Bryanna. I will post pictures from that when the other box arrives.

I also finished my latest girl and the picture above is how I had to protect myself from the organza. Both hands were similarly band-aided.

I just need today to get back in my routine and catch up on things. I have a lot of blog reading to do as well.

HIBISCUS

I love the variety of hibiscus that exist: fancy, plain, ruffled, variegated. And the colors! I find them all just beautiful.

I took most of these pictures in and around Coronado/San Diego. Some, I shot in Hawaii. The first 2 images, which I think are the most spectacular and amazing, I actually 'borrowed' from a hibiscus web site. The hibiscus in my backyard has yellowish-orange blossoms. I, of course, wish it was a pink one.

A MIXED BAG OF A POST

First, I delivered the seat slips yesterday. This is my client's dining room table and since it has a glass top, I just took this picture through the glass. She was very happy with her new seat covers. They did look nice and were a huge improvement over her basic blue cushions.

Secondly, this coming Saturday, 15 August, hosted (sort of) by Paper Tales is the first annual (thinking ahead and thinking big) JUNQUE AND TRUNK SALE. It is being held from 8a-4p in a large space a couple doors down from the Paper Tales store. I will have my pillows, sea star necklaces and a bunch of other stuff. Debbie Hodge will be there selling her amazing t-shirts and dresses. There will be all kinds of other vendors as well. I'd list them, but I am not sure of who all will be there. Just come!

You won't be sorry.

Thirdly, this is Cooper. Isn't he just the cutest dog ever? He is a St. Bernard/Golden mix. He is being fostered by Kim Kelly while his family is out of the country. I couldn't resist posting his picture. I mean, what a face!

WROUGHT IRON CHAIRS

I frequently have to remind myself that I get the jobs I do because I am able to do them, even when they are a big, fat pain. This job is one of those that I put off and put off because, though not hard, it is a difficult one just the same. The white wrought iron chair above is the 'before' picture. It does look harmless enough.

This is the 'after' seat cover slip.

The back view.

And the close-up of the ties. The bad thing is that the cushion underneath shows through in a couple of places. Oh well. It is a slipcover, not a new cushion. Anyway, the reason this job was such a pain was that my client started it herself. She went to the fabric store, got a pattern and fabric, cut everything out and attempted to make them. Problem was she didn't actually measure the seat size. The thing about patterns for home sewing is there is no such thing as a standard size for most everything. You can't just pick out a pattern that looks like your chair and have any hope that it will actually fit. And that's what happened here. So again, this was one of those jobs where I was fixing what someone else had done incorrectly. In the end, they weren't nearly as bad to fix as I had made them out to be in my mind. Still, starting from scratch is ALWAYS the preferred way to work.

IN THE PROCESS

I thought I'd show you a little of the process of making my girls. I've really got to think of a better name for them. Any suggestions? Anyway, ever since I posed the question "Wouldn't an all white one be pretty?," I have not been able to stop thinking about it. So I ordered more tulle. In the white, though, I ordered organza. I thought it would be really pretty. Well, it may be pretty but I've torn up my fingers tying the pieces to the chicken wire. Turns out the tulle works far better and I don't get blisters for my effort.

This is what it looks like during the tying on phase. What I'm finding with the organza as well is that whereas the tulle naturally fluffs itself out, the organza does not. When I am finished with the skirt, I am going to have to go back and fluff each piece.

Kind of hard to see, but this is a shot of the inside. All those little 'bumps' you see are the knots from tying the pieces. I actually like the way the inside looks when it is all done. Not that you will ever see the inside, but it looks cool. It also shows all the work that went into making the girl.

As with everything, this is a learning process. I am trying to get it down so that I can offer a class at Paper Tales.

VIGNETTES AROUND THE HOUSE

All these pictures are various 'vignettes' in my house. You can see the different things that I collect and that speak to me in some way or another. A lot of you asked what my house looks like now, after seeing my ex-house. Well, it isn't anything like that house in Chicago. For one thing it is about 6 times smaller. My ex third floor work space is probably larger than my entire house now. But I do live on Coronado Island and I'd would much rather live here than in cold, gray Chicago. Had I been smart, when I first moved in, I would have painted the walls more to my liking. It just never occurred to me that I would still be living here 8 years later. I do have a nice backyard and a two car garage which Grazelda has never seen the inside of. It houses all my stuff that doesn't fit in my little house. And because I essentially live in a work space instead of working in my living space, there is no need to take pictures of the rooms. All you would see is fabric and sewing machines and all the other 'stuff' that goes along with making slipcovers and window treatments.

I MADE ANOTHER ONE

This girl is actually hot pink, but is looking more like red. In any case, she is smaller than the first one I made (15 June post, if you didn't see her) and took only 125 yards of tulle. She also took far less time. Partly because I kind of know what I am doing now and partly because I used half as much tulle.

I covered the body with black and white toile and then used silver glitter. I maybe could have used a little less glitter, as you cannot even tell what is underneath it. I wanted to use a black and white paper, but just couldn't find one that was what I wanted. I found a couple of black and cream sheets at Paper Tales, but I really wanted white. The fabric seemed the best solution.

To tie the bodice to the skirt, I used hot pink pearls. You have to see these girls in person. The impact is much greater than in a photograph.

Wouldn't an all white one be pretty?

SPREAD THE LOVE AWARD

What can I say? I just love getting awards! This one comes from Julie at Idyllhours. I like what she said on her post about blog awards, so I am going to say something similar. It seems that some people like getting awards and like passing them on (that would be me) and some prefer not to, for whatever reason. So if you fall in the first category, by all means post the award and pass it on to whomever you wish. This one didn't come with specific guidelines, so make up your own. If you are in the second group, don't feel bad about not 'playing.' Just know that I passed it on to you because I enjoy your blog and that's enough for me.

I pass this 'Spread The Love Award' along to:

mammabellarte

maigirlz

artisticbliss

laughingwithangels

avintagemood

So, thank you Miss Julie Marie. I really appreciate this award and once I figure out why I can't get my sidebar to cooperate and allow me to put new things on it, I will proudly put it there.