Stella and Claire

I recently purchased a hand-printed note card set from Etsy seller Claire West (on Etsy ClaireWestMakes). One of the cards had a bird on it (which, being an avid bird lover, was the main reason I was buying) and the other had a vase of flowers. I didn't really look too closely at the floral card and figured I'd give it away. When I received the cards, I suddenly noticed that I'd seen the vase design before. In my own pottery collection! Suddenly, the card became special. My vase (or little planter) had been purchased a few years ago from Atelier Stella and features a cute face on one side.
Now, I'll have to frame the card and prop it by my little pot. I guess that's what is called serendipity.

Buy your own from Claire and Stella

52 Weeks of Collage Part 2 Week 34

This week, I raided my stash of Reader's Digest Condensed Book covers for another collage base. I printed one of my linoleum blocks onto a vintage envelope. I used some decorative paper for the heart, textured green paper on the edges and a rubber stamp.

collage week 34

52 Weeks of Collage Part 2 Week 33

Last weekend I went yard sale-ing  and found a really dilapidated copy of Black Beauty dating from 1897. Since the whole thing was already in pieces (I hate to cut up a perfectly good book), I didn't mind using it for collaging. This collage uses the back cover, the spine, one of the illustration pages and some rubber stamps.

collage week 33

52 Weeks of Collage Part 2 Week 32

My collage this week is done on canvas. For the background, I used the insides of various business envelopes with security patterns. I layered on  some vintage postage stamps, some labels and part of an old letter. It's finished off with red and white string and some postage-related rubber stamps.

collage week 32

52 Weeks of Collage Part 2 Week 31

I was going through some of my ephemera and two items jumped out at me - a bingo game card and  a mini playing card with a horse and horseshoe. I immediately thought of Lucky 7. I added some stars, the number 7 and handmade paper.

collage week 31

52 Weeks of Collage Part 2 Week 30

A tiny, simple collage for week 30.

collage week 30

52 Weeks of Collage Part 2 Week 29

This week's collage is in shades of brown, black and gold.

52 Weeks of Collage Part 2 Week 28

I did this week's collage using my favorite vintage documents, rubber stamps and scraps of handmade paper. Then, I felt it needed something. Since my sewing machine was out, I started randomly stitching on top of the collage. I still felt it needed something. I found 2 postage stamps that had black lines going through them that went perfectly with the stitching. Done.

collage week 28

New in the shop

New cards are in my Etsy shop! Unicorn notes -  letterpress printed from one of the images used in my 2017 calendar.

52 Weeks of Collage Part 2 Week 27

Wow, I just realized that I've done half the year of collages already. Week 27 collage combines vintage documents, an old photo and some decorative paper.

collage week 27

52 Weeks of Collage Part 2 Week 26

This collage started with a vintage letter bought at an estate sale. The letter begins "My Dear Old Gal" which I thought went perfectly with the vintage photo. I also used vintage wallpaper, misc papers and a rubber stamp.

collage week 26

Shopping

A few months ago, I purchased some tea towels from one of my favorite shops on Etsy, Jane Ormes. Jane is a British artist who does wonderful silk screened prints and other items. I love the colors, whimsical animals and really, everything about them. Much too nice to actually use.

Near my house is a store called HomeGoods. It's one of those stores that you just pop in for one item and leave with a cartful of things that you didn't know you needed. And the selection is always changing so you have to snap things up when you see them or they will be gone for good. So, I was in HomeGoods last month roaming around and spotted something I HAD to have. It was a large enamelware pot with a pattern designed by a mid-century designer David Parsons. And then I spotted another, with a pattern designed by mid-century designer, Sylvia Chalmers. I couldn't grab the pots fast enough. I looked around some more and found a tin string dispenser and a clothespin bag, both in the pattern designed by David Parsons. I snatched them up. The items were produced by Wild & Wolf using designs in the archives of the Victoria & Albert (V & A) museum in England and even the boxes were nice. Not really knowing why I needed these things, or what I was going to use them for, I bought them and headed home. As I was unpacking my loot, I suddenly realized that they coordinated with Jane's tea towels perfectly.

Pot with "Kite Strings" design by David Parsons (shown with "Cat Trapped in Greenhouse" towel by Jane Ormes). The "Kite Strings" pattern dates from 1956.

Pot with "Palamas" design by Sylvia Chalmerss (shown with "Suspicious Birds" towel by Jane Ormes). The "Palamas" pattern dates from 1953.

So now, the pots display my tea towels. The string dispenser (in the Kite Strings Pattern) holds twine, and the clothespin bag (also in the Kite Strings pattern) hangs in my closet to hold accessories. I call that a successful day of shopping!

52 Weeks of Collage Part 2 Week 25

This week is another collage cube. I used acrylic paint in the background with a leaf pattern stamp. On top is layered vintage wallpaper and antique documents, a bird stamp that I hand colored, and type stamps.

sides 1 & 2

sides 2 & 3

sides 3 & 4

sides 4 & 1

top

52 Weeks of Collage Part 2 Week 24

Since I was posting pictures from Vietnam yesterday, my week 24 collage is a day late.

I have a show coming up this weekend (the Ojai Lavender Festival) so have been doing some small collages to sell. This tiny collage is done on canvas. The background was painted with acrylic paint and stamped leaves. The floral urn is letterpress-printed and hand colored. I added star tissue paper and a Paris postmark.

collage week 24

Travel Vietnam: Color and Pattern

My last post about Vietnam - hope you enjoyed the trip!

Water Puppet on display at the Temple of Literature, Hanoi

Thay Pagoda outside Hanoi

Wall detail, Temple of Literature, Hanoi

Hill Tribe fabric at the Museum of Ethnology, Hanoi

Incense at Tomb of Tu Duc, Hue

Straw Masks, Hanoi

Door, Ho Chi Minh City

Pottery, Hanoi

Roof Tiles at Tomb of Tu Duc, Hue

Lantern, Hoi An

Straw Sandals, Hue

Hill Tribe fabric at the Museum of Ethnology, Hanoi

Travel Vietnam: Traditional Sights and Scenes

Beautiful scenery, ancient sites, temples and traditions

Museum of Ethnology, Hanoi

Thay Pagoda outside Hanoi

Water Puppet Theater across from Thay Pagoda

Thien Mu Pagoda, Hue

Champa Ruins, My Son

Tomb of Tu Duc, Hue

Sidewalk Shrine

Temple doorway

Imperial City (The Citadel), Hue

Wall, Ho Chi Minh City

Tomb of Tu Duc, Hue

River boats, Hoi An

Beautiful Halong Bay

Travel Vietnam: Street Scenes

Vietnam is a mix of old and new, from high rise buildings to ancient temples. Walking around is a visual feast - you never know what you will see.

Plants on every balcony, Ho Chi Minh City

Apartment living, Ho Chi Minh City

Open air cafe, Hanoi

Beautiful colonial-era details, Hanoi

Cyclo, Hanoi

On the river, Hoi An

Village life
 

When traveling in Vietnam, you could eat every meal from a street vendor. Every alley had  someone cooking with a few tables set up. Soup noodles, grilled things, fruity things...

Street vendor, Hanoi
 

 

Mobile shop

 Noodles!

 Sweet seller, Hoi An

One thing I'll remember about Vietnam street life is all the scooters. They are everywhere and everyone seems to ride one. I saw  a family of 4 on a scooter, piggies in a cage on the back of a scooter, even a cow in a basket on the back of a scooter. 

Scooters everywhere!