The shop is filling up, trickle by trickle.

 These little kitties came to visit my studio.

 Where the magic happens.Linen thread,vintage buttons of wood, metal, and shell,washi tape,mother of pearl, (coffee!), tech gadgetry.

In the shop now. A birds and clouds mobile strung from driftwood I rescued from a bonfire.

A beautiful vintage milk glass striped sugar jar. (Here without lid, used as a vase for some late summer fennel and nasturtium.)

 This cat is a lot of trouble. 

The girls and I left the house for an hour and a half today to get groceries. Upon our return was a message from  a neighbor that he had our kitty, whenever we wanted to come get him.

 Next message was from the local animal shelter saying that he had been dropped off there. Sheesh. Leave the house for five minutes and get charged $25 to get your cat back.

The kicker? 

Turns out Good Neighbor Samaritan lives ONE HOUSE OVER!

REnew shoes

 These red Danskos were a thrifting find. ($6!! In my size!) But I wasn't feeling the red. Not a usual color for me. I'm pretty much a neutrals girl.With some sunsety/autumnal/blue tossed in occasionally. So I ordered some leather dye and black they will be!

                                                                 ***  ***  ***

 Aaaaand Ta-Da! Pretty good , no?

I've been wearing them pretty much every day. But hoo-boy that dye is pretty toxic. I dyed them on the patio, but I still felt a bit lightheaded afterwards. Ah, what are a few brain cells for beautiful, practical, high quality, cheap shoes?

Creature

New Creature. He does not approve of your shenanigans.

I imagine him pinned to your lapel, chaperoning a night on the town. From a different angle his expression changes to unease.

 He disapproves because he cares. ;)

Blueberries

Blueberry pancakes for breakfast.Frozen berries dye your batter a purple-y grey.Fresh ones don't.
 When big girl was 2 or 3, she looked just like the main character in 'Blueberries for Sal', with her little blonde bob.



Do you know that book? Beautiful black and white drawings and a sweet story.Makes me want to visit Maine.

Seeing spots

 Craftiness is happening at our house. Painting unbleached canvas for bags and clutches soon to be in the shop. Little signs of love. Big girl and I both like playing with scissors, and leaves.

Summer storm this evening. We've been listening to it slowly approach us. There is something so primally stirring about storms.A spontaneous haiku: {ahem}
                                         
                                           Summer storm so large,
                                       Right now we are very small,
                                            We are not in charge.

Wonderful skulls made from glue and compressed spices by Helen Altman. I bet the gallery these were displayed in smelled wonderful.

I love the little smile on Rainbow Cloud's face.

Nails

My "manicure". Such as it is. I always wreck them before they've dried properly, or wear the paint off the tips within a day with all my toil. But I saw this at doorsixteen. {My new favorite blog}. So I gave it a try. I love it! It took a few seconds to do (very much a plus when there is a limpet-like needy toddler hanging around. No offense baby-cakes, I love you but you are making me a bit insane.) It looks very graphic and draws attention to the tips of my fingernails which is one of the effects I like with a french manicure. I dabbed on a bit of gold later in the day, at the base. Gold and black is yummy. Next time I'll topcoat it so it will wear better, but I think it will be easy to just touch up with black tonight. It does not suffer through lack of perfection. It just looks more arty. Unlike most manicures which just look like crap once they start to wear off. So doable and stylishly sanity-saving!Now my fingers reassure me I AM an artist dammit! Not just the resident breastfeeder/housekeeper/child wrangler, etc.Also they remind me of little bitty Hitler/Chaplin style mustaches which amuses me.

Thanks, Anna!

Livingroom progress

Living room wall. Shaping up. Dug out the black and white cat from college drawing class. Mandragora hanging out on the chair in a loving embrace with my vase glove creature. I like how the speaker looks like a little creature. I see creatures everywhere.

corner

,

Dining room wallpaper new/vintage. Not sure I like it now. Too yellowy? I think I can still like it maybe with more black/grey, and clutter eliminated. There's that vase again. Poppy pods are such amazing little sculptures.

charming.

Dear friend,
Thanks so much for your purchasing,
it's ok,
we will send a
white one to you,
hope that you will like it.
Have a nice day!
Best
regards!
 

A dream realized.Swinging so high she touches the roof. Note to self: paint on a small girl's feet dries quicker than you think.Perhaps try again with a different shade (for each year?), pre-moistened feet?

I love the streaky shades on that water damaged plywood. Will certainly salvage it when the roof is replaced.I can foresee many cool projects with it.

A bit of home. One of my favorite vases. (thrifted). Weeds, poppy pods, dyers chamomile. The wallpaper I love but, alas, cannot track down any more. I drastically miscalculated how much wall it would cover (#$%^&*!!!) So, it removal it must be.Alas... But now I can use it for crafting.