#306 Crafting ExploShawn

T'was another busy day today. 

I got up early-ish.  had breakfast, then putzed about, un-decoration the house from Hallowe'en. No mote skulls, no more spiders, no more snakes, no more severed hands, no more eyeballs, no more bones, no more crows...  well okay fewer crows. There are ALWAYS crows...

Then a quick tidy of the kitchen and BAM!  Craft Time!

I made a new arrangement of collected feathers and put them under a cloche. Then I put my recently purchased Abalone Shell, Crow Feather and some White Sage in a glass display box. 

Then I added another shadow box onto the Kitchen Wall. This one with cookie cutters: an 'S' for Shawn, a small dog-bone for Santiago, an large dog-bone for Peanut and an 'M' for Marcel.

Then off to the Storage Unit to take the Hallowe'en decorations back. And another quick stop at the grocery store. And back home and time for a snack... nachos and salsa.

Only two more projects for the day... two more Shadow boxes to display two earlier art projects:
The Deconstructed Beach (8 vials containing: Sea Shells, Sea Weed, Sand, Ocean Water, Sea Glass, Sandstone Pebbles, Seagull Feathers and Driftwood). The 5 Elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit).

I had to build an structure to go inside the Shadow Box, to support and center the 8 mini vials, and then cover that structure in textured paper as a back drop to the half filled vials, and the see-through water vial.  It went rather well and can'y help but think I'd be able to sell such a piece for a fair amount of money. Honestly, not to toot my own horn but I am pretty impressed with the completed look. 

The other Box (The Elements) was a bit of a disappointment and I'll have to re-do the supporting structure...  I mis-measured and the vials were not help snug and bounced round a bit and I cut the paper cover wrong... UGH! I guess I was getting tired and wasn't paying close enough attention.  

Ah well, At least now when I re-do it, I'll be able to do it quicker because now I know what I'm doing! lol  

All in all, a good day..  but golly, I'm exhausted!

#271 Crafting ExploShawn

Today was a very crafty day for me.

Like yesterday I started off easy. Lounged about. Had some Toast and earl Grey Tea for breakfast, then tidied up.  Did a couple loads of laundry.  Walked the kids. Changed the bed.  And then I turned my attention to some crafting.

First I sorted through my supplies. Cleaned some new glass jars. And soaked and then re-dried some seaweed I collected from the beach on PEI. Then I sorted all our Sea Glass.  Large, Medium and small, plus two extra jars, one with the best pieces, and another of all the crockery. Once all that was done then I got to work on today's tasks..

From a project I did back earlier in the summer of the Elements (Earth, Air, Fire and Water) I added a fifth vial with a piece of cut mirror to represent Spirit.

Yesterday I bought a Baseball display box at Michael's to use for the huge Moon Snail I found this summer. It's basically as big as Santiago's head. and I'm glad I bought the larger of the two boxes, because it *just* fit in the one I got.  Today I put a teeny tiny shell I also collected under a miniature cloche. 

Then I made two matching pendant/amulets with the smallest vials I've ever seen. I filled them with Water I collected from the Beach on PEI.  This way, until we are back, we won''t ever be far from the Ocean. I'm a Pisces and Marcel is a Cancer, both Water Signs. So our connection to the sea is very strong.  This way no matter where we are, where we go, we will be close to the sea.  I hope he likes it.

And then I didn't one more conceptual piece.  In seven mini vials I put together a Deconstructed Beach.

Vial 1: Sand

Vial 2: Sea Water

Vial 3: Sea Shells

Vial 4:Sea Glass

Vial 5: Drift Wood

Vial 6: Sea Weed

Vial 7: Seagull Feathers

Everything was collected from our beach on PEI.  I'm not sure where I'll put it, but I kinda love it.

All of that and I still had time to go to the grocery store, and prep for tonight's Tuna, Lemon and Arugula Spaghetti. 

A full, but joyful and relaxing day. All ready looking forward to next weekend when we finally decorate for Hallowe'en. :-)

#208 Craft Master Shawn

I was a Craft Master this weekend.

I put together a Shadow Box of some Crow Feathers and an old Pewter Haida Crow Medallion, as a Spirit Box.

I Made a Memory (Shadow) Box of photos of one of my Grandmothers, with photos of her in her kitchen to go on our Kitchen wall.

I painted and a wooden letter "P" for our dog Peanut. Pinks with Silver burnished accents to go along a smaller "s" for Santiago (all in Silver), to place above their food and water bowls.

I made two mini Memory Vials of Beach Sand and Sea Glass from our collection from over the years. One for us and another to take to the cottage on PEI this Summer.aa

Then I re-organized our Sea Glass in two Votive Candle holders and a large glass vase. 

And I have already planned a few other projects to work on over the coming weeks.

I don't craft as often as I used to, but when I do I go all out. It makes me feel good to think of a project, and see it come to fruition. 

#193 Art InstillaShawns

Today was a good day.

Today we started by sleeping our asses in; which really should be the Law on a Saturday anyway...

We got up. Caffeined ourselves. Breakfasted ourselves. Showered and dressed ourselves. And then we went out... on a mission...

Time to go to Omer DeSerres and get some art framed. And look at new Art supplies.

We have a habit of purchasing art to be hung, but in 99% of the cases it first needs to be framed. Case in point, a quirky piece we bought in Halifax in Aug of 2010 of some freshly caught Mackerel. It;s a great piece and long overdue to be framed. 

Then I picked up a standard matte and frame for a reproduction print of a crow. The matte has an orangey-red edge to it, that just took the framed piece from complete to fabulous. 

Marcel bought a Lino-cut kit to try his hand at the art-form.  

And on top of that, yesterday Marcel received a piece of art that he purchased on Etsy (from a gift card I gave him for his birthday. It's a small plexi-glass house with three little trees inside.  It's quirky, it's minimal and it's fresh.

Little by little we continue to make our house a home.