Mailbag Mondays

 

I’ve been ever so entertained by sending gifts and letters through the mail. I think it carries a greater impact than an email or a phone call.  Our “modern” (in quotes regarding the reference to the telephone) technology makes it so easy to communicate, but I think a letter or a package tells the recipient that you care about them so much that you took the time to sit and write, or even better, make them something, that you then packaged up and sent.  Plus, nobody expects to get anything interesting in the mail these days.  That is, until I start a movement…

Anyway, last week I sent Sugar Skull No. 1 to my dear friend and former neighbor who calls herself Alice.  I was sad to part with this little gal, but made it with Alice in mind, so framed in an up-cycled (why do people say this? It was a thrift store find!) gold frame, off she went.  I take the glass out of the frames and recycle it because I think it interferes with the beauty of the leather.  It also helps to ship – there’s no worry about glass breakage, so all I have to do is be sure it doesn’t get bent.

Her blog about the placement of the skull is part of her William Morris Project series, which I find totally inspiring.  After nine years of living in our current house I finally finished all of my projects, and now we’re moving.  So I’ll start again, and as Alice does I’ll embark on my quest to make my house perfect.  And yes, as may be the fate of this skull, it could easily involve putting things into new frames.

xo

c

Taking the weekend off

I have to say I'm feeling a little more relaxed this weekend than I normally do - not that I am refraining from working on orders and new work, but more that I'm not stressed about it.

See, this is the first weekend in several years that I don't have a "Monday morning" to look forward to. Friday was my last official day of work in the real world.

But I was out all last week with a broken foot.

That said, I'm feeling relaxed, and my mind is clearing a little, letting new work, sunshine, flowers, and thoughts of things to come in. Today while my husband has been reading comics (after so graciously mowing the lawn and picking up the dog poop - maybe the broken foot isn't so bad??) I've been working on some letters for the baby's room.

Everyone seems to do it these days, and I looked and looked at letters but couldn't bring myself to buy them, so I made a set. Hopefully when she's older, she'll appreciate that I made these just for her, and with any luck they'll grow with her, rather than being something she sees as a "baby" thing.

So here's a sneak-peak, in progress:



The colors are a little hard to see (the overhead lights in my studio are out at the moment... hard to work but I'm making do), but I'm really happy with the way these are turning out so far. When I can convince my husband to take me to the hardware store, I'll get some plywood to mount these on so they have nice little frames.

And yes, I'll be adding letters to the shop. How could I not?

Back to work, whatever it is I'm doing...

Moxie