Bodhisartva ..... Art/Spirit/Life

Sweet Goofyness

The little gestures are all the sweeter when they are unexpected and come from someone you love.  The lovely Tamara from Zinnia walked into my house with this charmer for no reason at all (that is, there WAS a reason for her to walk into my house; but no reason for the gift, except that she is thoughtful).

It was so cute that I hardly wanted to open it, but since I knew I had to do something with that cute vintage hankie, I was forced to unwrap it.

 

I've been admiring these little ceramics since she got them into the store.  And now, it's just in time for Halloween!  This one is called "Horace", "...he was just a bit too much in the OCD department.  Not only could he not walk by a microwave with leftover minutes, but he had to count each kernal of corn before and after it popped.  He died from choking on an old maid."   Hmmm...is there a message there?  I'm a bit OCD myself...

Tomorrow, I will have to pull out the Autumn decor from the garage, just to keep Horace company. Thanks, Tamara!

Flea Market Obsession

Really, this can't be good, can it?  When the PCC Flea Market is coming up on a Sunday, I sort of discount everything that happens on Friday and Saturday; I just want to get to the goodies.  I am officially addicted. 

It was a good day, a very good day.  I had wonderful conversations with the vendors and learned a lot.  I wish I had taken pictures of what I DIDN'T get, but here is what I came home with on Sunday.

Hmm.  Seems that I brought home a train case much like this one before.  Can never have too many, though, right?  This one has cool metal corners and is just right for storing....something.

The leather case is labeled "handkerchiefs" and "flat collars".  I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but it was too cool to pass up for $5.  I seem to be collecting these Lipton tins - they're great for holding doo-dads at the workbench.  Don't let my husband see the celluloid tube; I have WAY too much celluloid, but they're like potato chips, I tell ya!  I'll try to get a closer shot of these lovely wooden boxes; again...great for tools and whatnot.

 
Not a great picture, but I was so excited!  I got two wooden trays with handles; this one is pretty small, but just perfect for holding jewelry projects in process.  For one dollar, I bought a ghastly 80's necklace made up of those bone discs, silvery tiny beads, and the big silver beads at the top.  It really was terrible "Dynasty" stuff - yuck.  But, aren't those big beads fabulous?

I am not sure what I'll do with them as they are really huge, but I love them. 

Found some metal buttons to use as clasps for my books. 

 Is there some limit to the number of photos on Typepad in one post? 

I'm just asking.

Is this not the coolest thing?  I'm told it was a decoder - see the squares are labeled with numbers 1-26?  Letters of the alphabet.  The hole in the middle held a spinner.  I'm going to use this on a book cover, if I can bear to part with it.

And speaking of cool....

If anyone knows what these are, I'd like to hear it for sure. 

 

The vendor is pretty sure they are some kind of token for rationing.  They are made of some dense fiber and are much redder than this photo.  They are about the size of a penny.  I don't know what I'm going to do with them; see if I can drill a hole for jewelry, I think.  I see a pattern here - so many things I buy that "I don't know what I'm going to do with this". 

Speaking of which, did I tell you I collect brushes?

Is there anything I don't collect?   Here are other goodies.  Now, let me think...this is Wednesday night....Sunday is the Rose Bowl Flea Market, next week is the Long Beach Flea Market....oops, I feel that obsession coming on again.

 

 

Crazy for Metal

I had longed admired Tracy Moore's metal journals and wanted to take his class.  So, when he finally came to Southern California 2 years ago, I was in heaven.  First, he is a great teacher.  And second, these metal covered tomes are addictive.  I'm having to remind myself how to make my own rivets, but otherwise...

This is the one I made in Tracy's class.  I made a similar one for my brother, but did not photograph it.  Oh, I did mention how often I do that, yes?

I love copper.  This one is a little plain, but I'm just getting back into the groove.

This one uses a technique I learned from Stephanie Lee.  The color is really blackish silver like the side view.  You melt solder all over the metal and let it go where it wants.  Do you know how hard it is to drill through a layer of solder?  Next time, I drill first, solder after, let me tell you. 

Here you can see how fat that soldered one is - I love the way it feels in the hand.

The pages of these little books are made from a handmade Japanese paper I got at Hiromi.  I ripped it down and then dyed them with walnut ink.  The are all splotchy and look like they are ancient.  I wanted the books to look as if they were remnants from some forgotten civilization.  As they are exposed to air, they become more aged.