Not a cloud in the sky

With the beautiful weather we have been having I have not been able to spend much time on my wire work. Two years ago we had water issues ( water running under the house after a huge storm) so we had to address the problem.  We started with bobcat work and lots of manual labor and ended up with a great place to build a 24 by 12 ft shop.  Little by little we have been working on it and this week we are building our first official workbench.

  So far so good...it seems very sturdy...so we are pleased.  Tomorrow we will tackle the top.

I have taken a moment or two while my husband figured out his plan of attack for the benches to play with the magician idea.  These are going to be the pieces of the magic box where the lady is cut in half.  I thought the casters would be stable enough but I see that I am going to have to add small dowels for support.  They should not be too obtrusive if I can hide them behind the casters.  This is the fun part...figuring out how to make what I see in my head become a 3-d piece.

Next week I should have Pole Dancer completed and ready to share...

I hear an ice cream truck coming down the street. Got to run...

Always support the Ice Cream Man!!!
Hilari

Skinny Dipper Designs @ ETSY.com

 

My Jack will hopefully weather the weather

My favorite fauna in my yard is my Jack in the Pulpit and he has come up to enjoy our beautiful weather...well, beautiful until today.  We had a snow flurry this afternoon with chilly temps tonight.  If cool enough we will have a fire and roasted marshmallows...yum.

I enjoy making these smaller books because I get to rip dis-guarded book pages and I find it soothing.  It may be because it is brain dead work compared to working through designing, creating and, usually, stabilization.  And then, of course, after enough ripping I am ready to get back to using my brain.  With these little books I get to think on a smaller scale and to use decorative papers, which I do not use a lot of, to help convey the ideas that pop into my head.

Well, off to cover my flowering plants to keep off the possible frost.

Good night,
Hilari

Whew....what a couple of weeks!

Spring has sprung and all is abloom...It sure is a beautiful around here.

What a couple of weeks we have had here.  Work and car problems on top of raging hormones...whew!  At least the hormones have calmed down.  Car is back in the shop and work is still teetering on the edge but all will work out in the end.  I did get the kitchen junk drawer cleaned out, as well as the part of the closet that holds all the clothes you hate to get rid of but never wear...thanks raging hormones!

 When he walked into the room

she stood frozen

like a deer in headlights

knowing that one day 

he would break her heart

Finally...here is the project that needed a solid base to hold up the car light.  I was able to find a cigar box that was a good size for the base and so far so good.  The top of the box has held up under the weight of the lamp and the figure was simple enough to attach.  The only problem I have encountered with the cigar boxes is their sizes are limited.  I have not seen any that would work with a single figure or smaller project.  I may have to get into the box making business.   I feel that the box base gives a more finished look.

I had an idea today using a jigsaw blade, a magician and a magic box...Can't wait to see how it turns out but I think this one will be a slower process than some others.

We have pineapple orange pound cake cooling and the house smells good.  Cake for supper??

Peace,
Hilari


SkinnyDipperDesigns on ETSY
  

Absence of an Authoritative No

With the absence of an authoritative "NO"

she stomped that puddle dry

I may have found the  answer to "hide the wires on the bottom" problem.  I woke up with the idea of using cigar boxes as a way to solve this.  Over the years I have picked up a few of these in different sizes and makes with no particular plans for their use so I was able to have an assortment to choose from.  I used textured car paint (my son had bought this for his rims) thinking this would help to hide some of the imperfections on the box, which it did nicely.  This has been the most feasible solution that I have come up with and it seems to work well.  My next project with it will be the heavy car light fixture that I mentioned in an earlier post. It should be strong enough to support it, unlike the book board which sank under the weight.

My men have been out all weekend, one camping and the other visiting friends, so the house has been very quiet.  I noticed, not only do I not graze in the kitchen between meals, I do not turn on the TV.  I have gotten quite a bit accomplished, or should I say our dog, Luke, and I have been busy.  He has separation anxiety so he has stuck to me like glue. When I get up he is right beside me to help with the laundry, go get the paper, go to the bathroom, get art supplies, put up art supplies...you get the picture.

On a side note:  If you have a chance check out the cover of Art Doll Quarterly (Feb, March, April) .  It is not a magazine that I normally look at but this stopped me in my tracks...beautiful.  The cover pic can be seen online.

Well, one of mine has made his way home so I need to finish up my laundry so he can have the machines.  And, now the dog has someone else to follow around.

Peace,

Hilari

Dressing Accordingly

She knew the board members were

out for blood

so she dressed accordingly

This is the second of the razor blade pieces I have been working on. I am sending this one to my friend who works in the corporate world.  She has to deal with board members on a daily bases and sometimes they are not the easiest to please.  I know she will appreciate the humor.

Last night I worked on my xylophone player whose arms and head swing while he is jamming and a very long colorful crocheted scarf to be from an admirer to a sweetheart.  I am an avid crocheter but working on such a small scale takes a lot of attention.  Normally, I make large granny square blankets to donate to Project Linus which is how I de-stress but working on the scarf has been a fun change of pace.

We are having a dreary day so we are being productive inside today.  My husband took everything out of the fridge and gave it a detailed cleaning...yep, he's a keeper, while I did paper work for our business. Now it is back to the laundry and eventually something warm and tasty for dinner.

Good night all,

Hilari

Mosh Pit Girl

She saw the dress hanging in the window

and she knew that she would be the 

sharpest dressed girl in the mosh pit

Rusty razor blades...we use razor blades for our business so I started keeping the worn out ones, without any plans for their use, but then this idea popped into my head.  I thought who would need to wear a dress like this and Mosh Pit Girl came to life. While I have enjoyed a rowdy concert or two I have never taken part in the mosh pit but a dress like this would sure help others to keep their distance. I know this is not the point of the pit but is the only way I could take part.  I am more of a balcony girl these days.  I have another razor blade girl in the works but she is from a corporate background...

Today is another beautiful day in our part of Tennessee.  I tried my hand at a sidewalk chalk sunrise this morning but it looked more like a rainbow ice cream cone floating in the waves.  Some ideas look a lot better in my head than they do on pavement. 

Thanks to my husband for a wonderful anniversary brunch of pancakes and chopped ham and eggs.  They were delicious. Happy 23rd!

Peace, 

Hilari

                                         

                               

Hello Sunshine

HELLO

Wow, what a beautiful day we are having today!  My first flowers to pop are just as sunny and bright as the weather.  What a joy to see them up and saying Hello.  We had to work yesterday and today was so pleasant that much of the day was spent outside. 

I gathered my sidewalk chalk (thanks Samantha!) and created this masterpiece.  We live on a very quiet street so I am lucky to be able to play in the road.  I like the ability to draw on a large scale and this is a great way to do it.  No planning, no prep, very little cost...perfect.  Now I just have to wait for it to rain so I can have a clean slate.

My wire work has been null this week due to a stomach bug and dentist consult turning into "We are slow today.  Why don't we just go ahead and pull those two teeth..." but I hear my Mosh Pit girl calling.  I think she needs a little attention after some yummy pizza...smells good.

Hilari

Skinny Dipper Designs on ETSY