Under a blue moon

Flor de Fuxico

I posted the two pictures in yesterday's post on YoYo's on Flickr and got a comment from a gentleman in Brazil telling me that in his country they are called Fuxico.  So I did a search and found a crafty blogger from Brazil with this really cute, floral rendition (scroll down the page until you get to her March 10th posting).  She even has easy to understand visual instructions (a plus since I know about six words of Spanish, most of them unprintable).   

I think Fuxico must refer to folded and gathered fabric.  My search came up with both the floral version and the YoYo version.  I even found a Fuxico Brazilian bikini for you more adventuresome types.

Fuxico comes from the word 'fuxicar' which means to gossip - what you do when you are sitting around with your girlfriends, making these. 

I whipped up the blue and red one in about five minutes (I wish I had paid better attention to the order of my fabrics - I wouldn't have had the same print side by side).  I think a vintage button would make a better center and I also think they look cuter when the petals are all the same color.  Look at this version with a crocheted center - further proof I need to learn how to crochet. 

I'm enamored with these little gossipy blossoms but I'll stick with my YoYo's for now.  I'm already committed, seeing as how I have seven of them done (not a lot of progress was made today, as you can see).

Charmed

A couple of weeks ago I had one of those fleeting project idea thoughts flit through my head.  I was looking for a particular fabric and stumbled across a picture of a very lovely YoYo quilt.  I have been looking for something to occupy my hands in the evening and was sort of leaning towards embroidery until I saw the quilt. 

It perfectly fits the bill.  It's easy, it's very portable - I can have a nice little basket with my circles precut and my needle and thread.  And Charm pack squares are the perfect size.  I envision the quilt to be done all in lighter pastel shades and very scrappy. 

On the web page I saw that the person had actually bought a bag of pre-made YoYo's at a garage sale.   I kind of like the idea of rescuing a forgotten project and incorporating it into my quilt so I'll have to be on the lookout. 

So this idea joined the many 'wouldn't it be nice.....' 'oh, I'd love to...' ideas that constantly float around my head.  Then I stumbled on a tutorial by Heather Bailey (of the coveted Freshcut line).  It was just the push I needed to get started.  I went to our local quilt shop and bought a charm pack (Moda's Apron Strings) and I'm off and running.  I modified Heather's steps slightly in that in addition to the 4" circle template I cut out for cutting I also cut a 3 1/2" circle to help me iron down the seam allowance. 

This may end up being my life's work since I'll need about a gagillion of the YoYo's to make a quilt.  Hey ~ 7 down - It's a start.

Falling Leaves

While the rest of the blogging world gets to report on snow fall we just have falling leaves and the occasional rainstorm here in California.  It's pointless to rake them up just yet because as soon as you are done you have to start all over again.  Might as well let them all fall first.  It sounds like rain when they come down.

Everyone's Christmas decorating posts are getting me all anxious to get my house decorated.  This weekend!  Big house cleaning on Friday afternoon and then I'll set the tree up in the evening. 

Change of subject ~  I was going through my cell phone pictures to see if I had a picture of the big oak tree at the top of our driveway that I decorated two years ago (this would be the tree that STILL has the lights hanging off of it in a tangled mess because I wound them too tight and too high).  ANYhoo I was kind of amazed at what I have taken pictures of in the past two and a half years (I have an older cellphone, as the kindly folks at Cingular keep pointing out to me when I go in for new power supply cords or batteries).

This is what I found picture-worthy:

The reason I can't always make my bed every day.  Would you move him?  I didn't think so.

The Eiffel Tower.  Which evidently has been moved from its former location in Paris to the Sacramento Expo Center parking lot.  It's much smaller than you would expect.

My eyeball.  Why?  Well I think I had just purchased some miracle product that was going to make my lashes lush and this was the 'before' picture.  Alas ~ as is with most of my self-improvement endeavors I lost interest after about four days and there is no 'after' picture.

Um yes I do work at home but I think if you are STILL working at 7:30pm you are entitled to a glass of wine to make all that report writing more palatable. 

And finally - the Oak Tree.  It really did look spectacular when you drove up to the house.  I think I used about twelve strands of lights.  Hmmm.  Maybe I'll do it again this year.

Glitterfied

There aren't many things that beat the feeling you get when you have a nice, new stack of books.

I've had Pretty Little Things on my wish list for a long time.  I'm absolutely in love with Sally Jean Alexander's work.   I've long been interested in soldering and noticing some work Cindy did I emailed her and she pointed me toward Sally Jean's website. 

The photography in the book is incredibly inspiring and she has a huge variety of projects in the book, with step by step instructions.   I've only just leafed through the book and everything in it so amazingly pretty I can't look for too long.  It makes me giddy. 

In my stack of books I also recieved Cottage Style Decorating and Celebrating Home.  I haven't had a chance to give either more than a cursory look but both look like they totally capture my decorating style. 

This upcoming weekend I'm clearing off my schedule on Saturday afternoon, building a fire and I'm going to snuggle in for an afternoon of reading.

Yesterday my friend Rhonda came by and she brought me a little snowman.  It's very cute but not exactly my style.  I think the bark around his waist makes him kind of homespun countryish.  So I decided to modify him a bit.  There's nothing like a little glitter to spiff a guy up:

I also knit him a new scarf.  He is going to fit in with my creamy white and antique silver theme I have going on this year.  I've tucked his red and white scarf away because you never know what the theme will be next year.

Alice

This has to be the best photoshoot. Ever.  The photos by Annie Leibovitz appeared in the December 2003 Vogue and each photo features Alice with a designer.  Let's see how many you can identify.  The one with big Alice in the house is tricky because the designer is in a picture hanging on the wall.

Did you know that Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland is the most translated and most quoted book after the Bible and the works of Shakespeare? 

You can see the entire photo shoot here.

I think the world of the blogging is rather Wonderlandish.  Each webpage you go to has rabbit holes you can fall into that take you to other pages, other rabbit holes.  Some open up into really magical places. 

Last night I was just getting ready to call it a night but before I went to bed I decided to log on and check a few blogs.  Next thing I knew it was after 1:00am.   Half the time when I get to a really inspiring or well written webpage I can't even remember how I got there.

That's how I found the Alice in Wonderland photos.  What a fabulous rabbit hole to fall into.

What a difference a day makes

This will be one of those update as you go posts.  I just finished ironing the tablecloths.  I just ironed them right on the table.  I don't know of a better or easier way to do it.  Unfortunately the cord doesn't reach so I warm up the iron, unplug it, iron a section, plug it back in, rinse and repeat. 

Beauty products were used in the making of that arrangement.  My white pumpkins were looking a little sallow to me so I used some leftover shimmery white hair spray from Halloween.  It gives the pumpkins and goards a nice shimmery white look.

I'm still not sure about the funny, feathery white artichoke looking things.  I think I want the arrangement to look a little more organic (well as organic as spray painted pumpkins can look).  I may replace them with a couple of votives.  You can never have too many candles.

I spent yesterday afternoon ironing cloth napkins.  I'm about to go get the white party dishes out of storage.  My mother loved entertaining and purchased place settings for 60 (!).  There is a cupboard out in my dad's garage where all the party dishes, extra wine glasses, chafing dishes are kept. 

Growing up with someone that entertained frequently has given me a really relaxed attitude about having a lot of people over.  Our family, up to 25 of us, get together for dinner every Sunday.  We, my sisters and I, take turns coordinating it.  So pulling together a dinner for 20 people, give or take a few, is nothing.  A walk in the park.

More pics to follow as the rest of the table get sets.  Looks like I'm on pie duty too (so much for not doing any of the cooking) so there may be a food pic or two as well.

Added Pics:

Melissa - look darling, just for you ~ store bought pie crusts.  Pie crust is an art and science that very few can master.  I'm all about the store bought.  Some day when I have scads of time on my hand I'll work on my pie crust skills but for now - store bought.

And updated centerpiece - I'm thinking no artichoke feathery things.  I also swapped out the picture of the table above once I had it set.  For some reason we have silverware for 20 except six dessert forks are missing.  What is up with that?  I had to run over to Bed, Bath & Beyond and buy six forks that don't match the rest of the silverware. 

Back to the pie crusts - I have an extra one and I'm thinking I should cut out some leaf shapes or something to cover the cracks in the pumpkin filling.  Or not.  Let's see how busy I am tomorrow.

And finally:

And because it's cute - the three graces:

Also known as Camille, Maddi & Emily.  Those girls can really put it away.

Thanksgiving Table

I am getting off easy this Thanksgiving - I'm in charge of table decor and clean up.  No turkey roasting for me.   I have some weird mental block when it comes to roasting poultry - I can never figure out the timing of how long it's supposed to cook so we end up eating at 11:00pm. 

We are going to have dinner at my father's house.  Various sisters are in charge of the food (I am blessed in that my sisters are all accomplished cooks - the food is in the proper hands).  He has a fabulous dining room table that my mother had commissioned for her ever expanding family.   We are going to have 20 (well, 21 if you count the bird) sitting around that table on Thursday.

I am thinking of pale green, silver and white look for the table.  I have two tableclothes (no one tablecloth has been found to fit the table) in a beautiful pale green.  I was thinking of white pumpkins, trailing ivy, small white flowers, crystal candlesticks and creamy white pillars. 

I wish I could find a job where all I had to do was create tablescapes.  Not a party planner because I don't want the food, logistics piece of things, not a floral arranger (though that wouldn't be bad) because there's more to tablescaping.  All the lovely china, silver, candles.  What fun that would be. 

I know a woman that has about half a dozen full sets of china and matching linens.  She sets her dining room table, according to her whims and the seasons, and leaves it set up like that.  No one is actually allowed to eat at the table.  Just admire it.  We all say she is a tad eccentric but secretly I can kind of understand her hobby.

Of course I use my own dining room about once a year - the rest of the time we either eat at the kitchen counter or at the eating room table.  I'm thinking of repurposing the dining room into an office/craft room.  But that's another post for another time.

I need to go find white pumpkins. 

Centerpiece photo courtesy of www.bhg.com

Flickr

I love Flickr.  I especially love the Favorites feature.  Kathleen from Liquid Sky Arts just did a post listing her favorites and I thought it was fun to see what appeals to other people.  I not only like collecting my  own favorites but seeing what YOUR favorites are too.  It's kind of my approach with finding new and interesting blogs to read too. 

You can see a certain trend with my favorites now can't you?  When ever anyone asks my favorite color I can never decide if it is blue or pink that is my favorite.  Looking at the above I would say it's pretty equal and that I especially like them together.  Blue skies and pink roses ~ I don't think anything is prettier.

I can totally lose a few hours searching on Flickr.  I've noticed an interesting phenomenon.  No matter how varied my searches are (like blue house, millinery flowers) I'll have the same photographers come up over and over again.  How weird is that?  It's not like they have the most pictures out of the bajillion that are on Flickr. 

Another strange thing is that quite often when I do a search a photo will come up in Flickr that was taken by bloggers I read regulary.  So you'll see a good portion of my favorite pictures come from my favorite bloggers.

Collecting favorites reminds me of a decorating tip I read ages ago and embraced wholeheartedly.  It said to save magazine clippings of decorating trends and ideas that you liked.  So I started a folder, mostly with kitchen ideas.  I collected them pretty steadily for about five years then forgot about them.  Then last year after we had started our kitchen remodel I remembered them and pulled out the old file.  The kitchen I had planned was almost identical to the pictures I had saved 15 years earlier.  If nothing else I'm consistent. 

Since my house is pretty much the way I want it inside most of my Flickr longing is garden related.  We plan on moving in the next year or two to a smaller and hopefully sunnier location.  I can pull up these favorites when I'm getting ready to start garden planning.  I'm just wondering where I can get my hands on a white peacock.

Note:  If one of my favorites pictured above is one of yours - Thank you!  And if I've breached some sort of blogging etiquette by posting your picture and you would rather it not be here please let me know.  I'm not sure what the rules are - I've linked back to Flickr so you can see who the 18 photographers are. 

Christmas Cheer

Do you think I'm in danger of totally being sick of Christmas by the end of November at the rate I'm going?  I placed an order with Bayberry Cove and received it lightening fast.  And I got a sweet little note from them saying they were so happy I found them and my items were on the way.  Now that's what I love in an e-tailer. 

I bought a selection of items from Dee Foust and Bethany Lowe.  I find Dee's work to be a bit more whimsical and Bethany's to be especially sweet - look at that little face on that child.  I just need a big white Santa - and I have my eye on this one.  Why do you suppose Santa needs to carry switches though? 

I haven't actually started decorating.  I'll wait until 12:01am 11/23.  I think anything after Thanksgiving is permissible.

I am going to start wrapping presents though.  I've got a pretty good inventory of gifts already purchased and hidden away.   I am just loving the idea of Christmas this year.  Last year our house was a total disarray with remodeling so I didn't even decorate.  This year I am going all out.

Le bain ~ Le art

I keep meaning to post about the his and her hand towels I won from Madaspen|Home.  I never win anything.  Ever.  So winning something from them, when we know how much I am enamored with them, was really special.  The towels are exactly the color combination I love - white and flax. 

I cannot, however, for the life of me take a good picture of them in my bathroom.  I'm bedeviled by the light.  There was a brief moment this morning when the natural light was coming in through the small window in the bathroom but it was fleeting and I could only snap a picture or two before it flitted away. 

The picture above the towels, in the shadows, is an old favorite of mine.  Spirit of the Night by John Atkinson Grimshaw.  I bought an 8x11" print and then went over it with some gloppy stuff (I think I used decoupage goop with a heavy hand) to give the surface some texture.  It turned out a little glossier than I wanted but better than the flat print it was before. 

Here's another trick I do with prints - remove the glass from the frame.  Makes the print much easier to  see (by getting rid of any glare) and I think it just looks nicer.  So until I can afford the real deal I'll buy prints and put them in a fabulous frame.  It works for me. 

There is a print that I am dying to get my hands on.  I don't know who the artist is but I've seen prints in antique shops - The name of piece is "Dreaming of Love" or "Dreams of Love" and it could be that the artist is French (since I've seen the name of the print in French).  The first time I saw the print it was hanging in a booth at a local Antique mall.  It has a gorgeously shaped frame but the frame was painted blue - not a color I decorate with much.  I passed it up and then a week later after thinking about it non-stop I went back and there was just a blank spot on the wall where it had hung. 

The subject is a woman sleeping in a very elaborate looking bed with a bear rug on the floor beside her.  You can see her dreams in the forms of cherubs flying around the room.  There is an incredible amount of detail in the painting.

I saw it at another shop but it was in a very cheap looking frame and about three times what I was willing to pay.

Well, I thought, I'll just order a print online and frame it myself.  Not so easy - I searched for weeks, not quite having the name right and finally I stumbled across a small e-tailer that had the print.   They didn't even have the name of the piece or the artist's name but there it was.  Eureka!  Now let me say up front that I have always had fabulous luck ordering online.  Never once have I had a problem with someone taking my money and me never seeing the item.  Except this time.  I ordered it and they instantly took the money out of my PayPal account.  I got a confirmation email saying it would ship in 10 days.  After about three weeks I sent an inquiring email and nothing.  No response.  After another week I sent another email and the next day I sent another to a different email address on the website and still nothing.  So finally I had to dispute it through PayPal and after a week and half I got a refund and FINALLY an email saying they thought they had it in stock but turned out they didn't.  Well fine - why didn't you tell me that in the first place.  I'm a nice person - I would have understood.  Just don't take my money and then ignore all my emails.

Anyway still looking for that print.  I think it would make a great guest room print.