Kelee: Making Handmade Valentines

We are sharing a family cold. (Except for Ben, whose clean living has finally caught up with him. It's funny. I figured I'd only ever say that sentence sarcastically.) We've been cooped up for days determined to keep this cold to ourselves. We're stingy like that. When medicated, we don't feel terrible so we have been going a little crafting crazy. Besides, we are all in the Valentine's mood. Even Gritty Kitty. Don't ask about why she's furless in those furless spots. It's best you don't know.

The Girlchild is still young enough to not be jaded about Valentine's Day. She has yet to experience the pain of unrequited love, loneliness, broken hearts, and those obnoxious people who preach about how we should show love all year long and not just on one day. I'm happy I was born all year long, but I'm not going to bake myself a birthday cake everyday. Although, now that I've thought of the idea...

This was us for most of the morning yesterday. Luckily, it was super duper cold so we didn't feel like we were missing out on much by being stuck inside. We decided to make little heart necklaces for Apple's friends at school.

Our original plan was to put three hearts on each necklace, but when we actually got around to making them we found these pretty pink seed beads that we'd bought about a thousand years ago and decided to go with two beads and one heart.

They turned out really sweet looking.

I also got to recycle a bunch of necklace wire because tiny little girls have tiny little necks.

I made them where they'd fit the little girls about the same spot where I like necklaces to fit me. I asked Apple if any of the girls have exceptionally large necks, but she was little help.

While I was making these, Apple spent a very long time working on a butterfly.

She developed her own technique for making it and worked on it for a few hours. It was pretty impressive to see her work so long on something. Must have been the fever. It was a lot of work. Each little blob was individually made and added. I am not saying it is the most butterflyish looking creation, but I am saying I am impressed with her arting skills.

She's going to give it as a Valentine gift to someone but she can't say who, and I'm not allowed to ask questions. She also made a heart using the same technique.

Then we made some handmade Valentine Cards. I cut out the hearts for her and she did the rest. Our supplies were limited to construction paper, red glitter, glue, and markers.

I asked about the "Wee Love" one. She said it was "Wee! like on a roller coaster and love. Get it?" Maybe I do. I suggested that she give that one to Isaiah since we know his parents.

And finally, we made some bigger hearts to give to Apple's favorite teachers as pins. Only we have no pins. I am not sure what we're going to do about that. I've exhausted our one local option for crafty-supply shopping. Oh well. We have until tomorrow to decide.

I think this will be my last blog post about Valentine's Day for this year. However, both kids are home sick from school today so you never know what kind of crafting nonsense we'll get into.

Kelee: Fall in Vermont Necklaces

Fall in Vermont is just as amazing as it's reputation suggest. Here, it is it's own season all unto itself. With it's own food and own traditions. The nights are chilly. The sky is blue, unless it's gray. The leaves are colored. Really colored.

I can think of two different trees that noticeably changed colors in the Mississippi Delta (not counting those weird Bradford Pears everyone went all hot and heavy over a few years back). Not two types of trees, but two specific trees. One was on the side of a cotton field on Old Carter Road between Yazoo City and Silver City. The other was in front of a white house in Isola. I'd always heard of people traveling to Vermont to leaf peep, but I never understood the concept.

“Yall are going to fly all the way to Vermont to look at colored leaves? But you can just drive down Old Carter Road and see that pretty yellow tree. Then imagine there are a bunch of them. Besides, it's cotton season.”

 A cotton field is lovely all to itself – white as far as the eyes can see in all directions and a fine, snowy dust of DDT falling from cropdusters flying overhead. Combines littering the side of the roads with fallen white cotton like flower girls preparing the aisle for a bride. And for what the leaves lack in color, the fall Delta sunsets make up for. I remember one year where the sunsets were almost overwhelming in their beauty. My father explained to me that is was because the light was reflecting off of the ash from a volcano that had erupted in South America and probably killed or maimed lots of people. Ah, the romanticized notions of a young schoolgirl. Crushed.

But fall in Vermont is a celebration of color. An explosion. Like Mother Nature ate a big box of colors and then threw up over everything. I hadn't really thought of it, but I'd sort of assumed that when leaves changed colors, they did it all at once. On a per leaf basis, however, they change over time. 

So one leaf can be half summer green and half brilliant red. Often in a tie-dyed pattern that could put the hippiest hippies to shame. Seriously, this is why the hippies hate fall. What?!

The intensity of the color was also surprising. The red is not a hint of red or tinted red.

It's Transvestite Lipstick Red. 

The yellow is, um, the color of something that is like totally yellow.

And the green is somehow different from spring green but every bit as bold. 

It all seems more fleeting than spring, Ponyboy. These leaves so vibrant and red one day, are crunchy and brown the next. I guess we could get all metaphory about spring and fall and birth and death, but my husband has been forcing me to watch the original Star Trek series and my metaphoring abilities have become as squinting as Captain Kirk's eyes.

When I walk my kids to school or on the various other exciting outings (bank, post office, and library) around the Village of Enosburg Falls, I am blown away by the colors. Every day it's different and lovely in its own way. Otto and I took a walk in the rain with the camera to gather these pictures, except the one of Kirk, of course. That's Otto by the fountain with his Perry the Platypus umbrella.

And, finally, nature inspired me to make art!

New polymer necklaces inspired by the colors of fall in Vermont.

Nature is so bold this time of year. It's only natural to want to celebrate it by adorning your neck with the same boldness.

Isn't it?

Yes, totally natural.

Now, go image search "fall in Vermont" and be amazed at the big picture of the gorgeosity of the big picture. Or better yet, come see it for yourself.

So Many Social Engagements, So Little Time

The Vermont winter is hard on cars. By the end of this winter, I had zero front doors that would open from the outside. I had to unlock the doors and then crawl through from the back to reach the front handle and push it open and pray it wouldn't latch back by the time I backed out of the backseat. I was quite excited when spring finally came, and I could leave my windows down and just reach in and open it from the outside like a normal upright human. Only we had the rainiest spring on record. I can no longer remember the final straw, but we got both door handles fixed. You should see me opening the doors. I look so high class. The best part is how easy it is to get in and out of my car.
I recently got a clay/pasta roller and an extruder. In polymer clay arting and crafting terms, this is the same as getting functioning car doors. It was possible to mix the clay before, but holy macaroly! It is so easy to do now.

Unfortunately, real life has been so busy lately that I've only had tiny pieces of time here and there to use them. This past weekend's 55th Annual Vermont Dairy Festival, which surrounds our tiny little Ma and Pa Coffee Shop in a fiscally supportive hug, was the final event of the Too Busy Month of Super Busy-ness.
The O-man has been surrogately working with clay for me.
New clays, too! Notice Stella, the dog,'s spokesmodel skillz.

Coming Soon: Krafty Kelee's Konsignment Korner

Crafts have a coolness hierarchy. Art is way cooler than crafts to start with so already I'm at a disadvantage.
For yarn, it goes like this.
From American Craft (cool) to Krafty Kelee's Konsignment Korner (not cool):
Weaving
Knitting
Crochet
Macrame
Although I can knit, due to a knitting injury back in ought-five, I usually just crochet. Did I say knitting injury? Geez, I meant a professional ice hockey/X-treme wilderness survival challenge/saving the dolphins injury. Very dangerous but important. Not to distract you from my wimpiness, but check out this cute picture of my big cat in a tiny box.
Since I crochet, I'm already near the bottom of the yarn hierarchy. And I've been considering marcrameing a belt, but I can't decide if it'd be worth dropping me down to that bottom category. Especially since I don't wear belts.
In the clay world, it goes like this:
porcelain
stoneware
earthenware
liquid slip
polymer clay
I rank well here since I mostly use porcelain. Whew. Nice save.

Down at the bottom of all lists are any crafts involving seashells and including the phrase “melt-n-pour.”

That is why I am so embarrassed to tell you what I've been doing these days. In a moment of weakness during the Holiday of the Spring Break, I bought some polymer clay with my kids' persuasion. I really can be easily influenced. Purple and green and with glitter. With glitter, for pete's sake. Polymer clay is not cool. It's too cheap to get started using, too easy to access, and too non-deadly to make it very cool. Here I am trying to go professional in crafting, and I am starting up in a new uncool craft. And with glitter!
It's just that the colors are so nice. They mix so well together. The more you use the clay the easier it gets to use. The results are so immediate. It's challenging and surprising and whimsical and tactile and exciting and easy. And with glitter!
I love how even when two colors are almost totally mixed, there will still be a very thin stripe of one color. And unlike play-dough, mixing two colors together does not take you immediately to brown. I'm smitten. Addicted. Obsessed. I've been having dreams where I'm mixing the clays. Then I wake up and lay there thinking about mixing more colors. I am late in my self-imposed deadline in writing this blog because I'd rather be playing with the clay than tell you about playing with it. My family does not know how lucky they are that I actually got around to cooking Easter lunch.
I've been watching YouTube tutorials, Google imaging polymer jewelry, and following this lady on facebook.

I've bought no new tools (though I have my eye on a pasta roller and an extruder).

I invented a striping method accidentally while trying to find a new way to mix colors. It did not work for mixing the clays, but I am loving the striated layer effect. And with glitter!




And now I will answer to WSB FAQ which is What Should Be Frequently Asked Questions.

Why are you always using colors that are so bright?
Because bright colors are awesome.

Why are they all rectangles?
Because the simple shape accentuates the color patterns.

Why are you so awesome, in general?
Good genes.

Are the earwires sterling silver and shaped by hand?
Yes.

Will you be making more?
I already have.

Can I trade you cash for the ownership of a pair of these lovely earrings?
Yes. That is called "purchasing" or "buying" the earrings. They are available online here at my etsy shop or in real life at The Flying Disc at 342 Main Street in beautiful historic downtown Enosburg Falls, Vermont.

Did you really injure yourself knitting?
Yes. Then I reinjured my shoulder lifting a blanket to cover myself up. Injured enough that I had to go to physical therapy. Physical therapy for a knitting/blanket-lifting injury. Now you see why I am so concerned about not decoolifying myself.

Kelee: Alien and Robot Jewelry

I was once asked what inspires the jewelry that I make. I had no good answer. Now no one ever asks me, and I have an answer. Isn't that just the way it goes? People also never ask for advice about the few thing which I really feel qualified about giving advice. Which is why my New Years Resolution this year was to give out unsolicited advice. With that in mind, you should increase your intake of beans. They have lots of fiber, protein, vitamins, and taste fabby. But back to the jewelry.

When I first moved to Vermont, I was amazed at the number of people who claim to not have a tv. According to the official list of Stuff that White People Like, white people like not having a tv. And Vermont is very white. I agree that if you do it wrong, tv can be the most annoying thing on the planet. Luckily, I know how to do it right. TV on DVD. Watch Instantly. These are the tools necessary for successful tv-viewing. But back to the jewelry.

My husband is obsessed with science, nature, and animal documentaries. Obsessed. We watch them all of the time. My kids like cartoons. While I sleep through these two types of shows I get ideas like this:

I am a space archeologist. I am flying from galaxy to galaxy. Here is a planet that has had life on it the same amount of time that Earth has. I will visit and see how life played out here. How lucky. I landed right next to an alien archeological dig. Wow. That alien archeologist is offering to let me help with the dig. This excavation is exciting and successful. We have found many pieces of alien fossils and robot remains. After a long day of work, the alien is offering to take me to the local town to observe local lifeforms. This alien beer is delicious, calorie free, and healthy. Interesting, I hadn't noticed how handsome the alien archeologist is until now. And rich.

But back to the jewelry. I decided to make a line of jewelry based on this fantasy, er, inspirational artistic experience. I have been using a really nice Cone 6 white porcelain for a few years now, and I found these glazes that were perfect for this series. The alien fossil glaze is the weirdest mix of silver and green that I've ever seen. It's very earthy and organic and metallic and shiny all at once.

One robot remains glaze is a really beautiful rusted iron-looking blue and brown.

The other is oil-spotted black.

I am so happy with how these pieces turned out that I will definitely revisit this fantasy, er, inspiration before I move on.

What's that you say? Where can you get your own alien fossil or robot fossil necklace? I'm glad you asked. They are available at The Flying Disc in the beautiful historic downtown of Enosburg Falls, Artist In Residence also in the beautiful historic downtown of Enosburg Falls, and online at my etsy shop.

And in the interest of more unsolicited advice, be sure to stay hydrated.