I have another place for you to visit. It is a gallery for my cards and paper creations. For quite a while I have wanted to display them somehow and I was inspired by other stamper’s blogs to do it this way. When I do workshops or stampers’ clubs I am often asked where I get my ideas from. Some come right out of my own head, others are inspired by someone else’s designs. Now my work, original and copied will be on display also.
Archive for the 'Hand made' Category
Last time I updated you about B6’s travel he was in Australia making lamingtons. He has clocked thousands of kilometres since then. In Egypt he familiarised himself with some hieroglyphs and used them to write a message in his travel journal. Then it was off to Ghana and South Africa, over the ocean to Brazil, Peru and Venezuala, a quick trip to Guatemala to see the quetzal and then down south to the Antarctic. I know that the Antarctic isn’t a country, but it was requested by the traveller so we are counting it. We were amazed by the story of Shackleton, his ship, The Endurance and his crew’s ordeal struggling to survive after the ship was crushed by pack ice.
Today he ended up in Trinidad and Tobago, a dramatic contrast to the Antarctic for sure. We read a little and browsed some pictures but he didn’t have any inspiration for his travel journal until I suggested he draw the tropical smoothie we were going to make. A picture was not the end product however, he created the whole recipe. Each ingredient was listed or drawn and then he drew diagrams for the 17 steps in his method! By this time it was lunch time so he made it. It was fabulous!
Here is his original recipe, which he named Super Banana
1½ bananas, sliced
juice of 3 oranges
1 mango, peeled and cut into chunks
1 peach, peeled and cut into quarters
2 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
3 ice cubes
1. Crush ice cubes in blender
2. Add all fruit and orange juice to blender ( I have written that instruction in just eight words but I wish you could see his twelve detailed pictures of fruit being sliced, peeled and added to the blender jug)
3. Blend until smooth
4. Pour into chilled glasses
5. Enjoy
At B6’s suggestion our evening meal was from Trinidad too. We found the recipe in the back of the book I borrowed from the library and, as I happened to have almost all the ingredients I decided to give it a try. It was called Trinidad Pelau.
Group of Four’s last activity for the school year has been a two week pottery unit with a friend of a friend. She has done a lovely job teaching the children. The photos displayed here were taken during the glazing process. When we receive the finished pieces I will post a few more photos. Each child has finished making and glazing a piggy bank; we just have to wait for them to be fired. Interestingly none of them were actually “piggy” banks. We had three penguins, a teddy, a rabbit, a fish, a car, a log cabin, a coffee bean, a monster and a tree stump.
I have a very organised friend who has already sewn herself a collection of stylish new summer dresses. I know I should sew for summer in winter and vice versa, but I don’t seem to manage it. I am inspired though and I have fabric bought at the end of last summer and a pattern purchased the other day ready to go. The girls have decided they want to make Lucy’s and Susan’s dresses from Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. So there is no shortage of plans and patterns, just a lack of time. But that will change soon, won’t it?
With a name like “Group of Four” we had to do some painting sooner or later.
I had been thinking how nice it would be to have someone else come in and teach our group. All four of the mothers have had something extra in their lives over the last few weeks and I just thought we could all do without the preparation of another lesson. Well, as often is the case, God knew what I hoped without me ever voicing it. One of the grandmothers of our group was visiting her grandsons and kindly agreed to give the whole group a lesson.
First she covered colour mixing, then did a demonstration with acrylic paint in order that the children could all do their own simple landscape. Before we finished she gave the older ones some pointers in sketching. It was an excellent lesson which everyone enjoyed. At the top is the landscape by B6, in the middle is A10’s and below is L12’s.
You never know what you will find at the Villa Caprice. The arrangement of furniture and the configuration of rooms change very regularly. The ladies at the Villa have a sewing machine on loan from their friends at the Casa Gialla so they set up a sewing room.
I mentioned my Aunty Dot the other day as one of the three aunts who taught me to sew. Aunty Dot had been a home economics teacher but was retired when I knew her. In me she found a willing student. It was in her kitchen that I learned how to make scones, always rubbing in the butter, never melting it. It was in her living room that I learned to sew, beginning with the dolls clothes and accessories I wanted to make . 
We still have some of the clothes I made, under her supervision, for Barbie and Wendy. In amongst the clothes, also are those that she made, many of them works of art. There are reversible dresses, skirts and cloaks for Wendy. Beautifully sewn evening gowns, complete with strings of pearls, lined coats and suits, and frilly nightclothes were created for Barbie. At left are some of the clothes in just as good shape now as they were when I played with them 35 years ago.
She also made some lovely clothes for my mother and me. Yes, I still have some of them too. I don’t hoard everything, but an original item of clothing made out of a beautiful piece of fabric is hard to give away. And you never know, I just might find the right occasion to wear it one day.
Last May my own girls and some of their friends wanted to learn how to sew. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching them on Friday afternoons. There were looks of satisfaction on their faces as they completed each step and looks of disappointment when I told them that something needed to be redone. Perhaps I had similar looks on my face when my great aunt showed me how to unpick and try again. Never the less I’m glad she did.
When writing about the Group of Four acting out scenes from Romeo and Juliet the other day I didn’t mention a small detail which delighted me. The acting was great, they really stepped into their roles, they made their props and organised their costumes. The extra little bonus for me was seeing A10 and L12 in dresses I had made for myself many long years ago. These dresses are not worn by anyone at present but neither have they been relegated to “dress up box” status. They hang with the formal dresses from the wedding years.
L12 wore my 21st birthday dress. I designed it and made it out of white voile with lace inserts, pintucks and a blue sash to go round my waist. A10 wore the dress I made for my older brother’s wedding. It was violet and gold shot silk with lace inserts (yes I did like lace inserts) in the sleeves and a very full skirt which A10 spread dramatically about her on the couch as she acted. It was made from a dress which my great aunt had made herself. Aunty Dot was one of three aunts who taught and encouraged me to sew from an early age. The material is really quite beautiful, the light catches the violet, then the gold as the folds of the skirt move.
As I was describing the history of the two dresses to one of the other mothers she mentioned how she had slightly altered her mother’s 21st birthday dress to wear to her highschool graduation. I did exactly the same thing for my highschool formal. We still have that dress in the dress ups and it has been worn by many a “princess” or “bridesmaid”.
A10 has created some sweet treats and cards for her friends. Last night she made the peppermint creams with a little help from her sister. I think I made these as a child too.
Peppermint Creams
To make about 25 peppermint creams, you will need:
250g icing sugar
half the white of an egg
1 teaspoon peppermint essence
2 teaspoons lemon juice
food colouring
1. Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl
2. Mix egg white, peppermint essence and lemon juice in a small bowl. Pour the mixture into the sugar
3. Use a blunt knife to stir the mixture. Then squeeze it between your fingers until it is smooth, like a dough.
4. Divide the mixture if you want to make different colours. Add a drop of colour to each bowl. Use your fingers to mix in the dye.
5. Sprinkle a little icing sugar onto a clean work surface. Sprinkle some onto a rolling pin and roll out the mixture until it is about 1/4″ thick. Use cutters to cut out shapes.
6. Place shapes onto a baking sheet covered in plastic wrap. Leave for an hour to harden.
This week the ladies at the Villa Caprice welcomed their first house guests, their good friends from the Casa Gialla.
They enjoyed a wonderful feast in the dining room.
Later in the week the lady of Villa Caprice returned the compliment and was warmly welcomed at the Casa Gialla.
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