Dye Fumes

I've been super busy today. I'm dyeing my hair red for the Ren. Faire on Sat. I don't even know what I'm wearing yet but my head is wearing red.

I got my Zombie Nanner Gang challenge photos posted for yesterday but haven't even started the 'tiny doll' challenge for today. I've been too busy working on this gourd art Etsy listing: Heart

After I uploaded all my boyfriend's photos for that, we decided we could do better, so I redid all the photos.

After I wash this dye out of my hair, maybe I'll have time to work on a doll. This is a different brand than I usually use and P.U. I feel like a stinky head. It's a more expensive brand too.

Also, I did a tarot reading for a client this morning and worked in my garden some. Busy busy busy.

Flying Pickle

I just finished my first challenge for the Zombie Nanner Gang. This is the first day so if you want in on something fun, challenging and creative hop over and sign up. Or just join and follow to watch the creativity fly. Go Zombie Nanner Gang.

Zombie Nanner Gang

I just started a craft brainstorming group for fun. http://zombienannergang.blogspot.com/
We stayed up until 4 AM working on it and laughing our heads off. But we need more members. The more the merrier. We also would love to have an audience, so hop over and click that follow button on the right sidebar. The first challenge is Flying Pickles. Then it's Zombie Bananas.

Ageism in Crafts

I wrote the following blurb after seeing yet another person talking about subversive embroidery as if it was something new. They were tired of all the magazine stories titled things like "Crochet, not Just Your Grandmother's Craft" or "Needlepoint, Not Just For Grannies Anymore." So I wrote the following tidbit.

"After doing embroidery since I was about 7, I am now a grandmother,so,yeah, I'm really sensitive about ageism. The whole notion that only one age or one gender makes things with their hands has been bogus from the get go. My father knitted my mother a bikini when I was a teenager in the '70's. And I was stitching subversive things on my jeans in 1976. It's not like subversive embroidery is new. Tons of it was being done in the '70's. I'm sure you've heard of 'make love not war' and 'question authority'.
I'd love to see some magazine and newspaper headlines like "Three Generations All Knitting Together," or "What Young Craft Vixens Can Learn From Their Grandmothers, " or "Family Passes Down Crochet Legacy From Generation to Generation". Or how about "Your Grandmother was a Radical Too."

Once the DIY network contacted me wanting craft projects for their show that reflected the youth craft movement because they were trying to get rid of the granny stereotype. Well, they shouldn't have asked a 51 year old woman then, because I let them have it. I'm guessing they must have thought I was in my 20's creating great trendy crafts. Most people don't realize I'm 51. Yes, you can be innovative, hip and trendy at 51. I told DIY to get lost. If they can't respect all ages of crafters I want nothing to do with them.

Embroidery, Greenman, Tiki, Gourd Art

Right off the bat this morning I crocheted a snood. A snood is a type of hair net. All I have left to do is add the drawstring.

Then today I washed a whole bunch of little jewelry gourds. I plan to do a tutorial soon on how to turn a jewelry gourd into something.

I noticed my friend Jon has some great new woodcarved items in his shop here: Gosling If you collect tikis or greenman art check it out. He's also been making walking sticks.

I did some freehand embroidery tonight too. It's organic and there is no pattern or preconceived notion of what it will turn out to be like. Right now it is turquoise embroidery floss.

Fairy Gourd House

My boyfriend didn't feel up to going to the archery range this morning. So I used the time to decorate my fairy gourd. I used the woodburning tool to add flowers, bugs and surface detail. I still have more to do but thought I'd give my hands a rest. I came in and had a glass of iced tea, started the dishwasher and came inside to check my Email.
Once I put all the electric tools away, I need to give this end of the garden a good watering.

I'm trying to decide if I want to add color to the gourd or just leave it's natural beauty shining through. Sometimes I think we can over-process a project and take all the life right out of it by making it too 'perfect'. Plus the more hours I sink into it, the more unrealistic the price I'll have to set to ever get a profit out of it. Just because I sink 100 more hours into it doesn't mean someone is going to pay me $100 more, even if I did want to work for a dollar an hour, which I don't.

Gourd Horses

Today was a busy crafting day for me. First I worked on my knitted bikini top. I wasn't quite awake yet and had to watch a tutorial on making four different kinds of increases and decreases to get it right. But I think I'm making progress now.

Then this afternoon I started working on a gourd vase. It's easier to show you the photos than to try to describe it. I wanted to learn how to use the new ink dyes we bought as well as the pyrography paper. So check out the photos and ask me if you have any questions on technique. I want to put pine needles or raffia around the brim, so I drilled holes around the top so I could sew it on. Hopefully the park we are going to tomorrow will have pine needles. Sometimes the park is manicured and I can't find much of anything, but I have my fingers crossed.