One of My Best Qualities

     Sorry there haven't been any posts lately, but I've had computer problems.  The numerals wouldn't type, so I couldn't get into the blog site to post anything.  Yesterday I unplugged 8 cords from my computer, labeled all of them and where they plug in on the computer, and took everything to the Geek Squad.  The problem turned out to be so simple...a short in the keyboard.  After buying a new one, I had to lug everything back upstairs to my computer desk and plug it all back into the computer.  By then I was just too pooped to do anything more than indulge in a glass of wine and watch an old movie.

     Today I thought I'd mention one of my best qualities which is that I'm a terrific starter of new projects.  I especially enjoy planning and purchasing all the necessary materials, but then by the time I get home with the stuff I need, I've run out of steam.  By the next day, I've got a new idea so the old one gets put on hold while I work out my newest idea.
     Here's what I mean:

This was a bargain at the Dollar Store even though I had no
 idea how I would use it.  Recently, while I was reading about the 5
Walker Sisters, it came to me that this box would make a perfect
room from their house.



Here is a paper mache box I actually found in the garage.  I
don't remember what I was going to use it for originally, but now
it's going to become the storehouse for a set of 1st Lady cards.



 Look at this wonderful 1950's unused bridal book I found at an
antique show.  Think how cool it would be if there were pictures
 of honeymoon places and clothes from the 50's all researched in
my old magazines.

 

This house isn't exactly what I wanted for the project I had
in mind, but with some modifications, it will tell the story of
Horace, Augusta, and Baby Doe Tabor.



This dressmaker's box from 1910 has been in the works for
some time now.  There's a problem though.  They didn't
have plastic handles in 1910, did they?

      Do you see what I mean?  There are other unfinished projects, too, like the 2 small art quilts which are "in progress", a couple of paperdoll sets, a notebook about the Empress Eugenie of France, and the various art journals I work in when the mood strikes.  The projects don't seem so large when I plan them, but the planning seems to be waaay more fun than the actual work.  

      One day I read that you should just throw out all of the unfinshed stuff periodically and move on to the new things you want to do.  That might get to be a bit expensive, but "out of sight out of mind" could remove the guilt.

    If you have the same problem with too many unfinished project, what do you do about them?

Smarty and I'll be back soon.

                        Carol

Ice Cream . . . Colors

     Soft ice cream colors have always been my favorites.  Even when I'm trying to use the more intense colors, my art work often turns out in the mid-to-light range of colors.  A few years ago, I bought a book designed especially for quilters called Color and Cloth by Mary Coyne Penders.  The idea is that you use snippets of fabric from your fabric stash to make different quilt patterns according to Ms. Penders' instructions.  I was thinking that the color ideas would apply to all kinds of art - not just quilts - and they do in many respects.  For instance, the first lesson asks you to make a color wheel using small bits of plain colored cloth and then make one using printed cloth. 



Solid Fabric Color Wheel




     They're fun to make by drawing two circles, with one inside the other, on a piece of cardstock.  Divide the circle into a dozen equal parts.  On tracing paper, copy one of the small sections to use to make a pattern for your fabric pieces.  Cut the pieces of material and glue them onto the circle.

  

      Of course these don't really have anything to do with women...or do they.  We all wear clothes and furnish our houses in the colors we like the best.  You can buy a new car in the color of your choice - as long as it's white, gray, or whatever the color the car manufacturers have decided we want this year. 
 
     Once I decided to make my own color book.  It's turned out to be another of my "works in progress."  Earlier I had purchased a blank page album, so I decided it would work fine for "My Color Book".  As I worked, I discovered that it is much easier to make each collage page on a piece of cardstock and then attach it to the book page with double stick tape.  Each page of the book concentrates on one of the six main colors plus black or white.  When those are done, further pages will have two or three colors together.  Most of the finished pages aren't focused on women, but the new pages will be.



At the beginning.







RED - passionate, exciting, anger, love 
Creative Idea Number Six

PURPLE - Dignified, regal, power, spiritual
Creative Idea Number Seven

     The background for this collage was made by tearing tissue paper into pieces, coating a piece of cardstock with Mod Podge, sticking the tissue paper to it, and applying a final coat of Mod Podge.  While it dried, I found pictures and words for the collage.  After trimming them, I coated them with Mod Podge in the same way.  One mistake I made was to place a piece of wax paper over the whole thing and roll a brayer over the wax paper to flatten out the tissue.  Only, it wasn't quite all dry and the wax paper suck in a few places pulling the color off of the cutouts.   That just proves that even with the power color purple, mistakes happen.  
     Smarty and I'll be back soon.
                         Carol







The Story of Adrianna

     I was born in 1867 with pale china skin and hand painted blue eyes like most of my friends. My molded hair has such a beautiful shine to it.  My name is Adrianna.  My mistress, Miss Mary Louise, sewed me a fine cloth body by carefully following a magazine pattern.  Although many of my friends had molded jewelry, Miss Mary Louise enjoyed changing my jewelery to match my different outfits.

      My green velvet promenade dress matches the one worn by my mistress.  She makes calls, but we are "at home" every Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.  That's when others can come call on us and we'll be sure to be here.

 
      Here's an example of the type of dresses I wear when Miss Mary Louise and I read, write, paint with watercolors and sew.  Sometimes we play dominos or paste pretty scraps in books.

    
     We go to a ball or the opera some of the evenings.  All the ladies dress in silk and lace which makes such a lovely rustling sound when they walk by us.  I have pierced ears so I can wear many different earrings just like they do.  Underneath my dress, I wear whalebone stays and a crinoline so my dress will stay puffed out and my waist will look as small as possible.  It's hard to bend over in all these clothes!

      The main thing a woman is to do these days is to be a proper wife.  There are rules for everything, and the men don't think the ladies are as smart at them.  The men are positive that women aren't  nearly smart enough to vote, but I'll be around a long time and I plan to watch it happen...with my china blue eyes.

    

Creative Idea #4

Here I am in the body Miss Mary Louise made for me.  I'm so
embarrassed!

My book was made from a report cover with white paper
 pages stapled inside.
All my clothes and accessories are cut seperately - many of
them from magazine pictures.



Smarty and I'll be back soon.   Carol



Advice from Coco



Idea #3:  Art Journal page



  Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel was a gifted designer, but this quote makes me think her 

 take on the roll of women might be a bit limited especially in today's world.

As a French designer, during the 1920s Coco influenced women to wear their hairshort. After WWI

she made simple dresses from wool jersey which were worn with cardigans.  She began to wear slacks with pullover sweaters starting a new fashion trend. 

Coco loved jewels!  Soon she encouraged everyone to wear costume jewelry, and she reproduced

copies of her own fabulous jewelry ornamented by rubies, diamonds, emeralds, and pearls. 

It's said that in 1930, Coco was offered $1,000,000 to design Gloria Swanson's clothes for the

movie Tonight or Never along with her personal fashions.  By the time the movie was released, Chanel's

simple clothes looked out-dated. 

  

The art journal page above began with one of Coco Chanel's famous quotes.  When looking

through my magazine stash, I came across the perfect picture to go with the quote.  Since I paint the watercolor backgrounds for many pages at one time, the background was ready. I just needed to add a chair, the dog stand, the quote, and a border.

 Smarty and I'll be back soon.  

                Carol

    

Woman Arrested for Indecent Exposure

                                                    

Idea #1:  Cut paper collage card

      Try to imagine actually swimming in the outfit shown here.   Made of the favorite swimsuit fabric of the day - wool in nearly any color of your choice - you could order one from Sears or make it yourself.  Of course, most women at that time didn't really "swim"; they waded.  There was a real danger of  drowning

while trying to swim in such a heavy, wet costume.  It's been said

that some ladies even wore their corsets under their suits!

      In 1907 or 08 (books vary on the date) a pretty young lady by the name of Annette Kellerman was  arrested at

Boston's Revere Beach because she "showed too much leg." The charge of indecent exposure seems ridiculous to us, but she was hauled off to court.



   

 



Ideas #2:  Art journal page

     When asked by the judge why she was dressed in a man's style of swimsuit, Annette explained that she wanted to swim 3 miles out to a lighthouse and couldn't do it in the costume worn by women.  The judge must have agreed with her because he allowed her to wear the suit, BUT only if she covered herself up with a robe until she was in the water.

      

       Born in Australia, Annette learned to swim and ballet dance as a child to strengthen her legs weakened from a bout with polio or some other muscle disease. That wasn't the last people heard about her.   In America, in addition to working for swimsuit reform, Annette Kellerman  became a famous silent movie star.

        Esther Williams starred in the movie about her, and  The Original Million Dollar Mermaid by Emily Gibson tells Annette's  

 story.

 Smarty and I'll be back soon.

Why 1000 Creative Ideas and More?

Mrs. Delany was widowed at 68 and started her life's biggest accomplishment four years later.  Her goal was to create 1000 paper flower "mosaiks".  She didn't quite make it.  Her eyesight failed after 10 years, so she only finished 985 of her fabulous pictures.  Just as amazing as the number she made is the fact that Mrs. Delany was born in 1700 when supplies were quite hard to get.  Her flower pictures have been preserved for over 200 years and can still be seen in a museum in Britain.

Mrs. Delaney just proves that we're never too old to begin.  Although I wasn't quite as old as she was when her husband died, I too am a widow trying to find my own way.  My goal is to make 1000 creative pieces about women of the past, their lifestyles, their fashions, their stories and then  share them so you may be motivated to learn more about our remarkable sex.  After all, at least 50% of the world's population is female!

There is one special male in my life who wants to be part of this blog.  At nearly 3 years old, Smarty Phineous Welsh Corgi has become a good companion to me.  Not great, but improving.  At first, the division of power looked like this: Smarty 80% Me 20% I'm now thinking it's more like this: Smarty 60% Me 40% Of course, that might be optimistic of me. Smarty's pretty much his own "man."

Smarty & I will be back soon.