iOffer is not an Auction

In order to continue my crafting fun, I must sell the items I so happily create. I not only sell on Etsy, I sell on Ebay, DeWanda and on ioffer. Clicking on the banner will send you there. If you haven't checked it out before, it is time you did. I believe it is turning into a fun place to buy from. Many people on iOffer are selling on Ebay as well but instead of playing the "biddem up" game, you may purchase or make an offer on what you see and like. Go ahead a take a peek and let me know what you think.

Embarking or barking up a new tree

Anyone who knows me, knows I can't stick with one thing too long. Or is it that there are just too many interesting things to do?? I don't know which it is but it makes me crazy.
The glass studio has been really nice and still is, but there was all this space on the opposite side of the basement. My aunt Lynn and I have been weavers and we both own floor looms. Hers was safely in storage and use to belong to her aunt. Her aunt bought it in the 1930's and it is a nice primitive 2 harness. My loom is a 4 harness LeClerc Floor loom that I disassembled years ago for lack of room, and had stored it in the garage, when 2 years ago, we had a very major flood and it was covered in muddy disgusting contaminated river water for nearly a week before the water receded. Well, here was my chance at dragging out the pieces of hard rock maple LeClerc goodness out of that garage and into the tub for a good scrub, and to reassemble it back to it's grandeur. Between her and I we finally got our babies back to workable condition and we are so excited to have the chance to bring them back to life and produce some runners, rugs, fabrics and other goodies. I am so grateful the LeClerc was made so rugged from that hard rock maple. It would have never survived otherwise.

Uglying up NYS

I live in beautiful rural Upstate, NY where a private commercial company has decided to take it upon themselves to build these huge high voltage transmission line towers standing 120 feet tall just to pull power from Utica to NYC. This will pass through 190 miles of beautiful scenic forests and waterways, all the way down through the Delaware River Water Gap area, some of the most scenic areas in the Northeast, just to feed NYC's growing energy needs. They already take our water, now they will take our beautiful scenery, hindering tourism in our already depressed area, and take our health with the effects of these high voltage lines.
The 1,200-megawatt line would cross 154 streams or rivers, 155 mapped wetlands, 65 miles of farmland, seven counties, one city, seven villages and 30 towns.

Yesterday while driving to Binghamton, I saw a sign in the rear window of a passing car. It said, "Conserve Electricity. Turn Off Time Square" This was in protest to the transmission line project, called the New York Regional Interconnection, N.Y.R.I. To read more about it, just Google.

One of My Favorite Arts-Concrete

Spring is just around the corner and one thing I am looking forward to is creating my outdoor art. I have a passion for concrete and I sculpt and mold items from hypertufa. Hypertufa is a mix made from portland cement and other aggregates. I love to experiment with different formulas and make up my own recipes for tufa. I try to make my hypertufa as light and as strong as possible. Someday I plan to work on a formula for hypertufa that will remain strong in high heat so it can be used for outdoor ovens and barbecues.

There is a concrete art that has fascinated me for years. It is a technic called Faux Bois, French for fake wood. With this process, you can create fantasy items that look exactly like wood. I belong to the Garden Art Forum and it has many creative concrete artists there. One of those artist is a very talented faux bois artist. You can find his blog here.
http://fauxboisinconcrete.blogspot.com/

The Joys of Cats

Yes, bloggers block does happen and it did hit me for the past couple of weeks. Lots have happened. We lost our "fat boy" cat Charlie this week to a bad throat tumor, but Tippy, our other cat is so happy to have the house to herself. She was not very happy living with another cat. Fat Boy was the only cat that could even be in the same room with her. She is an "only cat" type feline, and has never before tolerated the company of any other animal. You see, Tippy use to live at the antique mall that I use to manage and own, and one day a pit bull came into the opened front door. Must have wandered off from the neighborhood somewhere. When Tippy laid eyes on that dog, she flew off the front counter like "supergirl" and latched all fours around the dogs head and rode him out the door with fur flying, dog legs flailing, and us screaming! Poor dog. Didn't stand a chance.

We all miss our Fat Boy, but we were happy to end his suffering. We can sometimes still hear his breathing and glimpse a black shadow on the back of the chair or on the cat tree, but it is slowly fading away. RIP Charley.

My Newest Passion, Needle Felting

Find more photos like this on Indiepublic


These are a few of the animals I have felted. I just love to make them and I sell them on Etsy and on Ebay.

Come an visit me on Indiepublic.

Following the Art Trail

As I sit here all cold winter with nothing to do but to eat and put on weight, (grrr...) I get to do a lot of internet surfing. This winter I really got involved with my artsy side and joined Etsy which is fun and I have learned much from it. From Etsy, I learned about DaWanda and joined DaWanda and began listing my items there, then from DaWanda I learned about Indiepublic which is like an artist's colony in the cyber world. I love it. Made a bunch of friends and I am having fun there. I feel like I am following a bread crumb trail somehow.

With the way the economy is, it is getting increasingly difficult to make a living out in the art/craft market. Ebay has gone to the dogs in this department and is slowly sinking in others. Etsy is Ok but not outstanding but I feel like with good management it will improve. I love the idea of a market for arts and antiques. They go together so beautifully and always has. Some sellers on Etsy don't seem to agree, but I don't care.

What else did I do today? Today was my DH's Birthday so I took him out to an indian Tapas restaurant near us. The food was as excellent as always. I can eat Indian food every day. It is my favorite cuisine. My daughter and I made birthday cupcakes this morning. emmm More food to get fat on. I have started on needle felting a white ferret. I dragged down a big bag of raw wool I had in the loft of the garage and pulled a handful of greasy wool out. I washed it and put in hair conditioner. This wool is so soft and white, it is unbelievable. I will enjoy working with it. My hands still smell like lanolin. Now I need to get some koolaid so I can dye it. I can't wait!