Sweet Gift!

Mixed media artist Michelle Ward likes to talk about "people who get me".  And the lovely friend who gifted me with this plethora of chocolate for the holidays certainly does "get me".  They came from a delightful little shop in Portland, Oregon that features an entire wall of fancy and imported chocolate.

The packaging is so  beautiful, It will be a struggle 

to rip it open and devour the chocolate!

Beautiful Baklite

One of my dear friends gifted me with these beautiful 

vintage Bakelite salt and pepper shakers

I'm a sucker for anything Bakelite, and as much
 as I love the jewelry,I'm always extra fascinated by the
 objects that were created with it. 

I'm afraid they're much too pretty to use!

All the Way from Japan

A dear friend spent the last month cruising around Japan, and brought back this very special gift for me.

It has my name in kangi  and also says "Good Health".

 I'm quite touched by her thoughtfulness and have displayed this by a window in my bedroom where I'll see it first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

Jenny & Noah's Housewarming Present

Last year I did an assemblage for my older daughter Bronwyn about her grandparents during WWII. My younger daughter Jenny and her partner Noah have just moved into their first house and I thought it a good time to do a family assemblage for her too. I had a perfect weathered shelf that I painted in pinks and greens, using crackle paint on the top surfaces around the shelves and arcrylic craft paints on the backgrounds and sides. Green was my parents' favourite colour - almost every room in my house growing up was green.  And pink went with several of the family heirlooms included in the piece.  The following descriptions are taken from the letter I wrote to Jenny that accompanied artwork.

The fourth shelf shows your Great Grandfather Guy Clifford Ewart, Grandma’s father.  He was about three or four in the picture around 1883-4. The little pink cup belonged to his mother Harriet Ewart (your Great Great grandmother) and when he was young and not feeling well, his mother would let him use it to drink orange juice.

The third shelf has a picture of your Great Grandma Blanche Jackson Ewart, Grandma’s mother.  The picture was taken in 1887 when she was 16 months old, 16” long and weighed 16 pounds.  She was a month premature and very small at birth.  They put her in a shoe box and rested her in the oven the first day to keep her warm.  Even when she a grown woman she was only 4’11’ tall.  The pink toothpick holder belonged first to her mother Catherine Jackson – your Great Great Grandmother, then to your Great Grandmother, then to your Grandmother, then to me and now to you.

The second shelf contains a gavel and stand that your Grandpa Paul made for Grandma when she was president of the Volunteer Firemen’s Ladies Auxiliary during the ‘60’s.

 The top shelf holds a cigarette case that your Grandma Becky used during the late ‘40’s and early ‘50’s. It has her initials on it and Grandpa got it for her. The picture of them was taken during WWII in Grandma’s backyard on Soldano Street in Azusa

The tie along the side was knitted for your Grandpa Paul by Grandma Becky.  She even sewed in a little label telling what kind of yarn she used.  There was a pair of sox to match, but Grandpa wore those out – he wore sox much oftener than he wore ties!

Birthday Score!

One of the things I love about birthdays is they last so long.

  Invariably there are some presents that show up after the fact - 

 and I love that and deeply appreciate
my friends who make that happen,

 because them my birthday lasts even longer!

Here's what I received from the
wonderful Marylinn Kelly a week or so ago. 

As Michelle Ward would say "Does she get me or what?!"

I'm having a blast just imagining all the wonderful things

I can create with this bounty.

I have to say these two little tags speak to me and 

are among my favourites from the whole stash!

Steampunk Sheep

This is a project that I did for my older daughter, who loves steampunk and, since she's a weaver and a knitter, loves sheep. It was her Christmas present a year ago and when I finished it I forgot to take pictures before I wrapped it up to mail off.

Well, she was doing some rearranging in her house and remembered that I needed an "after shot", so she sent me one. I adorned it with gears, old alarm clock bells, a Scottish cloak clasp,a number plaque, and rusty wire. No everyone's cup of tea - but the two of us were quite pleased with the outcome!

The "Perfect" Gift

Recently I was awarded with my service pin for 20 years with the County Library System. One of my co-workers surprised me with this wonderful gift.


A vintage printing set, found in a small shop in Paris. Complete with minuscule letters and numbers, a stamper to load them on,


a desiccated ink pad and a worn, crackling piece of paper with various words and numbers stamped on it. And all contained in this beautiful old tin box.

As you can tell, for me, it is the "perfect' gift!

Gifts of a French Nature

There's nothing as wonderful as having someone in your life who "gets" you, as Michelle Ward says. And when that someone is your loving spouse - life is very good indeed!

These are photos of one of my birthday presents from Margot, a vintage wooden box that once held building blocks.

French building blocks - "Jeu de Construction". The illustration on the lid is pure 19th century. Found in an antique store in Sebastopol.

And this is a delightful reproduction of a French Market Birdcage - my Valentine's gift from my darling wife. Even more special, because we saw cages such as these at the Bird Market on the Isle de Cite on our honeymoon in Paris.