Trains of Thought

Sometimes I wonder at my thought process and how a wedding cake topper can turn into the search for things that relate to games and gambling. My thoughts sometimes do a slow meander and it takes weeks for me to reach a moment in my thoughts where I know just exactly what to do next. Other times my thoughts are like a rock skipping across the water and the jump from one thought to the next doesn't seem to connect, but then a thought or two later I have somehow found the perfect solution. This is a photo of some of the objects for the box I am working on right now. Mardi Gras babies; a friend gave me. The babies are supposed to go in a Mardi Gras cake, however, they are a little larger than the standard Mardi Gras cake babies. I knew when I saw them that they were indeed a treasure to be saved for a future project. Old game dice, old domino's, glitter and wish bones complete my initial trip of hunting and gathering. While I was rummaging around in my art finds this morning I noticed my first Mary Jane shoes on a shelf. A box that is much overdue in the making. I can't seem to find the perfect size box and I can't make up my mind about the background. The little shoes are all polished up and ready, the rest of the box is still somehow not quite right in my head. I have made several sketches, but somehow nothing is just right. I am sure the Mary Jane's were the beginning of my love affair with shoes, which could potentially be a series in and of itself. I don't know any girl who doesn't secretly love a good pair of fabulously frivolous shoes. I have a friend who has the most magnificent pair of emerald green silk pumps. I think that was the first pair of shoes I ever saw and knew immediately that they were indeed a very special treasure. I think she would be pleased to know that I am wearing my red, high heeled sandals with the roses across the toes-now there is a chance!

Back To Work Monday

My weekend was really productive! This photo is from my scientific method of object placement. Box needs a shelf so this is how I determined where the shelf should go. I used balsa wood for the trim and the shelf, I only needed something lightweight so the balsa wood was a great fit. I added a base to help balance the weight of the eight ball. I used square cubes for the legs and wooden beads for embellishments. I painted the whole thing flat black. It took several coats of paint, the wood was really quite dry. While waiting for the paint to dry I went through or at least made a valiant attempt to go through; all of my buttons. I have collected buttons with no real reason with the exception that I just really like them. I have horded buttons for years. I made a significant dent, I separated the shank buttons from the flat buttons and the metal buttons from the plastic, wood and rhinestone buttons. Now that I am separating the buttons, I am going to have to find a way to keep them separated. There are some really cool buttons that will just have to be applied to a box, it would be great if I could just put my hands on them, without having to hunt them down. Right now the buttons are in little piles on a large plastic lid, one bump and they are back to a messy pile. The paint is still not dry, the air is much to humid. The base of the wedding couple needs a bit of a lift and a much more decorative base. I used a child's alphabet block to give the couple a bit more height. The alphabet block is something I have been saving the alphabet blocks for the letters, but this block had a nasty hole right thru the letter so I felt ok about using the block where it wouldnt be seen. I rummaged through my art papers and found plenty of black and white papers to work with, enough that the papers should have their own compartment (another thing for the "to do" list". I think the best choice for the papers are graphic designs adding to the whimsy of the piece; I am going to go with diamonds and polka dots. I am going to use the graphic paper on the top half and white feathers for the background on the bottom half. I am sure that in a perfect world a "magic" eight ball would have wings. To add to my list of things we take chances on: driving through the construction zones, petting a strange cat, having fabric cut without knowing the price and walking out the door everyday.