Treasury Wednesday: Bright, Bright, Bright!

The brights of my garden inspired this one, and thinking about the fact that I've never owned chalcedony because the colors vary so much that I never know it when I see it. It contains some really unusual items, not my normal sort of thing, so I thought it was worth posting on the blog.

'The Garden of Chalcedonies' by tangopig

Aqua and red and pink and orange. Inspired by the flowers sprouting in my garden and the brilliant candy shades of chalcedony.

little handmade dol... variation $13.00	Original Fairy Flow... mermaidglass $14.00	Pink Rose on Bright... bedbuggs $24.00	Turquoise and Red F... larsandaddie $60.00
Setting Sun Embroid... TheSadaAbeExpe... $25.00	Wonderfully Intense... luckyloulou $14.00	bright magical gard... dylandogleash $26.00	Coral Ribbon Neckla... twillypopgirl $12.00
Aqua Red Hibiscus B... skeptis $28.00	Chloe's Classic... ChloesCollars $22.00	Paint Chip - The Or... KnockKnocking $65.00	MAGNESITE TURQUOISE... gabeadz $39.00
Tapestry Tote with ... carolleighhand... $88.00	A Dozen Dahlias flo... smilesandsquig... $4.00	Peaceful- 8x10 Prin... themiscellany $18.00	Elegant Sex Appeal ... Allofyou $31.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

The Chopping Block

Every so often I find it necessary to pull something from the shop for one reason or another.  The vast majority of things that disappear from the listings are still in my inventory, I've just let them lapse because their photos are subpar or they weren't drawing traffic in or I was tired of editing the listings.

Occasionally, though, "test driving" or a more appraising eye reveals that I actually need to remove something:


This weird updated-1960s-tribal-safari-ethnic-thing necklace, an experimental piece where each bead is rosary-linked to a charm -- arguably an earlier step in the evolution that led to the found-object button necklaces -- works fine and looks awesome if you're willing to take the time to make sure the rosary-linked chain is hanging straight ... but it turns out that all your care will then be undone, because by some accident of physics if the toggle is sitting where it's supposed to, it slips right open.  The pewter elephant ones are usually secure, it's just a strangeness of physics.

Speaking of a strangeness of physics: It takes about three point five to four inches for seven-strand stainless steel jewelry wire to equalize its own tension sufficiently to lie flat.  Shorter bracelets will almost always have a slight curve.  Aren't you glad you know this now?

"Bless my eyes! Fresh hot ... "

Not leftover, but definitely lazy.  As of mid-February I now bake all of the bread for our household.

I am a big fan of food that I can make ahead of time and have last a while; I'm happiest when I can have one big, traditional, flour-coated apron-wearing "baking day" and then have homemade food to serve and eat for several days.

When I was doing my last quarter of school with my double-schedule-and-a-job-and-a-commute nightmare, weekends were a respite, sort of.  I spent them engaged in computer games (I still own, play and love my legacy neighborhood in The Sims 2, where a number of refugees from great works of literature, like Aldonza and Sancho, Count Fosco and Marian Halcombe, Bess and her eponymous Highwayman, have bred and interbred and I now have their grandchildren populating my pixellated dollhouses.  Awesome and absorbing time sink).  But weekends weren't actually relaxing as such.  They were just -- two days when I didn't actually have to drive forty-five minutes to do six to nine unbroken hours of punishing mental work and then drive home in rush-hour traffic to scribble and pound out my homework until I fell into bed.

On a related note, I tend to get a bit steamy when people are vocal about thinking that college students are, as a breed, lazy.

Now, weekends are different.  In my own home, with my workspace set up and control over the grocery list, weekends are glorious timeless stretches of beading and baking interspersed with five-dollar DVDs from Ingles, snuggling with Megan, drinking moderate amounts of sweet froofy martinis, and lovely-anxiously tending my garden.

Anyhow.  This all started with the bread.

As an example, I spent last Saturday preparing the following:
1. Fresh artisan bread
2. Miniature mushroom quiches
3. Caramel nut sticky buns
4. Artichoke cheese dip
5. Corn and bean salad
6. Apple cider pasta salad

Each a family recipe -- except the bread.  And oh god the bread.  M and I have never agreed upon a type of bread, but I am pleased to report those days well over.

The recipe, from Mother Earth News and written in this delightful vintage-advert tone, is here.  Read it.  Use it.  Love it.  The pizza peel and baking stone are not necessary; parchment paper on a cookie sheet works just fine.  The bread is moist and tangy with a delicious sourdough-like texture and flavor.  One orange-sized ball yields a loaf large enough for both of us to get crusty, satisfying sandwiches and dip the heels in jam or artichoke dip or plain cream cheese for a flavorful snack.  I've learned I need to do a spare loaf that we can eat warm.  Without butter.  That's how good this bread is.

We've figured out that all the bread costs us about $5 a month to make, and takes about half an hour's work once a week.

So.  For no particular reason.  Have a special offer.  When you mention that one blog post about the bread between now and Monday, March 28, 2011, get 10% off any purchase of $20.00 or more.


Available here.

M has just awarded me a Housewife Merit Badge.  She assures me that they are in fact equilateral triangles like Girl Scout patches.  Success!

Treasury Wednesday: Desdemona's Last Night

My three favorite plays of all time: Jean Anouilh's Becket, Arthur Miller's The Crucible, and William Shakespeare's Othello.

I was a dedicated drama student and remain a dedicated educational professional.  For the first reason, I have been in the habit of reading plays voraciously; for the second, I still recommend these.

So my first treasury ever was based on motifs from Othello.

'Desdemona's Last Night' by tangopig

A Shakespearean tragedy is a storm of passions. Lust for women, lust for wine, lust for power, lust for vengeance, most sacred love and unholiest hate.

Othello Print - Sha... immortallongin... $14.99	Under Your Pillow -... maxemilia $55.50	Fire- Art Print YolyPetra $14.00	Mean, Snarky Anytim... goatcards $3.00
Slow Dance No. 1 - ... BrandyKayzakia... $25.00	Leather Mask of a F... teonova $	Necklace - Mystica ... TataniaRosa $33.00	Color Nude, 11x14 ElizabethZusev $
Renaissance Cap - R... AlliCatCrafts $40.00	Near to Kiss - Vene... missiaja $9.22	Black Lion Mask...h... Merimask $	Strawberries - orna... lornabateman22 $19.95

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

A fresh venture

You may have noticed a new link over in the "Contact!" box to the right.  I have sort of leaped (leapt? leaped?) headlong into a new business area.

See, the president of the International Polymer Clay Association and the delightful Rena from Home Jewelry Business Success Tips, both of whom have published my series, have both kindly implied that they think there's a market for writing workshops focused on small handcraft businesses.

I'm considering hitting the local Michaels to see if they want me to offer such artist-focused writing classes, but until then -- I sort of set up an Etsy shop in one six-hour marathon of GIMP and word processing.

Consequently.

If you agree that text is vital to online selling, and would like to have me focus on your own descriptions with you to render them ever more readable and engaging, my services are now rentable by the two-hour commitment, at quite an excellent price; I expect I could see my way clear to offering a 10% introductory discount to blog readers, so simply mention this post to me and I will discount any service offered by 10%, refunded through PayPal.

A more ephemeral creation

Inspired by the menus of the Steampunk Cookery blog, for St. Patrick's day yesterday I decided to do a steampunk-style holiday meal: a made-from-scratch meal incorporating a number of different cultural culinary traditions into a Victorian-style course plan.

St. Patrick's Day is very much an immigrant holiday. Though celebrated in Ireland, there it's a literal holy day. In the U.S., it marks an entire day celebrating an immigrant culture that was once rejected. It celebrates through the unthinking use of really terrible stereotypes, mind you, and consequently bothers me, but I honor the spirit of it, at least.

M loves corned beef (which is multicultural in itself; it's a traditionally Jewish dish adopted as a bacon replacement), but we're waiting for it to go on sale as we do with most holiday foods, so I prepared the following:

I quartered, boiled and mashed with butter five pounds of small russet potatoes. Mashed potatoes are remarkably easy if you don't mind the skin; actually (cocktail party fact), a diet of milk and potatoes with the skin on provides all the nutrients necessary for human subsistence, the same as a diet of rice and beans.

Then, I made Swedish-style baked cardamom meatballs with a couple of Italian-style additions: torn fresh basil and extra garlic. These bake for thirty minutes, then are covered in sauce and baked for twenty more; I replaced the traditional sweet-savory brown gravy with a sauce inspired by the traditional Middle Eastern garlic-yogurt dressing for dishes like Turkish cacik. My version used thinned sour cream, garlic, paprika and some red pepper flakes.

I served the baked sauce and meatballs with sliced onions over a bed of the mashed potatoes. This was accented by a spinach, romaine and homegrown kale salad tossed in honey mustard dressing, plus my homemade wheat bread with butter (about which more next week). We replaced the traditional beer-or-whiskey with a pear cider.

The meal was a huge success, the five pounds (99 cents) of russet potatoes and one pound ($1.96) of ground beef yielded easily enough for four to six (we love our leftovers!), and I spent an hour concocting the recipes from five different online sources. They are now taking a proud place in my recipe box -- another old tradition that I am wholeheartedly adopting as my own.

Treasury Wednesday 3

I was finding myself in a bridal-y mood after the wedding jewelry, so I present a kinda-creepy, kinda-alarming frosty neo-Victorian bridal treasury for this Treasury Wednesday.

'Things Hoped For, Things Planned' by tangopig

White, black, grey, silver, and a life meant to be. Fine Victorian-inspired items, with newer shops given preference.

SALE Steampunk Edwa... Coloradofinds $98.00	The Rose Anna Weddi... KrystaSolaris $3200.00	Skull mask with sil... ladyinthetower $59.00	CRYSTAL LACE VICTOR... KiraKreations $225.00
Lotus damask cream ... moonscapehandm... $38.50	Bound with key neck... worndress $20.00	Custom fit gold bro... BoundByObsessi... $260.00	Laced Obsession MedleysInvitat... $5.75
Victorian Bridal St... BattieClothing $245.00	Cream Faux Leather ... FabulousPieces $750.00	Grey 'Grace'... Hopeless $18.00	White Linen Pillow ... heatherly21 $80.00
Here Comes the Brid... kuzmadesign $450.00	Chyron 5 (Matte Key... milemurtanovsk... $120.00	A Pearl of Great Pr... Beadmatrix $320.00	10 Folded Ribbon Ro... Deepwater $1.20

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

In addition to being the result of my thinking on wedding jewelry, this curation was heavily inspired by one of the two "steampunk personae" I'm sort of noodling around with the costuming of and, more pertinently, the jewelrying of.  The actual girl, Miranda, is an amateur historian; I'm planning to make her a chatelaine with a brush, pencil and loupe.  I do a lot of treasuries as I fiddle with design concepts, and this was one of them.  Even though it kinda looks like a Death Eater bondage wedding.  Oops?

Gardening Again

So, after all that, we got to the garden center and the all-purple-and-green idea went immediately out the window. It's still all in shades-of-aqua pots, anyway, ranging from muted to quite saturated indeed and from seafoam to robin's-egg to stone flecked with blue ... but the colors, man, the colors. They tempted us far too much.

I also made the amateur's mistake of planting two months early.  Our average date of last frost here, apparently, is April 15.  "Well, hell," I said to the computer screen, and started tucking vintage army blankets around the plants every night.

They're under shelter.  I don't think anything has died.  They just marked time until the soil warmed up.  And they got a nice soaking from our major thunderstorm last week!

In our most sheltered corner, we have a young Japanese maple (a Suminagashi) and three specimens of an apricot-colored viola cultivar. These are an annual, so next year I may replace them with a threatened-endangered Southeastern viola species.  This is the corner at the beginning of February:


This is it now:


I've added pots of spinach and basil, moved the ephemerals (the little brown pots, about which more later) to the railing because they seemed to want to be warmer, the creeping phlox has gone from pink to purple, and that ornamental grass is much happier.  Up in the corner waiting to be hung, the hummingbird feeder we bought for five dollars at the Mennonite thrift shop, its missing parts replaced with polymer clay and beads.

The tree is promising to bud any ol' time now; it's mulched with Spanish moss and the pot contains one of M's polymer clay fairy doors.

I got my native-woodland spring ephemerals, which, to my shock and delight, are available cheaply, if in limited varieties, at Lowe's of all places. I now have my liverleaf hepatica, a red trillium, and a trout lily in individual pots.


Liverleaf, Hepatica nobilis or H. americana. Photo copyright Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

It seems those fuzzy stems have lovely deep red winter foliage.


Trillium, Trillium erectum. Photo copyright Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
I'm not sure that's the right species. I thought mine was a T. grandiflorum, but apparently those only come in white aging to pink, and I seem to recall mine will be deep red. These also have the really delightful and ephemeral-appropriate name of "wakerobin." This is one of those moments where my writer's acquisitiveness of names shines through into a jewelry design idea: Expect a Yellow Wakerobin Necklace or similar in my future.


Trout lily, Erythronium americanum. Photo copyright Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

The turned-back petals are lovely! Though apparently not actually characteristic.

Apart from this, we have a white astilbe (apparently pronounced "a still bee," not "a steel bay" as I've been), which we purchased because we liked it and it was non-invasive -- but which apparently is a show cultivar of a native Appalachian False Goat's-beard. Accidental success! The astilbe is going mad with delight where it's planted, which is worth recalling for the future.  Between the two astilbes is a jack-in-the-pulpit, also a woodland native:


Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum. Photo copyright Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Or rather, this is what I thought.  When the sprouts came up a couple weeks ago, the distinctive leaf shapes indicated I had the trillium in the box with the astilbes and the jack-in-the-pulpit on our glass-topped table ... oops. Either way, the jack-in-the-pulpit is in one of the two sunnier spots to encourage those bold burgundy stripes to develop.



There's also a box of lavender and a box of peas, out of sight, and a big pot of "Firecracker" gladiolus, the one with the cool stick in it. Which is native to nowhere. But also noxious nowhere, so I'm still okay.  There's one sprout, abruptly and at long last; it liked the thunderstorm.

In addition, there's a non-invasive planting by the railing of cilantro, primrose and English daisy:


Lovely!

All those deep reds and oranges are going to be splendid against the shaded aquas, especially as the plants further mature, so I have high hopes!