vintage molded glass bunny candy container

--- vintage molded glass easter candy bunny ---looks good with or without jellybeans--- jelly beans also look good in the palm of the hand, and held between forefinger and thumb heading toward the mouth....

i 've gone on a small binge of collecting a few new vintage easter candy containers-- along with this molded glass rabbit, i have some chalk ware & paper mache rabbits, and 1950's plastic bunny rattles and easter decorations. they come in a variety of vintage colors, baby blue with a red bow--deep cherry red with white painted features....--my favorite new ones are a white chalkware rabbit with bright pink accents and glass eyes, made in germany--- and a very yellow goofy rabbit of paper mache. i think they will make great photographic models.. another favorite that i've had for some years is a celluloid rabbit pulling a chick in a cart-- it's an easter baby rattle and the celluloid is very thin pale yellow --- wonderfully delicate and whimsical.

when wabbit comes for tea

gold shoes and a duck

some etsy treasuries i put together --so glad to be back at my addictive sport!!

knee high boots

back from the beach minus any photos--but stocked with a small collection of shells. the next post may include some sort of inventory. ...
it's amazing how a few days away--some warmth from the sun, some good reading, and a slower pace can really refresh one's energy and restore a sense of balance. i would like to start doing this once a week!! just go away for a couple of days..!

i've been running around like a headless bird for the last few weeks-- i am tired from too little sleep and a bit burnt from constant doing. does this sound familiar?! i know this is not an exclusive condition of my own. we are all struggling to keep up. there is so much to do!

my husband and youngest son and i are going on a little foray to a warmer climate-- down near st. petersburg, florida. it was my husband's christmas gift to me. i've been looking forward to this trip since december 25th! we rarely ever have a chance to get away-- let alone to a more exotic location. so, despite all of the many tasks to complete before going, i 'm excited and looking forward to feeling the warm sand under my feet, and i will sit and watch the gulf waters stretch out before me... that might be all i do.

here is a photo of a little bird ( with its head ON!) ---he is pointing south i think--at least in relation to where i'm sitting in my house right now...... pointing toward the direction of my brief getaway.

...yesterday and today i can feel spring--almost taste it. everyone seems to be walking with a lighter step as more and more people come out of hiding from their winter cocoons. i know we will will still have some surprises with dips in temp and maybe some spring snow.... just remembered a great novel i read years ago--by yukio mishima, titled "spring snow" -- with the story set in 1912. a romantic novel, about a young man growing up with a family of the japanese aristocracy-- i remember his description of the cherry blossom festival -- it was so striking-- i wanted to be transported there walking among the blossoms ... wow ...haven't thought about that novel in years! i mourn the loss of reading time in my life..
and with spring come a few photos of a figurine i will sell in my vintage shop-- girl with geese. certain objects really capture my fancy. unexpectedly. in the past i wouldn't have looked twice at something like this-- but now i find it somewhat enchanting-- i'm almost unable to part with it! and i'm a person with a love for dwell magazine and cool modern design or early antiques.. where this soft spot for sentimental kitsch is coming from is beyond me--- but something about its sincerity just fascinates me!
and i recently bought these little folk art wooden pendants and brooches thinking i would sell them in my shop--but i've fallen in love with them.. now THESE are definitely staying for a visit with me for a while!!!

chickity chick

i've always loved the idea of a big ( or envisioned as small at times) floppy eared bunny arriving in the night. a hairy, nose twitching version of santa --- i remember hunting for decorated easter eggs hidden in the grass and bushes outdoors as a little girl... and the thrill of discovering them! the warm sun-- and forsythia, azalea, daffodils & dogwood already in bloom--- a magical time. we will decorate easter eggs soon but in the meantime i wanted to get this little chick from my vintage shop 5gardenias.etsy.com --up in anticipation of the arrival of the great bunny wabbit!

golden disk dangles

just finished a pair of these for a customer the other day, and retook some photos for my shop--- i like this out of focus one with the strong black shape and the warm gold --the color makes me happy!

more horses for alyssa

i was inspired to post a few photos of my plastic horse collection thanks to Alyssa from BROOKLYNrehab who has a plastic horse collection featured on her blog --she likes to use her horses in photos for her shop--- follow her blog link to see her collection. these two horses are part of my wild little herd located on the floor in the corner near our book case. the horses are very good at collecting cat hair tumble weeds. many times the horses mysteriously take new positions, one day i came home to find some of the horses stacked vertically--- i will need to get a picture of that...

etsy front page, "mothra" brooch & "marie antoinette wall cameo" by shavingkitsuppplies

one of the addictions i've developed since i joined etsy is a love for curating treasuries. a treasury is a grouping of 12 images taken from different artist's shops featuring a favorite item. it's a way of giving one another a boost. when a treasury gets chosen for the front page, it gets viewing time of about an hour for the general visiting public . it is always good for everyone as it often brings new visitors to everyone's shops --and frequently sales as well. this was one of my most recent curations to hit the FP and naturally, i get quite a charge out of knowing it made it up there for it's little hour of attention!!

this treasury was inspired by the wall textile piece of marie antoinette ( with ships in her hair, no less!) made by one of my beloved etsy friends --shavingkitsuppplies.etsy.com. if you visit her store you will find wonderful antique and vintage transfers on lovely repurposed linens & fabrics, sewn up in fanciful sachets, brooches , and wall pieces. fresh scents of enlivening cedar ( for winter) and calming lavender ( anytime is fine with me!) come wafting from her inspired sachets. science and nature themes run through shavingkit's work which often feature stuffed muslin & linen "mothra" brooches, anatomical man brooches, shadowflies.... french alphabet sachet pillows with pom pom trim, to name a few..... all beautifully crafted, and packaged with an amazing attention to detail. handmade envelopes of vintage book pages and transfer images tied with gauzy seam binding are works of art in and of themselves... you will find yourself hesitating ..not wanting to break the spell of this marvelous package before you--( you really are made to feel exceptionally special!) ...but then the scents, so alluring call to you , and you finally do open the one treasure to reveal the next..... i have given shavingkit's pieces as gifts to friends and to myself. they are a treat for all!

fertility necklace

both pieces above and below are part of a 2 woman show i'm in at NCCC Gallery in March--some older, larger ceramic sculpture will be up, along with this new series of "wall jewelry". the two pieces above and below reference the reproductive urge of our species--and it's over production in every aspect....

peanut factory

father

i'm taking pieces to hang for the show today--- i should be typing my title list--- just want to load one more image in honor of the day...

peanut farm necklace

here is another of the series of "wall jewelry" pieces i've recently finished for an upcoming show which opens march 12. it feels so good to be working with clay again and to be using the materials that have been dancing around in my head for some time. images as well-- of funnels, rabbits, peanut shells, sticks and stems, flowers, textiles--- thoughts regarding proliferation, growth, over production, reproduction... then the idea of what is jewelry? i'm making jewelry for walls with certain traditional jewelry elements or constructs but ignoring the practical requirements and mechanics of wearable jewelry--

genesis brooch

mother necklace

family jewel, fallopian

some new sculptural wall jewelry for my show at the NCCC gallery . combining mixed media: clay, knit forms, and textiles. comprised of cast peanut shells, slip cast rabbits & mice, funnels, flowers, stems, beads, rawhide....

auntie lou lou's oh so very..hat

i have a love for vintage--- from every era. from classic to modern of the 50s, 60s, 70s . fun & funky kitcsh ( ceramic poodle figurines--long necked cats...OHHH yeah) i wish i could adhere to a single look for my own home decor, but alas i have a very eclectic style going on. from a chinese opium bed near my kitchen---to a fifties pumpkin orange vinyl matching couch and chair in our family room. a huge collection of crocheted granny quilts, hand made pottery, grandma's lenox china from the 50's--- quite a crazy hodgepodge! yet somehow it all works ( at least i think so!) my husband's paintings cover our walls, and my ceramic sculpture sits on all of our tables and shelves...

and auntie lou lou's oh so very...hat is for sale in my etsy shop 5gardenias.etsy.com

fantasy flower ring

sea lotus flower pendant

this is one of my most recent pieces and one which i consider a success --- i've gotten a bit closer to the feeling i want my metal work to have in the making of this piece... a peculiar elegance but with a rough hewn quality. the tension of opposites -- a satisfying sort of tension- i've been playing with patinas more and finding some interesting results. along with the inclusion of enamel, i'm starting to feel that my pieces are becoming more exciting to look at... perhaps a bit unique to me --- at last!!