Thu - April 22, 2004

Urkrainian Eggs



We were eating dinner here at the Homestead and watching some show on the Food Network a few days before Easter, when I saw a little blurb about a woman who "writes" Ukrainian eggs. I've seen them before- even watched some demos at craft fairs, so now, of course, I just had to track down all of the necessary supplies to make my own Pysanky ... This meant many many forays into craft stores, much to E's dismay. We came up empty at the bigger chains and the local art supply store, but after a long hunt, found the motherload at a craft/outdoor furniture store nearby - kistka, dyes by the packet or in sets, extra wax, egg blowers - everything! I bought the medium kit - not too fancy, but not too limiting either :) It came with a block of black beeswax, two kistka, and some design ideas. My second time around, completely winded, I also bought a one hole egg blower so I didn't have to put a hole in the top of the eggs - the part that "shows"....

Off to work I went, heating up the wax, drawing designs, dipping eggs, letting them dry, drawing some more.. The process is much like that of batik, except on a much more fragile surface!!!! I used mainly white eggs, since that's traditional, but tried out designs on a few on our own eggs...as long as I used the lightest ones our hens lay, they turned out nicely - with an aged sort of look.

Here are my supplies...

And here is a close-up on one of the brown eggs from our hens.. The rabbit is the original egg color.


Here are just a few of the links that I found helpful - have fun!

Egg-cessories
One Artist's Page
Tutorial

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Posted at 06:43 PM    

Wed - February 11, 2004

Feahter and Quills Shadowbox


I have been working with exotic critters for years- and in my travels, have accumulated bits and pieces picked up (literally! along the way as mementoes and educational tools. These were simply stashed in a file folder though when not in use, so they would stay "safe". I decided to use the technique I used with my shell collection from our honeymoon to display these feathers and porcupine quills. That way I get to see them every day, enjoy the fond memories, and share them with everyone who stops by!

First I painted a purchased shadowbox with black acrylic - the inside will show, so paint the whole thing! (These are a decent buy when A.C. Moore or Michael's has a frame sale - these are almost always included in the sale)



Then I spent some time arranging the feathers to my satisfaction - in the end, I tied the feathers together with khaki colored embroidery floss, and hot glued the top of that bundle to the quills that I had already attached... the background here is simply the cardboard that comes as "filler" - I like the natural look it gives the shadowboxes...

Then I simply assembled everything, making sure the glass was super clean before I put the shadowbox together - now to get E to hang it up!


p.s. Feathers from native birds can't be held expect for educational purposes (I've been in wildlife rehab, falconry education, zoo ed. and now in regular ed.) so if you're just looking for something pretty - pick some nice fake ones:)

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Posted at 11:10 PM    

Quick - the Baby's Here! Project


My cousins didn't know if they were having a boy or a girl, and so, when Madeline came along, I wanted to quickly make a little something to bring with us to the hospital. Off to Marshalls! I found two onesies, came home, and washed and dried them to remove the sizing. Then I traced out a freehand monogram with one of my disappearing ink quilting pens. I used a heat-setting black fabric marker to fill in the monogram, and once that ink has dried, set it by reverse-ironing it for about five minutes. It turned out cute - this will definitely be kept in my arsenal of quick fun gifts.

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Posted at 11:01 PM    

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