For those who might wonder about my teaching gig:

When I was a little girl it was a major event when my California aunt would come back to the farm for a visit. She was so amazing, and everything she did was interesting. Especially interesting to a little art-minded collector of bugs-n-stuff were her nature boxes.

Little three drawer boxes covered with pine cones and seeds and fur and shells . . . I loved them so much. Little me, in an imitation is the best sort of flattery, spent hours gluing matchboxes together and covering them in fake fur. Then I ran out of boxes and started making my drawers from cereal boxes . . . Fast forward a decade or so, and I was still making my boxes and covering them, and one time when Aunt Fran came for a visit, I was asking her about how she made her boxes, what sort of board, what sort of glue . . . and I learned that actually she bought pre-formed chests and suddenly the tables were turned and she was asking me for advice and chest building instruction.

So. A lifetime of inspiration on building boxes instigated by a miss-assumption but not a misplaced admiration.

This box was built in honor of my grandmothers. Both of my whom were sewists. (That’s our new word for sewers, which, admittedly has an unfortunate alternate pronunciation.) I have sewing boxes that used to belong to each of them, full of little treasures. I used some from each in what I call my “Grandma Box”.

The base of the box is actually a cigar box which I fitted with dividers and built drawers for. I covered the drawers and the frame with paper, and then started adding “pretties”. Huge snaps from Grandma K, posies from Grandma B, photocopies from pages of a Vogue pattern book that belonged to Aunt Fran. Along the top are medallions from a sash that came from the Masonic Lodge in Brock, Nebraska, given to me by Uncle John. (I’m not sure if the sash was from Eastern Star or the Masons . . . I’ll have to ask Dad when I see him.) I decoupaged the picture of Grandma B and Aunt Fran onto a wooden coin.

It’s hard to see, but along this side is a tape measure from Grandma K.

In the drawer, there’s more treasures:

The plane pin is a souvenir from Fred’s trip to Russia in 1990? Little Canadian flag pins from a recent trip . . . a little baggie of seashell bits from Puerto Rico . . . A Funks G Hybrid patch, like the one on the jacket Grandpa B wore . . . buttons from the grandmothers . . .

The closest I got to that classic “serene mother” pic . . . my lovely wiggly babies . . . . circa 2002. Rachel’s key ring to the car I bought from her when she left for Japan for her JET program. A puffed heart pendant from a favorite necklace.

Mother of pearl buckles from my mother, her mother, and my father’s mother. Something all the ladies kept. Interesting button and china dolls from my mother . . .

I have been blest. I miss them all so much.

(More pictures of Aunt Fran’s Nature Box)

I’m working on a couple AG sized “kuspuks”. In one book I have about traditional dolls of Inuit and Yupik people they are called Mother Hubbards and show some that a Mama can carry her little one on her back within the coat.

From my googling around it seems that most kuspuks are made of calico, have a large front pouch pocket, and are trimmed with ribbons and rickrack. Some have a fur ruff around the face. But not necessarily. It seems they are traditionally “summer” coats.

In this picture Kit is modelling the kuspuk I made for my Maplelea Saila Maplelea is the Canadian version of American Girl dolls. (Did you know there’s also Australian Girl dolls?). To the left on a hanger is the kuspuk I made for CoraMaezy, my Girl For All Time “Clementine”.

Tonight, I’m sewing another kuspuk, using some lovely buttery microsuede. It’s not calico, but I’m hoping it’s within acceptable parameters for a Nebraskan who’s interested in learning more about traditional clothing.

Rickrack is a traditional embellishment. I also liked the vintage embroidered roses on white, or the red Czech woven ribbon.

I debated a lot of different trims before settling on the blue woven floral (a special bit I actually found at a super cute shop (Website here) in Wilber Nebraska, Czech Capital of Nebraska) and then I’m going to knit the fuzzy yarn into a “fur” ruff.

I’m excited to start on the handwork: finishing the lining, adding embellishments and snaps, turning the cuffs and hemming the skirt. Stitching by hand makes me feel connected with my Mom and my grandmothers and with all the ladies (and men) who use their hands to create things that are useful and beautiful.

Love to you–

C.

PS: If you would like to read a sweet book about being a child in Alaska in the 1920’s, I highly recommend Bo at Ballard Creek.

or the sequel

Here’s another book that’s a treasure, even if most of the pictures are black and white.

I unbuilt the bed quite a bit and then used a belt sander to even out my uneven corners. And now that it’s square, I was able to glue the curtain frame (made from a yard stick) around the top.

The bed testers were proclaiming success, until I took away the mattress and pillow. Sure, it will carry the requisite coating of cat hair as long as it resides in my house, but seriously, I’d like to avoid the need to wash the bedding until after I get the headboard finished and the whole frame painted and . . .

It is hard though to kick out ol Mugsy when he gets comfortable. <3

Update: today I’m working on smoothing out the yardstick markings with wood putty. Ready to sand and then paint.

I’m fighting the woodworking on this–I think maybe my plywood was slightly warped?  There’s a learning curve going on here!  I decided I’m better off working on the soft parts for a while than getting frustrated.   I made a mattress out of quilt batting and some pink gingham duck cloth.  My tester thinks it makes an acceptable mattress . . .

 

I’m especially pleased with the mini pillow and case: 

In other “progress”, well, there’s not much on the furniture front.  Oscar (aka “The Dog”) helped provide basins for the sink unit and I’m pondering a coat hook as a faucet:

I’ve also been finishing up a pair of ruffle collar coats:

For now, it’s time to go to bed.  This poor kiddo had a tooth pulled today and even though I slept and slept this afternoon, I’d better get some sleep because tomorrow I need to prepare for my booth at the Maker Fair at the SAC Museum on the day after.  Cross your fingers that the snow they’ve predicted holds off a few days!

Makers Market

Hope you are having fun!

 

 

CoraMaezy is in need of a four poster bed. Using scrap lumber and some dowels this is what I came up with:

The head and the foot are made of cigar box lids.

It took forever to scrape the paper off.

I have intentions of painting most of it but upholstering the head and foot. Will make curtains and matching bedding. But for tonight it’s time to clean up my mess and watch the new Dr Who.

…

Also working on making this jewelry box into a sink unit:

I added the booster made of a yard stick to raise the height of it a bit. Going to check the pet food aisle for containers that can be repurposed as sink basins. Still contemplating what I can use for a faucet.

I actually have two little books in the works on my desk. The first is a sample for an upcoming class, the second is focused on pictures of my dolly.

My secret quote source? The Menards ad!

 

Pages in Progress:

I have two weeks to go from this:

To a kitchen. Thinking about lighting, wall paper, floors . . . Cabinets and cookbooks . . .

Also making some portable clothing displays out of 2x6s and 1x2s. 🙂

My carpentry skills aren’t fabulous, but I’m pleased with the design. Plus I was able to make two out of one 2×6, 3 1x2s, 2 square dowels and a handful of screws. I *could* cover them in fabric . . . But I think I won’t.

Little Miss is excited to show you the fun design she created on her new Lite Bright toy which we found at JoAnn’s.

We are hoping to get started on our dark yellow dress tomorrow . . . If we get the desk clean again!

 

The students decided they’d like to use the second class to create a book made of cardboard. Each student agreed to bring to class five pieces of cardboard, and I brought back the magazine stew and other supplies.

These little books are easy to make, we use paper medical tape to wrap the edges and then bind the pages together. Most of the cardboard is covered up with collage materials and we didn’t worry about priming the pages.

This book is in its way to being a sample for an upcoming class. I want to add focal images and quotes, add colorful washi tape to the page edges and ribbon to the spine.

It’s a quick method to make a book that’s appealing to the eye and to the touch.

These are pics of a student’s book: