Studio Update - WIPs

  HAPPY AUTUMN EVERYONE!  

You may have noticed that I did not say, "Happy Fall". Autumn does not seem to be used as much any more and I love the word; it is poetic and has such a lovely sound when spoken. I am a one man crusader to keep the word alive!

... Black Cat is sitting over by the window looking out at the rain. I was telling him what I was thinking of writing about in my blog post. His response was that I was trying to make it more interesting and plump it up, sort of like a marshmallow, full of air.

After a moment he said, "You never write about me and Jack any more."

I was a little surprised at his comment and then promised that I would write about them more often.

He apologized to me for the "full of air" comment that he made about my blog post.

"But you do tend to go on you know" was his next comment; good old Black Cat.

I had promised in my last blog post that I would show you some of the rattles that I have been working on.

Some of these rattles will be used as accessories for veggie guys in the larger rattles. This is what I am planning on doing but I never design an item but create it as I go so my ideas are always in a state of flux until the item is finished, let's see what happens.

The watermelon fellow will be perched, I think, on top of the large rattle. I'm not certain what I'll be doing with the yellow handled rattle but there are a few things percolating in the grey matter.

I found another turned handle, it was on my desk under some stuff. I have three other veggie guys that may be used with the rattles or on another project, I'm not sure.

Well, there we are, proof that I have not been goofing off. I mentioned this because of a conversation between Jack and Black Cat the other day. Well, enough of that I must get on with things. See you later.

2012 mantle and garlands.

Here is this year's Christmas mantle. The rest of the party hats and noisemakers went onto the mantle. The crepe papier party hats didn't make it out as there is not an easy way to display them. 

Most of the hats and noisemakers are from the 1940's through to the 1960's.

The first thing I did was to centre a 6' faux garland on the mantle letting it hang over each end. The base was ready so I arranged as many hats on the garland and stuck in as many party horns as I could while still keeping some sense of design and order.

And now for the close-ups...

Once the base of hats and horns was done I tucked tiny Christmas trees, vintage tinsel roping, lights, as well as vintage and antique Santas. The big elf like Santa is a favourite candy container. To his right, your left is an early wooden party horn in the shape of a little man. There is a white Belsnickle farther down the line-up.

This is not a great picture to show this Santa in his sleigh. I picked it up at a Salvation Army store about 5 years ago for $21.00, a steal! His sack of toys has old Cracker Jack prizes in it. You can just make out, leaning against the mirror, a heavy Dresden decoration of a deer standing beside a small log house.

In the back leaning against the mirror is a Dresden decoration of Santa in his sleigh on his way to deliver gifts to the little log house in the previous photo.

Lots of hats and horns with one lone Santa standing beside a white Christmas tree.

When the top part of the mantle was finished I draped two long strands of early vintage roping that has glass beading attached to it. After that was done more hats were added and finally the strands of tree lights.

Here are a few more of my Favourite Santas. All of these were bought at Thrift stores years ago when items such as these were fairly common.

On the left is a hand-carved wooden nutcracker, next is a candy container Santa container. That tall necked Santa is my all-time favourite not because of age or beauty but for sheer sillyness. It is made of hard plastic. You hold by his middle, push it down and all of a sudden, his head, that is held in place by a cylinder of coiled heavy waxed paper, shoots up about 12" and falls back onto his neck. The next Santa I bought at Saint Vincent de Paul for $30.00. It stands about 10" high. The very next day I was at Salvation Army and saw a small table of Christmas ornaments. I didn't think that there would be much of interest but looked anyway. The last item that I saw was this giant Japanese Santa. The larger version of the Santa that I had purchased the day before For $2.95!

Every Christmas we hang paper garlands and lanterns. It wouldn't feel like Christmas without them. Once they are up it totally transforms the room into an Aladdin's cave.

Paper lanterns and garlands are a British tradition. Two lanterns were used to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. The Union Jack is on the front with the words "God save the Queen" circling the base.

2012 Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree is up! Well, to be honest, it has been up for about 2 weeks. With shopping and everything that happens at this time of year I haven't had the time to photograph it to show you this year's tree.

We decided that this year we would use the big 6.5' feather tree that I made years ago in place of a live tree and put the $30.00 or more towards presents. For the very first time none of our kids will be here for Christmas but that is life and I am still going to decorate!

Click on the images to see the larger version. I suppose everyone knows that by now but I still feel like I should mention it.

I didn't want to use the decorations that we always use on the live tree so I pulled out my collection of noisemakers and party hats. I like a tree to reach to the ceiling and 6.5' is shy of touching it by 1.5'. The tree was plunked into a large white fiberglass urn from my display props and there we go almost 7.5' tall.

My large noisemakers and party hats are hung in front cascading to the floor. Alphonse, the snowman marotte that I made a few years ago, has a place of honour beside an extremely large party hat. All of my tissue paper and vegetal fibre leis drape from the top of the urn adding texture as well as disguising the blanket. 

Here is a close-up of Alphonse and some of the noisemakers.

I used some of the old tinsel roping on the tree to add sparkle.

The smaller of the party hats are on the tree.

I am rather fond of this cowboy party hat, it was a gift from a friend.

The red rope is 1940's cellophane garlanding. The rich deep red of the cellophane looks amazing against the green tree. Hanging on one of the branches you can see one of the many wooden ratchets that I own.

Anything can be used to decorate a tree. When tinsel and Christmas tree lights are added for some reason it looks like Christmas!

I have collected silver metal baskets from the 1960's and put all of the smaller items in them.

A look at the back of the tree and the disco balls that are hanging from the ceiling.

Last, but not least, is the tree topper. It definitely is not the star of Bethlehem! Those big nose eyeglasses are from the 1950's.

The Japanese paper Santa lantern I bought in China town about 15 years ago for $3.00.  The store called "The Orient", a Victoria landmark, was going out of business and all of the old stock was for sale. I wish that I had bought the lot. Last year I saw a smaller version of this lantern for sale for $60.00!

I'll show you the mantle next post, more party hats and noisemakers.

EHAG Emporium Final Sneak Peek

I'm back! My apologies for not doing any posts this last week, I have been very busy getting my latest piece ready for the EHAG Emporium sale.

Here is the final sneak peek before the opening of the Emporium doors on May 31. This time around I have given you a look at the very beginnings of it here,  and a look at some of the accessories here. Do you have any ideas? Here are a few more clues; garden follies - I will do a post about those soon, costumes, noisemakers, party hats, and... no that is enough.

Go to the EHAG Emporium and enter the contest that is on right now.

Up for grabs is this jar of jelly beans as well as a prize package of goodies from several EHAG artists, to be mailed to the winner from EHAG artists all over the US and Canada. You can sit and savour you jelly beans as you open each parcel as it arrives in the mail. Good Luck!

A Little Tour of My Brain, Part 13 - Party Hats and Noise Makers

I love vintage party hats and noisemakers. The hat styles are way more elaborate than the modern versions and vintage noisemakers are equally more beautiful than most modern styles available and to top it off they are not plastic. Don't get me wrong I like the bright coloured plastic that is available today, there will be a blog post about modern plastic items. Back to the noisemakers, the graphics on the old items are so beautiful whether they are printed on paper or metal. This image is from the "Children's Party Book". The crown would possibly be made from card and the rest of the hats from crepe-papier.

This birthday party is pictured in a 1938 paper cookbook called "How to make Rennet Custards and Ice Cream" put out by Junket brand rennet that was available in tablets for making custards, as a pre-sweetened powder for custards or as a mix for making ice cream. These party hats were most likely crepe-papier.

I do not know why but I have always had a fascination with party paraphernalia. The two books as a child that I would look at when I could were my dad's 1930 "Pip and Squeak Annual" and my mum's "Dennison Party Book" from 1928, both of which I now own are most likely why I love it so much.

There is something about the bright colours and the drama that is created when a room is decorated; it takes us out of the everyday into a fairyland of fun.

Party Hats, noisemakers, and decorations are pure escapism. It is all about fun! Most of these hats, including the swan, would be made from crepe-papier. These last three images are all from the British 1930 "Pip and Squeak Annual".

"Alphonse" is marotte or music box toy. His accessories are very much influenced by the party hats and noisemakers of the past. The toys from the past are very detailed and for a perfectionist that is wonderful. To purchase "Alphonse" click here.

I have used the next three photographs before; they are the close-ups of the Christmas tree decorated with party hats and noisemakers from last year. There is no better way to show you a fairly broad selection of my collection that definitely has an influence on the ornaments and accessories for the larger pieces that I produce.

Crepe-papier in large ruffles or fringed, foil, and fringed cellophane have been used to decorate hats and noisemakers. If you want to take it farther and make over the top hats and noisemakers that appear vintage but would never have been made because of the cost, check out books on vintage ribbon work and millenary books.

The two cardboard accordions are from Germany and do work.

This is an image of two separate advertisements for the French Line. The first advertisement is from December 1953 and the second one is from October 1950. They haven't changed much in 3 years; life on the ocean liner is one big party.

These four Hallowe'en Decorations are directly influenced by the hats and noisemakers of the past. Click hereto go directly to the web page to purchase these ornaments.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Our daughter is getting married in early December so I am not getting as much work done as expected. That is not a complaint! I will post about new work and other little bits of information as it comes along and I have time. I won't be doing any Christmas decorating until after the wedding so I am not certain what I will be doing this year.

I have to get into the holiday spirit. Hallowe'en is in the process of coming down at our house. The stores have Christmas up and are promoting all of their "must have" merchandise. I love the commercialization of Christmas; it doesn't bother me in the least. It has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus but all of those wonderful decorations come out to get us into the mood to shop.

So in the spirit of commercialization here is what was put up last year in the hallway entrance. The theme for the hallway display was Santa getting ready to deliver the gifts. The backdrop is vintage green fabric that has a white 1/4" dot printed on it. It looks almost the same colour as the wall. Swagged across the top and down the left side is green vintage rayon fabric. Swags of hand dyed silk on the right side pick up the colours of the world globe.

Here is a close-up of the short column. On this column is Santa's robe ready to put on and a world globe with the North Pole, our home in Victoria, BC, our daughters home in Toronto, and our son and his wife's home in Thun, Switzerland marked with pins.

Santa's robe is made from a long rabbit fur coat turned inside out and sewn into a burgundy felted wool dressing gown. It has white machine embroidery on the cuffs, pockets and robe edging. The total cost for this wonderful prop is $20.00. I wish I could wear it but it is too small.

On the tall column is a black candelabra with red vintage candles. Hanging off of the candelabra is some 1940's cellophane roping and a 1960's plastic snowman, his body is made of plastic evergreen with holly berry buttons. In front of the candelabra is a 16" tall party trumpet being held by a 1960's plastic elf similar to the snowman. His body is made of plastic holly.

Here is a side view of the display and under the tree you can see the tops of some 1950's plastic stockings.

The main focus of the display is this 6' 6" goose feather tree that I made years ago to display ornaments on at craft fairs. It is covered with party horns, rattles and party hats from the 1920's to the 1960's.

Under the tree are more noisemakers, two German paper accordions, tambourines as well as another giant and very noisy party trumpet.

Here is the midsection of the tree. Hung throughout the tree are 1960's "silver" baskets filled vintage noisemakers.

My tree topper for this tree is a 1950's joke shop set of glasses with a false nose and eyebrows and a gold foil vintage party hat edged in green paper fringe.

I'll show you the rest of the house decorations from last year in the next post.

The Queen of Nostalgia has the Rattle!

"The Queen of Nostalgia" has won my "Portrait Rattle - Dancing by the Light of the Harvest Moon". Black Cat will love having his rattle residing with "The Queen". He was wondering if he could refer to her as "Queenie". All I could say was to check with "The Queen of Nostalgia" but I'm sure she wouldn't mind.

Check out Kristen Kelsey's blog.

Thank-you Kristen. Oh, and Black Cat says "Hi Queenie!"

A Little Tour of My Brain, Part - 9 - Country Fairs, Metchosin Days, and the J-O-Lity Fair

I love fall fairs. Most of the fairs that are around are very big and very commercial not that a fall fair isn't about business it is. Maybe what I like about a fall fair is nostalgia. There is a large fair in Saanich that we used to go to before it moved to bigger and better premises. We haven't been since it moved to its new location. I would like to see it but we never get around to it. One reason that we may not go there is this wonderful small fair in Metchosin called Metchosin Days and it is free. It takes place on the first Sunday after Labour Day.

There are lots of farmers selling local produce displayed in beautiful mounds on the tables and piled high in baskets.

Yellow and red tomatoes simply presented in brown paper bags in front of a wooden box filled with yellow and red peppers of all sizes, shapes and heat intensities.

There bags of salad greens and edible flowers. Every sort of squash imaginable is available.

I love squash, gourds, and pumpkins, as you know. The colours and shapes are so beautiful and they taste great as well.

There are even squash so large that it will take several people or one very strong person to carry it around the fair for the day showing it off like a giant Kewpy doll for all to see.

There are flowers from nurseries, farms, and home gardens for sale.

The international students from Pearson College of the Pacific are there in their traditional costumes. Some of them are very exotic and some are jeans and tee shirts. The choir performs, various dancers dance, and individual musicians perform.

Throughout the day there is other entertainment on the stage as well.

The Morris Dancers perform both the men and the women.

This is the Midway. It costs 25 cents for a trip once around the perimeter of the fair. There are two tractors that run all day long never stopping and each ride is always full.

The lamb is roasting all day getting ready for the dinner that can be purchased in advance for about $15.00 a person. Closer to dinnertime the salmon is cooked for those that prefer salmon.

One year we stayed for the dinner and it was delicious. All of the cakes and pies from the baking contest are used for dessert.

Sea Bluff Farm was at the fair demonstrating an old winnowing machine. I may have the name of the machine wrong but what it did was separate the wheat from the chaff.

Royal Bay Bakery was there demonstrating a Cobb oven and handing out free samples; a 2" scone made from organic wheat. We had a scone each that was flavoured with fresh fennel seed I think and it was delicious. Later after our tour of the stalls we went back and had a second sample blackberry this time and just as delicious.

There are breads, cakes, pies, and very large cookies for sale.

Highland Jams had a large variety of jams and jellies for sale to go with those hearty breads.

The Metchosin Volunteer Fire Department always has a "training course" for kids. The kids have to carry a small section of hose a small distance and "rescue" a dummy. After that they get to hold the fire hose, the fireman in behind holding it with them and then "put out the flames" of the burning house. The water knocks down the flames and the fire is out. I wonder how many kids grow up and want to be a fireman?

We have never come across a country fair similar to Metchosin Days. It is very relaxed with a very distinct sense of community.

I mention the J-O-Lity Fair quite often when I talk about the Hallowe'en ornaments, noisemakers and figures. You can see that the Metchosin Days fair has been a major inspiration for the J-O-Lity Fair. As time goes by and more items are made the J-O-Lity (Jack-O-Lantern) Fair becomes much more concrete and real. It is already very real for me, I hope that it is becoming more real for you.

At the end of the fair is the J-O-Lity Fair Costume Ball. Pierre, pictured here, has arrived at the ball dressed as a Persian Scribe. He is up for sale on ebay right now. Click here to go to his page on ebay.