RubyFire

Water Marbling Nails

2011-09-21T00:21:00.000-07:00

I love looking around on Youtube for inspiration & ideas, there are so MANY creative people uploading tuts there. I tried water marbling my nails, my first try-in lavender, purple & gold. I painted 2 coats of plain white polish first, then I taped the nails of my left hand only-my 1st MISTAKE! As clumsy as it might feel I suggest taping BOTH hands before ANY marbling is done. I used a paper cup, an orange stick, tap water, scotch tape, & nail polish: opi revlon milani. I discovered I liked marbling 2 nails at once, it goes faster & uses less polish.

Vintage Reverse-carved Pansy Ring

2011-09-21T00:08:00.000-07:00

I had this beautiful vintage pendant & I wanted to turn it into a ring. So I finally got around to getting it done-I found a really good glue that dries clear & is very strong(hopefully)enough to keep the beaded band stuck to the back. I LOVE pansies, can't say that enough....So I used some twisted bugle beads in light lavender & some seed beads I got in a vial at JoAnn's. After I beaded the band I used a thread-burner to seal the knot...then came the moment of truth-I used an epoxy glue that comes in 2 tubes, I mixed a small amount for 1 min. then I pressed a small piece of clear plastic & sandwiched the beaded band between the pendant & the plastic strip. Oh I also removed the jump ring from the pendant, I don't know if I'll attach a teardrop bead to it...maybe later. Pardon the cat hair, & yeah the side angle pic is blurry so the amazing 3d effect of vintage reverse carved lucite is not on full display.

Hand Made Blue Cellophane Bag

2011-09-20T23:55:00.000-07:00

I bought some vintage straw/cellophane, it was a large flat braid & I didn't really know what I wanted to do with it so I just put it aside for awhile. OK, so it was for a few years, BUT I finally found a good use for it-a small clutch! I used a book as the template, just wrapped the straw around it, then I hand stitched it together-I soon discovered that I had to use large running stitches or else the cellophane would split. I lined it with a dark blue taffeta, you can easily see the running stitches attaching it to the straw. I embroidered 2 patch pockets, 1 with a star, & sewed the top edge using a decorative stitch.

A Red Dragonfly

2011-08-23T22:47:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what kind of dragonfly this is, but I took a few pics. It was just flying around the backyard so I went in & got the camera.

French Bread Made at Home

2011-08-23T22:44:00.000-07:00

A few pics of a pair of French bread loves I made.

Today's World & Downward Quality

2011-07-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

I was browsing Etsy today & noticed the vast difference in crochet patterns back in the 1930s-1940s vs. 1980s-now; crocheted blouses in the 30s & 40s did not have holes in them, as crochet has become known today for those holes.
        This same trend towards less sophisticated work, designs, & the efforts put in to make things by hand is not isolated to crocheting alone.
        I look at vintage hats on eBay, & I have noticed that hats made in the 1930s, 1940s, & the 1950s were all well made-they exist today, most of them in excellent & wearable condition. Hats made in the 1960s began to shrink-well they grew smaller in the 1950s because short hairstyles were "in" so the hats were adjusted in proportion. By the mid 1960s alot of the hat was gone-it had shrunk to a single floral with veiling, held on by a comb; there were beehive hats & berets, but only the beret has survived all decades.
        The 1970s saw hats that were without decoration, a downgrade in quality, effort, & artistry from the 1940s-which was for half that decade at war.

         Quilts are another example, I've seen quilts at a museum that were made when the lighting was supplied by whale oil-these quilts had LOTS of intricate, closely spaced quilting. This was at a time when women had to boil water by wood-fires & use lye & other difficult & physically demanding steps merely to do laundry.
          The 1930s quilts, with electric lighting, were still quilted, but less meticulously, with the stitches further apart. This was when sewing machines were around & washing machines.

           I hear all the time about how today's culture is bad, etc. They haven't looked at what I've been studying, & I think there is an underlying cause to all of this general decline.
           You can partly blame corporate culture, with their single purpose of pursuing money-cutting corners, cheapening the quality of their goods while chasing ever higher money/profits. Yet why was it that people were investing less of their time in what they made themselves? The early quilts were in a time before radio, but you don't use your eyes for it-so why the degeneration of quality in quilting techniques? The same with crochet, in the 1930s & 40s the patterns for nearly every item-whether hats, doilies, gloves, blouses-it was all for the more experienced crocheter. Today we have no shortage of crocheters, take a look at Craftster, but the doilies today are made in bedspread weight thread-not in size 20 or 30, like back in the 1930s. Today we have lots of other hobbies, all competing for our attention, but they had to churn butter by hand in the 19th century, had to make most of their clothes by hand-unless they could afford to have someone else sew their clothes.

Some Oranges Have Navels, Some Have Butts

2011-03-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

These are 2 pics or oranges I picked from my orange tree, it came with the house so I don't know what kind it is, it may be valencia oranges, as they are seedless naveled & very sweet. BUT (pun intended) I found an unexpected orange & photographed it; it had a deep wrinkle right down the center, making it look like it has a butt.

Wizard of Oz in an Egg

2011-03-06T16:39:00.000-08:00

The World of Oz in an egg. Crowning Leo 'king', look for Toto at Dorothea's ruby-slippered feet.

Egg Show

2011-03-06T16:33:00.001-08:00

These are all done by different artists, I love the spring-themed ones especially; they look like the Victorian post cards & some images in Victorian Trading Co. My very favorite is the mermaid at the top, a lady from Louisiana made it.

Star Nails

2011-01-26T23:27:00.001-08:00

This is a design I did using gold nail polish, tiny star-shaped glitter, with a very pale pink polish(with micro-glitter) as the base.

Vintage Navy Patent Envelope Bag & Purple Suede Clutch

2010-09-22T20:01:00.001-07:00

Vintage Lewis Clutch Envelope Purse

2010-09-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

2 Vintage Eelskin Purses

2010-09-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

Green Crochet Bag & Vintage Red Clutch

2010-09-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

Straw Clutch & White Crocheted Purse

2010-09-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

I made the white crocheted bag from a vintage pattern, I added a vintage moonglow bangle for the handle & a vintage moonglow button for the closure.

Vintage Brown Lucite Clasp Clutch & Lucite Handle Basket Purse

2010-09-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

2 Basket Purses

2010-09-22T19:44:00.000-07:00

Heart Wax Leaf In Bloom

2010-08-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

This is the first flower I have gotten on the plant, it smells like cooked sugar in the softball stage. I have it in front of a south-facing window, a little ways away from it. I've been feeding it with Houseplants Alive that I bought at Gardens Alive

Beaded Moonglow Ring Pic 2

2010-08-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

Hopefully here's pic 2 of the ring, the moonglow beads have this inner glow to them, they are lightweight & made of Space-Age plastic. The rest of the beads are just glass seadbeads, & 2 small bicones.

Vintage Purple Moonglow Beaded Ring

2010-08-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

Here is 1 pic-because GOOGLE has gone evil I'm limited to 1 pic now, of a vintage pair of moonglow beads I made into a ring.

Siamese Flame Point & Me

2010-08-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

Here I am holding Ralphie-I named him after "The Christmas Story". He is larger than Hercules without all that extra fat hanging down to the floor. Flamepoints are the giants of the Siamese family. I am feeling SO AWFUL, like I have the flu, so I am posting even shorter, curt posts than I usually do.

Green Egg, No Ham Ring

2010-08-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a ring with a ginormous moonglow green egg.

Me in Crochet Headband & Tri-Corner Hat

2010-08-01T00:51:00.000-07:00

So I'm wearing an orangish headband I crocheted using the now no-longer-made Lion Brand Suede. NNNNOOOOOOO!!!! This yarn is buttery soft, perfect for clutches, tank tops, headbands, & hats. I can't believe they stopped manufacturing it.

The other pics of 2 women is my Sis & me-with the turkish cat eyes(2 different colors), wearing pansy colored eyeshadow.

My July Garden Harvest

2010-08-01T00:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of peaches, beets, & red corn-my first time growing this kind, called Ruby Queen corn.

Vintage Compacts

2010-06-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

This is a sterling silver powder compact I did buy from a local seller, but passed on the larger one, as posted below. In the 1950s "modern art" became too closely identified with Communism, so Hollywood & the fashionable crowd turned to Mexican, Aztec, & other New World art styles. Think about the film "Bell Book & Candle", & Vincent Price's Gallery he collected alot of Ancient Mexican art & eventually, with his wife donated at least some of this to a gallery/community college. Los Angeles has the street address for it.

All this means when I saw that Aztec calendar on it I had a good idea as to when it was made, it has no maker's mark, it only says sterling silver. It has the lid that was common back then, between the mirror & the powder, & it also has the powder screen BUT no puff. So I just put a modern one in. I have searched the Net & I haven't been able to find another compact like this, needless to say I mostly keep it at home, except for special occasions.

Vintage Compacts

2010-06-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

So here are 5 pics of a compact that has a small comb, a tube of lipstick-still has some of the original-a powder compartment, & the mirror flips down so you can store money, id, etc. behind it. It has its' original black carrying case, which is a stiff, black, moire-type material. That material resembles the lining in many vintage purses except for the color, most of the vintage bags I have are lined in cream or champagne colored fabric. I did buy this compact on ebay, a vintage shop has one for several hundred dollars, this one was only close to $100.

The Nightmare in the Mexican Gulf

2010-06-23T03:04:00.000-07:00

In early 2009, it was the horrible things coming out about the banking sector, & I really needed a pleasant distraction, to relieve my growing distress over the mess.

Now the nightmare has worsened, with the BP oil rig explosion.....& I have very little in the way of stress relief. I was TimeWitch only on the Def Leppard message board, & I had heard a New Years' Eve talk of an interview with the lead singer, Joe Elliott, that was "coming soon". So as the months went by, I started a thread requesting a transcript of that interview; there were endless excuses & delays throughout 2009, then I heard it had been transcribed but was being edited. I eventually left the board altogether, after I had popped in to see how that "editing" was done. Turns out, the guy who has close contact with the band members was now belittling anyone actually expecting that interview, that it "never happened".

Then I posted a warning about a popular pain medicine, oxycontin; my Mom had been taking it for a month & it was finally the med that controlled the pain from rheumatoid arthritus, bone spurs, & a few other problems she had. BUT she started sweating profusely from her scalp-in the winter-& her hair was thinning, it would come out when she brushed her hair. There were no bald patches, it just evenly came out all over her scalp, & she said her scalp felt feverishly hot, & she was embarrassed by the profuse sweating running down her face in winter. She decided to go off oxycontin & with her doctor's advice try a different medicine. Mark Senff belittled my warning, saying he has male pattern balding, so maybe that was the problem with my Mom, among other things. Since he is friends with the band I consider it to be sanctioned by Def Leppard. I knew alot of people on that board were dealing with chronic pain conditions & had felt I was doing a good thing by mentioning this rare but real side-effect. I know Joe Elliott himself has a bad back & was wondering if he had been prescribed oxycontin.

There is a possibility that Lyrica-a pain medicine used for Fibromyalgia, & other painful conditions, CAN have an effect on eyesight. I wonder if this or some other pain med has been responsible for Joe's comments on needing glasses now, but I didn't post this info on defleppard.com because of the very hostile-& sanctioned-remarks of those in charge of that message board. I do know that some people on that board have fibromyalgia, or chronic fatique syndrome, but I was such a misfit there that I just don't want to endure belittling remarks when I was only trying to be helpful; I guess no good deed goes unpunished.

As far as I know, that interview Senff was claiming to have been editing-because of some kind of 'negativity' that "Joe" didn't want printed, never materialized.

And I still don't have something to take my mind off the horrible direction the world has taken. And Mark is still Sneff to me, arrogant idiot.

As above So NOT Below?

2010-06-08T02:05:00.000-07:00

I was listening to an astrology podcast & was just floored when I heard where they were saying the planets were located-not even the moon was actually in the astrological sign they said it was in! The Moon is in Pisces from June 5th thru the 8th. After Neptune helped make a gigantic mess(when it was in Capricorn, NOT Sagittarius) in the banking & real estate areas, Nep is now in Aquarius, undoubtedly trying to pass off its' dystopia as the 'real thing', instead of Utopia , from Uranus-effects.

Jupiter & Uranus are like twins in Pisces, I think Jup & his Grandpa are having a real, long conversation about the currect state of planet Earth. Saturn just recently left Leo & is now in Virgo, & will be for some time; same with Jupiter & Uranus in Pisces, although the podcast said both will be in Aries til 2011. Venus is in Gemini, Mercury & the Sun are in Taurus.

The Spring Equinox is Sun into Pisces, astrologers desperately need to update to the current calendar & quit pretending the time is 10 BC. Really. All those strange & unexpected revelations coming out of the Catholic Church, too many gay Pastors on the down-low being revealed? The shocking breakdowns of respected institutions-doesn't it sound like Uranus is somehow involved? Why fight it? It's easy to just switch over to astronomy software.

purple roses, Khairo vs Kronos

2010-03-29T23:27:00.000-07:00

Above is a pic of a rose called Angelface.........somewhere, lost in time, someplace I had known someone I called Angelface. I wish you were here with me.

Off-Grid Stupidity

2010-03-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

Why not bring back old-fashioned key wound clocks? & wind-up watches-never needs batteries.

I noticed PSP has games that are partially pedal-powered are being debuted, I guess that's a step in a good direction. They also have concocted exercise games, too.

Eco appliances are so expensive, they should look back to how oil, lumber, paper industries were subsidized by the "big bad government", to help them get going. Front-end rebate/subsidies are what worked then, I'd go with what works.

Organic Cotton Sucks

2010-03-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

What's the point in using organic cotton in clothes? Especially if it's just going to be dyed with chemical dyes?

I'd rather have organic cotton tampons, pads, & diapers for both kids & seniors-that makes more sense to me. Also, organic cotton in q-tips, cotton balls, & cotton make-up pads.

December Nails

2009-12-09T01:28:00.001-08:00

I used Opi "Don't Toy With Me", Revlon "White on White", Sally Hansen "South Sea Pearl", Nail Life "Speed Demon Polish Dryer". The last is crucial for me, without that my nailpolish doesn't dry well, it gets bubbles & stays soft for more than 12 hours. No other product helps, not a fan-based polish dryer, not a spray-on polish dryer.

I tried to capture the opalescence but it looks plain white.

Vintage Copper Molds

2009-11-29T23:33:00.000-08:00

Here is a pic of most of the copper molds I have in the kitchen. Some were bought in a n antique shop & a few were passed on by relatives.

Jem Revealed-Both Faces Revealed

2009-11-23T13:51:00.000-08:00

I was surprised to find out that Jem/Jerrica was played by 2 women, one who spoke her lines and one who did all the singing. I screencapped it from Dlisted, as if he needs more traffic to his site. I think Joss Whedon would be a good choice to create a live-action tv series because he does such an excellent job of writing for women. Buffy & Dollhouse both are awesome examples. See Samatha Newark for more.
There WERE some sites but I've just looked in & they're GONE. I'm not surprised, the only activity was apparently on eBay-the prices those fashion 'proto-types' were sold for is phenominal, $600 and up. There isn't much one can do, Jem was an animated series, a fashion doll, & she had a musical theme, as well as emphasizing charity, goodness, compassion. The cartoon was only 2 or 2 1/2 seasons, same with the dolls; Hasbro had, in my opinion, made the same mistake Disney(at that time) had made-neither the doll or the posters that came with it looked anything like the cartoon version, which was a real disappointment especially for little girls who first saw her on tv. Disney had "Tinkerbell" figurines but they were very limited & looked nothing like her, except for the fact that the figures were wearing green & had blonde hair up in a bun. NOW Disney has wised up, EVERYTHING looks like the animated character. This is how it's properly done.

Jem and the Holograms-Returning?

2009-11-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

Jem may be back
So I read from seriouslyomg that Hasbro is contemplating resurrecting Jem.

..."It’s still very early yet. And like a lot of projects in the early-stages, they never materialize. But I can report that the movie is in not only in development, but that at least initially, someone named John Chu (The Secret of the Magic Gourd) was attached to direct the project.

But wait — before you get your twisters in a knick, Universal and Hasbro are trying to decide now whether to go ahead with the movie, or launch a new television series first. That’s still an open question, although no matter which way it goes, Peter Barsocchini is in the mix, to either produce or write the script — he scripted all four High School Musical films. At this stage, the movie looks at least a couple of years down the road."...

Here is a site with more Jem data

More Jem Drawings

2009-11-14T18:44:00.001-08:00

Riot(was modelled after Bruce Willis, according to the doll designer), Rapture, Minx, & Hollywood Jem. My sister drew the Stingers I did Hollywood Jem.
Hollywood Jem
It's a Hard Life
Destiny

Precious Jems More Covers

2009-11-14T18:39:00.001-08:00

Precious Jems Newsletter

2009-11-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

In the 1990s I & my sister ran a newsletter about a fashion doll line called Jem, by Hasbro; the Bratz dolls look remarkably similar to Jem. Well after alot of digging I've finally found most of the covers; I did most of the drawings but was too shy & signed "by staff".

A Purple Rose

2009-11-07T12:15:00.000-08:00

Here is a rose called Melody Parfumee, a purple rose that is sweet smelling & surprisingly long lasting cut. It is spiralling open in a near-perfect hybrid tea form-or grandiflora, I can't recall which.

This is the first flower from the plant, it took nearly 1 whole year to grow to blooming size, which is just under 3 feet. Each of the pics is taken equalling 1 day in the vase. They loaded in reverse order.

The Final Mini-Halloween House

2009-10-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

Notice the witch hat as a chimney

Another Halloween Mini House

2009-10-29T17:29:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Train Station

Mini Porcelain Halloween House

2009-10-28T23:05:00.000-07:00

The second mini house I have, as the sign painted over the door says, this particular one is the "Ministry for Magic". Each side was photographed, like the previous house. I think I found these at a Dollar Store.

Porcelain Halloween Miniatures

2009-10-27T23:45:00.000-07:00

This is house #1, I have 3 more I'll post later.

Well This Happened Today

2009-10-14T00:11:00.000-07:00

A big storm with gusts in the 40s-60s, with rain too. It is actually normal to get wind & rain this time of year. Several Halloweens ago I had sheer balloons hanging around the porch with cheese-cloth dangling around them; then I had a rainy wind day & most of them flipped up onto the roof. I had to pull them back down, they were mostly ok, & the beating they got made them somewhat weirder. So half a tree fell on my house, around 2PM Tuesday. Not fun.

Failed to Post Daily!

2009-10-12T01:23:00.000-07:00

It's SO true, I wasn't able to-let's say I was too lazy to take some pics for the Halloween daily post countdown. I don't have a ton of negatives, my Epson scanner has decided to quit finish warming up.....

Sunday I went to a porcelain artists' show, it's a yearly event, every October-but there is hardly ever anything Halloween-related; blasphemus but true. This is the only piece, with pumpkins, the next closest would be chrysanthemums, everything else was roses, pansies(which I love, but they NEVER sell what they display, try & understand THAT, I still can't), forget-me-nots.....

I have a few Halloween houses I bought from somewhere, could be Big Lots or some Dollar Store, can't remember. I'll probably take some pics of those & post them, they're small but have ghosts, jacko'lanterns, & candy corn.

October 6th Halloween Post

2009-10-06T23:10:00.001-07:00

I LOVE these plastic pumpkins, I loved using one as a child & I was thrilled to find a few in a thrift store. Next I had to come up with a reason to use them, other than as candy containers-although that would work, to offer trick-or-treaters a grab into a jacko lantern instead of a large plastic bowl. I put silk mums & Chinese Lanterns! I can't grow them but I have a version now that will last for awhile. I arranged the 'silk' flowers, mums, lanterns, & leaves & they are now hanging from the ceiling on hooks.

A Halloween Coffee Table

2009-10-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

This was just done, in my living room. The fabric is from Joann's, the plastic pumpkin lights up, with a Jacko'Lantern on 1 side & a black cat on the other, it blinks on & off. The other pumpkin I found in a thrift store, I filled it with Luden's.

A New Day, New Halloween Pic

2009-10-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

Another pic of Lilly, she wasn't sure if she liked the horn barrettes, but she LOVES posing for the camera.

My Halloween Countdown -1 Day

2009-10-03T01:05:00.000-07:00

Lilly chewing a ghost dog toy I got at Petsmart, her little sister is Dahlia; Lilly is American Eskimo, Dahlia is Pomeranian-she thinks she's the 'lion' of the house. I guess Poms are the Old World's equivalent of Chiuauas, I probably spelled that wrong, sorry. These are pics from last year.

Cats vs. Dogs

2009-09-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

I have noticed the big differences between what dogs actually like & what the 'pop culture' says; it's the same with cats. I cannot find a site that compares the two, so I'll put my view on it here.

THE POPCULTURE VIEW
Dogs love meat, they are very loyal, they can play rough but that doesn't mean they're hostile towards their playmate.

My dog LOVES dairy, SO MUCH that I call her a cat/dog. There IS a commercial where a kid is in a stroller eating ice cream & there's a dog that gives the "sad puppy" face & gets to lick the ice cream-great, but it needs to be mainstreamed. I have always had cats & I researched awhile when choosing a dog breed & yet I NEVER read anywhere about dogs' superior love for all things dairy. Ice cream and white cheeses(Asiago, Monterey Jack, Parmesan) are her favorites.
Loyalty, hhhhhnnnmmmmm...My dog is most loyal to the oldest person in my household and it's not me. I have watched "The Dog Whisperer" & I understand dogs better, pack leader, etc. I'm still not #1.
Puppy-Housing, is what I call it; I notice they regularly check by snuffling/happy sneezing, that they're just playing; they are somewhat like boys in the house, not noticing any objects nearby & knocking things over.

Cats: "love dairy/milk, are not loyal, & are too 'girly' to play rough."

SO NOT TRUE. Exhibit #1 I have only had 1 cat that would drink milk regularly, over several decades & generations of cats. Cheese, again more of a popculture myth; offer cheese to a dog & a cat, it's probably the dog who will gobble it up.
Exhibit #2 I've had 2 cats that ONLY sat in my lap, not anyone elses, just like the popculture describes as a lap dog; both were Siamese, and this breed IS said to be the most dog-like. Also my Mom's cat would insist on eating from her plate, very rarely did she ever do this with anyone else. My sister's cat would eat brocholi off her plate not anyone elses.
Exhibit #3 Night-Crazies, like puppy-housing, the cats would suddenly duck(almost like the puppy bounce)their eyes would look wild, & they'd run full tilt around the place. The hallway is a favorite place to begin, running then jumping off the couch arms, the hall walls; chasing over the couch was not unusual. A few times things were broken by the cats; also they love to grab the other fall to the ground & kick with their hind feet. 'Boxing' is something I've seen, it's when 2 cats are up on their hind legs & the cats start smacking at each other, nails out; quickly & almost like fighting, the giveaway it wasn't fighting-NO PUFFY TAILS. I heard the nails tearing........but it was only in play.

Cats and dogs are opposite in many ways, this can complicate things when in a mixed dog & cat household. It's good to know what to look for: dog is friendly=ears are down. Cat is angry=ears are down. Dog drops to ground=open to playing. Cat drops to ground=cat's going to attack. The proper way to approach a dog=under the chin. Proper way to approach a cat=the top of the head. IF YOU CONFUSE THE TWO, prepare for a hostile dog and cat. A dog actually likes under the chin, even from strangers, top of a dog's head is felt almost like an attack. A cat knows it kills by going for the throat, & thusly reacts if a stranger attempts such a move; on the back of their heads though, is a friendly & relaxing massage.
I've not seen a side-by-side comparison, especially explaining how the two have totally opposite signals. A cat raised as a kitten around dogs won't be alarmed by the difference in signals, neither will a puppy raised around cats; what occurs is the cats become doggified & the dogs get cattified, each taking habits from the other. That can be a cat that sits down head first, like a dog, or a dog that loves to wrestle & kick with the hind legs.

Either way, it's not the end of the world, it's just dogs & cats living together.

Roses in Pitcher

2009-09-15T00:57:00.000-07:00

A small bouquet of 3 HP Reine Victoria, scented geranium-Balm, whatever that means & tiny salvia. Old Country Roses pitcher on a tablecloth I made; basically turned the edges over & sewed lace onto it.

Ruby's Hats

2009-09-02T23:12:00.000-07:00

These hats I made, the grey and blue ones I made entirely, cut the brim from a stiff polyester craft felt bought at Joann's. The blue hat has a crocheted crown, the brim is covered with taffeta(manmade). The grey hat I used that wonderfully soft polyester micro-suede, I lined the inside with lavender scrap cotton left over from another project. Both the blue and grey hats are too big for the mannequin head, I have a fat head, I can't fix that, so....

The green hat has a frame I bought here;
they have awesome 'raw frames'. I also used some Vogue patterns, but as usual I made several changes. I noticed that "summer" hats are either wide-brimmed or veiled & small. I bought veiling from here.
Also vintage veiling from here
The above has vintage forget-me-nots, in velvet and paper, there are many flowers with labels that say: Made in West Germany, Made in France, etc. I put forget-me-nots on the green hat above, the lily is new from Joann's. What looks to me like rosebuds can be found in many shops that sell vintage trims, sometimes these are called 'cactus buds'. They are made of a vintage plastic and are flocked to varying degrees with green, little 'slits' are cut out and rose-ish pinkish color can be seen.

The veiling I pin on while wearing the hat, difficult but to have the veiling cocoon around the face how I like means having to shift it around and use clothespins, then sewing the veiling on by hand. It helped having actual vintage hats to study, and some of those had veiling only past the eyes, some looked like the veiling was permanently folded back over the hat, like lace.

September & Deformed Latin

2009-09-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

September is Latin for #7, just like October means 8; as a child in school I'd get confused because I knew octo meant 8 like octopus, but the numbers didn't match. The 1st month of the year is now January, Decca label & name =10, also the 10th sign is Capricorn. The French pronunciation of it makes the 'p' silent, they say 'set'; I call it deformed Latin (see elsewhere too) because that's what it is, over centuries the official Roman language took on regional variations & accents, & this became Spanish, French, Portugese, etc.

Anyway, my real reason for posting was because I'd just listened to an astrologer's podcast, I like her & I like the way she lays things out. The problem I have is she is using 'astrology software', making March Equinox=the sun's first day into Aries; this is 2000 years OUT OF DATE.

Short sidenote: Australia & every country on that side of the equator should change their calender so the Northern Hemisphere's December is the Southern Hemisphere's June. We do this on a smaller scale-jet lag-by adjusting the hours to the region.

Back to our regular program: September 1st Sun is in Leo, Saturn is still in Leo. My favorite astrologer is saying Saturn has been in Virgo & is about to finally leave this sign. So it's been very 6th House, limits, reality check, health, medicine, etc.

Sept 2nd Saturn moves into Virgo joining Mercury. So past as prologue-she fore-warned & it has been Leo that's been all shook up, tested, getting smacked by reality, & wanting to get out of their current situation/mess. I'll take a guess & say Leos everywhere do not like where the boundaries are sitting & have been feeling boxed in, trapped, frustrated, obstructed. Luckily Uranus has been in Pisces & has been chipping in & Leos may only now be noticing this. The astrologer has Uranus in its' actual sky position & does say Uranus is in Pisces, changing things there in very unexpected ways.

Neptune, Jupiter, the Moon are all in Capricorn, & Venus is in Cancer. Mars in Gemini. These are literal positions though, tracked with Starry Night Enthusiast. Most astrologers dismiss reality & rely on very outdated star charts that have been changed into software. It is too much like the Banksters, like Enron-not factual, a group lie, which is itself a 12th House specialty. I did politely bring this up with a few astrologers but they seemed quite content where they were. I prefer reality, facts. I don't even understand why they continue to get it wrong(literally) & preferring a group lie, or delusion.

Magick Resurrection Lillies, Naked Lady Lillies

2009-08-29T01:37:00.000-07:00

The last pic repeatedly shows up turned sideways, but the flowers in it just seem to glow. I took the pics without a flash, just pulled back the curtain & let the sun light them. Triple digit heat again, 100; I was hoping the forecast was wrong, 99F at 6 p.m.-hideous!

I put these beautiful fleurs in my black hobnail vase, it's sooo different from the white hobnail that I have. The fleurs are pastel pink when just opening, then fade to an opalescent pinkish ivory. They have a beautiful scent, delicately sweet & almost like peonies but without that carrot undertone in peonies.

These come in bulbs, like daffodils & are easy to find. In spring just the long strappy leaves pop out of the ground; I water them & feed them monthly with just any regular plant food/fertilizer-but I start to add bonemeal in May.

Bonemeal was difficult to find this year, it usually is available in every garden section, I'd get it at Rite-Aid, Kmart, Home Depot, Target. It helps the plants to give more flowers & also strengthen the roots; I use only bonemeal in November on the hydrangias, winter honeysuckle, roses, etc. to help them over the winter.

SEX

2009-08-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Warning, side-effects from copulation : gonorrhea, syphilis, children, chlamydia, etc.
There are pills to offset EACH of the above.

More Hats

2009-08-17T21:39:00.001-07:00

The hat with the lace covered brim has an unusual pointed brim. It is made of cream faux straw-this shows in the front view, I completely recovered this hat as I didn't want the original as it was not in good condition. I covered the crown, which includes the triangles that 'hug' the head a bit, with bronze silk & the brim I used a light mocha lace-by-the-yard. The brim is covered in the same chenille as this was the thing to do in the 1940s.

The hat with fruits & roses is ALL vintage, I just dusted it off. It's a glamorous summer hat, with a wide brim in the front & thoughtfully cut short in the back. It reminds me of Charlette(Bette Davis) in 'Now Voyager', but that hat had veiling; also similar to Katherine Hepburn in 'Bringing Up Baby' but without the chin-strap. I added the ruler to add context to the pic. The roses are made from stiff ribbon, the forget-me-nots are made of similar material, the faery-sized fruits are 40s plastic.

The Doll Hat at the bottom & the top, is also made of faux straw, with a velvet bow in the back, & ONLY chenille covered triangles-nothing else. It has forget-me-nots in velvet pastel colors of pink & blue. The roses are satin with dull backs, the leaves are wired & maybe made of thin plastic, I wonder if it is waxed nylon. There are tiny rhinestones scattered like dewdrops, all around the front. I sewed a strip of clear elastic to the chenille-covered wire which can be seen in the pic.

Ruby's Vintage Hats & Designs

2009-08-17T21:10:00.001-07:00

Here are a few vintage hats I've bought, the lavender hat is, I think, from the 1950s, I have not altered it-except I added a clear elastic band to hold the hat without the use of hatpins. I have tucked it beneath in the lavender hat. I notice I have a few more hats that are also asymmetrical, all seem to befrom the 1950s. It has a small stip of veiling that is enough to just cover the eyes, so I either wrap it over the front or tuck it beneath . The bow is from the same lavender faux straw, & it has velvet violets with faux pearl centers, as well as flat flowers the may be roses-made of ribboon with faux pearls on the ends of the stamens on the side of the hat.

The black platter hat, also ufo hat is 1 that I did alter-it it vintage & in the style of the 1940s. I added the black rose & the irridescent black feathers. The material isn't straw, it's like the lavender hat-for now I'll call it faux straw. There are 2 inverted triangles beneath, these are well-known in 40s hats, & the edges are covered in chenille.

The pink hat on the bottom is a vintage hat I have not altered, the black ring in the back is there to hold it on it is wire covered with a black fabric that almost looks like it was cut from the seam allowance on the edges of fabric bolts. I do think this hat is from the 1930s, it has a beautiful veil which is a very light pinkish taupe & it is like a cloud around the face, with delicate light pink roses & 6 loops that are wire covered by mauve bias strips.

The Outsiders Cleo & Brutus

2009-08-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

I'm watching a documentary about some guy trying to desensitize a pride of lions....

He only has a wooden cane & pepperspray, so he starts, predictably, with the male & he fails in that, so he turns his attention to the female; he didn't notice that the female "Cleo" had growlingly encourged Brutus when he ran at the guy.

So then he starts with Cleo & walks backwards when he drives up to her & parks his atv. Then he goes on to narrate & says he was making this incredible connection between the 2 of them-he only noted himself & the male lion. How insulting & typical. What he did not notice is the vocal cue Cleo gave to Brutus to chill, & after she rested her head & turned partly away, THEN the male lion also relaxed. Seeing this, how much goes by that men do not see, it's incredible how they seem to automatically cut out females.

The Difference Between Sunripened & Storebought Peaches

2009-08-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

Just a quick interior, lousy-lighting video of me opening a sunripened, homegrown peach. Warning: you cannot do this with a store-bought peach.

Tea History & Legends

2009-08-08T18:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to the actual plant, it can be grown in zones 7-9; there are many types of tea plants.

..."Pu'erh Tea

Originally produced in China's Yunnan Province and named after the ancient trading town of Pu-er, Pu'erh tea is a favorite in China. In Yunnan, Pu'erh is considered a medicinal tea, drunk with or after a meal to aid digestion. It is also believed to reduce cholesterol. Pu'erh is the only tea that is aged before processing and whose taste improves with age. Premium pu'erh teas are aged from twenty to sixty years. This mystery tea is processed under vigilant security and secrecy. Nobody outside of its manufacturers in China knows exactly what makes this tea so remarkable. In fact, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) trespassers caught on the plantation were executed."...

How's THAT for drama? Unfortunately, I cannot find any article about the Chinese tricking foreigners, else they would not travel to China if they could grow their own tea. Maybe I read it in a school textbook; I also thought that this was why we have gardenias, magnolias, & other camellias, as well as tea roses. This may be just an 'urban legend' thing, I'll keep it as only a story.

Mutant 2nd Class Begoniahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

2009-08-07T21:14:00.001-07:00

Look at those green 'buds' next to the white
bud, more can be seen in the 2nd pic. The
pretty red-edged white bloom is supposed to
be all over this plant. Instead, I get strange
clam-shell greenish faux buds-they never open & they stay green. I bought these corms at a nursery, I have gotten no flowers from the other plant. I thought I had bought 4 tuber/corms, 2 in a double red edged white
& 2 in a double pink flower.

I suspect that the corms/tubers came from China & with the NeoCons running things(into the ground) no one has noticed the falling standards. It is in plants & seeds from China-I am not getting the plants & seeds I paid for, instead I am getting much cheaper, more common plants. It reminds me of history class, back then the teachers said that the Chinese were tricking the British & selling them cheap stuff as high-quality goods. The British Empire's efforts to buy the tea plants is a good example; the Chinese gave the Brits tea roses(out of bloom) & because they smelled like tea the Brits sailed away on their wooden ships. Months later, when the 'Tea Plants' bloomed they realized they were suckered.

..."Tea Comes to Europe

When tea finally arrived in Europe, Elizabeth I had more years to live, and Rembrandt was only six years old. Because of the success of the Dutch navy in the Pacific, tea became very fashionable in the Dutch capital, the Hague. This was due in part to the high cost of the tea (over $100 per pound) which immediately made it the domain of the wealthy. Slowly, as the amount of tea imported increased, the price fell as the volume of sale expanded. Initially available to the public in apothecaries along with such rare and new spices as ginger and sugar, by 1675 it was available in common food shops throughout Holland.

As the consumption of tea increased dramatically in Dutch society, doctors and university authorities argued back and forth as to the negative and/or positive benefits of tea. Known as "tea heretics", the public largely ignored the scholarly debate and continued to enjoy their new beverage though the controversy lasted from 1635 to roughly 1657. Throughout this period France and Holland led Europe in the use of tea.

As the craze for things oriental swept Europe, tea became part of the way of life. The social critic Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, the Marquise de Seven makes the first mention in 1680 of adding milk to tea. During the same period, Dutch inns provided the first restaurant service of tea. Tavern owners would furnish guests with a portable tea set complete with a heating unit. The independent Dutchman would then prepare tea for himself and his friends outside in the tavern's garden. Tea remained popular in France for only about fifty years, being replaced by a stronger preference for wine, chocolate, and exotic coffees."...

..."Tea Arrives in England

Great Britain was the last of the three great sea-faring nations to break into the Chinese and East Indian trade routes. This was due in part to the unsteady ascension to the throne of the Stuarts and the Cromwellian Civil War. The first samples of tea reached England between 1652 and 1654. Tea quickly proved popular enough to replace ale as the national drink of England."...

The forerunner of Walmart, hehe

"The John Company

The John Company was granted the unbelievably wide monopoly of all trade east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of Cape Horn. Its powers were almost without limit and included among others the right to:

Legally acquire territory and govern it.

Coin money.

Raise arms and build forts.

Form foreign alliances.

Declare war.

Conclude peace.

Pass laws.

Try and punish law breakers."

((((So going all in with China & India has been done before)))))

"At the same time, the newer East India Company floundered against such competition. Appealing to Parliament for relief, the decision was made to merge the John Company and the East India Company (1773). Their re-drafted charts gave the new East India Company a complete and total trade monopoly on all commerce in China and India."

Check it out, the Brits were drug dealers back in the day

..."The Opium Wars

Not only was language a problem, but so was the currency. Vast sums of money were spent on tea. To take such large amounts of money physically out of England would have financially collapsed the country and been impossible to transport safely half way around the world. With plantations in newly occupied India, the John Company saw a solution. In India they could grow the inexpensive crop of opium and use it as a means of exchange. Because of its addictive nature, the demand for the drug would be lifelong, insuring an unending market.

Chinese emperors tried to maintain the forced distance between the Chinese people and the "devils". But disorder in the Chinese culture and foreign military might prevented it. The Opium Wars broke out with the English ready to go to war for FREE TRADE (their right to sell opium). By 1842 England had gained enough military advantages to enable her to sell opium in China undisturbed until 1908."...

Who knew FREE TRADE was a rerun?

Hair Jewels

2009-08-06T02:00:00.001-07:00

"The Soul of a Rose" Well I can dream....

Royal Purple Magik Bracelet

2009-08-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

I made this bracelet using Czech 8mm purple beads that I got at www.firemountaingems.com, a purple cat's eye 6mm bead, seed beads & 3mm purple AB bicones, & lavender twisted bugle beads that I got at UBeadIt . I wanted this to look like it was snatched from that glowing jewel casket in "Legend"

Legend (1985) More at IMDbPro »

This is such stuff as dreams are made of. This is Legend.

She is of the purest innocence. He is pure evil. He is darkness.

There may never be another dawn. (International and US Trailer)

A world full of magic, wonder and desire. (US VHS)

"No Good without Evil. No Love without Hate. No Innocence without Lust. I am Darkness."