Red Shoe Studio

My life in boxes...

Well, I finally have a moving day and about 10 days left before I leave Kansas City. I've found a house in Chicago...not an easy thing to do. There's a lot of expensive, fugly houses in so-so neighborhoods, I've really been spoiled living here in KC. We finally saw one we liked on the same street I lived on when I graduated from college and moved to Chicago....quite a coincidence!
K.C. craft bloggers..come by this Sunday, the 18th if you get a chance. I would love to say "goodbye" (and invite you to visit me in Chicago.) I also have more "stuff" I can't take with me...our new house just doesn't have the space!:( I'm saying 2-5 but I'll be here packing if you want to drop in!

I'm enjoying finding long-lost treasures like this child's cup I think I'll use for coffee tomorrow...

Folk art

When I was in driving through Santa Fe this fall I stopped at one of my all-time favorite museums, The International Museum of Folk Art. Their permanent collection of art is displayed in the most interesting way, mostly by subject, so art from different countries and cultures is sometimes mixed together in amazing installations.

These are some pieces I bartered/bought when I was in Peru with Kate...you know I love gourd art, but one of my favorite pieces is the doll with the blowgun. (See the full-size blow-gun behind it?)

I also really love Mexican folk art because of the colors and patterns...

And of course, as Jesse James says "everything is better with a flame." (The bad kitty shadowbox is by a local artist Anthony Pack, who uses lots of found objects.)

Howl-A-Ween

I have a feeling that dogs really don't notice when you dress them up like a mini Jack Sparrow or Tin man...maybe they even like looking goofy....cats, however, are a bit more prideful. I got Chris this extra-small, dog (bad word), store-bought (another bad word) costume at Target a few weeks ago for his big Halloween blog debut.

He consumed about half a box of kitty treats which I was using as a bribe so he would look at me and not try to chew off his devil wings (he does LOVE his fabric!) I shot about 20 photos and then gave him his horned cap as a kitty toy, which he enjoyed much more than wearing it...I may be turning into a crazy cat lady or just missing Halloween with my kids...

A little treat...

I'm in the midst of packing mania, so this year I'm unhappily packing my Halloween decorations to move instead of decking the Halloween halls. I think next year I'll have to plan a big bash, costumes and all, to make up for this one. (I did however, buy plenty of candy and in time-honored  tradition, have already eaten half a bag of Reese's.)

I though I'd share this easy Halloween project, so wash the chocolate off your hands and head out for supplies...

The idea is pretty simple, a small paper mache box, paint inside and out, embellish with glitter bones and decoupaged Posada calaveras. The small skull on top of the box is white oven-baked clay. These make great little "treat" boxes.

Fishnets, anyone?

I don't know if Kate was just feeling sorry for me, or if she was taking advantage of the fact that I've always liked being "involved" in her projects, but she recently asked me to design/make a Halloween party costume for her. The theme is Moulin Rouge and she specified "short and skimpy."(Mothers of young daughters beware, this WILL happen to you, too!)

Quick sketch, long trip to Joanne Fabrics for pattern that I could adapt and fabric...

The (skimpy) vest is black velveteen lined with pink silk. The (short) skirt is pink silk with an attached petticoat of black and gold tulle.I sewed gold rings on the vest for the laces so I didn't have to add grommets or buttonholes. I also found a little top hat at Hobby Lobby. I started adding trim but kind of pooped out, so I'm sending Kate baggies of flowers and fringe along with fabric glue so she can embellish her heart out. I have decided to ask for a new sewing machine for Christmas this year. Mine is a cheap replacement from Target and I guess I got what I paid for. What with the bobbin tension and Chris the Cat's tulle addiction, it was a longer process that I'd planned....it always is, though...

I did get to meet Jen Lancaster (briefly) at The Book Cellar in Chicago last Friday. Her blog, Jennsylvania and her books are fantastic..I'm a "super fan" ...

I still have weeks....

I'm a deadline person, I always work best under pressure...hence the procrastination with packing up all my shit. (Well, it's not ALL shit, I do have some nice stuff, but when you're forced to pack it, it becomes just so much crap.)
So today, instead of working on packing the studio, (makes me want to shred my Daniel Smith catalogs and drive past every Hobby Lobby for the rest of my life!) I've been sewing a costume for my college-age daughter, and playing around with my photos...
I love color, but was trying to see if I could do a black and white French series that I could do something (?) with...

I need to work more with contrast and brightness, but I think they have "potential".

On a totally unrelated note, I'm going to be seeing a "famous blogger" at a book signing on Friday in Chicago...I can't WAIT! More on this very interesting person (and hopefully a photo) next week!

I'm back...

and it's time to catch up...
Both my kids left for school in mid-August and I have to say, it wasn't as traumatic as I thought it would be! I expected to cry buckets but I didn't... am I a bad mom? (kids, don't answer.) The thing is, they're both doing great in school, not too much homesickness, I think they miss my cooking and having their own bathrooms the most!
I have sold my home! (Closing date in November!) I'd like to thank the good thoughts you sent my way, St. Joseph, (got to remember to dig him up), and, I know this sounds weird, but I was walking a labyrinth the day the buyers were here and thinking good house-selling intentions the whole time...you never know, right?
With all my new spare time I've been out to Colorado again and

made friends with Lucky and Jack, my Mom's new pet donkeys...they are really sweet!

taken photos of "rust" for a new show...

and been to Chicago to look for a new, old house and to see the original door panels

from the baptistery in Florence that I thought I'd seen this summer. (Three of the panels are at the Chicago Art Institute.)

I've really been missing the blog, but was feeling guilty 'cause I had so much to do...(although I did take time out for new fall TV shows, can't live without Prison Break!)..now I'm just trying to pack a little every day, and am determined to take the time to get on the computer and see what you're all up to!

Bless this House, (please)

Not to sound irreverent or anything although after almost 3 weeks on the market, lots of action but nary a nibble, I'm about to dig up Saint Joseph and give him a good talking to!
We seem to have fallen into a housekeeping routine unlike any I've ever experienced...for instance, I'll always make my bed when I'm visiting family or friends, it just seems polite, but I'll usually change the sheets before I make it at home. Guess I like the rumpled bed look...these days my son is begging to spend the nights at his dad's house so I won't wake him up at the crack of dawn and make the bed with him still in it!
Then there's the cat who has lost any small sense of kitty privacy he ever had...if he heads toward the litter box for a quiet poo, I'm lurking around the corner with the scoop and a plastic baggy...
Gone too are the days of relaxed mealtimes...we have made the rounds of fast and slow food take-out options and have progressed to eating dinner if it comes out of a box that can immediately be thrown away.Let's put it this way, if you're even dreaming about a new place, think again. (And talk to me in a month or two. Either I will have turned over a new leaf and become the house proud woman I knew I always had in me, or we will have given up and started camping in the back yard to further reduce the mess of daily life!)

(What I daydream about as I mop the floors...)

Going for the gourd...

When I'm out in Colorado with my family, I love my time in the studio...a chance to be in there with my Dad, my daughter, if I'm lucky, Emma...while I did do some drawing and printmaking, I also tried my hand again with gourds. I adapted an idea from Bonnie Gibson's book Gourd: Southwest Gourd Techniques and Projects.

I used a whole gourd and the tops of several others to begin my barrel cactus project. The dried gourds are fairly easy to cut through, a keyhole saw, an exacto knife and small files are handy to have. Also, don't forget to wear a dust mask while you're cutting, cleaning and filing. The gourds are full of seeds and a type of mold that isn't good to breath in.

The clean and filed pieces...

At this point, the instructions called for painting the individual pieces but I chose to wood burn some simple lines. (These are NOT my "man" hands..thanks Dad for the demo!)

I used Eco-Flo leather dyes from Tandy to color the cactus base and flowers. An awl and a little white glue made it easy to attach the flowers to the cactus. I added a few toothpick "thorns" and a spray coat of acrylic and it was done!

Gourd gallery:

Dad's gourd...he wove pine needles around the top and used leather dyes sprayed with alcohol to give it the interesting color and patina.

This is a painted gourd I made a couple of years ago. I used turquoise earrings for the hummingbird's eyes and self-adhesive copper tape for the rim.

A pueblo gourd, wood burned and painted. I also drilled little star holes in the back and painted the inside so it could be used as a votive holder.

A buggy gourd with a beaded rim...

 

Hello?

Is anybody still out there? I never intended to take such a long break, but summer and vacations have intervened...a recap...wonderful three days in Florence where I had us on the go from dawn to well past dusk. We splurged on a little hotel on the Arno near the Ponte Vecchio. Teeny-tiny bathroom, but a wonderful balcony where we could sit and watch the river and the people go by.
Seen in Florence:

David, of course...

and "the " doors, double of course...

a grotto, something I've always wanted to see and the over-the-topness of it was perfect!

stencil-graffiti for my collection, (luckily there wasn't too much of it)

a fantastic fountain...

quick trip to see friends near Nice where I tried these...

and these

and gained back the few pounds I'd lost hoofing it on the cobblestones of Florence.