Out & About

fall in the countryside, here are a few recent photographs.

Spooktacular Sunday

My friend Veronika came over Sunday and we spent the day flea marketing and getting in touch with our crafty side. I carved a pumpkin for the first time in five years. It was also my first time using a linoleum carving tool. I've seen examples of this technique that I really loved so decided to give it a try myself. It carved really easy but like printmaking, it was tricky to remember which sections would be raised. In the future I would spray paint my pumpkin black before carving. I used a very white jumbo permanent black marker to run over the surface of certain raised designs. You could probably use ink and brayer but I made enough of a mess as it was. My pumpkin took a little over 2 hours.

We also made Halloween wreaths from supplies we found at the local craft store. The black wreath base was 3.99 + 1.00 for skulls + 2.00 for glitter + 3.00 for velvet = about 11.00 total. The spiders and bats were cut from recycled plastic and then covered in glitter and the spider webs were made by using hot glue on tin foil (peels right off).

This, That and the Other

Here are some of my big finds from Monday. It was crowded at the local auction but I ended up with some great little treasures.

1950s Green Bathroom Scale with glass bubble $4

Antique 1915-1920s Wind and Rainfall Pattern Pull Down Map $2
I was surprised no one wanted this, so cool!

Vintage plates for artwork, saw this on a craft blog.
-- used a sharpie and cross stitch font for reference,
I used the free font "Home Sweet Home"
Perfect for filling the empty shelf above the kitchen sink.
$4 for plates.

$2 hand-made loop rug, circa 1960s