The Zero Dollar Christmas Tree (or, how to make your own)

We needed snowflakes.

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Gadora has before mentioned the almost bah humbug-like attitude I possess when it comes to decorating for the holidays. It stems from the ruthless way stores shove glittery Christmas crap at us earlier and earlier every year. Hey, before you … Continue reading 

How-to fancy up a journal…

Cut cover and placement

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Gadora has happily been off-line lately. Out of the country, actually. Just returned from Istanbul, not Constantinople*, where I spent a splendid week with the family. Beforehand I’d hurried through the packing, sure to include only the most essential wardrobe … Continue reading 

It’s high time for a coffee break…

VivaTerra's recycled seat

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There’s no rest for the weary. Though the suitably roomy L-shaped sofa has arrived, Gadora is still searching for extra seating for the 2nd Floor Lounge. I’m hoping it will be the place-to-be after all, so we’ll want enough space … Continue reading 

X-ray lamp in its new place…

X-ray lamp at home.

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Gadora had a particularly fruitful day not long ago. By fruitful, I mean monetarily. In one single day, I’d sold and collected monies for two Still life watercolors I’d placed in our first-ever Office Art show, received payment for another … Continue reading 

Glass Bottle Walls…

Soul of the Garden glass mulch bed.

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Two weeks ago Gadora, along with fellow BVers, spent an afternoon at East Austin’s KIPP school for a well-coordinated Service Day. Our first assignment: pack and number, then organize each of the more than 75 boxes in the Middle School’s … Continue reading 

Twig jewelry display on Apartment Therapy.

Twigs ApartmentTherapy

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With her finger on Austin’s creative pulse, fellow blogger Adrienne Breaux posted Gadora’s twigs on Apartment Therapy. Titled, A Fresh Take on Branch Jewelry Displays she goes on to say, “Draping lovely baubles on a branch from the backyard isn’t … Continue reading 

Turning bottles and a basket into a beaming lamp…

Late last year, Gadora spied a funky upholstered chair (to be refashioned later) along the side of the street. Free for the taking! I veered the car towards it, pulled the brake, and hopped out. With eyes on the prize, I stumbled (quite literally!) upon a tired and misshapen wire basket. Hmmmmm, I’ll take that too. Remembering the vintage bottles the BFF had collecting dust in the garage, Gadora set out to make a hanging, musical lamp… (remember to click on the pics to see them bigger!)

Lamp ~ DONE

At left: the remaining bottles (I chose to feature similarly sized bottles with some detail). Right: the top of the wire basket—which when utilized as a hanging planter basket would actually be the bottom…

Bottles and the basket.

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Sr. Pajaro to the rescue…

Sandwiched between two sunny 50º days, it snowed and snowed in Austin yesterday and was a happy and unexpected surprise. Gadora met it with mixed emotions. Receiving both wildly good news and very sad news—both in the same day—I charged yesterday embracing endings, ready for new beginnings. Whew! Early on I finished a few watercolors and nestled in the living room for a brief respite. Dragging out a package of felting supplies and roving that a knitting-fiend, errr friend gave me over the weekend, Gadora wanted to take a stab at felting and see how quickly something good would come.

Meet Sr. Pajaro.

Without the first clue how to felt a creature, I read the rudimentary instructions and reviewed my earlier posting about collecting cat hair. (So?) At post’s end I linked to Brookelynn’s Craftzine how-to-felt post, which suggests viewing her how-to-felt video. I watched. And I made. First the legs: a simple left-over piece of copper wire was bent into legs…

Frog legs. No!

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