Friends I met on vacation

Hens, Travel, Uncategorized
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We passed this kitty on our morning walks.

There were cats everywhere I looked along Kaanapali Beach.

Are they feral?  Each seemed content and indifferent to people walking by.  I hope they are as healthy and well fed as they look, none were scrawny.

On the other hand, the chickens that roamed everywhere we went did look scraggly.   We saw them in parking lots, trees, streets, along the beach, yep, all over the place.    I didn’t come across any on the grounds of our hotel, but I was serenaded by their morning crowing.

As I chicken person, missing her flock way back home in Kansas, I both loved seeing them in their wild freedom, and worried about their living standards.  From what I’ve read, the over population of these fowl is a big problem in Maui.

The roosters inspired me to do a few paintings in a colorful, flowery style.  I gifted this one to my sweet brother-in-law we were traveling with.  I might keep one for myself too.  Or take them all into Juju, I haven’t decided yet.

I’m Ready for First Friday weekend at Good Juju for February, but that’s it

Good JuJu
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When this post pops up, I’ll be in Hawaii!
Before flying off, I pre-wrote a few posts because when I get home, I’ll have to hit the ground running.

I made sure I was ready for First Friday weekend before I left


Then, when I get back, I’ll be prepping months ahead.  My shoulder surgery is scheduled mid February and if I want to keep my booth filled, I have to tag and box inventory to have it ready for others to set up while I still have use of my right hand and arm.

At first, I was simply going to quit Good Juju be a use I knew I could not carry boxes, write tags or move things around.  But so many people offered to help, that I decided to be extremely prepared with inventory ahead of time and keep the space open with the aid of all my sweet helpers.

Which so far, hasn’t worked out like I’d hoped it would.  Having two viruses at the end of the year took away major chunks of my time intended for packing.

I already have unintelligible handwriting, so imagine how much worse it will be if I have to make price tags with my left hand?

It does not help that I’m easily distracted by fun ideas, either.

Time that should’ve been spent on the boring, detestable job of tagging and packing up was stolen from me.   Well, I was the one who stole and wasted that time.  I did creative projects instead.


I sewed more quilt critters, made jewelry hearts, and other things I love instead of being that worker ant getting ready for tough times ahead. I went full on grass hopper and did anything I wanted to.

Now I won’t have any bugs saved up to eat for winter.

Wait, that analogy went too far.

What I won’t have are my neatly boxed, priced, and labeled piles of inventory ready for friends to display for me in March, April, and possibly May.

So, I am vowing to myself that I will work my butt off to get this accomplished.

After I return from frolicking on the beach, that is.

Life is more than just hard work, right?

Jeweled hearts

jewelry
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Because I was so sick in November and December, I dint get to make all of the jeweled Christmas trees I’d been saving vintage jewelry and pretty frames for.

They are not going to waste- instead of trees, I have valentine hearts.

Love Story

Good JuJu, Music
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When I spotted this music box, it stirred a murky memory.  Like I should know what it was but didn’t quite get it.  I wound it up and it creakily thrummed a few notes.

After warming up its innards a bit, it started to croon, “Where Do I Begin”. Then I got it- Ally McGraw and Ryan O’Neal from Love Story are immortalized in china on a music box.   I started reminiscing about a sleep over in Jr High where the whole party was loaded into the car (seat belts? Heck no, we piled on top of each other) and we were captivated by the romance that we saw on screen at the theater.

Would I still enjoy this movie if I watched it today?  I don’t know, I’m very cautious about rewatching old movies and breaking the spell they’d previously cast.  I’ve discovered that with fresh eyes, most don’t hold up.   Sugarwings and I have rewatched a few that do, but am I ready to erase this classic from my favorites if it doesn’t hold its magic  now?

Nope, I’ll just sing this song and feel those threads of love and longing, the way I remember the movie.

Where do I beginTo tell the story of how great a love can beThe sweet love story that is older than the seaThe simple truth about the love she brings to meWhere do I start
With her first helloShe gave new meaning to this empty world of mineThere’d never be another love, another timeShe came into my life and made the living fineShe fills my heart
She fills my heart with very special thingsWith angels’ songs, with wild imaginingsShe fills my soul with so much loveThat anywhere I go I’m never lonelyWith her around, who could be lonelyI reach for her hand, it’s always there
How long does it lastCan love be measured by the hours in a dayI have no answers now but this much I can sayI know I’ll need her ’til the stars all burn awayAnd she’ll be there
How long does it lastCan love be measured by the hours in a dayI have no answers now but this much I can sayI know I’ll need her ’til the stars all burn awayAnd she’ll be there

Quilt scrap critters

Painting with thread
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My buddy, Beth, gave me some more quilt scraps!  Yay, because I’m addicted to making hearts, kitties, bunnies, birds, anything from these beautiful remnants.

I’m still working with the old velvet bits and pieces, plus she gave me a bag of silk and cotton quilt scraps too.

Most have all the gorgeousness needed built in, but on others, I add a snippet of lace or embellishments.

The eyes are typically vintage, glass buttons, and the bunny tails are pom poms.

Look at the seamstress’ signature on this one!  What a lovely touch.

On the red silk, I added embroidery of my own and teensy millenary blooms.

The fabric can be tricky to work with, it’s pretty fragile.  I need to touch up some frayed areas with dots of glue here and there.

These are definitely not suited for a child to play with.  They aren’t that kind of stuffy, even though that kitty looks huggable, doesn’t she?

The hardest one to make was this swan, that neck, like kitty tails, isn’t simple to sew and stuff when the material wants to disintegrate while you stuff it.

 This piece of fabric was mostly patchwork, so I needed to add extra stitching to liven her up.  Not that I don’t enjoy doing it, plus these critters keep me awake instead of dozing off in front of the tv at night.  And if I didn’t have so many other things to get done, I’d be making even more of them.

For now, I’m taking a break.  I don’t want to use up all the precious fabric in one big blast.  I’ll save some for later.  But mostly because of my upcoming shoulder surgery   To keep my booth at Good Juju full, I need to tag,  prep, and pack  a couple months worth of inventory in advance.

I’d rather be making bunnies!

A surprising find full of forgotten memories, a coincidence, and a gift from Beth

collections, cottage, paintings
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When I took down the holiday displays, I didn’t change much on my buffet.  Mostly the main pieces stayed as is while Christmas glitz was exchanged for flowers.

 Instead of Shiny Brites, the swan was filled with coffee filter blooms.  I added floral pictures, tucked fake pink flowers and larger coffee filter roses here and there. Sugarwings placed her Lego bouquet into a depression glass parfait cup and we put it on a small pedestal.

That pedestal is actually a lamp base that I’d painted and glued a round mirror onto.  I use it a lot, I feel like it shows off anything you set on it.

The biggest addition is this reclaimed painting.  On a mini thrifting day, I popped into a Topeka flea market, and was attracted to the frame.  I thought it was $12 and figured I could resell it, then noticed my own signature on the bottom!

Yep, this is one that I probably sold at Mission Road Antique mall in Kansas City 20 years ago and it’s made its way to a Topeka mall.  I did not remember this piece of artwork at first, then once I thought about it overnight, it came to me.  I’d painted a number of things in my mom’s hospital room as I sat with her in her last weeks.

This was one of those.

At the register, I discovered it was $42 not 12 and was a tad bit iffy on the purchase, but went for it anyway.  Now I’m glad that I did because it has stirred some precious memories and I think it has earned a spot in my home.

Oh, and at check out I was chatting to the salesperson and told her the story of finding my own painting.  She looked closer at the signature, and told me that she used to buy hand painted Christmas ornaments from me and recognized the name.

As we chatted a bit, I completely forgot that I’d just came from the Medspa and had microneedling done.  And was wearing comfy, pj-ish clothing.  This photo was taken a couple days later so I looked much, much worse that day.  My face was bright red, more like Deadpool.  I have to wonder what she was thinking?

“Poor Karla used to sell artwork and do well, now she has a ravaged face and is finding her art tossed aside to show up at flea markets.”

Maybe not, I enjoyed our talk and I don’t think she was too horrified by my raw face.  And I’m so glad that I found the painting.

Another sweet addition to the buffet is this china frame from Beth.  I haven’t decide what to put in it yet.  A vintage photo?  A picture of my grand fairies? An antique print?

The frame itself is pretty old, you can tell from the back.  I feel like it probably should have something of an equal age, but I might be drawn to the idea of the kiddos framed in it.

A mini makeover in my jewelry corner

Good JuJu, Hand painted
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In February, I will be having rotator cuff surgery.  Knowing that I’ll be one handed and away from my booth for a while is inspiring me to get all of my duckies in a row while I’m still able to work.  One thing I wanted to do is lighten up my jewelry corner for spring.

This is the before, which I like.  The dresser is the ideal size to display my vintage baubles on, and great storage for backups.  But the dark color felt over powering.  Plus I hadn’t bothered to rehang anything above it since selling a few mirrors.   It was looking slightly uncared for.

For a revamp, I mixed up a faded blush pink paint (consisting of deep rose, white, cream, and grey) then primed my dresser.  Between coats of paint and primer, I repainted some darker toned mirrors too.  And a couple of other tidbits around my booth, because the furniture was taking forever to dry.

 I was slapping paint on stuff all Willy Nilly because there wasn’t anything else to do while waiting.

The cedar wall  needed to be a tad more foofy, but I didn’t want to repaint it all, so hung some rose patterned curtains over it.  I’m not sure if they did the trick, but it is a softer look.

This is the black mirror from the before pic, now a creamy tone.  And while I had my paints out, I pinked up the roses above it.

A year ago, when I first moved into this spot, the week of set up was during a bone chilling freeze.  And while the drafty, old warehouse juju is part of is kept warm enough to keep the pipes from bursting, it isn’t exactly toasty inside.

I’d quickly added roses onto the wall, bundled up and left because I was freezing and could barely feel my fingers.  But yesterday, the weather was downright balmy for January and the antique mall was a pleasant place to be.  While killing time waiting for the dresser’s fresh paint to dry, I worked on the roses that I’d felt were too rushed looking.

It is possible that no one but me will notice the difference, but the little changes made me happier.

For now, I’m letting the dresser sit a few days to get good and dry.  It’s a good thing I don’t live closer, because I’m itching to get in there and set up my displays.   Since it’s a 40 minute drive, I can make myself wait and give the pink time to cure.  Isn’t she a pretty color?

Like I said, it isn’t details most shoppers will notice much.  But I think it lightens and brightens the area, which the customers will hopefully feel.

Kicking off the new year with hearts and roses

antiques/junking, Good JuJu
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After and during our December sale at Good Juju I had a brief window of feeling better from my previous illness before catching another.   I had two parties planned that week then needed to redo my booth.  I got it about 90% done with the work, but started feeling icky, so wore a mask and kept going.

Catching this virus, as well as the one in November reminds me of why I push so hard to do my set up early and not wait til the last minute.  You never know what could come up before the sale.  And I feel more comfortable not having that big redo hanging over me.

I was able to finish that last 10% in time, without worries.  It just isn’t in my makeup to be a procrastinator   And it really isn’t from some sort of perfectionism or obsession, it’s from life lessons learned.

 Stuff happens, so I manage my todo list to be prepared just in case.

After set up I was either recovering or having holiday fun, so my days started running together.  When I put away all the trees from my house (it took 8 hours, I kinda took my time and made a day of it) I got out the calendar that I typically keep on the table (it had been put away due to the houseful of twinkles and baubles) and was stunned to see how close our January sale was.

There was a moment of panic, then plain ole relief.  And maybe some minor back slapping, knowing I was ready for take off.

And seriously, what better way to kick off the new year than to be at one of my favorite places with all of those fun vendors and customers?

Not to mention I get to enjoy a whole new holiday.  Valentines!

Yup, my booth is all hearts and flowers, which makes me happy.  Because I’m a pushover for any sort of festive decor.   I love a celebratory theme.

Because my much put off shoulder surgery is finally scheduled for Feb. 18th, I won’t be filling my cottage with hearts like usual.  So I’m going to soak up as much of this theme as I can at Juju.  I’m looking forward to our sale.

Just the best

family, Food and Drink, jewelry
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While my boy was here, we did some beading.  I did not get photos of all the necklaces he crafted, there are a few more.  Then the last day, we had a crimper failure, every one we finished that night, slipped apart.

At first there was heart ache and doubt- did we do the whole week’s worth of creations wrong and each would become a series of beads escaping across the room when worn?

Then, we tried the tool on the crimping beads separately from a necklace and watching closely how they closed.  It looks like we simply wore that tool out and the crimping beads were no longer closing correctly.  They came out twisted and smashed.

There is some worry about when this began.  Were the previously made ones getting progressively worse as we went along, or  did it happen all at once?  There was one moment when the tool locked up pretty hard, maybe that was it?

I advised Adam not to wear one of the pieces on his flight today, that maybe he should only wear them around his house until he knows they won’t break, and keep a bag in his pocket to gather up beads just in case.  He also filled bags with the bits and pieces of the ones he created that the closures failed on, so he could buy a crimping tool and recreate them at home later.

A lot of my time went into making bracelets to sell at Good Juju.  I put together a couple necklaces, my last one is where we discovered our catastrophe with the tool.  Luckily, it fell apart in my hands as I was finishing it, so I didn’t have to crawl under the table looking for gemstones.  I put some tape on the ends of the wire, will go buy myself another crimper, and repair it later.   But I’ll be fixing it alone, Adam will be back in North Carolina.

I’m going to miss my babies when they leave.

Not just me, the furry side of our family will be thinking about Dewdrop when she is gone.

They got lots of attention from her

You know what else I’ll miss?  My jeans.  I doubt if they will fit now.

We had over the top, magnificent meals every night.  A friend had given us a cooler full of t-bones, lamp chops, roasts, and more, all grass fed and raised on his farm.  Our dinners each featured a a delicious selection along with fresh veggies,  I made bread and cinnamon rolls multiple times.  Sugarwings perfected a recipe for coconut sugar brownies, and kept busy making them every couple of days.  Adam doesn’t eat cane sugar, so I did some experimenting with how I made cookies and rolls too.  Probably a more healthy choice, but hey, handfuls of cookies and plates full of meat every day still is a lot of food.

We had a BIG and utterly wonderful meal like that every single day.  Plus, Adam took charge and my participation was minimal.  Not only will I be missing the wonderful food, I’m losing the chef too.

He has a good life in the mountains, and I know he loves being there.  But it’s very far away from the plains of Kansas.

We were blessed to have this time with our family, and I treasure each moment.

Thoughts of Ryan were with me throughout.  I wore his pj pants, watched some of his favorite shows, and closely noted things he would have loved.  Losing him makes every moment with his brother even more precious.

It was a beautiful week.

Merry Merry

celebrations, family, Food and Drink
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My boy is in town with Dewdrop and Jacquelyn, and we’ve had some holiday adventures.  I was jealous about their ice skating fun, since I couldn’t join it, but I got lots of joy watching them. They were a delightful show.

Adam and his sweetie have some enviable  skills that deceptively make the sport look easy, but I was smart enough to know that my clumsy, concussion prone, bad shouldered, just recovering from two viruses, self, really should not attempt the ice rink.

The kiddos had a good time, but were ready to sip some tummy warming Starbucks with us and let their dad glide on without them for a while.

Not only are they graceful skaters, my boy and Jacquelyn are excellent cooks and have been treating us to spectacular meals each night too.

Our first day was iffy, we me still being under the weather, and our plans shifted a few times, trying to figure out the best way to go.  Instead of picking them up at the airport and spending the day, we sent Sugarwings as chauffeur and I rested til it was time to go so we were able to keep our evening plans.

And the show was so cute.  Silly, with less drama than most Cirque programs.  Just right to kick off our holiday week.

Each day we have been crafting late into the night!  I’m still a bit worn out and my creativity isn’t at its peak, but Adam’s pieces have been magnificent.  And we still have days to go, with time for more beading.  Along with cookie making, a ping pong tournament, and watching some holiday shows.  Plus, as an added bonus, Santa has delivered some 60 plus degree weather, so we will be getting in lots of dog walks.

I hope the week brings you joy, also.  Merry Christmas!

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