Auction! Who Bought My Cookie Baking?

It's that time of year again.  The time when I put my Cookie of the Month services up for grabs at the annual Scholarship Auction.

As a matter of fact, the auction was last night and as of right now, I don't have a clue what "Cookie of the Month" went for or who I'll be baking them for over the next twelve months.

 I worked most of the day yesterday
baking cookies for samples at the auction.

p.s. The chocolate mint chip cookie recipe (aka "Green Eyed Monsters") that I shared the recipe for in October was fantastic with some minor changes:  replace the mint chips with a cup of semi sweet chocolate chips, a cup of white chocolate chips and a cup of chopped pecans.  OMG!  To die for!

Speaking of Mid-Century...

I'm kind of wild about this 8" x 22" bent glass, gold leaf serving tray I found out thrift shopping the other day.  It's so 60s.

I could just see it on a dark walnut Danish Modern dining or coffee table at Christmas time filled with candies or nuts.

It really reminds me of the style of Georges Briard, but those pieces are almost always signed.  I plan to sell it in my Etsy shop (which will be opening any day now).  I hope I can part with it.

Then, what should happen a few days later?  I DID find a real Georges Briard bent glass serving tray.

This one, about 10" square, was also a gold leaf design, but with butterflies and the glass had a pebbly finish on the underside... and it was signed.

I heart 60s glassware!

Seeing Red

I've been painting some artificial lemons red.

There was an article on Etsy with tips

on photographing items that you plan to sell in your shop.

One suggestion was to place something familiar

that everyone knows the size of in your photos to help

customers visualize how large or small your product is.

Aren't they cute?

Let's test out this suggestion, shall we?

Here are two different sized plates.

One is 8 1/2 inches and the other is 11 inches.

Can you tell which is which?

Now can you tell?  Same lemon.  It helps, doesn't it.  Even if there was no second plate, the lemon would help illustrate the relative size of the plate.  It's so important with online shopping to help your customer visualize the item you're selling in any way possible.  In this case, a fork on the plate would also have been helpful.  Everyone knows how big a fork is, right?

I like my red lemons.  I was just going to use yellow lemons, but a wise person suggested painting them red.  I didn't think a fake lemon would hold paint so well, but they turned out just fine.  Excellent suggestion.  I mean, come on... RubyLemons... they gotta be red.

An "Unseamly" Activity

Do you call this "unpicking" or "ripping out?"  I was musing over that today while I was... doing it on a project.  OK, I'll say it.  Ripping out.  That's what I've always called it.  Maybe it's a midwestern thing.  Years ago, my friend from Utah called it "unpicking."  Huh?  Unpicking?  Picking out?  No.  Unpicking. 

Hmmm... makes me wonder if there are any more terms for this unpleasant sewing task in other parts of the country.  Well, if you do a google image search on "unpicker" you get 557 results of the standard seam ripper tool.  If you do a google image search for "seam ripper" -- how many results do you think there are?

25,900 - "seam ripper" wins

Mid-Century, my Almost Obsession

I dig my aqua green atomic era radio.

 

Warning:  If I had more funds,

I would totally be lost in a groovy 60s kind of thing.

It is definitely a big interest of mine - I'm trying to avoid the word obsession.  Actually I've been gravitating toward Eames era housewares and furniture for years.  Mid-Century will absolutely be a component of my Etsy shop... which will be opening any day now - I promise.

Thank a Veteran and Buy a Poppy

Today was the school district's annual Veteran's Day program.  For the eleventh year, our sixth graders have participated in a salute to the community's veterans of all armed forces and all eras.

I love the Veterans.

Forget about Hollywood, these are our true heroes.

I love all their different uniforms...

and their penchant for pins...

and the superintendent's patriotic tie...

He has a son in Afghanistan right now.

The Veterans have done hard things so the rest of us can have it easy.

November 11th is Veteran's Day.  Stuff a few dollar bills or quarters in your coat pocket and when you go shopping and see a Vet selling poppies outside of a store - buy one.

And if you really want to be patriotically inspired and hear some great singing, check out this YouTube video featuring our military and the Ten Tenors here.

Thank you, Veterans.

Coming Out From the Closet...

My sewing room closet is getting an extreme home makeover.  It is LONG overdue.  For the last twenty years it has been stuffed to the gills with paint, fabrics, pillow forms, vintage clothes, an office chair, jars of stuff, lamps, files, patterns, trays - you name it.  With only three 4 ft. deep shelves, there were things stuffed in the dark recesses that I hadn't seen for years.  I wish I had a "before" picture... but I don't.  It had gotten to the status of stash and avalanche.  As I've tried to puzzle out the organization of my house, I realize that it all starts with the sewing room closet.  It is the nucleus.  The inner sanctum.  The heart of the house.  The first domino.  I've got creative stuff all over the house.  Once I have an organized place to put my supplies, the rest of the house will organize itself like concentric ripples emanating outward from the sewing room closet.

That's the way I figure it.

My kind husband is building more useful shelving.

He cuts wood with a saw much better than he cuts hair with scissors.

It's a work in progress, but it's getting there.

There will be lots of easily accessible shelves - most of them 11" deep.

When all the construction is finished, everything gets a coat of paint.
I can't wait.

Finally, I will have a place for all my sorted and categorized supplies in these awesome $1.64 containers from WalMart!  I think I need more.