SUNDAY RERUN: Achilles, Cole, DeLila, Tsarina Coffee Pot People

It's Sunday! Time for a Sunday ReRun, a blog party hosted by Chari, over at Happy To Design. Anyone can play, so if you have a favorite blog post or three, click on the Sunday Favorites button in my lefthand sidebar and come join the fun!

This is from August of 2004:

I took pictures of most of the new Coffee Pot People® today. Here are four of them, and I'll put up more tomorrow. I'm hoping to have at least a couple more finished tomorrow, too. The show at Edgefield is next week, and I want to have as many as possible put together. They are so much fun to do, it's hard to believe not everyone does something like this. You know, not exactly this, per se, but something like it, something that lets them laugh at the places the imagination can take you, and feel the satisfaction of seeing it take form. Guess it's one of those "different strokes" things.

First up is Achilles. He used to be a terra cotta cupid that my stepdaughter gave me, but then a tenant's friend pruned our rhody for us, the cupid was sitting at its base, it's head and foot got knocked off, and....my DH was appalled when I showed him what I intended to do with the dear departed's remains, and was afraid Lauree would be upset, but Lauree absolutely cracked up when she saw him. By the way, "Achilles" means "lipless"! I thought that was just a riot, since this little guy is definitely Greek. At least, I think he is.

(Update: I realized later that Achilles Mom had intended to name him Raphael, after the Greek fisherman with whom she'd had a brief, torrid, and entirely imaginary affair, but switched to "Achilles" when she saw her regrettably thin-lipped newborn. Oh, and the DH considers Achilles one of his very most favorite Coffee Pot People!)

Achilles

Next up is Cole, jazz musician, looking cool above the tub of coals he holds. He does still work as a barbecue, and especially likes ribs, since I failed to give him any myself! (Update: Cole later married Isabella M. Goode in a televised ceremony at the Portland Convention Center.)

Cole Webber

Now DeLila is something special. Some folks party, and we all know the sort who would put a lampshade on his/her head and get silly to get attention. Who but DeLila would have thought of wearing one for a skirt, though? This girl really knows how to party, and gets lit pretty much every night. Really. There are candles in the base, and a tea light behind her hat. She's even better at night than she is by day. Come to think of it, I know people like that, too.


DeLila, party girl extraordinaire

Last, for today, is The Tsarina. A crown on her head, and stars in her hair


The Tsarina

HER NAME IS JUDY: NEW COFFEE POT PERSON!

There's a new Coffee Pot Person on the block, and her name is Judy! I took her outside today fro a brief portrait session, but we couldn't stay long. They don't seem to bother Judy or our little dog Ceili, but the mosquitoes were absolutely eating me alive, so we retreated to the indoors, where I slathered my welts with that boon to humankind, melalueca oil, aka tea tree oil.

That's probably more information than necessary, but I get chatty when I'm thinking with my fingertips!

And now, without further ado, h-e-e-e-r-e's JUDY!




Judy hasn't told me anything about herself yet. Usually, it takes a few days for that, and some patience. My usual routine is to just stare at them for a day or two, talk to them now and then, let them get used to me, that sort of thing. Eventually, the Coffee Pot People get comfortable, and start talking, and I find out all sorts of things--their jobs and hobbies, personality traits, wardrobe preferences, etc. I must say, some are more talkative than others, and also, I have to tell you that they don't actually talk out loud!

And now I can hear you wondering: What has that first photo got to do with Judy?

Nothing! I was just going into the house, and noticed how the foxglove had wound itself around the handle of the umbrella, and thought it was cool!

Oh, and my little dog, Ceili, has taught herself a new trick. I'm tickled by it, but not sure how happy I'll be in the long run: She has taught herself how to open the sliding screen door to the enclosed deck! She is SO pleased with herself!

SUNDAY RERUN: Violet, Coffee Pot Person

It's time for a Sunday Favorite! (Want to join the party? Click on the button/link to Chari's blog in the sidebar to the left. You'll find all the particulars there!)

This is Violet, from a blog (different website) way back in 2005.

Violet
Oh my! This has got to be a first for Violet. I mean, she does love Mother Nature, and the Great Outdoors, and all the Flora and Fauna, but this is so very, well, Tactile and all. And also more than a little Surprising. Why, it really even tops the butterfly exhibit at the zoo, where dozens of the lovelies fluttered by, but never once Landed on anybody Violet knew, in spite of there being so many of them, and notwithstanding the little dusters they batted you with when you left.

Well. Violet just doesn’t quite know what to do at this point, but she rather thinks the butterfly is Nice.

PS: Dear Vie, this is a bit of a shout-out for you, with condolences on the loss of your dear Tom Cat. I do believe your own Miss Violet is the daughter of Ms Violet above!

FRIDAY FENCE POST #49

It's Friday--Time for a fence!


I spotted that cutie at the Vancouver Recycled Arts Festival this past weekend, and thought it was great. And convenient, too! I mean, when's the last time you saw a fence you could just pick up and carry home?

I loved all the different woods and textures, so naturally I played with them, applying filters until I got a look I liked:


Now, I have to tell you, this week's fence has something of a special meaning to me. It was created by Mike and Barbara Meyer, of Earth Tones. I first met Mike at my first Cracked Pots at Edgefield Show, seven or eight years ago, when Mike bought this little guy:

Achilles

Achilles was one of my first Coffee Pot People, and at that point I really didn't know if anyone would want to buy them. I was just having a great time putting them together, naming them, and writing their bio's. Micheal really loved him, though, and I was thrilled to sell one of my peeps.

That wasn't all, though. A short while later, Tess, one of the organizers of the show, came by. She told me Michael was one of the other artists, and that he'd stopped by the information booth on the way back to his area to show off Achilles. And what Micheal said, Tess told me, was, "I've just bought the best piece of art in this whole show!"

Now, you may look at Achilles and think he's weird, or not exactly your cup of tea, and be 100% justified in your opinion, but what Michael said has stayed with me all these years. It was a seminal moment for me, and moment that validated my work in one single, simple sentence.

I've never told Mike that, even though I get regular updates on Achilles' well-being. (He's in Mike and Barbara's back yard, feeding little birds from the cup on his knee, which makes me mile.) It's just a small, untold, golden moment in my heart that I very much treasure and appreciate.

COFFEE POT PEOPLE: Magnetic Personalities

Thanks to my eldest daughter, Melody, I've been very busy the last few days, putting together something brand-new: Sets of Coffee Pot People refrigerator magnets!

She brought up the idea of putting their faces in bottle caps several months ago, and the idea squiggled its way into my brain and took up residence. It didn't hurt at all that Melody said she'd do the "putting their faces in bottle caps" part! I got to work and put together a largish group of my peeps faces, scaled to 1" (2.4 cm), and sent them to Melody, who printed them, cut them, put them into the caps, and added a layer of resin, and then sent them back to me by way of her next younger sister.

Once I had them in my hot little hands, I put them into sets, and into tins, and added one more magnet.

Now it's time for Show and Tell! Presenting.....

Coffee Pot People
"Magnetic Personalities"

As you can see, the bottle cap magnets come in a little tin with a decorated lid. And on the lid is another magnet, but that one is a sheet magnet just a little smaller than the lid itself.

I'm excited and pleased with the new sets, as I'm sure you can tell. Should I be? I don't always know....

RACHEL, GARDENING FIEND

I'd like to introduce Rachel!

Rachel’s ready for a trip to the mall. Or will be as soon as she changes out of her gardening clothes. She has her hair and makeup done, though. She’ll just be a minute—there are a few weeds over there to pull, and the roses have got aphids, and….How about a cup of tea, and we’ll go after dark?

YARD, GARDEN & PATIO SHOW 2010

Well, the weekend was intense, and tiring, but a good time was had by all. Plus which, I managed not to buy out every nursery in the place, contenting myself with just eight bulbs, passing up even the yellow pine and the hellebores. Let me tell you, that was the hardest part of the entire show. (Well, except for the pieces of art I coveted, not least the creations of my booth mate!)

Here are photos of our booth:





What I want: The stained glass streamers, the bowling ball with the wire and bead "fountain" (which sold, but Megan Klepp, the artist, says I know where to find her), and that orange swirly bowling ball seen in the last photo. And yes, I did say bowling ball, although I don't think I'd score very high using it! But I smile just at the thought of its sparkling out in the yard.

I do wish I'd gotten a better picture of Megan's bird bath. It is the Taj Mahal of its kind, and 100% awesome and wonderful.

Going to Mama's in the morning, and to bed now!

Ee Mai Ling, Coffee Pot Person

One of my favorite ladies:

There was a time, way way way back a long time ago, when personal computers existed primarily in the minds of young geeks with dreams. A lot of people thought they were pipe dreams. Most people couldn't imagine that one day virtually everybody, from small children to elderly grandparents, would have access to a computer and an email account. Email accounts? Don't think they had been invented yet.

So when Ee's parents named her Ee Mai Ling, it was just a beautiful name. It took thirty years for it to become a joke, she has heard it before, and if you have any sense at all, you won't make the quip yourself. Don't go there. Just do not go there.

OLLIE, COFFEE POT PERSON

Allow me to introduce Ollie, a dear friend and former movie star:


Ollie used to play a lot of Canasta, and then that went out of fashion, so he switched to Pinochle, and then Pai Gow poker, a casino game that sucked him in because of its 50/50 odds. You ask why Ollie was in a casino to begin with? He had that movie star ego, and took to drinking and gambling after everyone forgot his starring role in “The Cookie Jar Mysteries”, and started using him to store their work gloves for easy access when the weeding impulse suddenly swooped over them.

Not to worry, though. Ollie has a great analyst, got over the come-down, and actually learned to love being an accessory to gardening. He doesn't drink so much anymore. Still plays Pai Gow, though. It's a pleasant game.

LUMIN, GARDEN DESIGNER TO BE

Another Coffee Pot Person who is currently shown on one of the "Celebrate Christmas" cards is a character named Lumin.

Here's his photo:

And his story:

Lumin may look vaguely familiar to you, especially if you’ve seen Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Lumin is the great-grandson of Lumiere, the candlestick character.

Unlike his famous predecessor, Lumin is not in theatre, though he certainly doesn’t lack flair. He is on Sabbatical here from his job as a concierge at a quiet hotel in Paris, and while here he has discovered a delightful new hobby—touring gardens at night. His own personal glow is enough to illumine the ordinary, and make it exotic, and at this point he is already planning a new tourist attraction, Jardin Noir (Black Garden). He is so excited about it he can’t decide whether to stay here and learn more, or just rush home and get started.

In other news, I have two shows this weekend, one that starts tomorrow, and one that starts Saturday. I'll try to post all the info in the morning, because I'd love to see any and all of my friends!

Edith, Tea Room Owner, Former...

I have been so busy, and so absent! Things should slow down a bit now, though, even with two shows and a party this weekend. In the meantime, my apologies for being so neglectful of the Coffee Pot People's corner of the world!

To make it up to them, I'm going to spotlight a few of them, starting with Edith, who stars on the Christmas card called "The Christmas Pudding". (First card here: Coffee Pot People Celebrate Christmas)

Edith is actually featured full-time on this page, just to the right of this entry, but just in case that changes, I'll put her photo in here, too, with her story after it:

At first glance, Edith’s an easy read, with her frumpy clothes and frowsy hair. Then a person starts to look at those full, red, lips, and the tiny smile, the wide-eyed stare that can suddenly look so opaque, and a whisper of doubt begins to creep in. It registers that those very same clothes, that same hairstyle, used to be the very pinnacle of fashion and her carriage is poised, elegant. Who is this woman? What secrets lie under that matron’s hat?

If the truth be known (and very few do know it), Edith was once the premier Madame for her entire city, possibly her entire state. Times change though, and she abandoned that beloved (gasp!) career many years ago. They say. They also say the tea house she owns and runs now is remarkably small for the size of the building it occupies….

COFFEE POT PEOPLE LOVE CHRISTMAS

I typed that title, and thought, That's because you do, Silly. Ah. Guilty as charged! The only thing that could make Christmas better would be if it lasted longer. Personally, I'm for having it go all the way through January.

But I digress, even if no one knows that but me. The reason I'm posting is that there are four more Coffee Pot People starring on the new Christmas cards!

Here they are, with the first one a slight remake of the Christmas Organizer cover:





Let's see. What did I do today, or actually yesterday, but I've been up most of the night, so I didn't notice the change from Friday to Saturday too much.

1. Got most of the laundry done.
2. Went to Linde and picked up a carload of fabric samples.
3. Stopped over at SCRAP, where I dropped off two bags of the smaller samples, paid my booth fee for the December 19th show, and found some wonderful wide belts for $0.40 each to use as gift ties. (Pictures later.)
4. Sorted through all the fabric at home, getting rid of pieces too small to use, taking some nice pieces for myself.
5. Finished up a blog post for ThinkCrafts on production-style wire wrapping, and emailed it, along with all the photos to go with it.
6. Painted the edges of the recipe tins.
7. Glued a few beads for the new bracelets. (More pictures to follow.)
8. Forgot to eat lunch.
9. Did the Photoshopping for the four cards here. (The snowglobe with Harold Angel was a happy-making challenge.)
10. Selected the fabric for and cut twenty new fabric gift bags and matched the ribbon to them.
11. Talked with the organizers of two of the shows I'm in, or will be in.
12. Gave the dog a thorough brushing.
13. Did less housework than needs to be done.
14. Looked for my notes about next weekend's show. What in the world have I done with them?!
    
15. Remembered to eat dinner.
16. Forgot how to sleep.
    

THE ORGANIZER COVER

I've worked most of the day on this, the Christmas Organizer cover. Shouldn't have taken so long, and wouldn't have, if I'd given up on the desktop computer sooner. Working on that reminded me of a major reason I use the laptop: That beast is S-S-L-O-O-O-W-!

Here it is, and I must say, I'm quite pleased.



Aack. There's a little voice screeching in my very reluctant ear, But Melody wanted a back page, too, you know. Picture of you in your shop, stuff like that. If I think about that right now, my head will explode, and gray matter will get all over my sleeping husband.

"I'll think about it tomorrow!"

MORE COFFEE POT PEOPLE CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS

I've finished more of the "Coffee Pot People Celebrate Christmas" series. They're fun and satisfying to do, but time consuming, with each one taking an average of an hour to an hour and a half, starting with the process of finding the scenes in which to insert them.

Here are the latest, with Miss Violet first, because I'm told by the woman she lives with that she went into a serious pout when she realized she hadn't been included in the first batch. Miss Violet in a pout can make life difficult for her home mates, so here she is, in Latvia (That girl does get around!):

Miss Violet in Latvia

Ready to Go!

Gift Box Bobby

My daughter hasn't told me how many of these she needs for the Organizer, but I'm thinking I'll put them on Etsy as Christmas cards...

Oh! To answer the several inquiries as to what, exactly, a Christmas Organizer is, it's a place to keep your Christmas Card List, Shopping and Wish Lists for your peeps, Recipes for holiday goodies, craft and decorating ideas you'd like to try, a calendar for activities like going to see all the lights, taking in a holiday show, putting on your cookie exchange, etc. Melody made me one several years ago, and I've used it a LOT. I'm looking forward to seeing the new one!

COFFEE POT PEOPLE CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS

Good grief, I've been busy! I have three, count 'em THREE, new projects to show off, but I've been working on them so nonstop, I haven't had time to post them. I'm going to do the last one first, of course, and show off the new Coffee Pot People Christmas scenes.

My daughter Melody started it. It's her fault that I haven't been doing a bracelet a day. Well, and those other two projects, too, but that's different.

Anyway, Melody's idea is to create a Christmas Organizer, which is a great idea. I've been using the first one she created for years, so I already know she's good at it.

This time, though, she wants the frontispiece for each section to feature a Coffee Pot Person or Tea Kettle Character, and she wants a little line-drawing mascot, too. For that, she wants me. To do the artwork, anyway. These are my first five efforts, and my thought is to turn them into Christmas cards, with more to come.

Lumin in the Snow

Santa, The Children, and Wren

Bubble Light Coco

Belva Goes to Church

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! (EULA & ROSIE)

More photos of the new Tea Kettle Characters:




That's all! Not much of an entry, so here's just a smidge more: My kitchen is CLEAN! Oh, bliss. And the dining room is looking a whole lot better, and both cars are actually parked IN the carport. Tomorrow I will finish the dining room, and plant all those pots of lovely plants that are patiently waiting for earthly homes.

G'night, all!

NEW: FRAN, REMY, OOLONG

It feels so good to be back! Not that I went very far, since North Plains is just about half an hour away, and I came home every evening, but being home for the day, with nowhere to rush off to is a complete bliss. I plan on doing some housework!

The Elephant Garlic Festival was good--nice people all around me, pleasant weather, and decent sales. (Is it crass to mention sales in my blog? It is the reason I do shows, and I have to say that Friday had me thinking I'd made a huge mistake. Others who'd done the show before, though, said Friday was always like that, and the weekend would make up for it, and they were right.) I even got to hear some of the bands in the Battle of the Bands, though only from a distance. I brought home plenty of garlic, too, to roast. Yay!

At some point, I realized I was quite likely to sell some of the Tea Kettle Characters I hadn't had time to photograph, and that the back wall of the tent was a pretty decent backdrop, so out came the camera. Here are the first three:

Franny

Remy

Oolong

All righty, then! It's practically the middle of the day, and all I've done is fix breakfast and this entry. It's time for an audio book (Twilight sounds good...) and a clean house!

THE TALL ONE

Well, she's finally finished, my very tall Coffee Pot Person. I'll be honest, which they say is always the best policy. I go back and forth between thinking she's really cool, and thinking she's just too elongated. The DH (that's Dear Husband), on the other hand, walked out onto the deck, where I had stood her, and did a lovely jaw drop and exclamation. "She is great", he said.

"Really? Do you mean that?"

"Of course, I mean it. Why wouldn't I mean it?"

"I was so afraid you'd think she was too big, or stupid, or something." The DH has not been a big fan of big Coffee Pot People. It was truly a surprise that he liked Connie. Oh. Right. Her name is Connie. Forgot to mention that.

"Well, she's really cool," DH reiterated.

I'd definitely welcome other opinions, so here she is, on a friend's doorstep:

A close-up "teaser" followed by a full-length shot:

And another, in front of the neighbor's front arbor:

My new favorite tool when I was making Connie turned out to be my little Dremel tool. One of the attachments was a one-inch disk that purported to be able to slice through metal, including steel. If you've never tried to cut through steel, let me alert you to the fact that steel is HARD. Drilling through it is a time-consuming pain. I've never ever attempted to slice the stuff.

So I took the little disk out, reading that little label, and thinking, Yeah. Well, we'll see. Wow. A label that actually tells the truth! That buzzing, hand-held, toy-like tool let me take this:





and do this:



because I was planning to do this:


It took a little time, for sure, but it did work, and once some of the spines were gone, the bolt cutters could help.

Well, I wanted to put more stuff in this entry, but it's nearly eight in the evening, and I'm hungry. DH and I went out to lunch, so neither of us wants an actual dinner, but the cookies are calling, "Aniiiitra....oh, Aniiiiiitraaa...." Must. Answer. Voices. Coming. From. Kitchen...