Eggs - travaganza!

Decorated Easter Eggs

I love the shape of eggs, and over the years I have developed an egg collection.  My main  collection started with stone eggs I got as souvenirs in the Canadian Rockies.  (See this blog post).  I got other eggs over the years as well.  In recent years, when I've seen eggs I like at an estate or rummage sale, I end up buying them because they are usually so inexpensive.  So I now have quite a mish mash collection of eggs.  Today I am showing you some of them.

The photo above shows six decorated Easter eggs that actually used real eggs.  They are incredibly light and fragile, and so I am glad I have taken the time to photograph and document them. It seems impossible that they will last a lifetime - they are each from hollow real "blown out" eggs.  The style of the eggs are different, and they don’t necessarily “blend” well, but I enjoy them anyway.

Ukrainian Easter Eggs

The photo above shows my three Ukrainian Easter Eggs, decorated by truly talented artists.  Eggs like these take hours to decorate and I have seen them for sale for over $50. I bought my three at three separate estate sales, each under $5.

My attempt at Ukrainian Easter Eggs

LOL!  The photo above shows my attempt at decorating Ukrainian Easter eggs. Can you see the difference between my amateur attempt and the experts?  My sister purchased the correct tools (a ‘kitsky’ stylus), wax, and the correct dyes. I used my Ukrainian Design Book (image at right).  

Trying to recreate the artistry someone else has achieved can really give you an appreciation for the talent and skill that goes into doing a craft well.  Drawing lines on a 3D curved surface is much harder than it looks, and takes a lot of practice.  I will not be practicing that much, so I hope to find more eggs at sales.  I also had a couple of more eggs I made, but they broke after several years, reinforcing to me how fragile blown out eggs are.  
 

Ukrainian Easter Egg

You can not count on finding an Ukrainian egg like the one above at estate sales.  I've gone to more then 50 estate sales, and only come across three Ukrainian Eggs.  And you don’t get a selection at estate sales – you just get the one random egg that happens to be there. 

Ukrainian Easter Egg, Multiple views

I now like Ukrainian Easter Eggs so much that I am considering buying a full price egg next time I see an egg artist selling them - just to encourage the artist for spending so much time perfecting this craft.  Support your local artists!  

Pewter Easter Egg

Another egg I bought many years ago with my husband is the pewter egg above.  We like pewter, and this little egg was at a shop in Long Grove, Illinois.  They had several different pewter eggs there, but they were expensive (for us at that time), and so we only bought this one.  It opens up.  It is kind of like my own little Faberge egg, if you know what those are.

Dutch Delft Easter Egg

The last egg I am sharing today I bought when my husband and I were on vacation in Holland.  Holland is known for Delft china - a hand painted blue and white china.  The souviner shops feature Delft, and we toured a Delft factory.  Delft china sort of goes with the flow blue china I love.

Delft Easter Egg

In Holland, we saw three beautiful eggs in a window display in a shop.  The shop clerk would not/could not sell us the items from the window display, something that clerks typically will do in the United States.  After that, we searched for eggs in all the other souvenir shops we came across and even the Delft factory store.  This one egg was the only souvenir egg we found for sale.  Sometimes it is the search that makes it fun.  

I hope you enjoyed the goofy collection of eggs presented.  You may also have noticed the vintage linens I picked to go with the various eggs...  Have a Happy Easter all!

Click on the images to see them enlarged. 

If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

Heart Quilt

Batik Scrap Quilt

Butterfly Bling

Spring Needlework

Vintage Lace

Eggs of stone

Faith Grace: Pearls and Lace Thur 129 (Entry 20 of 23.)

Brambleberry Cottage: Time Travel Thur 142 (Entry 88 of 93.)

A Delight: Home and Garden Thur (Entry 90 of 93.)
Shabby Chic: Transformation Thur 197, (Entry 488 of 494.)
Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home 112 (Entry 115 of 162.)

Jen: Fabulously Creative Fri (Entry 117 of 153.)
Thrifty Grove: Thrifty Things Fri 102 (Entry 36 of 51.)

French Country: Feather Nest Fri (Entry 226 of 338.)
* Common Ground: Be Inspired 132 (Entry 184 of 235)
* Romantic Home: Show and Tell (Entry 151 of 299.)
Chic: Flaunt it Friday 147 (Entry 104 of 222.)
Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday (Entry 186 of 410)
Tatertots: Weekend Wrap Up (Entry 392 of 712)
Shabby Art: Shabbilicious Friday (Entry 75 of 83.)
Vintage Farm: Creative Thing Thur (Entry 31 of 46)
Maleviksrose: Easter Showoff (Entry 33 of 70)
From My Porch: Treasure Hunt Thur 100 (Entry 127 of 129) 
How Sweet: Pink Saturday (Entry 70 of 129.)  *
Mod Vintage: Mod Mix Mon 95 (Entry 35 of 59.)

Boogie Board: Masterpiece Mon 117 (Entry 100 of 111.) 
BNOTP: Metamorphis Monday 219 (Entry 188 of 196.)
Making the World Cuter (Entry 180)

Uncommon Slice: Tues Treasures 128  (Entry 109) 
Savvy Style: Wow Us Wed 111 (Entry 373)
Rooted: Simple and Sweet Fri 56 (Entry 59)
No Minimalist: Open House Wed (Entry 192)
Lavender Garden: Cottage Style 37 (Entry 1b)
Handy: Wicked Awesome Wed 103 (Entry 111)
Rose Chintz Cottage: Wed (Entry 18)

 103974

Needlework finds

I haven't written a blog post for so long I'm going to have to relearn how to do it. So today I am just sharing some needlework images that I hope you will enjoy.

I enjoy estate sale and rummage sales. Recently I have been finding beautiful examples of lace and other needlework - crocheting, knitting, tatting, hardinger, cutwork, and more. The prices are frequently low - so now I have a collection of needlework.

Vintage Doily (diameter about 9.5 inches)

The details of the needlework I collect captivate me - the artistry, the design, the creativity, the knowledge and the skill, the amount of time it would take to create the piece. I think the amount of time it would take to duplicate a piece awes me.

Vintage Needlework doily with crocheted edge

I learned to sew, crochet, embroider and knit. I have done weaving, cross-stitch and hardinger - mostly tiny projects, like Christmas ornaments. I decided I didn't want to become "jack of all trades, master of none" - so I decided to concentrate on quilting and left the other crafts behind. But my beginner skills have left me with an appreciation for the needlework I now find at estate sales.

Vintage Lace with a 3-d Rose petals

The pieces are rarely perfect - because it's handwork, and because of the passage of time.  Still, the skills the needlework displays make me marvel.  For example, in the image above, the middle rose petals are free from the background - see how they are folded up in this detail as opposed to the first image.

Detail of doily with crocheted edge.

I like to try to figure what techniques were used for a piece.  The edge of the doily above is crocheted, but the acorn like shapes in the piece above is a technique I have never seen before.



Click on the images to see them enlarged.


If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

Spring Needlework

Vintage Lace

Stockings

Heart Quilt

Batik Scrap Quilt

Spring Hutch

Easter Hutch

Spring China

I am linking to these parties:

Dedicted House: Make it Pretty Monday 40 (Entry 312 of 375.)

Mod Vintage: Mod Mix Mon 92 (Entry 65 of 72.)
Boogie Board: Masterpiece Mon 114 (Entry 121 of 143.) 

BNOTP: Metamorphis Monday 216 (Entry 230 of 238.)
Making the World Cuter (Entry 187 of 199.)

Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tues 154 (Entry 186 of 278.)

Maria: Tue at our Home (Entry 23 of 35.)

Uncommon Slice: Tues Treasures 126  (Entry 128 of 266.) 

Diamond: Time to Shine 108 (Entry 132 of 157.) 

Uncommon Design: Monday Funday 9 (Entry 612 of 671.)

Twigg: Sunday Showoff 9 (Entry 91 of 94.)

Stroll Life: Table Top Tue 156 (Entry 73 of 126.)

Sew: Sew Darn Crafty 105 (Entry 199 of 207.) 

Savvy Style: Wow Us Wed 109 (Entry 299 of 472.)  

Lavender Garden: Cottage Style 35 (Entry 21 of 36.)
Handy: Wicked Awesome Wed 101 (Entry 85 of 128.)
Rose Chintz Cottage: Wed (Entry 10 of 35.)
Faith Grace: Pearls and Lace Thur (Entry 12 of 26.)
Brambleberry Cottage: Time Travel Thur 140 (Entry 45 of 81.)

A Delight: Home and Garden Thur (Entry 70 of 77.)
Shabby Chic: Transformation Thur 195, (Entry 183 of 481.)
Sew Much Ado: We Did It Wed (Entry 233 of 255.)
Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home 110 (Entry 76 of 150.)

Jen Rizzo: Fabulously Creative Fri (Entry 164 of 187.)
Thrifty Grove: Thrifty Things Fri 100 (Entry 36 of 64.)

French Country: Feather Nest Fri (Entry 199 of 419.)
* Common Ground: Be Inspired 130 (Entry 139 of 249.)
* Romantic Home: Show and Tell (Entry 110 of 289.)
Chic: Flaunt it Friday 144 (Entry 105 of 281.)

Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday 144 (Entry 152 of 435.)
Annamarie: Link your Stuff 20 (Entry 178 of 215.) 

100442

Batik Star Quilt

Batik Quilt Top

Today I am sharing a scrap quilt top I made with batik fabric I have collected over the years.  I finished this quilt top more then a year ago.  One of my goals for 2011 (with 2012 as a fall-back) is to actually put a back on this top and quilt it.  Quilting the quilt tops, and binding the quilt together is something I am not good at, and actually dread.  I try hard to piece really well, get seams to line-up, and then when I quilt it - Ugh!  everything goes down badly and there are puckers and messes everywhere.

The quilt top has a pieced sash framing squares of batik fabric.  The intersections of the sash form white stars.  If you squint your eyes a little bit, you can see four darker diamond stars in the pattern.  I put them there on purpose - since I have four children I decided there was one diamond for each of them.

Closeup of Quilt top - can you see 4 dark diamonds?

Although this is not a new quilt pattern, I don't know the pattern's actual name.  When a similar star sash frames a log cabin quilt, I believe the name of the pattern would be a "Colorado Log Cabin".  I didn't include the log cabin blocks, I just wanted to frame and highlight the beautiful batik squares.

In Mar 2011 I shared another batik scrap quilt top I made, this is a different top, although both quilts share many of the same batik fabrics.

The star quilt's dimensions are approximately 36 by 48 inches. By the way, I am joining thrifty and vintage parties with my quilt because quilts were originally thrifty, and I consider quilts a vintage art form, or at least vintage inspired.

Click on the images to see them enlarged.

I blog for fun and my blog is ad free.  Comments encourage me, and I sometimes need encouragement. Please leave a comment if you have time!  Anonymous comments and  comments months/years later are welcome!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

If you enjoyed this post you might also enjoy:

Batik Stars

Batik Quilt

Heart Quilt

Circle Quilt

Flower Mirror

Glass Flowers 2

Rock Window

Heart Window

Spring Hutch

Valent Hutch 3

Mosaic Hearts

Button Heart

Spring Mini-Album

Mixed Media 1

Needlework

Vintage Lace

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

I am linking up to these memes:

Stitched in Color: Celebrate Color (Entry x)

Quilt story: Fabric Tuesday (Entry 50 of 53)

Creative Itch: Sew Cute Tue (Entry 74)

Very Merry Vintage Style (Entry 3)
TShirt Diaries: Stashbusting (Entry 35)

Mod Vintage: Mod Mix Mon 7 (Entry 10)
Running with Glitter Mon 18 (Entry 112)
Roses: Show off your Cottage Mon (Entry 38)
Boogie Board: Masterpiece Mon 29 (Entry 66) h
Dittle Dattle: Amaze Me Mon 33 (Entry 247)
BNOTP: Metamorphis Monday (Entry 133)
Making the World Cuter (Entry 208)

Diamond: Time to Shine 27 (Entry 105)  

Todays Crafts: Get Your Craft On Tues (Entry 29)

Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tues 81 (Entry 58 0f 235+)

Uncommon Slice: Tues Treasures  (Entry 183)

* House of Grace: Twice Owned Tues (Entry 48)
Sassy Sites: T2Treasure Tues  (Entry 82)
Someday Crafts: What Ever Goes Wed 85 (Entry 550 of 581.)

Trendy Treehouse: Creative Share Wed (Entry 27)
Sew Much Ado: We Did It Wed (Entry 7 of 404.)
Beach Cottage: Good Life Wed (Entry 37 of 43+)
Brambleberry Cottage: Time Travel Thur 64 (Entry 40)

Col Lady: Vintage Thingies Thur (Entry 11)
Bloggeritaville: Thrifty Thur (Entry 36)
Shabby Creek: Transformation Thur (Entry 228)
Strut your Stuff (Entry 163)

Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home 34 (Entry 89)
French Inspiration (Entry 3 of 11)
Thrifty Grove: Thrifty Things Fri 27 (Entry 34)
French Country: Feather Nest Fri (Entry 197 of 315.)
* Common Ground: Vint Inspiration 57 (Entry 103 of 163.)
* Romantic Home: Show and Tell (Entry 207 of 345.)
Chic: Flaunt it Friday 72 (Entry 105)
Picket Fence: Inspiration Fri 34 (Entry 211)
Friday's Unfolded 35 (Entry 93)
Tatertots: Weekend Wrap Up (Entry 563 of 952.)
Addicted to Decorating 30 (Entry 65) 
Funky Junk: Sat Night Special 101 (Entry 63)

 41939

Marble Madness

Image 1: Marbles in a milk glass bowl

I have loved and collected marbles since I was a child.  Today I thought I would share with you some modern "Artist marbles" that I bought this year at the 2011 Bead Show in Milwaukee Wisconsin.  These marbles combine two of my loves - marbles and glass.   

Image 2: Lampwork Marbles - View A

'Artist Marbles' are the name I call marbles created one at a time by contemporary glass artists.  These artist marbles are not bargain priced objects, unfortunately.  (How I wish they were, sigh...)  The artist can spend more then one hour on a single marble, and so these marbles are usually in the two digit price range.  I consider each marble a tiny art work, and so I supported artists by purchasing them.  Just doing my part to support the economy.  (That's what I told my husband....)  (In the first photo I have my marbles in a milk glass bowl that I bought at a rummage sale, so there is my thrifty portion of this post...)

Image 3: Lampwork Marbles - View B

Why are marbles being sold at a bead show?  Because many beads are created from glass, and some glass artists also make marbles, lucky for me... 

The 10 marbles I bought at the Bead show where the first artist marbles I had bought in a decade or more.

(I probably haven't bought artist marbles since before I had children, and my oldest child is 17.)

It was very exciting for me to see the 'state of the art' glass work which is being done today, some of which you can see in the marbles I bought.  

Image 4: Lampwork Marble made by Joe Holford

Walking through the show, I could see an explosion of glass talent first hand.  I felt I was observing a renaissance of glass creation.  Thousands of today's glass artists are creating with the material and energy and knowledge that was unavailable in previous centuries.

Image 5: 2 views of a Marble (made by Joe Holford)

In the last 1-2 decades, glasswork has become a form of art available to hobbyists.  Equipment, specialty glass, and instructors (and even video lessons) have resulted in the number of glass artists exploding.  These people, at many different levels of skill, experiment and create glass objects.  Glass workers are re-discovering techniques and processes, (glass working has been around since 2000 BC); and experimenting with new ones.  Today's glass artists are creating in a new world - a time with access to energy and materials and knowledge unavailable to glass workers of the past. 

Here are some example: Working glass requires temperatures from 900-1800 degrees C.  In previous centuries, the fuel required to heat glass (mostly wood) competed directly with the fuel needs of people for heat and food.  Glass working was sometimes banned because of the amount of fuel required to heat glass.  Another example is the ability for today's glass artists to order their glass materials with precise chemistries - centuries ago, workers often formulated their own glass.

Image 6: 2 views of a Marble (made by Joe Holford)

I love touching and looking at these mini marvels of glass work.  I am looking forward to seeing what the glass artists create next year.  

Here are some notes:  

• For my other post on marbles, click here.
• I am interested in knowing which of the photo mosaic you like more - Version A or Version B.  Let me know if you have an opinion. 
• Seven marbles in this post were made by Joe Holford
• Three marbles in this post were created by Frank Scott - The green one, the one with stars, and the one with flowers.

Click on any image to see it larger

If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

Marbles

Angel Window

Stained Glass

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

I am linking to these parties:

Little Red House: Mosaic Monday (Entry 24 of 80+)

Running with Glitter Mon 22 (Entry 58 of 217).

Boogie Board: Masterpiece Mon 33 (Entry 4 of 26.)

Dittle Dattle: Amaze Me Mon 37 (Entry 60 of 288).

BNOTP: Metamorphis Monday 134 (Entry 99 of 255.)

Mod Vintage: Mod Mix Mon 12 (Entry 2 of 48)

Roses: Show off your Cottage Mon (Entry 11 of 71)

Making the World Cuter (Entry 9 of 128) h

Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tues 75 (Entry 56 of 229.)

Uncommon Slice: Tues Treasures (Entry 7 of 161.)

* Stroll Life: Table Top Tues 77 (Entry 33 of 98).

* House of Grace: Twice Owned Tues (Entry 22 of 55)

Sassy: Trash to Treasure Tues (Entry 1 of 108)

Diamond: Time to Shine 31 (Entry 74 of 89)

Anything Goes 30 (Entry 70 of 121.) 

Savvy Style: Wow Us Wed 27 (Entry 21 of 282.)
Beach Cottage: Good Life Wed (Entry 9 of 115)

No Minimalist Here: Open House (Entry 24 of 123) 

Very Merry Vint: Share the Love Wed (Entry 1 of 54).

Ginger: Wow Me Wednesday 12 (Entry 23 of 351.) 

Designer Garden: VIP Party 24 (Entry 36 of 94) 

From My Porch: Treasure Hunt Thurs 19 (Entry 4 of 18)
Brambleberry Cottage: Time Travel Thur (Entry 12 of 77)
Col Lady: Vintage Thingies Thur (Entry 9 of 33)
Bloggeritaville: Thrifty Thur (Entry 4 of 92)
Shabby Chic: Transformation Thur (Entry 120 of 201)
Somewhat Simple: Strut your Stuff (Entry 126 of 220)

Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home 28 (Entry 49 of 82)
Thrifty Grove: Thrifty Things Fri 21 (Entry 15)

French Country: Feather Nest Fri (Entry 146)
* Common Ground: Vint Inspiration 51 (Entry 95)
* Romantic Home: Show and Tell (Entry 94)
White Iron: Treasure Chest Fri (Entry)
Chic: Flaunt it Friday 67 (Entry 58)

Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday (Entry 118)
Picket Fence: Inspiration Fri 28 (Entry 140) 
Find Fab: Frugalicious Friday (Entry 117 of 147)
Tatertots: Weekend Wrap Up (Entry 476 of 699) 
Hodgepodge Friday (Entry 31)
Cherished Treasure: Sun Blog Love (Entry 26)

Under the Table: Sunday Showcase (Entry 141)

The Tablescaper: Seasonal Sunday (Entry 17)
I Heart Naptime: Sundae Scoop (Entry 144)
Library Adventure: Flea Market Finds (Entry 16) 

37530