Paint, Beads and Wire

Have you ever had to come up with a gift for someone that was a challenge because of the color.  That was my thing this year.  I was invited to take part in a "Secret Santa Gift Exchange" with some new friends on Facebook.  Now if you haven't ever done this I highly recommend it...its a blast and a great way to make even better friends of the new friends. 

The person whose name I drew...well...he loves orange and wanted orange for his garden.  Orange is one of those colors that rare people love. If any of you have ever tried to find orange garden art in November you know what I am talking about when I say there is little or NO garden art out there after the summer garden season is over, let alone something orange that will go with zinnias!  The only way I was going to get orange garden art was to make something...but what?

Here kitty kitty!  Time to make you lovely!

To start with I knew I had two things I could possibly use, one a cat and one a gourd, both made of wire.  At least I could paint those orange.  But then how to make them look like something more, that was going to be a bit of a different challenge.  I knew had to embellish them or they would look cheap and silly and not the gift worthy garden art I so wanted to bless this new friend with and something he would hopefully like.

Paint, wire and beads was all it took

I had purchased some wire cats from a local department store during a deep discount Fall clearance a few years ago.  (I love finding great deals.)  The cats had not sold because they were a drab flat black with barely noticeable gold flecks.  This color made them literally almost disappear wherever they were displayed and they only had tiny washers for eyes which gave them NO personality! 

After giving them makeovers I sold several of them so I knew people really liked them.  I knew I had a few still hanging out in my garden so I looked around my garden to see if which of these might do with a makeover.  Sure enough I found this little thing (pictured above) with her pitiful washer eyes just calling to me.  The poor thing's pretty glass eyes were no longer anywhere to be found as they  had finally fallen off.  She was perfect!

After painting her orange I sprayed her with a mist of golden yellow highlight that gave her coat a really nice color and not just flat pumpkin orange.  Then I gave her brand new jewel toned glass eyes.  (By the way, they are not the garish green the camera shows them here, but a beautiful Caribbean Sea blue.)  She already began looking happier but I wasn't quite done with her.

No more drab kitty, now she will glisten in the sunlight!

She needed a collar so so I figured, why not make it a pretty crystal one that would catch the sunlight since she was destined to live in a sunny garden among the zinnias in her soon-to-be new home. 

To finish her I added a beaded ring to her tail in homage to her Egyptian relatives that have graced the Pharaohs palace.

Like the cats of Egypt she wears a ring on her tail too

The gourd was much more challenging.  I mean, how does one give a gourd personality??? Gourds just don't to have the personality of cats, they just sort of hang around.  This gourd wasn't blessed with bumpy flesh either but was flat black with no stem!  I decided to paint it to match the kitty but the rest was a puzzle for a while.  The I remember something I had seen on Pinterest.  Someone had created a beautiful night light with a tree made of wire and beads.  They had made the trunk and branches of the tree out of twisted wire and it was simple and inspiring and perfect.  Boy I'm thankful I pinned that idea. (whew!)  It was just what I needed.

Simple and wonderfully organic in its appearance

The inspired stem was perfect!

Next I wired the large beads around the neck of the gourd for added visual interest and attached one round bead to the tip of the curly cue....all gourds must have a curly cue.  That bit of whimsy added the perfect bit of personality this little fruit needed.

Whimsical joy in wire, paint and beads

The bead at the tip was a delightful finishing touch and I think Theodore Geisel would have approved...don't you?

The perfect finishing touch

The finishing touch was a wrap of clear glass beads on wire in a nice leaf green.

I hope the next time you are out junking or thrift shopping or even at the department store and spot a lowly wire form that looks sadly drab...remember that a little paint and a little "bling" can give it a bright new life.  Be inspired and give it a try.  I dare ya!

Take Some Time...My Christmas Song

Music, like bread is to be shared.

This time of year is so busy for all of us.  Even when we chose to keep it simple we still can feel the pressure of the crush to get things done all around us.  As I was thinking about that this week I decided to share the verses of a song that I was given to write back in the mid 1987s.  Even today I find it is a good reminder of where my heart needs to be no matter what is swirling around me.  Though this song was written nearly thirty years ago (wow has it been that long really!?!), the message of Christmas is forever timeless and it seems no matter what decade we are in, our distraction from the importance of what we are really celebrating is always there haunting us.

As  songwriter this one song was such a gift to me.  It was written in a flurry, like it dropped from the sky, one afternoon right onto the page as I sat with my guitar in my living room.  That rarely ever happens...that is why I consider it a gift.  So I pass this gift on to you with hopes you will have a blessed and very Merry Christmas.

TAKE SOME TIME
Words and music by Patricia N. Hicks 11-23-1987

The holiday season is upon us once again
With all of its holiday cheer
Brightly wrapped packages, lights on our houses
Gathering with those we love so dear

There’s all of the shopping, and all the decorating
To create such a special atmosphere
But sometimes in the hustle and all of the tinsel
We find that we’ve forgotten Him

(chorus)
So take some time to center upon Him
The Son of God, the King, the Savior of all men
The child born that night in little Bethlehem
Take some time, take some time

For some folks it’s the turkey, or ham with the trimmings
With others it’s the cookies and the fudge
For some its old Saint Nicholas, sliding down the chimney
Or hunting down a Christmas tree to cut

So many traditions and special memories
Are wrapped up in this season of love
But sometimes in their making we wind up forsaking
The one we’re celebrating

(Chorus)
So take some time to center upon Him
The Son of God, the King, the Savior of all men
The child born that night in little Bethlehem
Take some time, take some time…just for Him

My prayer and hope is that you may find the blessing of Christ in your heart and home this Christmas season.

~Patty~


Copyright © 2011 by Patty Hicks
All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.

'Tis the Week Before Christmas

'Tis the week before Christmas

And all through the house,

Nothing looks different
not inside or out.

The stockings and tinsel are still in the bins,

No goodies are ready to fill the gift tins.

No presents are wrapped though simple they'll be,

No lights are a twinkling

And oh there's no tree.

 So what is the matter?

Why so curmudgeon?

Why did no cookies get baked in that oven?

Sometimes life gets crazy,

Sometimes its just big,

Some times are just harder

And spirits wear thin.

But even when seasons are not quite so jolly,

Our hearts they are filled with the first Christmas story.

When there in a manger the savior was laid,

Born of a virgin that first Christmas day.

And when all of the rest is not quite up to snuff,

We find ourselves left with what really is most

Of love that breathed life

And hope born of love

That God sent His son to earth from above.

You see its not really the things that we have,

Not presents, nor trees,

Nor turkey or ham.

Its much more than the trimmings

And wrapping and bows,

Its much more than carols

Sung as it snows.

Just past what you don't see,

Look and you'll find,

that though there's no tinsel,

No tree and no lights,

Our hearts they are filled

From inside to out.

And yes it is Christmas,

And by this there's no doubt.

Merry Christmas Everyone and may God bless.

 Romans 3:20-23

Copyright © 2010 by Patty Hicks

All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.

Silk Frost, Ice Ribbons and Frost Flowers.

What on earth is that?!

Have you seen anything like this before?  I never had until this morning as I was headed out to run some errands and spotted this in the garden.  There was nothing else around it that looked remotely like it, no frost, it hadn't snowed and being a lover of such mysteries I wanted to find out what it was. 

As I got closer I was amazed at what I saw...ribbons of ice wrapping around the cut stems of my Chocolate Eupatorium...and no where else in the garden.  It looked amazingly like spun silk or spun sugar ribbons.  I touched it to see if it was soft in case it was some strange fungus...you know how odd those can be, but it was hard, it was definitely ice.

Well, will ya look at that!

I did a little digging and found the term used for these are "silk frost" "frost flowers" or "ice ribbons".  The thing that has me stumped now is why did they only form on this one species and not in other areas of the garden?

What a curiosity, only on the Eupatorium 'Chocolate'

No wonder people believed in fairies!

It almost looks like tissue or a fine veil that became entangled in the stems but it's not...it really is ice.  I just love the garden, its wonders and mysteries, especially beautiful mysteries like this.

Of course me being the nerdy girl that I am I had to know why.  After some quick digging I found the reason for these formations seems to stem from the moisture coming out of the stems or wood of the plants.  You can watch how they form in this video.

Dr. James R. Carter, Professor Emeritus, Geography-Geology Department at Illinois State University actually wrote a paper on it called "Ice Ribbons or whatever they might be called" (gotta love that title).  It includes more photos and links to other related information like needle ice.

So now I can say I have a new resident of sorts in my winter garden, ice flowers or silk frost or ice ribbons or whatever they call them.

Happy Gardening!

Copyright © 2011 by Patty Hicks
All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.

Cones and Common Things: A Christmas Decoration Tutorial

Glammed up fir cones ready to make a festive mark

We here in the Pacific Northwest have a bountiful supply of Douglas Fir trees and a seemly never ending supply of fir cones from these trees.  (If you have ever lived or camped beneath these trees you know what I mean.)  So when I told a friend of mine I was using them for Christmas decorations I got "that look"...you know, the one that has unspoken words with it that says "You're kidding right?".  It made me laugh...and I still chuckle about it today as it is a reminder to me of how differently my eyes see things sometimes and how wonderful that really is.

Being a plant nerd keeps my eyes connected to the natural world and being a creative type means I'm always looking for how plants can be used for crafting.  I cannot remember a time when I didn't look at plants for what they could be used for actually.  So it's no surprise that I grow things for their utility or craft-ability.  I'm forever scanning the neighborhood for trees such as Liquid Amber, Oak, Pine and others that will grant possible gleaning of cones and pods for my crafting habit.

These little fir cones, and other cones and pods, are so beautiful in their structural design that they are perfect to paint up and scatter about a table centerpiece, place in a bowl or hang on the tree.  The other beautiful part is that it makes these ornaments nearly FREE to make!

YOU WILL NEED
Baking sheet lined with foil
An oven
Rubbing Alcohol
Old tooth brush or cotton rag (for applying alcohol)
1/2" flat tipped paint brush (for dry brushing)
Opaque acrylic craft paint in a variety of colors (base colors and highlight colors)
Glitter Glaze acrylic paint(optional)
A box or flat surface lined with wax paper or silicone craft sheet
Fir cones (or other tree cones or flower pods)
Pretty string, ribbon or wire
Old butter tubs (as many as you have base colors)

PREPPING CONES
Use dry undamaged cones only.  Fir cone scales close up tight when the cones are wet and in order to get paint in between the scales you need them to be dry so they will open and allow the pain in between the scales.

Damp cone with scales snugged in tight

Heat oven to 200 F, line a baking sheet with foil, load it up with a single layer of cones and place it in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes (max), keeping a close eye on them.  The heat will dry them further, kill any bugs that might be living in them (gross I know, but necessary) and should melt away any pitch that might be on the cone.  Let cones cool before handling, hot pitch can really burn so be careful. 

If there is still pitch on them that needs to be removed, use a little rubbing alcohol and an old tooth brush to remove it.  Soak the pitch with the alcohol for a bit and then scrub it off. It should come off fairly easily.  Now you are ready to glam them up.

PAINTING
NOTE: I make up several of these cones at a time in batches and find it the fastest and easiest way to make them.

In an old butter tub or other deep container mix 1 part water and 3 parts paint (more or less depending on how opaque you want it to be). This will create a stain you can dip the cones into instead of having to hand paint each one.  Be sure you have enough room at the top of the container so that when you add the cones it does not overflow.

Dry cone with scales opening up and ready for paint

Dip the cones in the paint, swishing them around to be sure it gets up under the cone scales.  Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon, drain and place on lined surface to dry.  Rotate the cones and dab off excess paint from the bottom side that may have pooled up.  Allow these to dry completely before moving to the next step.

Dry and ready to be glammed up!

When the stain/paint is completely dry you can add the highlight colors.  Gold will give them the appearance of being gilt and white (not too much and just on the tips) will make them appear snowy.

Only hit the raised areas of the cone

To apply the dry-brush highlights use a flat-tipped brush, dip it into the color of paint you are using for highlights and before applying it to the cone, brush off the excess, in essence dry off the brush, so it will only lightly cover the surface of what you are painting.  Drag the brush lightly down the cone from top to the bottom tip so that you hit only the raised areas of the cone with the gold.  This will give you that hint of highlight.  Place your freshly adorned cones on a clean non-stick sheet or wax paper to dry

If you want you can try brushing the entire cone (plain or highlighted) with Glitter Glaze acrylic paint which will give them a shiny, frost kissed look that really sparkles...and who doesn't like sparkles at Christmas!

When they are dry they are ready to be piled into a bowl as a center piece, spread them beneath the candles on the mantle or table or you can just tie a ribbon or wire around the top just below the top layer of scales and hang them on the tree or in a window.  They look fabulous on a wreath too!

With all the wonderful color options we have for Christmas decor these days why not go wild...whatever you decide have fun!

Merry Christmas everyone...now go get your elf on!


 Copyright © 2011 by Patty Hicks
All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.

Rosemary Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

The first time I heard the words rosemary and cookies together I couldn't quite wrap my brain around why anyone would take a savory herb like rosemary and toss it into cookies.  It only took one bite of the samples a friend brought to an herb society meeting to convince me that this combination is genius, especially when paired with hazelnuts in a shortbread cookie. 

The original recipe was need of a little refining...too many nuts and too much rosemary  made the cookies too course and crumbly for my taste but the flavor was great and I was inspired.  So with a little reworking here is what I came up with.

ROSEMARY HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD
Preheat oven to 275 F

1 pound (2 cups) unsalted butter
1 cup baker's sugar
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup raw hazelnuts, ground
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Bittersweet chocolate, grated (optional...but who wouldn't want chocolate on their cookies, seriously!)
1 cup candied orange peel, diced (optional)

The herb of friendship in a cookie...genius!

Chop the nuts and rosemary first.  I used my food processor to chop the hazelnuts, pulsing it until they were quite fine but still had some texture.  (You do not want nut flour)  Remove the rosemary leaves from the woody stems.  This is accomplished easily by holding the tip of the stem and pulling downward; the leaves come right off.  The tender tips can just be plucked off and chopped with the leaves.  I usually gather about 1/2 cup of leaves and then chop them so I'm sure to have enough.
NOTE: I have tried numerous methods of chopping rosemary and let me say this right now...those herb choppers are no match for this herb's leaves and the food processor doesn't work on them either.  I found that a sharp chef's knife was the best tool in the drawer for this job.  One of the things I love about chopping them this way is the fragrance that I get to drink in while working with them.  Its so wonderful!

In a medium bowl mix together the nuts, rosemary and flour.  (I use a metal whisk for this.) Stir them together so they are evenly incorporated with each other.  Set this bowl aside.

Next cream the butter and sugar together.  Cut the butter into cubes and place it in the mixer.  Start out on a medium speed and after the butter is creamed a bit turn up the speed, stopping every so often to clear the beater so all the butter gets worked.   Once the butter is creamy add the sugar to the bowl and continue creaming it into the butter. 
NOTE:  You want the butter to stay cold so don't over do the beating...you just want it softened and creamy.

Once the butter and sugar are creamed add the remaining dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until just blended.  Over mixing the dough will make the cookies tough.  Also don't be tempted to add more flour..that will make them like hockey pucks...I learned this lesson the hard way and those cookies are now a thing of family legend.

Place the dough on an ungreased jellyroll pan or cookie sheet and press it out to spread it evenly across the pan.  I use a 15"x20" jellyroll pan (Wearever 4549 professional baking sheet).  To get the dough even, flatten it out to about 1" thick using your hands.  Then place plastic wrap over the dough and use a rolling pin to even out further.  I use a French rolling pin which works really well for this.   Rolling it helps as since you don't warm the dough up too much from the heat of your hands.  Before placing the sheet in the oven, take a fork and prick the dough all over which will keep air pockets from forming in the dough as it bakes and keep your cookies solid.

Place the sheet in the oven and bake 1 HOUR or until the cookies are just starting to brown.

Slices spread apart more than I anticipated

Remove from oven and cut immediately!  If you try to cut them after they cool the cookies will shatter.  I use my large chef's knife for this job and when I don't do what I did above I also use a straight edge (ruler) to get the lines straight.  Many recipes say to score the dough where you want to cut it before baking...with this recipe you don't have to.

Bittersweet chocolate and rosemary

Now for the yummy part...top the cookies with shaved chocolate...I grate mine using a box grater that is older than I am and still works like a dream for such things.  You want to add the chocolate while the cookies are still hot and in the pan so it melts nicely and it stays on the cookies.  I use a teaspoon and just sprinkle it over the top of each cookie carefully so it looks nice.  Next I add the candied orange peel.  Allow the cookies to cool completely before serving.

NOTE: This dough can also be rolled into logs for cutting into cookie discs.  Roll up in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes and then slice it and place one inch apart on the baking sheet. 

These cookies make beautiful gifts and are a great winter time treat.  So invite a friend over for a lovely cup of black tea of good coffee and fresh baked cookies. 

Enjoy!

Copyright © 2011 by Patty Hicks
All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.