My Little Orange Kitchen

Christmas In July

Things have been hectic over here and taking care of two households has finally taken its toll...on our spirits, our wallets and our patience. If our place isn't ready to go on the market in one month I may have to retire from wallets until it is. Since I love making wallets, the name of the game has been scraping away the hideous wall-paper that was in every bathroom when we moved in, painting, re-caulking tubs and sinks and basically feeling pressed hard against a time crunch wall. This is in addition to preparing to move in general and normal life.

After missing Kelly's birthday and not having significant time to spend with Nancy and her rarely visiting niece, I wonder how everyone else manages to do it all. Three years ago I was in a book group, a play-writing group, taking yoga, landscaping, walking on the trail daily and in my Artist's Way group. Now, I do not have time to weed our front walk and believe me, the neighbors are not happy. 

I may not be loving my days right now, but I am finding minutes here and there to cherish. Today, fifteen minutes wading in the choppy water on the sandy beach in Algoma while holding my shoes, keys and cell-phone was a block of time I'm happy I took. I'm a water spirit and sometimes I forget that I need the combination of warm sand, cold water and deafeningly loud waves splashing soaking my skirt! 

Synchronicities.  I was out of the sewing patterns I use to line wallets and knew some thrifting would be in order. I went to the thrift store and sadly...there were none to be found. I almost left empty handed until this caught my eye.

The prettiest Christmas tablecloth I've seen in a long time. It's large, unstained, heavy cotton and was $1.99.  Even at that price, I debated, but I've bought very little in recent months and this felt like a gift.

Then, I did a wallet drop at the Flying Pig in Algoma and to my surprise, delight and shock the staff had been saving more paper for me, including.....a whole bag of sewing patterns!!!!! 

Then, something that only happens once in a paper lover's blue moon.

An entire box of 1961 McCalls Magazine with images that almost made me cry on the spot. I felt feel blessed...wallet material for Art Street.
 

   
And, for those of you who are aware of my not-so-secret project, you can see why this one made me cry...I'm not kidding...I needed a message from the Universe today (or rather, one that didn't make me feel picked on by the stars at large).  This was it.

I will share more as I discover them. The magazines are 48 years old and need some airing and my special cork treatment before they start turning up in the purses and totes of women all over the world (I can dream!), but the inspiration I've already drawn from them is priceless.

Have a nice night and see you at the Farmer's Market tomorrow...Oh, and be sure to stop by and check out Delphian's new location. Katherine is ready for you!

Day Off

Hello Kitchenettes, I have two days off from the market on Broadway this year and today is one...See you next week!

Blogging soon.

In the meantime...Petal Pusher is doing a give-away for the locals!

What A Week

This is a fairly photo heavy post, but here are a few written highlights (or lowlights)...

• Pulled a 42 hour non-sleep jag to get caught up on wallets and special orders...suddenly felt woozy and fell into the couch sort of in tears while Mark gently encouraged me to at least change into something more comfortable and wash my face. I didn't. Woke up nine hours later feeling less than refreshed and upset at myself for sleeping with mascara on. 
• Had a table outside at The Flying Pig party and demoed making some nice panels, sold a few wallets and got things packed up just in time to miss the real rain. It was a blast out there and I enjoyed talking to the people wandering through.
• Shopped at Target...it was desperate, but I needed a few things only Target has. I felt bad, but I also realize that we spend more than $50.00 a month in the places I chose for the 3/$50, so occasionally we will have to pick up things at other places.
• Learned that Rose over at Petal Pusher got married yesterday! Sweet Rose...congratulations!
• Lost three pounds last week! I'm hoping the sugar I ate during my 42 hour marathon doesn't ruin this.
• Saw places in Milwaukee that have me plotting a move, including Atwater Beach...thanks Art &  Crafty Girls! 
• Got mehndi-ed-pardon the chipped nail polish in the pic...  
• Forgot to drop Angela's laundry basket off again.
• Saw Catie, my best under sixteen-year old friend in the world! 

Am resting today.

How was your week?

Rejected

The quality control team over Little Orange Kitchen Studio rejected the extra large wallet pictured above. It was deemed un-saleable since it closed a little crooked and there was a tiny fleck of something in the vinyl.  It was put in the reject box and now the proprietress gets to tote it around.

Thank God for small favors. She loves it.

In other wallet news...I just have to show two.

This one sold right out of the gate tonight at farmer's market, but I had to get a shot of it...excuse the glare. I love how the four strips on the left are all from different sources and you'd think they would clash horribly, but somehow they all collided to make a match. I also love the black and white on the end. It's from a 1965 book on needlepoint. I may be overdoing the tearing of various papers, but I love the look. 

I'm in mad swoon with F.P. Journe wristwatches. I'd love to have the extra $35,000 (plus) for one. In the meantime...

I've been striking out a bit on the "spend not one dime" challenge this week...it's been one of those nutty weeks, but spending has been kept to a minimum and I did manage to choose a natural foods grocer to fill in where Farmer's Market can't and decided that Mark's soda purchases will happen at the Webster Avenue market, which just happens to be locally owned by a woman I know.

Aren't strawberries great? I love June for this reason...strawberries and Greek yogurt...who says you can't fall in love after 40?

P.S. Greg? If you're reading...this is the pic from last's years festival--she really is a cutie! For some reason you'll have to click on it to see her:
      

Can I Get A Witness?

Some people spend their summer Friday nights out carousing at nightclubs or at barbeque's with friends or at the very least...seeing a movie and having some dinner. Well, not me.

I'll be here (and Saturday night too) trying to make some sort of sense out of all the books and magazines I have yet to sort through. Don't misunderstand...I love having all this material, but if I don't stay on top of all the donations from friends, family and customers (some garage sale and thrifting too) it takes me longer to actually match pieces together for spectacular wallets.  I dragged it all downstairs and am ready.  The white box is filled with pages...pages...not full magazines, but pages I tore out of the first round of magazines a few weeks ago.  

This represents a very short time period of collecting. I've decided to go through and pull out all the images to be filed later and to freecycle the rest in a big batch at the end of the weekend. 

Thank God I love this or the task would seem daunting.  I'm not even about to show you the newspapers!

3/50 Project

Before I share of how I plan to shop in the future, I wanted to post about something I'm doing next week (thanks to Emiko).

I've decided to try the No-Grocery-Shopping-For-The-Week Challenge beginning on Monday.  Now, many of you may remember the Food Project posts (see sidebar), and while this is shorter, it's a good way to keep myself in check.

I plan to shop (but not vend) at this Saturday's Farmer's Market for more vegetables and strawberries then meal plan on Sunday. I have plenty of staples, so I think I'll be good. Mark will be gone all week as per usual, so it will be easy to make what I want and need.  I'll keep you posted.

I've been watching money closely for almost two years now and we shop so much less than we used to it's sad. Or really, it's not sad since we want to consume less, but it's sad in the sense that there are so many new businesses locally that I'd love to support in a big way, but can't.

We tend to plan our purchases these days and even small ones like books or music are mentioned to one another whereas before, we had an unspoken deal that only purchases over a couple of hundred dollars warranted a spousal notification (Not permission, just a heads-up). That's all changed and in truth I think it's a good thing...consuming less, enjoying what we have, finding deals etc... However, we still have to shop for basics and thanks to another gem from Emiko, I have some decisions to make.

I like shopping locally and keeping our money in the community, but I tend to spread it around several businesses.  Thanks to the 3/50 Project, I've realized that concentrating my spending and choosing a few businesses to consistently support can make a real difference.  Yes, a certain natural foods grocery store may not have everything I'm used to, but perhaps with consistent support they could invest in more produce or fresh breads.

I think it will be hard at first because I do like supporting everyone when I can, but I can see the value of concentrating my dollars.  I did decide that from this point forward, I won't be buying any fruits and vegetables that don't come from Farmer's Markets here in town. Now, that isn't one vendor, but it is keeping the money local and if I buy more than normal and freeze it, we'll be in great shape for berries and vegetables all winter long. This will also help me to eat in season...no watermelon until it shows up at the market (blinking back tears). :)

If you feel this is too restrictive (and it might be), please consider shopping local at least.  For every $100.00 you spend in local stores, $68.00 goes back to the community in the form of taxes and payroll.  This is especially staggering if you think of it this way:

For every $100.00 you spend in your local store, only $32.00 stays in the store.

This is why it's so hard for small businesses to stay alive.

I'll keep you posted on how I think I'm doing with this, I admit it will be a challenge at first and I may have to bend the rules...ahem...Mark's Coke (cola) habit and my penchant for watermelon all year round, but we shall see. I think our best bet is to pick a place for groceries and be as loyal as we can to it, but since we do not buy a lot of gifts/misc, we may have to settle for local, since it really varies.

Note: If you are a small business, check out 3/50 to sign up for free window clings and flyers to let your customers know about it.

Das Hoot

As you may know, I'm in love with owls. I couldn't resist the owl stamp some time ago and the other day came up with two ideas.

The first is the new Das Hoot wallet above...isn't he distinguished looking on the German want ad for a quality control manager? I am quite certain he'll be making appearances on other black and white wallets. 

The second is an addition to my Origami Songbird line (origami cranes made from vintage sheet music).  Presenting the Songbird Cardholder:

Agahahaha! I love these guys.

I'm headed to the farmer's market later today with some other less feathery friends... They're in the shop now, but as usual on Wednesdays...I'll take the shop down until I return home from the market.  Have a great day all!

 

Sophisticated Lady

I'm off to bed. It was a long day making wallets that I WON'T be selling because I have deemed them "no good". I got a little carried away and my "artsy" inner compass went off track and into never-never land--as in they will never-never be seen by anyone.

However, I am happy with Sophisticated Lady. Yes, she's very worn (must be all those late nights at the Cotton Club) and a little creased, but that's part of her vintage charm and she's lined with sheet music that's over 60 years old. 

So, at least there's one that can go in the shop! 

OK Gang, sweet dreams.

Scenes From Saturday

Yesterday was a busy day...we headed to Algoma to The Flying Pig.  Susan saved a mega bag of newspapers and art magazines for me...I hit the jackpot.  The gardens looked lovely...

I'm in love with this collage...I wish I'd written down the name of the artist.

Then it was off to visit Brilliant Stranger in Fish Creek. Wow! This store is fabulous...Dawn has agreed to let me come in and take pictures someday before she opens...it was jam packed with shoppers. I soooo want to be smaller so I wear some of her Refab clothing.

The we hit Egg Harbor for a bit on the way back to Sturgeon Bay for the free James McMurtry show down by the steel bridge. It was part of a four day music festival to benefit the bridge. He put on a great show and this is one Pisces musician I absolutely adore.

With Pat MacDonald from Timbuk3 guesting on harmonica. 

I removed old stock from Etsy and have some new listings up...still working on the shop this week though. 

We have to run some errands and then it is back to work for this tired blogger.  I want to be like the dreaming Goddess shown above (she's a planter available at the Flying Pig Gallery) and drift off to peaceful blissful sleep at a decent hour tonight-this means before midnight and not up before 4 a.m. 

Easter In June

You know I love making wallets that have a certain racy quality, but just to prove that it isn't all about lingerie ads over here, I thought I'd share a couple of recently completed special orders.

The one above is a special request from the mother of the woman who owns our upscale bath and body boutique Red Awning.  It was made from one of her holiday cards and she also requested a checkbook cover made from a Christmas card. She and her daughter donated a ton of recycling materials to the wallet cause, so this was a real pleasure to work on.

I also made two wallets from restaurant menus for a customer who needed them for gift baskets. The Mint Cafe was opened in Wausau over 100 years ago and is still going strong. These involved a lot of splicing since the main image is so small.

A quick note: I won't be at the market today...I am working like a mad woman, but still didn't feel I had enough stock unless, of course, I robbed from one commitment to stock another and that always puts me further behind...so tomorrow morning I'll be here getting stock ready for Door County in the afternoon.

Have a happy Saturday and look for my Etsy Shop to have some new listings early next week...maybe even on Sunday!  If I list a mere ten items a day for week, I'll be on my way to a stocked shop. And that, Kitchenettes, would feel like a real "time management/balance/production" win.       

Still Holding...

I'm going to post this on Sweets for the Sweets soon, but wanted to do a mini update here. I've only lost one more pound in the past three weeks. It should be discouraging, but I was thinking about it the other night and feel more patient than I have in years. I'm holding my own as far as what I'm eating...very little sugar (actually only a handful of caramel corn from farmer's market) and while I could be exercising more, I'm not gaining and that, at least, is a trend. I haven't gained weight in almost three months and you all know for awhile there, I was on an upswing.

The only reason my patience wavers now and then is because of what I do to myself. Like at Farmer's Market remembering that I wasn't thrilled with my weight last year while I worked the booth and now I weigh more. Then, I tell myself to stop and be glad that due to my awareness of my insulin resistance, that I'm on track for weight loss and better health in ways I haven't been in a long time...I've lost 21 pounds in three months and just because the bulk of it was in the first week of starting a new lifestyle and the loss has seemed slow since, doesn't mean I'm not making progress. I also have to stop wanting to explain it all to people who I haven't seen in a long time...it's so unkind to myself to feel that everyone expects explanations...and so far no one has asked. :)

I take responsibility for slacking off on exercise recently...I need to get back to walking and the now that the pool here is open, I can swim. I love swimming at night. 

I thought I'd show you some of the things I've made lately...things that look indulgent and "treaty", but which are actually nutritionally and calorie sound.

I feel good though, knowing that even if the weight isn't falling off that I'm not going upwards.

Icy lemon-mint water...

A homeade organic whole grain waffle with orange segments and Greek yogurt:

Marinated Asparagus and Bacon Salad with free butter lettuce from my farmer's market buddies....

Icy lemon-mint water with a drizzle of pomegranate syrup and agave:

I love that the season of fresh vegetables and herbs is finally upon us and am waiting for strawberries. I want to make more jam this year.  I also intend to freeze more. We enjoyed last season's green beans all winter long (blueberries too).

Mark is home today and we plan to take a break (me from wallet making) and have some Mexican food...which is always a challenge...how do you not eat the chips?

Take care and I may post once more before tomorrow's farmer's market....I'm on a real posting roll!

The Sweet Life (This Is Naturally Sugarless!)

A few years ago my friend Nancy became interested in raw foods. She attended the raw foods potlucks at the Urban Frog and made me a few treats...a fruit pudding and a scrumptious "pasta" salad made from zucchini "noodles".  We discussed the whole process quite a bit and while we agreed we couldn't go 100% into the lifestyle, we were intrigued by the idea of incorporating more raw foods into our lives.

The problem was that while Nancy experimented with fruits and vegetables, I got a little caught up on the whole dessert idea. Are you surprised? :) I even whined to her about how I wished the people into raw foods could step it up a bit on the sweets. I came up with all kinds raw desserts that other people should make, most of which were some sort of variation on truffles, cake, brownies and cookies. Did I ever make anything? Nope. Instead I sat around thinking of how brilliant all my creations were and that other than the Urban Frog's Twister Parfait, the raw foodies of the world had no imaginations and it must be due to the lack of red meat.

Oops.

Last night after the farmer's market, I picked up a sandwich and a dessert at Vita Raw. The open- faced "chicken salad" sandwich was flavorful and filling. Instead of chicken, it's more of a cashew pate  and topped with cucumbers, sprouts, marinated mushrooms and tomatoes.  IT IS POUND ON THE TABLE GOOD!

Mark is a notorious food snob and I don't mean that he shudders at the thought of Chef Boyardee, I mean that he turns up his nose dismissively at the suggestion we eat at places that don't serve Coke and call something made with nuts, "chicken".  However, after hearing my rave, he's agreed to try it...or he said, "I guess" in a non-committal tone when I asked him if he'd try it "sometime", which sounds like a solid and enthusiastic "YES!" to me.  Agahaahahaahaha!

The sandwich was served with spicy zucchini chips and the whole meal blew my mind. To make it even better, Mary and Bianca White (mother/daughter team) at Vita Raw have clearly debunked my theory that raw foodies lack the inspiration to come up with blow your mind (and diet) desserts. I ordered the Chocolate "Cheesecake" with oranges and pistachios. Oh. My. God.

It's sweetened with agave...no sugar or artificial anything. It's creamy and has a brownie-like crust made of nuts and raw chocolate (???), but the thing that sent me over the edge was that unlike other versions of chocolate-orange anything, this wasn't flavored with a hint of orange, it actually had a layer of orange segments. Look at the picture. 

If you're local and reluctant to try a complete raw foods meal, you can feel confident starting with the desserts...Bianca and Mary know what they're doing.  I hope the business goes well and urge locals to stop in and try it with an open mind.  Though, one look at Bianca's absolutely beautiful skin and you'll need no convincing...you'll want to eat everything she does...really, she does have the famous raw foods glow.  By the way...I found this article about eliminating and preventing stretchmarks with raw foods and dry-brushing...just in case anyone is interested.

In other news...today I am working to prepare for Saturday's farmer's market.  Have a nice morning!

Oh...and this is a great book of raw foods dessert recipes if you're not lucky enough to live in Green Bay, Wisconsin (of all places) and have a raw foods restaurant nearby. 

On My Way Out

I know I just posted less than twelve hours ago, but I'm headed to the Broadway Farmer's Market to set-up and thought I'd show you some of the little friends tagging along:

 

I am hoping for more rhubarb and perhaps some fare from mega delicious Vita Raw (our new raw foods restaurant which is right on Broadway).

When I get home, I'm going to relax in the "big chair" and watch Revolutionary Road.  I know it's a downer, but I've been wanting to see it for ages.

The Ocean of Fertility

Well, I had a big surprise today. I was sitting down working on a wallet with pictures of the dark side of the moon and discovered that there are large dark plains on the moon caused by volcanic eruptions called lunar mares (pronounced mar-ay).  They're referred to as seas and oceans and have the coolest names.

Who knew?  I like learning little tidbits while I work.

I was upset that I blocked off part of the Ocean of Fertility, not for any personal reason, but because it seems more pleasant than the Sea of Crises peeping out at the top. 

It only seems appropriate with with all of this ocean talk that I show you a couple of mermaid cardholders. I was very productive today and made 19 pieces which was 5 short of my goal, but still pretty fantastic considering they were from start to finish (sitting down with no idea what images to use or collage).

  
Isn't she a dear? You can use the brad for scale and see how little she is.

An example of how I amuse myself when I work is to point out that the little pieces of map have the words; river, rapids, harbor, bay and lake...I did that so she and her seahorse friend don't feel too far from the water.  


OK...it's been a long day and if I don't go to bed now, I may end up making waffles...which I really don't need to do right now. Really.  Sweet Dreams.

Strive To Excel

When I got home after helping my mother this afternoon it would have been so easy to just relax and hang out. However, I buckled down and put in some solid hours of cutting, pasting and folding. It feels good to be productive.

This one was a pleasure to make. I love the image. It was from a book highlighting great inventions...including the sewing machine (and the nail) and shows women working in a skirt factory.  

I shouldn't romanticize because let's face it, working conditions for women then weren't so sweet...but, I still love the image. I urge you to click on the one on top to see their lovely little faces and the details of the windows in the back of the shop.

I attached it to a sewing pattern and to a little section from a vintage lingerie sewing manual. I get a kick out of this line, "But soft, shimmery material in heavenly colors is a combination that appeals to everyone, not just women."  I gather the "everyone" means men.  Oooh-la-la!

Speaking of sewing and skirt factories, I went through a period several years ago of being unable to resist reading anything about the role of women in the U.S. labor movement and think many of you would like reading about the Lowell Mill Girls.  Many novels have been written about the young women who worked in the mills and I find all them (as well as the non-fiction pieces) fascinating.

When I was a eleven, I was obsessed with this novel . I sooooooooooooo wanted to be transported in time so that I could be a mill girl, save my pennies, be taken advantage of by an older handsome Irish rogue, get pregnant (and subsequently fired), forced to give up my baby, shunned by my family, finally find love only to find out it's a shameful sort of love that leaves me thrown out of my town and then die alone in a harsh winter.  Instead I ended up making wallets in Green Bay Wisconsin and about to go watch a recorded episode of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

Oh well, maybe in the next life. :)