Vintage Design Inspiration Board #14 with Creativity Quote

An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one.

~Charles Horton Cooley

Inspiration Board #14 features:

vintage millinery leaf spray (Soviet Occupied Germany)

vintage glass mirror flower buttons (US Zone Occupied Germany)

vintage paper tag (West Germany)
vintage hand stamped brass charms (USA)
vintage lilac moonstone glass cabochons (West Germany)
vintage brass heart pendant (USA)
vintage cluny lace (USA)
vintage mother of pearl buttons (USA)
vintage peridot glass heart cabochons
vintage brooch with rhinestones
vintage ledger paper
vintage button card
hand dyed fabric
artist trading card (ATC)

antique embroidery floss

vintage linen tea towel

mounted on 9x6 inch gallery wrapped canvas base

Irish Blessing. Happy St Patrick's Day!

As say the Irish:

May joy and peace surround you,

Contentment latch your door,

And happiness be with you now,

And bless you ever more.

Seattle St. Patrick's Day Celebrations

We observe St. Patrick's Day because Jim's grandfather and namesake, the red headed James "Jimmy" Cummins, was an Irish immigrant from Carrick-on-Shannon. He passed through Ellis Island, roomed in New York with Brian Mulroney (no, not the past Canadian Prime Minister, although all of us in-house Canadians love the idea) and eventually made his way to Butte, Montana, where he was a well liked newspaperman.

I made a series of Artist Trading Cards (ATC) to honor Jim’s grandfather and celebrate our family’s Irish heritage. I used the same base for all the cards, vintage sheet music from 1908, washed with gesso, then stamped and foiled.  I overlaid a photo of Jimmy, and used several vintage materials as embellishments, including mother of pearl buttons from the 1920's to 1940's, vintage brass clock hands, vintage crochet cotton, tiny vintage cabochons - green glass squares, and gold charlotte seed beads.

We will be eating Jimmy's potato soup and soda bread on Mar 17.  We make it differently each year, but here is the starting point for us, the original potato soup recipe as it appears in
Butte's Heritage Cookbook:

Irish Potato Soup

Since March is often cold and blustery in Butte, this soup is a good cold-weather antidote, and according to Lorrie Maloney it prevents colds and sniffles.

2 tablespoons butter

2 medium onions

3 large peeled potatoes

5 cups milk

1 clove crushed garlic

1 sprig thyme

2 blades of mace

1 bay leaf

1 bunch parsley tied together

1/2 cup evaporated milk

salt and pepper to taste, chopped chives to use as a garnishMelt butter in heavy pan, add thinly sliced onions and potatoes. Toss well in butter. Tuck foil around the vegetables - this prevents drying them out. Cover the pan with a lid and allow the vegetables to soften over a slow heat for about 10 minutes. Do not brownthem. Now add the rest of the ingredients except the evaporated milk and chives. (Remove the foil of course.) Simmer for 1/2 hour. Discard the spices, sieve the soup if you like. Reheat in a clean saucepan at a medium heat. In each soup plate, place 1 tablespoon of evaporated milk and a good pinch of chives. Add hot soup, stir once. Delicious. Serves 6.   ~Lorrie Maloney

Note: Lorrie also says that adding a sprig of mint or a teaspoon of the flavoring extract to peas while they are cooking is a very Irish thing to do.

Thank you and an Irish Blessing

Our first ever sale was a resounding success! Deep, heartfelt thanks to those of you who purchased, spread the word, and/or sent positive energy in our direction. We are great believers in the power of positive energy...

The beginning sales in a new venture are very, very special. This pendant below, inspired by our gorgeous rhododendron, was photographed by Jim and I remember we were so pleased with how the composition revealed the beautiful "rhodie" flower.

Bird Song, below, wins the prize as the most photographed piece of jewelry in our entire shop. It seemed like Jim took hundreds of photos of this one as he worked out our assorted lighting conditions.

Some of the components of Moon Viewing at the Japanese Garden, below, were given to me as a surprise gift, and it is great to be able to share this generosity.

One of the cool aspects to this sale is that customers were located nearby, so I was able to hand deliver many items. It was great to see the jewelry with the purchaser and to be able to meet and thank customers in person. I learned that Hummingbird, below, is going to a party...

And Crystal Clear, below, is well suited to professional meetings.

Thank you all again. As say the Irish:

May joy and peace surround you,

Contentment latch your door,

And happiness be with you now,

And bless you evermore.