Daily Courage

My daughter and I put a twist on our egg dyeing tradition today by deciding to use glitter rather than dye. I have been enamored with glitter ever since I met Barbara Trombley, owner of Art Institute Glitter, at the Craft & Hobby Show (CHA) some years ago. Barbara is the Queen of Glitter, and the author of Glitter Artistry.  She manufactures the most beautiful sparkle in nearly 100 colors. I think I own nearly every color she makes. I’m partial to the superfine glitter, and use it for many projects, but this is the first time I have glittered eggs.

I picked up the new Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Crafts at Costco the other day. There is a short section about glitter, and it gave me the nudge I needed to get the shiny stuff out and add a little glitz to Easter. 

We made a drying board just as the book recommends by pushing straight pins into a piece of foam core. It worked great. I had picked up about two dozen paper mache eggs to glitter.  But I  also wanted to try using real eggshells. I needed eggs for some baking I was doing today, so I blew them rather than cracking them. My mother taught me how to poke a pinhole in either end and blow like the dickens to empty out the white and yolk. I remember laughing at her while watching her face turn red from blowing so hard.  Sarah did the same looking at me today. Surprisingly, the paper eggs worked much better for this project. The real eggs didn’t hold the glue nearly as well and tended to “scratch” the glitter off when they touched anything. 

I made “nests” from raffia and wood shavings. I arranged them atop tarnished silver dishes and stands I bought at Alameda Flea Market last time I was there. I have a collection of cloches, and decided to cover a few of the nests, and placed them in groups to create little tabletop vignettes.

Superfine glitter scatters easily and I have ended up with a sparkly face-just like Barbara Trombley has every time I see her. If I can’t get it off tonight, it will give new meaning to waking up with a bright shiny face!

It’s sure fun to be in popular company! News of a new quilt book from Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston sparked a great response. Neither of them are wired, so I will print out the nice comments and send them off. It’s sure to make them smile.  Speaking of smiles, here is something to chuckle over from Freddy and Gwen. Someone gave Gwen this fabric, and the two of them used it in one of their new quilts. We giggled trying to come up with captions for the images. (Disclaimer: these were taken with my phone camera. A far cry from the professional work of Gregory Case.)

We decided this must be the Booby Hatch. Have any other funny ideas?

Don’t know about you, but I am battling a little Spring Fever. It’s Good Friday and I am trying to  finish up in the office so I can observe the rest of the day in contemplation of this important day. The work of author Teena Flanner comes to mind just prior to this weekend holiday. Teena’s work has been featured in many magazines, and we have always admired her wonderful paper mache figures. 

Teena uses vintage chocolate molds to form her figures. This bunny is a beauty, and I love this glittered egg.

Teena’s book has many wonderful ideas for other holidays too. If you like these you will love it.

Happy Easter!

Toodles…