Wednesday, December 18, 2013

wreath making for zombies

Hello from beyond the grave...

We're still sick over here, wading through not yet unpacked suitcases, dirty dishes and an explosion of Christmas accouterments I have no desire to deal with. In a desperate bid for holiday cheer we did buy and mostly decorate our tree, but the Christmas spirit has been no match for the plague, or whatever evil germs we're incubating.

With all of our very unseasonable snow and ice it's looking doubtful that I'll get lights up this year (our porch roofs are a bit of an icy slip and slide at the moment), and after hours spent on Pinterest since I'm too sick to do much of anything else the stars collided and I decided I'd make something to make up for my lack of lights. Now granted only the mail-lady is likely to see them, but thanks to the wonders of the internet I can inflict my crafting upon you as well! So I present to you - glue guns gone wild....




To be perfectly honest, I didn't come up with this - the original image is here, but mine has a fox. So there!

I had thought this would be a fairly cheap project, and the expensive main ingredient, the moss, I had in spades, left over from making my wedding centerpieces 4 years ago. Getting rid of that trashbag full of moss *may* have been one of the reasons I decided to make these, and on that account it was a failure, as I still have enough to make about 100 more.


If you'd like to make these for yourself though, you'll need a lot of natural sheet moss (a few different types is best), a wreath form (I used the cheapest straw one I could find), floral wire, a glue gun, fake miniature trees, and woodland creatures of your choice. I ended up buying everything but the trees from Michaels using 40% coupons, but I had to go to Joann's for the the trees. For the moss, the cheapest way to get it may be online in bulk from a floral supply company (that's how I bought mine).

I wrapped the wreaths with the floral wire because they seemed to want to decompose in my hand, I made a hanging loop at the same time.



Then I glued the moss (mixing up the types) front and back, making sure not to cover up the hanging loop. This will use A LOT of glue, and will take hours longer than you think it will...

Then lean the wreath upright (loop at the top) against something, and play with the placement of whatever it is you want to live on it. I chose to paint my critters with a few coats of modeling paint so the wreath didn't end up looking too much like a middle-schooler's diorama. When you know where you want to glue them on push away some of the moss and apply a big dollop of glue, place the object and hold in place for at least a minute before moving on to the next one.



I had intended to wrap some grape vines around the wreaths and make a bow out of some old upholstery webbing I have, but laziness prevailed. Maybe next year if they survive this weather...


While this was all quite straightforward, what I didn't anticipate was my dog peering over my shoulder to see what I was doing (I was on the floor using the coffee table) and letting loose an enormous sneeze which scattered moss bits throughout every corner of the room. I suppose that will be what spring cleaning is for.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

unwelcome souvenirs

I must be the only person on the planet who gets wretched colds every time I visit someplace warm. This time I don't even know who I got the hitch-hiking germs from... Awful Puerto Rican souvenirs aside, since I'm not likely to be doing any house projects soon, how about some terrible vacation photos (between the bright sun and flash free museum it was a lost cause).

First the buildings, both restored and barely standing . . .








Calle 25 de Enero, with its 39 red and black painted houses given to the firefighters after a historic fire.

Parque de Bombas (Ponce Fire Station)

The mysterious "FAB LAB" whose shop equipment I coveted much to the confusion of my friends...


Coffins on bicycles, and Burtonesque funeral parlors...



And last but not least, the most glorious little art museum I've ever been to, mostly due to its astounding collection of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood art, and the fact that I had it all to myself (I'm told that the collector of it was mocked for buying art that was old-fashioned). Obviously, these pictures will mean nothing to you as you can see professional photos online - but to me, they prove that I was there, just a nose away from them. No glass, no ropes - I could have fondled them if I had been so inclined!



Flaming June, one of my favorites
Pages and the type from Morris' Kelmscott Press...





And Burne-Jones' unfinished masterpiece, The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon





Now if only I could have bought enough dog food to feed all the staving feral dogs, and hay for the emaciated feral horses my trip would have been complete....

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Castillo Serrallés

The past two months have been a wash house-wise since we've been travelling about, and I doubt there will be much to report on before January. Since I hate not posting, I suppose I'll have to resort to posting filler. We just got back from a close friend's wedding in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and were there long enough to do some touristing as well. Ponce is filled with stunning Spanish Colonial architecture, made all the more beautiful for it's various states of restoration and decay. The glare and sunlight were intense, so sadly many of my countless photos of Spanish bungalows aren't worth posting. Rather, I noticed that the 1930 mansion where the wedding was held has few photos on the internet, and with my stealth ninja skills I managed to snap a few in the no photos allowed house museum. So, as a public service, photos of Castillo Serrallés...


















While the home was beautiful, I do think I've seen better examples in the US (Pinewood Estate at Bok Tower where I got married is one of them). My bigger problem with the tour was the sheer amount of misinformation that was presented. For example our guide told us that the caning on the antique chairs was invented in PR so that you'd be kept cool while sitting in the tropical climate (mind you this is the same caning that dates back to the Europe in the middle ages). She also made a big deal of the lovely mahogany dining table, claiming that the entire thing was carved from one solid piece of wood. The seams and mismatched wood grain claim otherwise, but oh well...