Soul Humming

Creepy Good

Once a week my sweet mother-in-law picks the kids up at school and spends the day with them. This week my sister-in-law played along with them, too, and they made these creepy cool cupcakes.

There was a mummy, a cat, a black widow spider, frankenstein, and many other fun monsters. With cinnamon spice and red velvet under those mounds of frosting, these are sure to magically disappear.

She also gave me a ghostly spoon and a vampire spatula from Williams Sonoma along with Halloween themed silicon cupcake cups. She's such a sweetie.

I'm off to the second school Halloween party of the day. I hope you are having a great Friday!

Flower Pod

I'm digging the enamel class I've been taking. I like having an appointed time and place  to work. It is easy to get lost in the flotsam and jetsam of life and not accomplish much. But with a plan and a purpose, I am happy.

Last week I made this...

It's a flower pod. Well, it's a flower. No, it is a flower-pod.

It is very long. Where's my ruler? It is seven inches long from the top of the bail to the bottom of the petals. It also doubles as a party horn. ;0)

 

It is made of sheet copper that I put through the rolling mill to get this great bubbly texture. Then it was cut and filed and annealed and shaped and curled and hammered and enameled and sawed and given a dark patina and polished on and on.

 

Inside it is lined with transparent red enamel. And it has enamel and seed beads to create the stamens of the flower. It is a good piece, I think. I like it. I would like to make many of them, some the same and some smaller. But they are a lot of work. And I have new things to learn. So we'll see what comes next.

moccasin flowers

by mary oliver

All my life,
so far,
I have loved
more than one thing,

including the mossy hooves
of dreams, including'
the spongy litter
under the tall trees.

In spring
the moccasin flowers
reach for the crackling
lick of the sun

and burn down. Sometimes,
in the shadows,
I see the hazy eyes,
the lamb-lips

of oblivion,
its deep drowse,
and I can imagine a new nothing
in the universe,

the matted leaves splitting
open, revealing
the black planks 
of the stairs.

But all my life--sofar--
I have loved best
how the flowers rise
and open, how

the pink lungs of their bodies
enter the fore of the world
and stand there shining
and willing--the one

thing they can do before
they shuffle forward
into the floor of darkness, they
become the trees.

Pondering The End - Day 13

"It will be found, in fact, that the ingenious are always fanciful, and the truly imaginative never otherwise than analytic."

- Edgar Allan Poe

Day 13 draws to close our POEtic exchange. Miss Martha (aka Martha Brown) is waltzing in to be analytical, or in the eyes of Edgar, truly imaginative. See for yourself...

 

Washed ashore screaming Nevermore is lucky thirteen. What will be inside this wrapping? We can't wait. Let's see it...

 

It is a soft and black book made of fabric.

 

The spine is sewn up with jet black braid.

 

The back whispers Shadow Dreamer to lure you along.

"And all my days are trances
  And all my nightly dreams
Are where thy dark eye glances
  And where thy footstep gleams—
In what ethereal dances
  By what eternal streams."

- Poe, from, To One in Paradise

 

And finally inside there is a note from sweet Martha telling you that this is a book for keeping your pins and needles. How perfectly fitting! And how fabulous! As I never know where to find a pin or needle this little black book arrives right on time. Thank you, thank you, oh so much, Martha! I love it.

And, because Martha is so sweet, she's giving away one of these dear books at her blog. So go visit and get one for yourself!

So as we say goodbye to the POEtic celebration, I encourage you to start right now to gather up your friends for an exchange such as this. It is wonderful for Christmas or Hanukkah. The 12 Days of Christmas is a great exchange. I am in such a swap with Christmas ornaments each year. It is such a happy group and we have so much fun. Cousins, aunts, uncles, sisters, friends...Gather them all. You can make your ornaments or buy your ornaments. You open one a day as we did in the Poe exchange. Only you open them in the 12 days leading up to Christmas day. I hope you will join in the game and spread some joy. Thank you for spending time with me during our darkly lovely POEtic exchange.

Poe - Eleven and Twelve

"Never to suffer would never to have been blessed. "

- Edgar Allan Poe

 

Day Eleven came all the way from the Netherlands. It is created by the effervescent Catherine van der Hoeff...

sigh...typepad will not let me center my images. it's going to be that kind of post...my apologies. but you can still see how beautiful catherine made her gift's wrapping. they are all sewn up in red fabric bags with lovely tags to make you happy.

And once the thread was pulled and snipped I found this pretty, pretty...

It's a lovely mixed media canvas complete with Raven...

 
Poe and a tiny, soft wire-wrapped egg. And I can hang it either way. So clever, so great. Thank you again, Catherine!

Onto Day 12 which comes from dear Liz Gale. I might have had way too much fun with the little Poe box Liz sent to me...

Poe, in hand

Poe, as crab

Poe, as mermaid

My kitten also enjoyed the little Poe box. I kept finding the box in the floor and under furniture. She would bat it off the table where I kept all the gifts and play soccer around the house. But, this seemed very agreeable to Mr. Poe box. I'm sure by the time Day 12 arrived I saw his smile peeping out. And then, inside the wee Poe box, there was this...

Can you see what it is, perched here on the lips, ready to be spoken?

It is my own little pocket Poe!

 

Inside is the poem, The Raven, every word, ready to be carried and read and loved wherever I may roam. It's so delightful! It is just fabulous! Thank you, thank you, Liz, for this tiny treasure. It is, unfortunately, being enjoyed by everyone...

Naughty Margo Polo ran off with Poe in her mouth! Luckily, my little book was fine.

Poppy gets lectured about how she cannot play with the book. But she looks rather hypnotized instead. Must be that Raven.
 
 I will have to tell you about the last gift tomorrow. I've been here far too long and it is late yet there is still much to do away from this glowing box. All God's blessings to you all. xo-k

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

Poe is Back - Days 9 and 10

When I left you last I believe I had just wrapped up (or unwrapped, as the case may be) Day 8 of the POEtic gift exchange. And I can attest that the gifts opened in your absence have been Fierce!

First up for your perusal and admiration is super fun Day 9 from my lovely friend, Julie Molina

 

the kids had quite the tug of war over that red pencil topper monster

but, lucky me, i didn't have to fight with anyone for the gorgeous gift inside!

it's a Raven-inspired fabric cuff!

And it is reversible with sweet red stitches on both sides!

It's all Treats for me! Thank you, thank you, Julie!! I love it!

And, if that weren't enough...there's much more!

Day 10 comes from my BFF Pilar Pollock...

 

 

Her gift was with me when I was almost swept out to sea. And inside was a new friend to guide me back to the beach through the darkness...

 

My Very Own Dark Tell Tale Hearted Bat!

 

Isn't it so fabulous?! I can't begin to imagine all the work Pilar put into this. She never does anything halfway. It is so wonderful! I can't thank you enough for your splendid spooky gift, Pip!

Okay, I'm off to celebrate the third birthday of the weekend (one son, one friend, one nephew). It's been busy but also very joyful. I'll catch you up on the last of the Poe gifts and new pieces of jewelry from me as soon as I can.

xoxo - kelly

Auctions are Ending!

Pendant by Shari Beaubien

All the auctions for A Charming Exchange are ending within the next three hours or so. Please come over and bid on some beautiful pieces. We still have one piece that has no bids! You can walk away with a gorgeous piece of jewelry and help raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Click this link to go straight there.

 

Pendant by Katie Kendrick

Ten Ten Ten

I bet you're thinking, what? It's not day 10 of the POEtic gift exchange, Kelly, it's day nine. And you are right, if you are thinking that (and oh my gosh day nine's gift was so, so Awesome!!). But tomorrow, my little guy...

 

 

 

is turning 10!

i cannot believe he will be ten years old. my mind is boggled, completely boggled, by how quickly the time has flown past. i am sure he is still three and a half. in my heart he is frozen at that age right before his brother was born. that was such a sweet time when i had just one little boy, my first little boy, and we were so excited for the arrival our second little boy. and now they are both so big and so very loved.

so i've had to divert my attention from my present opening to preparations for his present opening.

i'll be back with my previously scheduled Poe antics shortly.

Eight Eight Eight

Eight is one of those words that just looks completely wrong. E-I-G-H-T. How the heck can that spell eight? Can you tell that blogging every day is starting to take a toll on me? Bring on the snark! Bring on the funk! Bring on the eight!

Today is the eighth day of our POEtic gift exchange at The Altered Guild. And today's gift comes from the delightful Dawn Sellers.

 

I was very curious about this one. It was in a little box which, once opened revealed itself to be a box you keep slides in. I love those boxes so that's a bonus present for me right there. But the Real Present is fabulous! Check it out...

It is an awesome pin made of red leather, a metal zipper, and this very cool blue eye. It is so cool. I love it. It is definitely going to be next week as we are leading up to Halloween. I'll be working in my kids' classrooms for their holiday party. I'm sure it will be a big hit with everyone.

Thank you so much, Dawn! It's super!

And here's a POEm to keep you until tomorrow...

To the River

Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow
Of crystal, wandering water,
Thou art an emblem of the glow
Of beauty- the unhidden heart-
The playful maziness of art
In old Alberto's daughter;
But when within thy wave she looks-
Which glistens then, and trembles-
Why, then, the prettiest of brooks
Her worshipper resembles;
For in his heart, as in thy stream,
Her image deeply lies-
His heart which trembles at the beam
Of her soul-searching eyes.

- Edgar Allan Poe

today

sometimes it is easy to forget that Today is really all we can count on. it gets incredibly heavy to live fearlessly each day. one visit to the oncologist, one swollen lymph node masquerading as a lump, one odd blood level. all these things can shatter my super hero exterior and cause me to take off my magical flying shoes and walk on the earth again. don't get me wrong, i am fine. it's the powers needed to reign in the stray germs of fall and low potassium levels that are wearing me down. it is easy to let my mind rush off to the worst possible outcome of the most minor inkling.

steady, steady...balance. 

and, in order to create balance i try to find moments of quiet. best gotten hold of in the morning when the day is still new. when i can parcel out the blessings onto my scale and admire them. when the mere act of breath coming in and pushing out is miraculous enough to swell my heart with quiet joy.

Today is enough. Today is all i have. Today. Today. Today.

i will celebrate this day with a headache or without. i will find joy in Today even though i have to clean my studio. i have a studio to clean Today and that is excellent! Today i will put down my super hero shield and know that i am enough.i will not let fear win Today. i will be strong Today for myself and for so many who are still fighting. i am lifting you all up and sending you so much love.

Poe Holla

Are ya'll getting tired of hearing me holler about Poe? Are you just in it for the presents? I'm onto you people. ;0)

Let's briefly journey back to last week or whenever it was that I reveled in the gray day spent in Corona del Mar. That will lead us to today's giftie, number Seven...

 

from head

 

to toe

i knew

lucky seven

would be

a hit.

 

Just look at how awesome it is...

But I do not know which of my marvelous friends made it. There is no name on the little red tag. Tsk, tsk. How can I scream Thank You when I don't who the You is? Well, I will tell you who it is when I found out. In the meantime, off to run some errands with Edgar in my pocket for company.

Happy Tuesday, people!

UPDATE: My fab, fab, super fab Poe was made by none other than the uber talented Michelle Remy. When I said I could guess who made it up above, my guess would have been Michelle. She has a great style and this little dude was singing her name.

THANKS, MICHELLE!!!