Cow Tipping

When our friend, Alicia, came for her annual holiday at the beach during August she did a lot of tipping of this paper mache cow sculpture while giving it a new coat of many colors and patterns.

I had given Alicia several pieces of scrap muslin for cleaning brushes and wiping up paint.  Those treasured paint rags hanging to dry on the clothesline will find places in my future creations.

We got the idea for this project while Lee and I were visiting her in Milwaukee.  She had taken us to see a painted cow at an upscale art/craft shop.  We were tempted to buy that very expensive piece until we recalled that we already had a very nice, but rather plain spotted cow sculpture at the cottage.  Our thanks to Alicia for volunteering her talent to turn our cow into a "funky art" piece.

We are greatly pleased ... and hope she's looking forward to painting this cow's calf next summer.

Bra Bags From a Bag of Bras

Do you remember this bag of voluptuousness from a post last April?It was the project my friend and I worked on while she visited from Milwaukee. They became Christmas presents. These were wrapped and under the tree waiting to be opened.
We called them "pin-up potpourri pouches" since we thought few of our friends would carry these suggestive beauties as evening bags.
The recipients came up with some other terms ... "boob bag" being one.
My favorite is "brapourri".
I wish I'd had my camera at the ready when each of them were opened.
All of the recipient's reactions were much like these two ... amazement, delight, awe that anyone put so much work into "this". There were even a couple who declared they would carry theirs as evening bags.
The one made for me by my friend hangs here in my studio.
The one I made for her hangs in her bedroom.

Playing With Alicia

My friend, Alicia, just left after a ten-day visit. I've posted about her visits and our projects in previous years. Having a major project to work on is a tradition for us. It usually involves making presents for our mutual friends. Last year it was the birds. This year it involves this bag of voluptuousness.
Our shopping was done on Alicia's first day. Here she is cutting and stitching.
The weather was unseasonably cool for most of her visit. There were only two days we were able to sit outside to stitch. Between our time out there and in my studio we took a few day trips that included my husband. One was up to the Smoky Mountains.
We had a picnic next to a mountain stream ... just below the Chimney Tops.
At this altitude the trees were still bare, but the wild flowers were blooming.
Near the top was quite a bit of snow ...
... and ice cycles on the shady side of rock cliffs.
As for our project, we each completed seven of these.
The feathered one is created by Alicia. I made this glamorous one.
I cannot reveal the others until they are gifted next Christmas because many of the recipients read this blog. We are calling these "pin-up potpourri pouches" since we think few of our friends would carry these suggestive beauties as evening bags. Besides, even though some of them are "D" cups, they're hardly large enough for all the stuff that we older women find necessary to carry on an evening out.