More Rose Cones

Finished the other three cones that I had cut the circles for -- these went together much quicker than the first one as I had an idea where I was going with them and how I wanted them to look.  All the lace, doilies, ribbon and roses were already coffee stained and the photos and music  had been printed earlier when I first started the project. Had to pick out pieces of jewelry for emellishments - one was from an old pearl necklace that I used latte acohol ink on, one was a junk jewelry earring.  My favorite was the pendant cameo off an Avon necklace  that I dug out of my costume jewelry.   All of the cones are the "same, but, different" !!  Hilery chose the one with cameo.  The other three will be in the mail to three recipients who would have attended the Rose Cousin Reunion, had it come to pass !! I hope everyone will like their gift of "memory" !!

                                                                                     

Rose Cone

  I've never been partial to cones, but wanted to make something for each of the "Rose" cousin families in memory of  "Grandma Mom" and the Rose heritage.  I'm not sure that is going to happen -- this may end up being the only one . I had signed up for an on line class last spring with Nancy Maxwell James at sugarlumpstudios and this was one of the projects -- it looked like just the ticket. It has been a huge "hassle" for me to get this together and make it appealing to my eye.  My seamstress abilities are certainly not what they used to be !!  I can't remember when I last used my sewing machine or threaded a needle for any reason.  This is my largest one and may end up being the only one I make.  I picked up a pair of pale yellow denim jeans at a garage sale and used the fabric from them for the cone itself.  I coffee stained laces, doilies, ribbons and silk roses to use.  The tiny "pearl" strand was colored with alcohol ink.  The photo of CJ and Minnie is their wedding portrait, of course.  The music "Joy to the World"  was printed on ecru card stock, rolled and stapled.  There is a tiny bottle filled with gold and white beads and two gold "wedding rings" tied on with ribbon,  laying on the "bed" of lace.  The embellishment on the front is a sales award pin that I received from Avon several years ago.  The stickpin that was attached with a short chain had engraving in the center that I covered with a watch face and applied glaze over it.  I had cut the circles for four of these, all different sizes, so, I guess I will probably proceed in making them --  they will be the same, but, different !!

Day Six - Feartil - The Craft Fair

Most of this day was spent at the studio working on our projects and watching Micheal demonstrate some of his techniques.  It would be nice to have a huge room with lots of work areas to leave things handy to get to !!
Lunch at the little cafe next door is becoming a "dining experience" !!  We were given some hours of free time before dinner -- I couldn't remember if this was the day we went back to Cascais to shop or to the casino to check it out -- either way,  "free time" was always good !!  The casino was nothing like anything in Las Vegas other than there was an ATM machine and lots of slots machines.  The table games were nearly non-existent compared to what I am used to seeing !!  Card games seemed "odd" -there were no craps tables -- roulette wheels had no chairs for players - there was a poker room, however !!  The front entrance was probably the most eye catching of anything -- the red ceiling lights reflected on the black tile floors and made me feel as if I had entered another realm.  The evening was spent at the craft fair near the hotel looking at all the Portuguese arts and crafts, much similar to what I would see at home.   Another open air eating establishment for our evening dining pleasure was located on the grounds.  By the time we finished eating, the stage close by was filled with "Fado" musicians and a crowd had gathered...  The end of another perfect day !!

Hilery's Belated Birthday Gift

 In 2006, I embellished a wood frame like this with my Mom and Dad's wedding day photo.  On the back of it, I placed a copy of a closing from a letter my Dad wrote to my Mom before they were married.  It said "from your daffy-doodled, swan eyed snookums".  The day my brother and I were going through that box of Mom's letters, skimming through bits and pieces, I came across that and burst out laughing -- that was "so much" my Dad !!  He had such "wit" about him !! For Tammy's 50th birthday, I made a similar frame with our wedding day snapshot.  I thought it was time for Hilery to have one with her Mom and Dad's
wedding day. When I was going through the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of buttons I have to find five that I thought looked good together, it took me longer than the entire rest of the project.  Anyway, it is always fun to create something for someone else.

Day Five - Day of the Castles

I call this the "Day of the Castles" -- we toured three different ones with a guided tour through the "Mad Man's Castle".  The history and lore made everything about the castle come to life !  We started the day with the carriage ride through the beautiful city of Sintra.  The restored homes were gorgeous -- In my next life, I want to do a restoration of an old home --   The Toy Museum was fascinating -- where, if ever, will one ever see such a huge collection of any and every kind of toy one could imagine ??  I walked the paths of the Moorish Castle with Suze, Lennie, Micheal, Andrea and Tammy -- didn't make it to the top, but, I am enjoying the view through the photos !!  Lunch and off to the guided tour of Mad Man's Castle and Pena Palace.  We had a good laugh about the "crab paws" at the Brazilian Restaurant that evening !!

Day Four - Workshop in Full Swing

We're really getting into the swing of things now !  The daylight hours of this day were spent at Margarida's studio watching and listening to Micheal plus getting a good start on our own projects.  Having the cafe next door and a little grocery market just down the street were so convenient.   However, I would like to teach the cooks how to make a good salad !!  I enjoyed the bit of shopping I did in Cacais, but, the park was beautiful and sitting on the park bench - people watching - well, I've always liked doing that !!  I was disappointed the sunset was not more colorful that day, but, then, how many people do we know that can say they have enjoyed a sunset in Portugal ???

Day Three - from Estoril to Lisbon

This day was full of surprises and wonder !!  Neither one of us got a photo of that hillside full of vendors at the flea market !! One of the first things I noticed on our taxi ride from the airport to the hotel when we arrived was the graffiti everywhere -- it seemed to be something that the locals were proud of.  There was no sign of it being painted over on the cement block walls or sides of buildings.  In Las Vegas, a graffiti artist would be arrested if caught painting on the side of a passenger train car (if we had trains !!).  I'm glad we didn't miss the doll hospital -- the inventory of "doll parts", the restored antique dolls, the shelves full of dolls needing repair, the displays -- it was a gift to have a private tour of this destination.  AND, then, that handsome Naval officer and the private tour of the Marine Museum !!  What a  full day we had !!  We must try to make some of those wonderful pastries that were our "afternoon snack" -- a trip to Portugal to purchase more of them is out of the question !!