Art or crafts?

Not sure why it bothered me so much...but an old friend was lamenting about how she was floundering in her new retirement. She told me I was lucky that I had my 'crafts' to fill my time. Somehow that didn't sit right with me. I do some crafting but my miniature displays are much more than that. Do I get to qualify my miniatures as art since I sell and make money on them? My miniature gypsy wagon took hours and hours of work-planning, making prototypes, learning to electrify and make the right candle stick, searching for the right accessories and trim and colors.... I have sold more than two dozen of the wagons (I should have kept track!) and am proud of my work. I had forgotten that I struggled with calling myself an 'artist' back when I left teaching.
I guess I need to remind myself that I need to be happy and satisfied with what I do. I can always educate others about what I create and perhaps they will better understand it.
Now back to planning my Harry Potter miniature stone cottage-and figuring out how to make a round roof....

Great day with my Sister!

Today my Sister (with a capital S) and I spent the day together. She was great, letting me browse in vintage and antique shops in Holland as well as art galleries. I found this great vintage shelf which will live at the lake house. Then we walked down the street to my favorite gallery~Thistle Gallery. New zipper pins had arrived! I bought my Sister a bird pin for taking care of our cats while we will be away this month. Then I bought myself a gift (the cherry pin~thanks, honey!) and I was shopping for a friend and bought her a pin as well (the bluebird). Then we were directed to see the fabulous pins in the window of the gallery...and I lusted after another zipper pin. My Sister decided that would be a terrific gift for my birthday (in March). Yippee! I just adore those pins! Of course then I felt I should buy her some special earrings for her birthday (in March). I just love shopping for my own gifts as well as gifts for others!
To top off the afternoon, we had a terrific lunch at Boatwerks on Lake Macatawa. What a wonderful day!

PS Owls were abundant everywhere! I took this picture just for you, Kim. Aren't they adorable?!

Turning a sad day onto a memorable one...

A good friend from high school lost her Mother this week. Hate to say it was a blessing but she was suffering so much. I went to the memorial service with another friend and after such a sad time we decided to stop at a few vintage/antique shops in the area. First we stopped at The Blue Door on East Fulton. I found a really great small cabinet but they will not argue about price. We also stopped at Rebel.reclaimed just a block west of The Blue Door. Very cool shop with great vintage items that the owner has painted or glued to turn into something else. I bought a nice dome as well as an old toy block. The owner was nice enough to let me take a picture of his wall. So cool! And so many owls!!! Good prices, too. The shop is a bit on the small side. They share the building with a vintage clothing store which I didn't check out (Urban Outfitters-or something like that). Fun way to change the afternoon into more of a celebration.

Hearts and flowers....

Valentine decorations have been popping up in our house over the past few days. Of course, once I finish packing away Christmas, they will dominate my home but until the packing is done, they add a sweet, red touch to my decor!

New find at a new vintage store....

Today after lunch, I somehow persuaded my husband to let me stop in to check out a store near home which is a resale shop (Jodi's off Northland/Plainfield). It has been there a few years now and I never bothered dropping in to check it out. It turns out there is quite a bit of vintage furniture as well as other things and has openned a second space in the same strip mall. I found a few things I might 'need' in the future and almost skipped out on the second space but I'm glad I didn't. I found a small straw hat lampshade that I have been covetting since I saw one on a 'Clean House' episode. I couldn't believe that the woman got rid of such a unique lamp and lampshade! So now I have the straw hat lampshade alongside my top hat lampshade. Could this be the beginning of a new collection?!

Turns out I love polishing silver!

I ran across a box with old silverware at my Mom's. We brought home much 'stuff' from my Aunt's house-some from their Aunt who lived in Chicago...some from Great Grandma. Anyway, I decided I loved the ladles and they would be a terrific way to display my baby mice (Wee Forest Folk). I tried several ways to clean the ornate flowers on the handles but finally went out and bought silver polish~and it worked! A bit time consuming but the results were worth it! It's a bit funny but the smell from the polish reminds me of home permanents-and I actually enjoyed that! Guess I am a bit strange...
Now I need to figure out how to soider a wire on the back of each handle so I can hang them. And can I think of something to display on the ornate serving fork...

Catching up....

I know I haven't posted in quite a while. Not sure why but plan to try to be more diligent in the future!
Happily, Christmas wasn't as trumatic as expected with our sons away from home. My dear husband shocked me with a river cruise as a combination Christmas and birthday gift. I shocked him with tickets to the Daytona 500. So we will be traveling in February and March- first to Florida then to Paris, France! I am so excited about both trips, since I will get to visit DisneyWorld and Universal's Harry Potterville while hubby and our son drive to Daytona. Hopefully our son's girlfriend will be able to have fun with me. Both sons visited in the past few weeks. We left all Christmas decorations up for them and enjoyed our time immensely! I even spent one on one time with the girlfriend and had a terrific bonding experience!
I will share pictures of the highlights of the past month...gotta love those kids!