Apple of my eye...

Well eye surgery is scheduled for Thurs. so let the count down begin! Here's the last of the candy apples I just finished. Normally the phrase apple of my eye is reserved for my Rottweiler named Apple. Sometimes she is  the apple of my eye. Sometimes she is bad apple and on some occasion's she is rotten apple! Update on the candy balls..they are progressing. They will have to be on hold for  two weeks  since I will be down for awhile. That will be ok since it will give them time to dry well. I sure hope TMC will be showing a good string of 1930/1940's movies while I'm doing nothing but lying still for two long weeks. Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and Mildred Peirce would be a good start! That's all folks!

Fly fly away!

Late today I received word that I have a new eye appointment! I'll be gone from here for awhile  so I can get this eye thing resolved. Fingers crossed I should be back at it in a week or so.....

The long wait...

Well here we are, Sunday afternoon and still no word on when my eye surgery is scheduled. Since there is only a one week window to get this repaired and we are on day three, I'm getting a little  freaky. Freaky crafter is not good! Yesterday proved to be a very busy day for orders on my new sculpted pieces. Now that so many of my creations have been spoken for, I really do need to get back to work. Last night I gave it my best shot but I just can't focus up close. The final result was my sculpting tools flying across the room along with a string of unintelligible words! I'm posting a picture of a few things I made last week..Take a look,  a crabby candy apple, angry lemons and one sly tomato!

One day your in and the next day your out!

Well last night brought me the news that I'm out once again. Sadly my left eye said" Whoa, just wait a minute, you're not getting away so easily, I want to mess up your vision a little bit more!' After yet another trip to the hospital late last night the news of another tear in my retina left me wanting to run screaming into the street, if only I could see well enough to run, let alone find the street! Back to square one sort of. Monday will bring another trip to a new specialist another hour away. More needles and a good chance of surgery.All I want to do is get back to work and finish my candy balls while I can still see them! Yesterday we had an issue of the punch balls popping several times when we applied the paper mache. Fortunately we  were able to get a few coats dried and the balls kept their shape. Looks like this project may be on hold this week until Miss Crappy Eye is fixed! Keep your fingers crossed all goes well........

The pickle man commeth!

Today is one of those weird days we have multiple projects going on at once. I could be talking about one project and my husband could be answering me thinking it was a different project. Who knows what we will end up with by the end of the day. The big project for today is making two giant candy balls for outside in front of the store. I have two big urns outside and why not have candy people in them? Sounds like a normal idea to me! It will definitely get some attention.  One of the other ideas was the pickle men. Each one is a one of a kind. I need to stress to my customers who have bought my reproductions for years, that these are sculpted not molded. Anytime I say "sculpted" you will know that there is only one available. I may make another one that is similar but it won't be exactly the same so if you want the one pictured you better get it quick! Here's a look........

Fairy Dust

Yesterday was yet another trip to the eye doctor. I have a wonderful calm gentle doctor...enter the hysterical crafter! He kept reassuring me that this has just happened to my eye and it will take time. It may be a year until we know for sure if the sight in my left eye will return completely. OK, at this point it's time for him to pull out the bag of fairy dust..just sprinkle it on me and all will be better......please! No such luck, it's just a waiting game now with weekly return visits. Ba humbug..stupid eye. I'm posting a few new pictures. The finished elephant and some other shots from the store. Enjoy.
Happy Days Ahead!
Kay

 

To work or not to work?

Well it's week two of my eye situation. I think at last count I had 7 or 8 doctor visits last week. Yesterday I went out and stocked up on craft supplies which was a bright spot in my day. Today my husband went back to work. He had been home with me all week helping where I was having trouble seeing. I'm on my own today and so far so good but I'm still somewhat  blurry in my left eye. I did do a bit of sculpting last night. The up close work is difficult still. I have so many pieces in the pipeline and I'm dying to get them finished so everyone can see them! Today I'm cleaning the store in hopes of getting open by the weekend. Watch in a few days for some picture postings as I am determined to get SOMETHING done! Tomorrows another doctors appointment  to which I am going to try and drive myself. Fingers crossed I'll make it there and back....
Kay

A little trick my dad taught me!

My niece asked my sister how I was able to blog today. I think at the time my sister was also surprised I was able to do this because of my eye situation. Well  ya know when you are bored out of your brain you will find a way to amuse yourself. I'll just say it was "a little trick my dad taught me"..(Tommy Boy wisdom)!
No in reality I am able to squint  the bad eye and type with the good eye. After a checkup today my doctor said my sight improved since Wed. Not perfect but maybe good enough to do a little bit of work....Oh happy day!
Kay

There's a fish bowl in my eye!

For anyone who knows I tore my retina and have been at the hospital like a zillion times this week, here's where I'm at with the eyesight thing. If you looked at me all you would see is a very red eye. If I look at you I see a big round giggly bubble in my left eye.I'm looking through it to see you. This is a treatment they use to push the lining of my retina back to the wall of my eyeball..we are talking the inside of my eyeball. Sounds gross. Now when the doctor told me what they were going to do of course my first thought was..big gas filled bubble inside my eye? How's that possible? Quickly my brain said..Oh God there's one way and one way only that this "bubble" can get in my eye and that would be by a needle...panic time! My doctor said he had to do this, this was very serious and I could go blind if this wasn't taken care of right away. At this point I'm thinking..Ok knock me out, do what you have to, just get it done.After allot of numbing drops, a few injections to numb the eye, he inserted the gas bubble. Not too bad, just damn annoying floating in my eye. Now home to lay on my side and let the bubble do it's job. Me and my bubble. It looks like a fish bowl in my eye. Maybe they could put a tiny goldfish in there so I have something to watch while this is doing it's thing! The bubble should be gone in a few more days..I guess it just goes away. My eyesight won't be 100 % again in the left eye. Two days ago they did some laser treatments on my eye..that brought on a panic attack. Laser beam and the inside of my eyeball  just didn't sit well with me and it hurt like hell besides! Yep bring on the panic attack , felt like I was going to pass out! I have a great doctor who was very gentle so after some more numbing injections I was able to get through it. Yesterdays visit was just a checkup. Nothing done to the eye thankfully because my eye feels like it has been plucked out, kicked around and shoved back in the socket from the day before! Back again tomorrow for another checkup. I'm anxious to get back to work..my elephants waiting to get it's finished picture taken. There's all kinds of unfinished pieces waiting. Hopefully I'll get back to work next week after my fishbowl finds another home!
Happy Days
Kay

I misplaced an eye!

Well I will be absent for awhile because somehow I tore my retina. Right now my eye is filled with some strange gas bubble and I have to lay down all the time. Hopefully I'll be back by next week. If you find an eye running around please send it here!
Not such a happy day
Kay

Never trust a toad!

Here's a quick picture of a jack o lantern I sculpted with his toad sidekick. The set is 49.00. Somehow the sneaky cat got in on this picture..he sells for 14.00. We are in the middle of one hellish thunderstorm so I'm outta here for now!

S..Is for Super Soul Sunday (In pajama's)

I've found a new program that I can really connect with. Being somewhat of a Oprah fan in the past I checked out her Super Soul Sunday on the OWN network.For the past couple hours I've been on the couch drinking in all it's wisdom's in my pajamas. My elephant is waiting in the 90 plus degree garage for eyes. I wanted to post a finished picture today but it may have to wait a bit until the weather cools a little. Humidity is my evil arch enemy..I hate the guy making me all sweaty and sticky! Who knows what kind of eye's the elephant would end up with if I had to paint in that heat.  He'd be one nasty looking elephant! I may post a picture tonight of a  Jack O lantern with his toad I finished this week. This is a sculpted piece so there won't be another...keep watching!
Happy Super Soul Sunday!
Kay

The Elephant in the room

Here's a picture of the hellish elephant project we have tackled all week. Who's idea was this thing anyway..ok it was one of my, I'm bored today so lets make an elephant ideas! We started this elephant around a year and a half ago. The first few days we worked like mad on this thing. After rolls and rolls of newsprint, masking tape and quite a bit of foul language we put the project on the shelf for awhile. Day after day, week after week we would walk by and watch his paper  slowly falling off along with the tape. Last week that was the breaking point, the poor guy had to get finished. Every night this past week when my husband came home from work he stopped in the 90 degree garage and plastered a few more coats on this guy. Last night was the final coat of paper mache and fingers crossed tomorrow we will have a grey elephant. Here's a preview .....
Kay

The Devil made me do it!

OK, I'm trying to figure out this picture posting thing. Since I'm a baby in the blogging world I just have to crawl before I walk here! If this works you should see a picture of a Devil lantern I'm working on right now..he's a little creepy so I hope he fly's away soon when he's finished! Now don't get the idea I am a Devil worshiper..Just a creepy Halloween chick!
Oh Happy Days
Kay

Something stinks in elephant land!

Well as you can tell from this post I haven't gotten the posting of pictures down quite yet. Yesterday turned out to be one of those I'd rather go back to bed days than dealing with everything that was swirling around me! Our rather large elephant project well, just plain stinks. Anyone who has worked with paper mache on a hot summer day will know what I mean! The garage must be close to 90 degrees and we have a mixture of flour and water in a bucket that smells sour mash from a still. This is my husbands description which I have no idea why he would know what that smells like! Mr. Stamm  is from Hawaii and I don't think he was raised around moon shine....maybe there's a side of him I don't know about! Humm, I'll have to question him about his days on the island, just what was he doing back there in the palm trees? Anyway customers are starting to ask for Halloween lanterns and such. I'm stuck in stinky elephant hell right now so how I'm going to switch gears and start working on orders I have no idea.....maybe first I need a nap!
Stay tuned...
Happy Days
Kay

Ok ..what do I do now?

Well it's day two for this blog and I'm wondering whats the protocol  for blogging. Do I do this everyday? Do I do this more than once a day? Do I do this every time I have a thought about something..no wait I think that falls under "tweeting". I don't tweet, I squawk at my husband sometimes but that's about it! Now back on track about this blogging. The premise of this blog is to be about my business. Some of you know we have been making vintage style holiday decorations for a long  time, twenty seven years to be exact. We reproduce German belsnickles and putz sheep, German Easter candy containers and lots of German and American Halloween lanterns, veggie people, a few Thanksgiving turkeys, Uncle Sam's and St. Patrick's Day. That about covers it. The other part of our business is we have a retro children's store here in Mifflinburg Pa. How this came about I'm not quite sure. My love of children's books, graphics and "kitchy" collectibles may have been the catalyst for the store. Hey doesn't everyone needs a place to play when their feeling blue so why not open a store!Seriously, the shop is cute and fun. The neighborhood kids call me the candy lady since we have a nostalgic candy counter filled with all the old school candies, old fashioned soda pop with paper straws....paper straws..do you remember those?  Now I think this is the part where I should post a picture of the shop or a cute display..humm, I'm not sure how to do that yet.   I think I need to go drag my husband here to help me figure this part out. Last I saw him he was in the garage working on a big paper mache   elephant..no kidding, it's a display prop for the store. OK I'm going to find him now so if I don't get back to finish these thoughts and pictures for today..well tune in tomorrow!

Happy Days!
Kay

Can you teach an old crafter new tricks?

Last night in an email, a new found friend stated she hadn't seen much of an internet presence for my business. After giving her comment some thought I realized she was exactly right. Had all this blogging, Facebook, tweeting,  live traffic feeds, Instagram and Flicker  passed me by and I didn't notice? Do I even know what I'm talking about? I've dabbled with Facebook the past few months, learned how to take and post a picture with Instagram but that's about it.After 27 years in the crafting business, I'm so entrenched in the "old school" way of doing thing's that I wonder if I even have the mental capacity of keeping up with all these new ways of promoting the craft that I have done for so long. I had to laugh at myself when I sat down to start this blog. I would think most blogger's sit down at their computer and type away  using spell check and auto correct. Well here I was, scribbling this first blog down on a piece of orange construction paper I found in my studio! Can you teach an old crafter new tricks? Well we will see..stay tuned!

Happy Days
Kay