Thursday, 7 April 2011

Taking a parcel to the post....

Good morning everybody! It's a lovely, warm and sunny day here, and I've just been watching a whole swarm of coal tits chasing a magpie away. I suppose that bird was getting too close to a nest.... They all seemed to be shouting at each other, and although the magpie is much bigger, it was sheer outnumbered.
Yesterday I took my parcel to the post. The lady in the post never looks happy, but this time she looked thunderstruck. I gave her the parcel.
She asked *What's that?*
I said *A small packet*
*You've DEFACED the whole front of it!*
*It's not defaced, it's art. I like it!*
*I don't. Where I am supposed to stick the stamps?*
*There's room at the top and all round.*
*If I had anything to say, I would forbid it!*(Swatting the stamps on like she was trying to kill a cockroach)
Thank God she doesn't have the power to decide!
What a miserable woman!
In the afternoon I visited my friend for her little birthday party, where we had lots of different cakes and coffee and enjoyed good company for a couple of hours. Emily the dog was there, too - with B, and after checking us all out and lots of tail wagging, positioned herself under the table chewed her leather bone and was happy. If anyone mentioned her name, she thumped her tail on the floor, so she was evidently keeping up with our chit-chat,too!
This is the mirror which I made on Sunday for Inge's birthday, didn't want to show pics of it before she had got it. It's a *less is more* mirror, she doesn't like too much decoration, and as she plays the piano and is very musical, I made it black and white like music sheets:
The frame was covered in strips of music paper - printed from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff - and strips of my old magazines, painted with gesso and decorated with TH's musical tissue tape, and stamped with some music notes and a head of Mozart, which I covered with glossy accents to make it stand out.
Yesterday evening I NEEDED to do some crafting, so that I didn't get withdrawal symptoms. And I needed some exercise after eating all that cake!
I altered another little picture frame. This time using gold structure paste, which I heat dried till it bubbled and burnt, and then toned down a bit with Stazon *timber brown*. I polished the sides of the frame with inka gold. I made a flower from gold metal using TH's *tattered florals*. Some of the petals were embossed using a Kohinoor paper stump, and I distressed them all with Stazon again. After curling and layering the petals, I fixed them together with a brad and hot glued them to the frame. For the picture inside I distressed a ceramic card using TH inks in gradient colours, stamped a setting sun with colour box and the houses and balloon with archival black. The row of houses wasn't long enough for the card, so I did some doodling right and left, and added to it. Then I wrote a quote along the left side, from a song we used to sing when I went to school: *Golden gleams the western sky, where the sun is sinking*. And I am entering this frame and picture into Hel's *Sunday Stampers* Challenge, which is *Golden slumbers* this week.

Well, enough for today. Tomorrow I will put up some pictures of my arty kitchen. Thanks a lot for looking, and have a great day, whatever you are up to. And take care!

30 comments:

  1. WOW what a contrast between the two mirrors both beautiful works of art.

    Silly post woman no joy in her life then.

    Way to go Bluetits they must have been very fierce. XOXO Zoe

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  2. Love both frames, Val, and the refelction in the mirror looks good, too! Hugs, Sarah

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  3. I will start with your art first before I move onto Post Office Lady!!! Mirror and frame, wonderful art created, brilliant.
    Well I am relieved as I was so sure the lady at the Post Office I go to had something against me but no, they are all the same!!!! She would give me the evil eye and then make a fuss as to where to place the stamps before "thumping" (I know you can relate to this!) the stamps onto the prettiest part of the stamping. Why do they want to spoil our fun? I am sure there are many lovely people at Post Offices, maybe we have met the only two horrid ones out there lol
    Wishes
    Lynne M

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  4. This is gorgeous, I love the ethereal look you achieved with it!

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  5. Hi Val, lovely things again. Thanks for my pretty birthday card! Hugs, Barb. I have mailed you!

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  6. Your frames and mirror are beautiful. As for the post office, well I hate going to my post office. There is usually a line out the door and only one person working there. Others just walk around in the background ignoring the lines. Its awful. And they always look like they are in a bad mood!!! You are not alone. :-)

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  7. Beautiful Mirrors The music one is my favourite Don`t you just hate miserable people in shops. Sounds like you had a lovely time at the party Val. Chris xx

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  8. You do have a way with mirrors! ... well, I think you do have a way with just about everything! Funny Funny story at the post office ... poor woman. Fancy being that cranky all our lives. SHEEESH!

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  9. Good Morning Valerie! I sure chuckled about the post woman, the days must be very long and hard for her.

    Your mirror is fabulous and the picture frame is another MASTERPIECE, my friend :)

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  10. Beautiful mirrors Val!

    I had to laugh at your pokey post mistress, God, what an old bat! Surely it must be lovely to see something so bright and colourful for a change, rather than the same old boring tut she sees daily (obviously not for her, lol!) what a silly old moose!

    Suzie xxxx :)

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  11. Ladies, you are all so right about our post lady. She is always so miserable and unfriendly. But it seems to be a wide spread phenomenon!

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  12. Oh what a grumpy drawers of a postmistress! Enough said about her! Your musical mirror is lovely, has a very calm feeling to it, however the gold one is wow and the gold flower is Wowzer! Ab Fab. x

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  13. Lovely frames, and I adore your decadent golden flower! Hugs, T

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  14. I am so sorry that Post woman was so rude to you! I LOVE fancy artsy packages in the mail! I stamp and do random stuff on mine sometimes, too! It's just more fun that way! Great projects!

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  15. I see different ladies @ the PO I go too. Only 1 says she hate to cover up my pretty package with the stamps,the others I believe too-look for the prettiest part to "deface" it. Makes the trip become an unnecessary chore..
    But the bright side is the beauty you create and send is not wasted on such!
    And your mirrors are plain awesome! Hugs Tee

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  16. You know I think we must not let ourselves be dicouraged by such miserable people! I will continue to do my post as I like it!

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  17. Both altered mirrors are gorgeous Valerie. I must be one of the lucky ones as our local post office simply adore decorated envelopes and packages. Annette x

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  18. Hi Valerie,
    Well you are not alone! it must be a world wide prerequisite to get the job, being miserable and stone faced, as our Post Master is never happy when I bring in my packages too. Yet they don't seem to have a problem with postcards (and reading them) do they? I just leave a spot for the stamps, and I usually go when the other clerk works, she loves my packages and loves seeing the ones I get in the mail.

    I want to start a pop bottle mailer package
    round robin someday, lol maybe you would want to be a part of it! Can you image when you show up with a large pop bottle and she has to put stamps on that?

    Anyway, I do want to end on a happy comment in that I absolutely enjoy your art creations,Thank-you for sharing your techniques and for the inspiration! I look forward to seeing more on PDA!

    Many Thanks for joining PDA, and for participating in my April Art Giveaway on my blog and for adding the link here on your blog.
    (((hugs)))
    kim

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  19. Your story about the cranky mail lady made me laugh. Maybe you should start a mail art campaign for her- we'll all send postcards and mail art---would she like it if it were for her? :0)

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  20. Utterly divine art! Thanks for joining in with the Sunday STamper... as for the old bag in the Post Office... ignore her, she must be too grumpy to appreciate mail art!! x

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  21. Beautiful frames!!! Sorry to hear about the post office lady. I bet your envelope was very pretty!!

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