31 Days of Glass: Final Installment

And it's an adult beverage theme.

28: Wine and black squirrel glasses. The wine was a consolation prize for not getting an entree at my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary party. My cousin requested a vegetarian meal, but there was some confusion, and well, more wine for me!! The black squirrel glasses are from Kent's annual wine and art fest - always fun and frequently rescheduled due to weather. All I can tell you is that if you're planning a summer picnic, make sure it's not on wine tasting Saturday, because we will have a thunderstorm, tornado warnings, hail, and possibly even snow.

29: Margarita glasses from my friend Vickie. She relocated to Las Vegas, which makes it damned difficult to share a couple of margaritas!

30: Cute glasses from Ikea.

31: And I'll close out this project with a photo commemorating a long friendship with my friend Mike K. Other than horses, Hannah and Paul, there are only two things she requires in life: hot coffee and Baileys!

Yay! Another photo project completed. What did I learn from this one: 1) good lighting is critical and the best lighting in the house is at the breakfast table on a cloudy day; 2) Get close when shooting jewelry, macro-close. Otherwise, it looks a little lonely in the frame.

31 Days of Glass: Swizzlers

Does anyone use glass swizzlers any more? I seem to have quite a collection, but always use a spoon for mixing drinks at home (you know, for those giant vats of bloody marys and Lynchburg Lemonades I consume).

Without further ado: Swizzlers!

Almost makes me want to mix up a Lynchburg right now.

Larry

It's two years ago today that Larry died. He was such a good boy. I miss you, my friend...

Orchid Mania, Cleveland Botanical Garden

Photos from the MPEG Groupshoot at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens last week. The first one has a couple of layers of Kim Klassen's texture '45 below'.

 

 

The Garden's photo club was also shooting last Sunday. One of the guys said they get 3 shoots a month, before the public gets in that day. Worth thinking about a membership, especially for access to all the shows they have. They do have a reciprocal agreement with Holden Arboretum, though, which means free admission and $5 parking.

31 Days of Glass: Wine Charms

Fun to make and every one different, of course!

17:Silvery starfish and tropical sea-colored beads. Fell in love with the blue color of the large bead.

 

18: And that clear green bead with just a little bit of texture, and a dragonfly charm.

19: Just a clear glass charm. Could probably have snugged up a bit on this shot, to show detail better.

20: Another little dragonfly, this time with a clear glass bead.

 

Puts me in mind of Spring, and drinking wine on the deck with friends. And looking for dragonflies to take pictures of. It's still hot-tea-and-a-book-by-the -fireplace season, but under the snow, daffodil roots are growing...

31 Days Of Glass: Containers

After losing a rather frustrating fight with a financial questionnaire, I've given up and am planning to eat cat food and live in a refrigerator box in my dotage. So on to more cheerful things, like more glass photographs.

12: Glass jar from Lehman's Hardware in Kidron, Ohio. Love that place. Great kitchen department, where you can find amazing things you never knew you desperately needed, like squirrel-shaped cookie cutters. And twenty kinds of rolling pins, plus decorative racks to hold them. The jar is full of 8 O'clock coffee, the only kind my coffee maker will consent to make decent coffee from.

13: Mom's cake stand. It's held a hundred cakes for various family occasions. It's mine for a while, before I pass it along to another family member to help celebrate his or her family milestones. Note the marks from years of use and serrated cake knives.

14: Sootie needed a container for his treats, and Mom contributed a jelly jar she was using for dog treats. The dogs didn't mind - they prefer snack in much bigger quantities than this jar holds!

15: Cute fish dish. It holds a perfectly random collection of things on my dressing table - a new quarter, a wood hole plug, a tiny screw, a skeleton key.

16: Vine bowl, a gift from my friend Vickie. I tend to save things "for good", which is what I've done with this bowl. But really, why? It's pretty, I like it, and it deserves more use. Mom's cake stand is clearly well-used, but still treasured. Sometimes things have value more for the memories they carry than the condition they're in.

So there you go!

Orchid Mania!

Picture this - 40 photographers, a million bucks worth of gear and tripods everywhere at Cleveland Botanical Garden's Orchid Mania! The Garden kindly allowed us in two hours before public hours. The shoot was set up by one of the MPEG coordinators, Jerry Jelinek, and a member who works at the Garden. It was fabulous! Orchids everywhere, as you would expect, and the variety is amazing.

Only one photo tonight, but more to come. My beautiful red KitchenAid coffee maker passed into the great beyond this morning, and I am taking my caffeine deprive weary self to bed early.

These pretty little things were on one of the tables in the hall leading to what used to be the library. Not much more than an inch across and sunny yellow to lighten up a dreary morning.

Did I mention how nice it was to see vibrant green life, blooming flowers, and colorful butterflies on a very cold winter day?

31 Days of Glass: Jewelry, 8 - 11

January was a pretty busy month and I'm a little behind in posting. Here's just a quick one featuring jewelry made with glass.

8: Blue and green earrings from Ohio Mart in October. And, wouldn't you know it, Empire in Kent had almost identical one for about a third of the price. Empire (on Main Street, right next to The Black Squirrel Gallery) has lots of pretty glass jewelry and tchotchkes - and anything you might need for henna tattoos and aromatherapy. I love shopping in Kent - you never know what you'll find.

 

9: Glass and gold foil earrings from Boston Mill Art Festival a couple of years ago. Lisa and I debated over these forever - she bought a different pair, and I bought these. The beads are hand-made and have a couple of divots in them, as well as a little bit of surface roughness due to the foil.

 

10: No idea where this necklace came from, love the color, though. Lisa, any idea?

 

11: Penguins! Cute little guys.

Lots more glass, the old hydro dam on the Cuyahoga, and Stebbins Gulch to come.