angels we have heard on high....among the felt trees

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!!! each day brings new creations during this festive season!  the angels were made during my pottery sessions and a little candle is meant to sit on her head.  one is making it's way to someone special.  the felt trees are one of my favorites that i whipped up to round out the dinner table.  the cookies will be this weekend as make them as late as i can before gently wrapping them up and delivering them down the chimneys!  ho ho ho!    enjoy and more to come!  

and the engine is revving up....wrap wrap wrap

first wrapping of the season

just getting warmed up with this first simple gift wrap.  so much more inspiration & holiday festive delights to come!  enjoy - marlo

wrapping up thanksgiving

well, after getting my entire self more grounded from the India trip i made during the first half of the month, i thought it best to get things whipped up for a quickie thanksgiving!  and it's gone already -just like that.  i saved the moments before friends arrived to share with you.  and yes we devoured a most delicious feast:

bruschetta with burrata mozzarella, melted tomatoes and shallots

squash soup with gruyere & savory herbed crustini's

bacon wrapped herbed pork tenderloin

cauliflower mash drizzled with greek white beans drenched 

in olive oil and roasted red peppers

caramelized sweet carrots

cranberry upside down cake & vanilla ice cream

yummy!

enjoy and see at the table next year or sooner!

marlo

next batch of ceramics... they just keep coming

this round of recent ceramics i like quite a lot because i am finally able to gain some size with my pieces.  throwing and pulling anything more than 4lbs. takes effort and a lot as you add weight.  i just finished an 8lb. bowl with a grateful sense of achievement that it didn't fold over onto itself.  it happens often enough.  i also added in the mix below a trivet of sorts that i made for fun with a whimsical fish detail.  i am working on getting pricing together when i return from india and will post that for anyone interested in being the first customer.

enjoy - marlo

fall beauty...still falling pretty

a snapshot of how the porch garden has transitioned from summer to fall with re-doing of containers, additions of new ones and a new cluster arrangement of them all!  chrysanthemums, rudbeckia, agastache, geraniums, hostas, ferns, asters and lots more!  enjoy the season as i do - marlo

a quick gift wrap for kids

these are a couple images of the gift wrapping i did for one of the little people in our life  - ella.  it was her birthday and no gift leaves our house without some special something wrapped around it!  i love dr. seuss and grew up reading all of his books; i still find great delight in re-reading the stories.  i had saved a calendar with excerpts from the books and placed one on the front.  the other gift image was also for ella and i wrapped it with hand painted craft paper topped with yarn.  yarn is the BEST ribbon! 
enjoy - marlo

happy halloween handmade

just a little halloween handmade post.  we made pumpkins and gourds during the month of september & october in pottery so we would have them in time for the holiday.  my pumpkin is happier than most of the ones that were made but silly is the way i like things!  my gourd is tucked in with the real organics and blends in nicely to the arrangement.  

enjoy & happy halloween!

apples at their best... i think

well it is fall.  i wasn't expecting it to happen so quickly.  it did - again.  and each year i know that when my birthday passes it's all a rollercoaster ride to christmas.  each day feels the down hill of the ride and the holidays are the reward at the end.  for me at least.  then it comes the real hard part of the year - january.  

but we are not even close to that yet and i have many things to accomplish!  SO - yesterday afternoon in a flurry of baking under the gun (of course because i procrastinate) i whipped out two fine beauties, one of which i captured and share below.

rustic fall apple tart.  as one who is a protector of the earth and one who supports my local farmers fruits of labor so as to eat seasonally what's available - apples have the stage right now and i am a fan of them.  i do have to say that i was putting off this moment as well, savoring every last peach i could, because that means that it's apples every day for the next 6 months... oh and pears too, as they share the limelight during winter.  both fine options.

the tart was a cinch to make using phyllo dough all ready for you - voila!  i used matsu apples from Stovers Farms (barrien, mi) instead of granny smith which i am not a fan of.  they have a softer tartness but one that is just as effective in the delivery.  their apples are simply the best! their honey crisp are divine and widely sought out through the markets.  all their varieties are HUGE!  not that size is everything but when you are looking for a snack, one of their apples will do the job & then some especially with a bit of almond or peanut butter or perhaps some caramel and salt.  delicious no matter what and the tart was devoured by all ages at the table as soon as it hit the table.

the other dessert just as easy except for making lemon zest, a task i loathe when baking or cooking.  i think it's because i fear getting my finger in the way and zesting the wrong ingredient; or because it's just hard to do.  i do it first to get it out of the way so i can enjoy the rest of the process.  

lemon spice cake covered in lemon sugar glaze.  yum yum yum!  i of course futz with the recipe and added in more spices than the called for cardamon.  hey i like it and i know everyone else will too!  devoured just as quickly with only a few squares left.  i didn't have the right light to take a picture but you can use your imagination.  enjoy & go have some dessert!  marlo.

a quick list on creativity

i realize that i am being a bit cliche by posting this list of how to be creative.  it's really a reminder for me though it can't hurt to share it.  do something creative each & every day to the best of your ability.   cheers! marlo

a fall gift for my mother

i whipped up a small container of fall beauty as a gift to my mom to enjoy as the seasons change.  a bit of heuchera, flat leaf parsley, chrysanthemums, ornamental peppers, rudbekia & lemon thyme.  enjoy & if you want me to make one for you let me know!

simple beauty from farmers

a sampling of the simple beauty i find every week at the farmer's market.  dahlias and tuberose brighten our dining room with elegance and the most intoxicating aroma in the evening (tuberose).  i have struggled every summer trying to keep the dahlias perky until the new batch comes in.  The secret is warm to hot water and only a small amount in the vase as the dahlia is hollow and can get water logged.  for tuberose, i do low water but no heat is required.  enjoy and find some for your self!  marlo

                                  

saying thank you in a decorative way

of all my crafts, i do really enjoy making cards.  i whipped up some thank you cards over the weekend to share.  using punches, remnant papers and ink can take what was a simple background to a creative delight.  enjoy - marlo.

VOTE FOR ME American Made Contest by Martha Stewart

I have entered this American Made Contest & I need your HELP! Here's the link.  Please vote for me at Martha Stewart's American Made Contest by viewing my profile below

http://www.marthastewart.com/americanmade/nominee/82958

You can vote 5 TIMES in a row.  THEN do it all over again tomorrow all the way thru SEPT 13.  Thank you in advance for your support!  

please vote for me on martha stewart's american made contest

here's the link and please vote for me for Martha Stewart's American Made Contest by viewing my profile below

http://www.marthastewart.com/americanmade/nominee/82958

pottery running amok

i am so committed to my pottery practice.  it's entrancing.  it's challenging.  it's uninterrupted pure focus on wet clay for 3hrs at a time.  it's creative, fun, and something i don't plan on stopping for a long time.  

i am sharing the stock of what i have amassed over the last few months.  i know it may not seem like a lot, but i am not master yet and some days brain damage does take over me and nothing comes out.  also, creating it does take time from start to finish.  at least a month sometimes with all the drying, trimming and double firing.  hope you enjoy it.  i have a few requests already!  yeah!

the photo is an homage to stephen's Aware series

tunes that run the gamut of my taste

i love making music compilations as you know and i love to share them with friends who appreciate wide ranges of music & music in general.  not many folks do.  i take a lot of time to pick the right songs for the theme i choose and i lay them down in an order that takes you on a journey.  that's what good music should do. so i have been listening to a few lists recently both old and new and thought i would share them.  enjoy - marlo.

the first is from stephen.  his summer choices to help get your through the drive and your day.  it's called -  shelter .  a lovely range of moods he takes you on, which i love, and the songs grow on you the more you listen to it.

1. shelter - birdy

2. the one i love is gone - the secret sisters

3. treasures - seasick steve

4. take me into your skin - trentemoller (love this!)

5. the day - the black angels

6. paradise - city and color

7. trouble weighs a ton - dan auerback (lead singer of the black keys & you can't go wrong)

8. june hymn - the decemberists

9. fountain stairs - deer hunter (interesting band i like)

10. shine - everclear

11. all over you - grace potter & the nocturnals (love her grittiness)

12. the burnt-over district - hem

13. be ok - ingrid michaelson (love her light heartedness)

14. love interruption - jack white (what can i say - awesome?)

15. stubborn love - the lumineers (coming to enjoy them a lot)

16. i need my girl - the national (good chill out with a cocktail band)

the next was made for a old friend's birthday 10 years ago.  this mix was very much a jack mix and i knew he would dig it.  we miss jack, his so very dry humor (just like mine) and his brilliance.  god we had some really great conversations.   i love listening to this when i am making the drive to or from milwaukee or when i need to let my mind shift it's perspective.  

about my friend jack

1. as the bell rings - dead can dance (really miss them as a group)

2. el carretero - buena vista social club (really lovely mix of musicians - powerful rhythms)

3. memphis soul stew - king curtis

4. blues in the night - quincy jones (LOVE this version)

5. rose rouge - st. germain (great dancing lounge group)

6. cast your fate to the wind - vince guaraldi (there's not much i don't like by him but THIS de-stresses me like no other song)

7. bears - lyle lovett (who doesn't like a little lyle?)

8. sail across the water - jane siberry (in a cool category all her own)

9. greek song - rufus wainwright (his voice is so intoxicating and addictive)

10. ain't no sunshine - bill withers (he's got it going on)

11. backwater blues - dinah washington (a diva)

12. miss you - etta james (don't mess with her either)

13. our way to fall - yo lo ten go (perfect for waking up to)

14. say hello wave goodbye - david gray (haunting & moving)

15. makambo - geoffrey oryema (stephen turned me on to this wonderful african artist)

16. sei tu - dining rooms

17. scene d'amor - sarah brightman (i could sing with her all day... just plug your ears)

the last one is an oldie.  this was on a cassette!  i remember making it for a few friends but the one i remember giving it to is kim lennert.  she & her family just moved temporarily to michigan and i miss her.  i remember she gave me a tape in return which got botched up by the car wash and i was crushed because she didn't have the song list with it.  i still long for that tape.  anyway - this is was where my head was many many years ago and i love go back there.

thoughts that run through my head

1. one headlight - the wallflowers (love his voice and his face too)

2. ol'51 - sarah mclaughlin (had just seen the movie, "boys on the side")

3. pink houses - john mellencamp (could listen to this over and over and never get tired of it)

4. her first mistake - lyle lovett (i have made so many)

5. saw the light - lori carson (newbie to the music scene with promising horizon)

6. stuck in the middle with you - stealer's wheel ("reservoir dogs" had just come out - brutal movie with a great soundtrack)

7. heart of glass - blondie (loved her style and everything rebellious about her)

8. set adrift on memory bliss - p.m. dawn (pulled this out of my late teenage years - just dig it)

9. carolyn's finger - cocteau twins (rita from the salon i worked at during my first years in chicago loved this band and i became hooked very quickly)

10. when the kingdom comes - golden palamino's (an awesome mix of artists from various bands that came together to jam.  turned out a few great albums)

11. missing - everything but the girl (this is their transition from lovely relaxing tunes to quite club mixes.  a nice turn)

12. rain in the summer - the alarm (always reminds me a another friend (thorpe) who made mix tapes for me)

13. night in my veins - the pretenders (can't go wrong with this babe)

14. get paid for loving - the love jones (swingers was just due to come out and this was the prelude to the new sound of swing)

15. crash - dave matthews (probably one of the only songs by him i like.. maybe not)

16. have a little faith - jewel (always need that even to this day)

17. streets of philadelphia - bruce springsteen (title to the movie, philadelphia, with tom hanks being a man dying of aids. incredibly haunting. very moving. unforgettable)

18. the healing game - van morrison (remembering that everything will pass at some point)

19. you & me song - wannadies (silly little song)

20. chloe dancer/crown of thorns - mother love bone (i have a head banger side to me.  this is a quiet choice)

21. angel standing - jewel

the porch garden of solace

a quick note here before i leave town again!  the porch garden.  a place of true solace regardless of the streetnoise down below or the crazy people yelling profanities at 10pm from the half-way house across the street or the really bad music coming from some young punk's car in the church parking lot.  yes when you sit among the flowers you find solace among the robins, the finches, the hummingbird, the butterflies and of course the squirrels.

so enjoy this years selection of beauty before their become a jungle of independent plants that care no longer for form or shape and just want to expand in every direction they can!  be well - marlo.