I bought some acrylic paint markers off Temu, and I must say, I love them.
I’ve spent a couple of afternoons playing with them and some of the smaller stones I’ve collected from the beach.
The pack I got was 12 colours but to be honest I only really like the black and the blue. I tried the green and and orange but they’re just not me. Those stones are now in pots on my patio… Maybe I’ll have a go at some black and red or black and green or something later, but I love the plain black or black and blue.
However, I wish the markers were thinner. They have a dot side and a brush side. But the brush is too thick for the kind of work I like to do. I prefer really fine lines and these are just too thick.
Still, they’re pretty cute. Not sure what I’ll do with these. They can be sold as a group for displaying in a bowl on a table I guess. They definitely need to be in a group…
I have two white beach tops which I love. I bought one the first summer after I moved here and the other from a year or two later and wore them a lot.
At the time I wore tinted sunscreen all the time and as a result a lot of my tops were stained around the neck. I’ve tried bleaching them but I can’t seem to get rid of the grimy look.
I didn’t want to throw them out, so I decided to dye them.
But being me and being impatient, I couldn’t let it wait till I found a place on Paros which sold fabric dye, so I looked up natural fabric dyeing online. Turns out the whole mordant thing was too much for me, so I decided to just go for it and see what I’d get. After all, the tops were at the end of their life as they were, I didn’t have much to lose…
Basically, what I learned in my reading was that anything that stains will dye fabric. Duh. It will fade over time, but heck, you can always re-dye, right?
Nothing stains like turmeric. It’s one reason I dislike using it. It stains everything: the sink, any tupperware you put leftovers in, the table, everything it touches.
What could possibly go wrong?
So, I put the turmeric I had in my cupboard for the last year into the biggest pot I own, added a pinch of salt (’cause I remembered somewhere that that helps set colours, but really, I had no idea). Once it boiled, I let it cool a little so I didn’t cook my tops, and dipped them in, stirring with a metal spoon.
I tried two methods. First, I tried an ombre with one top, but being me and being impatient (and being sloppy) I let the dyed bits touch the white bits, so I had to drizzle some dye onto the white to make it not look so odd.
This is the result after rinsing but before washing:
As you can see, I didn’t even manage to dye it evenly on both sides… oops. Didn’t plan that out very well.
With the other top I decided to relive my youth and used rubber bands to tie dye it. I sunk it all into the dye and this is the result after rinsing and prior to washing:
And here is the result after washing twice. A much softer yellow, but still pretty. This top looks better than the other one. I think the other one will need re-dyeing…
Note to self: buy more turmeric.
Anyway, thought I’d share my experiment in case you have turmeric in your pantry that you aren’t sure what to do with.
I think I mentioned working on half the kitchen table. Not much space, but enough to work on smaller projects like fridge magnets and rocks. Since I still had some wooden shapes, I’d gotten on Temu, I decided to go ahead and finish them all. I also found I still had some magnets, so I was able to finish them.
I used acrylic paint to do these, and a very very thin rigger brush to get the fine lines.
I love these little plant magnets, though I’m not thrilled with the mushroom ones…
I love the cats too and am thinking I need to do more of these. Maybe a little bigger. Maybe as coasters as well…
Remember these?
This is what they look like now. The evil eye, a very popular theme in Greece. Much better.
I had some more of these round flat pieces so I did some more simple colourful sea urchins.
Remember these?
Now they’re starfish. Or they could be urchins if that’s how you prefer to see them. But they’re not. They’re starfish.
I had a few more of these half rounds so I made more stylized urchins. I think I prefer these 3D ones, but both are nice.
Lastly, remember these fish – the top ones were made using the wood burning marker and the bottom ones were decoupaged.
This is what they look like now. Much more fun!
I’ve ordered more wooden shapes, some of the same and others in different sizes, not sure what I’ll make when I get them, but they’re fun to work with!
These little magnets are cute and make great little presents of the ‘stocking filler’ sort.
I had the idea to recycle these ‘things’ I didn’t want to throw away into something fun. I had this nice stick and some bottles left over from the larger wall hanging I made a couple of weeks ago so, while I was on a creative streak, I began working on this.
First I painted my ‘things’ white on the outside and a vibrant blue on the inside. Can you tell what they are? Go on. Its easy.
Then I edged them using a gold marker. Have you guessed?
Then I painted shapes inside them using a white paint marker. Have you got it yet?
I poked holes in the bottom, added a white pearl onto a piece of wire and attached them by wrapping the wire around the stick.
If you haven’t guessed yet, they’re cut up egg cartons!
I randomly wrapped the ‘flowers’ onto my stick, added bottles with sea glass, dried grasses and sticks in them, a couple of old chandelier crystals to refract light and almost done.
To finish, I wrapped the entire stick with hemp string to hide the wires.
I think it looks pretty flash and I’m really happy with it.
This is what the corner of my living room looks like right now. I’m constantly having to rearrange what I have on my walls. Not enough space for everything… Must sell some stuff to make room… Time to get back to listing stuff on Etsy and Ebay…
I’m not sure I mentioned before, but my mom has been sick. She got COVID and as a result got pneumonia. We thought she had a cold, but she passed out one morning while having breakfast and fell off her chair. At the health center on Paros they checked for broken bones and found pneumonia. So off to Syros we went, to the hospital.
I have bad memories of that place…
Anyway, mom was in isolation there of course, so although I stayed on Syros for days, I was only able to see her from the doorway of the COVID ward now and then for a few minutes. So, in the end I returned to Paros and my grooming work, and my brother and his girlfriend (on holidays from Australia) went to Syros to be close by.
The good news is that mom is coming home today! She still needs oxygen and pills, but she’s finally out of hospital. She’ll stay with me till she’s on her feet.
Meanwhile, I was so frustrated and bored on Syros. Without company and having to hang around close to the hospital, I barely did anything but watch Netflix in the air-conditioned room and walk around town when it wasn’t too hot.
I was yearning to do something when I got back and so I’ve been doing a few odds and ends. First, I’ll share these little fridge magnet experiments.
I bought these wooden objects off Temu and wanted to try different treatments so see what I liked. I tried decoupage of some napkins I had.
I like these, they’re not as shiny now they are totally dry, so they look more vintagey. The blue fish, not so much…
These half round knobby things are kinda cute, but I don’t like the way the napkin didn’t fold well on the sides. Not sure what I’ll do with those. I think these would make great sea urchin magnets.
One thing I was dying to try was this wood burning marker I saw on Temu that I wanted to try.
Of course, I also had to buy this little heat gun, but now I have a small heat gun for other projects.
What you do is draw on the wood with the pen and then apply heat to it and the pen marks will burn the wood.
Eh. It works fine but it’s definitely not for such fine work… the markers are thin but not thin enough for what I had in mind. I could only do basic shapes…
To be honest I’m not sure what I’ll do with most of these little things. I have added super strong neodymium magnets to the back so they will hold just about anything on the fridge. I bought those on Temu too. I might re-work them, paint them… I’m better at painting for sure.
I still much prefer the magnets I made last year – I made the magnets out of air-dry clay, painted them with acrylic paint and sealed them with gloss varnish. Much cuter.
My Temu buying days will be coming to an end soon as I hear that the EU has voted to place high tariffs on things coming from China. It means we’ll still be getting Chinese made things, but at a higher price cause we’ll be buying them from European based businesses who import from China. Bummer.
In a way its good – I’ve become addicted to the site. But it’s so handy for buying craft items, dog items and all kinds of stuff. Of course, there are so many gadgets you can easily fall into that trap (I have…) but if I stick to the art, craft, office and dog stuff (and some tools) that I will actually use, I feel I’m getting good value and will find it hard to give up. Especially for things like the blank timber pieces and other bits and pieces I can use to make other things.
Did I mention my brother and his partner are visiting? They arrived today from Athens, they live in Canberra, Australia, so its been a long time getting here.
Anyway… while cleaning, tidying, organising and generally making space for visitors in my tiny home, I finished this project for one of my cousins. Its to hang over a bed in one of her studio apartments.
It was easy to make, I just had to find, scavenge, buy and put together the various elements, so it takes a little patience and imagination.
The branch I found while walking Vincent one morning. The little bottles I had to buy. Except one which I recycled. The wooden beads and raffia were from something I’d bought a while ago that I pulled apart. The string ‘vine’ I got online when thinking of making this. The hemp string I already had.
I always have different ropes and strings on hand.
Firstly I had to trim and clean the branch. And make sure there were no bugs on it or in it… Learned that the hard way…
I added some sea glass from my collection to a couple of the bottles (those with larger mouths), then randomly added a few dry bits and pieces collected on other walks.
I found some rusty wire in my collection and cut and twisted that to add a bit of whimsy. Plus I’m partial to rust…
I did have to buy some of those puffy grass things – no idea what they’re called, cause the ones I picked locally were pretty pathetic looking.
And a tiny bit of lavender and a small piece of driftwood, cause why not…
I especially love the way it looks when the sun begins to hit it in the afternoon.
I’m wondering whether I want to part with it now… I love it over my couch in the sun.
Miniature roses from one of my pots. They smell heavenly and I love the two different shades of pink of the two plants I bought. But there is some kind of disease affecting them. I’ve trimmed off the sickly leaves but don’t know what else to do… I’ve also moved the pots to the front of the house in case they like it better there, and I’m taking a twig to the nursery next week to see what they can recommend.
But back to the title… I got a cold last weekend, it started as a sore throat and I had two days where I couldn’t swallow. Then it went to my head, a drippy nose and sneezing all the time, with the added bonus of a dry cough. Eventually the drips turned into snot (lovely, I know, I love to share!), a blocked nose. I’m still headachy and have progressed to the joys of chesty coughs which come in bursts that hurt.
Oh happy happy days.
I’m told many people are sick on Paros with this cold/flu/not covid/virus thing. And I’m warned that it lingers. I’m not sure, but I did get some stuff from the chemist to ease the pain and lessen the cough… Let’s see how that goes.
My brother Peter and his girlfriend arrived in Athens yesterday (from Australia) and will be here next weekend and I don’t want this lingering then.
Meanwhile, since I was too sick to do much, I spent a lot of time watching makeover and declutter videos on YouTube.
I’m a regular declutterer with hoarding tendencies. I’m also an artist who likes to make things out of all kinds of other things, so I collect stuff to ‘make something with’.
Therefore, at least once a year I go through my cupboards, my craft and art supplies, my wardrobe and kitchen cupboards and get rid of anything that’s expired or I won’t use or wear.
But things are still too disorganised. Or maybe I should say that they become disorganised all too often, no matter how often I try to organise. Cause I’ve always got something ‘on the go’, or waiting for a spot to live, or to be moved on, or whatever.
Right now I can’t see my kitchen counter or the kitchen table yet, but I did go through and organise the bathroom and the living room bookcase.
So, since I’m more or less house bound while I get over this dastardly cold, and since I actually feel a little better today (when not racked with coughing fits) I decided to tackle the kitchen and get things organised in there…
And, like any creative with a shot of ADHD thrown in, I can’t clean, tidy and organise without leaving out ‘I will finish this’ or ‘I will get to this’ projects along the way, effectively never completely getting rid of the clutter.
However, I did a couple of tiny upcycles today to make my life FEEL a little more organised. Or at least ‘pretty’ organised. So here they are.
I was about to throw out these various plastic containers I had kept cause they’re handy for putting in leftover paint, bits of unfinished projects, etc. Instead I got out my trusty hot glue gun and some rope and started making them into better looking storage solutions.
This large ice cream tub was the first one I tackled, using thick cotton rope I had on hand.
I wrapped, glued, wrapped and glued my way around it till I looked like this:
The lid wasn’t my best work, in hindsight I should have treated this way differently, but it is what it is… The cost of this project came to about 4e plus quite a few glue sticks I had on hand, and the tub of ice cream which I had thoroughly enjoyed eating a while back.
This will now hold some of my bathroom accessories, things which aren’t used to often, but can now be hidden away.
Next I tackled one of the yogurt containers. This is a different rope and it turned out way nicer. I especially love the little loop on top.
This is now holding my phone chargers and Australian plug adaptors which always sit on my kitchen counter and add to the mess.
I actually love this one so much I’m buying more of that rope to do another similar container…
I used up the rest of the rope on two smaller containers: this small container to hold my rubber bands. Nicer than having them in a glass jar I think.
I did these small projects with minimal damage to myself thanks to these handy little hot glue gun finger sleeves I got from Temu. SO handy. If, like me, you only have the scalding hot hot HOT type of glue gun, you need these. Next time I buy a glue gun I’m going with the less dangerous, low heat type. Although now I have these, its no longer a matter of life or death.
Of course, all this was overseen by Vincent who kept one eye on me the whole time.
I’m off to continue on the tidying and organising and working on some of the ‘I’ll get to this’ projects.
I really hope this is the beginning of a creative period. I need one to feel better about myself.
Its been days since I got back to Paros and I’ve been busy catching up, grooming, and now, I’m house/dog sitting again.
Meanwhile I’ve managed to convert my house into a removalist’s nightmare as I go through my stuff and sort. I’m sticking with my idea of transforming my living room (kitchen/studio/everything room) into a sort of gallery to show my work and invite people to see and (hopefully!) buy, instead of trying to find shops/galleries to sell through.
Along with trying to sell online… I’ve pretty much given up on the Instagram/Facebook shop idea, I just can’t figure it out and its giving my confidence no end of battering cause I’m not THAT stupid.
On the other hand, I see that WordPress has a commerce thing going on too… not sure if its available to the whole world or just the USA, or how it works, or anything at this stage, but I might look into that. Last time I tried it, it wasn’t ideal… Maybe this new version is better. Failing that I’ll just post stuff on FB and Instagram with a price and ‘contact me’ button. It might be better anyway, since I’m selling original artwork and not multiples of any one item.
So, in the vein of creating gallery space, I’ve been going through my house and pretty much packing away all my display items that are not for sale in order to replace them with items that are.
In order to do that, I got more plastic containers which I can seal things in to keep them safe from the damp and potential rodents returning, to store them in the basement. I’m also putting away all project/craft supplies I won’t be using over summer. Things like my fabrics, felting wools, etc. I won’t be needing those for a while, they are not things I use regularly. They’ll be put away and the space they took up previously will be used for the materials I do use, moving them out of the living room.
The suitcases under my bed, for instance, will now hold paints, paper, canvases etc, things I will continue to work with over summer. That way, the bookcase will be a display case.
At least that’s the plan…
Meanwhile, I’m keeping my little cubby boxes and drawers, and I’ve added another 4 drawers to the bookcase for all the tools and odds and ends. I found these little boxes at Jumbo the other day and bought 4 of them.
They’re pretty, but I’m using them as drawers so I had to make them fit in with the other drawers I’d made myself. I used old magazines and decoupaged them to the front of the boxes and voila – more drawers.
Once again, the photos are pitiful, mainly cause I do a lot of this stuff in the evening or at night. But you get the idea.
More to do. Lots more to do. So little time! Better get on with it!
This time around I painted something different. I mean, why not… its just experimenting after all.
But the results were, once again, disappointing.
This time I not only washed the dishes and dried them with a clean towel, I also wiped over the area I was planning to paint on with pure alcohol. I figured that maybe there was still some grease residue on the plates last time. The alcohol would get rid of that.
Here are the results:
So… scratching with a fingernail when its dry seems to be ok. But put it in water and all bets are off.
To me, this is a total failure of the product to live up to its claims.
I had planned on using these paints on a large fruit bowl a friend wanted me to paint for him. I planned to buy a few more colours too. How can I do that when the bowl will need special care or the painting will come off?
I guess I could call them ‘special needs’ ceramics.
A while ago I made a memory box for mom and dad – photos of them courting and a photo from their wedding day. Photos I’ve always loved.
I found the box in a secondhand store, and it had a glass front which slides out. All I had to do was paint it white, glue on a background I liked and then decorate it.
This trip while I was in Athens I found the wedding crown from their wedding in all the boxes I sorted through.
It’s yellow with age and has lost some pearl beads, but I like it as it is. At some stage I’ll iron the ribbon, but for now, I just popped it into the box for safe keeping.
For those who don’t know how Greek weddings go, somewhere among all the priests chanting and carrying on for what feels like hours, the best man or woman gets out these ‘crowns’ to crown and bind the couple together.
The crowns can be decorated in any way they want, but they are made to sit on the heads of the couple during the ceremony and have a ribbon tying them together. It’s meant to symbolize that they are now kind and queen of their own household. Apparently. I didn’t know that. I just read it on google…
During the ceremony, the best man/woman puts the crowns on their heads, then crosses them over back and forth so that each crown goes on both heads. Then the couple does the ‘dance of Isaiah‘ – where they move around the table with the best man/woman holding onto the crowns/ribbon.
Seeing as Greek Orthodox church ceremonies are all in ancient Greek, I can’t say I’ve ever understood a single thing they say or do…
But at least this bit of the ceremony had a bit of action, so it was fun.
Sort of like cricket…. I heard a comedian once describe cricket as so boring for so long that when something finally happened it was insanely exciting. Like that.
You can tell I’m not a very church-going person. There are a couple of ceremonies I like – Easter Friday is my favourite by far. I’ve always thought that other Christian churches I’ve visited were much more interesting. At least there the priest/father/pastor/whatever he/she is called speaks in English and gives a sermon that I can understand.
However, I digress. All I wanted to do here was share how much I cherish having mom and dad’s wedding crowns to add to my memory box.
junk4joy 