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The Thank You Flower Project

Things you learn from Google Analytics:

1. Around 10% percent of the people reading this blog stumbled in via search engines while hunting down terms like:

Liberace rings
It’s cookie monster time y’all!
tyra banks monster hog caller
barnuckly egg cartons
discos in Saudi Arabia
wet and messy easter dress photos
what to do about flies in your pig pen
And my all time favorite and unusually popular search term: tamburin welches

…seriously guys, wtf are welches?

2. Most of the other 90% of you first stumbled into this blog on account of a various referrals to this single post. Apparently, y’all love some coffee filter flowers.

That initial post in question was a DIY. So you can imagine how flattering it is to receive an occasional inquiry from someone wondering if they are for sale. Guess not everyone has the time to make them, or, just wants a finished template to look at before they try it on their own. Either way, I take it as an enormous compliment and feel very rude as I type to reply to them “No, they are not for sale.”

Until now….

Blah blah blah…where is this going?

I have spent the last few days thinking about what to post this week. Recent events in the news make it awkward to banter about my usual activities. Art is a healing process to be sure, but somehow I feel awkward posting Lola’s annual Leprechaun hat when so many others are struggling to survive the storm of chaos and tragedy.

Like a lot of people, I’m wondering what I can do to help and the answer is always the same: Send money.

So I sent money. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Right? Every little bit helps. Right?

I bet a lot of you sent money too.

And I bet a lot of you have been meaning to do it, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet, but you will, you promise.

Man, I’ve been there before. I’m the last person to preach about procrastinating.

So with that in mind, I’m joining the herd of small businesses and community fundraisers looking to provide an incentive to make a contribution toward helping the disaster relief. Hey, I figure if the kids down the street can organize a car wash to benefit disaster victims, I can chip in some flowers, no? Someone might want them, right? Right!

So here is the deal…
If you make a donation to the Red Cross of $20 or more, and I will recognize your generosity by sending you a big fat beautiful coffee filter flower.

Here is how it works…

You make a donation of $20.00(USD) or more.

You email me an address where I can send the flower. No receipt required. Your word is good enough. Emailauntpeaches@gmail.com subject line “Thank You Flower Project”….cutoff is 100 people or 12am CST on Friday March 18, 2011…whichever comes first.

A week or so later, an envelope with a flower will hit your mail box.

Yup, it’s that easy.

Obviously, this project hinges on an honor code. I give you my word I will not use your information for any other purpose than to send you a flower, and you give me your word you made a donation.

Please understand, this isn’t a gimmick or a ploy to stir up followers or push a product. I just figured that if anyone out there was either a) on the fence about donating, or b) had any interest in bringing one of these flowers home, well here you go! No obligations or expectations. Just another way to facilitate a good deed for both of us 🙂

I knew there would be questions…

What if I already made a donation?
That’s great! Send me an email. If you are in a position to give another $20, go for it! I leave this up to you. Bottom line is: you donated so give yourself a cookie AND A FLOWER!

Can I make a donation to another organization instead?
That’s good to hear. My target for this project is disaster relief, and the Red Cross, from most accounts, is the international expert in that arena. If you prefer to donate to another disaster relief organization, go for it, but tell me a little something about the other organization in your email, and why you prefer to contribute there instead of the Red Cross. I’m not questioning your choice–I’m just curious.

Can I pick what my flower will look like?
Nope. This is a grab-bag approach. Most of the flowers are already made and sitting in tissue paper in storage. They are all very nice but they are not custom orders. And seriously, wouldn’t you love a surprise in the mailbox?!

Can anyone get a flower?
Yes. One flower per household, but beyond that, no limit. I’m happy to send these to any location, inside or outside the US. You can also make a donation on behalf of someone else and I’ll send the flower to them directly. Come on, doesn’t your third cousin Griselda deserve a dahlia made from coffee filters? Of course she does!

Can I make a larger donation and get more than one flower?
Sorry, one flower per household. But your generosity is appreciated!

Again, this project functions on the honor system. I have great faith in strangers and know that we can accomplish tremendous things when we put our heads together.

Thanks y’all.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Regardless of whether or not you like my flowers, I hope you will take a minute out of your day to help those who are currently weathering the storm. The Huffington Post offers a comprehensive list regarding ways you can help.

American Red Cross
PO Box 4002018 | Des Moines, IA 50340-2018 | Donate Online

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
P.O. Box 372 | CH-1211 Geneva 19 | Switzerland | Donate Online

Buried Treasure

by PEACHES 21 Comments

I was cleaning out some old storage containers last weekend when I found these wooden chairs and boxes that my Uncle Joe made for me many years ago.

Cool Uncle, huh?

They got packed away the last time I moved only to be unearthed now, after years in hiding. It’s funny, I used to look at these as everyday objects but now that they have been away for a while, it’s much easier to appreciate their value. His artwork is all over my house, and even though it’s special to me, sometimes it becomes so familiar that I fail to stand back and admire and appreciate it as much as it, and he, deserves,

Uncle Joe started selling his artwork long before I was born, but despite his success and artistic chops, he has never been pretentious about how we treated or displayed his work. I think he liked the idea of my Barbies sitting down for tea time in these chairs. I think he liked the idea of using his boxes to store my stickers and clip-on earrings. I think he was, and is, uncomfortable with the idea of his work being put on some sort of pedestal, which is funny because he was always the first person to put my own work on a pedestal, crayon doodles and all.

When I turned nine he gave me my first set of oil paints…

Unrelated Tangent: unless you are exceptionally confident in the child’s artistic abilities and *you* are directly responsible for stain management in the home, NEVER GIVE A NINE-YEAR-OLD OIL PAINTS.

…my Dad eventually had to hide them from me for fear I would paint that cat Cerulean Blue, but not before I finished a simple 8×10” canvas of a street light. It wasn’t much to look at, but as I recall there was an excess of texture, something that makes just about any piece impressive looking to amateur painters. I called it Rapunzel Fire Hair.

Sadly I do not have a photo to share, as Uncle Joe was so impressed with my artistic skill that he wrapped up the canvas in brown paper and sent it to one of his gallery contacts in Santa Fe to see if they would be interested in carrying a “young and upcoming artist.”

Two weeks later a letter arrived at house addressed to me. It was on formal letterhead (a first in my book) and included a check for $25.00 made out in my name (another first). The note indicated that the gallery was not carrying oil paintings that season, however, they wished to keep Rapunzel Fire Hair as an addition to their private collection, and as “down payment on future opportunities together.”

As you can imagine, I was over the moon and envisioned a lengthy career as an oil painter, in Paris of course, wearing blousy white shirts and eating croissants day and night.

Sadly, a few years later, in the middle of an adolescent tantrum, as I threatened to run away to Santa Fe to become a wildly successful painter of street lights, my Dad informed me of the truth: Uncle Joe had put the gallery up to it. He sent a letter to his friend the curator, and $25 check of his own, requesting they send me an encouraging rejection letter and a check for the same amount. Uncle Joe knew that a single letter would encourage me and validate my work for years and years, long after the check was cashed, and even after I found out the truth.

Cool Uncle, huh?

One of my favorite pictures of him, working away at make-shift studio set up in my parent’s dining room, surrounded by paint brushes and scrap wood.

Fancy Schmancy Gilded Jam Jars

by PEACHES 26 Comments

Aren’t these pretty? Cheap and easy too. There is something truly magical about candlelight reflecting off real gold. It illuminates with a different, special sort of radiant warmth. Magic like. If you have ever attended a candlelight mass at an old Gothic cathedral, you have seen the magic in action, all shimmery and golden. It’s stunning.

Switching gears from mass to menorahs….Years ago, I fell in love with a DIY menorah I saw in a magazine, assembled from candles in mercury glass votives. I rushed out to the store to pick up the votives, but then saw the price tag….

Seriously, who pays $24 for four sparkly shot glasses?

The overpriced store in question (I won’t be rude and tell you the full name, but it started with Pottery and ended with Barn) also had some lovely golden votives and vases scattered around a harvest table. They interspersed berries and bark and earthenware style ceramics…a really lovely spread, I must say. Decided I liked the gold votives more than the mercury glass and set on home to make them myself.

Two hours later, my golden modern day menorah was born.

You like my pink elephant menorah? More on her next week. I have lots of menorahs to share. Told you I like candlelight 🙂

People can be very intimidated by working with real gold leaf (that’s’ right, it’s REAL GOLD)…but once you realize how friendly and inexpensive it can be, you might just get addicted. You can use this same technique to gild frames, vases, sculptures, doorknobs, garden gnomes, cat beds…

This is a great first-time project for those who have never tried it before. Messy bits and imperfections only add to the charm.

Materials

3 glass mason jars (drinking glasses or a vase would also work just fine)
6 sheets of gold leaf (quality and cost varies…I can pick up a packet of 25 sheets at the art store for $6)
Gold leaf adhesive
Small paint brush
Votive candles

Tip: If this is your first time and you will use it more than once, buy a kit that includes gold leaf, adhesive and varnish. They usually run around $10, depending on leaf quality.
Tip: Gold leaf is very delicate. You will need to do this is a room without any wind/air flow. I would avoid working around small kids, at least the first time you try it.
Tip: If you find that the gold leaf shreds when you touch it, that’s a sign your hands are too moist. Try picking it up with a paint brush, or put on cotton gloves.
Tip: You still a scaridy cat? See this video for a quick and easy demonstration. Don’t be intimidated!

1. Line up your jars or glasses. Make sure they are absolutly clean.
2. Apply gold leaf adhesive to the inside of the jar.
3. Directions vary for every brand, but I like to do a very thin layer of glue all over, then go back to add more, letting it drip and dribble in places. This will help create a scattered/uneven coat. That’s right, messiness counts 🙂

4. Follow adhesive directions, most will require the glue to dry for a while before proceeding further.
5.Tear 6 sheets of gold leaf AND the tissue paper away from the larger packet.
6. Smaller sheets are easier to work with, so I cut my sheets into quarters. You do what works for you.

7. Delicatly lift up one piece of gold leaf and tissue. Chances are it will still to the tissue and you won’t have to touch the gold much at all. If your hands are sweaty or there is a lot of moisture in teh air, wear cotton gloves or clap your hands with baby powder.
8.Insert the piece inside the jar, using the tissue to press the gold to the glass. move it around for a minute to make sure the gold sticks.
9. Remove tissue.

10. Repeat the process until you have covered the jar. Or not. You could just do one patch and that would be neato. You could just do the brim of the glass. Or not. Y’all decide.
11. Remove all the scraggler bits by inserting a rag or washcloth inside teh jar and swirling it around. This should wipe away most of the excess gold crumbs. If you decide there is too much gold, you can go in and scratch it away.
12. Gold crumbs can get kinda messy, so you may want to do step 11 outside, but don’t sweat it too much. Genuine gold crumbs are as dangerous as cracker crumbs. Except, somehow gold crumbs are a lot more fun to talk about.
13. Ta Da! You is a done one. Feel free to varnish the inside, just make sure, if you are making votives, that the varnish is non flammable. A little diluted Mod Podge would do the trick. You could even tint the Mod Podge a color and make it look like colored glass.

Folks, the fun never ends.

Now let’s gild the lily! Tie a piece of simple jute twine around the rim of the jar, and tuck in some garden clippings. Did Y’all see this post of dusty miller on Design*Sponge…wow. I also love using rosemary around votives because the candle warm up the leaves slightly, filling the whole house with the most wonderful fragrance.Lavender is nice too. Just about any sturdy stemmed garden clipping will look good. I love mixing textures like this…the warm metallic gold against the cool velvety leaves…oooooo I could just swoon!

Wouldn’t these make great gifts?

You could gild baby food jars and pair with a few scented candles….or grab some garden trimmings (including these crazy turquoise berries) and a few cream colored roses and you have one stylish little nosegay to sit on top of someone special’s desk.

Golden Happiness, one and all!

Spider Web Luminaries

by PEACHES 5 Comments

Not much time for Halloween hoopla this year, a few festive luminaries go a long way!

Luminaries are so good at creating atmosphere, especially now that the days are getting dark and chilly. Candlelight alone is lovely, but candlelight glowing through crumpled wax paper bags is really something to be seen! The effect is almost like an old parchment paper lamp shade, but cheaper, prettier, and slightly spooky.

Tangent: Wax paper bags are amazing. They are great for wrapping gifts and organizing odds and ends like photos, receipts, and paper scraps. I like to use them to pack a snack and seal it with a ninja turtle sticker. And no, I don’t have children. And yes, I keep a giant roll of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stickers around the house. What? Don’t look at me that way. I enjoy a well packaged snack. Everything tastes better with ninja turtles. Also, wax paper bags are far more Earth-friendly than plastic baggies, and significantly cheaper when you buy them in bulk. For smaller quantities, you can find them at the grocery store, usually down on the bottom shelf. Y’all have to try them out!

To draw the spider web, just get yourself a permanent marker and go to town. I’m guessing that if you are reading a blog like this, you are probably comfortable with drawing a spider web, but just incase, I did a demo for you just like Mrs. DuCharm showed me back in the day. Just make a cris-cross and loopty-loo each segment. That’s right, loopty-loo I said. We are keeping it technical today.

And there it is! Make a bazillion of these and cover your house with them on Halloween night –a sure fire way to scare the kiddos!

Trick-or-Treat, smell my feet…for anyone in the mood for two minutes of literary candy, read “Haloween: A Love Story” by Rodes Fishburne. A personal favorite.

Favorite Thing: Autumn Apple Picking

by PEACHES 4 Comments

Some people say summer ends with Labor Day. Others claim it’s the Fall Equinox. In my house, autumn begins with an apple picking.

This time of year, when the light is bright and the air is crisp, there is something in me that itches to get out in the country. Places with no streetlights. Places with more tractors than people. Call it my inner farm girl, but I tell you, there is nothing more satisfying than taking in the harvest.

OK OK OK…“the harvest” was barely a bushel and it came with wine tasting and there were no combines or overalls involved…but gosh darnit, it felt great!

As a city dweller, apple picking is something of an excursion. It takes two hours to get to a decent orchard but man is it worth the trip! If you have never enjoyed what it feels like to grow your own food or to pluck it from the Earth, I suggest you start with apples. Apple orchards are pretty easy to find all over North America, and they make for a wonderful adventure. Depending on the type of apple, the arrival time will be staggered throughout the Fall, so you a re pretty much guaranteed to walk away with something great. And there is something wonderfully symbolic about apples. So beautiful. So wholesome. Fresh. Clean.

A visit to the apple orchard has become something of an annual tradition. I like to go with friends and pack a picnic. This year we went just down the road from my favorite Blueberry Farm, DeGrandcahmps, to McIntosh Orchards and Winery, in South Haven Michigan. Did you ever find someplace off the beaten path that was so special that you didn’t want to tell anyone for fear the secret would get out and ruin your special discovery? McIntosh is like that. I’m tempted to keep a lid on it, but the family that runs this place is so special and their goods are so wonderful, I feel like it’s a disservice to keep it to myself. Honestly, my standards are high. This place exceeded all expectations. If you or anyone you know lives within an hour of Chicago, I highly suggest you forward this post or this link asap. Kids and adults will enjoy themselves silly and they will thank you for it later.

McIntosh Orchard isn’t just an apple orchard, no no no, it’s a cider mill and winery. They carry lot’s of semi-dry fruit wines…blueberry, apple, peach, pear, plum…all excellent and around $10 a bottle. A bargain. As someone who saves their sommelier skills for Diet Coke tasting, I cannot claim to be an expert, however, I know a good thing when I see it: this is Good Stuff. They also sell a lovely collection of gift items, including these lovely milk bottle candles. One of those items that I saw and said “Why didn’t I think of that?!”…so easy to make, but the smell of these candles….oh how I wish the internet could convey smell! These candles where so delicious. And can you read their names? That one up front in called Barn Dance, and yes, it really does smell like a barn dance! Like fresh pine and a wood burning stove with a hint of citrus and musk.

Just a little further down the Blue Star Highway is my ALL TIME FAVORITE ANTIQUE PLACE: Sunset Antiques. It is unfair to call it antiques, really, more like a well-edited collection of eccentric rif raf, or what the call “junque” (somehow saying “junk” in semi-fake-French makes it more legit). Most of it is outdoors, shaded by a gigantic elm tree.Well over an acre. They carry everything from old restaurant signs to astronaut suits to taxidermy moose heads to wooden doors…all of it dirt cheap. I’m still kicking myself for not buying that Hurdy Gurdy!

*Sigh*

Back to life, back to reality.
I see a lot of apple baking in my future!

Coffee Filter Roses

by PEACHES 73 Comments

Back in my ~~failed~~ former days as a window dresser, I got some good advice from Tanja, the Grand Dame of the cosmetics department. Originally from Romania, Tanja was widely renowned for her eyebrow waxing skills and had arrived at a point in her career when she only had to take one appointment a day, then happily dragged it out all afternoon. Most of the time was spent smoking and laughing and singing gypsy folk songs about beet salad, then more smoking and dispensing advice about important things like men, business, and unwanted hair. Of the many things I learned from Tanja, there are three golden nuggets that stand out;

Never brush your teeth with blue toothpaste.
Men with excessively bushy eyebrows are likely to cheat on their wives.
Women will buy anything wrapped in roses.*

*Women married to men with excessively bushy eyebrows should expect a lot of roses.

A week after Tanja dropped that old chestnut, my new boss gave me the task of revamping a central display table. Huzzah! This was a big deal for me, as all my previous tasks had been corner shelves and side boards in the men’s underwear section. After weeks and weeks of fanning out acrylic trouser socks, this was my big break. Mr. Ross walked me over to the table in question.

Good news: it was premium real estate.

Bad news: the product was rubber boobs.

Technically speaking, they were silicone brassiere inserts (you know the ones that look like chicken cutlets)…back then they were new to the people and no one knew what to think of them. They were universally unfamiliar, unattractive, and not the type of thing customers wanted to be seen ogling in public. The buyer had overstocked and they needed to clear inventory, but who was going to buy these things?

No one wants to buy ugly rubber boobs in public, especially at a high end department store. No wonder they slated this project for the new kid. Disappointed and bewildered, I remembered Tanja’s advice: Women will buy anything wrapped in roses.

SHAZAM! Faster than you can yank a unibrow, three of us grabbed some scissors and stayed up half the night making paper roses out of lingerie packaging tissue (thank you again Jeanie and Shayna!)…we swapped in a black and white striped table cloth and wedged the roses in between the boxes. The end result resembled a car sized wedding cake dimpled with chicken cutlets and the inventory cleared in less than a week. LESS THAN A WEEK. It had stood there for over a month and hardly anyone ever peeped, and now they sold out in LESS THAN A WEEK.

Roses, y’all. Don’t underestimate them.

All flowers have the ability to highlight their surroundings, but there is something about roses. We are attracted to them like no other. It’s distinct and special and makes no sense whatsoever. I’m not sure if it’s genetic or cultural, but it is ingrained in us women folk something fierce.

I know a lot of brides will look at these roses as potential centerpieces, but ya’ll have to think bigger! These roses are for YOU.

Do you sell stuff at art and craft shows? Consider making them to tuck in the corner of your display unit, or cluster around the base of a pedestal.

Do you design clothes, run a boutique, or sell vintage apparel online? Pin a few roses at the neck of your mannequin or model. Those items will get attention like you have never seen before!

Do you sell jewelry on Etsy? Poke earnings through the petals, or, weave a necklace around the stem before you take the photo. If you are afraid it will distract, keep the rose and background the same color.

Do you need to sell your house? Once your house is thoroughly “décor neutralized” make 3 dozen of these in yellow and put them in a vase located within eye-sight of the front door. Even people who hate flowers will get the distinct impression happy things happen in this place, I want to be happy, I want to live here…and suddenly BOO YOW, your butt is moving in no time!

Materials:

*Coffee Filters
*Acrylic or Latex craft paint
*Plastic fork
*Drinking Straws
*Masking tape (mine is green, but any color will do fine)

Dying Filters

Take 3 tablespoons of pink latex craft paint and mix with a smidge of yellow. Note: the yellow is not necessary, but I find mixing a dab of an earthy/neutral tone in any color paint always helps the end results look more organic.
Mix in half a cup of water and stir with a fork until lumps disappear. Add more paint or water until it’s the consistency of milk.
Add 2 cups of water and mix again
Submerge your filters, up to 20 at a time. Squish until paint is well distributed.
Wring out excess paint, and if color is too bold, rinse with cold running water until you achieve the desired tone. Dry thoroughly.

Level 1: Simple Spiral Rose

1. Take one previously dyed filter and cut a spiral shape, roughly 1” from the outer edge. The result will be a long strip, roughly 1” wide by 36” in length (don’t worry if it’s longer or shorter, just know you’re going for a long skinny strip).

2. Think of the strip as a piece of ribbon. Starting at the center point of the filter, stick it to the edge of 12” piece of masking tape, leaving 1” of tape available at the end. Continue down the strip, pleating/gathering as you go. Pleating/gathering, pleating/gathering, pleating/gathering….

3. Continue to pleat/gather down the strip. Just squish it, no big deal. There is no math involved here. It will take you a while to get a rhythm going, but you will get there I promise! Note: If you reallllllly struggle to get the hang of the pleating/gathering, you can also sew a running stitch down the edge of the filter and pleat that way, but personally, I like the inconsistent results from pleating by hand.

4. Once the strip is finished, take that first empty inch of tape and wind it around the tip of a drinking straw. Continue to wind the tape around the end of the straw.

5. Add another 12” piece of tape to the base, on the diagonal.

6. Wrap the tape around the straw to make a stem.

7. Ta Da!

Level 2: Happy Ruffled Rose

1. Fold three filters in quarters, then trim scalloped edges along the edge and through the center.

2. Results will be three scalloped circles and three scalloped doughnuts. Cut across the doughnuts to open them up (see, your making strips, just like the Simple Spiral Rose)

3. Twist one scalloped circle and attach to the end of the tape, leaving one inch open. Take the other two scalloped circled, twist, attach, repeat.

4. Think of your doughnut shape as a long strip of ribbon. Stick it to the tape, finger pleating as you go. The points of the scallops will help you to develop a rhythm as you move down the tape.

5. Attach the other scalloped doughnuts, and, if you wish an empty stretch of tape, followed by a couple of leaves

6. Starting from the inside, stick the tape to the end of the straw and roll your way up.

7. Ta Da!

Level 3: Giant Ruffled Rose

1. Get your cat to model some giant coffee filters. Isn’t she cute? She has been brushing up on her Vanna White skills. I know, I know, she is so talented! Lola also wanted to show you the scale of these babies –they are HUGE. You can get them online, or at your local coffee shop, pancake house, or even your Church basement. Anywhere that serves large quantities of coffee. Ask nicely, then promise to return with a finished flower, and I bet they will give you a few.

2. Tip: when you dye the extra large filters, rinse the edges out so the center is a slightly deeper color. This will really help to give the impression of a realistic blossom.

3. Similar to the Happy Ruffled rose, fold in quarters and cut scalloped shapes (this time there are three levels instead of two)

4. Because one filter will generate a large flower, you only need one twisted piece in the center. Follow with the inside scallop doughnut strip.

5. Follow with the outer scallop doughnut.

6. Attach to the tip of a straw and roll.

7. Keep rolling. This will quickly thicken up –try to keep your tape in line as much as possible.

8. Ta Da! One filter will generate a rose as big as your hand, but keep going and three filters will make rose as big as your face. Try it!

Tips and Tricks

When you dry your flowers, dry them upside down, clipped to a string or laundry line. This will encourage the dye pigments to settle toward the center of the spiral, same as in nature. It’s a subtle difference, but it really enhances the end result. You can also get this result by rinsing the edges of your flowers with water before they dry.
Instead of cutting scallops, cut skinny jagged edges to get a spider mum (more on this next Friday!)

To get a two-tone rose, paint the edges a deeper color.
Have fun!

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