New Pendants in Process

New Pendants in Process, originally uploaded by Lynn_EL/UnaOdd.

I have been having fun! fun! fun! I'm so in love with color right now. Funny, how starting to work with molds, and working with less resin, is opening me up to having more fun.

Heirloom Tomatoes

Hillbilly Heirloom Tomato, originally uploaded by Lynn_EL/UnaOdd.

I love growing (and eating!) tomatoes. My favorite way is sliced, still warm from the sun. Toast your bread, a little mayo, salt, pepper and a sprinkle of chipotle. Tonight we're having a salad of sliced tomatoes, basil from the garden, local goat cheese, salt, pepper, and a dash of balsamic vinegar.

My favorite varieties are all heirlooms. Over the years I've grown Brandywine, Black Krim, Garden Peach, White Wonder, Great White, Oxheart, Striped Roman, Green Zebra, Eva's Purple Ball, Giant Belgium, Sausage, Hillbilly, Omar's Lebanese, Mortgage Lifter, Flame, Persimmon, Costoluto Genovese, Jaune Flammee, Anna Russian, Burgundy Plum, Mr. Stripey, Cuor di Bue, and Yellow Pear.

Some were wonderful...Brandywine, Black Krim.

Some were quirky and fun...Green Zebra (green when ripe, with lovely bronzey stripes) -also tasty, Garden Peach -actually fuzzy, looks like an apricot!

Some were disappointments...white and yellow tomatoes -just bland!.

Every year my stand out favorite has been Hillbilly. It's a large, indeterminate, beefsteak variety. Every year I am knocked over by the beautiful patterning of the fruit and am rewarded with the delicious large slices.

It hasn't been a good garden year for tomatoes. We had a long, cool, soaking-wet spring. The hot weather plants are now just starting to jump and produce, so I was quite excited to find Hillbilly starting to ripen. I think this will be the tomato in our salad tonight! .........and maybe my lunch sandwich as well. :^)

Silicone Molds

Molds, originally uploaded by Lynn_EL/UnaOdd.

I decided that going the "Completely One-Of-A-Kind" route, and doing all my pendants with resin pours, was doing me in with the labor-intensive steps.

I've decided to add a line of simpler, rustic pendants using molds of my own design. I purchased a product called Knead-a-Mold, from Townsend Atelier. It creates a silicone rubber mold that sets in less than 10 minutes. The final mold can be used in the oven (for polymer) and is food safe as well. I've done my first batch using polymer clay in the molds. I also tried resin, but my first experiment with resin confirms I need a mold release agent....oops!

I've had some interesting new process mistakes, and wasted a bit more material than I would have liked -both resin and the mold material, but I'm excited about the possibilities!

Just a Sweet Little Photo Break

Toad in a Hole, originally uploaded by Lynn_EL/UnaOdd.

The children found this happy little fellow in a gravelly hollow at the base of an old tree. He posed quite nicely.

Slow Going

It's been a difficult Spring and Summer. I'm used to working hard and getting things done. Lately my left foot has been having some swelling problems that I'm sure are related to my surgery. My doctors have been sending me for tests so we'll see where that ends up.

I've been making some new pieces (and having some difficulty with new techniques...), and have been having a hard time getting them listed.

School starts in a few weeks for the kids -I look forward to extra time to get things done, but feel a little sad as well.

Have you ever just felt like everything was difficult? Results come slowly, troubles come quickly?

I don't want to turn into a complainer, and I'm struggling against that.

The little snail was found crawling on my shoe.