The secret garden that I built

Our story begins, Blog and dear readers, three weeks ago when Davie, my uberpal Martha, and I traveled to Cedarburg, Wis. to dine and shop. While exploring the clearance tables inside the Settlement Shops, I came upon a plaque with a crazy, fancy doorknob affixed thereto.

Something about this doorknob, aside from the greatly discounted price of $15, attracted me.

I went back to look at it twice, and the situation brought to my mind the old adage, "No matter how fancy, a doorknob is only good if you have some use for it." Well, there is no such adage, but it's still true. I knew I should only get the doorknob if I had a purpose for it. It was fastened to the plaque with a bolt, washer and nut, easy enough to remove. But then what?

On my third stop at the clearance table, all at once, I had a vision... I told my companions, "I'm going to get this doorknob. I know what to do with it, and it's going to be awesome."

And, as you can see, it is. I call this shadow box "The Secret Garden."

In fact, this summer I read the book The Secret Garden and thought it was fascinating. There's something enchanting about the concept of a hidden place where beautiful things grow. Perhaps the book was bobbing around in my subconcious as I stared at the bargain table. For in my mind's eye I saw that doorknob floating in space, as such a magical looking doorknob would, and beyond it a mystical, lovely place...yes, why not a garden? And that idea turned into a shadow box, with the doorknob mounted right on the glass, and little plants and treasures within. I could do it....

As it turned out, Blog, I did do it, largely with items I had on hand at home.  All I needed was the frame (bought on sale at Michaels for $11) and some silk and plastic plants (another $15 at Michaels on sale, with tons of leftovers). There was only one hitch:

I was really worried about drilling a hole in a piece of glass.  Especially unremovable glass, which if cracked would cost me the entire frame.

I researched like crazy how to drill though glass. I even watched videos. The trick was to build a little ring of clay (of which, as you know, Blog, I have tons) around the drilling spot and fill it with water. And to use a diamond bit in your Dremel tool (check and check). And to go very slowly. It all went off like a charm...I had a perfect hole in my glass!

So, it's fairly obvious where I went from there:  Screwing on the doorknob, filling my shadow box with plants, moss, faux grass and polymer clay rocks for a path, and driftwood, all held in place with styrofoam, wire, electrical tape, and fabric glue. (The box is a couple inches deep; you can't see the little incline at the bottom, but the stone path really goes uphill.) I hung the secret key to the secret garden with a tiny ribbon from the foliage. Ta-da.....?

But wait--there's more!

Look inside the keyhole...look close...closer....what do you see?

Inside there is a tiny garden, with a path continuing on, and trees and plants!

What's the secret to the secret garden in my secret garden? I found a perfect photo of a garden path, reduced it to the proper size, printed it, and mounted in the shadow box behind the keyhole.

Meanwhile, I took apart one of those LED votive candles to expose the little light bulb, and strategically mounted it to light the photo without showing (no easy feat). The candle creates just enough light, with a mysterious flicker. By daylight, you can see the picture okay even without the lamp on.

I do believe, at least according to my Web searches, that this Secret Garden Shadow Box is the first of its kind.

And that, my friends, is what I saw in my head that told me to go ahead and buy the doorknob.

My Angry Birdcage

I play Angry Birds almost every day, and what of it, Blog? I will not go to rehab, no, no, no. In fact, I was determined to celebrate my addiction with some sort of appropriate craft project. Hence...my Angry Birdcage.

Obviously polymer clay was the medium of choice for making some Angry Birds, so I thought about what best to do with some Bird sculptures. I considered jewelry with Bird beads, but worried that their little crest and tail feathers might break off. To keep the bitty creatures safe, what better solution than a cage? Of course, that would require a cage in the proper scale...

Optimistically, while out on a walk with Davie, I scored a nice fallen branchlet to use for perches in my cage. And then Saturday, while shopping the 99% useless and pretty scary Everything Must Go sale at our local closing World Market, what should I find but a perfect cage for six bucks! Kismet.

So I modeled my birds to the scale of the cage, which I won't deny was a bit of a challenge, Blog. Itty bitty beaks, itty bitty tails, and almost invisibly small eye pupils, oh my. And that Blue Bird? Kinda maddening to sculpt.

Our cat Selke will demonstrate the size we are talking about here. Keep in mind she is a very small cat.

The Red Angry Bird looked nervous as well as angry. Even after he was joined by his brethren, he appeared quite on the verse of swooning. Life would be safer in a cat-proof cage.

And so I installed my twigs in the cage, lining the bottom with some moss. I mounted the Birds with Fabric Glue, which I have to tell you is awesome for an application like this. It acts as if you are creating tiny, gripping rubber bands on the fly, that can be moved around a bit to secure Bird to branch. Thank heavens for that glue...it was a real pain (ship in a bottle variety) arranging those Birds.

Quite a fine habitat if I do say so myself, and the Birds seemed pleased as well as angry.  Green Boomerang Bird looks elated, and Black Bomb Bird looks thrilled, don't you agree, Blog? I mean, as well as angry?

And here are Blue Splitting-into-Three-Birds Bird, White Egg-Dropping Bird, and Yellow Zipping Bird, getting their party on.

You'll be glad to know we have the perfect spot for this cage to hang, in the faux tree o' lights in the living room. Check out how totally awesome it looks at night, like an Angry Birdcage Disco:

Soooweet! Now our only challenge is to keep the Toast-Powered Levitating Cat from dive-bombing the little critters....

We went to Savannah, you should too!

Did you miss me, Blog? Well, I missed you too, but I didn't miss the craptastic weather that was going on here in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, where I was it was sunny and in the 70s! Like spring should be! That's just one of the reasons why I highly recommend a vacation in Savannah, Georgia. Here are some more!

1. The unbelievable beauty of the place. I guess modern architects don't totally suck (Santiago Calatrava for example, the designer of Milwaukee's spectacular art museum).  But they did know how to build homes back in the 18th and 19th centuries. And public spaces. The 22 squares of Savannah are so beautiful, especially this time of year. The city has got to be one of the best places in America to find restored buildings...you can explore for days and not see them all. Here are a few fave examples, brought to you by ICU, my camera.

Me and Davie in front of the famous fountain in Forsyth Park

2.  The live oaks. That's what they call the prevailing trees in Savannah, "live" because they do not go dormant. I guess they lose their leaves once a year but immediately get new ones. These trees are known for the broad spread of their branches, making them pretty much the best shade tree imaginable. They are also super strong and long-lived. Many of the trees in Savannah were here before the birth of the United States! I totally fell in love with them.

The Candler Oak dates from ~1730

3.  The flowers. While we're on the subject of flora, if you travel to Savannah in late March/early April, the flowers are at their peak of bloom. And they are everywhere, especially the glorious white and pink azaleas. Our patio is nice in the summer, but not quite on this level. Wow, Blog.

4. The history. Even if you're not so much a history buff, you have to appreciate being in a place that was key to the original settlement of America, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War. We saw the room General Lafayette slept in during his post-Revolutionary War tour of the U.S., and ate dinner in a building (The Olde Pink House) that was built in 1771 and used as a headquarters for the Union Army. So many places have remained much like they looked back in those days, like Factors Walk which was a commerce center for cotton in pre-Civil War days.

The Olde Pink House

Factor's Walk

5. The food. Speaking of The Olde Pink House, that is one amazing place to eat, Blog. In fact, we found scrumptious dining all over the Historic District. The seafood in this place is to die for. I don't know if I can eat the shrimp from Pick N Save ever again! There's also all kinds of quaintness in the dining locales. From the fabulous river view at Huey's to the elegant old charm of the Gryphon Tea Room, we loved eating in Savannah.

BLT salad and Southern Sushi from The Olde Pink House

Ceiling at the Gryphon Tea Room

6. The shopping. Savannah does have its share of touristy shopping, but it also has scads of fantastic boutiques that showcase the work of talented artists and artisans. (Intentional pun: SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, is a big influence here.) We treated ourselves both to a print of the trees (see #2) and to this fantastic glass piece which we call the Time Tunnel Orb.

This just scratches the surface of the joys of Savannah, Blog. It's simply the most beautiful place I've ever visited. I'll put it to you this way: I had a fabulous time last year in Vegas but I didn't cry when I left! I comfort myself by thinking that right now in Savannah, those live oaks stand faithfully shading the lovely streets and squares, as they have for hundreds of years and hopefully will for hundreds more.