Funny Crush

This post is solely for laughs.

When my son was little, he had a crush on a little girl in his pre-school class because she had " soft, blonde hair and a clean face."

I guess I'll never understand how males' brains work. lol.

Southern Belle

 One of the joys of living in the South for me, is the scent of our flowers.  We have a huge magnolia in our backyard which smells divine.  I would love to do something with the spent pods some day.  They are really cool shapes which might be nice electro formed.

 Right now, the gardenias are ending their time in the sun.  Love their soft, ethereal beauty.  Their fragrance is nice too.  Funny, I really enjoy the scents from the flowers, but I don't really prefer floral perfume.  I am more of a citrus or spice type.

And gearing up for the next display are my blue and purple hydrangeas.  The purples are my favorites. Kind of like ink blue in our soft glass palette.  

But not all of our trees are ones we want to smell.  Outside of our neighborhood, pear trees line the street.  Pretty enough in the early Spring, but my kids used to tell me, "the stinky fish trees smell awful when we walk past them on our way home from school."

Do you have a favorite easy to grow plant or tree which smells great?  I always am open to adding to my simple backyard.

Etsy Party Today At Cacao. Sounds Like Chocolate Lovers' Heaven

Oh my heavens!  Today I'm participating in the Atlanta based Etsy Craft Party for Atlanta where fellow Etsians will be getting together to craft something for the community.

This morning I was checking out the directions and decided to see just what was this "Cacao" place where we are meeting.  Boy am I in BIG trouble.  Here is the link if you would like to drool too.

It looks heavenly.  All these beautifully handmade chocolates will be staring at me, while I will try to stay focused on what we're doing.

Here is the truffle menu.  Which ones sound most appealing to you?

1. Aztec- An award winning and secret blend of six different chilies and spices. 
2. Fig & Balsamic- House made fig preserves, aged balsamic, and Madagascar vanilla.

3. Laphroaig & Ginger- Laphroaig 10-year aged Scotch and candied ginger.
4. Lemon- House made lemon curd and candied lemon peel.
5. Coconut Caramel- Toasted coconut and house made caramel.
6. Bourbon Espresso- Dark chocolate ganache mixed with Bulleit bourbon and Batdorf & Bronson Timbales espresso grounds.
7. Orange Marmalade- House made bitter orange and lime zest marmalade.
8. Raspberry Thyme- Dark chocolate ganache mixed with house made raspberry thyme jam and thyme leaves. 
9. Cayenne Pepper Passion Fruit- Dark chocolate ganache mixed with cayenne pepper with a layer of passion fruit pate de fruit.
10. Cinnamon Rum Raisin- Dark chocolate ganache mixed with organic cinnamon oil and dark rum soaked raisins. 
11. Lavender Blueberry- Dark chocolate ganache mixed with house made lavender blueberry jam and lavender flowers.
12. Pink Peppercorn Ginger- Dark chocolate ganache mixed with pink peppercorns, candied ginger and powdered ginger.
13. Cola Truffle- Real coca-cola ganache with popping surprises.
14. PB & J- A layer of mayhaw pate de fruit and house made peanut butter.
15. Mint- Pure peppermint and dark chocolate.
16. Pecan Pie- Georgia pecans and rich molasses flavored ganache.
17. 35% Milk- House made milk chocolate.
18.  Nougat Torrone- Traditional European style nougat with toasted pistachios.
19. Strawberry Milk- Milk chocolate ganache with a layer of strawberry pate de fruit.
20. Hazelnut- Ground toasted hazelnuts and dark chocolate.
21. Fleur de Sel Milk- Milk chocolate ganache with a touch of sea salt.
22. Pistachio Marzipan- House made toasted pistachio nut paste made in the traditional European style.
23. Pecan Penuche- Local pecan praline enrobed in dark chocolate

I will let you know which tasty treat called out to me and what we crafted for Etsy and our community.  But for now, I think I'm going for a walk, so the after effects aren't quite so terrible.

Fathers Day for Everyone

Many of us feel a strong connection to our Dads.  This is my step dad who meant the world to me.  He was kind, patient, fair (important when you're a teenager!) and treated me like a daughter.  I miss him so much.

So today and every day, hats off to you Dads out there.  Or to your Dad, if you aren't one, or to those of you who aren't a Dad, but help parent or guide someone you care about. The title or biology isn't the most important part.  It's how you treat people.

Lights Out...Tornado Warnings

Sing along with me, "it was a rainy night in Georgia"....
Last night was a little eventful, but we were lucky.

Well, the storm that blew through Atlanta last night was full of wind, rain, trees down, tornado sirens and more than enough minor drama to last me for the summer.  Our electricity flicked quite a few times and finally went out.  I hadn't been in a dark house with no air conditioning at night (yikes!) in quite a while.

I'm glad my phone and iPad were charged, but sad they didn't work too well, as I didn't have a battery operated radio to find out what was going on outside.  My cat Zeus and I (and eventually Keith), were in a basement windowless room staying safe.

So when the noise died down, of course we went exploring. Keith needed to charge his phone through his truck, so we went for a drive to see what happened.  I caught this sunset on my iPad so you could see how vibrant it was and the cool clouds.

So today, I'll fix up a "Storm Box" that I didn't have together before.  I already have a few flashlights, candles and lighters.  But I'm going to dig out my old squirt bottle battery operated fans for it, too.  And maybe a pack of cards and an unread paperback novel.  And a list of things I need to gather up quickly next time...

And one thing I learned last night...showering by candlelight is kind of fun.  Think I won't wait for a storm to do that again.

Fontemplating...The Art of Contemplating a New Font

I've been looking at fonts for my new website.  I want a nice one for my name.  I'm changing the StudioMarcy title to my name, Marcy Lamberson and perhaps adding "glass artist" below it.

And after pouring through hundreds of fonts, these are some of my favorites. I want one that is easy to read, and has a little style at the same time.  And although a lot of my work is whimsical, I don't want all the curlicues and cute stuff for my name.  I would like versatility and a more stylized font as my art changes over the years. I think that would represent me better in the direction I want to go.

So if you have a favorite, please let me know.  Or comments, if you think I'm off base. I'm open to hear your thoughts.  See you soon as  I'm going through this process of a new website, I think you might enjoy hearing what I'm learning along the way.

Dragonwort or Stink Lily...Not Sure Either Is A Descriptive Name

Last night on a walk with my friend Shannon, we came across this more unusual very large purple projecting plant.  Of course there were the jokes, but it made me wonder about it and it's name.

Upon a little research, (can you imagine what I googled?), I found that it has quite a few names, among them Dragonwort and Stink Lily.  Here is the leaf which is quite large as well.

If I figured it out correctly, the plant's real name is Dracunculus Vulgaris.  The large purple leaf at the base of the spadex has almost a velvety feel to it. (Of course I had to touch it.)

Another interesting fact is that this plant is usually found in the Balkans...like around Crete. So what was it doing in Roswell Georgia?

I dunno.  But it was fun to see it in person and you can bet I'm going to go back and check on it in the future.  We'll see whether it unfurls a little, changes growth direction or perhaps I need a photo of when it wilts.  Yes, probably more elementary school jokes will ensue.

Hope to see you soon.  Today, I am looking into the start of migrating my blog over to another server, and changing up my website.  It's time to make it one with all and get back to more glass discussion and a little less gardening.