Tag: food

Project – Buttercup Lucine and Driftwood Wind Chime

On By TimelessladyIn Projects11 Comments

We visited Sanibel Island in June, and I brought home quite a few seashells. One of the more common varieties was a clam called a Buttercup Lucine (Anodontia alba). I love the color yellow, so the gold edging on the interior appealed to me, and I collected about three to four dozen of these clams in different sizes. Happily, they were easy to transport back home as they stack together nicely for traveling.

I probably wouldn’t have brought so many back home if I didn’t have a specific project in mind, a wind chime. We found a piece of driftwood on the banks of the Delaware River that resembled a bird’s beak and head. It was just the right size to create a mobile with the Buttercup Lucines.

I was glad I had extra shells because one out of every three cracked when I drilled it with the Dremel tool. I had success with many and had enough to create the chime.

I left the beak a natural color for contrast and added a graphite and colored pencil eye. I painted the rest of the bird-shaped driftwood a golden yellow to match the inner colors of the shell.

As far as ease of making this project, I’d give it a five out of 1-10. The painting and the stringing into screw eyes were fairly easy. The hardest part of the project was drilling the seashells. Whenever I look at my project, I remember the joy of collecting shells on Sanibel Island.

I used waxed hemp thread/cord for the stringing material. It is sturdy and very easy to knot and tie off.

PS My husband made a keen observation that I had to agree with: the chime is more of a clacker than a chime, but hey, it sings the song of the sea, and that is definitely music to me.

Photo Challenges – Lens-Artists Challenge – Five Elements

On By TimelessladyIn photo challenges8 Comments

Now and then, I am quick enough to prepare a post for the Lens-Artists Challenge. This week, the challenge is to use photographs that portray five elements that make up the world around us. The elements are fire, water, wood, earth, and metal.

My first photo portrays fire. The fire of the sun is an element in all of my photos. The view is what I see as I stand in my front yard and attempt to watch the setting sun through the trees.

Dandelions conquer whatever earth their seeds land upon. I love the way the clocks of the plant let loose their seeds in puffs of wind or are blown into the breezes by a wish-filled child. If I look closely at a dandelion in the fire of the sun’s rays, each small piece of fluff seems to mirror the sun’s light.

The sun’s rays seemed to deepen the shadows of the heart carved into the tree’s wood.

The last photograph combines the elements of water and metal. It is a bit blurry, but it was taken with my phone through a plate glass window as we finished Thanksgiving dinner in a favorite restaurant. The ship is sailing down the Delaware River near Philadelphia, and we are on the other side of the river in New Jersey. The light illuminated the metal ship with fire and reflected in the water.

Thanks to the hosts of the Lens-Artist Challenge.