mjkisner – Page 37 – Mary's Musings

From a Collection to a Collage

Profile of an Artist: Toni Duchi

Today I’d like to tell you about a very talented and artistic friend of mine: Toni Duchi. She also happens to be my connection to Nittany Greyhounds and has been a friend for over 30 years.

While she has many creative talents, I think her current endeavors in making mixed media pieces (also called Assemblage Art) have produced some stunning pieces. I call them collages, which is defined as…an artistic composition of materials and objects pasted over a surface. Let me share an example of one she made specifically for me.

The Collection

Two years ago, Bert and I drove across the country to visit Ted’s family in California. We planned our trip to go through many National Parks along the way. As we traveled, I tried to NOT collect tacky t-shirts that I would never again. Instead, I picked up some books about the parks we were visiting and a few postcards that did the views justice. I did take a lot of pictures, but nothing was as good as the professionally done ones that got chosen to be on a postcard. At gift shops there were some tiny medallions representing each park, and even some polished rocks from the Petrified Forest. I wasn’t sure what I would do with these things, but they fit in my suitcase!

When I got home, I had a pile of stuff (called a collection) that was fun to look at, but eventually ended up sitting on a shelf.

Making a Collage with my Collection

Finally, I begged for help. Toni told me to choose a section of the country or part of the trip that had special meaning to me. It was obvious most of the stuff I had saved was from the Southwest; the landscape was so different from what I saw here in Pennsylvania.

I picked out an assortment of items from postcards, medallions, rocks, fossils and a Native American symbol (the metal hand below):

I handed this stuff over and had no idea what she would create with it. Several weeks later, this is what she brought me!

This shadow box collage is 12 1/2 inches by 7 1/2 inches. It beautifully represents my memories of the Southwest. The postcards became the background and the three-dimensional pieces built up the scene. She added a few pieces of driftwood she had on hand to pull it all together. Amazing!!!

This now sits on my desk and I’m reminded every day of the places we visited. The guide books are nearby if I want to read more. I still have more postcards and rocks leftover of the many other places we visited, but his collage pulls together a whole host of memories.

With all the various projects I enjoy doing, designing scenes like this is NOT one of my talents. Thank you, Toni!

A Second Request for Toni

I recently had another design dilemma that Toni helped me with. I was working on a new wall hanging for my living room. It will be a sampler quilt wall hanging using new colors for the room…silver and burgundy. Here are the blocks laid out on the floor to show the colors:

These quilt will have burgundy inside borders between the blocks.

I showed these blocks to Toni and asked if she’d make me something to go on the wall by the front door. Using her talents with polymer clay, she made me a framed collage made of individual tiles in silver and burgundy. Here are some pictures!

A close-up of the saying and the tiles. The pattern on each separate tile has been pressed into the clay.

Amazing! I will treasure this picture forever! Thank you, Friend!

If you’d like to see more of Toni’s work, her store on Etsy is called the PaisleyArtStudio. Her work often has tiny hidden greyhounds or inspirational sayings added to the collage. I really appreciate her ability to visualize and create such stunning works of art! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Thanks!

This Monkey Was NOT My Friend!

In 1955-56 my family spent a school year in the Philippines. My father was on a sabbatical and taught at the University of the Philippines near Manila. My sister had just graduated from high school, my brother was 15 and I was turning 9.

Many animals in the Philippines were different from what I saw every day here in State College, Pennsylvania. Instead of tractors in the fields (or even horses like the Amish) the rice fields were being plowed by Carabao, or water buffalo.

Chickens were wandering near homes in our neighborhood and the roosters woke us up each morning. I remember my brother having fun fashioning a trap with a box, a stick attached to a long string, and some bait to try to catch a chicken. As I recall, he was successful, but the neighbors were not too happy. Of course, he had to let them go and the chickens continued to wander the neighborhood.

We were offered the opportunity to “adopt” a pet monkey while we were visiting in the Philippines. This monkey had been living at a nearby lab and was probably used in experiments…who knows (remember, this was 1956)! She was being “retired” and we could have her for a pet for a few months.

She lived outside our back door and was chained just like a dog. Her sleeping area was a box high off the porch. She had a bar to run across and could reach the ground with the chain on. She would leap off the bar and then climb back up the chain to her perch. My brother loved putting her on his shoulder and walking around the house.

When we were first introduced to this monkey in the living room, she looked so sweet. Her long arms could wrap around your neck like a big stuffed animal. I was sitting on the couch with my legs crossed and we watched her explore.

As she moved around, I uncrossed my legs and ACCIDENTLY bopped her on the head! She instantly leaped on me in anger and started pulling my hair! Yikes Not fun!

She finally calmed down, and everyone felt that she would be OK, I had just surprised her. From that day forward, she did not like me. She was smart and knew when I was around. I stayed out of her way!

Several times over the next few months, she would get loose and run to the roof of the house. It was hard to get her to come back. Soooo…Mary became the bait!

I would stand on the porch and call her. She would come running across the rooftop, jump onto my shoulders and start pulling my hair, screeching all the time. Mark would quickly grab her off of me and take her away.

Needless to say, I was not sorry to see her go back to the lab when we were getting ready to leave. My brother had a nice pet for a few months, but I don’t have fond memories of the animal. I hope she had a good life…someplace else!

I’ve been told that the memories that “stick” are ones with strong emotions attached…good or bad. I guess that’s why this one stuck with me all these years!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

Healing Lotion Bars with Manuka Essential Oil

A lotion bar is a convenient way to have hand lotion nearby. They are easy to make, easy to carry in your purse or briefcase and safe to put in your carry-on luggage without worry about restrictions on liquids.

I’ve been making lotion bars for several years and I was interested in making them not only convenient but also healing for your hands. I tried to incorporate Manuka honey into the mix, but it doesn’t incorporate easily and I couldn’t add enough to make a difference. I tried using Aloe Vera gel, but that posed a similar problem. The heavy gel would sink to the bottom of my mix and the last bar I poured was big glop of Aloe Vera gel! Very frustrating!

I often start with Calendula-infused olive oil (see my post from April 7, 2021) and calendula has healing properties of its own, but I have a few folks that can’t use that herb. Lavender also has healing properties so I decided to use that.

About Manuka Essential Oil

Then I discovered Manuka Essential Oil was on the market. This essential oil has been found to have many of the same healing benefits of Manuka honey, and does not have the issue of being a bee product. The oil is made through steam distillation of the leaves, branches and other parts of the tree…no bees involved! That’s good, because folks who are very allergic to bee stings could also be triggered by honey and other bee products.

Manuka essential oil, like Tea Tree oil, possesses antifungal and anti bacterial properties. Unlike Tea Tree oil, Manuka oil is non-toxic and non-irritating. It is 20-30 times more active that Tea Tree oil against certain bacteria and more effective against strains of fungi and viruses. It is safe and soothes symptoms of itching skin, rashes and exzema.

Essential oils also do well when added to hot oil/wax mixtures. A small amount can make a difference. Now I had a better way to enhance the healing properties of my lotion bars.

(Please note: Do not use Manuka Essential Oil directly on your skin…always mix it with a little carrier oil like almond or olive oil.)

First Make Lavender-infused Olive Oil

Most lotion bars start with a good olive oil infused with herbs. Instead of using dried calendula flowers, I decided to use dried lavender buds. This would be better for some folks.

Infusing olive oil with lavender is the same process I used to infuse calendula (see the recipe below). I basically did the quicker method.

I started with a 1-quart canning jar and used about 2 cups of lavender flower buds. I simmered the oil/flower mixture for about 6 hours. Once I strained the flower buds out of the oil, I had about 2 cups of oil. I stored this oil in the refrigerator until I was ready to make these lotion bars.

Making the Lotion Bars

Now that I had the oil prepared, I was ready to make the lotion bars. Here’s the recipe:

You can see, the recipe is the same whether you are making Calendula-or Lavender-infused oil. The rest of the ingredients are shown below.

I measured and/or weighed out the ingredients into a glass heat-proof measuring cup, set the cup into a saucepan with water and slowly brought the water just to a boil. Then I reduced the heat until everything melted.

After removing it from the heat, I mixed in the Vitamin E (which acts as a preservative), the Lavender essential oil and the Manuka essential oil.

I poured the now clear, hot mixture into molds. This time I chose the paw print mold.

Your choice of mold will depend on what you plan to put them in and how many you want to make…the smaller the mold, the more you make. These bars do need a container of some kind. To take up less space they could be dropped into a zip lock bag, but the tins really are easier. I used 2 oz. tins with a clear window in the lid. I put a sticker/label on the back so folks know what it is (you may laugh, but I also make small soaps like this and it pays to label everything). When the bars are cool, I like to wrap them individually in clear plastic wrap so they look nice until I give them away!

When I package them, I include a card with the ingredients. On the back I’ve pasted a paragraph describing how to use them. The card says they will melt at temperatures above 75 degrees, but while they may soften, I haven’t found that to be a problem.

Now I’m ready to have lunch with some high school friends! Maybe they’ll agree to test these lotion bars! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Freezing Bananas

Just a quick post about freezing bananas. Why would you even want to do this? I use half a banana and a handful of frozen blueberries in a breakfast smoothie. Since it’s a real pain to keep ahead of bananas to use them before they spoil, I’ve found that if I slice and freeze them, they make the smoothie even better!

I try to buy bananas that are about the same ripeness so I can cut them up all at once. Folks must think I run a restaurant or have a big family!

I get the small snack-size Ziplock bags and start slicing.

I have a bowl ready for all the peels and an extra paper towel to put all the stickers on. Since I will add these peels to the compost bin, the stickers need to be removed. One year I did not remove them and after we had put the compost into the garden, I was finding the stickers intact years later!

I slice the bananas into 3/4″ slices and lay them flat in the bag; one banana will fill two bags (approximately).

When finished, the stickers go in the trash, the peels go into the compost bin and the bags of slices go into the freezer!

These slices are great for my smoothies and they also can be used in other recipes that call for mashed bananas. They thaw quickly and are easily incorporated into baked goods…and no over-ripe bananas sitting around my kitchen! Give it a try! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

No-bake Coconut and Cashew Butter Energy Balls

Trying to find an energy bar that is safe to eat (for me that means no egg and no dairy) and actually tastes good is no small task! I have bought multiple assortments of bars that just try too hard to do everything…low carb, vegan, no sugar, high protein, etc. I’ve decided to just skip trying to find a commercial one that actually tastes good. I don’t need a bar for protein since I can eat meat and fish just fine. Actually, I’d like something that is not full of extra ingredients but will satisfy like a cookie. I just tried a recipe I found at this site, https://thepaleodiet.com. I think it will work!

Ingredients:

1 cup Cashew Butter (could substitute Almond Butter)

1 cup Medjool dates, pitted (I just got pitted dates at the health food store)

1/4 cup cashews, chopped

1 1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut

(Optional: Chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans; a dash of cinnamon).

Instructions:

Add the cashew butter, dates, cashews and 1 cup of the coconut to a food processor. (I also added 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts.) Blend just until a workable dough is formed.

I just couldn’t believe that the sticky dates would chop up, so I put the 1 cup of coconut in a bowl, added the chopped dates and stirred them up. Then, I put them in the food processor.

Sticky chunks of dates, coated with coconut.

2. Use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture out evenly. Roll into 10 balls. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

This stuff was so sticky I quickly coated them with coconut just to get them off my hands! I ended up with 16 energy balls.

3. Roll the balls in the remaining shredded coconut.

Since they were already coated with coconut I didn’t have to do it again.

This recipe made 16 energy balls. The smaller ones chilled faster and were easier to eat.

My assessment of these Coconut/Cashew Butter Energy Balls:

These tasted great and were a very satisfying snack. They took only a few minutes to mix up. It probably took longer to wash the cashew butter mixture from the food processor container than to mix them up!

If you need a handy snack this summer, I would highly recommend whipping up a batch of these no-bake energy balls! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Garden Update June 3, 2021

It’s always encouraging to see how much the garden has grown in two weeks…especially with enough rain on a regular basis! Two weeks ago (May 21) this is what the lettuce and radishes looked like:

Today, the radishes are ready to pull and I could make a small salad with the lettuce:

These are the seeds I planted. I’m pleased with how they did.

The raised planter gets two thumbs up from me! It was easy to keep an eye on the plants…easy to water, thin and harvest without breaking my back! Thank you Kathy and Steve!

Most of the garden looks pretty good too:

Lemon Balm and Stevia (I’ve had to cut back the Stevia. It kept trying to make blossoms and I wanted a bigger plant).

Lavender with carrots on the left. Barely poking through the ground!

The Echinacea we started from seed still looks tiny compared to the three plants I bought. Oh well!

At the moment, the rain barrels are full to the brim, the big tank in the garden is full too. So, when it decides to stop raining (which often happens in the middle of the summer when we need it most) we’ll be able to keep the garden consistently watered.

Thanks for letting me share the garden with you! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Memorial Day in Boalsburg, May 31, 2021

Memorial Day in Boalsburg, for those of us who live here, usually involves multiple days of the Fire Company’s Carnival; a parade through town; a full day of activities throughout the downtown area, with over 130 venders selling crafts and food; music on the Diamond; and tours of the Heritage Museum, the Boal Mansion Museum and the Pennsylvania Military Museum. Thousands of people descend on the area each Memorial Day holiday. Until last year, when everything was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic ravaging the country.

Last year when events were cancelled, it was decided to still hold the simple program honoring Memorial Day, with a brief service that was conducted by key people in the community. Our lost loved ones were still honored and the graves were decorated, just as they had been since 1864.

A statue of the three women who first decorated the graves of their loved ones in 1864.

This year, the decision to hold or cancel events had to be made in early April and at that time States and communities were in different stages of opening up to travel and group gatherings. Thus, the large group festivities were cancelled again, except for the Memorial Day service. Tonight, there will be a simple service honoring all the loved ones who were lost during war time. The graves are now decorated, just as they have been since 1864. It’s a beautiful sight to see the church yard all decorated with flags and flowers. It really keeps the meaning of the holiday front and center in our minds. If you’d like to know more about Boalsburg, go to http://historicboalsburg.com.

This year, Kathy, her mother-in-law Karen, Ben and Anna spent the day with me in Boalsburg. With only a few extra people in town we were able to enjoy touring the Boalsburg museums and appreciate the whole meaning of the holiday.

We started at the Pennsylvania Military Museum. We first saw a 10-minute video of all the action seen by Pennsylvania service men and women over the years. The kids loved the big tanks and the gift shop (of course!). To learn more about this museum, go to http://pamilmuseum.org.

We had a private tour of the Boal Mansion Museum and the Columbus Chapel. Amazing backdrop to the whole history of the area. Incredible artifacts and documented stories of the Boal family genealogy that would be of interest to historians as well as locals. It’s only been the last five years or so that so much material has been unearthed and documented. An amazing treasure trove! To see information and many more photos about this site, go to http://boalmuseum.com.

We ended our day with dinner at Duffy’s Tavern.

A great visit with my family! Happy Memorial Day to all of you! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

From the Bookshelf: Infused Water

Everyone says we should drink more water…from weight loss gurus to medical professionals. I know that! But how many of you really reach for a glass of water instead of a soda, iced tea or coffee? I really don’t mind having a bottle of spring water nearby most of the time, but it really isn’t the same as a cold, fizzy diet soda! However, I’m trying to make better choices.

I’ve had this book on my shelf for several years, Infused Water by Dalila Tarhuni (2017). It was a pretty book…lots of great pictures! However, given the choice, I always seemed to choose a diet soda over making (and drinking) infused water.

This book has a few short statements about why we should drink infused water, the benefits we might get from drinking infused water and how to make it…followed by 75 recipes! The pictures were so inviting. Certainly, I could find something that would appeal to me.

So, I found my special pitcher that I bought about the same time I got the book. It has an insert to hold cut fruit. When I checked on Amazon to see how much it cost I discovered almost 50 different models of infused water pitchers! Of course, this one was not listed any more. However, they all do pretty much the same thing…separate the fruit from the water so it can be removed easily after infusing.

Then I went to the grocery store to get some fruit. I found strawberries, kiwi and pineapple. I already had a few blueberries and apples, but I thought I’d start with just the first three.

I cut enough to fill the insert and filled the pitcher with filtered water from the tap. Then I set it in the refrigerator overnight.

The recipes in this book often include several fruits and an herb for additional flavor, like mint leaves, a sprig of rosemary or chamomile flowers. Sometimes a sweetener is suggested. My taste buds are probably out of touch with reality after years of artificial sweeteners, so I’ll have to re-sensitize my palate. Maybe then a sprig of stevia might be noticeable. Of course, none of those additives include caffeine! Yikes…how to find a natural substitute for that! I don’t care for coffee or tea so I may never wake up!

Why make it yourself?

Have you noticed how many brands and flavors of “water” are on the shelf at the store? Every brand advertises a different benefit, like detoxing your system or balancing the pH of your body; and for only $1.00 (or more)!

I’ve tried many of these brands and frankly I’d rather just drink our filtered tap water. However, I would still reach for my diet soda! Frustrating!

Are there health benefits to drinking infused water?

Bert had a few questions about why I thought this would make the water better or healthier, so I decided to do a little more research about infused water so at least I was informed about its REAL benefits, if there were any!

Diet soda on ice is very cold, which I like. When I put our filtered tap water on ice it’s good, but basically the ice doesn’t taste great, so the filtered water doesn’t either.

I’m hoping having really cold, better tasting water available will give me a healthier option to choose. We’ll see!

According to webmd and healthline,

“The main benefits of drinking infused water come from the simple fact that it’s water! Adequate hydration is absolutely key to being healthy. By infusing tasty flavors, many people tend to drink more water. Infusion can thus be a way to make water more appealing.”

Great! Every glass of cold infused water I choose is one less glass of diet soda I drink. I guess that’s a good thing.

After I took the fruit out of the pitcher and tried a glass of infused water, I could taste the faint hint of the pineapple and strawberry. It isn’t sweet but it’s cold and wet. I’ll keep you posted!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!

Making a hot or cold eye pillow for headaches or toothaches!

After suffering all weekend with a sore tooth, I finally made it to the dentist to find out, YES, I need a root canal! Phooey! Of course the first available appointment is June 11! It’s going to be a long three weeks!

With a swollen gland, a sore tooth and puffy face I was reaching for a cold damp washcloth just to ease the discomfort. I decided it was time to find a different solution. I had seen many versions of a small pillow stuffed with various things, from popcorn to rice to flax seeds with lavender buds mixed in. Some of those things work well in the freezer but not so much in the microwave (like popcorn!).

I had a bag of flax seeds ready for just such a project and I had ordered some fresh dried lavender buds recently, so I thought I’d give it a try.

Materials:

1 cup flax seeds

1/4 cup lavender buds (optional)

1 piece of cotton fabric…9 1/2″ by 5 1/2″

2 layers of cotton flannel…9 1/2″ by 5 1/2″. Treat as one piece of fabric.

Instructions:

Make a pouch by sewing the fabric and flannel pieces wrong sides together, leaving a 3″ space to turn right-side out. Trim the corners.

When turning the pouch right-side out use a stuffing stick or pencil to poke the corners out completely.

Top stitch on three sides to reinforce the seams…don’t want those flax seeds to poke through the seam. Top stitch the top edge after stuffing.

Close up of top stitching before stuffing.

Put 1 cup of flax seeds in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup of dried lavender buds and mix them up. If you don’t care for the smell of lavender, use less or skip them and use a drop or two of your favorite essential oil directly on the fabric bag. No scent at all is fine too.

Use a funnel poked into the opening of the bag and scoop the seed/lavender mixture into the bag (oops…no picture of the funnel).

Stitch the bag closed with two rows of stitching just for reinforcement.

Close up of top stitching after stuffing.

That’s it! The bag is only about half full so it’s flexible and easily molded to my eyes (for sinus pressure) or in my current case, my jaw!

I’ll put this into a zip bag and put it in the refrigerator (or freezer). I’ll enjoy it later this evening!

If I decide I need it warm instead, I’ll let it warm up naturally and then pop it in the microwave…maybe 10 seconds at a time at first. Flax seeds are supposed to hold the warmth quite a while. On the other hand, I may have to make a second one just for the warm version!

I’ve always said most of my projects are inspired by a need. I certainly had a need today! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Save Memories with a T-Shirt Quilt

Do you find yourself collecting t-shirts with pictures of the places you visit? Or maybe you’ve saved t-shirts that your child has outgrown that just have special memories? Working with t-shirts presents a few unique issues that are not found in regular quilt-making.

First, t-shirt fabric is usually soft and stretchy. Second, the pictures are not all the same size. Sometimes the picture is small, like on a pocket. Sometimes it is huge, covering the whole front or back of a shirt. So, before you can begin putting the puzzle pieces together, you have to make the puzzle pieces!

The first time I was asked to make a t -shirt quilt it was with a box of shirts a friend had saved from a career in the military…a mix of shirts from bars, world travel and military mementos…63 in all! Every picture had already been trimmed and the rest of the shirt was pitched so they wouldn’t take up so much space in storage. It was very overwhelming, since I had never attempted to make even a small t-shirt quilt.

I decided I’d better try a small version before I cut into someone’s precious memories. I went to a local children’s resale shop and picked up a dozen cute t-shirts with interesting pictures on them.

I laid them out to get an idea of how they might look together.

I ironed and trimmed each shirt, leaving just the picture with as much fabric around it and still lay flat.

I used a lightweight non-woven iron-on interfacing and ironed a piece to the back of each shirt front.

I had to decide on the size of the blocks that would allow most of each picture to be shown. The pink shirt above had raglan sleeves, so I left the pretty seam as part of the design. I ended up with a template 8 1/2″ by 10″.

Once the fabric had been stabilized so it wouldn’t stretch, the blocks are assembled like any quilt top would be. I used strips as shown below for the inner borders. Of course, the flamingo’s foot was going to be cut off, so I cut around it and appliqued it to the border.

I ended up printing out the directions and offered the quilt to the resale shop for them to use as a display in case other mothers would like to try it.

Next, I offered to make a memory quilt for my daughter. She had saved a pile of t-shirts from my grandson’s elementary school years. This time I decided to not separate the blocks with an inner border. A few blocks had to be pieced or small pieces were appliqued to other blocks to make the size consistent and to make use of some smaller pictures.

Finally, I felt ready to attack the huge box of career-long memory t-shirts. I consider this a major accomplishment that took over a month to assemble. Because the pictures had already been trimmed it was impossible to make a design with consistent-sized blocks. After ironing the lightweight interfacing to each picture, I worked with long strips of backing material and arranged the various sizes of blocks down the strips. Starting at one end I methodically stitched each picture to the backing material…kind of like doing a crazy quilt…one piece at a time. As I worked, the pictures were rearranged multiple times until I got them all in!

I sewed the strips together to make one large quilt, one smaller quilt and two giant floor pillows. I especially loved the one from Bali! I was sorry to give that one back! Whew! Quite the learning experience!

A word of advice, if you are asking someone to make a memory quilt for you…don’t trim the shirts before handing them over! The extra fabric can be useful in piecing odd size pictures.

When finished, the extra t-shirt material can be disposed of (actually the soft knit material is great to make tiny doll clothes!)

Save those memory t-shirts, or start a new collection! A t-shirt quilt is a great way to preserve those memories!

Leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Enjoy!