E is for echeveria (unsurprisingly). Except, this is an aeonium. So, this E is for except.
Tag: echeveria
Same As It Ever Was
The late night sorties continue, despite my best defenses.
This just made me laugh out loud; she so looks like Alice in Wonderland/Grace Slick doing “One pill makes you larger, and…”
Zilly and Stormy continue to meet up after work, and are really enjoying getting to know one another. Here they are, chatting away, sitting on what I refer to as the “floral footstools of anxiety”. It’s got nothing to do with them, and is a story for perhaps another time? The fabric, however, is fabulous: “London Calling” from Studio RK for Robert Kaufman. I want to reupholster everything in it.
For my birthday I purchased a set of lenses for my iPhone from Photojojo. I’ve not had much time to purposely explore them — it’s not even quite my birthday yet— but here are a few snapshots.
I was most interested in the macro and telephoto, but could not resist the fisheyes and filter lenses. Above is EC01 Echeveria, looking fabulous larger than miniature life-size.
These are very lively moss flowers, less than a half-inch tall, growing on the backyard retaining wall, as seen through the macro lens. Who know spores had EYES?!
And here is either the fisheye or super fisheye, good for laughs and turning one’s home into a hobbit-hole. In the foreground are the lens boxen. I heartily recommend!
I’m about to go south, and then north, for a couple of days. I wrote and photographed the instructions and listing for the first of the MMS+S Office Essentials, in colorway “Warm” today, but will hold off actually listing them at MMS+S until I return and have a chance to kit and document the whole series.
The south part is to my family in Santa Cruz, and the north part is to a *very* special tour my delightful husband has managed to arrange, of a very special archive of amazing artifacts, all housed on a fairyland ranch that is so sprawling and gorgeous it takes one’s breath away. (And/or, is typically Northern Californian.) Happy birthday to me, and all the March babies!
Newsletter, Calendar, Party
There’s a new issue of my newsletter Cut, Fold + Make going out tonight that includes a modern miniature calendar for you to make.
It’s a quick and simple project.
You can sign up to receive it with the newsletter link on the right.
It’s a good way to keep track of yourself in sequential time.
And, there’s a party going on to celebrate the new year and new pergola being built at Modern Miniature Succulents + Sundries. All the furniture from Sea House Warming Hut has been dragged over, and there’s a beach driftwood fire blazing, as well as festive beverages. Come on by! It’s been too long since we’ve all hung out together.
PS: Godzilla will be there.
MMS+S Signage
I continue to explore what works and what does not on the Cricut Explore Air 2. I’ve not yet moved beyond cardstock. I wanted to make signage for the courtyard set. This is my first attempt at cutting a sign 2.25 inches (5.7 cm) square. Lessons learned.
I scaled up to almost four inches, and it cut beautifully.
Here is the sign, 23 picas square, released from the sticky mat. I glued a nice piece of translucent plastic salvaged from Japanese rice cracker packaging to the back, and cut lengths of 1/4-inch basswood for the top and bottom.
The finished sign. At least for now.
New Echeveria Kit, Esplanade, Scarlett
There’s a new kit available over at Modern Miniature Succulents + Sundries. It’s a more delicate echeveria variety, based on an eight-leaved shape. Each plant is about 3/8-inch (9.5 mm) in diameter; the kit makes nine.
In other news, natural beach erosion opened up two large sinkholes in the switchback path leading down to Esplanade beach, as well as taking out more of the cliffs under the remaining apartments (vacant since January). It was so windy this afternoon on the bluffs I could scarcely keep my camera still.
Scarlett is almost six months old. Her extravagant affections continue to grow, and because she goes outside now, her depredations have eased *somewhat*.
Happy winter solstice, all.
S6A
Supplies and materials flowing in at a steady rate. Got the next two kits prototyped and spec’d, therefore only needing specimens, photography models, and instructions. Easy-peezey. Mighty progress!
The Argo Wool Works build-in-progress has been moved back up onto the high shelf, to free the work table for kitting, photography and the rest. I’m also putting away the needlepoint frame, and about half a dozen other would-be, want-to-be, once-were projects. Deargod I may even dust.
So sad.
I’m surprised I get as much done as I do.
In other news, Brian and I headed out this morning for a beach walk and cleanup. Esplanade had no beach at all because of high surf, so we went to Sharp Park. So very many small bits of styrofoam, plastic bottle caps, straws, and miscellaneous plastic packaging, all washed down to the ocean with the recent rains :(
Still, the waves were booming, and there were many dogs and walkers out. I love the coast in winter.
Redirect
First light, and we’re continuing to enjoy some much-needed rain here in Northern California. There’s bustle going on downstairs in the studio, but it’s uninteresting compared to Scarlett, sleeping off an early morning foray into the great suburban outdoors.
In that respect, her explorations are not that different to my own, except I’m neither five months old nor a cat. No matter how much I wish.
Still. She approaches her new domain with seemingly equal amounts of enthusiasm and caution.
I want to be like Scarlett. Especially the perfect nap part.
What?! Echeverias, Yes, again
I got a new eight-petaled punch, about 5/8-inch (16 mm). It has spawned a whole new genus of succulents. These are punched from a sage green cardstock painted with an acrylic wash. After lengthy fooling around, I prefer detailing each shape with markers.
Here’s where my documentation lapses. Profoundly. I call Sunday, North American time change, and very good California champagne.
I’m really happy with the end result, and will be more mindful to share my steps. It’s basically three punched and shaped forms, and then a lot of individually applied shaped petals. Or leaves, whatever they’re called. This version more closely approximates what I see in parts of my own succulent garden.
This is also where I *really* want to buy a laser cutter, to be able to realistically emulate the considerable varieties of succulents and cacti. What do you think? Anyone else out there enamored of miniature succulents to want to make them in their boundless assortment? Do you know of anyone already making kits?
Echeveria
So happy with the results of Annie Christensen’s echeveria tutorial! Here are a few before adding the chalk detailing. I experimented with watercoloring both sides of gray and light green card stock, as well as a duplex sheet of sage/dark green.
Some in place under the lavender-drying deck (two varieties).
And more around the back. Truly, paper alchemy. I’ve got some micro-punches on order to make smaller ones, and different varieties. With lavender and California poppies growing, this landscaping will be so NorCal.
(This is a peek at one of my succulent beds, so you know I speak true. You can just see some CA poppy in the mid right edge. They should start going off next month :)
nancyland.com 