Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Cleaning closets and de-cluttering is such a difficult task for me.  I’m determined to reduce the things I don’t use and have not used in years.  And exactly why do I keep all the stuff?  It’s the memories…… aaah! Today I started in my closet on the back wall.  It’s a long narrow walk-in and when I moved in, it looked so big …until I started unpacking!  I keep the ‘dress-up’ clothes, coats and vests on that back wall.  It's also a great place to store items for my vintage etsy store. The first piece I took out was a vest that has not been worn in 35 years.  It looks like new, beautifully tailored with handmade buttonholes and lined.  Someone should be wearing it.  And you wonder why I've kept it that long?  Yes, it has a story.  I made that wool vest.  In fact, I wove the fabric, cut the pattern and sewed it!  It was indeed a labor of love.  I was living in Mountain View CA at the time and working as an interior designer.  In my spare time, I took spi

            HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

What is it about the shifting shapes of sand dunes that absolutely fascinate me?  It’s the excitement of seeing the piles of sand at different heights and widths in the distance, knowing the closer I get the more massive the shapes will become, the more they will change and the more detail I will see.  It’s watching the way light reflects and changes the shadows.  It’s seeing animal tracks and determining if they are lizard, snake or insect.  It’s examining plants that can survive in that environment and finding artifacts whitened by the sun.  It’s feeling the breeze as I watch the sand move and ripple forming a new shape.  It’s walking barefoot and feeling the grains between my toes.  It’s learning and experimenting with the camera trying to capture the wonder. It’s knowing that I have to be smart and have water and know where I parked the vehicle because I know how easy it is to become lost in the sand with the hot sun be

Summer!  Sun shining days and warm breezes bringing lots of birds to my deck in Prescott.  I love summer and remembering the short trips we take.  I have to share this one. Indigo Bunting Matt the new birder!  When we were in Missouri recently my nephew, Matt, took us to the Arboretum Botanical Gardens in Overland Park, Kansas.  I had been there once before but this time we walked all the trails and introduced Matt to the world of birding.  I’m hoping he really gets interested in it because he can really spot the birds!  This is a lovely garden with lots of flowers and different ecosystems.  Monet’s Garden has flowers and plants like the ones Monet painted and there is even a little bridge. Remember the ‘water lilies’? An international sculpture garden shows off some interesting metal sculptures that were donated by Chinese artists and are tucked among the trees. The bird trail leads to a little house with seats and a place for bird food

It’s been such a ‘birdie’ beginning of summer!  We had Western Tanagers migrating through our area and they are such beautiful eye- candy that all one could do was stop and look at them.   Unfortunately, one of the males flew into my neighbor’s patio door so hard that it obviously had a concussion.  We tried to revive it with diluted orange juice in a syringe.  My neighbor, Phoebe, and I emailed each other through the day. “Henry is safely installed in our AZ room in the aquarium with a small maple branch, water, o.j. and seeds.  He hasn't taken more juice, but has moved around, out of the box a couple of times. Keep the fingers crossed!”  Sometime in the night our patient (Phoebe named him Henry) gave up the fight and he was buried in the yard under a rock.     This was the first time I had the privilege of actually holding a wild bird.  He was so light and his feathers were such beautiful colors.  Quite the nature experience and of course, sad.  Soon afte

Glass Lampwork Beads are among my favorite eye candy.  When I saw this tutorial on faux lampwork beads I decided I had to try it!  This is the link for the tutorial:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/176555759/faux-glass-polymer-clay-tutorial-pack-3?ref=related-6 It is very well written, nicely illustrated and a pleasure to follow.  I recommend this! I love these beads and can't wait to make more with this technique First I started collecting the supplies and naturally I needed to order some things!  I did not have Kato liquid polymer nor did I have a heat gun.  I love tools so here was another excuse!  Now I have a heat gun!  I bought the Ryobi 11 Amp Variable-Temp Heat Gun that was suggested in the tutorial.  It is great – easy to hold and the temperature is easy to adjust!  The Kato clay I bought came in a bubble wrap envelop and the lid was loose.  Ick! What a mess.  Amazon refunded the money and I was able to salvage enough to do the project.  Finally ready! I m

    Strawberries happen to be one of my favorite fruits.  I especially love them combined with rhubarb, but         really, fresh strawberries and cooked strawberries; straight out of the field or frozen…they are all good!     When I mixed this red polymer clay with gold and yellow and added green, of course, strawberries came      to mind.  This is my interpretation of a strawberry fruit with its goodness inside and out!      I've never used the manufactured paper balls that I bought somewhere (guess we all know about that!)     and started reading about them.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/115947922/cotton-paper-balls-for-polymer-clay?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product_listing_promoted&utm_campaign=supplies_low&gclid=CKTouvLDhL4CFQpgfgod0jYA3A      First I wrapped the cotton paper ball in foil to keep it from sticking to the clay.      I cut triangles for the petals and placed them on the ball keeping in mind that it needed to be flower l