Sisterhood of the Traveling Music Box Teapot

My sister once bought me, at an estate sale, a music box that is anatomically a ceramic teapot. It was intended as a gift, so at the time, I was unaware of the object.
She, apparently, donated it to a thrift store after discovering the mechanism was faulty; where I, not knowing it's history, swooped down on the wounded, discounted prey.
Discovering the mechanism beyond my experience to repair, I turned to my father, who somehow, (despite his breakfast sausage breadth fingers) deftly fixed the delicate workings. This was when my sister discovered it at my father's house and told me the story of finding it for me, and donating it, broken.
Recently, it stopped working again.
This weekend, I shed it, hoping the cycle repeats itself.

I don't know who reads this, but:

One of my best friends is down to the wire to raise just $1400 to free a shipping container full of art that has been stuck in Austrian purgatory. I am offering my services to help. Please read blog entry linked ABOVE.
If you donate just $25.00, I will personally craft you a reasonably sized hand knit item (headband, bow, scarf, etc…) of any style/fiber/color OR a cross stitch with a phrase of your choosing in any color available. $25.00 is a REALLY good deal for a personalized, hand crafted item and would make a great gift if you have an impending occasion. Please pass this on to anybody that you think might be interested in this REALLY good deal. E-mail me at “rachaelljensen @ gmail.com” for examples/descriptions of what I’ve made and what I’ll do. Just click Donate in the link I’ve posted above!

Update: Warm Things

Etsy Buy Handmade BloodtoBloom

I have been curating an Etsy shop for a few months now, with little ceremony. (http://www.etsy.com/shop/BloodtoBloom) Vintage goods: primarily clothes, shoes, general adornments; and also a few things that I've knit.

I fear I might be bad at it, every article I've posted thus far has felt like an experiment; I've stock piles of things to hock, but have difficulty translating the charm of the item to digital.

Part of the problem is that I model them. I'm unsure of how to hold my face, I move too much, and am particularly unsuited to display a garment as, in life, something gets lost in translation between myself and those whom I am "showing" something to. It would be hard to explain. 

But, between the lighting experiments, and the facial fails during photographing, I've acquired a modest gallery of unsettling self-portraiture that I would really like to do something with- the Something I'm not sure about, a photo album for posterity maybe. All I know is I want this to be my physical legacy. 

  

And this: 

Also it seems like I have to start blogging about stuff that I sell on Etsy if I want anybody to buy it. I am trying.

   

The day after tomorrow I go to Northern Idaho, where my Dad grew.

It looks just like this.

I have a slew of cousins approx. my age there that I have little to no connection with, save Facebook updates. Most of them are married, have children; and either think I'm weird, dull, or put on airs. My grandparents grow increasingly distant.

All the same, I think family reunions are just fine, and I look forward to mashing my feet into the sludge of Lake Coeur D' Alene.

Sometimes I'll be trying to write something lucid for record's sake, to the point, and a stronger phrase will keep repeating itself, just to annoy my process.

Right now it's: "Look at Me" X's 35.