Been baking away the last remaining days of summer vacation:

Blueberry Bread Pudding
This makes four substantial servings, six if you put it in smallish bowls. My grandmother's recipe- not too fussy, not sickly sweet, so, so good.

2 C bread cubes 3 eggs
2 C milk dash salt
3 T. butter 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 C sugar 1/2 C blueberries

Place bread crumbs and blueberries in greased 1 qt. dish (the shallower the better- more surface area means more crunch along the top). Scald milk with butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, add salt and vanilla. When the milk mixture cools (we put it in a larger dish and surrounded it with ice to speed things along) combine it with the egg mixture and pour over bread cubes. Set that dish in a pan of warm water and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. No blueberries? Try raisins, shredded coconut, jam, chocolate chips, or pineapple. Or all of it. How bad could it be?

Hearty thanks to VeesVintage for including my earrings in her breathtaking treasury!
Also, many thanks to mooshoopork for her explosive treasury!

If you live in the Baltimore area and you've never been to the American Visionary Art Museum, get thee hence! It's the wackiest, sparkliest, strangest, most compelling museum I know. The premise is that all the work within is known as outsider art. This means that it comes from artists who often teach themselves, who are driven to create without the influence of the "inside" of the art world- art schools, professors, and mainstream galleries. These people are every bit as fascinating as the art they make, so be sure to read about each artist as you wander through the collection. The current exhibition hinges on the intersection between art, science, and philosophy. A lot of the artists included are scientists themselves, or philosophers of a kind, or have unique ideas about spirituality which heavily influence their body of work. Some highlights from the exhibition:

- Applique textile art by Chris Roberts-Antieau, impeccably made and often humorous (my fave = Godzilla)
- Assemblage Stegosaurus by Leo Sewell
- Patty Kuzbida's assemblage guitar, which includes most of a porcelain head of lettuce. Yup.
- Karen and Steve Alexander's crop circle photography
- Julian Harr's creepy/cool wood sculpture juxtaposing brightly painted animal parts in a mystical way
- David Anson Russo's glorious and PROFOUNDLY anal-retentive structural drawings and ceramics. Think of Escher's Relivity turned up to 11 and observed through a magnifying glass.
- Kenny Irwin Jr.'s ballpoint pen drawings- who knew pen could do that??
- Jeff Smith's cleverly disturbing Abacus, which is like a mirror universe piano.
- Walter Kitundu's wooden Birdsong Bench, which you can play like a xylephone, but don't you dare sit on it! Super neat.
- Gerald Hawkes' elaborate matchstick sculptures
- Fred Kahler's super detailed ink drawings
- Dalton Ghetti's MINUSCULE pencil graphite carvings. These are so cool I had to buy the postcard of the alphabet set. It will blow your mind.

If any of that is intruiging to you, you will certainly enjoy the permanent collection just as thoroughly! Admission is 14 bucks, 8 with student ID. They don't let you take pictures inside, but outside the museum there are plenty of sculptures and neat things to photograph and explore. There are three separate buildings, so be sure to visit each one when you go.

Also, note: the gift shop is WICKED cool. It's full of offbeat original arts and crafts, weird toys, lots of upcycled stuff, creepy jewelry, cards, and great gag gifts. I bought a gorgeous handmade basket, imported from Nepal. It's created with discarded plastic wrappers and, for costing me only 30 dollars, it's quite sizable, easily 13 inches across. It would make an awesome project to teach at school if I can figure out how to do it! What a nice opportunity to talk about recycling. I also got a long necklace made with paper beads for 20 bucks, and of course, the postcard. Go forth, friends, and visit AVAM!

Many thanks to Sassafraslane, who kindly included my bracelet in her bold, fiery treasury!

En fuego lately! Seven new necklaces in the last two days, plus three new pairs of earrings, a bracelet set of three, four felt magnets, and a custom order of six pairs of earrings, all made in the last week. Getting the most crafting time out of summer while I still can. School is around the corner! This picture is of the seven necklaces, and explains, I think, why glass beads are so stinking awesome. See my new stuff on Flickr.

Many thanks to pianobenchdesigns for including my new orange magnet in her bright and sassy treasury!