The 15th boxes of mystery.

I smell Fall already. One of the birch trees out my kitchen window has shifted from green to orange in three days. My girl is waiting for the UPS man who is supposed to deliver a Captain Phasma costume -- because, you know, Halloween is only 2 months away -- and I'm mourning the fact that I got worked and worked and worked and worked until I gave in and bought the damned thing from Target.com, which goes against everything I try really hard to stand for as a parent and a human, like refusing to be marketed to by large corporations or purchasing factory-made items that may or may not involve fair labor practices. And plastic? Don't get me started. And characters from movies that my child hasn't even seen but has heard enough about to think she wants to emulate? 

Can't you wear the princess dress? Or the spotted kitty hood and paws I made last year? Can't you be a spotted princess kitty? With paws?

It makes a person want to pick up and move really far away from the rest of the world. But I can attest that even that maneuver doesn't make much difference.

Other things, besides innocence and summer are also waning: like the open call for vintage linens for the Inheritance Project. The gathering portion of this work will end on September 30, so if you feel called to be a part of this doily-centric craziness, please contact me and/or send your Envelope/Padded Envelope/Shoebox/Box of Mystery up North. My mother is arriving next week and I'm enlisting her Scandinavian skill set for Phase 2:  The Laundering-Ironing-Sorting Extravaganza.

And I have plans for my dad, too.
(Shhhh, he doesn't know about those plans yet.)

Oh. My. God. Lookit. My. Mail.

Now for the contributors who make up the 15th Boxes of Mystery:

​More Crinoline Ladies.

Thank you, Roxanne Lasky for the "Circle of Friends" Crinoline Ladies and chevron zig-zaggity doily (yes, it matches not one, but 2 others I've received). Roxanne is out there in the world pawing through thrift store bins for herself, but thinking of me, which is so incredibly sweet. I also think she has a sense of humor that rivals mine and my mother-in-law's. I also think she's throwing down the gauntlet and forcing me to consider what in the world I could possibly do with these confectionary items. And I think she's giggling about all this somewhere in South Carolina where she's doing great work. And I think I will actually meet this lady someday and she will be the friend in real life that she's already become online.

And I think I'm all over these saccharine Crinoline Ladies.

​(Insert those air kisses here). Mwah-and-Mwah.

Makers: Unknown, Origin: Unknown, Circa: Unknown.

​A Cucumber Box and One Thousand Faces.

Ann from next door is the most upright neighbor one could ask for. We share a sloped terrace filled with raspberry bushes (hers are a bigger, better variety) and she always phones to let me know when she's seen a moose in the yard (so, be concerned), or when a worker might be hammering over at her house (so, don't be concerned). She always calls me "Dear Neighbor" and I appreciate that my children have grown up with her steady presence. 

She hand delivered this incredible box of mystery to my door, filled with hand crocheted potholders from all over the United States, which she's been silently seeking out online ever since she read my first post about this crazy crowd sourcing invitation. She said the mouth forms I'd been exploring reminded her of the Japanese "One Thousand Faces" porcelain pattern and when I said I wasn't familiar with this, she provided me with a lovely gold-edged bowl with this very motif. She also found a crocheted potholder guide, filled with many of the designs that have crossed my threshold in the last year. And holy cow...did you know some of these are worth $12 bucks apiece? (In the right collector's market, of course). I'm apparently sitting on a gold mine up here. Captain Phasma must right-this-minute stop color-coordinating stacked potholders into rainbows lest she damage something.

Thank you Ann, for being a generous neighbor, a patient friend and contributor to my ongoing education.
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Makers: Unknown, Origins: Unknown, Circa: Unknown.

From the book, "Gay & Gifty Pot Holders" by Barbara E. Mauzy.

One Thousand Faces.

One Thousand Faces I get to see everyday now.

Third time's a charm.

Oh Natalya Aikens, I can't even believe that you thought of this little project while perusing an antique store in Edinburg New York, and then took the time to send these sweet little things. According to the "Gay and Gifty Potholders" Book now in my possession, these 3 dresses are worth $36 - $45. And sister, you better not have laid out stacks like that for me. 

​Thank you.

Makers: Unknown, Origins: Unknown, Circa: Unknown.

This is the third box of mystery Natalya has sent to me. Little known fact: senders of multiple boxes of mystery get a teeny tiny RED doily. 

That's right. I take care of my people.

If you'd like to find me on Facebook, go straight to my artist page: Amy Meissner, Artist. 

If you'd like to find me on Instagram, where I'm mostly hanging out out these days, I'm @amymeissnerartist. #boxesofmystery #inheritanceproject

If you've signed up for my newsletter and heard crickets, that's because I can't get my s*** together to send one out. My life is in full-on family mode, man. It will happen though -- the newsletter -- and it will look so great sitting there in your inbox like a little shiny jewel.

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