Unicorn Love And My Magical Garden Spire Totem

Fell in love with an object at first sight one evening. Living in the material world can do that to you sometimes! Actually it's an object d'art! So I guess that makes it better! You see... Once upon a time an enchanted Unicorn was living in a small tea shop, in the fancy cups section, within a mystical tall glass garden totem. It sparkled and shined, calling me to take it home. In a wink of an eye, I was immediately entranced by this very unique recycled glass creation. Unicorns are quite magical and represent all that is good. So naturally I made my plan to make the fabulous creature part of our happy home. Alas the store was not open and I stared through the window, longing for the beautiful glass Unicorn shimmering under the streetlights to be mine. I asked the King if he thought we would have enough time to stop back in Frederick the next day on route to our already planned destination. He thought it was possible, if we left home early. Please, no one buy my Unicorn treasure before I return to the little shop in downtown Frederick called "Voila!"

Excited, grateful, and relieved was how I felt when I saw the gleaming Unicorn still waiting for me in the window as we approached the next day! We immediately asked the sales person to remove it from the window display. After we made our purchase, I clutched my royal Unicorn scepter as we walked to the car, and lovingly wrapped it with the additional fabric from a jacket in the back seat. I was told that the garden totems they had displayed were made by two retired art teachers, Veronica Nehemias and Gail Padgett. They call their gorgeous glass work 'Garden Spires.' A perfect name for something sold in the Frederick area since the charming town is known for its church spires. These two artists certainly have a sense of whimsical design. They succeeded in making the different found objects relate to one another and create an object of beauty in my spire. Art lovingly envisioned from discarded items! Well done! 

Arriving home after a hike, I unwrapped the Unicorn spire. Then placed it in different large pots in the sunroom, till I found just the right spot for this radiant beauty. Since I have grand kids, the placement must be considered carefully due to the delicate nature of such a glass item. Pieced together with non colored glass items, I particularly love the monochromatic look of this dazzling garden spire. The handsome mix of frosted and clear glass is perfect, and I am quite fond of the small perfume bottle on top. A vintage mix of plates, vases, serving cups, and perhaps a glass shade, this spire picks up the light of the sun differently during various times of the day. An inspired arrangement as the Unicorn sitting inside made it totally magical! Love it! Every time I look upon that little frosty Unicorn I smile. It has become a sparkling focal point in our sunroom. 

I had seen inventive garden ornaments for the first time a few weeks before, when my sister in law had posted photos of the china and glass totems she had seen while walking the Shepardstown W.V. garden tour. Here's a few of her photos of those unpredictable one of a kind garden spires in their natural element. Hmmm some have tags from the seller.

When I viewed these photos she shared I thought it was a fantastic and creative idea. I hoped to acquire one myself someday for the little Hobbit House. So much fun! It's cheerfulness on a stick!

Wow! My power to manifest is amazing! I now have my own gorgeous garden totem with a stunning Unicorn to enjoy! Little did I know it would be made by the same artists who made the ones that you see here, as I just checked out the name on those hang tags. Yes, they are made by 'Garden Spires.'

Cool. I also really love their Garden Spires with the stacked fanciful tea pots, cups, and saucers. They remind me of the Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland. Definitely need one of those too! Other totems have a completely silly sense of humor with chickens or squirrels under glass. Who knew?

You can see there are usually vases or bottles on the bottom of these garden spires to hold the rod that goes into the ground. The heavy metal rod comes with the purchase of the Garden Spires.

After all of this I am considering making a garden totem myself, as my daughter likes to hang out at auctions, where she reports anything made of glass goes pretty cheaply. Perhaps when we are cleaning out the basement this winter, I shall discover some other interesting glass or china for my own totem project. I'll be saving those wine bottles! In the interim I searched the internet for some information on this "new to me" D.I.Y. craft project.

I found a wonderful tutorial at a blog called October Farm, for making your own glass garden totems. The writer at October Farm recommended having your plates and cups face downward so they do not pool with water if placed in outside gardens. That way you keep away mosquitos. I have also read on craft forums one should use GE CLEAR Silicone II caulk which is made for doors and windows. Another option is using 'Aleenes Outdoor glue' for your project. Everyone suggests that you be sure to clean the area to be glued with alcohol first. I might opt to wear latex gloves to keep the glue off my skin and to grip to the breakable glass or china. Another blog called 'The Empress Of Dirt 'also has a tutorial and videos for making glass garden totems here. That's a great name!

Seems I opened up a whole new world of art investigating this crafty upcycling project for my sunroom and garden. I have gathered videos on various recycled garden art projects with tips and techniques, in case you are now thinking of making your own funky junk glass garden spikes, as there are number of creative ways to use the discarded plates and vases. Some of the people may not have the best sense of design, but you can still get the basic idea of how putting old glass objects together works for making something new.
The upside down glass bowl mushroom that you see in this video below would look cool in a trio of various sizes among garden plantings, other spike designs, fairies, and maybe a garden gnome, or two.



Garden flowers made from recycled plates might look good in the fairy garden too if they matched whatever color family you chose for your totem and mushroom designs. 




Go wild! You could even make huge reclaimed glass art sculptures as seen in the video below. It really gets the mind to thinking! Time to look at old stuff in a new way!



Upcycling makes great re-use of all kinds of decorative objects. Perhaps old junk can even save the world! Well at least it's a great way to hang onto those semi-precious glass and china items other members in your house might think are useless trash! I will let you know If I get a collection of found objects together to make my enchanted mythical Unicorn a friend! It could happen! Sweet dreams, and believe in your power of visualizing and manifesting. Magic happens, and so does art!

Photo credits: Crystal and Brande.

Free Peace Signs To Celebrate Global Oneness Day

Peace, love, and joy are important elements to any life. The Painting Queen is having a giveaway of digital peace signs, so you can spread the love! We do this in celebration of visualizing peace all ways. Each of the 7 peace signs are 1800 by 1800 pixels. Download by clicking on the image, if a plus sign appears, then click again, then right click "save as." The peace sign images are presented in PNG format which means the background is transparent. These PNG's are a gift. You may use them for promoting thoughts of peace in the world, within your own artwork, and peace filled creations.

Lately I have been busy on my sister blog "The Queens Table". If you have been over to the food blog, you may already know that is where I share healthy recipes and tips. The information on the Queens Table is what I used to get healthy again, plus lose 76 pounds! If you are suffering from an unhealthy lifestyle, please visit my other blog where I am happy to help point you in the right direction to assist you in feeling better.

  

"Peace comes within the souls of men when they realize their 

oneness with the universe."  - Black Elk

"Be the change you wish to see!" - Ghandi

Peace. Start with your self. 

Spread that energy and light.

Shine On!

Tips For Painting Childrens Murals

My favorite murals to paint were always the ones for children.  Whether you desire to create a mural for your own child, or would like to do this as a career, there are a few tips included in this blog to help get you started. Think about it... don't you wish someone had painted a mural in your room when you were young?

I loved the excitement a child would show about the unique artwork that was created just for their room.  That is why I always included the child in my design questions when planning a mural for a children's room.  If you are painting a mural for your own child you can certainly do this in your early planning stages and bounce around some ideas together.  When you are planning professional murals it may depend on the client situation during your first meeting. Some people have a very difficult time visualizing anything and getting the child involved at this point confuses the parent even more.  You have to feel out the situation, but when possible ask the child's opinion.  

The age of a child can range from a baby to a teenager, so of course you would have a difficult time getting an infants opinion. haha! Most times the mother and the interior designer, often have a basic idea of what they want in the room.  Many clients relied on my portfolio of past work for inspiration.  Having a full portfolio of examples or bringing reference materials is very helpful.  Do not leave your books overnight with the client unless you absolutely know you will be coming back to that home!  I had to replace a few great reference books because of trusting new clients at first meetings. 
I always treated the portfolio of my faux and mural artwork photos like gold! Only the inner sanctum of the designer I worked with ever got to keep that baby overnight!

To get good reference materials and ideas: The children's library is a fantastic place to find large picture books for inspiration. The newsstand section of a store like Barnes and Noble carries many interior design magazines that feature children's rooms and murals.  Any kind of art or design trade publication can be an inspiration. If you are going to do this as a career you must invest in all kinds of reference books on many kinds of subjects. Collect animal, architecture, nature, sports, and fairytale books. Get picture books like "The DK Children's Illustrated Dictionaries." Purchase books specific to showing mural examples which usually have how-to information in them as well. It is always best to have the theme around something the child has a passion about because they will live with this artwork for many years.

Once the subject matter and the style has been determined for the mural then you can proceed with the very important step of 'prepping the room.'  I always allowed a day just for purchasing supplies, taping out the room with the beautiful blue or green painters tape, removing items from the wall, repairing any holes, setting out the tarps and moving furniture. This way I could come in fresh the next day to begin painting and creating. Also be sure to ask the client where your clean up area will be.  Sometimes they have a sink in the basement, and other times you have to bring your bucket of brush mess home sloshing in the car. Before I left each night, especially when there are children in the home, I cleaned up my work area very carefully. Water buckets are emptied, paint cans are closed tightly, paint and glaze tins are covered with aluminum foil. Then I would cover the entire area with a folded tarp to hide the contents from little eyes.  Leave no temptations behind.

 
When I began painting the walls in a child's room I found the children were usually curious, liked to watch for awhile and ask many questions.  That is a perfect time to find out what you can add into the mural to make it extra personal, and make them feel like they had input into the design. This could be as simple as the addition of their favorite bug, animal, their pet, putting their name on a banner or a locker door. Every situation is different.

As an artist I usually free-handed everything I painted right on the spot. I rarely did detailed sketches as it was all in my head, and I made sure I did a good job describing what I would do to my clients. If you are not so comfortable painting in that way you can prepare a preliminary drawing and then do a pencil sketch on the wall first.  If you cannot draw at all you will need to get an overhead projector that will place your design on the wall for you to outline first.

If this is your first time painting on a wall pick a smaller sized mural and a simple design.  Use small cans of water based house paint.  Benjamin Moore is my favorite brand because it is so thick and creamy.  They also have a glazing liquid to make your paint transparent when needed. Some people only use the small plastic squirt bottles of craft paint when doing a smaller mural. You can squirt the paint into small containers like those plastic cups you get to put ketchup in at fast food restaurants. Remember most importantly it is all just paint, so do not be afraid of it!  If you do not like what you painted the first time.  Lightly sand any thick edges you made, paint over it with your wall paint, and just start again. 

 
Be sure to have a nice supply of good brushes and a bucket of water to start.  Keep rags and paper towels handy for any drips.  Buy a few sizes of real artist acrylic "filbert" style brushes from the art store, along with any detail brushes you may need.  I used a plastic tool box with the handle in the middle to carry my brush collection.  On one side was the brushes and the other side was various tools such as knives, scissors,tapes, rulers, measuring tape, laser levels, pencils, kneaded erasers, paint can opener, chalk, etc. You can tape any reference photos or tear sheets right up on the wall with painters tape, and move them around as you go. Have all the reference pages in books already tabbed and notated so you can find your place easily.

A child's room is a place for their imagination, their dreams, and a place to have fun! Be expressive in your painting! Be colorful! You can even paint on top of a stool or over the closet doors as I did for a sports locker room look. Also don't forget that special effects paints are perfect for children's rooms. You could use chalkboard paint for the area under the chair-rail, put day glow paint on the moon and stars so they shine in the night, and use glitter paint to make a castle and fairy sparkle! Now turn on some music and start painting!

 

To see more examples of my past children's mural work in homes, commercial settings and volunteer work, go to my Gallery Portfolio at Crystal Visions Art.

The Mentality Of Being An Artist

I have been asked many times to speak or write to college age people who want to pursue creative fields. Usually it is about 'becoming an artist' because that is what I am associated with in my career. What I have to say may not be what they are expecting to hear. I think my sage old wise woman advice really is for anyone, at any age, or stage, in this life. Certainly it comes from my own experience and is coming from the viewpoint of my life circumstances. That being said, it took years to be the person I am now. Most often people need to live through things for themselves to "get it." Still I hope a few thoughtful breadcrumbs will be of help to someone out there. So I've added the page link above under my blog header called 'On Being An Artist' to express my thoughts on that subject. I actually wrote this piece in October 2009 for a Squidoo lens. It has been sitting there unpublished for various reasons. I decided to add it to my blog to celebrate my new dot com status!

Because I have been a creative person in my employment for my entire working life, I have been called "brave." Am I? What I believe about being a creative soul comes from the core of my being. I have always known I wanted to be an artist in some form since I was a child. Period. No doubts. 
In high school I was called "lucky," because I already knew exactly what I wanted to study. For me the answer is that "it" was already there before I incarnated. It is Spirit. 
It is being who I really am.

You see that digitally altered portrait up there of that little first grader...she was getting these artzy ideas in her head back then. In fact my parents for some strange reason had sent my tiny school photo to a company that hired artists in France to paint real portraits from photos. A very unusual thing for my parents to do. They then shoved the rolled up canvas in a drawer and there it sat for most of my life. Now that was more like my parents. I think their Spirit prompted them to put this painting in my reach, even if in a drawer all bent and cracked. I would as a child pull out the painting and be in amazement at the artist who could paint such reality. 
I studied this painting, and I thought it was made by the greatest artist in the world. Yet there was no signature. Around ten years ago I got that painting and put it in a frame to hang near the oil painting I painted of my own young daughter. I thought it was time to give that unknown artist and the child in the painting some respect.

Has this choice to be a full time artist been easy. Heck no. The other people in my life and family made me pay for my choice over and over. Did you hear that? It was other people. Not the choice. Not the art. Whether I was working as a 9-5 corporate art director, or running my own mural business, it was numerous people in my life and their "good opinion" of what "they" thought I should be doing instead of art that caused any problem. There were a few times when 
"I allowed" their thoughts into my life...their doubts... about who I really was and what I was doing. Once I took a temp agency job during a slow period to please someone else. They claimed since I did not make a certain income, I was a bad mother. 

I always felt you can learn from anything, even if it's a fork in your road. This period taught me basic computer skills which led to my working in the television industry. 
I continued doing some faux-finish jobs on the side. I was back being an art director of sorts working on nationally known Television programs in marketing and promotions. 
I also made some wonderful life-long friends while in those positions. In a few years I did return to my own mural and faux business full time, and you guessed it...living on my own again with my children. Huge lesson: It's so much better just to say "no" to some people and their "good opinion." Happiness and kindness matter.

So my take is not the usual how to become an artist...it is how to remove the obstacles to being an artist. This comes from someone who fought the good fight of many other peoples opinions about my "job" for thirty years. It always felt better when I was true to myself. You are born with "IT." But do you believe "it"?  As a single mom raising two children with all that brings, I was able to do it, with hard work, however difficult financially at times. Only when living with people who did not know who I really was, came the problems for me. When I stayed focused on 'my vision' new doors always opened, and the next job was always there!

For anyone who wants to become an artist, or work in any creative field of endeavor check out my in depth article on the tab page above called "On Being An Artist." I have included images created from my own artwork and photography to illustrate this article.

Quickest Christmas Tree Ever!!! Plus A Magical Fairy Chandelier

So here it is... the easiest tree I have ever decorated for Christmas! Usually it takes two full days and evenings to light and fill my tree with all the meaningful and delicate German glass ornaments I have collected over the years.  This year due to the combination of a medical problems that cause fatigue, and a toddler who has hit the terrible twos, I had to create a safe and easy tree. Using floral vines leftover from our wedding wrapped around a pre-lit tree, plastic bubble balls, a bit of sparkling hard rusty ribbon and a few glittery butterflies....Wah-lah! Done in an hour or two and will come apart in minutes! If you need a quick tree fix...this is it. Long floral vines make the process easy and elegant! Plus they can be purchased in many color combination's to suit your decor.

Oh I know... now you want to see that Fairy Chandelier up close...

I made this Chandelier last Christmas because our Mucha Foyer deserved something magical! This year I added the white flowers. 

Pulled together from sparkly twigs, an old glittery wreath turned upside down, a beveled glass tree topper and some other sparkly bits n' bobs. This was all attached to wires hooked to those three screws that are on flush mounted ceiling lights. I suppose I could keep adding flowers, twigs, moss and feathers all year long, spicing it up according to the seasons. If I do this I will document it and let you see what becomes of my hanging Faerie world luminary. Yea! I never took apart last years outside front door garland, so I just hung it from the mantle.  Now everything looks festive with little effort.

Have a stress free, easy and enchanting Holiday! 

Do you have any ideas that worked for your quick tree decor issues?

Stove-top Mural Painting

It occurred to me tonight that I like to encourage people to paint on their walls, because I have not been allowed to express this part of my creativity at home... as I rent. All the years I painted for other people and came up with cool decor ideas... I could never do the same for myself.  So if you own your walls I say my mantra to you..."do it! It is so easy! It is just paint! If you change your mind, just paint over the paint!" I am showing an example of the type of small area you could paint yourself. This is the area over your cook-top in the kitchen.  If yours is covered in tlle or other non-paintable material, perhaps you have desk or nook area along your counter top you can use instead.  You supply the willingness and some artistic ability. Mine are done with Benjamin Moore latex house paint and latex glazing liquid. Yes it is just house paint!

When I would meet with my clients I always made a point to talk about the things they loved. This gives you a feel for their personal taste and passions. So if you are not sure what to paint just think about the things, places, or objects you enjoy. The owners of this kitchen loved to cook, drink wine and share these things with friends. Now that I think about it, they always had a glass a wine and a great meal for me too! A rather big glass served with laughter!

In love with Tuscany and some fine Italian restaurants, the clients wanted their space to reflect the feeling of cozy old world dining. I wanted them to look out over the Tuscan hills from a wide rough stucco window alcove. The view I painted was from a vacation photo they supplied. You cannot get that with wallpaper. After creating a trompe-l'oeil ledge, I then painted their favorite cookbooks and herbs.  I used brushes and cheesecloth to build up the layers of transparent paint glazes so the walls became old burnished stucco. Then a layer of thin satin finish poly over the finished wall mural above the cooktop to make cleaning up cooking stains easy. Now isn't that window better than a blank wall while you boil that pasta?

This next cook-top alcove actually was made of stucco! The client wanted his view of Brandywine Falls painted right onto that real stucco. Yikes! That is a tricky bit of painting! I would recommend a simpler piece of art than this realistic landscape painting if you have stucco. Since I have painted a man standing on a ladder right onto painted cinder block, and then had people ask him questions... 
I figured I could handle this one. I took lots of photos of the view outside of this modern home with the serene view and chose the one with a composition that fit the shape. I used a furry stucco roller to lay down some primer as you can see in the 'before photo'  below. 

Now check out the view over in the dining room. That is the river! Amazing! Okay back to work. Be sure to cover the area with plastic and tape out your edges where needed. Prep is so very important. The primer smoothed the wall a little, although the stucco texture was still going to be part of the equation.  So I made the rough surface work for me. As you can see in the detail below, rocks and rough texture go together very well. Dry brush over your rock base colors and then slowly build up your shapes. Don't forget to step back from your work every now and then, and check out the big picture too. For the smooth area of the water, I really had to scrub the paint into every porous crevice so you would not see the texture. You can really rip up your brushes this way! Be prepared to buy more brushes.

The shape of the stucco alcove in this kitchen determined the shape of the mural. I am sure once the other contractors set the surrounding tumbled marble tiles and granite molding into the wall the finished river painting looked both soothing and very dramatic. 

You can also paint outlets to match your mural if they are in the area you wish to paint. Prepare first with a light sanding and a good primer and then paint to disguise them. If the outlets or switches are used heavily then leave the hexagon plug, or square push button unpainted, and paint the surrounding cover plate only.

Let's walk into the living room while we are here... Wow! That is one great view. The river is just feet away! I bet the fall leaves are looking fantastic through those windows right now!

For our next cooktop area mural we are painting a trompe-l'oeil alcove with a still life inside. You can create anything you like in an alcove, the client asked for this vase and floral arrangement.

This entire kitchen is painted in a five shade glazed old world finish. The centerpiece painting under the range hood had to be in keeping with the cabinets and the overall french country feel of this room. The satin poly does not reflect the hood lights which is what I prefer. I recommend only one or two thin coats of poly. Unfortunately the flash of my old camera did reflect off the poly at the time of this photo. Still you can see that this still life and the monochromatic color scheme is a different look from the other cook-top murals.

For our final mini-mural in this post here is a very simple little effect done by painting meadow flowers, small birds, nests and butterflies on a plain creamy yellow wall. You cannot see the other vignettes in this photo, so just imagine the other birds and butterflies scattered along the wall above the counter-tops, and perched on the outlets in this kitchen. This would be the easiest solution for you, as you are only painting small little objects, on an already plain painted surface. 

This kitchen was actually painted in semi-gloss paint. I found it a bit too sticky to work with, so on all my future murals I switched to eggshell finish. Clients usually always wanted a washable wall. Eggshell is tough, but all modern latex finishes hold up if you use good paint! It's that awful builders paint that washes off or peals off under painters tape. Yuk! I like Benjamin Moore Paints because you can stand your paint stick up in them, and it stays there. It has a very thick consistency! The Benjamin Moore Latex glazes and my basket of acrylic tubes mixed just fine with the house paint. 

Many of my followers like to do collage work. Why not create a decoupaged piece of art for behind your cook top. You could do it on a framed piece of Masonite or on canvas so it is removable. So think about what you love, start saving some tear sheets for inspiration, and express yourself... you fortunate home owners!

Hand Painted Toilet Seat Lid, Really! Plus Creative Wall Paintings!

An unusual place for art. Hey it's a nice flat surface...so why not? This painted piece was done for a Decorators Show House many moons ago. I purchased a regular seat to fit the toilet of the upstairs bath in the Show House mansion. After sanding the area I wanted to paint, I laid down a primer coat, then used regular acrylic paints. When I finished my artwork, I coated the top of the painted seat with satin finish poly. If you do not feel comfortable hand painting a trompe-l'oeil piece like this, then I think an old fashion collage of ephemera items would look great as well. Pick a theme of your favorite things or that simply matches your powder room. 
This can be a tasteful addition to the room as well as a nice surprise for your guests. Then again I always thought it would be funny to paint a bee sitting on the interior ring!

The theme of my Show House room was based on the original trilogy 'Griffin and Sabine.' These books that I fell in love with years ago by Nick Bantock were an intriguing  correspondence between two artists. The tale "unfolded" literally by you pulling out and reading Griffin and Sabine's post cards and letters. These items looked as though they were made from hand made papers and then covered in personal art. I highly recommend these unique and mysterious tales that left the reader feeling like a spellbound voyeur in someone else's life. In addition it seems that Nick has added a few more Griffin and Sabine adventures to the series since I completed this room.

To create a room based on the feel of 'Griffin and Sabine' books, 
I chose to cover the walls in a faux finish resembling hand made paper. I then hand painted stamps, postmarks, golden phrases, natural objects and travel motifs on the walls to complete the look. The ceiling was done to emulate the color and style of the books funky end papers with golden glyphs. This bathroom was one of the two rooms that the person who bought the Show Home did not paint over later! It was very gratifying when someone who was on the Show House tour that year came in, picked up the vibe of my theme, and would exclaim, "Oh this reminds me of Griffin and Sabine!"

When I would do A Decorators Show House room I was responsible for all the room prep including filling any holes in the walls. I did the primer coats along with the mural work. I also designed and filled the room with all the decorative items. The sale of this decor would go towards the fundraiser project. I then would have to return to the store any items that were lent out for display in the room and not purchased. Every thing had to be tracked. Designers of each room also work their own room on weekends. All of this time and artwork was a charity volunteer project. It made for good portfolio pieces.

Since I retired from doing professional mural and faux painting I will give you a few of my secrets. I mostly only used Benjamin Moore paint and glazes. I kept a small supply of basic universal tints and a gallon of super white paint at all times, along with other cans and tubes of paint. I purchased good brushes. I was organized, used large drop cloths and blue painters tape. Remember to keep clean up materials handy in case of minor spills and drips. Use reference material. See the stack of books behind me? Read all the books on painting that you can. I was self taught on faux skills, but there are many schools that teach those skills now that you may be able to take advantage of along with video instruction on the internet. Most of all...Never be afraid to paint! It is only paint! You can just paint over the wall if you do not like what you have done.

A little bit about how I did the molding in this Bathroom: In the photo where I am standing and have the molding taped out and under-painted, you can see i used a deep indigo blue. I then over glazed with a lavender gray shade. I used acrylic glaze medium. I then highlighted the raised edges with some gold paint that was probably rubbed on with a cloth. Now here is the really cool part. I went to an exotic wood store and bought a few tiny bottles of iridescent duck decoy glitter powder. If you cannot get that product then pick out a very fine glitter powder at a craft store. I choose a lavender shade and mixed some in with my final coat of poly. When the light hit the molding it had a magical glow! You can see in some of the other photos the finished molding effect. Wow I can't believe what a fabulous job of matching my dress to the room I did back then! That is a vintage dress from the sixties! Love the bubbles in the tub too!