…vase by one black bird.
apologies for the lack of inspirational posts this week… i was under the weather last weekend, and my day job has me listed at 80 hours of utilization this week… i’ll make it thru, but no creating until the work week is done!
i let too many days go by between zucchini check-ups. so i decided to make the best of my massive squash and made chocolate & zucchini cake:
yum!
i’ve been meaning to post about etsy seller the wren for a while now, but it slipped my mind… i bought the above wonderful handmade bag from wendren in march, and i’m still using it. it has held up to lots of spring and summer abuse beautifully, and came with a lavender satchel that i take a big whiff of when i need to chill out. a worthwhile purchase and highly recommended! ooooo… she’s got a town bag made with the same fabric…
photo credit: the wren etsy shop
photos from friday’s trip to osceola, wisconsin with jenn. the weather didn’t cooperate with our visit to the farm (we tried twice and were rained on both times). but we did see the sheep, llamas, a donkey, cows, a bunny named strawberry, a beagle, and the vegetable garden before the storm hit…
we had lunch in osceola, and explored shops in st. croix falls. it was a wonderful friday, only slightly marred by my summer cold. why did i get sick for my 3-day weekend? wah!
cafe card from my friend ayama-chan. love.
i’m taking the day off to spend it with my friend jenn (it’s her birthday tomorrow!) and her mother-in-law carole (who is the most awesome mother-in-law ever. i’ve asked her to adopt me.). we’re going to visit an organic farm in osceloa, wi, and then shop and lunch along the st. croix river. yay!
happy weekend! eat fish!
i met anna and her mom last night to knit at the cafe that’s kitty-corner to the riverview theater. i started working on this skirt. it’s the most challenging knitting project for me to date. i’m a bit nervous about it…
i’ve wanted to make an origami fish mobile ever since i participated the the elsie marley mobile swap earlier this year. i finally found time to practice my folding! here’s one little guy, hopefully a full mobile will happen soon…
my friend ayama-chan recently opened an etsy shop: niko niko creations. she gave us a sneak peek on flickr, and i had my eye on her prehistoric fish pouch before it was available on etsy. it arrived from singapore last week, and it’s perfect for holding my colored pencils! i just love how she paints on fabric with thread. she’s got lots of wonderful pouches, check them out!
swatches from jesse’s swatch swap have been arriving over the last few weeks. it’s so much fun to open the envelope to see what’s inside! so far i’ve received fabulous swatches from new zealand, japan, south africa, the uk, and the us. i haven’t yet decided what to do with them yet since i don’t sew, but i do have a few ideas…
and my fabric? i finally finished printing this weekend:
i started completely over, and this time used screen printing ink. the good news: the ink set! the not-so-good news: it’s thicker than the speedball inks i first used, and the ink gets gummy quickly. so my white circles are thicker than i’d like. but the ink set, so i’m happy, and my swatches are in the mail!
there was a little surprise package in wednesday’s mail from sew fab martha, who participated in my little matchbox mondays challenge in june. my challenge was pretty small: martha was 1 of 2 other contributors. but what we lacked in size, we made up for with our collections.
it was so fun to meet martha (and sam!) via the challenge. to thank them for participating, i wanted to send them each a säkerhets tändstickor matchbox. i sent martha’s out on wednesday, and received the goodies above that same day: 3 new matchboxes (fish!), gorgeous foreign stamps, and letter ephemera. i’m not sure what i did to deserve the wonderful package… martha, you made my day! thank you so much!
happy weekend! if you’re in the twin cities, here are a few weekend art events:
highland fest art fair: cleveland ave & ford parkway. friday 2-10, saturday 10-10, sunday 11-5
gallery 360: opening reception: scenes from a northern light…recent paintings by ellen thomson. also featuring work by atom pechman, elizabeth corman, and barbara keith. saturday, 7-10, show runs thru september 14
the first time i read about lotta prints was on a post by jen of scissors.paper.glue. when i read the post i thought: “eh, i know how to block print and stencil, what could this book possibly teach me?” and i forgot about it. but last week, i read a blog post about lotta’s workshops, i got excited, and i started flinging out emails to friends to see if they’d want to go to new york in the fall for a workshop. while i’m still not sure if i’ll take a workshop, i decided to buy the book to see what all the hype is about.
wow wow wow, the book is inspiring me in so many ways. i struggled for weeks to come up with a pattern for the swatch swap, but after reading this book, i’m seeing patterns and designs every where i look. i get home from walking the dogs and i sketch… i doodle at work… it’s like the book opened a creative door in my brain that had been stuck shut. i’m feeling a bit buzzed with creativity!
if you’re in need of inspiration, go to the bookstore or library and flip through the pages of this amazing book. local girls, you’re welcome to borrow mine (for short periods of time!).
thanks for the inspiration jen!
yeah, circles. but it’s a pretty dang cute summer dress for $25. from target.
the morelia card by essimar. beautiful.
photo credit: essimar etsy shop
1st avenue north & 2nd street, minneapolis. wait, i think it’s actually 1st street north & 2nd avenue. i always get turned around in the warehouse district…
printing last weekend wasn’t a complete disaster: i decided to print some of my circles on pages from old art history and drawing books. the page above is from “art in our time” published by the museum of modern art in 1939. it’s my favorite: i love the retro layout and typography. and the print by arp, titled the navel bottle, well, looks like a fish to me, so i’m in love. my circles add a bit more to the retro feel, and i’ll honestly say that i’m tempted to frame this.
speaking of typography, a new show opens at mcba this saturday, titled face the nation: how national identity shaped modern typeface design, 1900-1960. the show runs until september 21. the graphic designer in me is really looking forward to seeing this show.
happy weekend!
tin lid, found at antique store for 50 cents.
last weekend i spent some time block printing on fabric for jesse’s swatch swap. being that i like block printing, and had a ton of linen left over from recovering my grampa’s chair, i eagerly signed up for the swap.
i bought some ez-cut blocks, carved my circles without gouging a thumb, and printed away, using speedball water-based inks, just like we did in my surface fabric design class in college. but AAAARRRRRRRGGGGG! the damn ink won’t set! i tried the oven, the dryer, and an iron, but it still runs when under water. i can’t believe it. i’m so frustrated. i did try to find fabric paint at my local craft stores, but all they had was the puffy junk or dark green. ugh.
luckily i still have linen left. and i’ve done my research and will be buying screen printing ink for fabric printing from now on. so now you know what i’ll be up to this weekend…
everyone needs at least one big, bold necklace. i’ve been admiring orange peel enamel’s pendants for a few months, and really must get one for myself. dang! the pendant pictured above sold yesterday, but she has more chair pendants available. and funky rings!
photo credit: orange peel enamel etsy shop
dang. the weekend is already over. back to work.
the highlight of my weekend? driving an hour and a half west and visiting my friend heather’s family at her parent’s lake home. they fed me great food, took me out on the pontoon, and her dad and her husband lit off great, noisy, illegal fireworks while i snuggled with her son under the blanket to hide from mosquitoes. and on the way there, i visited the world’s largest ball of twine. can you believe i grew up 15 minutes away from this amazing landmark, and i just visited it for the first time?! is anyone hearing the weird al yankovic song in their head now? happy monday!
click the image to enlarge
last friday the girls came over for pARTy, and we made the great pieces above by painting photos on blocks of wood. i think there was a little trepidation when i first described the project, but i couldn’t be more amazed by the final pieces!
each person picked out a few of their favorite photos (important: my friends are the original photographers of the photos — they have not stolen/borrowed anyone else’s), then i worked with them to figure out what highlights, lowlights, midtones, negative space, etc. to paint. there was also an option to add a secondary accent piece. anna has a great post with pictures that show more detail — check it out!
wanna make your own? a tutorial is after the jump, along with details of each piece! but first, check out all the cheese we sampled while creating:
ok, that’s it for me. my brain is already on vacation, so i’m taking the rest of the week off from blogging. have a great 4th of july weekend! click the link below for a painted photo tutorial.
