i went to ikea last night and fell in love with this orange loveseat. it got me excited about the possibility of a living room re-do… i desperately need to get rid of my drab, earth tone furniture. an orange sofa may be a bit much, but bursts of color are definitely in order.
happy weekend!
photo credit: ikea
i do not need more shoes. but these mid-heel sandals from mohop are so tempting…
i do not need more shoes.
photo credit: mohop etsy shop
chair for patricia, from rita’s garden
a 3 day weekend. warm weather with a bit of rain. planting the garden. washing the windows. bookmaking. visiting with friends. wine on the deck.
happy 3-day weekend!
breathe deeply.
i have a crazy, craaaazy rhubarb plant. my rhubarb plant made a 6 hour trek from south dakota in the back of a pickup truck, and was limp and wind-whipped when it arrived in my backyard. i was convinced nothing would come of its planting. but i planted it where my compost bin used to reside, and 6 years later, it still grows like mad. leaves 16 inches wide, 1-1/2 inch wide stalks. so i must do something with it!
i have a rhubarb upside-down cake recipe that i really like. i have no idea where the recipe came from, and i’ve modified it slightly to make it less sugary-sweet. and i ate like 4 pieces straight out of the oven and burned the roof of my mouth. rhubarb love.
mix 4 cups of diced rhubarb with 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon or nutmeg.
melt 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, place in a greased 9×13 pan. sprinkle with 1/4 cup brown sugar. add rhubarb mixture.
mix 1 package yellow cake mix per directions, minus 1/4 water. pour over rhubarb.
bake at 350 for 40 minutes, until batter pulls away from sides. let set 10 minutes.
optional, depending on how quickly you want to eat rhubarb cake: place jelly roll pan on top of cake and turn over to remove cake. liquid may pour down the edges.
resist the urge to eat directly from the oven! let some vanilla ice cream melt on it first…
local artist barbara gilhooly does wonderful things with wire and needle nose pliers. i’ve spotted her work at gallery 360, where she does wonderful little painted pieces of birds. and she has some really fun pieces in her etsy shop. her wire flora drawing with square wire border is perfect for welcoming spring. (hi spring, i’m so glad you are finally here!).
photo credit: barbara gilhooly
i went to the lyn-lake street festival yesterday. heard some great music, drank some beer, saw some art cars. got some sun. i also hit art-a-whirl friday, and the rivertown art festival saturday. it was a busy weekend.
for more art cars, check out the art car parade that aimee attended in lawrence, ak ks [still figuring out my states]. i want a fish car!
happy monday!
the latest message on rita’s board. i now walk by every night, to see her board, and to say hi, as she’s usually outside tending her garden. i’ll share her messages with you from time to time…
this is a great weekend for local art events:
marking time. a nationally touring exhibition of fine press, fine binding and artist’s books curated by the guild of book workers. opening reception, friday 6-9. mcba.
art-a-whirl. open studio and gallery tour of northeast minneapolis featuring more than 600 artists. friday, 5-10; saturday, 12-8; sunday, 12-5.
johnstock. crafty planet’s art and craft sale. saturday, 10-6; sunday 10-3. parking lot across the street from crafty planet.
rivertown art festival. this juried event features some of the finest artists from around the country in a variety of categories. saturday, 10-6; sunday 11-5, stillwater.
happy weekend!
my friend tracy had her sister tasha (check out tasha rae designs!) make me this fabulous wristlet for my birthday. and it’s the perfect size for my wallet, phone, burt’s bees lip balm, and keys. and it’s perfect for summer evening outings.
so, do i really need to learn to sew? when there are other people that do it so well?
…happy colors.
second line frames was recently featured on etsy’s home page, and i really dig their work. the frames are made with salvaged wood from homes in new orleans that were destroyed by hurricane katrina, and are works of art in of themselves. i really love this lime green frame…
photo credit: second line frames etsy shop
yesterday anna and i went to the shepherd’s harvest sheep and wool festival. it was grey, and barely 50 degrees, and i’m embarrassed to write that i said to anna “it feels like fall. i almost wish it was fall, i want to sit under a blanket and knit like crazy!”. she felt it too, but then we agreed that we’d rather have summer come and go before we hunker down for knitting. but being surrounded by colorful roving and yarn, it really is so tempting to think of new scarves, sweaters, blankets, shawls, hats…
did you know that there are angora bunnies? and that their wool is spun? i had no idea. some of the bunnies where giant piles of fur, with eyes barely visible.
i did buy a new skein. i love this orange. but i have no idea what i’m going to do with it. maybe a cowl?
the weather this week was sunny and warm, and it was hard to stay indoors. as we approach the weekend it is cooling down, with a bit of rain added in. which is good. because then i may catch up on some of my projects! locals, here are a few events to keep you busy:
17th annual minnesota potters tour and sale. 41 potters, 7 studios in the upper st. croix river valley. friday, noon to 7 pm; saturday, 10 am to 6 pm; sunday, 10 am to 6 pm.
walker shop local jewelry artist mart. meet 17 jewelry artists and designers. saturday, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. cargill lounge, walker art center.
12th annual shepherd’s harvest sheep & wool festival. a venue where wool producers, wool consumers and wool artisans come together. saturday, 9 am to 5 pm; sunday, 10 am to 4 pm. washington county fairgrounds.
happy weekend!
i walk my dogs by rita’s almost every night. and rita is usually outside, so we wave and yell pleasantries over our barking dogs.
i love the eclectic touches in her yard. the tea cups hanging from the fence. the shoes nailed to the telephone pole that serve as planters. the car seat:
i especially love her messages on her blackboard. this was yesterday’s message:
you are a person not a job. some days it’s hard to remember that.
a pile of projects are waiting for me… waiting for me to finish up freelance work, waiting for me to stay home for an evening, and on and on… last week i sold my last polaroid.album and have since been getting requests to put more in the shop, so i’m slowly getting everything ready to make a new batch. i need to restock the mini accordion fold albums as well. and i need to make a custom order of albums. and i want to try carving the speedy carve, which looks like a giant piece of bubble gum. and. and. and.
soon. i’ll get to it soon.
i love this illustration/screen print by michele maule.
photo credit: michele maule
dear sara,
my tulips bloomed over the weekend, and i was so excited to see yellow! this is the only second year i’ve had the tulips come up, and i couldn’t remember what colors they were… after hunting for yellow over the winter, it’s such a joy to see yellow in nature again.
spring is really here, and life is good.
xo, me
the eighth of twelve polaroid collaborations between me and the fabulous jen of scissors.paper.glue. we alternate picking a word, and on the last day of the month we each share our polaroid interpretation of that word.
april’s word was birthday.
jen: sometimes wishes DO come true
me: sushi birthday with my friend jen. wish you could have joined us, jen. xo, jen
happy weekend, all!
