angry chicken

Florence

We had so much fun last month working on a Florence Nightingale theme. I think they were into it for about 6 weeks, or maybe longer. We read everything we could get our hands on from the children's/youth section at the library. I put everything on hold and it all comes in really fast. There is so much, both non-fiction and historical fiction about her, I was really surprised. One of my favorite parts about doing this kind of learning is that we are always discussing how the biographies differ—what is left out, or over-simplified or conflicting information. Florence had a pretty troubled relationship with her parents and sister and the pressure to marry and this was fascinating to learn about for all of us. As was the concept of nursing being an unfit profession for a lady at that time.

All three girls get into the themes in different ways, but they all were intrigued by the filth and horrible conditions of many hospitals at the time of the Crimean War. There was much discussion of rats, raw sewage, and hand washing.

We did a play at the end of this theme. Well, not really a play but, what do you call this—live role paying? Sadie appeared in costume as Florence Nightingale and explained all about her life and answered questions from the audience (which included her parents and Grammie) while her trained nurses administered medicines and treatments to their injured soldiers.

We made the costumes up super fast. I wanted to sew new costumes, of course, but I didn't want to lose the momentum we had going and it's pretty fun using what we have in creative ways. So they wore prairie dresses I had sewn them last year and added nurse caps. Florence wore a long skirt of mine pinned in back and a velvet blazer she had—it's all about the hair and lace cap with Florence anyway, and the lamp, which her dad made from paper about 2 minutes before the show.

Before the performance Sadie took notes and thought about what she would say about her life and I told her the types of questions we would ask. She was so great off-the-cuff and her ability to remember all the details about Florence's life was pretty impressive. Delia corrected her a few times, which was cool to.

It made me realize how much learning we do by talking. All day we talk about what we are learning, and discuss specific details of who we are learning about. They are really comfortable talking about the facts of history and also about how the people we learn about may have felt. We talk a lot about emotions and reenact a lot. It's pretty amazing to watch this kind of learning unfold.

that pygmy goat

message to myself

 

"Message in a bottle" is not just a pirate movie cliche. It's a form of communication that has been used throughout history for serious purposes. England's Queen Elizabeth I even appointed an official "Uncorker of Ocean Bottles." And as recently as 2005, a message in a bottle saved the lives of 88 refugees adrift in the Caribbean Sea on a damaged boat. Glass, it turns out, is an excellent container for carrying sea-born dispatches. It lasts a long time and can even survive hurricanes. In accordance with the astrological omens, I nominate "message in a bottle" to be your metaphor for the rest of 2012. One way to apply this theme is as follows: Create a message you'd like to send to the person you will be in five years, perhaps a declaration of what your highest aspirations will be between now and then. Write it on paper and stash it in a bottle. Store this time capsule in a place you won't forget, and open it in 2017.

-My horoscope (gemini) this week from Free Will Asrtrology, by Rob Brezsny.

rose garden & links

This was taken by Sadie at the Portland Rose Garden on summer solstice. We had a picnic dinner up there to celebrate and the weather was perfect. Unlike now. The weather is bad and rainy, rainy, rainy.

A few links:

• I just found this beauty mecca site, Beautylish, and it is totally overwhelming to me. I have set my timer when I visit so I don't stay there way too long. Maybe you all know about it already. The video tutorials alone could take me days to go through. Delia is rocking the nicest Dutch braid now, thanks to this one I watched last night. This reverse gradient nail color technique has me excited.

• Another reason to love Bill Murray. 

• I want to make this dessert for the 4th of July. It's so elegent and simple. Unlike nail art, but whatever.

journaling with questions

I used to keep a journal faithfully. I started in college and continued until Sadie was born. About 12 years. Then I stopped.  A couple years later I started this blog. I thought for a little bit a blog would suffice, but it's totally different. That's fine. I still write, and I like writing, whether in a journal or on a blog. I do miss my own handwriting and the act of writing by hand, just for myself.

I spotted this journal, Q & A a Day: 5-Year Journal, when I was out with my middle daughter and she remembered it and gave it to me for Mother's Day. It's simple, just a question a day. It will be interesting to see how the answers change year after year. It's a 5-year journal. A blank page can be hard, so the questions are a nice prompt. Just like this drawing book I just got Sadie.

I did get a lovely question based journal, Keel's Simple Diary, a bit back from a dear friend and I love it, but ink has never touched its pages. I read it often and laugh at the questions, I just can't fill it in for some reason. It almost has too much personality for me to contribute to. I am tempted to revisit it now that I am back in a groove. Two journals at the same time? Crazytown. I really would like to make/design something for my girls like these journals, for them to answer questions and reflect on their day with some guided suggestions. It would need to be bigger and easier to write in, with more space and maybe a place for little drawings, too.

Getting back to the Q & A Journal, the questions are simple, but sometimes not so light. There's not enough space to complicate or qualify every answer, which is perfect for me right now. And I haven't used it every day, hence June 5th being blank. I'm trying not to be all crazy-perfectionist about it. I love seeing it on my desk. It's small and thick and very pleasing to handle. I have a special pen I use too, which the fairies haven't squirrelled away yet.

 

moving boxes and bags of feelings

I'm moving my studio into what used to be the playroom. That was just one sentence, but it feels like it could be a novel. I really don't like moving in any way. It's the stuff and the feelings attached to the stuff. I don't have much stuff actually, and over the years have been ruthless with what I keep. This goes for fabric, art, craft supplies, photos—all that. So what remains is potent and exhausting to handle. It's not that all these memories are sad, but they are filled with such strong feelings. It's exhausting for me in every way.

I've been really grumpy for the last few Saturdays as I try to move boxes filled with photos and life debris that I sort through until I can't anymore. Up pops without warning artwork I did in highschool, back when all I wanted to be was a painter, and old letters from my father who passed away 10 years ago. I start to feel like I just can't do it. But I have to because we are moving our bedroom downstairs into my old studio room, so our almost 10 year old can have her own room and not share one room with her 7 and 5 year old sisters. Very reasonable and fair, I say. It was my idea. She doesn't know she needs the space, but she does. And she will get a walk-in closet and her own bathroom, which is incredible to me. I keep telling her this. Knowing she is old enough to have her own room is also adding to my emotional ride.

So, I am about 70% done with the moving of my stuff. I have been working to music, the length of one album at a time. I crank up rdio (I love rdio!) and just try not to slow down and tell myself it's okay to cry while I go through this stuff, I don't have to try so hard not to.

The photos I just found are of my mom when is she a girl, my grandmother (her mother) and my brother and me when we were 17 and 18, 2 days before he felt left for college.

hidden notes in public

We were at Ristretto Roasters (the NW location, which is in such a cool building) and were remarking on how cool it was that old library card catalogs were used for benches. "We should leave notes in these drawers," I said. And then I said, "Wait, this is Portland. I bet there are some in there."

And there was. And we added some, too.

Unrelated, we have a new apron theme. Thank you for your feedback.

the long journey to an Apron Theme

For Tie One On, my ongoing make-an-apron challenge, I have chosen a lot of apron themes. I think it's been 36 now over the years. You can see them all here. I usually choose themes alone, but often my husband gives input. Usually, he is ignored. There's a delicate balance in our exchange— he tries to suggest the worst yet funniest and most imaginative theme, while I ignore him and try not to laugh or react. He is a master of summoning up both the disturbing yet sometimes ingenious themes that are even funnier when trying to imagine them interpreted in a homemade apron. A snippet of our conversation this morning:

Okay, I need an apron theme.

Airwolf.

I don't even know what that is. Is that a movie?

It's a TV show. How about Gone Fishin'. Beach Bum. Gold Rush. Black Hole. Road Trip.

Road Trip has potential. But I have already done Local Pride.

Great Lakes. Back to the Future.

I was thinking La Vie en Rose, but I just did Floral Fun and I have done Paris before.

Jungle Boogie. That's Amore. Jacques Cousteau. Under the Sea.

Under The Sea is good.

Smokey and the Bandit.

Oh my god.

Rhinestone Cowboy.

Oh, Rhinestone Cowboy. That could be horribly good.

*********************************************************************************************************************

You can see the aprons from the latest theme, Spring Showers, linked over here on Tie One On. I still haven't chosen a new theme. If any of these leap out at you, let me know.

making soy candles

We had so much fun making soy candles. I found all the supplies locally at Portland Homestead Supply Co. in Sellwood. I was so happy to finally make it over there. They have supplies for all kinds of things. I actually sort of yelled, "oh my god, you have bulk shea butter!" but then tried to compose myself. I will be back. They also had a wonderful and huge selection of Weck jars, which are very close to my heart, so that was thrilling. Online, Candle Science has soy candle supplies and a wonderful learning section with very helpful tutorials.

These were so easy, the only thing I would do different is add twice as much essential oil. These Weck jars held about 1 cup of melted wax, and to that we added 20 drops of oil, which didn't seem like quite enough.

Onto hand dipped candles now.

a jacket and a cowl for grammie, just 'cause.

 

I sewed the jacket for Gammie.I was knitting a cowl for her and wanted to sew her a jacket to go with it. One great thing about sewing and knitting for other people is I can use patterns and fabrics I am anxious to try, but aren't really me. I love sewing Eileen Fisher-type clothes for Grammie and am always inspired by the lines/shapes and the knitted accessories they pair with the clothes.

The pattern is Simplicity 3506 and the cowl information is on my Ravelry page. The cowl looks wildly different than the patten photo. I made it really loose. There are notes about this. I love how it turned out, but had to decide early on that it was going to be quite different than what I had intended to knit—and that was just fine by me in this case. I loved learning this stitch pattern, sort of a fake cable, and I really what to try it again and make it more sculptural, like the pattern photo.

The jacket was pretty straightforward. I did eliminate the split cuff detail. It's a nice detail but it was causing me trouble. I used a wool gabardine for this, which I know now was not 100% wool, although it was labeled as such. When I pre-washed it, it smelled like wet acetate and it would not take a press worth a dang. So that was annoying. But it drapes nicely and looks lovely on her, as you can see. The inset pockets are handy and the pleat in back gives it great movement.

I have been sewing now while thinking of matching knitting projects. Or when I knit, I think of sewing a matching garment. Trouble!

Not sewing related:

• I finished the Night Circus and while I did like it, I also found it a bit lacking when I was done and some of the themes and imagery were pretty predictable. But, I still loved visualizing this world. There is a review of it here on the blog Fat Books and Thin Women which comes down pretty hard on it, but I can understand her criticisms, plot-wise for sure. I still enjoyed reading it quite a bit. Her review of The Marriage Plot is pretty interesting, too, and comments that follow.

 

a photobook of NYC

I put together this photobook (from Shutterfly, it's the Travel Snapshots theme) and it took forever. Not in a bad way. But it was not planned. I was all set to just upload the photos and place them on white backgrounds and be done with it. That's what I do for our family albums, which I make once a year, usually in January, so then if I lose my photos I still have the album. But then I saw this cool theme and couldn't resist. I actually kind of got weird about it and it was sort of exhausting, so I was thrilled when it was done. The cover photo was of a menu board at the Milk Bar—many of the great photos in it are taken by the insanely talented Amy Sly during my visit.

Years ago I used Blurb for an album. It was fine, but there were almost too many options. But I think I should look at Blurb again, it looks like they have a matte cover option. I have never used Pinhole Press, but I love the way the covers look. I wish Shutterfly made matte covers. What do you all use?

 

 

edible vocabulary

 

I saw these cookie cutters and added them to my Pinterest board (titled Happiness) last spring. I bought the set at Williams Sonoma and promptly tucked the whole kit away and forgot I had it. But then, I remembered! Just last week! So we made some cookies. Everyone got to pick a vocabulary word. These were just everyday fun cookies, not for a birthday or holiday. Just 'cause.

Names were used as well.

How was I supposed to not be immature with these? There are so many things we could have written. We did a really good job controlling ourselves. These are very different cookies than what I would have made before having kids.

And—they were delicious! The recipe that comes with them is perfect. They need to to be chilled twice, and I wouldn't skip this step. I use meringue powder thinned with water to paint on the cookie where I wanted the glitter. Worked like a charm.

 

mail in a can

The girls have been quite into the mail for a few years now. It's such a great way for them to learn to write and spell. Who doesn't love mail? I'm keeping track of more ideas for mail fun. They sent their last pen-pal letters rolled up in these cans along with some buttons, fabric, and bits. We stuck the stamps and mailing label directly on the cans and they got to their destination just fine. I have no clue where I got these cans. I know I bought them in Seattle, like, 10 years ago. It was one of those supplies I was saving, and then I realized it was time to use them. Who needs to save little cans for over 10 years?

Unrelated-

• We are loving the free printable paper dolls over at Inside a Black Apple. They are charming, thank you, Emily!

• This list of the most unhappy commenters on NPR made me laugh hard. And the the comments on the list were even more amazing. (via martha)

• This tiny felted bird by Got Crow creations (on etsy) is making me cry a little bit.

 

a small art book with a ton of great ideas

I checked this great little book,The Usborne Book of Art Skills, out of the library a bit ago and it has been the source for many art projects around here lately. I will definitely be buying a copy.

The girls look through it, pick a technique they want to try, and then we just go for it. Here's a great way to use white pastels with paint to make a cityscape and then cleverly use a rubbing technique to make the reflection in the water. They are so excited when they can learn art tricks like this and I love to have a way to introduce new materials to them and have them see the potential. This is book is great for adults, too. It's got some very cool ideas. Lots of collage, too.

So, yesterday all three of them were into making a picture of birds stamped from a potato.

They all loved it. Sadie (9) is careful, focused, and quite interested in learning the specific art skill. Which is wonderful.

Delia (7) is all about trying it out, and then moving on to do her own fabulous free-style thing. Which is also wonderful and often surreal and very funny. Liddy's work (4) is not represented here, but she lasted the longest, just stamping with the potatoes over and over again.

We also are still loving our other go-to art project idea book I have blogged about here.

And speaking of art and creative stuff, Craft Wonderland is this weekend, for all you Portland folks!

more favorite books & toys

Last year I posted about gifts we have bought or have been given to us over the years that have been solid gold with all three girls, so I thought I'd continue the tradition this year. It can be overwhelming for me this time of year with the click-click-buy-buy all around, so putting this list together actually helps me stay focused when I buy for them and look at what we have that's been popular, what hasn't worked, and what seems too repetitive. It's fascinating what they gravitate towards over and over again. I especially love it when I see the 9 year old go back to the toys for the 4 year old—I always loved playing with toys for younger kids when I was that age. It felt rebellious and thrilling at the same time.

So here's a new batch of hits in our house—

Sticker Dolly Dressing Around the World

Every sticker book in this series is insanely popular here. They are inexpensive, have great graphics, and after the putting all the stickers on, the girls keep them to look through and draw from. I have a few friends with daughters obsessed with this series.

Usborne Illustrated Stories from Dickens

This abridged and illustrated book came for Sadie a few years back and she still can't put it down. It's a great early primer to Dickens. It's bleak, depressing, and perfect for her morbid interests.

Boy 5-Layer Wooden Puzzle

There is a girl version of this too. It's really well made. The pieces can get lost, so we keep it in a ziplock. The parts are realistic, which means there is much discussion when they get to the naked level, of course! It's been a huge hit with all the kids.

Who Was Amelia Earhart?

Every book in this series (there are quite a few) has been great for us. We have read about 5 so far. I read them out loud, but my 9 year old can read them alone with no problem. The biographies are well done, they don't gloss over dirty details, making them much more interesting.

Lunastix Juggling Sticks

The girls fell for these juggling sticks at da Vinci Days. The tend to work better outside or in a big room. There is also whacking potential, but they are still really fun and addictive to use.

Topsy Turvy Doll Little Red Ridinghood

I bought this years ago for my eldest girl and all 3 girls have loved it. It's only one doll, a Topsy Turvy doll, and they love telling stories with it. There are other characters as well by the same company. This definitely will go in my "save for my grandchildren" box.

Most of these toys I have bought at small independent toy shops here in Portland over the years (shop local!) I haven't seen them in any big chain toy stores. I've linked to them on amazon, but you can try calling your local toy shop first to see if they have them in stock.

 

advent calendar

I am so happy I finally made an advent calendar for the kids. This was a project that had a lot of parameters—I had to use what I could find in my craft room (I bought a few things), and wanted it to be fun, inexpensive, not involve sugar (and it involved sugar), and not involve small toys. I love small toys, but I feel like our house is full of small toys. Over the years, we have accumulated so many stocking stuffer type small toys, we have drawers of them. I kind of have nightmares about all the small toys we have, so I knew I didn't want to add to that.

What I ended up using was small envelopes (used for gift enclosures/business cards. I have a ton of these I use for thank yous and for items I sell) and then I had Pete get some cool stickers downtown at Powells— they have a great selection. I cut them up and stuffed them in the envelopes. I also added gold chocolate coins then used my 1" hole punch to punch out numbers and my big splurge was the $7.50 I spent on the digital collage sheets, which I printed and then glued on the envelopes. I love using these sheets and the price is totally worth it to me to have repeated use of these images for all sorts of craft projects. I added some twine and 24 small clothespins (which were hard to find around the house, but I managed)

Okay, then. The girls will have to take turns opening these every 3 days. It will work out. I hope to make a different one next year, it was really fun and felt right. It felt like a good project, not like a "I have to make this and it stopped being fun 20 minutes ago" project.

in other happy news:

I was excited to buy these new cards from Eireann and received them last week, they are even better in person. (Don't look, Grammie) I am a huge fan of Eireann's watercolors and have been using her cards and looking at her calendar every month all year. She has a new one this year, too. And in this lovely post she provides a discount code good for a few more days.

fortune coins

I challenged myself last week to put together a craft project for 6 girls for my 7 year-old's b-day party using materials only from my artroom. I realize this room is already like a craft store in many ways, so it wasn't too challenging, just a matter of finding everything I have squirreled away. I hide a lot from the small people for gifts/surprises, but then of course, I can't find these items later. Or worse, forget I have them—like the 6 lockets, 8 key chains, 3 packs of shrinky-dink film, and unused rubber stamps I found all when I was looking around for the 6 packs of wooden coins I had bought about 2 years ago for another project.

I had a 1" paper punch on hand, the wood coins were 1 1/2", which was handy, because it meant the kids didn't have to worry about gluing the papers on perfectly. We came up with some fortunes ahead of time, I printed these out, then when the guests came they got to choose a little bag (sewn ahead of time), the fortunes they wanted, and decorative paper to punch and glue on the backs. My original fortunes were much more out there, but that was shot down. Then everyone got a glue stick and there was no problem sharing the one punch between the 6 kids. It worked out great. A little easier than the sketchbook project from the month before.

When they were finished, they used these two ways—either pulling them out of the bag direct, or laying them all out, face down, and turning one over. That's why it's a good idea to have all the back papers identical within each set. I'm sure I got the wood coins and punch at Jo-ann's or Michaels. Now that I am all out of coins, I might have to make a seasonal order over at Casey's, the mecca of woodcraft shapes and fun. That site makes me so happy. I get so many ideas clicking around over there.

 

some nice things I must mention

photo from The Black Apple

I have been waiting to buy these cards from Miss Emily for a bit now and am so pleased to have them in my hands. I love boxed cards, especially the assorted kind with pre-printed sentiments. There was a time years ago that I wouldn't use these lovely cards (or special stickers, stationary, ribbons, etc.) but "save" them. For what? Not anymore. Now I just use them up. I think around this time I also decided it was okay for me not to finish a book or movie I had started with no guilt at all.

These shoes I just love but will not spend the money on. However, I need to point out their splendor and that they are my perfect heel height. And I love lighter shoes with darker tights, which can go wrong so easily, but can also be very right.

This jacket from Dear Creatures is making me happy. And it seems it's so amazing that you don't need to wear pants with it. Okay then!

Pumpkin Pie Cookies are on the menu today. I need to get some spices.

 

I give a fig.

Fig, baked chèvre and almond salad

Figs with honey on plain yogurt

I bought some figs last week and although I had great plans for baking them in dessert items, I ended up just eating them uncooked on various food stuffs. Before I knew it, they were gone. Simple seemed better for these. As it turns out, I am the only fig eater in the house—except a fig newton cookie will get eaten by everyone.

Random notes-

• If you are in SF or the Bay Area, don't miss the workshop, Printin' in the Kitchen. Christine Schmidt is teaching. She is the genius behind Yellow Owl Workshop, and my love for her book, Print Workshop and her shop are no secret. The details of her workshop and sign-ups are here—it's coming up! Saturday, October 1st.

• I am in love with this skirt. So simple, and I love the length and the color. But I wish it wasn't poly. And the cats would surely shred it.

The Rhythm of Family

I was touched to be asked to contribute to Amanda and Steve Soule's newest book, The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder through the Seasons, which just came out a week ago. The thoughtful and quiet writing and photography fits perfectly into my end-of-summer lazy vibe. There's a calmness to this book that feels really nice. It's not really a craft book exactly, but not all essays either—it strikes a wonderful balance of both.

Thank you for asking me Amanda and Steve, and congrats on this lovely book. It's very special.

dot, dot, dot,

With the-not-so-summery weather, we stayed in and did some art projects from the fablous book, Discovering Great Artists, that I have written about here. This time we looked at Seurat (I printed two examples of his work for us to study and talk about) and learned about Pointillism. This now has me wanting to watch Sunday in the Park with George, which I haven't seen in about 20 years.

Unrelated: So many new issues of incredibly cool online magazines are out! I am a little late seeing some of these, but the nice thing is they don't sell out. Some are free (with ads) some charge (and are ad free)

• Action Pack (issue 5, a craft magazine for kids)
• Nuno Magazine (issue 4, this issue blew my mind with it's visual coolness)
• Small Magazine (issue 18)
• Matchbook Magazine (issue 7)

 

triptych art project

We have been having a lot of fun doing projects out of Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters. This one is inspired by the triptychs by Jan van Eyck. I love this book. We checked it out from the library and now must buy a copy. It's great as a starting point for working on a particular artist, but sometimes the girls just flip though the book and choose a project to do.

The last photo is one of van Eyck's triptychs I cut out and printed so they could see what the heck we were talking about. They decided on a pastoral theme for theirs. "Oink" was added. We used watercolor on white board (the same board I use for my sketchbook covers) and some masking tape. I really wish I would have made one myself. I still might. Whenever I get supplies ready for this type of thing I try to make one for myself, so I can work along with them, but I didn't this time and now I really wish I had. I got way into the van Gogh inspired haystack pastel pieces we did.

hardback sketchbook tutorial

I was making a few hardback sketchbooks for my bag and busted out the flip so I could show you how we make them. Super fun! Bonus—there is a super cool trick I show at the end if you don't have a long arm stapler. You can watch it below or if the player is busted you can watch it directly on YouTube.

outstanding items for all ages

We are all loving the newest rubber stamp sets from Sarah, of The Small Object. This creation combines the Francine & Simone and the Bernard & Tipton sets. (The names just kill.) I was going to squirrel them away for Easter gifts, but couldn't resist so they were given for Spring Equinox gifts instead because, come on! They are so fun. There is much experimentation with stamping first and then drawing the head and bodies vs. drawing the head first and then stamping. Both supply hysterical results.

And these patterns of Hillary's are perfect for Sadie's handsewing work and for Grammie who is a hand sewing addict—the smaller the project the better. We are working on the Bunny and Turtle right now. Small, adorable, and so pleasing—perfect for Spring! Plus Sadie just loves to draw these as characters in her artwork, so that's an added bonus.

3 mice live here

Vernal Equinox is this weekend and it feels like it could snow around here. It's not that cold really, but you know what they say in Portland—it's a wet type of cold. We still plan to celebrate the first day of spring as usual but this might be putting on rain jackets and boots and visiting the few daffodils we have blooming before running inside for hot cocoa.

Some links:

• Grammie is showing some fabulous customer quilts she has machine quilted over on her Tillie Studio Blog. The photos showcase the machine quilting patterns so nicely, and the quilt tops are looking so good.

• Casey over at  Elegant Musings has a great tutorial on making fabric covered belts.

• Maison Bouche now has their Easter chocolate collection up and it looks wonderful, of course. I am dying over the wrapper on the chocolate bar with the picture on the little dog coming out of an egg!

• This huge list of links on book binding complied by Craftstew is outstanding! And I was happy to be included, thank you.

tuppence a bag

We all had a great time last weekend at the Mary Poppins Sing-A-Long (it's still going on this weekend, too!) at Cinema 21 here in Portland. The kids got these goodie bags with all sorts of items: a kazoo, a popper, a pixistick, a mini umbrella, a fan—all to use at various parts during the film, which was screened with all the words to the songs, facilitating the sing-a-long part nicely. I think I embarrassed Delia a bit with how loud I was singing. These flashcards were to be used at various times as well and now are prominently displayed in our house.

Unrelated to Mary Poppins-

There are many lists out there providing links on how to help the Japan disaster and our family is discussing these options, but the girls also have many questions and emotions that aren't addressed just by sending money somewhere, as do I. In the past year daily meditation has really helped me and I found these clear directions on tonglen meditation, which allows me to send out good vibes (my words) without ignoring that I feel sad. If the girls seem up for it I have also used this type of format as a way to guide them in a short meditation, but even more often just a talk about how they are feeling and it's pretty awesome.

paint and pen and artwork storage

We have been doing a lot of painting on canvas board lately. It started with the Mona Lisa self portraits and kept going from there. They love adding details in pen after the paint dries. It's so cool to see them painting the blocks of color and leaving it, knowing they are planning to add details later. This one of Sadie's is incredible to me. I reminds me so much of one of our favorite books of all time (both for the illustration style and text) The Runaway Dinner.

Here's Delia's. It's a dancer on stage. I love it to death. I find myself staring at these all the time. The canvas board is wonderful— it's inexpensive and provides support, so they can really brush hard and add paper collage or even 3-D materials if they want to. I can't find baby's because I am a bad mom.

I'm feeling the urge to do some early spring cleaning around here like some giving away/recycling of toys, books, clothes and stuff, including our massive amounts of kids artwork. Here are some links I found for ideas about artwork storage and saving it and how to also recycle it-

• What to do with your kid's artwork?
• And this from Ask Kiddo about the same topic with great suggestions in the comments.

*Thank you so much for all your orders for the Custom Birthcharts! I am lettering like a demon and will be busy for a while with these. It's so cool to see all the combinations and you all have some really amazing names! Outstanding!

 

Custom Birthcharts now for sale!

I have been working on this project for about 4 months now. Over the summer I wanted to make each daughter a birthchart with information about themselves—birthstone, astrological sign, birth flower, etc. because I was fascinated with this as a girl, and still am. The girls kept asking me what their birth flower was, or their sign, or birthstone, and I kept having to look it up. So, I starting drawing little pictures, and drawing, and drawing, and drawing and then compiled each chart for them and presented it framed as a birthday gift. They were thrilled. Then my brother received one, and my husband, and at this point I realized I loved creating these. Hand-lettering each name, composing all the little sketches, seeing the reaction to the finished piece—it's magical. It satisfies both my love of drawing and hand lettering and my kooky desire to be a fortuneteller, mystical/magicial-type artist.

 I am thrilled to be able to offer these for sale! Each piece is completely unique—based on your name, and date of birth. I hand-letter your name and date of birth, and then compile your chart which is comprised entirely of hand-drawn images, words, and interpretations by me. Then the chart is digitally reproduced and printed out just for you on 8 1/2" x 11" heavyweight art paper. The chart includes:

• astrological sign
• birthstone
• life path number (numerology take from your birthday)
• chinese zodiac
• birth flower
• element (taken from astrological sign)
• native american zodiac animal
• native americal plant
• lucky number

Each item also has a one-word meaning associated with that image (except the lucky number.) I decided to make these traits positive or neutral. Of course, all signs have shadow sides and negative traits, but no one wants to have "slightly delusion arsonist" written on their custom birthchart. This also makes this a much friendlier gift for children and family.

These are printed on my favorite luscious highly textured paper. This is a black and white piece and the black ink on the textured paper is outstanding. Really. It's hard to even describe. They are $65 each (the frame is not included) and there is even more information about the beautiful paper and ink over here.

I have been really blown away by the reaction I have had by the people I have given them to. I hope you enjoy them!

the amazing talents of a 6 year old and some links

A piece of cheese skillfully chewed into the shape of a small dog

• I am digging the Moleskine site (new to me, there's so much to explore!) a kind reader wrote me about including a link to this wizard to grab images from the internet, print, and stick into your sketchbook. The video shows it well. Scroll down.

• reading Matchbook Magazine (via emily)

• freaking out over this red and white quilt show (amazing photo!) in NYC. I would love to go to this, somehow.

• seriously contemplating a large order of chocolate treats from Maison Bouche after not finding any locally. I have had some before and it was outstanding.

 

Print Workshop book, interview, & book event

I am thrilled to write about this fine book, Print Workshop: Hand-Printing Techniques and Truly Original Projects by Christine Schmidt. I got my early copy (a review copy from our publisher, Pottercraft) right before the holidays and have spent some serious time pouring over it since then. It's outstanding. I have big love for Christine's work, I've written about her rubber stmaps and other items she designs for her company Yellow Owl Workshop many times, so was pretty dang excited when I found out she was writing her own book—a book about printing, no less! So, I pestered her with my nosy questions and she was kind enough to indulge me. And, as fate would have it, she will be here this weekned in Portland! She has a book event at Powells this Sunday, Febuary 13th at 4-5 at the downtown location. It's a hands-on thing, so get ready to make some stuff.

Here's me asking her a boatload of questions. She is funny and awesome, as you will see.

AK: So, Christine, thanks for talking to me about this fine book you have written. How does it feel now that it's out?

CS: Bizarro.  I was working on it for so long I never thought I would actually be able to hold it in my hands.  When I finished the last round of edits and pressed "send" I actually laid my head on my keyboard and cried.  But now that it exists in real dimension I can hand it to my friends and family and say "this is what ate up all my time.  Forgive me!" 



AK: I feel after reading your book like I have taken the best printmaking class ever. But it's even better than that because there are no weird guys in my class being all—weird. (Oh, art school.) You really provide secret/awesome information, like when making your own stamp pads (which in itself is so great) use salt to thin the textile ink. Brilliant! You are a gold mine of information. And you use textile silkscreen ink even on paper, right? 
 
CS: Ahh shucks- thanks Amy!  Being cheap and lazy can pay off.  Once I figured out most acrylic paint is the same thing I just started buying textile silk screen ink for all my printing applications that use acrylic.  Cut the number of art store runs and art store bills in half. It is just like regular acrylic and works the same on paper but it has an ingredient that allows it to be heat set on to fabric.  Conversely you can also make any acrylic paint textile friendly by just adding some fabric medium.  So many times the answer isn't to just go buy something else- it is use what you already have differently.  The salt trick, which I use in the DIY stamp pad project, just thins the paint.  I stole the idea that salt extracts moisture from Cooking 101.  And, despite my husband's dinner time pleas and his imagined hyper tension, I will tell you there is not one thing that isn't better with some salt! 

AK: I don't want to give away every tip here, but again, glue dots for sticking wax seals to paper! Amazing. I assume this solution comes from some custom wedding invitation work you did? 

CS: I did use this technique for a custom seal for a wedding invitation.  I used the couple's first initials in the design.  I needed several hundred wax seals and I wanted each and every one of them to look awesome. Usually if you are doing wax seals directly on the envelopes you are bound to mess a few up.  Couldn't take that risk so I created my own little assembly line and went down the row of dots (melt, melt, pour, stamp) one by one.  The wax paper that holds the glue dots is waxy so it peels off easily and the glue dots themselves seal the envelope.  I just peeled off any seals that didn't make the grade. The end product is very elegant.  And SPOILER ALERT nobody would have guessed the secret ingredient is a tube of Wet n' Wild lip gloss.  Told you I was cheap!

AK: Another project I love in the book is printing the same image on different found papers. This is so wonderful, yet so simple. Again, not a question, but let's discuss it anyway. 
 
CS: Amen.  I love using found paper.  Sometimes a blank white sheet of paper is the scariest thing!  If you take cues from your found paper (maybe illustrations, words, textures or patterns) you already have a creative head start.  I tear up old books, pick up old maps, wallpaper - really anything.   Go through that freebie bin outside the used book store.  Flirt with your butcher to score some of that waxy paper.  Save those color saturated super market circulars.  Just channel your inner hobo.

 
AK: I need to pause here and just be with the phrase "inner hobo" for a second. Okay, when buying these supplies, you mention that touching materials is key. I totally relate here. I feel the same way about paper and fabric. When I was heavy into monoprint years ago I used Rives BFK, and because I knew what that was, it made sense to just buy in bulk, but for smaller projects, there is nothing like experimenting with textures. It can be THE inspiration—the material itself. Is this true for you? 

CS: I always order my staples in bulk.  For instance I buy tons of Fabriano Mediovalis cards for making most of my personal stationery.  I am familiar with the material.  I know what I can and can't do with it.  It is a solid dependable mate.  Ahhh but what about the romance!  I like to mix up my choices by working with different surfaces.  That leads to a ton of mistakes but also some really satisfying triumphs.  I like to push myself to try new things because I am easily bored and am also a dork.
 
AK: You seem to be a person into the process, printing on different materials, changing your mediums, and working with constraints. Before you went into this stationery/print work—did you see yourself here? You have a successful business now, and a book, and a new store (congrats!), does this surprise you? I'm thinking about the difference between my friends who were graphic design majors, who knew that would go professional, vs. my painting/printing friends who wanted to get gallery shows and just paint, and I am always interested by the artists who land in the middle. 
 
CS: I am very into process. I love to take one technique and think about how I can use it on a different surface or a different scale or with a different image.  I like problem-solving.  At least now I can pretend that all my strange printing experiments are "research."  I never trained or planned on being a professional graphic designer.  Nobody would have hired me.  I studied fine art and knew I wanted to make my own work.  AND I knew I wanted to eat and sleep indoors and such.   This work seemed like a happy medium.
I created every product in my line just because I wanted one.  Which is a terrible but exhilarating business plan.  I started with cards because I could make a lot of image variety with a meager investment of some elbow grease and sleep-deprived nights.  I think every day that I am very very lucky to be able to make things all day long.   I think every day that I am very very lucky to work with smart cool people that really keep this business afloat.  And I am beyond lucky to have a husband that puts up with my craziness!  Oh and I am always suprised!  I blush every time I see my work displayed in a store. I bury my head in my hands and shrink into my shoes while my husband yells and points to disinterested shoppers.

AK: As I read this book, I get so excited to just carve some erasers and print, and so do my girls. There is something so satisfying about printing and repeated mark-making. It's comforting. Do you have a favorite technique you keep going back to? Silkscreen? Carving? 

CS: I love carving my own stamps.  Yes!!! I love the repetition.  It is so calming.  I love that part of "making" where you just get into it and everything else just falls away.   I love that I could carve something very simple, like a square, and just by changing the orientation of the stamp, or the color, or the number of repetitions you could get something different every time!  You just have to be willing to go outside of the lines and really just play! I think it is important not just to focus on the end product.  "I want it to look just like this."  "It's for Aunt Sue and has to be just right."  Nope.  Just make it for yourself and have a good time making it.  Get lost in the project and don't get stifled by your expectations.

AK: I know I have asked other people this before, but it's important. If you were a full moon shape-shifting animal, which would it be? 

CS: Finally the Teen Wolf portion of the interview! I wish I could say I was a dignified regal beast.  An eagle! A wolf with a dark purple sash and a brass medallion!  Yeah..but  I am probably a monkey.  I am always jumping around from project to project. Playing around with different techniques.  I joke too much.  I laugh too much.  I actually spent many of my formative years convinced I was a monkey.   Even broke both my wrists swinging from a tree. 

AK: And here you are, the monkey hard at work. Thanks Christine! And I am so excited about your event coming up at Powells!

CS: Rad!  I hope you can make it.  I will be giving a demo on carving stamps and everybody will be able to use the stamps to create valentines and custom bookplates!

I get to say decoupage

We had some fun (and a little frustration) making some decoupage items. We were into a long Victorian England and Charles Dickens theme before and after Christmas and made these Victorian craft inspired decoupage boxes and frames using unfinished wood items from the craft shop, mod podge, and some excellent ephemera sheets from Digital Collage Sheets on etsy. I really like this shop. There are so many shops out there selling digital scrapbook/collage sheets, but I seem to find exactly what I need here. This is my favorite one right now.

I printed out quite a few of these and then we all cut them out and adhered them to the wood with the mod podge, which was okay, but it was hard for the girls to get them to stick. They were on to other things before there was total coverage. I made the heart frame, and I covered the whole piece, gosh dangit. It took a long time! I glued some of the stubborn hang-y off bits afterward with a glue stick and that helped. They love them. They do look and feel really nice.

• Unrelated to glue and paper, I have a little interview up over at Sewmoblie about my sewing machines. Thanks Michelle!
• $400 shorts at J. crew. What the? The Colette blog has a very interesting post and discussion (in the comments) about this. I love this blog.

dinosaur diorama

These are from over the summer (saved before the deleted photo episode) and were part of a very long dinosaur theme we were working on, which was really fun. I don't have the exploding paper-mâché volcano to show you, unfortunately. There were a lot of books, games, drawings, research, digs, and role play for this theme. It was a huge learning experience for me, too. So much has changed in paleontology since I was in school. In a scientifically inaccurate yet imaginative move, the girls suggested we print and cut out a tiny version of themselves to place in the dioramas. So we did.

Related by theme but in a different vein (not for kids), I am greatly amused by Dinosaur Comics which depicts the same frames everyday, but with different text. It's one of those things that gets funnier after you read at least 3 of them.

Happy Holidays!

I realized I designed a cross stitch 2 years ago as a gifty PDF, but didn't last year—and I missed making one. So here you go! Please grab this PDF and have fun. I am thinking this would make a lovely box top or a small framed piece. I hope to curl up on the sofa after the celebrations and just do some stitchin'. And get some knitting in, too. I really like doing handwork right after the holidays. I think it helps me slow down. I can really get the sewing machine going fast, you know what I mean? And I want to go s-l-o-w.

Thanks you guys for reading this blog, sharing tips, telling stories, and being so funny and wonderful. Have a safe and happy rest of the month and see you in 2011!

winter napkins and more thoughts

I serged some winter napkins. I got this fabric in July (this officially makes me crazy and old) and was going to use it for holiday pillowcases for the girls, but decided to use flannel for those instead and thought this fabric would be perfect for napkins. And it is. It's so gratifying to have such an appreciative audience when I sew. The girls notice everything, which is really lovely.

I just cut some squares and used a rolled edge to hem them. Whenever I use my rolled hem on the serger (Babylock Imagine) with that wooly nylon in the top position, I get so happy. It fills so nicely and makes these so pleasing to sew. The blue print is by Michael Miller and the red stripe is by Riely Blake Designs.

Notes from the brain:

• I am in the middle of a stretch velvet sewing adventure.This is for me, not for my children. I will report back soon, but I will tell you it does not involve making an ice skating outfit—which is surely the most popular use for this fabric, per the internet.

• Eireann, of ohbara, has some truly lovely watercolor prints in her shop. They make me sigh with a smile on my face, wanting to make some hot tea and settle in with a good book under a warm quilt.

• Is my next sewing project going to be a cape? Quite possibly, although it's really an inconvenient type of garment—impossible to carry a bag with, etc, unless I am using a little vintage handbag and trying to cram a ton of kids crackers in there (while swearing) which I have been known to do. And the new Urban Outfitters catalog came yesterday. It had me perplexed and feeling old—and being just fine with that.

 

Little Hills Quilt and random items

photo by Stewart O'Shields from Simple Contemporary Qults

Hello old quilt I haven't seen in a long time!

I was e-mailed about this quilt of mine from about 4 years ago and the free-motion machine quilting pattern  "hills" which I designed for this piece and was machine quilted by Tillie Studio.

This quilt, called Little Hills, appears in this book Simple Contemporary Quilts: Bold New Designs for the First-Time Quilter, by Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader. I was sad for this quilt realizing I had never shown it here on the blog, it's one of my favorite quilts. There is a chance I have shown it, but I don't think so. My archives are a mess. I suppose I could look through my blog books, but that would require getting up. Anyhoo, I am happy to show it now. I miss quilting! I think I need to start a new one. I haven't made a quilt since this one about 2 1/2 years ago.

This one I pieced with hand dyed fabrics and some printed ones, then machine appliqued the hills (in the polka-dot fabric) on top. I then added some free motion stitching in red, and some hand stitching as well—and then the whole top piece was machine quited (by Tillie Studio) with the swoopy hills/scallop pattern.

There is a free-motion quilt along over at A Few Scraps, and her inquiry about this quilt is what made me realize I had never shown it. Thanks for the e-mail, Christina!

Some random items:

• The Apple Cider aprons for Tie One On are due today. (But you know I will take them until this weekend.) Please take a peek at the book giveaway this time—it's a great one!

• Alicia is having a book signing here in Portland at Modern Domestic this Friday! See the details over here.

• How do I NOT get these tape dispensers shaped like donuts from Jet Pens? Tape is a hot commodity here (my middle child can make anything with it, I swear) so these are a must have.

 

some favorite gifts-

I was going through all our toys, clearing out and making piles of items to donate. I always appreciate toys  that have lasted through all three girls, ones that they all have loved and continue to use. It got me thinking about some of their favorites—ones that I haven't made or that weren't made for them by friends, but actually purchased.

These were all given to them as gifts over the years by various family members and friends. There are some pretty awesome toys out there, which makes me so happy. I love looking at old baby books of mine and seeing photo of toys I used to love (like my Animal muppet or my Fisher Price Woodsey Squirrel House, which I still have.) so part of why I am writing this is to document what they are playing with right now, so they can remember them when they see this post in 10 years. There are so many more than these they love, but here's a few.

Candy Matching Memory

This Candy Memory game is very well made (super thick chip board pieces!) and makes us get a crazy sweet tooth. Delia is a ringer at this, her sight memory is uncanny. She also has the most cavities in the family.

Fairytale Spinner Game

This game is really fun. You spin to win different figures and items and then you tell a story at the end that incorporates all the items/characters you have chosen. It's really creative and the stories the girls come up with are often long and very funny.

 The Sleeping Beauty Ballet Theatre

This ballet theater/cd/booklet set is one of the most popular toys we own. The girls love listening to the music, changing the scenes, and playing with the figures. The figures fit in the stage with straws, so they don't move around. I thought this would frustrate them and limit their play, but it doesn't at all. They are thrilled because everything stands up so nicely—which is a huge issue with them.

 

Rosie Flo's Kitchen Colouring Book

All these coloring books (you fill in each picture) are very fun. They love them. My only complaint is they can go through them in an afternoon.

 Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip

Moomin! Sadie loves this comic and the other girls are warming to it as well. I love it dearly. It's a big book, very pleaseing wonderful artwork, of course. 

Prof. Noggin's Reptiles and Amphibians

There are a ton of different sets of these and we play them all the time, especially if they go along with a topic we are learning about. This one was given to them last year and we have been hooked on them ever since. They work with both both readers and non readers. And I am learning a ton from them!

Okay, so I guess this is topical because it's cyber monday and all. Or is it black monday? Whatever they are calling it. I am always curious about what toys are popular with kids, so I hope this is helpful if you are stumped this holiday season. Of course, all kids are different, so who the heck knows. I've included links here, but you can try your local toy shop, too. Most of these are pretty easy to find, I think.

mixtape zine and some links

I am very excited to show you the cover I did for the latest Mixtape Zine. This issue is available right here and it has 2 covers—the other is on the reverse side by the incredibly talented Christina Gordon. So cool. This is a great issue and is possibly the last printed one. It looks like it might be PDF only in the future (this seems to be still up in the air, you can send Justine your thoughts) so get a printed one while you can. I love looking though the stacks of mine over the years. Thanks so much, Justine.

some links and random items:

• The newest issue of the online magazine, Covet Gardens, is out and so lovely. It has me thinking about houseplants in a big way. That cover is outstanding!

• I was flattered to be interviewed over at ohdeedoh for the Big Blog Family feature. Her questions got my mind percolating about blogging and how much has changed and what it was like when I started. It's all good. Thanks, Katie!

• The Tie One On aprons (the theme is Apple Cider) are due at the end of this month. I will post the book giveaway next week chosen for a lucky apron maker who enters this challenge. It's a super good one!

• I am sort of devastated and in denial at what both my naturopath and acupuncturist are telling me about my feet and swayed back. It relates to my heel wearing habits and the super cute bad-for-me shoes I have worn all my life. A yoga-related calf injury a few months ago was a real wake-up call as to how my feet are changing. So, my shoe fetish has pretty much closed down until I can find shoes I actually want to wear that aren't 110% hobbit. Not that I can't hang with the hobbit look, I can, but I only feel partially hobbity about 2 days out of 7. Still, these boots, made by Keen, are making me happy and totally approved by my lovely practitioners who are also making me wear these Correct Toes as much as I can stand it. How I will match shoes with my vintage outfits is eluding me, so I'm trying not to think about it. I can't stop wearing heels altogether, but I need to wear them less, obviously.

 

the black apple's paper doll primer

We are thrilled to have Miss Emily Martin's new book,The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer: Activities and Amusements for the Curious Paper Artist which is brimming with exquisitely drawn paper dolls, clothes, a toy theater and scenes (!), and more—all ready to be cut out, loved, and played with. We have two copies in our house, one for cutting and one for reading and looking at. It's that good. And talk about quick gifts—these are all frame-worthy illustrations, so cutting a favorite page out and popping it in a frame would make a lovely and super easy gift.

Full disclosure here, Emily is a dear friend, also shares the same book publisher as myself, Potter Craft, and I received this as a review copy. But, I would buy it anyway. That goes without saying. Except that I just said it.

So, I really like interviewing my friends. I actually used to do this with a tape recorder and a big microphone in grade school all the time. I wasn't able to bust that out for this post, sadly, but Emily was game for a good old fashioned e-mail style interview, so here we go.

me: You seemed to have so much fun drawing these amazing characters. Do you have a favorite doll? I know this is hard, but just curious. I'll let you pick two. And my girls like the Baby best, of course but Onionhead comes in a close second with the 3 year old. Alice is also quite popular. It's so hard for me to choose but the horned porpoise is pretty outstanding.
 
emily: Hmmm...a favorite (or two)? I'd say the ones I was most excited about were the conjoined twins, Hazel & Olive, and Boris the Bear. Mostly just because they were the most unusual as paper doll subjects. Making double-dresses for the twins, as well as a double capelet (and a double-hat that curiously got left out of the book) was one of my favorite parts of making the book. I'm sure there have been conjoined twin paper dolls before, but I still got a kick out of how special they seemed to me.

But I am thrilled to hear that funny baby was a hit with the girls - you know I did kinda make that one expressly for them!

me: I would like for you to come out with a line of children's clothing because your drawings of them are amazing. I think I have ideas now for every outfit for the girls for a long time. Were these just floating out of your brain effortlessly, or did you reference some vintage sources? They are so special. And how exciting was it to draw a page of small wigs?

emily: Aw, thank you! I share your dream of this line of clothes, except I would like them to come in grown-up lady sizes, too. It's truly sad how often I see a picture of something (a dress, some shoes) and get very excited, only to realize this something is meant for a little girl.

Anyway, to answer your first question, the clothing designs all came out of my own head...and, I'm sure, from the mental stacks and stacks of images of vintage clothing I've got stashed in my brain. And to answer your second question, those pages of small wigs are still one of my top favorite things in the whole book. I thought to myself "Even if nobody ever uses one of these tiny paper wigs, they sure are pleasing to look at all lined up here on the page"

me: The theater is very well loved in the house, playing with this adds such a special dimension to the book and its activities. Did you have a toy theater growing up, or play like this? Or was it more about the dolls and clothes for you?

emily: I never had a proper toy theater as a little girl, but (as many of us did) I loved my cardboard box dioramas something fierce. Researching toy theaters for the book was one of the most challenging tasks, but also one of the things I was most excited about. For a few weeks there, I was constantly babbling about them - my editor (our friend Mr. Thom O'Hearn) would ask about my progress, and I would yap his ear off for fifteen minutes about the Paper Theater. Then he would pause, and say "Great...but what about everything else?"

I just knew I wanted to include a paper theater from the beginning, and make the different prosceniums, and the scenes/backdrops, because I wanted the book to be a Paper Doll Book to the enth degree, you know? If we thought of something the book could contain, then we decided it must contain it.

me: I am so happy boy dolls are included. They are so often omitted, which is a shame. Were they more challenging to come up with? I suspect not, knowing your imagination. . . .

emily: I'm so pleased you're pleased by that!
Perhaps surprisingly, the boys weren't difficult at all. In fact, they were a nice break from the girly-party my work sometimes turns into. I wanted there to be lots of ages and types of dolls in the Black Apple section, so naturally, that means we have everyone from older fella, like Mr. Tom (who might bear a bit of a resemblance to a certain grizzled singer I'm known to love) to Nate, the boy cryptozoology nerd. I ended up being really happy with all of the gentleman dolls, because I feel like they each have a very distinct personality.

Plus, I really love drawing tiny men's jackets and vests. L.O.V.E.

me: Can we hope for more? Paperdoll books, projects, ideas and stuff like that? What's cookin' next?

emily: Well, since you asked - besides all the Black Apple cottage industry business and my own personal artwork projects, I do have another book in the making. It's not paper doll related, but suffice it to say, you will be seeing some fetching drawings of children's clothing again soon!

And I wouldn't ever say you've seen the last of me and paper dolls. I'd expect there will be more on that front, in time anyway.

me: You are going to have a booksigning here in Portland at Powells! When is this fabulous event?

emily: Indeed - and I can't wait! It's on December 13th, and it's going to be quite the party. Also, there will be a special, limited edition little holiday gift for everyone who attends, so if hearing me ramble and scrawl my scribbly signature into books isn't enough of an incentive: there will be food and presents!

thank you so much (I will fill in more)
Thank you, sweet friend. You were such a part of this book from the very beginning when you gifted me with those Little Women paper dolls! You're the tops.

me: No, thank YOU. This book has already provided hours of fun, seriously. It was so amazing to see it being created by you and being privy to your early sketches and ideas. Truly magical.

Bone Digger Part II—The Curse of 3 Ghouls

I was thrilled with the project, Plaster Bones, again from the Martha magazine pages, and can't wait to do more with newspaper and plaster wrap. It was so fun and so easy! The direcitons are a bit vague, but really, it's pretty much just make a plaster bone by, um making a plaster bone. We rolled up newspaper tight into a tube. Added a bit of masking tape. Then made the ends by wadding up newspaper into a sort of heart shape, added a bit more tape, and then wrapped it all with the wet plaster wrap, which is the coolest material. I got a big roll (Activa Rigid Wrap) at Michaels with a 40% off coupon from the newspaper, so the whole project cost $4.99 and I have a ton of plaster wrap left for more projects.

The girls loved it. I pre-made some of the bones for them and they made some—they all loved the plaster wrapping part and smoothing it on. These took two days to be completely dry. They are so Flintstones funny, we can't stop playing with them. The whacking potential is tempting and dangerous, just a warning.

Unrelated: I have a new fall banner and some fresh links, too.

rose petal drawings

What they did with the pressed rose petals from the Rose Garden sketching trip. I'm going to make these into thank you notes for them, which are needed for their birthdays. They asked if they could sell cards of these images in an etsy shop they want to open and I am thinking yes.

 

some halloween goodies-

We are doing some Halloween decorating and busted out the Halloween Garland from emailorder #4. What a handy time to remind you it's available right here, as a PDF, and it comes with an adorable hat pattern, only for a mere $8!

And a free PDF is over here, I made this last year—it's a fun craft project making mildly disturbing pumpkin faces. Fun for all ages! Enjoy!

mona lisa style self portraits

The inspiration—for our projects involving Leonardo da Vinci

Mona Sadie (8 years old)

Mona Delia (almost 6 years old)

Mona Liddy (3 1/2 years old)

So, this ended up being one of the most popular projects we have done. They used canvases—big enough to feel impressive. The 2 big girls worked on 16" x 20" and Liddy's was 11" x 14". They used acrylic paint and did sketching first. We talked about the original and how it was proportioned on the canvas, and they worked on these in about 5 sessions, waiting for the paint to dry in between and working in layers. Then details were added with sharpie. They are up in the living room and they are so proud of them. It's pretty awesome.

The frames were picked up on super sale at Michael's and the canvases are just taped in back, so we can swap out other canvases as they do more. I was freaking out when they were painting these—trying not to talk at all. The personalities coming through are so wonderful. Delia is holding a purse and ice cream cone, Sade is holding a book and has a cardigan on and baby—what can I say? Brilliant.

sketching in the Rose Garden

In early September we were able to sketch at the Rose Garden before the season passed. We are heavy into Leonardo da Vinci right now and are doing a lot of sketching in notebooks of flowers (like his), inventions, and animals, and architecture—but today it was roses. They smelled amazing. We gathered up fallen rose petals and are pressing them right now for some art projects.

we finally hooked up the record player

We hadn't gotten around to hooking up the record player before now. We finally did, and put it low so the girls can use it and got some records out of storage. They hadn't heard these before. Many questions were asked. It's so wonderful, emotional, funny and poignant to hear albums with them that we have such history with. I had them chose some to photograph.

Grease, The Musical Soundtrack

Grease. Oh, it's called that because it's what the boys put in their hair to make it look that way, you know, wet. I know she looks way way different in that photo. Well, she changed her look to make the boy like her more. You know, more make-up, high heels. Yes, I guess it did work. You know, it doesn't really have the best message, now that I am saying it out loud, but this song is great, huh? No, her pink hair was a mistake. I know, that was a swear word in that song!

The Go-Gos, Beauty and the Beat

Yes, I agree, this album is sooooo good. It's a beauty mask, it washes off. They were having a spa day, or something. Yes, only girls were in the band. Yes, you can play it again. I don't think we can ever meet them, no. But that would have been cool, huh?

Tom Tom Club

No, a kid didn't draw the cover, but it's so cool! I know it looks like it. Well, I really don't think a kid did, but you can decide a kid drew it, if you like. No, kids aren't singing on this, but it sure sounds like it. Actually, it really sounds like kids wrote these songs, Amazing! I can't stop dancing! Oh, it's called The Robot.

Vivaldi, The Four Seasons

Yes, so pretty. Growing up, my parents used to play this on Sundays while my Dad made a yummy brunch. It's so nice hearing this again. This one is called Spring.

Peter Paul and Mary, Album 1700

I sang "I'm in Love with a Big Blue Frog" all the time when I was little. Oh, they are trying to look like the characters from the movie Bonnie and Clyde, which came out around that time. It was about some glamorous very misguided bank robbers. It didn't end well for them. Yeah, you have heard a lot of them before, just not this album. This one was mine when I was a girl. Yes, this exact copy.

The Genius of Ray Charles

This was one of my Dad's favorite albums. Your grandpa. No, honey, he didn't know you either—he died when I was pregnant with Sadie, so you never got a chance. Yes, I wish you could have met him, too.

very small pencils

These mini colored pencils were picked up last winter, I think somewhere in Seattle, but who knows, so I am linking to where I know they have them online here at Giant Robot. I love them. I haven't sharpened them yet. That could be interesting. Anyone have these and know how to sharpen them?

More colored pencils:

• These from Muji are so enticing!

• The black pencils and watercolor pencils from Stubby Chalk Studio.

• This set of wood pencils from Jet Pens, not colored, but still awesome.

Random aside:

Thanks for all the support regarding the recent ER fiasco. Jeez! We are still tired around here, but getting back on track.

We are having some relaxing summer fun in the next few weeks—extended beach trips, and hopefully some camping or something equally fun and filthy, so I am going post a bunch of items I have been meaning to blog about this week and then take the rest of the month off and get heavy into some trashy reading and outside time.

Any summer reading suggestions are appreciated. I am off my werewolf kick for now, but still love any historical fiction, of course.  And I guess I should read The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo, right?

 

a little play with stick puppets

A bit back Sadie found some popsicle sticks and wanted to make some puppets for a play. We filmed it with the flip and if my laptop weren't in the shop getting fixed (curses!) I'd have a little movie to show you, but oh well. Using this other machine I'm on now makes me feel like I am wearing someone else's shoes. 

Anyhoo, these were so cute I just about died. With some of her artwork, it's like she is doing an impression of an adult trying to draw like a kid. Do you know what I mean? It's so interesting to me. So, this was a long play about a wedding and some princes and all that—the girl above there has soot on her face, from all the hard labor she does around the castle. Her plays are long. Like 15 minutes at least, and tend to spin off and get pretty layered and complex, at which point her sisters start complaining. I'm always surprised how long they last before the heckling starts. I know she is very influenced by my tutorials with these stick puppets, but when I think of all the other things she could be influenced by, I'm not complaining.

toy for the 3 year old

We were able to make a homemade toy for Liddy's birthday—a Princess and the Pea Play Set. This was a collaborative effort by myself and her older sisters.

The basket of peas (painted wooden beads) are clipped on the bed with a mini clothespin.

The doll, which was a drawing by Delia, was scanned and printed onto fabric. We then made it into a soft doll.

The bed was made from the very handy kit here (I was thrilled to find this! It made this project so easy)  We painted the wooden bed gold and glued on the lace trim. Then we sewed about 7 mattresses from fabric scraps. Old cloth diapers were used for the mattress stuffing.

A book was written and illustrated by Sadie.

The story.

This was my favorite part of our birthday celebration for the 3 year old. I have seen these type of Princess and the Pea toys before, on Etsy and other blogs, and have always loved them and their play potential.

I asked the girls a few weeks back what we should make for Liddy and we came up with this. It all hinged on the bed, which was quite the score, I think. Then everything else came together very easily. Delia was all about the doll and the bed decoration and Sadie was more into painting the bed and making the book. Both girls gave this to Liddy and showed her how to play with it—and it was so sweet. Liddy LOVES it and the girls couldn't be more proud.

This reminds me of how we do Solstice gifts—we come up with an idea and help the girls make them. I am really laid back about the process, so if they get bored, lose interest, or only finish it half-way, I never worry about it. I just finish it up for them and they love it. Even if I am sure they have lost interest in it, they haven't. Everyone that has walked through our house recently has been shown this toy, the girls can't stop talking about it.

They are so used to making toys, clothes, food, and just stuff now. It's heartwarming to see their minds working, trying to figure out how to make something. The other day when I was finishing up Delia's nightgown and was adding the lace, she asked if she could use a color other than white. I said we only had white lace right now and she asked if we could dye some, like I did in my book. Ha!

Really, I know I am bragging here, but I love these kids. And I love watching them learn and grow and just exist.

a gift box.

A friend of ours turned 4 recently and we put together this little wooden box for him. I buy these empty unfinished wooden boxes at Michaels. I had a supply of cigar boxes, but have used them up. (Local Portland folks—you can buy empty cigar boxes at Rich's and they have some really cool ones.)

I keep these boxes on hand and fill them with paper dolls, or stamps, or small books. That kind of thing. I've used them for making sewing kits. I used a deep size here to make a wooden box-purse.

So, in this box we have:

• Homemade blank books made with images printed from Agence Eureka's amazing vintage ephemera collection. (I asked her first and use them for personal use only.)
• A few fabulous pencils from The Small Object.
• An absolutely awesome stamp set from Yellow Owl Workshop. They have several styles, all of them very cool. My kids LOVE them as do I.
• A little stamp pad.

The ombre paper came from Martha's craft line. I think I got it two years ago. I tried to find an image over at Martha's site (wow, it's so hard to use!) and got too grumpy and instead found a very complete selection here, but not exactly what I used. The letters on the top of the box are stickers I have had forever. I'm not even sure where I got them. The map on the inside from the box is from a real map we had.

I love making toys and kids gifts so much. I try to make them only with items I already have in the house. This means I need to probably get out more and that I have a scary amount of awesome supplies in my art room.

Happy Summer Solstice today! And Happy Birthday Grammie!!

outdoor art fun

Since we moved I had yet to set up a chalk drawing area outside for the girls. In our old house they spent hours with chalk and a very small blackboard (shared, grudgingly) and loved it. The easel-style blackboard didn't move with us—so there was no chalk fun. The driveway/street chalk drawing just wasn't cutting it.

I got some chalkboard paint and had plans to get wood and then about 7 months went by and the sun never came out, you know how it goes. But then, a few days ago—we got summer! A quick trip to the lumber yard provided us with these 2 big pieces of plywood. The girls painted the boards themselves with the chalkboard paint (They keep talking about how amazing it is they made their own chalk boards!) and we are good to go.

I added their favorite accessories, wet rags for enthusiastic cleaning, (I think this is what they like best) 3 spray bottles, a lot of chalk, and cups of water to make "chalk paint" which they making by dipping the chalk in the water to make it soft for maximum coverage. They crack me up.

These boards are huge, about 4' x 4'—just leaning on the side of the house in the back under the eaves, so they won't get rained on. I was thinking about how to mount them to the house but realized they are so heavy, they aren't going anywhere. If they just lean, we can easily store them in the winter and also move them to different ares of the yard if we need to. Like, if one artist needs to be alone to work uninterrupted by her sisters, who might be cramping her artistic vision, let's just say.

She is almost 3.

We have a birthday coming up. I can't believe my baby is turning 3. I have squirreled away some gifts already, like this absolutely stunning dress which came to me from Olive Juice. After I wrote about them a bit back, they inquired if I would like a dress to review (um, yes please!) and it is just exquisite. The smocking is so lovely and the dress is so well made. The cotton is crisp and light, very high quality. The dress has some wonderful details, like bound sleeves and a clever self fabric lining. I need a get a little cardigan to go with this. It's just dreamy. They are having a really good sale right now. Here's this dress and I am kind of freaking out at the sale price. I want to get one for my middle girl now. I bought two dresses from them about 5 years ago and they have held up really well—through all three girls with heavy duty wear and play.

Edit: I originally posted this for a few hours on Friday, but the Olive Juice site went down. It appears to be up and running now.

She also is getting a Josef Original Birthday Girl. I have all of these through number 7. I have written about these before. They are the vintage ones, not the ones you can buy new now. I had a 5 when I was little and it was a prized possession of mine. The girls have to share them—I'm not sure how they will divide these up when they get older, but I'm not going to worry about that now.

And she is getting a little bisque doll. One of her own. Her sisters both have one. They are usually wrapped up in a toilet paper bed and tucked away where they can get easily thrown away. Or misplaced. They also get broken. And then there is a whole hospital event that happens with nurse hats and lots of slings and some super-glue. It's pretty great.

I want to make her a toy. I'd love to make her something like this, which she recently found and is obsessed with, but I am running out of time. I do need to give her something soft and unbreakable, 'cause come on. These items don't exactly scream super fun for a three year old to me. But of course I love them. I happen to know that a certain person (Grammie) is getting her a real metal mini shopping cart, which will be a HUGE hit. Hopefully we won't get another ant farm from her uncle.