3 weeks

Ava is three weeks old today and I am already amazed at how quickly time is passing. 

This is a blanket I knitted at the end of the pregnancy, waiting for her and watching Dexter. Nothing like serial killers and heavy gauge knitting needles to occupy a brain.

Babies are much easier to photograph when sleeping. Less fist-pumping and growly faces. 

 xo

art v craft

I hope to see you at Art vs Craft this Saturday!

I'll be in the main room on the upper floor this year. I am working on new prints and really great leather wallets, along with my 2011 Wall Calendar. Stop on by!

PomLove

I love these poms by etsy seller PomLove. Perfect party decor. I might make a few for the baby's room, but why take the time to make them myself when these are just right?

If you're feeling crafty though, here is the Martha Stewart tutorial on how to make them yourself:

www.marthastewartweddings.com

calling all mom crafters

Help.
The annual Art vs Craft event is at the end of November, at which time I will be large and in charge at almost 8 months pregnant. I love this event, and I always do well at with sales, etc. However, it's typically really warm and crowded and kind of crazy, which normally I enjoy. But being that this is my first baby, I have no idea how I will feel by then.
So....this question goes out to all the crafty mommas out there - should I go for it anyway? Applications will be up next month with a deposit, and I just don't know if I should let it pass this year or not.
I would love to hear your thoughts...

studio

The motorcycle embroidery is a gift for Tom that I started, ohhhh, 2 years ago. I know I will finish it soon...

I recently purchased a Powerbook, but it didn't quite fit in my old laptop sleeve. I put this one together last week using material I already had and am pretty happy with the results–

you look pretty

My "You Look Pretty" cards are now available in the etsy shop! Sold as a set of 5 with kraft-colored envelopes, these make a great surprise for your special lady friends.

Thanks for all the well wishes yesterday! 

shipped

Some fun samples of paper cut patterns sent to a potential client yesterday. Can you imagine these as giant wall coverings?

oh, hi thursday.

guys. I don't know what happened, but it's Thursday again and my head is spinning. This is GOOD though! I have had a huge response to the calendars, and getting them printed, packaged, and shipped has been my top priority. Things are a-changin' around here:

1. I am now employed full-time by a large company and will start this job the Monday following Thanksgiving. Oh my gosh. This means that I will have a regular person's schedule during the week, which also means less time to play here and in my studio. I'm a little sad about that but more happy to have consistent work.

2. I am hosting Thanksgiving for my whole family here in my house for the first time.

3. I am turning 31 this Saturday. I am trying not to care that it's my birthday, but a part of me will always be a little kid, making wishes and blowing out candles.

4. Art vs Craft! November 28th!

I will not be adding new things to etsy until after Art vs Craft - I need to keep the stockpile high!

working and working and making things

**Please click on the images to view them full-size. They are all getting cut off on the right side! I will fix it soon, but in the meantime....**
2010 Calendar!





Oh, did I mention that I am making fun little clutches and wallets too? I am. They are made with reclaimed leather from the furniture industry, and this leather is so soft and buttery. I love it.





Also, I need your help! Are you a creative type who possesses Adobe Illustrator, but you don't know the ins and outs of the program? Would you like to learn how to turn your sketches into usable vector art that can be applied to any number of items? Are you itching to make a calendar or cards of your own or to make your own special invites and stationary?

I am putting together a workshop for you. If you live in Milwaukee and would benefit from such a class, please leave a comment or drop me an email. I would love to get this going soon, but I need to gauge your interest. I would love to hear from you!

working

My studio is a hot mess. I have hoisted my desk/table up on some old paint cans and I think the height makes things seem okay even though the entire room is just a disaster now. I am very sick of the sky blue walls in here too - any color suggestions?

I have an awesome hook-up for leather samples, so I have been trying to get as much out of them as I can. One idea is this wrist pin cushion. The cushions are filled with emery sand to keep your needles sharp, and the leather cuff prevents the needles from poking your delicate skin. They close with velcro and are really comfy to work with. I know when I am sewing, I move from cutting table to sewing machine station and it's a hassle to keep track of the pin cushions. Now I can be stylish and productive all day :) I will be adding them to etsy soon...

2010 CALENDAR ALERT
I am so excited about this year's calendar. I have made the writing area larger, signified the weekends to break the month up visually, and am adding more color to each month. I am also working on a day planner that is pretty sweet, but the logistics are something I still have to figure out.

BON IVER
If you don't know who Bon Iver/Justin Vernon are, please google or itunes search for him/them because it is just the perfect autumn album. I have been a little obsessed with him for some time now, and on Sunday we got to see the final show of his tour! It was a beautiful show, as expected. Sadly, I waited too long to get tickets and we were so far away that Justin was about 2 inches tall. that all turned out okay though because...
wait for it....
I totally got to hang in the green room after the show!!!!! I would love to say that I hung out with Justin and we had a meaningful conversation and now we totally chat online all the time, but no. Instead I was too shy to say anything to him, drank two beers whilst visually stalking him, and then I got sleepy and went home. I know - I am so cool. I did talk to his band guys, who were super nice and very talented. I also touched Justin's shirt with my elbow when he walked past. Many times.

Go HERE to download the podcast of the show I was at! DO IT.

exploding mountains

New pillow! I am not yet sure if this will go to etsy or not...

Also, a wedding invitation I did recently:



I am working on this year's calendar and some more pillows and pin cushions this week - this is the busiest time of year for me to get ready for the holiday season, and HOPEFULLY Art vs. Craft in November. Wish me luck!

tote bag

Farmer's Market season is upon us, so I have been experimenting with tote bags. I made one above per my procrastination-free promise of yesterday, but there are some unfortunate mistakes so I will not be giving it away as intended. It's good to experiment like this - I am learning something new with each oops moment, and this one is good enough for me to use. I started a new one this morning that I think will be better. I made the pattern up as I went along, but it's pretty darn simple. I am not lining these at all - maybe some of you have thoughts on this - if I were to start selling them (once I master the pattern) is it necessary to line them? It would look nicer, but then the price would have to go up and I don't know if they would move at the price reflective of the time spent making each one. I'm sure after I make a few the time spent will be reduced though...

new

I am slowly adding things to my etsy shop this week...

quick and easy

a little make-over for this beautiful chair from Salvation Army. I feel like I have to confess something - I broke up a set of four to get this one chair. Is it wrong? It is, but I needed only one. whew! weight off my shoulders.

Off to make krispie treats for camping tomorrow. Looks like rain, but we are going to tough it out. Back next week with updates!

coming soon

productive amy

i have been doing some serious nesting lately. The pillows above are for someone else, but I kind of want to keep them for myself!
Tom got a new light for my studio - a giant lightbulb so I can always have bright ideas. It makes me smile.
I finally hung some artwork above our couch. We have lived here for three years already, but everything I did there just seemed not right. Finally I collected all the small pieces we had all over the house and decided I liked them much better all together. I can list where the art came from if you are interested, but for now I need to get back to sewing!

Also, I really want to paint our fireplace white, but Tom is very against it. Any other ideas as to how to make it less....dark and outdated?
have a happy week ~

weekend project

hello! I have been a busy bee lining up work and projects and planning what my next move is. Times are tough, and this economic crisis is affecting everyone around me. Honestly, I am starting to be very nervous. I know it will get better, and I feel good about that, but for now I have been finding ways to hunker down and tighten the purse strings.

One goal I set last week was to make something from this lovely book that Katie gave me for xmas this year:
French General: Home Sewn: 30 Projects for Every Room in the House.
There are a lot of adorable projects in this book, and they really focus on using antique linens and flea market fabric, which I don't have in my collection at all. I just used whatever fabric I have in copious amounts, which ended up being from Ikea.

This project was the French Pouf Floor Pillow. It's huge! Rather than logically think about how large this was going to be, i just started cutting out the pattern and whistled contentedly. It's 3 feet wide. My dog is only 10 inches from nose to tail.
I still need to add more stuffing and attach the middle buttons, but i am pretty happy with it over all. Plus, I learned something new, and what better time to become better at my craft than now?

mondays

continuing to update my etsy shop today...

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we are in the midst of planning a trip to Costa Rica in March - any tips on where to go would be much appreciated!
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*screen print in top image is by Milwaukee-based artists Little Friends of Printmaking.
**the images are cropped oddly by Blogger, feel free to click on the image to see it fully.