First Projects of 2011

My friend Penn gave me a 1/2 yd. of this scissor fabric, from Spool of Thread. I love their modern/retro sensibilities. (See what I mean here.) When I was out buying thread the other day, I came across the grey fabric and knew it was the perfect foil for the scissors fabric. I sewed this ROD journal cover as soon as I got home.

I spent the weekend sewing pages for this ROD. It's been a long time coming-my friend Tracy Riffle and I swapped a signature's worth of pages about this time last year. I've held onto them and just now got around to sewing more pages so I can make a complete journal. These are 8 1/2 x 11 sewn sheets folded in half.

The pages I'm sharing are just at the very beginning stage of the process-I have lots more work to do before they will be ready to be bound into the cover.

While I was working on these pages, I learned something: I don't enjoy working big. It's not my thing. I like to work 6 x 6 or smaller. It has to do with the fact that when I work small, the pieces go faster-there's almost no thinking about it-it just happens. When I work on large pieces, it feels like I am always looking for elements to fill up the space. The flow of the working process feels herky-jerky and unnatural to me. It's too much like work-I tend to be more intuitive about creating.

I will finish this journal, it's just going to take me awhile and it's probably going to be one of those things I pick up and put down a few times before it's completed. All of the other journals I've made are sized to fit in the palm of your hand. They're a nice little mitt full and they were fun to make. I think after this, I will stick with what feels right.

The other projects I am working on right now are a small Valentine's exchange with two friends and a handmade book exchange. I've already begun working on them, as Valentine's is just over 4 weeks away and they have to go in the mail to arrive by the 14th.

So, that's where I stand as of 1-11-11.

Before I get back to work, I'd like to share a link with you to My Owl Barn who have generously offered up some beautiful owl images for you to create your very own custom calendar for 2011 for FREE. You get to choose which ones you want, decide the order you prefer and then print them off. They print as 4 months to a page and I suggest printing them on cardstock, so they will hang nicely. I love this calendar and have already printed one for me and one for a friend.

Thanks My Barn Owl!

Good Things

My friend Liz Lamoreaux's book is now available for pre-order!! Not only was Liz busy writing this book, but she was also pregnant with her first child at the same time! Welcome Ellie & Congratulations Liz & Jon!!

I've ordered my copy through her blog, as it comes personally signed and with additional goodies. (Which is *so* much nicer than Amazon, but you can also get it there too.) The book is due out in October and as I said to Liz, by then I will have forgotten all about ordering it and it will be a lovely surprise in my mailbox. Can't wait!

You can read all about it and pre-order a copy here.

I picked up the latest issue of Stampington's Greencraft last night. It's become one of my favourite magazines in their line. I don't know if it's because I live in BC, home of tree huggin' Granolas or what, but I find it really creative and appealing. The photos are really beautiful and it's chock full of great ideas about repurposing everyday cast-offs. They are doing a really good job with this one.

Other good things include Carla Trujillo whose website I stumbled across the other day. It is assemblage heaven! You *must* go see for yourself!
And Cartwheels in My Mind which is bound to keep me busy for awhile, nosing through the archives. Lots of good stuff there!

And one last good thing to mention is that I've made great headway on Manual Dexterity, Issue #2! It's 75% finished, so it won't be long now!

Spoils of the Weekend

The weekend was given over to thinking about, looking at and and shopping for art and art related goodies. Sunday was the Got Craft? show in Vancouver and my pal Penn and I had made plans over a month ago to go together. Our friend Jennifer was vending there. Her table was a hot bed of activity!

We spent about an hour or more poking around and seeing all the wonderful things the vendors had to offer. It was like Etsy shopping, but in real life!

The photo above is of a pin wheel pin I made at the make and take table, hosted by Lilli and Henry, owners of the soon to open Spool of Thread Sewing Lounge. The are super nice and I am sure their store is going to be a bit hit. I am especially excited about the prospect of having access to mod style fabrics to purchase. Good times ahead!

I also met Penn's friend Natasha McHardy who does lovely screen print work. She's just launched her company, Penelope Brown. If you're not local, you can find her work for sale here.

One of the great things about the local craft fairs is that you can snag business cards and continue the shopping fun once you get home.
I walked away with business cards in every size, shape and colour. They were like wee pieces of art in their own right.

Penn and I went and did a little paper shopping afterward. Here's my pile. I managed to find some copper coloured button ribbon and had to have some.

LOVE this mod style botanical print on craft paper.

Circles, how I love them. I keep looking for cool circle papers.

This bird paper is interesting. I like the idea of small pieces of it, rather than a whole sheet. The colours are pretty understated.

These office stamps were a steal at my local dollar store-the tall ones were $1 each and the one in the middle was $1.29. All are self-inking. I am addicted to office supplies, truth be told.

This delightful little journal was a gift from Penn. It's an art project journal. It's got quotes about art plus pages where you fill in the name of the project you are working on, the date, the material you used and your notes. FUN!

It was good to get out for a bit this weekend, a nice distraction from the black cloud of illness that's been hanging over our heads. Sometimes, retail therapy and hanging out with friends is the best medicine!

Getting Ahead of the Game

I've been thinking about the holidays, now that they are behind us. Every year, as they get closer and closer, I think about desperately wanting to make stuff. I find the creative bug really kicks in at that time of year when I see other artsy folks posting pics of what they are creating. The sad thing is, for the most part, by the time it does, I don't have time to make stuff. When I do have time to make things, I usually totally forgotten about whatever the cool idea was!

Now awhile back, my friend Lisa Ryder clued me into Google Reader. It's this nifty little free program that I've set up with all my favorite blogs. I set the Reader as my browser home page, so every time I open the browser, it shows me instantly which blogs in my collection have updated. Then I just click the links to read the posts. It's like insta-eyecandy, perfect for those of us who are ravenous readers. Nifty right? But wait, I am just getting to the good part!

One of the features is that you can "star" any particular entry that you might want to keep on hand in case you want to refer back to it at a later date. It's like making the entry a "favourite". So in the lead up to Xmas, on any day where I found something cool I wanted to make, I starred the entry. My thinking is this: When I have a day when I want to make something and I have no clue what to make, I am going to go into those starred entries and prepare something to tuck away for Xmas. It's an idea so simple, it's genius!

The best part of this is that there are a zillion creative blogs out there, with a plethora of free project tutorials, free image downloads, free inspiration. There's nothing better that FREE!

Now I know there are alot of you who already know about RSS feed and all that good stuff, but are you really using them to their full potential? How many times have you seen something on someone else's blog and thought "That's really cool! I should make that!" and then never do? Why not start filing ideas away for future reference? In addition to starring blog posts on my reader, I also have a file folder on my computer where I stash pictures of ideas that inspire me. Oddly enough, it's titled "inspiration". *laughs* And, as if that's not enough, I have a binder where I store anything I've ripped out of a magazine that inspires me. I just slide the page into a sheet protector and then I can refer back to it any time I want-everything's neatly in one place, instead of lost in a pile of paper somewhere.

I wanted to share this with you, even though it's not rocket science. My point is that inspiration is all around us, there for the taking. We just have to be savvy enough to harness it and use it as a springboard for our own creative endeavours. So give yourself the gift of a reader program-whichever one works best for you and start filling up the well!

Here are a few "make it" blogs that are my personal favs to get you started:

Scissor Variations

Whip Up

Katie.Cupcake

Paper Crave

A Beautiful Mess

And if you have an inspiring blog you think I should check out-yours or one that is on your "must read" list, spread the love and share it with me. Don'tcha just love the internets?!?