You Can’t Trick Us

How do you like our egg family? This is an image from a little photo project.

Good ice breaker maybe?

So it’s been two months (and a day) since I have posted.  That is certainly my longest break.  Some of you emailed or called to check-in. And yes, everything is fiiiiine.

I have been rolling around ideas of a big revamp and refocus. And while it is not yet done, we decided that it is time to roll out with the new look and work on filling in the pages (and fine-tuning the images) as we go.  Otherwise, a two-month hiatus could turn even longer.

What have we done in the last two months since the Moab post?

Some of you fantasized that we magically stayed put right there in Utah.

Nope. (But don’t think the thought hasn’t crossed our minds…)

Less excitingly, we returned to Michigan and found that winter was still going strong.  In fact, snow stuck to the ground at the end of April. (!) So we planned for spring, began to plant things and work through ideas. Gradually, spring is arriving…

We have taken pictures and are working on new ideas… spruced up our bikes…and spent time with family.  I am writing this from a brief trip we are taking to Philadelphia- we drove my sister back after Easter and found that we have some plumbing things to repair.

So I will be easing back into this space. How about a quick photo-essay of the past 2 months and we’ll consider ourselves caught up for now?

Christmas Crafting… a few weeks later

Before I clear all of my December pictures, I want to share a few of the things we crafted (and a few things I learned along the way).

1. Ornaments
The girls drew with fabric paints and took turns helping with the sewing machine too. They did the stuffing and ribbon selections as well.

Lesson learned: all but three of you are wondering where your ornament is. So now I know that with gifts like this, I need to either stretch out the project or have everything stream-lined so the girls don’t give up interest after the third ornament.

2. Bean bag toss (and bean bags)
This was inspired by my friend Laura, who gave the girls each a hand-made beanbag this fall. Riana designed the bean bags, picked the fabric, and worked with Ry to paint the bean bag toss.

Lesson learned: this was a gift that we teamed up to make for Amelia. At the last minute, I also made Riana a bean bag with an “R,” which was a good thing since they both play with it.

3. Hula Hoop
Riana has been wanting a hula hoop for a couple years now. The store ones are too heavy and big for her though, so we used irrigation tubing, cut to a size that is appropriate for her height and beginner status. Amelia helped put dried corn inside and wrapped the fabric with us.

Lesson learned: I am going to have to fix the fraying. Should have used those zig-zag scissors.

4. Winter Headbands
After making these for the girls, Riana decided that we should make them for her Aunts too. I still owe one to my sister, but so far, the girls like them.

Lesson learned: no, actually this one seems to have worked out pretty well. :)

5. Dakota, the horse

Amelia is a bit obsessed with horses. It’s quite cute. So we gifted her this adorable stuffed horse, which she promptly named after a horse she met this summer at Ry’s Aunt’s place. It has not left her side. (She also refuses to remove these super comfortable Christmas pajamas!)

Lesson learned: when the projects are more difficult than one’s own time and skill level, you should absolutely buy the gift from a local crafty Mama. We bought Dakota from this awesome artist. She let us visit her home to pick out just the right horse, and she promised to restuff him if we have to wash him too many times. Double win!

7. Calendars
We made calendars that hang from picture frames and we included four seasonal prints to get through the year. I think they turned out well, though it made me nervous since I had not really tested this method. And I found a couple errors in the calendars already. (Sorry, sister, I think we all know you’re not turning 18 this year!)

Lesson learned: First, everyone seemed to like that I included January 2012, so the calendar doesn’t quite run out in December. Second, I was really too late in shipping these. (Sorry!) I have never tried to ship close to Christmas before, and let’s just say I’ve learned my lesson!

8. All the things I meant to make
Oh yes, I ran out of time. There were a couple IOUs and more than a couple, “I wish I would have made…”

Lesson learned: start much earlier

All things said, I did have fun making more things this year. Certainly, I am encouraged to make more in the future and I’ve already set my eyes on a few fun projects…

oh Christmas Tree…

As I write this, my hands smell like cinnamon. We’ve been making (or trying to make) those dried cinnamon and applesauce ornaments, because I thought they’d smell good. But now that’s all I can smell! As we cozy away this season, we find ourselves deep in making-things-mode.

So let’s see…I’ve been missing in action for a month, or maybe more. I should really give warning when I’m going to skip out like that. sorry. It’ll probably happen again though.

We have been…
- trying to be outside (but baby it’s cooooold)
- discovering new food issues (did you know that yeast extract is in everything?)
- baking and cooking pretty much everything from scratch (see above)
- experimenting with our sewing and making skills (and the not cursing ones)
- talking a lot about horses (amelia)
- and using new big words…not necessarily correctly but always entertainingly (riana)
- trying to welcome winter (we’d rather more snow and less cold wind please)
- finding broken things (in ten days: our vacuum, blender, car window motor, beaters, car battery, car headlight, big sewing light…there’s probably more)

So that’s the short of it.
And we made a Christmas tree.

We celebrate holidays with levels of enthusiasm that vary greatly from season to season. This year, we’re pretty decorated…candles each night, chains counting days, presents already wrapped… But in November, Riana decided that she didn’t want a real Christmas tree.

I thought about talking her into it. But it’s true, even though we know that the trees are farmed and provide oxygen and all that, having a tree die in your living room isn’t for everybody. Plus, the last time we cut a real tree, we didn’t have the heart to throw it out. I’m not up for having another tree live with us until springtime.

We scoped the web for ideas… trees that were made of lights, wires, wood, cloth… non-tree decorations… and together, we decided on a cardboard tree. It’s not a big surprise. The girls LOVE to bring home boxes and turn them into everything from doll beds and tables to indoor sleds and stages.

I could have sworn that I took pictures along the way, but said shots must have been imagined. Bear with me on the written description.  So, we used three boxes to cut three branch-sets. We put a slit in the bottom of two and a slit in the top of a third. A second box became the stand.

Over Thanksgiving, we decorated one side of each box with holiday drawings. The other sides, we painted green. The stand is red, and there’s even a nested star on top.

I have to say, I had my doubts, but it’s pretty cute. We strung lights and used colorful paperclips to attach ornaments.

Okay, that’s it for tonight. It’s back to sewing (cloth wrappings!) but I’ll have to be back with some other things from this elf shop (hula hoops, bean bags, and winter head bands, oh my!)

Destination 1111

Special thanks to Chloe @TheKaliFactor for coordinating our involvement in this weekend’s Destination 1111 show. We are enjoying lots of live, local music and meeting more artists. As usual, there are some real gems sharing their ideas. There is still another night of music tonight and Sunday has open hours too. Hope to see you!

Oh, and here is the poster:

ArtPeers Show Wrap-Up

My ArtPeers display at Evolve

Greeting cards! Yes, they’re coming along!

Ryan’s pieces at Atomic Object.

A close-up of the right image can be seen here. It’s quickly become a favorite of mine.

Ever have a time when you know that life is going to be busy after busy? We are in a run-away time frame right now with little sense of rhythm. There is so much excitement with the change of seasons, our little house coming together, art shows times three, and the promise of lots of visitors. So before I run away on that train, I want to wrap-up a bit about ArtPeers.

First, it was so wonderful to see familiar faces, hear encouraging words, and receive kind messages. Thank you! We had the pleasure of meeting many friendly and kind people in the community, getting to better know other artists, and even becoming reacquainted with people from elementary school. (I was recognized more than once. Yikes!) Our venue hosts were wonderful, mine even offered things for the girls to do.  Though the even ended with some crummy weather, the overall experience was worth the effort. It is good, though not always easy, to get things out there, see what comes and the likes. I wish that we could just linger in the afterwords of this past weekend, but we are set to looking forward. ArtPrize begins in a week (eek!) and visitors begin to arrive before that (yahooo!).

Again, the kindness and support means so much. Thank you. I will add updates about ArtPrize and the Destination 1111 show here, but in the meantime, I’ll post a link to Ryan’s ArtPrize profile. Good starting point. :)