Orange Sweater Design

Previews

Things have been purring along in my little world of mini-paintings and pendants.

I thought I'd just give my faithful readers a bit of a photographic preview of my progress.

So far I have about 75 little pendant pieces and maybe 10 larger ones.

I'm hoping to add some larger paintings to the mix while I get everything truly ready for the eventual Etsy launch.

I have more reading, photographing and learning to do, but I'm having a ball in the meantime.

And I'm excited to see where this all goes and to do lots of learning along the way.  Stay tuned for further updates and ah-ha moments!

Prints

I love seeing my images in print.  Whether it's on fabric...

On an iPhone case...

Or even in a tiny run of mini-calendars.  It's just so pleasing and I don't even care that just a few folks who read my blog or receive gifts or are just around me are the only ones to see these things.

My most recent printing adventures have been photography printing through prinstagr.am and printstud.io.  These are two wonderful on-line photo printing shops run by the great folks at socialprintstudio.

For one thing they seem to specialize in the *small* print sizes, which I love.

These are 2 x 3 prints and they come matte - my fave - on a super strong cardstock.

These are the 4 x 4 size and they're just as pleasing.

I've taken many of my photos from Paris and put them into this printed format.  I've been handing them out to my friends, making thank you notes, and spouting the wonder of the printstud.io site.  LOVE!!

Some of my true faves, however, have come from the Prinstagr.am site where you can make mini - polaroid type prints from your Instagram photos.

These have made the best little gift tags.  This weekend I finally got around to sending long overdue thank you cards to the hosts and hostesses of our collective spring break travels.

I made an accordian style collection of some of my Paris photos for my Aunt.

And then used one of the bright floral 4 x 4's for our friends in Hawaii who hosted the other half of my family.

The sturdy stock and the vibrant colors really bring forth the photographic moment and provide tons of inspiration for all kinds of artwork.  Maybe these will even end up in a collage somewhere...we'll just have to wait and see.

Little Cards

A lovely couple of small boxes arrived in the mail today.

Oh and what treasures inside!  My first ever batch of Moo mini-business cards!

They're all so crisp and printed on such lovely cardstock.

This was the first one of my Intentions I set up earlier this year, so I'm extra delighted to have taken the proverbial small plunge.

And it's so much fun to see my work - of whatever sort - in print.

I'll be using them to put into packages sold on the brewing Etsy site.  Or to hand out to friends to share my blog, my artwork, or maybe just my phone number.

In the meantime they'll just sit in their perfect little boxes...waiting.

Feels Like Summer

We have had amazing weather here the last few days and it truly feels like summer in May! 

Over the last couple of years we've had steady rain and chilly weather through June, but this year almost seems the exact opposite.

Needless to say, my sunny loving self is overjoyed and the garden is just exploding with life and color.

I finally got some starts and flowers in the ground that are definitely overdue since I missed a couple of weeks for the trip.

And some seeds are started in the greenhouse.

And I even have chard, rhubarb and artichokes ready to harvest in the garden. 

And while I admit we could use just a touch more rain, I'm just delighted to wish you all a Happy Spring from Sunny Oregon!

A Logo

Several months ago my husband asked me if I could do a logo for a new company he was starting.

I said no.

He said, "But, but, you do cool stuff and I think it would be easy and pleeease?"

And I said, ok - but with hesitation because the reality is that between working, running the household and trying to squeeze in a little artwork/blogging/etc. here and there?  I didn't see a happy future for completion of the project in a timely manner. 

But I started anyway.

And doodled and came up with few things.

And they kind of liked this one...

And so it turned into these. 

But that's as far as I got in a much longer time frame than originally agreed upon. And so I basically resigned from the project in frustration because I didn't have time, I don't know the software well enough, and I thought it needed to be taken to the next level by someone who knew what they were doing....

Except that unbeknownst to me everyone was kind of happy about it...

And then it ended up on shirts and bags because one of the partner's wife has an embroidery shop in her house.  Needless to say, I was tickled!

Plus the bag is just so awesome on it's own. 

So I guess it is good enough for now.  I'm not sure I'll be taking on another project like that anytime soon, but for all my self-doubt about the whole thing, I'm smiling today. 

Stocking up

Now that I've landed a little more, I'm working on squeezing in some tile necklace production time in between the rest of my life.

The sun was flowing so beautifully into my dining room the other morning, so I captured a few pictures in the early dappled light.

I'm so excited to get this all going and my goal is to get an Etsy site up and running some time this summer.

I'm hoping it will also include some other fun items down the road like fabric, calendars, gift cards, maybe even some photographs from my recent voyages.

For now, though, I'm content to work on getting everything in place to be ready to sell.  I'll let you know when the store opens with a post right here!

More knitting

Well, there's another baby on the way among our friends and since I was pretty successful at the last sweater?  I just went and got more yarn for a second one.

This one is for a boy and the gal at the store said the colors reminded her of rainbow trout.

Sounded good for the mama who works for a local watershed council.  The dad is a super gardener and all I could see were beets, carrots, kale and soft lettuce.

The green buttons were the final touch - so hilarious!

Can't wait to see it on the little guy...

Fresh looks

I've been a busy bee over the last couple of weeks on all kinds of fronts.  But especially in the crafty and gardening sorts of ways.

I cleaned out my closet in a big way two weekends ago, gave away three bags of clothes and then fixed the stuff that needed attention...with really fun patches this time!

I really love my old sewing machine.  It was my Mom's and I grew up sewing on it.  Now she has a new fancy one, but I feel like the Elna is the old Mercedes of sewing machines.  Every sturdy, ever strong, rarely complains.

I patched over some unsightly basalmic vinegar stains on my green striped shirt.

And put some extra love into the knees and hems of some of my favorite weekend jeans.

Nothing like a little orange rick-rack to make any piece of clothing just sing, don't you think?  I've been wearing these non-stop ever since.  Breathing new life into things you love is just the best...

Back to Life...

Well, it's been 10 days since I landed back home and it's been a bit of a whirlwind to say the least.

I had to dive headlong into work as we're blazing toward funding and building this:

(It's a 1/2 acre skatepark in downtown Eugene - under the freeway bridge - oh yes!)

And soccer started, and my house is a tumble, and the garden needs tending.  Oh my.

So, I'm working on deep breathing, embracing my family, reading to the kids, and making sure the most immediate items are getting the attention they need.  (Like wise money management - per one of my New Years goals.)

And all of that divine Parisian food added a few pounds, so I'm back to running that off again. 

I cannot say, however, that it wasn't worth it!!

Having said all this, I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be home. 

(Yes, people, that is a rainbow that appeared as we walked out of the airport...)

The air is so fresh, the grass is so green and the water tastes so good.

There's nothing like a big trip away to help me appreciate all that I have at home that much more.

I'll be sharing some more of my trip photos over the next few weeks, but in the meantime, here's another photo of the green sweater - on the baby! 

Delicious...

(Photo credit goes to Livia Fremouw)

Last day in Paris

Well it's just been a wonderful last couple of days in Paris. We went to Montmartre and saw wonderful art, old buildings and lovely boutiques - and today we met up with friends from home who are spending the year abroad and were here in the city!! And of course the visual beauty never ceased. So many thanks to my mom and her sister for helping make this all happen. Au revoir and a bientot Paris!!