4 (more) DOWN...

I would first like to take a moment to sing my joy about the weather in Nashville today, 75 degrees + sunshine, AND because I got to take the above photo using natural light in the evening. Hooray for longer days! Hooray for Spring! I'm sorry to all of those out there who are still experiencing winter, I don't mean to gloat.

Last night I worked on 4 more books, 2 are covered in fabrics that were formerly shirts + 1 used to be this dress. The larger sketch book is covered in fabric from Reprodepot.

Leya, you are correct, the oval fabric from my last post was formerly a dress + I must thank everyone who commented on the fabric, I love it too. As for it's popularity, I have only covered one other book with it, which was quickly bought by Tonya at the Off The Beaten Path studio tour I did last October. I can get 2 more books out of it, then it's gone forever- poop.

One of the things that brings me such pleasure about my books is the stories behind most of the fabrics. My boy + I go on great adventures to the funkiest (funky as in dirty, not as in hip or cool) back roads flea markets + dig/ thrift/ junk shops (+ ALWAYS have a box of baby wipes on hand!). Each piece of fabric is a souvenir of our fun times, which are usually backed up with great stories, but I also like to think about the people who wore the clothes I salvage for book cloth. Most of the time I want to keep the books just because of my love for the fabrics + the memories, but I don't write enough to necessitate all these books, so I keep one every once in awhile.

We are getting majorly anxious about the move...but first there are more books to work on, so I must go.
Enjoy!

3 DOWN...

3 books are almost finished...6 more to go before Saturday.
The 6 are in various stages of completion, not quite ready for their
close ups.

The 2 on the left are my new larger sketch books.
I absolutely fell in love with the green 60's flower barkcloth,
in it's former life it was a curtain.

While watching The Oscars I kept laughing about Jon Stewart's joke from last year...

3-6 Mafia-1

Martin Scorsese- 0

Now he's even with 3-6 Mafia

CUTTIN' BOARDS

I finally placed a big order with Talas for Davey board,
it's so much more economical this way.

Measuring + cutting the Davey board.
I am testing the market + making some larger sketch books. I discovered that small books don't sell (this has been my experience, at least) + journals do, so maybe larger ones will too.
We shall see...

Below is the roof line of the house we are moving into. This is what I see from my work table. When I said we are moving next door, I was not kidding.

~~~~SHOP UPDATE~~~~

I got the second batch of Gnome t-shirts back from the printer.
Sizes LARGE, X-LARGE and 2X-LARGE
are now available in my Etsy shop.

NEW KITCHEN GOODNESS

Printing is done + from now until Friday I am binding books + packaging cards for the show next weekend. I made a conscience decision not to stress about it + do what I can, complete what I can + whatever is ready will go into my booth. Who actually sells out a booth? So why do I always stress about the amount?

We got some great news about the move, it's not going to happen next weekend, but over the next 3 weeks. Our current landlord gave us a 2 week grace period to vacate + as it turns out our new landlord has decided to completely re-do the entire kitchen + bathroom, which will delay our moving in. Oh! I just cannot tell you how happy this makes me- sweet relief. The current kitchen is a bit scary (the one thing I was not happy about) + pretty much set-up for someone who microwaves + does not cook. Our new kitchen will have all new cabinets, appliances + he is taking into account the "flow" of the space + meal preparation. We did a walk through, measured windows for our new curtains (Target is marking-down linens right now, perfect timing) + cannot wait to settle in. Photos to come.

We can't quite figure out if it is going to rain, the wind + sky are teasing us.

Quick note- I watched Babel last night + was so completely moved...rivited, it was so beautiful. I've seen too many disappointing movies lately.

THINGS I LOVE THURSDAYS + other days of the week

Yay! for the little bit of Spring peeking out in most of the land. I was so warm in my boots yesterday + decided to get out the thrift store sandals I found in L.A. this Christmas. I even put on a little bit 'O nail polish to mark the occasion.

I swear that I have been working! + this is my excuse for my lack of posting lately. I am on my last batch of cards + when I looked down at yet another makeshift drying rack (a large piece of cardboard set on a Metro shelf) I really loved the way the cards were laid out, in a grid (remember that I love grids) with the sparkle purple ink against the Paper Source chartreuse paper. I love that after an already long day I choose to spend my evenings this way.

This is my official entry for the week's Things I Love Thursdays Flickr group- it's my Coach "Bucket" bag. I have had this purse for 11 years, it was a gift from my boy the first Christmas we were together. I had visited this purse in the Coach store forever + as a poor college student could never even think of buying it. My friend worked in the shop + when my boy was looking for that perfect gift, he was directed to this purse. The funniest part was when he was buying the purse she asked him if he had ever bought a purse this expensive before, his response, "I've never bought a purse before."
Not only does it have sentimental value, but it's a damn great purse- roooomy! I could live in or out of this purse + it has withstood years of use + still looks brand new (actually, when I first got it I rubbed Burt's Bees leather protector on it). I never would have spent the money on myself, but if you break it down, this purse has cost approx. $25.00 a year + still has so much more life in it. And by the way, I ALWAYS wear it slung across my shoulders just like in the photo.

I have to end with some congratulatory mentions + thanks...
Big congratulations go out to Trudi @ Double Happiness + Tonya @ Ugly is the New Pretty for being DELIGHTFUL! But I always knew they were.
And additional congratulations go out to Eleanor @ Cut Paper Flowers (another Valley Girl!) for her mention in Design Sponge. She is really talented...remember this calendar?
I have to thank Susan @ Sulu-Design for letting me know that LALA dex press was included in Design Sponge's Letterpress Guide. A big thank you to Grace for compiling this list + for recognizing something that was near extinction a short time ago.

OK everyone...be delightful!

STILLHOUSE FALLS

close-up of the frozen stream that feeds the waterfall

Yesterday morning we geared up for a hike to the frozen Stillhouse Falls. This area was recently made public + there is not very much written about it so we did not know what to expect. It was a .5 mile hike to the falls + even though we were a bit disappointed, expecting A HIKE, the trail was partially iced over, which made it a bit more strenuous (that's good) + when we reached our destination we got to see this...

AMAZING!

My boy took a photo of me through icicles in the waterfall-
we wore many layers of technical clothing.

It was not that strenuous, but Monk still managed to wear himself out.
Now he's ready to go home.

Tonight I printed, bound books + tried to watch Running With Scissors, but I think this movie was mis-marketed because it is not a dark comedy at all...it's really painful, I want to cry for the boy.
I'll finish watching it later.

12 YEARS AGO TODAY

It was 12 years ago today that my boy(friend) + I went on our first date. It started off at a little club where we saw BB King + ended four days later at a movie theater where we saw Shallow Grave. I could not image anything better than to wake-up next to my boy every morning.
Tonight we are going to a wonderful little Turkish restaurant around the corner. This is our Valentines Day.

Before dinner I must work on books (+ watch The Beales of Gray Gardens). There are 2 weeks before the show + moving weekend (yes, they are on the same weekend, luckily we are only moving next door). I'm starting to kick into freak-out mode where I wish I had started working on things a little earlier, structured my time a little better, bla-bla-bla. I always stress + things always work out, I must keep this in mind.

THINGS I LOVE THURSDAYS

I love the shoe bins at The Goodwill Outlet where all shoes are $1.99. Since discovering this place 1 1/2 years ago I have found these boots, these clogs, these cowboy boots, hiking boots for my boy + more recently, vintage motorcycle boots for a friend, Dankso clogs for me + the boots pictured above. I really felt like really I scored when I found these vintage Dingo gummy soled boots, with a braided detail up the side.

Before you start to imagine magical shoe bins overflowing with amazing finds, let me give you the scoop. There are about 10 waist-high bins filled with the good, the bad + things that look like they should be growing in one of Alexander Fleming's petri dishes. If you can get past all of this, actually finding a pair of shoes is your second challenge. They go into the bins bound with a rubber band, but don't stay that way for long, sometimes ending up in opposite ends of the store, you just never know. It is a feeling of absolute triumph when you find a match + an even bigger triumph when they are really great!

That is why I love the shoe bins at The Goodwill Outlet (although I tend to go on Wednesdays).

PINK EXPLOSION

There is an explosion of pink in my studio that is in no way related to Valentines Day. I watched Marie Antoinette (+ loved it) while printing my cherry blossom cards on Paper Source's blossom paper. I have to say that I am not a huge fan of pink, but this print looks really good on this paper + all those cakes Marie ate...delicious!
Since I have such a short period of time to prepare for the Craft Mafia show, I decided to look through my linoleum blocks + re-print a few older designs. This design was inspired by photos my friend took of the cherry blossom festivals while she was living in Japan.

Happy birthday to Kristin @ Moontea Artwork
Happy very & very very belated birthdays to Trudi @ Double Happiness & Erin @ Operation Paper Cut.

For more pink explosion~ I'll share Heather's cookies with you. Enjoy!

ST LOUIS

Oversized Uglydolls in a shop window on Delmar Bl.

We had so much fun in St. Louis this weekend, even if we did not get to visit any of the magical mid-century thrift shops Ashley @ Kitty Genius wrote about last week. We did manage to find The Craft Alliance in The Delmar Loop which is an amazing gallery, shop + workshop space with so many beautiful objects that I could not stop fondling them (pottery + beautifully carved woods have that effect on me).

Click photo for a much larger image

Sunday was the day we went into happiness overload with the Soulard Doggie Gras Parade (not the official name, but that's what I'm calling it). Basically it consisted of over 1000 dogs + their families in a doggie Mardi Gras parade where creativity abounded. We spent the afternoon laughing so hard that I just started weaping because it was all just too overwhelmingly cute!

By the end of the event everyone was pretty exhausted.

Good night to all!

CLICK-CLICK-CLICKING ALONG/ TILT

I love the clicking metal sound my press makes. When I tell my boy I'm printing I say, "I'm click, click, clicking." I love Onomatopoeias.

We have heat- YAY! Before it was fixed I was just too cold to do anything productive, so I spent Tuesday night watching The Science of Sleep, wrapped up in a down comforter. After the heat came on (Wed. morning) + the house warmed up (Wed. night), I printed more gnome cards. I think Sparkle Monkey cards are next in line.

This weekend we are headed to Missouri to see family. The thing I love about Tennessee is that it has more bordering states than any other state (nine!) + in a few hours we can be in any one of them. MO is a bordering state, as are KY, VA, NC, SC, GA, AL, MS + AR (you will be tested on this).

Things I Love Thursday (TILT)

I love grids

I love food packages with overly happy people on them because what they are really saying is if you eat the contents of this package, you too will be this happy + I think that's funny.

This sign makes me laugh (I don't necessarily love it) because I always think of the poor Scottie dogs that are not allowed in the farmer's market. I wonder what the have against Scottie dogs?

MAKESHIFT SYSTEMS

drying Bird on a Branch cards

We woke up Saturday morning to a rattling noise coming from the central heating system, then nothing- it stopped. It took until last night for all the heat to leave the house, but it will soon be fixed. In the mean time we have a space heater in every room + Patagonia fleece on from head to toe.

The temperature in the house made printing difficult this weekend, but I was able to compensate with various mixtures of straight-out-of-the-tube inks + retardant. Once it all came together I was on a printing roll + eventially ran out of drying space. I rigged up a drying rack with the salvaged windows I use to make bookcloth + furniture for the press. Not the most efficient system, but it works just fine.

Remember when we were all complaining about the heat?

IN THE WILD part 2

YAY! it snowed today
+ one of Ashley's little guys bundled up to play in it.

THINGS I LOVE THURSDAYS

For the past couple days I have been folding paper for journals + waiting for ink to dry on those 100's of cards. Trust me, it's nothing photo worthy.

I joined the Things I love Thursday Flickr group + my first contribution is a photo of a piece I made based on the urban legend "Spiders in the Hairdo." So what do I love? Urban legends.

I once sent a letter to Jan Brunvand telling him about a new urban legend I had heard + received a letter back telling me he had not heard it either. I was as giddy as a Tab Hunter fan receiving an autographed photo!

I am having more gnome shirts printed because I have run out of larger sizes + only have small + medium left. I don't know exactly when they will be ready, but sizes L-2XL will soon be available.

Later: I guess I should have mentioned the legend I wrote to Jan Brunvand about, well, here it is...Someone I was talking to mentioned that their professor died mid-semester + in all earnestness was expecting to get an "A" in the class. This is a variation on the dead roommate legend, but I had never heard it told with the prof. dying. Being a professor, Dr. Brunvand was a bit worried that one of his students might think the same thing. I did break it to this person that this was a legend + he was not going to get an "A."