love, blind contour

lights out

2012-01-26T11:55:00.001-05:00

snail mail

2012-01-25T11:38:00.001-05:00

I am participating in the Month of Letters Challenge! You should too! If anyone would like to be pen-pals for a month, just let me know and we can exchange addresses.

new shelves!

2012-01-22T13:26:00.003-05:00

This little nook is one of my favorite things about the house. When we first looked at the house, the contractor working on it said he was going to paint over the wallpaper. I told him he really shouldn't, and I am glad he didn't because it makes that area even more interesting.

When we first moved in, we had our bed in front of it. I was hoping it would fit snugly in the hole, but it was a bit too big. Though, a single bed would fit nicely.

When we switched my studio for the bedroom it became my new sewing area.

While it worked fine for that, I felt like the upper space was being wasted. I thought shelves might be a nice addition. I told Nat what I wanted and he made it happen!

I love my new shelves! My cat seems to approve as well. I think they fit perfectly without compromising the space. I wish I'd thought of it earlier. Thanks to Nat for his handyman skills!

other people's family photos : a small collection

2011-10-13T13:36:00.000-04:00

i hate seeing photos discarded. i feel like i have to save their lives. all of the following were found in the trash or forgotten in old books.

this little princess was the inspiration for this drawing.

these family photos where found in a thrift store. they are the same family a couple years apart. they were too good to pass up.

you have to look closer to see the family drama.

the blacked out head appears to be the same woman both times. she is labeled at "x" on the back.

this little ray of sunshine will be my next inspiration.

sewhat

2011-09-20T21:46:00.000-04:00

these are christmas presents i made for my niece and nephew. a bit late, but oh well.

organ eyes

2011-09-03T22:04:00.000-04:00

i didn't know i needed to re-arrange my drawer until i found a drawer organizer for 10¢ at a garage sale today. i will never stop organizing.

before

after: room to grow!

let's catch up

2011-09-01T10:36:00.002-04:00

copy cat roosting

this is how i tweet

tween angel

crafty kitty

food that looks like a flower

dancing baby machine!

flowers that are not food

slowly turning into a cat!

2011-07-29T13:20:00.000-04:00

digging through some old papers and found this. i was really into writing on photos for a while. and i used that alphabet stencil for everything.

2011-07-18T10:31:00.001-04:00

i am happy with the way this sign came out. i used to think i had to fill the page edge to edge with information, color and images when making anything. i am glad i've learned how to keep it simple.

today...

2011-06-28T21:27:00.000-04:00

lunch

2011-06-24T13:59:00.000-04:00

sometimes when i was little my dad would shake his fist in my direction and jokingly ask if i wanted a knuckle sandwich. i wanted to say yes because i liked sandwiches and thought it sounded good.

2011-06-21T21:15:00.003-04:00

card made for my cousin's wedding.

old courthouse museum II

2011-06-20T11:27:00.001-04:00

postcards from the past

2011-06-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

the future is ours to see

2011-06-11T10:42:00.003-04:00

this "best of" eddie money has the same six songs over and over. this is the first in a series of "best ofs".

2011-06-11T10:24:00.003-04:00

.
i forgot i made wrapping paper few years ago for christmas. i used brown bag paper that was left over from something else. this isn't the best picture-->

my favorite are the skinny ones on the left with the all over print. they took the longest, but i thought they turned out the best.

2011-06-10T21:04:00.003-04:00

i want to start making my own wrapping paper. this is my first attempt. i am happy with it, though it took a bit too long. hopefully with practice i'll get faster. i guess that means i need to start giving more presents. maybe i'll start wrapping library books before i return them.

whale tale

2011-06-09T13:11:00.003-04:00

most of what i make is pretty small. i like something you can hold in your hand. i usually don't work much bigger than a postcard. i am comfortable with small. that is why i thought i should challenge myself and make something bigger. so i compromised; i made a big whale out of tiny flowers-->

i really enjoyed this process. while my wrist and hand did suffer, if was still so satisfying. here is a detail-->

i've always liked repetition. when i was little, my mom would give me a bucket of water and a sponge brush and i would paint the deck. while the sun quickly dried up anything i put down, i kept going. i thought if i went fast enough i could finish the whole deck before the sun had a chance to suck it up. i felt the same determination with this (even though nothing was getting dried up). i got so lost in it, that each flower i drew was the only thing that existed in that moment. each flower i drew felt like a surprise. i was totally obsessed. i was glad when it was done, but still feel the need to do more. there is something about drawing the same thing over and over that i can never get enough of. i am learning how to be bigger, one tiny flower at a time.

five times a lady

2011-06-05T18:31:00.005-04:00

recently, i read both Roseanne: My Life As a Woman and My Lives while simultaneously watching the full series of Roseanne.

i learned that she is jewish, was in a mental institution, gave a baby up for adoption, really likes lenny bruce, at one point did everything in fives, had sex for money and how to make chilimac. while i had to force myself to read them start to finish, what i really liked were the pictures. i don't think i gave her much thought before reading the books, so these pictures gave me an interesting look into her life.

baby Roseanne

her parents. i think she looks more like her dad.

whoa Roseanne, put on some pants!

apparently, Tom Arnold used to be skinny too. i like her overalls. for some reason, i see them as lavender. they were both stylin'!

now i just have to read her latest book, Roseannearchy: Dispatches from the Nut Farm and i will know everything she wants me to know about her. (if anyone is interested in owning these books, they will be available for purchase at our upcoming yard sale).

on a related note, i can't watch Roseanne without thinking that Beverly Harris (played by Estelle Parsons) looks like Lady Elaine Fairchilde from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

eggphones

2011-05-28T16:27:00.000-04:00

tiny japan

2011-05-26T13:05:00.001-04:00

2011-05-24T16:55:00.004-04:00

i was trying to draw beavis and butthead from memory. apparently, my memory and hands do not communicate very well.

LA love

2011-04-21T17:20:00.000-04:00

if you find yourself in LA this weekend, you should check out this show. it is an art auction and all proceeds go to earthquake relief in japan. wish i could be there!

whale sale

2011-04-10T12:05:00.001-04:00

here is a sneak peak of what i will be selling at record store day at luna music on saturday april 16th. come on over and check out these guys and all the other festivities!

a day in my life

2011-03-28T11:03:00.000-04:00

straight from the basement to the headphones on your ears

2011-03-25T11:19:00.000-04:00

nat russell has a new record out. it is filled with surprise and mystery.

experience the magic here.

plants vs. zombies: the musical

2011-02-27T18:50:00.001-05:00

just hanging out with my niece and nephew.

instant summer

2011-02-11T19:17:00.001-05:00

whale mail

2011-01-26T12:23:00.002-05:00

i made stamps so i could make postcards faster. here i am making one of the stamps -->

here are the postcards i made from the stamps -->

here is the back of the postcards -->

more free books!

2011-01-21T11:57:00.001-05:00

i love reader's digest covers.

my new favorite magazine!

cold dog, hot dog

2011-01-20T17:43:00.001-05:00

nat had a problem keeping all his writing utensils in one place, so i made a solution-->

crazy stew!

2011-01-20T17:24:00.006-05:00

the other day i went wild in the kitchen! or at least it felt like i did at the time. all the stews i make seem to taste the same, so i thought i would try to mix it up. it was good, but really didn't taste the much different from all the other stews. here is the not so crazy, crazy stew-->

beef
sweet potato
parsnips
canned tomatoes
carrots
worcestershire sauce
bragg liquid aminos
raspberry beer
red wine vinegar
two bay leaves
dill
salt
cinnamon
flour
ikea gravy mix

i ate it with my favorite fork, which i abducted from united when airplanes still used real utensils. the pictures in the background were thrift store finds. if you look closely, you can see that the same women is blacked out in both pictures. nothing like good old family drama. they were too good to pass up.

not pictured: sweet beer bread! (underneath the stew)

now

2011-01-13T13:25:00.000-05:00

check out the 2011 calender made by nat russell -->

for a more detailed look, and how to purchase it, go here.

tasty vittles

2011-01-12T10:24:00.000-05:00

under butterfly candy it says (real insect)

my favorite flavor of cricket. there is also salt+vinegar and bacon+cheese.

my, how your baby has grown

2010-11-16T18:37:00.001-05:00

shelf life

2010-11-12T16:35:00.000-05:00

i originally got this for a friend who needed a shelf, but i guess she didn't really need that bad because she kept saying she would get it later and it ended up living in the trunk of my car for the whole summer. i don't remember exactly where i got it, but i know it was free. i used it in my studio at my old apartment to hold sewing stuff -->

i wanted a project so i decided to give this shelf a new life. i realized i could chip the paint away and expose the wood -->

i looked like this while doing it -->

while this was very satisfying, i figured it probably wasn't worth the hours it would take to scrape away the black paint. so i decided instead to spray paint it. after a couple of hours this is what i had -->

my first reupholster

2010-11-08T09:46:00.001-05:00

i always thought reupholstering would be difficult, but this was actually quite simple. i'm sure if it were a couch i would think differently, but this was a good place to start -->

i've had this chair for over ten years. a friend's mom was going to set it out with the trash and i saved its life. there is nothing wrong with it other than the missing piece on the back, which is only decorative. the old fabric is a maroonish velvet, which i liked in high school, but not so much anymore. after watching this instructional video from thread banger, i thought it would be a snap. but after removing the seat and cutting the fabric i realized we didn't have any staples for the staple gun. normally this would be a quick trip to the hardware store, but we had other errands to run so i had to wait to finish my project. four hours and a boogie burger later, i was able to return. it had already been reupholstered a couple of times, so i had to cut away at the old fabrics so there would be room for the new fabric and screws. once all that was done i attached the new fabric and this is my new chair -->

you can see pish posh anxiously waiting at the door. this is her new favorite chair. i thought about figuring out how to make the missing piece and re-staining the whole thing, but realized it was kind of nice a little worn and i really didn't feel like spending the extra time and money on it right now. i got the fabric at the free market. it looked like it used to be a quilt. here is a close up -->

now we just need people to come over. what do you say, want to come over and sit on it?

pretty kitty

2010-11-02T12:11:00.002-04:00

over medium, please.

2010-10-14T20:21:00.001-04:00

nat requested i make him a fried egg grilling apron with a beer pocket + his name embroidered on it. this is what he got:

japan food one/two

2010-10-09T17:27:00.002-04:00

nat and i went to japan in the spring. my favorite thing about the trip was the amazing food. at first i thought there was no way we would have a bad meal, but i found out quickly that is not true. just like anywhere, you need to know which restaurants are good and which ones to stay away from. sometimes the english translation was brief or none at all, so i can't even tell you everything i ate.

this is a picture menu from Za Watami, one of the few places we ate at more than once. this was the only place where we had to take off our shoes upon entering. there were sandle/slippers at the front door and lockers to keep your shoes. we sat on the floor but there were holes under the tables for our legs and feet. the food was amazing and decently priced and the picture menu helped us out a lot.

we only went out for breakfast a couple of times, because we usually ate our hotel restaurant, Cafe' Merry Coco, which was very good. this picture is from our last morning at a french bakery called Viron. the waiter brought a big basket of breads and pastries to the table and we were to choose three each. we had six delicious jams and marmalades to accompany our baked goods, all of which were for sale. i bought a jar of marmalade for my dad's birthday, which he enjoyed.

i don't remember the name of this place, but it was across from Tokyu Hands, an amazingly huge department store. we sat on the terrace and enjoyed tea, coffee, and sweets. i had a cup of ginger tea. you can see the ginger in the tea pot. it was a nice way to relax after walking around bustling Shibuya all afternoon.

this was at a little beach town called Kamakura. this was the only thing on the menu. i am not sure why a pickle would be served with spaghetti, but they were actually pretty good together.

duck cookie!

this was at a place called "the great burger" though it was actually pretty amazing. i don't remember exactly what the green drink was, but i think it was melon soda. envelopes were provided for the burgers to keep all the tasty drippings contained. the wet nap came in a package that said, "if you want to meet me, i want to meet you, too."

new neighbors

2010-08-21T20:35:00.000-04:00

before we knew

2010-06-28T13:09:00.000-04:00

bookshelf wish list

2010-06-25T19:22:00.002-04:00

the commish is just like you and me

2010-06-01T19:17:00.002-04:00

he takes his work home

he loves love

he talks on his cell phone too much

he cries at sad things

he eats long sandwiches

he doesn't like the way he looks

he makes this guy laugh

fourty-one years

2010-05-21T15:31:00.000-04:00

past me's and you's

2010-05-16T11:22:00.003-04:00

this is the house i grew up in. i loved that house like a person.

thank, you

2010-05-14T10:00:00.001-04:00

what i've been working on lately. more to come later.

dreams for dreams

2010-05-13T10:57:00.001-04:00

i want my dreams to look like this:

summer ready

2010-05-12T22:39:00.001-04:00

monday morning exercise

2010-05-10T10:00:00.002-04:00

it is not as easy as it looks. richard is not kidding around.

free finds from the library

2010-05-06T13:47:00.002-04:00

i acquired these books for the covers. i have yet to read any, though "facts of life and love" from 1956 might have some nuggets of wisdom for me.

2010-04-30T10:54:00.001-04:00

the iroquois county old courthouse museum

2010-03-28T17:55:00.005-04:00

the music room

bright ideas

two heads are better than one

alfred hitchcock pumpkin ginger raisin cookie

2010-03-13T18:35:00.001-05:00

recent presents made

2010-02-25T20:48:00.003-05:00

lavender eye packs

kitty buddy

christmas presents wrapped

leafy coasters

little curtain for a little window

snow stormagic

2010-02-10T12:21:00.001-05:00

the handyman can

2010-01-30T11:51:00.000-05:00

2010-01-21T22:50:00.000-05:00

she is me + i am her

2010-01-03T10:14:00.001-05:00

another singing present

2009-12-14T21:27:00.003-05:00

i realized after i was done that the first solo was a trumpet. oh well.

music by the cure.

christmas present singing + dancing

2009-12-14T17:15:00.005-05:00

the cat tried to eat her at the beginning. if you listen, you can hear the meow.

music by girls.

feel better dogbird

2009-11-30T11:24:00.002-05:00

barkbawk

sister lady man

2009-11-29T17:06:00.001-05:00

another birthday doily (and dirty fingernails)

2009-11-19T10:12:00.000-05:00

birthday doily

2009-11-18T14:36:00.000-05:00

flashfire cupcake is late for kittypaw

2009-11-13T09:24:00.001-05:00

2009-11-04T10:03:00.001-05:00

postcards> sent

2009-10-27T11:26:00.002-04:00

happy + healthy

2009-10-26T10:40:00.001-04:00

2009-10-23T12:58:00.001-04:00

happy fall

2009-10-14T14:47:00.002-04:00

parke county, indiana

2009-10-12T11:30:00.000-04:00

2009-10-09T10:40:00.001-04:00

2009-10-06T11:15:00.001-04:00

summer life

2009-09-20T17:45:00.001-04:00

chicago sky

twin snack time

father's day - meat pie, beet salad+ fries

human balloon

lonely sky fly

hopscotch chalk dust

2009-09-18T10:40:00.001-04:00

emily's birthday tomato

2009-09-17T10:41:00.001-04:00

zebra chasing donkey

2009-08-19T16:08:00.001-04:00

misfit cucumbers

2009-08-11T21:49:00.001-04:00

summer

2009-08-10T11:33:00.001-04:00

baby toes

big toes

bounce house!

dinner

2009-08-06T23:28:00.000-04:00

seven years ago - whoa

2009-08-05T19:39:00.001-04:00

he has his fathers' eyes

2009-08-05T12:16:00.001-04:00

watercolor kitty queen

2009-07-25T19:54:00.001-04:00

toy museum

2009-07-16T12:44:00.001-04:00

sholeh

2009-07-12T10:49:00.001-04:00

i am better at spying on people than i am at making friends

2009-07-09T12:01:00.000-04:00

fun with watercolor and one crayon

2009-07-05T11:23:00.001-04:00

silver lady.

mommy needs to bleach my astronaut suit

going nowhere

the lovers

more garage finds

2009-05-28T17:13:00.002-04:00

. styrofoam campfire

more buddies

fun times

whoa.

garage finds

2009-05-27T22:20:00.000-04:00

numbers

horsey bath

buddies

show off

nails holding up em + daniel's porch railing

2009-05-23T13:32:00.000-04:00

em + i made mother's day dinner for mom + ashley

2009-05-23T13:11:00.002-04:00

salmon patties with a lemon sauce. green beans with a cream sauce. lemon basil potato salad. white wine sangria.

pish posh

2009-05-08T14:18:00.001-04:00

i quite like this business card

2009-05-06T16:01:00.001-04:00

semi-recent postcards

2009-05-06T14:18:00.001-04:00

oh, mister abe

2009-04-29T14:28:00.002-04:00

two green, three blue

blind contour mason + indy

2009-04-17T14:20:00.002-04:00

my first pie

2009-04-12T12:40:00.001-04:00

three berry - straw, rasp, blue + homemade crust. thank you to jessica for letting me borrow her pie pan + rolling pin.

thank you cards for mom + dad

2009-04-10T13:27:00.003-04:00

2009-04-10T13:21:00.000-04:00

manly meows.