pamgarrison

beautiful sunday

Ah...feeling much better today. Amazing what doing some laundry can do for this gal. I love having fresh clean sheets on my bed, and today, I do.  I love these Shabby Chic sheets from Target, by the way. They have such a poplin cotton feel to them, crisp, not fuzzy soft. Yes, this is one of my laundry baskets (spruced up Ikea). A few years ago I thought that if I had pretty baskets, maybe I'd hate laundry less (see, my laundry issues are deep)...and I figured at least I could leave the clean clothes out in my daughter's room this way...of course, the pretty baskets didn't really change things too much, but I guess a tiny change in the right direction is good, no matter how small. The other thing that makes silly little me so happy is that I have mastered Martha's tutorial on how to fold the fitted sheets into a perfect flat fold. I tried to do it and take pictures to show you in stages here, but it just looks like I'm doing some bizarre finger puppet show under sheets. Hm...maybe somewhere in her archives...maybe someone knows where to find a link? Anyway, making sure to appreciate the small pleasures today, like whites washed and folded.

I also decided to really enjoy the day, taking it slow and demanding little of myself. Look what I had for lunch. I really don't cook much, if anything, I'd rather bake things because they are prettier...but I digress...I had a lovely salad and made some breaded parmesean chicken to go on top. I decided to make the most of the experience by using my pretty linens (I splurged  on a set of six from French General) and enjoying a glass of wine. Sometime last year I found an old set of silver for $40.00 at an antique mall and that is what we use everyday...I used to wash it by hand only, then I started putting it in the diswasher without the heat on, now I even use the heat. It's not as shiny as it once was, but it is used and appreciated everyday, so I figure it's worth the trade-off. Remember when I passed on L.K. Ludwig's advice to use your good art finds? Well, I'm trying to do that in life too, not just art.

I'd like to put some wonderful quote here about how life is art or the art of living etc., but  I'll let you think of your own favorite quote, or share one in the comments if a good one comes to mind. A bunch of neighbor kids are here with my kids playing school, I'm going out to plant a neighbor's hand-me-down roses with my husband (or really, point my husband in the direction and putter about while he does the hard labor). Hope you have a Beautiful Sunday!

what i'm up to

I began a to-do list as I waited for my daughter's soccer game this morning. Here's the start of it. Last night, for the second night in a row, I woke up in the middle of the night unable to get back to sleep because my mind was racing about, making lists, feeling the pressure of things that I need to get to, deadlines coming up fast. Surprisingly, laundry is often one of my midnight taunters...the clean clothes in my room waiting to be folded and put away make me feel like such a bad mom. I just can't seem to stay on top of it...never for more than one day at a time. I hate that. I hate that my son can rarely find matching socks in his sock drawer in the morning. I know that it doesn't really matter, it's just a symbol of whether I'm organized or not, like inside my purse, or inside my car, or house needing cleaning. Emails are another thing I feel behind on. I have written so many replies in my head while driving, at kids' sports games, in bed, etc.  I was so relieved today to read Alicia's comment about her emails...thankfully, I am not alone.  I am sorry it takes me so long to reply. Things just feel so crazy...so many ideas, so many tasks in daily life. Time is going by so quickly.

Just thought I'd let you know what I'm working on creatively, since I haven't replied to some questions. I am working on making things for an Etsy shop...I will, of course, let you know about it on my blog. For those of you that asked (thank you), everything sold at artfest (one thing twice by mistake...so sorry Tracy!...you get first dibs on all my new stuff!) I am also finally getting through the website domain registration...ugh, that has been awful and terribly long. Hopefully, I will  have a website up by the end of the year. I am working on getting some wallpaper packs together to sell to all you blog readers that have asked and patiently waited. I am working on my proposals for next years artfest and fiberfest and need to start working on what I will sell at fiberfest and class things for next month. I am working on some collaboratives I am part of. And the list goes on and on...but I'll stop there and show you the most recent collaborative, because that's more fun than hearing me ramble on.

This collaborative is a small one, including Amy (no blog), Lauren, and Corey. We are doing a little book/art piece on motherhood/birds/nests/eggs/ type theme. Sort of like "Mama Bird" theme. This is my book, finished and ready to be sent on. For the book itself, I used a great old day book, keeping the cover together, but tearing out the inside guts. It's huge, 10 1/2" x 16".

This is the inside cover. I attached an old page from a photo album to the cover with wire. Inside each picture opening I wired in a cigarette card with the "players" names on them, as you can see in this close up.

When you open up the above photo album page, you get the actual sign-in envelopes. There is a store bought "friend" card inside each envelope that each participant can turn over and decorate. On mine, I used a picture of my daughter when she was little. The very top of today's blog post shows a close up of the bottom of the page.

Above is the first "page" of my book. Just a loose page. I figure this way, each artist can use their favorite materials and not be restricted by bindings or my shape etc. And below, is the back of this page. I used a piece of canvas, some Tara photos (worth every penny to have great family shots...as you know, I use them constantly) sewn on and then mica pieces sewn on top of that in loose heart shapes. My thought here was that they would resemble windows on a house shape...On the bottom, the sewn on stuff representing our nest where the front door would be.

That's it for the book, but one more thing to add to what I'm up to: thank you notes! Here's another thank you I need to write, as if I haven't been spoiled enough... Sheesh, I'm starting to feel embarrassed, thankfully, this is another theme I see on blogs everywhere- gifts being sent and received, bloggers (including writers and readers) are such generous souls. Tracy, who I've told you before, was the first ever blog I discovered, sent me this adorable tin house necklace that she made and other sweet goodies. Don't you just want one?!? She took this class at artfest and you can see more tin creations on her blog and find out more info...I'm not even sure who's class it was. Thank you Tracy! You know I love it, and now I owe you even more than before.

 

studio friday playtime

The "assignment" for today's Studio Friday was to take a pen or paintbrush or other marking tool, put it in your mouth, and doodle. Hm...I did it. It never felt comfortable. Maybe my pen was too dry, maybe I was too uptight to get my mind out of the way. These are the doodles...after I finished, I colored with waxy crayons (using my hands this time). That felt the most like playtime to me.

It did get me playing, and thinking about doodling. I like to draw letters for some reason. After doing these I thought I might use them as a page in a coloring book, or maybe color them in and print them off for journal clip art.

Here are some more doodles on a page of my journal. I took a class from Diane Culhane at artfest and she had us "take a line for a walk" and then color it in. I used that as a prompt for this journal page. I just love the whole idea, and think the term is fun and playful too. The other doodle that seems to crop up a lot for me is the good old fashioned circle that you'll see on the bottom right. Swirls and circles and letters and boxes/banner shapes...pretty much how I doodle...how do you doodle?

Edited: After finishing this post, I happened to look down, and this is what I saw...yep, it's official, I'm a doodler.

mail call

Nope, you haven't mistakenly gone to my archives, this post is for today, April 26th. I have gotten some great mail lately which is always fun to share. This package came in the mail this week from my dear friend Kelly. Now, don't judge her unkindly for it's tardiness, I have yet to send her package from the holidays as well. My favorite gift is the one she made for me pictured below. Very cute. Can't wait to make some myself next year. Kelly is so adorable, everyone loves her. She truly is sweet all the way through. She moved onto my street from Laguna Beach, and that is the perfect way to describe her, so Laguna cool and artsy. So authentic. Besides being adorable and smart, she has a super big heart that knows no bounds. She will adopt any animal that comes her way, and I mean any animal. She has 3 kids (Max,Sam and Maddie), and when she lived here two dogs (David and Greg), 4 birds, and 2 cats (I can't remember any more names). Then I found a tortoise by my trashcan...very strange...of course I called her...she went all over the neighborhood asking who lost him, when no one claimed him, she did, driving many hours to a special vet to have him checked out and to learn how to care for him...only Kelly. It was  heartbreaking when  they were transferred across the country. I'm still waiting for you to come back, Kel.

After having just told you about the fabulous Mindy Carpenter, this arrived (no, it wasn't b/c of the post, we had exchanged addresses at artfest). She is the first person who ever said "I prefer snail mail" to me...love that in a person. Especially when this is the type of mail you send your notes in. How cute  is this envelope that she made? And look at the goodies that were attached to her note. Of course, love them too, thanks Mindy, I'm going to reply via snail mail!

And then this arrived. Total surprise. I met Julie Collings at Art & Soul and showed you the little gift I was sending her since she gave me a trade at Art & Soul. She said she saw this wallpaper and thought of me. Gee, I wonder why. I love the clips too and look at that itty bitty bird. Of course, I love the way it is all wrapped and sent, such beauty in such simple things. Thanks again Julie!

Ok, off to my son's school for the "tile wall" fundraiser. This is one of the fundraisers that I really enjoy...the kids paint a tile and then they are installed on the walls of the school where the kids can see their artwork preserved for all the years that the school remains. Since my daughter attended the same elementary school, and they do this fundraiser every year, there are lots of tiles they like to point out when we pass by. I'll try to remember to take some photos to share.

thoughts to share

Oh so many things to talk about...last night I stumbled across the artfiberfest packet, and on the back was this great quote, so with stinging eyes (why am I so tired lately?) I stamped it into my journal. It says: Be aware of wonder, live a balanced life, learn some and think some and draw and paint and sew and sing and dance and play and work every day some. - Robert Fulghum. I love it. It is my new favorite quote.

My friend Mary Stanley, whose shadow box had that great silver bird has a blog now...I wish she sold kits for this cute little rug hooked bird...and her friend Marny Cardin is selling cute little kits for all of you that love dollhouse things. I think her technique of French knots as rug hooking is really clever.

And while we're talking about kits, I wanted to show you one that my daughter and I started working on when we were away. I'm sure you've seen this Paint by Number Kit by Chronicle before. I found it on sale at some website, but I can't remember where now...maybe Chronicle?  I forgot how fun it is to paint by number. Ali chose to do the clown and I'm working on the rocket ship. We plan to give them to my son for his upcoming birthday. They are more time consuming that I thought, but fun none the less. If you do plan to do one, I'd suggest getting some extra small brushes. 

Let's see, what else? A friend (thanks Denise) told me about a cute little website you might like to see if you make little animals...I have never seen sock monkeys like these before. I don't know the artist or anything about her, but thought some of you might certainly be inspired.

   I found some inspiration this weekend in books. I bought this one, Modern Country, on Thursday night. It is a little more country and a little more "full of stuff/collections" than I want in my home, but it has fun ideas and  It is full of photos like these:

Once I got home with it, I went looking for one of my old time favorites for inspiration, Found Style, by David and Amy Butler. In it they show bits of their home, as well as the homes of other people. Just in case you're in need of a good book.

sparkle,shine,shimmer

Today's Studio Friday topic was sparkle, shine and shimmer...where is that in your studio? I went on my search, camera in hand and found out I'm a lot more of a sparkle loving girl than I thought. I really have fun with Studio Friday, it's like a scavenger hunt...I love that the topic is chosen and how it is to be found in such a defined area, makes it do-able. Here I decorated a tiny little bottle  for itty bitty rose buds.

This G is from this winter, Wendy Addison had a line of these out. I added the stars and old flowers and hung it on the Christmas tree and never felt like putting it away, my love of letters and all...it hangs off to the the left  of my desk, in a little nook I'll show more of some day when it's a bit more presentable.

...these numbers were bought at the same store. I think they are the same line of Wendy Addison products. I bought them in celebration of my 40th birthday (why try to hide from it, right?), I made the tags for myself when I made some for a friend. These hang over my desk.

And then there is this bit of shimmer. This was a gift from my friend  Amy. I love the way she wrapped it

and what she used so much that I rewrapped it to keep just so.

Studio Friday.

ali's corner & more

Finally, I'm back to Corners of My Home Thursday. This is a close-up of my daughter's door. I made her this little mail holder a couple of years ago. It's just cardboard and old wallpaper with a material pocket. It's mostly just used by the two of us, and the photo reminds me that it's not used enough...The envelope inside was from a really cute set I bought at a scrapbook store, can't remember the company name.

Once inside her room you see this wall. The decoupaged mirror I found at a flea market for $7.00. It was dedicated on the back to a girl named Alexandra, which being my daughter's name, seemed fitting. Maybe the little girl just grew out of it, as I'm sure mine will soon too. I also found the cut out letter A at a flea market...I love how imperfect it is. I made the other things...you'll see that the frame still needs some glass and the photo keeps falling out of it. The plaque with an A on it hangs from a finial bought at Home Depot. I just painted and distressed it and it was good to go. They make perfect hangers for light items because they come with a screw on the bottom that you can screw straight into the wall.

And here we have her one side of her bed and door out to a balcony. I think she is getting itchy to teen-ify her room, so most of this probably won't stay for too terribly much longer. It's funny to see all the different phases that our children go through as they grow reflected in a photo of their bedroom.

Anyway, I received permission to post work from two more Artfest students. The first is Mary Stanley's beautiful piece. Mary is teaching at Artfiberfest this year and is a real gentle soul. I would love to take her classes. The second playful delight is from Colleen Darling. I didn't  get a real chance to talk in depth with Coleen, but what I did get to know is that her name suites her perfectly. She really is darling. Mary and Colleen are friends and were very cute and quietly playful together. I love the contrast between the two pieces and the personalities that eminate from them.

Lastly, how dang cute are these labels from Cavallini and Co.? Love love love them! They come in a little tin with lots of bird themed labels/stickers etc. I have always loved Cavallini products and got to re-meet one of it's designers, Mindy Carpenter, again at Artfest this year. I am looking forward to a collaborative project we talked about. If you want to see more about Mindy, you can visit her website here.
These make my heart swoon.          

Heads up  Deb, this is on its way...

flowers for you (yes, you!)

You guys are the best! I have been thinking about you all and all of the kind comments I have received lately, especially about Easter, and I just feel so grateful. I feel appreciated and understood. I feel like Sally Field when she gave that really cheesy acceptance speech at the Oscars so many years ago, but instead of the word like I'd say; "you get me, you really get me". It is the best feeling. To be understood and then to be appreciated for it. Of course, you do know that I get to choose what I share...I haven't posted a photo of the 8 (!!!) loads of laundry that I've washed but have yet to fold and put away, or the gray roots that had grown in so far (at least an inch) that my sweet friend Cheryl, who happens to be an amazing hairstylist and way too booked to even get in with, took pity on me and colored my hair the other day in her house when she saw me out front watching my son. (God bless you Cheryl!) ...and I certainly didn't post a photo of me driving (a la the super cool Lisa does in her driving miss lisa series) the carpool with a plastic bag from Cheryl's carrots on top of the color and a bandanna on top of that because the color needed time to soak in. Noooooo, I certainly choose not to show you that! (Gotta love my daughter who just laughed when I appeared and didn't care at all that I picked her and her friends up that way. Really, it was so bad that when I walked out of my neighbor Cheryl's house, two of the little kids on the street said; "what's wrong with your head?". Pretty funny.) Anyway, I love the blog because it lets me focus on things that are bringing me joy and lets me share them with others that might find joy in them too, and not focus on the not so joyful. So for you, my friends who love me knowing that I am picking pleasant pictures and ignoring the unpleasant ones, I give you these, some flowers from my garden. If you were my real neighbor and not just my cyber one, I would bring some over (ok, but maybe not in my favorite tins, since I'm being honest and all) to thank you for your kindness.

I went out this morning to cut some flowers, it is finally sunny and warm out. I brought out these tins and a jewelry box. Here they are before, outside and ready to begin. To make them water safe for flowers I just added some cups to their insides. Then I just cut what flowers were putting on a show. I do LOVE flowers and love arranging them. Love spring when things begin to bloom.

As many people are blogging about, spring has indeed sprung, hurray for that!

happy easter

We had a lovely day, hope you did too!

i love old stuff

Trying to clean up from artfest (still), and thinking about some collaborative deadlines looming, I was puttering about in my art room and revisited this. I love it when I still like something I made years (in this case 2) earlier...sometimes I really dislike a phase I was in, lots of times it has to do with the materials I chose...anyway, since I still like this little book that took over my art life for an obsessive few days, I thought you might like it too. I found this old photo album book at a flea market for $5.00...it had only the hinges and the two covers, no insides. I knew I had to have it, but I knew not what for (what else  is new?). A little while later I found these great pages from a stained glass book...they were from some sort of Tiffany sample book that went home with people and had some high price on it if lost. (I pray that they no longer have a value, because I used them; I do fear ruining something of value, that's never my intention) These pages just happened to fit perfectly inside the book-(I love the magic of art!) so I started to play on them and hinged them together accordian style with little scraps of velvet that I glued on them. You can see some of the stained glass drawing designs in the background on some of my pages. I had so much fun losing myself in the pages which have a front and back. Only the last page is actually attached to the cover, the rest just pull out from that. I used just enough pages to fill in the hinge size and then wired the hinges to the front cover. The one hinge was missing its long thin screw piece, so I put a hat pin in there which happened to work perfectly (again, that magic). I was pretty much thinking of childhood and family, the heavens and taking flight at the time, but no real "theme"...just lost myself in the playing. Gets the ideas flowing for my new collaborative, which of course I'll show you too. Here's the rest of the book:

hello again

Hello friends! How ARE you? I hope you had a good week. I can't wait to read everyone's blog and see what they've been up to. We had a wonderful vacation with our little family of four. There were record setting amounts of snow, which was so exciting for our warm weather kids. Here they are, playing in the snow. Big crocadile tears rolled down my son's face as we drove away, he was so sad to leave.

 

As always, it's nice to be home again, but boy oh boy, I have so much getting the house back in control/organizing to do. It is so easy for me to drop everything from my mind and walk out on a mess. I do wish (kinda) that I was one of those people that could not leave the house unless everything was in it's place, but I can, and today there is proof of that all around me.

So just a quick hello for now and a photo for my shopping supporter (see comments), vegasandvenice...here's what I picked up on our gas/food stop in one of the small towns on the way home.
My favorite find is the tin box for $5.00...I love it, it has such pretty colors. A bank for my son, some old baby wrapping paper, some old buttons, buckles, and earrings. A flower frog, an aspirin tin,an old photo and a cool little hanger. I am itching to create, so hopefully I'll have something to share soon. Until then...

the continuation, as promised

So, where was I? Oh yes, I'd finished showing you all my trades/purchases etc. and wanted to show you another piece of student art. This beauty was done by Andra Hepler. Andra is a big sweetheart with such a pleasant demeanor and a gift for adding just the right touch. She gave me a great big bag of goodies compiled just for me. Thank you Andra! Isn't her box adorable? Yep, I think so too. She has a website too of her wonderful handcrafted primitives.

This here is my entry for Corners of my Home Thursday, a day late. Here's Furdy, where he now lives on my son's bed. Doesn't it look like L.K. made it just for this very spot? He looks perfectly at home with the killer target sheets and the old iron bed bought at a flea market long ago. Still loving Furdy, big time.

Unfortunately, I must bid you another farewell. I know, it is too soon! I feel like life is spinning way out of control. I have not completely unpacked or gotten on top of the laundry/grocery shopping/house cleaning by any means, let alone answer emails and check out my favorite blogs! I don't want to leave! I have ideas in my head, I need time to play in my art room. But no, we are off as a family to Mammoth Mountain for the better part of next week. I must go pack now, we are leaving directly from the soccer game (which is after the baseball game) tomorrow. I think my head might explode. I'm sure this will be a good family trip, it's just not where my head is, nor my heart right now. But it is where my husband and son are dying to be, and I guess it can't be all me all the time, huh? My daughter is not feeling the need to swoosh down the slopes either, so maybe we'll stay home one or two of the days and make something. So, sadly, I say goodbye yet again, I will miss you friends, the blog, other blogs, and the computer (I think I may be addicted!). I will be back next Thursday. Be well. xox p

more, more, more

another post including purchases, student work, a corner of my home and a goodbye.

Yippee! My box arrived in the mail yesterday  safe and sound. Now I get to share with you the rest of the treasures found on the trip. (If you share my husband's displeasure for my buying things, you might want to skip down a bit) (edited: skip the whole post). I do think it's very important to support other artists (just like small on line businesses and independent shops), and lots of people were willing to trade, and yeah, I really wanted it! I'll start with more from vendor night. Vendor night is a crazy madhouse by the way...people start lining up an hour early outside in the cold studying the map to see where the artists are located, it's just such a rare event to buy originals from so many people. Anyway, the treasures I ended up with:
This little fabulous ditty is by Janet Cooper. It is an old tin box with vintage chenille arms, silk legs and a tulle skirt. I think that he looks like Father Christmas, and he is definitely going to hang somewhere special at Christmas time. Janet taught a few classes this year. I found her really interesting and cool when I met her at the vendor sale. I'd certainly like to take a class from her.

Pictured at the top of the post and here are a bunch of goodies bought from L.K. Ludwig (the mica and stained-glass trim and old book covers), Pamela Huntington, (papers and ribbon) Queen of Tarts (papers and tins full of things),Tracie Huskamp (papers and old hinge), and Dorit Elisha (the fabric covered journal).

I finally got to buy some jewelry from my dear friend Amy Hanna. Amy is my partner in crime in almost all of my art endeavors. She is so talented and inspiring, and a great collaborator for me. This year she taught jewelry at artfest. She is primarily a jewelry girl, but her talents extend far beyond that, including book arts and fabric things. I have been begging her to let me buy some jewelry, and was thrilled to have first pick of her items. It was so hard to decide, but I chose these knowing that she'll be making lots more. My photos really don't do them justice, but you can get the idea of her style and unique designs.

Then there were these sweet sweet pieces by Carla Sonheim. I was instantly smitten when I saw them and had such a hard time picking which ones. The big one is about 4x5 to give you an idea on sizes. Carla was so sweet and gentle, just like her artwork. She also taught at artfest, another teacher to add to my list of want-to-take-froms. The little girls in the background on the 2nd photo are on fabric.

And lastly, but certainly least, I bought these little pretties. The candy container box with little journals is by dear dear Sherry Laatsch. I met her at fiberfest last year and she has been a most supportive friend. She makes wonderful things from trash (yes, trash!). I love this little bunny box and am going to do something for my kids at Eastertime, maybe put pictures of my kids on the neighborhood egg hunt in the journals, I'm not sure. The little blue birdie is by Tiphoni Moore, Teesha and Tracy's very cool RISD scholar daughter. She, like the rest of that family is nice as can be and multi talented. Those are also her rubber stamps. The seam binding is from Pamela Huntington.

Oh my gosh, you'd think I'd be done, but no. Now there's the regular shopping, fun little things found in Port  Townsend and a couple of antique shops on the way. My favorite is the stand that I will use for display at future sales.

Ok, this post has officially gotten out of control. I am going to stop now (3 1/2 hours in, nothing like Nina's of 5+!!!  hours  yesterday) and finish up later with the things mentioned in the subtitle at the top. My little brother is in town and I am going to go meet him for lunch. More later.

gifts bought

While I wait for my box of goodies to arrive, I thought I'd show you the gifts I bought at vendor night and brought home with me in my suitcase. This adorable stuffed monster was made by L.K. Ludwig. She had so many that were so wonderful. I wish I had been quicker to grab another, my daughter and son both love this one. This one is for my son and he loves it, which says a lot for how cool it is, he's not typically impressed by stuffed toys. I asked him what he will call him and he replied "Furdy". I think that's perfect. L.K. is the sweetest gal and has many talents. She has more of these for sale on her etsy shop if you're interested, and I'm sure she'll probably be making more soon, they were such a big hit. I'm even hoping she'll teach this at Fiberfest next year, I know I'd love to take that class.

I bought this one for my daughter. The saying says it all. She really doesn't hate school, she's even a straight A student, but she has been known to say this a lot this year. 7th grade is not her favorite, what with clique issues and homework load. I for one can't wait until she's back to loving school full time (that will happen, won't it?). This was made by the lovely Celine Navarro, and brought all the way from France with her. Oh la la. Celine makes wonderful things and is on the cover of Legacy magazine this month. I was really excited to meet her in person after we'd been emailing, she is sooo sweet. Looking forward to some collaboratives with her.

And then for me, some journaling supplies. The adorable Anahata Joy Katkin was teaching visual journaling and sold some handy supplies like labels and collage papers etc. I had the good fortune of sharing a house with her, among others, and let me tell you, she is every bit as delightful as she appears. She and her very cool mom (Mama Papaya) have a business selling really unique stationery and other paper goods called Papayalicious.

I'm still exhausted from artfest, I don't have the energy to even try to sum it up, it's an impossible task, so I won't. but I have gotten permission from a couple students to show their work:

This pretty box is by Maija Lepore. Maija is currently featured in Cloth Paper Scissors magazine and was kind enough to gift me with one of the very cabinet cards that is featured in the magazine. To know Maija is to love Maija, she's one of those people that knows everyone, and welcomes everyone. Even though this was her first artfest and my fourth, she was introducing me to people. Another student in class even asked Maija if she wanted to sell her box when she finished. So pretty.

Gina Armfield created this adorable shadowbox. She might win the award for putting most recently acquired supplies to use, because she bought the little walnut/pod people kit the night before class and cut up the chocolate tin that I gave as a gift to house a birdie. Gina is adorable and has a mail order business, SweetWater Sisters that sells these types of supplies. She gifted the class with some samples from her business and was a helpful collaborating with others when my brain was so tired I couldn't get a spark of an idea. Here are some close-ups:

goodies in the mail

Look what was waiting for me when I arrived home. Love checking the mail when I've been gone. Usually I'm hoping for a magazine, but really good things came while I was gone this time. Lucky me. The lovely Alicia sent me another (she spoils me and I love it) hand made treasure. Just look at how sweet it is. It is so personal and so original, I love it! As always, thank you Alicia, you shouldn't have, but I'm so glad you did. Alicia has really cute new little birdies for sale...I'm tempted to buy a flock.

Then there was my first ever Amy Ruppel piece. I love this too. It's even better in person than I dreamt it would be. Such dreamy colors and I am crazy for all things waxy and resiny. It wasn't super hard to get my hands on one; I was ready and waiting on the computer when she listed them for sale. The only problem was that  I just couldn't decide fast enough which one I loved the most as they kept selling, but I found it possible to get one if you really want one...I love this one called "more like this"...exactly, I want more like this, indeed. Amy started a blog now too, if you like those sort of things (ha ha).

And then there was a big red envelope...I knew what that meant, Mailorder #2 had arrived! This little paper club is so cute. This issue includes the secret handshake, a secret code to be decoded by your decoder ring, a sewing pattern, recipe and more more more. I am just tickled by the playfullness of all of Amy's ideas.

ah...home again

It's nice to be home again, safe and sound. Thank you for all your well wishes on my departure and return. ...No, this is not my front door, but instead a restaurant door in Port Townsend. I just loved its character and colors. Artfest was wonderful. Hopefully, a great time was had by all 450 (!?!) attendees. It was a blur of activity, day and night. Lots and lots of creative stimulation, that's for sure! Big thanks to Teesha, Tracy and their many volunteers for putting on such an incredible event. It's really so different, so unique, I can't put it into words well, I won't even try here.

Some (how can I possibly think of them all?) of the highlights for me: blog readers introducing themselves, meeting blog sisters, sharing the days with other artists in classes taken and taught, hanging with my housemates, late night talks with Amy long after lights were out, reveling in creativity, playing with paint in Diane's class, the whirlwind craziness of setting up for vendor night, the kindness of strangers, thoughtful gifts received, new collaborations forming, taking the ferry for the first time, making the flight home by the skin of our noses, the beautiful setting and weather, and the realization that we had seen both the sunrise and sunset yesterday (thanks for pointing that out Amy).  The sunset was while landing at home and it was gorgeous! But the best part of the trip was being home again with my kiddies and husband. There really is no place like home for me.

 

 

Above left is a note written to me by my son, found on my nightstand the morning I was leaving. So so so so cute.  And on the right is a note I found in the kitchen when I got home last night, a to do list written by my daughter on a restaurant coaster while I was gone. How very sweet. There was no card, nor any flowers, but it really is the thought that counts, seeing this was both to me. My husband also said she helped clean up the kitchen which was spotless and even better than flowers on this occasion.

I brought my camera, and planned to take tons of photos while there, but the time always evaporates. It amazes me how many things I don't end up doing, like even finding friends from previous years, or getting to really talk with new and old friends, or journaling etc. The list of what I didn't do but wanted to goes on, maybe next year. I mostly just shot some views of the campus.
This is one of the views from my classroom. The white building is one of the dorms. Here are some more pictures taken from the same window.

 

 

 

The photo on the left shows more dorms, the photo on the right shows the commons building.

These show the officer's housing, and this is the view from the room I shared with Amy. Isn't it a beautiful place?

I want to thank the students that came and spent their day with me. They were  a great group of artists that shared themselves, their stories, their journeys, their ideas, their supplies, and their time. It was so fun to spend the day with you all. They were kind, talented artists willing to encourage, collaborate, and play the day away. Thank you. I have some photos I'd like to share of your work if you'd like to shoot me an email I can send yours to you and post here if you're not feeling shy. It was so fun to see such the wonderful art everyone made.

I have more things to post about, like everything I bought at vendor night, (that will have to wait until UPS comes on Thursday),  there's artwork, people, the mail that came while I was away etc. Until then, hi. It's so nice to be back in touch.