pamgarrison

be back soon!

Well, I think I've traveled more this month than ever before. By the time July has come and gone I will have been to Portland, San Fransisco and Spain! Crazy. 

So Spain. Our daughter has been studying abroad this summer with a college program, and we're going over to see her "graduate", meet her "Spainish Mom", and the best part: bring her home!!! 

Of course, a trip to Spain requires a travel journal! I was debating between all three options above, and settled on the vintage album:

You can see above how I started filling in the missing spots with vintage wallpaper and other bits of paper. 

I took some papers with me to work on while watching my son play third...

and had lots of fun gathering and making some special papers to build the inside signatures with. 

So far, this page is my favorite.

Well, actually, the combination of these two pages together is. 

After all the signatures were created, I decided to bind it using the method Mary Ann teaches in Full Tilt Boogie. (I so appreciate online courses that don't expire and have info available forever!)

I chose the chain stitch option.

Love it!

I can't wait to fill it full of treasures  and thoughts collected along our way...

But for now, I need to make a list for my Dad who will be staying here (-gotta be specific-he'd call it bossy ;) , and then get to bed! 

I hope you have a great week and I'll be back on the blog come August. xo

(p.s. this journal is similar to the one we'll be making in our class in Italy- more to come on that soon)

art friend fun

 

On my way to help my daughter pack up her dorm room and move home for the summer, I stopped in Santa Barbara for some fun with friends. Mary Ann had found a perfect little cottage to rent with lots of table space for making messes and pretty pages. My friends Syd and Mary both live close, and I was so excited they could join us for some creating. I love each one of these three women and their amazing artists brains. I was so happy they all could meet. The biggest factor we all have in common is that we  are all passionate about creating; it's such a gift to be in the company of those that feel the way you do, and it's great fun to feed off each other's ideas (and supplies) as well.

Above, Mary Ann is holding the most beautiful paper that Mary had. We all went a little nuts for it (evidenced in the mirror), and Mary cut it into fourths and gave us each a piece. Not sure I could have done that myself, but so glad she could! 

Here are some more shots from the fun that was had:

I really can't wait to do it again. Art fun with friends, I can't recommend it enough. Whether you go away, stay in your house, meet at a park, facetime...whatever form, I highly encourage it. It's such a gift to share your passions with those that can relate! 

field trip: Olvera Street

On Monday, I joined this cutie above on what is likely my last ever parent chaperoned field trip. The eighth graders taking Spanish class all took a train to Olvera Street in the heart of Los Angeles. It was a beautiful day and everyone, even the "too cool for school" eighth graders, had a great time. Here are some of the photos I took that day:

{Olvera Street is located in downtown Los Angeles, just across the street from Union Station, a beautiful historic train station. 

And then we hopped back on the train to return home.

Hope you enjoyed a little visit to Olvera Street via photos. It's a beautiful spot that feels more historic than touristy. I went many times as a young child and haven't been for many many years, but after this recent visit, I'd like to return again soon.

Perhaps without quite so many 8th graders ;).

whatever craft weekend part 2

 

Whatever Craft Weekend is nothing without it's amazing hostesses Meg and Kimberlee. They amaze me, they stayed so calm and collected the entire weekend, welcoming everyone to spend the weekend creating, antiquing, hanging with them and they spoiled us silly.

The spoiling started with the welcoming, hellos, introductions, margaritas and chips and salsa:

Some came alone, some traveled with friends, some met friends from different parts of the U.S. after traveling separately, some friends online met for the first time in person, etc. etc. but by the end, we were a group of 16, no matter what we were when we arrived.

Lots of talking and lots of listening.

Lots of happy sharing.

Meg enjoys her job, can you tell?

Then there was the first of many delicious meals prepared by Kimberlee.

We ate all together at the one giant table.

Amy was super sweet to offer to help Kimberlee whip up and clean the delicious meals, (the attendees were forbidden from clearing a dish).

The spoiling continued with the opening of the swag. I've been to many events with gift bags and swag, Whatever Craft Weekend swag sets a new standard.

The details on the goodies will all be on Meg's post of Whatever Craft Weekend 14 coming soon. Here's just some of it, more was on each person's bed. 

And then, the crafting began...

Meg is such a calm and patient instructor.

And then she busts a move to wake everyone out of their food coma.

Ok, not really.

Maybe.

But everyone does look happily entertained, don't they?

And then it was time to select your fabric...

This pic of the always adorable Ashley sums up how I feel when picking out fabric.

(She also has a great set of recap posts on her blog here.)

Amy and I even picked out some fabric eventually, and I cut it to size, and then we never had a chance to get back to it, (it's a bigger whirlwind a Whatever Craft Weekend than it appears in pictures). It's ok, some future camper will luck into some already cut to size fabrics ;).

A room full of women sewing is fun. (And picture taking and instagramming too.)

I'm pretty sure my last instagram for that night was taken and posted around 1:30pm, when the sewing and creating was still going strong.

And apparently, I set my camera down that night and failed to pick it up again at the house until the very end of Sunday's goodbyes. But for the record, Saturday night looked pretty similar, same crafters at the same tables, different crafts, up till 2:30 am. Seriously.

On Sunday morning, before we headed to the airport together, Meg took photos of the whole group, each attendee and helper (Amy and me) as individuals, and then roommates. Those will be on her Craft Weekend post too. {In this picture, Kimberlee is getting everyone's info down and obviously, she takes that job very seriously :) }

Love this partial group shot that was on my phone, wish everyone was in it!

Seriously? I truly miss everyone, the house, and the fun still.

Part 3 will include the shopping day, I just have to wait until my treasures arrive, they wouldn't fit in my suitcase ;).

Whatever Craft Weekend...are you on the list? I highly recommend it!

{And, for the record, I asked; they use a random number generator in order to be fair to those on the waitlist. each number has equal chance of being picked.}

whatever craft weekend craft house

I've just returned from Whatever Craft Weekend which is held at Meg's Craft House shown above. Insanely awesome, right? The inside is equally amazing, let's check it out, shall we? (Be warned, most of these are phone pics, she's got better pics on her blog.)

The kitchen eating area where the giant table(s) seat all the Craft Weekend attendees for meals. Crazy for the mix and match colorfully painted chairs.

The kitchen from the other veiwpoint...love her awesome collection of globes!

The butler's pantry right off the kitchen.  The storage! and LOVE the artwork by her kids.

 This is another wall in the kitchen.

How awesome is that old metal chore sign?!?

The is the other side of that gorgeous leaded window with awesome photo bomb by Meg's partner in craft weekend crime, Kimberlee.The eating area of the kitchen used to be an enclosed porch, so when remodeled, this window stayed.

The giant room where all the attendees craft the night away. I imagine it was the living/sitting room and dining room in years past.

From the other angle, the sewing and cutting stations.

A better view of that adorable cutting station wall.

Vignette in the sewing area, photos by Meg.

The treat bar in the crafting room.

In the entry area, craft supply storage.

The downstairs powder room with the sweetest art on the walls done by her 5 children.

The front stairs. (Meg's prints of her photos. She has a shop too.

The back stairs with her charming globe chandelier.

In the upstairs landing.

The upstairs guest bath. I love her use of gray throughout the house.

Like in this guest bedroom with gray walls, yellow and white striped floors. Perfection.

Meg has an amazing collection of vintage quilts, above is just one.  I think each bed (16) has it's own. She's taken her time and collected each one at a reasonable price over the years. So inspiring.

A guest bedroom... with her super sweet embroidery hoop art.

More guest beds in the world traveler room.

Although I rememebered to at least these with my phone, time got away and I missed so much. I'll just have to go back one day ;). See some more over here on Meg's blog.

What a house! It was built in 1903 I believe, and the owner had it moved with logs and donkeys to it's current location way back when!!!! It's awesome, and I loved every inch of it. You know how you see photos of things but in person they disappoint? Not one bit with this house, the photos do not do it justice. I hope you're on the Whatever Craft Weekend Wait list so you get to see it yourself one day.

More about the weekend in the next post!

back from the whirlwind

Hello!

I'm back from the whirlwind weekend I spent with all the wonderful women above at Whatever Craft Weekend. (Wow. That was a lot of words that start with w.)

Meg is awesome, no doubt about it!

Of course, I have so much to share about it...this time I even took some photos! I hope to get them on the blog tomorrow. For now, I'm going to be spending some much needed time with Hef here (and get him off screens of any kind):

and doing laundry, grocery shopping, making dinner, re-opening my etsy and unpacking.

I do have a few treasures from antiquing (before the Whatever Craft Weekend antiquing day that will be in that post) that came home with me to share:

A few ironstone pieces, a tiny jackknife, a number two and a pepper shaker to replace the one I broke before I left town.

Some vintage sacks and linen needed for an upcoming project.

Some vintage patches that seemed too appropriate for the weekend to pass up. I'll use them making one of Amy's style bags or belts or camera straps.

Some vintage needlepoint pictures, trim, teatowel, chenille poinsettias and...

 the most special find of all (unless I find out it's a reproduction and not an antique) the bird sewing clamp/pincushion.  

Ok, off to try to catch up on life around here...hope you had a great weekend!

Off on a little adventure

italy in the works

 

As I've mentioned before, Amy and I are co-teaching for a week in Italy, September 2014. The class info will be available soon...we've just got to finish up all our samples first! Which is what the sneak peek is above, one little part of the class.

And another part...

Look how beautiful this marbled paper is from Italy! I could stare and stare at it. One excursion over the week will be to a paper shop to see this beautiful marbeling in action. (I'm saving my pennies already!)

Like I said, first to finish up...more very soon! The more we work on the class, the more excited we get for the trip, it's going to be fantastic!! Hope some of you will be able to join us, if you think you might, save the date: September 28- October 4, 2014!

art play day

 

Earlier this week I had an unexpected, and much needed, play date with some art pals. April had the bright idea for some fun together, but it took over a month of waiting to find a day that would be open for all. It's silly how "busy" I think I am, like so many, prioritizing small things and thinking big things can wait. Part of my working on "order" in my life this year is to work on that prioritizing, the order of things, because time with art pals should come before lots of things that are ahead of it on the list. I imagine most of us get pulled by the things of life, ( I like to think I'm not alone in this anyway!).

Amy took us to one of her favorite shops, Lala,  in Laguna Beach. It's super cute with clothing and home items all made in India on hand printed fabric. If you head over, be sure you check out the sale rack, that's where we found some cute things. I snapped the picture of the storefront, above, I found it super cute.

I love this photo I took of Jenny and her cute new scarf (especially the way she tied it). Thankful for my ever present iphone that takes great photos (I can only imagine how good the iphone5 pics are, mine's a 4 but plenty good pics to me), because it has literally changed my life, I take so many more photos now than ever before.

Next we went to Victoria Beach. We all brought a little water color set and a journal of some sort to play in.Very light packing was the goal.

Christine and I forgot our sunscreen, we're already getting a little pink here I think.

We all commented about how fun it was to try different supplies and tools that are other artists' go to's. Sharing whatever we brought, of course.

{thank you Jenny and amy for sharing your photos}

And before we knew it, it was time to pack up and get our kids from school. Always too soon, but even a very little bit of art time with friends makes such an impact. I just need to remember to move it up the priority list and do it more!

weekend recap

What a lovely weekend I had as an honorary Moss sister attending an art retreat for 3 in Palm Springs. Isn't the place Mary Ann found fun? As soon as I got there, I had to add a little birthday festivity, since it was recently Mary Ann's birthday:

Mary Ann had a great point; that the light showing through the garland at the stitched places is as pretty as the other parts,maybe prettier. Of course, we'll have to try more stitching without thread, to create more holes for light and report back.

The place was so beautiful and fun. Both outside:

and inside:

I couldn't resist putting on Mary Ann's round glasses for a photo in the round mirror:

One Moss sister makes her bed, another does not, I'll let you guess which is which:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The journals came out as soon as we'd finished inspecting our new digs. Oh, the journals! So fun to be with other avid art journalers, always. First one I dug into was Mary Ann's sample for her Full Tilt Boogie class...look at the binding!

Then onto another journal, one of Carol's:

 

 

And on and on we went until we got through as much of the pile as our brains could take, without a break for sustenance.

The rest of the trip is a blur of creating, painting, playing and all that goes along with that.

We all made mini journals, here's mine (open):

and of course, some journal pages:

I wanted to steal this paper that Mary Ann made:

But I didn't.

All too soon, the sun set again and it was time for me to return home. Plans for next year made the leaving a little easier. It's always good to leave before you've had your fill, right?

If you would like to see more photos from the weekend through a different lens, you can check out my instagram, Carol's blog, or Mary Ann's blog.

{Ed:just remember, one of them tells "tall tales" and the other spins yarns for school children, so take their renditions with a grain of salt!}

home again

So nice to be home again after being away. There really is no place like home, is there?

I usually return home from teaching trips completely wiped out, and this one was no exception.

But it was worth it, such a good trip.

Started out by picking up friends and fellow teachers Charlotte and Rebecca at LAX and heading up the coast to Carpinteria where we had rented a cute little cottage for a couple nights.

It was as tiny and cute as it looks.

We instantly started the photographing and instagramming, because I was so smitten with Rebecca's genius use of old French monogram tape as shoelaces. (see instagram here for closeup)

Which led to moments of laughter like this:

So much fun being with long-time friends. We did some beach walking where I found these treasures:

And we did a little walking around the town where we saw vistas like this:

and houses with boats in the driveway:

and antique shops where I fell in love with the colors of this thread:

We drove into Santa Barbara to visit Art From Scrap, a favorite place to visit for me. Of course we all found treasures, here are mine:

One of my favorite past-times in the world is to treasure hunt, junk, antique, flea market, (whatever you want to call it, all the same to me), especially when traveling. I have a weakness for items that can be used to create with.

Look at the plastic bottle flower curtain that hangs at Art From Scrap:

Santa Barbara is so beautiful.

And after our adventures out, we returned to our cottage. Loved this view out the side window:

We did do some creating at the cottage, but not as much as any of us had hoped, time went by so quickly.

I was making some paper to include in my upcoming class kits.

and admiring the class samples for Charlotte and Rebecca's upcoming classes:

Luckily for us, friends Syd and Mary each made the trip to visit one night. We got to see their class samples for their upcoming trip to Mexico, and did a little creating together, but again, time went too quickly.

The next night we had a visit from my daughter and her friend. My daughter had forgotten her computer charger at home after returning to college from the holidays, so they made the hour and a half drive to retrieve it. Charlotte and Rebecca whipped up a delicious meal that we all enjoyed together, and then after a short visit they were off again...but not before taking one last photo with me:

And then it was time to pack up and lock up the cottage.

But before hitting the road we decided to take a self timer iphone photo of the three of us...boy, that was entertaining for my friends- I wish I knew how to make a gif so you could see the progression of my attempts and then finally making it into the photo. (That's why Charlotte can be seen laughing in the photo below.)

We had a delicious brunch at Home in Silverlake and headed straight to French General where Kaari and crew put on another fabulous fun filled event that lasted for days.

Here we are with our hosts, the Meng sisters, Kaari and Molly.

These two are amazing, not only are they incredibly creative and generous, but seem to have endless energy and an innate ability to host classes and parties and events.

Rebecca was a huge help to me and practically organzied me by herself:

I made the same mistake I usually do when teaching, I failed to get photos of the prep, the class, the students work, the students. Time just goes so quickly when I'm trying to share ideas and demonstrate options. If you were in the class and have any photos to share, please post a link in the comments. Otherwise, the only photos I took were shared on my instagram feed.

Luckily, Rebecca thought to take some for me:

It's a shame I didn't take any, because the students were making magic with the items in their kits and  having so much fun, it felt like the class was over before it started.  One of these days I will learn that lesson! A big thank you to all of you artists that came to French General for The Art of Craft classes, without you, it would be no fun! xo

back home

Loving this milk jar I brought home, it's so cute. Love utilitarian things like jars that have style and uses long past their original purpose.

 

Don't you just love this wall if books? Done by the clever partners at a store called Pink in Spokane. I found a few other treasures there that were small enough to bring home with me.

Spokane was full if snow and and charming sights. It was cold too!

And now, with four days before Christmas Eve, I am home and feeling the need to catch up. Leaving in December caused a bit if an upheaval to "December as usual", but I look forward to catching up with things- including my December Daily. Will show some updates here soon!

 

 

 

ciao bella!

I'm off to Italy with Mary Ann!

Ok, not really, but in spirit, via her latest, and quite possibly greatest, new online e-course: Ticket To Venice. She's awesomely talented...at traveling, and journaling, and teaching and sharing the story with blog readers...and I can't wait to experience her travels in a new way.  And not just because she's my friend, nope! 

Are you coming along?!? I hope so!

I'm actually off to Spokane tomorrow morning for a little job of sorts...Spokane, Italy...hmm...well, I've never been to Spokane before, but I'm thinking it's just not quite Italy, especially the way Mary Ann does it. Can't wait for the Venice adventure to begin! See you there... safe travels everyone.

Oct 19, 2012

I'm off in a working weekend with Heather. I'll try to sneak some behind the scenes shots on my IG feed. Loving our cute little hotel suite. After going out to dinner we retuned to our little treehouse and played with paper and pens. We're such wild and crazy gals!

fun at The Art Clinic

 

My weekend of co-teaching at The Art Clinic began with a lovely drive up the coast. I love this part of the drive, but who wouldn't, right? 

I landed at my dear friend Syd's house after unloading my car at The Art Clinic. 

I met Syd many years ago first via online where we were paired up in a mailing order for a collaborative, then at various art events like Teesha's ArtFiberfest. Syd often travels to art events with her art pal Mary, and after meeting them, we became fast friends. I love spending time with both of them so much, we may seem like an unlikely trio, (maybe that's the magic? i don't know...), but we have spent many an art retreat night in hysterics long after we should have turned in. To meet them is to love them. So, to finally stay at Syd's house was a treat. Her entire house shows a lifetime of art pursuits and a true love of the arts. Look at just this one shot of the kitchen I took, I was so in love with all the colors together...and that little center island...yum!

Jennifer arrived at Syd's not long after I did and we spent the next day was spent prepping for class over at The Art Clinic. Carol, who is Syd's partner in The Art Clinic joined in the fun. Carol is also wonderful and brings a different aspect to the Studio and playtime there, having a wise sage sensibility. She is very much like me in her love of craft tools and varied interests, but she is primarily a silversmith and makes beautiful, intricate works. It was great getting to really know her this trip. She's a real hoot and also super at stepping up and handling any need that anyone had (even if it was for a certain drill with a certain bit, right in the middle of painting- yes, it was me, I confess), besides of course, being a passionate artist. 

Here's a pic of Jennifer making me laugh on the way to class :)

 

Another great group of women joined us in the fun:

 

Both old friends and new. 

As always seems to be the case, especially at The Art Clinic I hear,  those that were meant to be there, were. 

Jennifer and I had a great time teaching together. Even though we felt we prepared extensively, you never know till you do it what might occur, and we were so pleased that we are making plans to co-teach again soon. (This time with more advanced notice, we promise!)

Jennifer serenaded me by the fire one night:

And in an attmept to entertain her, I think I pretended to be a rock star? ( not really sure what I was doing, but she did laugh at me, so I call it a success).

Always lots of silliness at weekends away, which is so good for the art as well as the soul. Jennifer and Syd being silly:

Here we are goofing around getting ready to load up our teaching demo board. We just didn't want the time to end!

Really, it was a great weekend. And I could go on and on. I wanted to  once again thank all the artists that came to join us for the weekend. I know it's not an easy feat to get away from your life and all it entails and that it is an investment in your art, with class fees, materials, travel etc. But I also know that you are all worth it and I'm thrilled that you gave yourself Permission to Play!!!! 

And Carol and Syd? You guys are the best! You haven't seen the last of me by a long shot...wait, did I just hear you locking the studio door? You think that's gonna stop me? Hahahahahaha! You should know me better than that by now. xoxox

we found sea shells

We found seashells on the South Carolina sea shore. Here's what we found right on the beach where we were staying. Fun, because it's pretty rare that we find shells on our Southern California beaches. It's also usually illegal to collect them on the beaches that do have them here (like all the beaches in Laguna). We didn't have many chances to go looking, and we didn't find many whole shells, but that didn't stop us. My favorites are the plaid pieces outside the jar, they are so smooth and silky feeling, and the plaid is so pretty. We didn't find any shark's teeth, and seeing a fellow searcher's three she found that morning explained why; they were minuscule.

My friend Sally and I did make it to Fox & Hound and B&B Antiques, (thank you Paulette for the research and comment), and I came home with this tiny mum tin for my air sickness patches, and a cute hanky to add to some embroidery samplers. And this funky little handmade piggy bank box shown below.

And my favorite finds were these art books.  At $2.00 a piece they will be fantastic journal collage fodder.

And that was it, all for under $20.00. I'm home, they are unpacked, and I'm digging to cut into the art books, but laundry first, creating later.

As always, I'm happy to be home, and it looks like we brought some of the weather with us; we woke up to rain today!

greetings from the road

I got caught out in the rain yesterday and loved every minute of it. We're on the other side of the country and for us Californians, thunder and lightning and giant rainstorms that arise out of the blue are just plain fun. Of course, you know, the storm lost a little bit of it's luster when certain scheduled events were cancelled, but only a little bit. I started the morning searching for shark's teeth on the beach (no luck, ...yet) and finished it watching our gang of boys play baseball. A very different, yet surprisingly fun, vacation for us all.

So, anyone know any places we should be sure to shell hunt, sea glass/pottery chard hunt, junk shop, antique, eat, etc. in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina? Just in case any games get rained out due to unexpected lightning storms? ( That is when I'm not trying to catch the storm on video for pet/house sitter that hasn't seen lightning in years- I'm finding it really hard to capture the excitement of the storms. I won't even bore you with the video here. I guess there's no substitute for experiencing things for yourself, no matter how good technology gets; and there's something very comforting about that!)

thanks ladies!

I had lots of fun teaching at Jenny's last weekend. Here are shots of the whole gang both Saturday and Sunday.

Many friends from previous classes, and lots of new ones too. I always love to spend time with artists. Each person is unique and to see all the different styles/thoughts/ideas show up in their work is so fun. As with most events, I didn't take one photo (thank you Jenny for sharing these)...I just feel like I forget to document, I'm so into the creating. Anyway, I wanted to thank each and every one of you that came to play. And a special thank you to Jenny and her family too, who were most generous to share their time and home with us so that we could play the day away. If you were there and posted your work anywhere we can see online, please leave a link in the comments. xop

a weekend up the coast

 

Can't really complain about car rides when this is the view out the window, now can I? Or this one, which I think is equally as beautiful.

With our daughter graduating this year, it was time to tour some of her favorite college campuses again. She's so grown up, yet not, all at the same time.

             
             

          
I had fun playing with my new camera while at a Farmers' Market,

and my son had fun playing with my old one on one campus.

          

I love that one of the students painted their bike, and that he noticed.

i saw pinwheels and inspiration galore

What kind of friend shows up for an all day visit when you are leaving the country in two days? Well, I am. Hahaha. After many failed previous attempts, I finally made it up to Moss Cottage! And Mary Ann was a most gracious host even though she's got a big trip around the corner.

 

              

We knew I had to see the pinwheel garage that she found while walking one day, as we had been having many conversations about the inspiring art of Thomas Campbell, which got me to copying him, and Mary Ann to making lanterns and other Campbell inspired creations.

Here are some other color combos and cool sites seen while walking:

               

                   

               

{not using the new camera yet}

It was so fun to spend the day talking about creativity, and cameras, and projects,  and traveling, and houses, and walks, and families, and paper, and and and, and most especially sitting down to a feast of visual journal viewing. That was certainly the icing on the cake! Another helping? Yes, please!