happy friday

photos courtesy of paula mcnamee

My friend, Paula, was kind enough to stop by the knit not war exhibit and send me photos. I just love seeing all the cranes displayed together - such lovely colors. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

knit not war

200 cranes in spring

photo courtesy of Seann McKeel

Hey Portland-area friends and visitors, the cranes I knit almost three years ago are finally going on display in an art installation at the Ace Hotel, so check it out if you have the chance (and please send me pictures if you go!) Here are the details:

knitnotwar 1,0o0: a public art installation displaying a thousand knit cranes, celebrating the quiet logic of peace. More than a hundred artists contributed to knitting one thousand origami-style cranes which will be displayed through the weekend of June 3rd, 2010 in the lobby of the Ace Hotel at 1022 SW Stark in Portland, Oregon.

See the installation and join us for green tea and snacks in the lobby of the Ace Hotel on First Thursday, June 3rd from 7-9pm.

The origami crane is an international symbol of peace, due to the hopeful and heroic story of Sadako Sasaki. Sadako died of leukemia after exposure from US atom bombings of Hiroshima in 1945. Believing a Japanese legend that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes will be granted a wish, Sadako hoped to get well. She completed over 1,000 folded cranes before dying on October 25, 1955 at the age of 12. Thousands of artists, children, religious groups, and other organizations commit to folding strands of a thousand cranes every year to express their commonality in belief of banning nuclear weapons-- their solidarity for peace.

draw your life

Here's a cool free e-book to download by Michael Nobbs called "Start to Draw Your Life" which also includes "75 Ways to Draw More." It's inspirational to read that the author took up drawing as a way to cope with an illness. (via The Pen Addict)

reduce, reuse, recycle

more journal pages...

anthro catalog, misc paper scraps

old book pages, vintage label

old book page, ledger paper, misc scraps

vintage sheet music, painted old book page, misc scraps

scrapbook paper, wrapping paper

magazine page, vintage map

journal pages

I finished three signatures for my Paris travelogue as well as four more to bind into other journals. I made mine on the less embellished side so that I can add things as I go along. I also left out the fabric bits on the pages - might try that technique in the future, but I'm happy with just using paper for now.

instant photo gratification

Taking this Remains of the Day class got me thinking about easier ways to journal photographs. Although digital cameras are very convenient and I no longer have to leave the house to get film developed, there are times when I just don't want to go through all the steps to get a photo printed (wait for computer to boot up, find the right cables to connect the camera, curse at crappy photo editing software, curse at printer for running out of ink halfway through the picture, curse at myself for not taking a better photo in the first place, etc). I recently found out about the Fuji Instax Mini Camera which looks like a fun and simple alternative and would be great for journaling on the go.

And because I would have to embrace the wabi-sabi nature of instant photos, my perfectionist self can just accept what comes out of the camera and not have to fuss with editing, etc. Now if I can just get someone to buy one for me...

Creature Comforts is hosting a giveaway of your choice between a Fuji Instax Mini or SLR Sloop camera bag - go to this post to make your entry.

shabby labby ding dong

In Remains of the Day, Mary Ann demonstrates how to use miscellaneous scraps (paper, fabric, and other odds and ends) to give her journals that wonderful shabby look. This is what initially attracted me to the class. I have a LOT of that kind of stuff, and ever since we moved into a smaller house a few years ago, the boxes of ephemera were becoming an albatross. I was prepared to let it all go last fall but heard about this class before I had a chance. Now I can put all the “remains" I've collected to good use! Here are the journal pages I started yesterday.

remains of the day

Several months ago, I found out about this online journaling class by Mary Ann Moss. Since then, more and more people whose blogs I read have been posting about it and I’ve loved how their journals turned out. Now that holidays and houseguests are well behind me, I decided to sign up and get in on the fun, too. My first foray into this journaling style is actually going to be a travelogue of our Paris trip from last year, so I’m looking forward to revisiting those memories as I work on my pages. Here are some photos of the fabric cover I just finished.




Notes & Materials:

-instead of 6“ x 9“ x .5", I decided to make mine 6“ x 11“ x 1.25"

-I did not have a large enough piece of 80 lb paper so I just recycled pieces of cereal box cardboard and sewed each piece in at a time so the cover would still be easy to fold. The thicker layer made it more difficult to free-motion stitch...I broke a machine needle but then replaced it with a denim needle and that seemed to help.

-I left the flap empty (no cardboard) to allow it to accommodate expansion in the signature pages

-tea-stained trim (on flap spine), decorator fabric samples from SCRAP, velvet ribbon from a Paris flea market, flowers from Studios Blackbird, buckle from La Droguerie

resurfacing

It's been a bummer of a couple weeks, culminating in my grandfather's passing. I have been in too much of a funk to post anything for awhile but finally am starting to snap out of it. More photos of Paris and my creative endeavors to come - for now, here are some bits and pieces that have helped reinvigorate my spirits lately...

ingenious cardboard spinning wheel

free printable affirmations by kind over matter (isn't that the BEST name?); check out their other great freebies, too (esp. love the garden and quotation cards)

free pattern by spud & chloe for a knitted cupcake pincushion

antique keys made of quilling paper

a great reason to add to your yarn stash

amazing embroidery sampler by amy of inspire company - look closely for the fabulous marie antoinette!

french musician named claire denamur - I heard one of her songs on a commercial recently and then came across this music video (she's not on US iTunes yet but I put in a request to add her):

my weekend - part 4

Are you still with me? :) I know it's a little crazy that it's taken me almost 2 weeks to post about this event! Also, I forgot something on my milagro, so here's an updated photo with the addition of a rusted tin strip with "mending" stamped on it.


The third and final project, heirloom house vignettes, was taught by Amy Hanna. We live not far from the beach so I chose a seaside theme and added shells and beach glass. I used mica to protect the photos and there's also writing on the four sides. Here are the sayings I chose:

-May our home always be too small to hold all of our friends
-Home, the spot of earth supremely blest; a dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest
-A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams
-Every house where love abides and friendship is a guest; is surely home, and home sweet home, for there the heart can rest

And now, onto my purchases! I got some handcut MDF pieces from Kim Hesson. Here's a sampling:




A baker's dozen of faux birds from Amy:


And here are all the vintage lovelies from Pam - a nature bag of goodies, beautiful blue wallpaper, glass jewelry box, pink floral curtain hooks (I think that's what they are!), and a cool hinged rack:

my weekend - part 3

The three talented and generous teachers got us started on some great projects (well, I didn't finish that day anyway!) Pam Garrison demonstrated how to make these fun Anthropologie-inspired garlands. I switched out the string she gave us and used seam binding I had at home and also added some fun polka-dotted tissue paper that French General used to wrap my purchases last month.



Teresa McFayden showed us how to make tin milagros.  I didn't want to cut up the cute tin she put the supply kit in, so I used an empty soda can but in the end decided it was too thin.  When I returned home, I cut up a galvanized step plate instead and aged it with Staz-On inkpads - I got that idea from people who were having trouble aging their pieces with liver of sulfur during the event.  The Staz-On doesn't cut down on the shine of the metal as well but it was good enough for this project.

One final post with the remaining class project and my purchases coming soon!