Paper Pie

Liz & Kalli #48 Balloon

Hi, it's Wednesday and I am a day behind on the Tuesday art project. We were in North Carolina this past weekend paying a visit to my wonderful Mother and Father-In-Law. As you can imagine, I am a bit behind on things as I try to get back in the swing. This week's word is balloon. Liz's piece is on the top and Kalli's is on the bottom.

*Liz

I call this collage Zebra with Balloons, in the most sarcastic way possible of course. One thing that I have learned during this little art project with Kalli, is that inspiration is sometimes really hard to come by. You kind of have to keep trying until you figure out something you like. Many times that is how it all comes together in the end, by trying. I have a beautiful notepad with illustrations on each page, including this Zebra. He seemed to want some brightly patterned balloons to keep him happy.

*Kalli

These brightened up my day a little, though I wish I had gotten slightly different colors at the balloon place, they looked a little different before being inflated. I might do another little shoot with more translucent balloons next time. 

Fun and cheerful balloons, Kalli. They make me feel happy and optimistic, just like spring!

Look What I Found In the Backyard

Little lavender lovelies were peeking over my neighbors hedge. Happy Soon-To-Be-Spring!

Liz & Kalli #47 Dot

Hi, the Tuesday art project is coming to you late in the evening this week. I am excited to be able to post it on the day it is supposed to be posted. This week's word is dot. Liz's is on the top and Kalli's piece is on the bottom.

* Liz

I can't really say much more than rainbows are my standby. I might print that on a t-shirt.

* Kalli

I figured I could just whip up something cute with illustrated dots, but instead decided to use light and metallics to make something less cute and more abstract, like constellations or stars. I punched out dots of foil, strung them up and photographed them shimmering in the evening light. Kind of turned out a little like a moon phase calendar.

Yours is so cool and creative, Kalli! I used to have a moon phase calendar, I loved it. I might see if I can find one. I like knowing what's going on with the moon, it's pretty easy to miss around here if you're not paying attention. The moon is definitely the neglected child in sunny LA.

Sunday Stroll

Such vibrant blooms in the neighborhood, it definitely feels springy around here. In this tropical climate there are always vibrant blooms to be found . . . and palms too.

Despite all of this abundant beauty, do you know what I've realized? I'm not a tropical person. Which should have been obvious to me from the start, since my genes are in large part Scandinavian and I was born and raised in Michigan. I guess I crave a new experience from time to time, and this tropical experience has become a bit redundant. I think I would like to be cozy, with a book and a fireplace. The LA sunshine is always shaming me into getting out and seeing the world. Which is great in its own way but, you know, I just crave different experiences sometimes.

However, one thing I do love about this tropical climate is the way that the weather and the natural landscape inform the local architecture and design. And the color, I love the color. I can recall many a gray winter in Michigan where literally the sun did not show itself for weeks and everywhere you looked there were leafless branches and any patch of visible grass was brown.

So for now, I'll enjoy the color and accept that I'm just a bird . . . lost in paradise.

It's a Girl!

And we couldn't be more excited, thrilled or happy. I also could not be more excited, thrilled, or happy with this dress. My first official baby dress. It's not perfect by any means, but I am quite proud of myself for making something that actually looks like a piece of clothing. I attached the binding around the neck and armholes without a hitch and even trimmed the seam allowances with pinking shears. I also accomplished a pretty straight hemline, but I was nervous the whole time. You betcha.

This is the Simple Dress pattern from the book, Simple Sewing for Baby by Lotta Jansdotter. This is the first project that I've tried from the book and I will say that the pattern and the instructions were quite easy to follow, simple indeed! One of the options in the pattern is to include the little pocket friend that I attached with ric rac. See, she can take it out of the pocket, play with it, bat it around and it stays right there. Last nght, Ryan was reading something about how tethering things to the baby is a good idea. So, I gave her this little tethered pocket friend. It is so cute I can barely stand it! I think she will love her pocket friend and name him something like Spinach or Cat or something as equally adorable. 

Here is a view of the top of the back of the dress. You can't really tell from this photo, but there is a small opening there. I created the button loop with embroidery floss and attached a bright yellow vintage button. The button loop was really fun to make and much sturdier than a ribbon or elastic strap. Because sturdiness is in important I think. I imagine her running around the yard, barefoot, chasing the puppy that we don't have yet. I want this dress to be worn over and over and maybe some day her little pocket friend will need to be reattached, or perhaps we will get rid of it all together when it proves to be too bothersome for the wash. All these little dreams, all these little thoughts, they comfort me when I am up in the middle of the night because my belly is expanding and I have to toss and turn to find just the right position, just the right spot that pleases me. Anyways, this dress only took me a weekend to complete and I have so many more ideas for little clothes that I want to make for little miss. Bloomers and smocks and gingham, oh my!

Liz & Kalli #46 Sculpted

It's windy here in LA this Tuesday. I went outside for a walk earlier and nearly blew away! So, instead of hoofing it all over the neighborhood I decided to come back inside and work on my Tuesday art project. This week's word is sculpted; Liz's is on the top and Kalli's is on the bottom.

*Liz

No baking this week, but sculpted paper flowers instead. I got a kit from Paper Source which contains all the supplies necessary to make both small- and large-sized paper flowers. Sometimes working from a kit or a pattern is just what I need to relax and enjoy the process. There is comfort in knowing that my finished project will turn out; that someone else has put together instructions and has taken care to guide me in creating something beautiful. It puts my nerves at ease and that is nice.

*Kalli

This necklace was made by using a mold from a button to shape the clay into a quatrefoil shape, letting it air dry, then doing a lot of sanding and smoothing to clean up the shape. Then I fired it (scary!) with a mini butane torch until the binder material (holding all the silver particles into a clay) burned away and all the recycled silver particles attached themselves to each other and created a nearly pure silver charm. After burnishing and buffing, I added chain and a wire-wrapped chrysoprase stone to finish it. YAY!

You go, Kalli! That is some serious, science lab sounding stuff. The result of your nerdy work is splendid and beautiful. I love it! Do you wear safety goggles?

Cheerful Gifts

I've been working on a collection of gift wrap, gift bags and cute-as-ever gift card holders complete with ribbon and tags. It's been a little challenging folding up these boxes just so, but after a lot of trial and error, I think I am there. It is really fun to wrap boxes that have nothing in them, because when you are done making them pretty you get to keep them. So now, it seems like there are lots of beautiful presents just for me in my studio! It has been really fun mixing these patterns up and applying them to something different. This blog is called Paper Pie after all, not Fabric Pie, or Fabric Scone. Fabric Scone doesn't quite have the same ring, does it? I'll show you more of this stuff as I create it and get ready to put it in the WonderFluff shop.

Today I am 20 weeks pregnant. It is pretty hard to believe that we are halfway there already. On the other hand, it does seem like I have been pregnant for a long time. Well, I have. 20 weeks, to be exact. I know so many ladies that are pregnant right now. This morning I counted 9! We are all due between May and October. High school friends, work friends, college friend, dear friends, and guess who else? My sis!! Yes, she is just 2 weeks behind me. My due date is July 22 and her's is August 6. My mom is beside herself with thrilled anticipation, 2 new babies at once. It has been fun going through pregnancy with my sister, though she is a couple thousand miles away. You know, Skype helps out a lot.

Liz & Kalli #45 Little

Hi there, it's Tuesday and time for the Liz and Kalli Tuesday Art Project. The word this week is little, as in small, tiny, of the pint-sized variety. Liz's is on the top and Kalli's is on the bottom.

*Liz

Here is my little breakfast or my petit dejeuner if I were in France. Baked goods two weeks in a row!? Perhaps once our weekly art project has run its course, maybe I can talk Kalli into doing a weekly baking project. Wouldn't that be fun? Just think how much more skilled we'd be after a year of that challenge. The photo above is of a little raisin pecan scone that I made this morning. I got the recipe from The Grand Central Baking Book (confession: the recipe was part of the content that Amazon let me scope out when I clicked to look inside.) I followed the recipe as written and opted to make 12 smaller scones instead of 6 jumbo-sized scones like you'd get if you were at the renowned bakery. I sprinkled some cinnamon on top along with turbinado sugar and they are quite a nice morning treat! They are very flaky and crumbly and I love them! I am definitely buying the book!

*Kalli

I found these little sterling charms that say hope and love and decided to make necklaces. The charms are paired up with either a crystal heart or a silver anchor (an old symbol of hope) and the lengths are adjustable. Little messages that go a long way.

I love those adorable necklaces Kalli. I'm pretty sure that little automatically equals adorable. Unless you are talking about fruit flies or termites or something like that.