Paper Pie

Another Giveaway

::GIVEAWAY CLOSED - Congratulations to Dinkwerks Quilts with comment #6.

Please email me your mailing address and I will get your copy to you right away!
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Look what came in the mail a few days ago:

Issue #2 of the Craftsanity Magazine! I have long been a fan of the Craftsanity Podcast, I used to cue it up and listen on my headphones while I was working away in my cubicle. Craftsanity creator, Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood, writes, broadcasts and crafts from Grand Rapids, MI which is about 40 minutes from my hometown of Muskegon, MI. So, I've always had a fondness. Jennifer is a journalist by trade and it is very apparent in her excellent writing and interviewing skills. Plus, she is funny, warm, curious, honest and open. She asks great questions and her podcasts are detailed and meaninful. All in all a very good listen and a great way to lift your spirits and get inspired. One word of caution: they are highly addictive! I have listened to most all of the 123 episodes that she has put out so far, some of them twice! It is also pretty neat to hear the voices of the crafters and bloggers that I admire most. To hear instead of just read, ya know?

The magazine is jam packed with projects and, just like the podcast, it is super interesting and irresistable. Here are a few of my favorites from this issue:

I love these cute Bunny and Chick Egg Cozies by Ana Paula Rimoli. This project has me thinking about crochet again. Remember last time?

I love the book review section. I am somewhat of a craft book collector, rather than a craft book user (there I said it.) Admitting my habit does not change the fact that I really want to go and get this one. Liesl has a fabric line with Moda as well, have you seen City Weekend?

Basketweaving? Don't mind if I do. I would love to try my hand at this one, it is so adorable. There is something so charming about a bike with a handwoven basket. I need more of that in my life I think. I can't wait until Rylie is big enough for a bike seat. Actually, I can wait. She is already growing so fast.

This little tutorial about curling kid's hair with rags is really interesting. I love the long ringlets it creates, but also love the look of an updo tied with rags. Rylie has a little bald head that I can not stop kissing. However, my own hair has sort of taken on a life of its own and I would love to try this out. Little curly low pigtails on each side, uh huh.

These flowers made with a fork are sweet and might be great in this vase of mine. I feel a little spring spruce up coming on!

Have I mentioned that I have two copies sitting here beside me? One for you and one for me. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me your favorite thing about spring and on Monday March 21 I will randomly pick a winner. Good Luck! Which reminds me . . . Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Mama Time * Strumming

It has been really fun sharing the ways that I recharge my batteries here with you. I have also enjoyed your comments and hearing how you stay balanced as well. These little breaks that I give to myself are key in keeping a smile on my face.

All through junior high and high school I played the flute in the school band. I took private lessons and made it as high as second chair. I could never quite catch first. One year, I took home the highest honor possible in a solo competition and I even sported my little lyre on my arm for marching band. I also took piano lessons for a few years back then. In the last few years I have thought a lot about how I miss that dedication to music and I've been fostering a real desire to get back to it, but not the flute. I LOVED playing the piano, but taking that up again seems like quite a feat considering our lack of open space in this apartment. I want to try something completly different, I want to learn to play the guitar.

So, I've been dropping hints about how I'd love to take some lessons. It is the only thing on my Christmas list. I've also been studying this site pretty hard. It is a really great place to start and quite comprehensive. So far, the extent of my knowledge is a few basic chords. My family is very patient with me as I play the same note over and over and over again and complain about how bad my fingers hurt.

Justin says that it is best to practice only 15 to 20 minutes per day, instead of trying to do a marathon 2 hour practice session all on one day. It is good for me to really take that advice to heart because I am kind of a marathon doer. When I get a space of time to work I really try to go all out and get lots done. According to Justin, this is counterproductive when it comes to guitar. 20 minutes a day? I can do that! I am thinking I can find that chunk of time in the evenings as soon as Ryan gets home from work so I won't be interrupted. Ryan wants to get back to playing the guitar, too. We are going to be jam buddies! We just need to get one more guitar.

Perhaps the biggest motivator in getting me playing an instrument again is Rylie. I want her to be surrounded by all types of music from a young age. In the mornings and evenings we listen to classical music and she loves her Brazillian Lullaby CD. I also want her to experience making music herself and for her to see Ryan and I making music. Soon enough, we will all be making music together.

***************************************************************************

Sugar Pop is popping up! Head over to City Craft to see the whole collection online and available for sale!

Flea Market Finds

Before Ryan and I went to the Arboretum on Sunday, we stopped in early at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. It is quite the event and Ryan and I have found plenty of goodies there over the years. Vendors and shoppers come from all over to buy and sell, and I have more than once seen crews from the HGTV shows filming there. Because of its popularity, good deals are a little more elusive at this FM than others in the area. That being said, the place is abundant with eye candy and a really fun way to spend a Sunday morning. I am generally more curious and wander-y than Ryan, he is more business when he is there. He'll be about 25 paces in front of me before he realizes that I am fondling some vintage tea towels or ogling some amazing clown sculpture. Ryan is always on the search for a Sea Captain painting. He saw one there a while back and didn't buy it and he has been living in regret ever since. The yarn art piece above is just up my alley though we let this one go. As are these bright vintage prints.

The place is so full of amazing things that I sometimes get overwhelmed to the point of paralysis. Meaning, I love everything so much that I end up buying nothing. I simply can not decide. Another phenomenon of the giant flea market is searching for something very specific and not being able to find it to save your life. You can guarantee that when you go back next month, the place will be flooded with that one item. This has happened to us on many occasion. For instance, before we were married we circled the whole place upside down and backwards looking for a bird cage so that our guests could put cards in it at our wedding. No luck, nothing, nada. Every time I have been back there since, the place is teeming with bird cages. It should actually be called The Rose Bowl Flea Market and Bird Cage Emporium. This time we were there looking for things like a rocking chair, storage solutions, a smaller more kid friendly coffee table, and I wanted to find a cutesy vintage-y shelf for the nursery. We did not find any of those items to suit our fancy. However, we did by a few old and well worn Little Golden Books.

Treehouse Collective had a booth there too and we found this adorable jumper from the 50s in size 18 months. I love this color green and Baby Scott does not have a whole lot of it in her closet yet. Here it is! Their prices were much lower at the FM than on their site, so I guess there are good deals to be found after all!

Stork & Me

A few months ago I received an order for a bunch of my organic cotton fabrics from Holly at the Etsy shop Stork & Me. She had mentioned that she was opening her shop soon and that it would feature organic cotton burp cloths, washcloths, onesies and other all natural baby items. Her shop is open now and her stuff is just adorable. I fell in love instantly (imagine that) and ordered up a bunch of her stuff for gifts and a little something for Baby Scott too. Each little item is very well made and soft and came packaged with a ribbon and a gift card. Holly ships super fast too! Since I have a project list about 3 miles long of baby crafts I would like to do, it was kind of nice to order something using my fabrics and have it arrive at my door step a few days later. The nesting urge is kicking in big and it is time to delegate!

A Beautiful Day

Yesterday, my wonderful sister-in-law, Kristy, and my dear friend, Audrey, threw me the most beautiful and lovely baby shower. It was indeed hosted with love. These two really know how to throw a party and how to make a girl feel special. Let me show you.



The amazing Audrey created adorable paper details and put together the incredible favors. I was so in love with the favors that I took one too from my own party. Is that bad etiquette? Oh and up there, that baby on the phone, that is me at 9 months.




Kristy has impeccable taste and her gorgeous home was the perfect setting, sunny and bright. I love all of her thoughtful and beautiful details. The color palette was inspired by the fabrics that I am using in the nursery which I also used to create the bunting shown below.

I mixed up Sandi Henderson Meadowsweet, Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley and Kate Spain Verna in pink, red, orange and yellow. I can't wait to hang this in the nursery, it will look so pretty on the aqua-colored walls.

Audrey found these amazing fabrics and everyone cut out an appliqué and ironed them to onesies of different sizes. Our little girl is going to be well-outfitted for at least the first year! It was such a fun idea and a very special keepsake. I took photos of everyone holding up the onesie that they made so that I will always remember where all of these little hugs and kisses came from. Check out Sarah's below, she even used the negative space, how clever is she?

And the food, did I mention the food? Kristy served up delicious brunchy fare including quiches, souffle, chicken salad croissants, fresh fruit skewers and a green salad. At every gathering, Kristy's mom, Linda, makes the best dessert that you've ever eaten. Yesterday she did not disappoint with Paula Deen's Gorilla Bread. It's like a brown sugar, walnut-y cream cheese-filled biscuit and it's enough to make you want to grab the whole pan and run to your car and escape before anyone else can have any. Really, it is. All manners go out the window when it comes to Gorilla Bread. But if there were ever a group of ladies that I would consider sharing the Gorilla Bread with, it would definitely be these guys.

Everyone was so generous and wonderful, and I am speechless really. People's kindness astounds and humbles me. Ryan and I have all of the essentials that we need for our little girl's arrival thanks to our amazing friends and family from all over the country. All of this love just keeps showing up at our doorstep everyday and I almost start sobbing every time. Our friends Sasha, Nicole and Lauren got us this Svan Bouncer in chocolate and orange. I just can not wait to put her in there! In the card our friend Sal, a master cartoonist, drew us a little picture. Leave it to Sal!
It is such a baby boom right now. At my shower there were 3 other pregnant ladies and we are all due between July and October. On the far right, Nicole is due July 21 and I am due July 22!

Our dresses were such a pretty and joyful palette to match the bright and sunshine-y day.


When Kristy was over for Memorial Day, I was showing her all of the darling little outfits that Little Girl has received already. I am so loving this little pink and red polka dot strawberry dress.That night she asked Ryan to get a photo of it and she brought it to the bakery with her when she ordered the Strawberry Shortcake. Can you believe how cute it is? I mean, really. I was so surprised and delighted! The cake was so light with whipped cream and strawberries, and it tasted like clouds and heaven and airy goodness.

Thank you really does not seem like an adequate thing to say to all of my truly dearest friends for making the day so special. I had a wonderful time! Also, a very special thank you to my mother-in-law, Ann, who couldn't make it because she lives in North Carolina, but we were thinking of her all day. And to Kristy and Audrey; I really, really, really love you guys!

WonderFluff Bags

Happy New Year! I hope everyone's Holiday season was filled with fun and special delights. We had a wonderful, albeit busy season. I am so grateful for all of the time spent with family and friends and all of the beautiful gifts and delicious meals, but I am also so anxious to get going in this brand new year just bursting with opportunity!

I've been wanting to show you these bags for so long now. Back in November, Ryan's Aunt Mary, a very accomplished seamstress, made these beautiful bags for herself and my Mother-In-Law, Ann. She used the upholstery weight canvas for the exterior and the quilting weight cotton for the linings on both. I love the way that they turned out. It is so fun to see WonderFluff fabric in action!

Mary's bag:

Ann's bag:

Liz & Kalli #21 Happy

Hello! It's Tuesday which means it is time for more fun art and word play. This week's word is happy, Liz's is on top and Kalli's is on bottom. Today, I went to the plaza at the LA County Museum of Art (LACMA) to see the installation pictured above called Happy Happy. The artist, Choi Jeong-Hwa, went to the 99-cent Only Store and bought a whole slew of bright plastic kitchen items; bins, tubs, laundry baskets, strainers, bowls, funnels, cups and I even saw a few whiffle balls. Then they were strung in these long, magnificent hanging columns that sort of sway back and forth. It is an amazing sight and it is an interactive piece, you can walk through and be surrounded by all of the glorious color. If you are in LA I highly recommend a visit. Here is a photo of the exhibit at the opening reception. Kalli used my favorite colors to do her happy piece. She says,"There are so many ways to visualize the word 'happy,' but what I ended up doing was showing different paths, or it could be a tree, but it's supposed to represent that I'm happy when I have options to learn and create, and the freedom to grow. I used evening colors because I'm more at ease and my imagination works best at nighttime." Well said Kalli, and a very thoughtful piece indeed.

My Nieces

I'm so glad it's Friday. Ryan and I have been going going going for a long time now and I'm looking forward to hanging out and taking it easy this weekend. We actually have a semi-busy weekend, but I'm thinking it will be great to just be leisurely about it all. This past week I received my swatches from Spoonflower for these designs and these ones too. In general they seemed to print a little different from the last fabrics I had printed. The color shift was a little more dramatic. I spent some time color correcting and I am uploading the designs as I write this. They should be available in the WonderFluff shop within the next few weeks. I'll let you know when they are there, so stay tuned.

 

Last weekend, Ryan and I travelled to Michigan for some family time. While we were there we got to hang out with my two incredibly cool nieces. Kelci is 8 and the minute she saw me she handed me the envelope above (that's how she spells Lizzie, I like it). When I opened the envelope it had this amazing little card all folded up to fit the small envelope. I am particularly fond of my very full and voluptuous lips in her drawing. When I was looking at the drawing she said, "It was too hard to draw your hair short, so I drew it long." It seems she has subscribed to my own art philosophy which is: more is more. Here's the inside:

Isn't it just enough to make you cry, it was for me. She is such a nice sweet niece, just as she's signed it there. I love her so much and miss her terribly. I'm blessed with not one but two nieces, Kelci has an older sister named Kali and she is 10. Kali is also an artist and did this piece in school a few years back.

I spotted it when I was home visiting and was so taken with it that I begged her to let me take it home with me. She wasn't hard to convince though, she wanted me to have it. She is a very nice sweet niece as well. Here is what it says on the back:

 

Kali and Kelci are both so amazing and awesome and I hope that they always love to draw and make things. I will encourage that in them as much as I can. I know what making things does for me and I am more than enthusiastic to pass that on to my little lovelies. Here is a photo of Kali, Kelci and I just last weekend.

 See that squeeze I've got on them? How I love and miss them so.

Chamonix + Portland

I've spent the last few days updating the WonderFluff and Paper Pie Shops. I decided to put a few more fat quarters of fabric up for sale. So right now you can get all four designs, Mod Flowers, Mod Buds, Mod Trees and Mod Leaves. It's the Mod Collection! I also added the Cheerful Sunburst Tote that I posted about here a while back. I am so super excited about the sweet little French bird above. I've been working on this collage/painting the last few days and I just love it! It's an assemblage of flowery paper and this drawing/illustration of a friendly bird flying over several jagged precipices. I was watching Rick Steves' Europe yesterday and he was bumming around Chamonix, France in the French Alps at Mont Blanc. It is a beautiful and majestic place, and seemed fitting for this adventurous birdie. So I named this painitng, Flight Over Chamonix. I wanted to do a cheery and sweet bird because I've been so inspired by Lisa Congdon's vibrant bird paintings. I love this Quail! He's so exuberant yet humble at the same time. Amazing. Flight Over Chamonix is right here in the Paper Pie Shop.

In other exciting news, Ryan and I have finally booked our first trip to Portland, Oregon. We only talk about Portland like every single day, so this is a very exciting trip for us. We wanted to go for Memorial Day, but it was not working out with our bonus travel tickets/work schedules. Instead we are going for the Fourth of July, which will be super fun and festive in it's own right. We wanted to stay at the Kennedy School in the worst way. It's an old school now converted into a hotel, restaurant, several bars, and movie theater. Sounds like it would be just up our alley. The Kennedy School is booked for the Fourth, so instead we are staying at the Ace Hotel, which doesn't seem like a too shabby alternative. The Ace is right in the city too which will be convenient I'm sure. We will definitely take a drive to the Kennedy School at least for a sit on the patio or a trip to Detention Bar. One last little bit before I go, I'd like to thank all of the incredibly sweet and talented creative bloggers that have been linking to my beginnings of a blog here. I have been so inspired by this community for so long and it feels great to finally participate. It's such a wonderful thing!

Sunny Day

It is such a beautiful day today. It feels like spring has finally arrived. Not that the weather in Southern California is ever anything but mild, but it has been rather gloomy and windy lately. It's the best when a day as lovely as this is also a Saturday.

On a different note, yesterday I worked on the 2 little t-shirts above. I'm quite pleased with them and I think they may be 2 of my favorite yet. I love the applique on the yellow one and the pear on the green one is as sweet as can be. I am thinking of opening another Etsy store to sell just my sewing projects. I'll keep you posted. Also, I was over at Melissa's blog today and she is giving away a copy of Susan Beal's book. All you have to do is leave a comment on her post, here's a link, and she is going to pick a winner on Monday night at 8 pm PST. Button It Up looks like a great book, so I am definitely going to comment. I have a rather huge stash of vintage buttons just waiting to be project-ed.