valentine's day cards - done!

wow. i had a lot of fun in the studio. i was watching donna downey's inspiration wednesdays and whipping out cards like crazy. all set for valentine's day. yee haw.

valentine's day cardmaking play

i am having so much fun down in the studio lately. working in alternative media can really juice up the creativity.

here is a mock up of my valentines day card for this year. i have in mind a few changes. mostly, i'd like to add a photograph behind the heart and ribbon.

stay tuned for the final draft.

What are your creative intentions?

Have you decided what you would like the creative aspect 2012 to look like yet? I mine will going to fit into a single word. (What is with all this one-word resolution stuff?!)

I have a list of creative goals a mile long and the only thing these items have in common are create and joy.

My broadest goal is to pursue (acrylic) painting in a big way. I am beginning this with a study of color following Leslie Masters teachings. She has a terrific workbook that my mother (an oil painter) has found helpful. The book, How to Paint a Rainbow, encompasses watercolor, acrylic and oils.

Her approach is to begin with a limited palette until you are comfortable mixing your only mostly pure colors. So far, so good. I am just getting into the mixing portion of the program. More to come.

creating with beeswax

This weekend I learned how to make beeswax candles. We melted the wax and poured it into beautiful German molds. This pine cone was my favorite. I hope there are more of these gorgeous candles in my future. 

crate & barrel goes handmade

there are so many cute and wonderful ornaments in the new crate & barrel holiday calendar. i loved them all and can see much inspiration for ornaments to make.

button owl ornaments

check out these embroidered ornaments. thank goodness i just got my sewing machine back.

are these little guys the cutest! i am off to look for a pattern on ravelry. let me know if you know of one!

felted bird ornament

I don't felt very much, but these would be cute table decor.

caramel peanut bark

 The cute woodgrain packaging for this bark is making me want to do this for gifts just so i can create the packaging!

flatware stockings

Since there is nowhere to hang stockings here, this might be a cute way to incorporate them. These are actually stockings for flatware. I am thinking of creating a silver, magenta and cream theme for christmas this year, so i might need to get creative with the colors!

so long, fall

we took a little walk today in nederland. it had snowed yesterday morning. the sun peeked out, but was mostly in.

hope you are having a lovely weekend. now it's time to nap with impunity.

knitty goodness for your ears

and it's not a hat.

along with my knitting jag, i am on a knitting podcast jag. i am always listening to podcasts, but now the fibery ones are making their way back to the top.

i have linked to their blogs where they post show notes for each episode. in addition, all can be found on itunes with a title search. these are in the order in which i found them.

knit picks - kelley, the owner of knit picks, covers a wide variety of topics.it's pretty informative; sometimes i circle back to listen again to a particular topic.

stash and burn - nicole and jenny talk about their rather prolific knitting activities and discuss patterns they are eyeing for their future projects as they strategize about how to burn through their stash, accommodate their stash, add to their stash, etc.

cogknitive - dr. gemma discusses knitting and spinning, but also cognitive behavioral therapy and techniques to use in daily life. at one point, she was working in a prison and share some of her adventures with the cast of characters there.

stitch it - meghan is a knitter and spinner in illinois. she talks about homesteading, motherhood, knitting projects. her warmth and optimism is truly comforting.

KIPing it real - st. louis graphic designer jackie talks about knitting in public (KIP) and life in general with her adopted dogs paisley and scout.

the knitmore girls - a california-based mother daughter duo who discuss their knitting adventures which include many projects and also knitting trips and fleece safaris. highly organized and entertaining.

knitting pipeline - paula lives in central illinois surrounded by a turkey named franklin and other flora and fauna. she learned to knit in Denmark and hung with Elizabeth Zimmerman. she is also a bagpiper, so there is plenty of spice in addition to tons of knitting projects and handy tips.

Knitting is Back!

I seem to have rekindled my knitting mojo. Lately, I have cast on two projects and revived one.

Here is the meandering vines shawl in progress. I was looking for a rectangular shawl to experiment with lace. I wanted it to be pretty, but not too challenging. I like easy knitting; knitting that I don't have to think about.


 

This is the perfect solution. It's pretty easy and has a pearl "rest" row. I have strung dental floss between the repeats to help count and to serve as a life line. Also, because I am a little obsessive-compulsive that way.

So far I haven't had to rip all the way back to a life line, but I have done some ripping. Let's just say this project needs to stay home. It requires a touch too much concentration to go to meetings.



That said, this pattern (free on ravelry) is a lovely, relaxing knit. I am using baby alpaca that was gifted to me. I think it was purchased for a blanket originally, so I have a lot of it.

Can't wait to block it when its finished to get more definition out of the pattern and so that it stays more flat. right now, it's sort of a spongey lump. I think I will need to purchase some blocking wires for this. We shall see.

What are you working on?

i love missoni at target

i just cannot even describe how much i love the missoni for target collection. i put together a little "show" of my favorites.

will this stuff come to boulder? should it be ordered online? what is the best strategy?

Alyson Stanfield - Art-Marketing Consultant - Coming to Boulder

Nationally Known Coach Discusses Her Fantastic Book:

I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion

Please join us in Boulder, Wednesday, August 31, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Artist Jerrie Hurd (homo sapiens unadorned), Beth Hayden of Blogging with Beth and Dana Rogers, Dana Rogers Photography, are pleased to invite you to an evening with Alyson Stanfield. Alyson will be making a rare visit to Boulder to discuss the recent update of her book and answer questions about art marketing. Because of the intimate setting, you will have a chance to interact with Alyson and other artists. The event is free and light refreshments (cookies and ice cream) will be served.
We are limited to 30 people. Please RSVP to Dana Rogers at Dana@danarogersphotography.com for location and more details. (Event is taking place near downtown Boulder.)




 About the book: I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist‚s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion is for artists of all kinds. Painters, sculptors, ceramist, jewelers, photographers, and others will benefit from the easy-to-follow self-promotion practices in this book.

About Alyson: Author and art-marketing consultant Alyson B. Stanfield, of Art Biz Coach, focuses on sharing the artwork directly with potential buyers through electronic and traditional communication outlets in a manner that is comfortable, not artificial. Artists match Internet marketing strategies with sincere personal skills to take charge of their art careers. The book includes access to worksheets for in-depth self-promotion.