Once in a lifetime

No energy today for a favorite things post, but I will give you the video for this Talking Heads song. I remember being mesmerized by it on MTv, and listened to it over and over during art school. I kinda have a thing for David Byrne, and his music always inspires me. I met him once at a book signing and was star-struck. So yeah, definitely a favorite thing. 

The dance moves he does in this song feel like what this week has been like for me. As promised, arty goodness coming your way next week! Thanks for hanging in there with me.

A Year of Handmade: I'm Crackers

 

So yeah, this blog has been a little heavy on the domestic arts of late: I hear you. I swear to you that sometime soon, it will be full of illustrated goodness. Please hang in there, I'm trying to be patient too.

This week has been nutt-o. My brain is experiencing a lovely fog that I hope will lift soon. Because of said fog, I messed up my only childcare day this week - so all my supplies are locked up in my distant studio crying like Rapunzel for yours truly.

Anyhow, we've been home a lot this week. Yesterday, in a moment of rare clarity and  inspiration I decided the kiddo and I would make crackers. Because that is what you do when you really should be doing about 100 other things (none of which are making crackers).

These are really yummy. Akin to those Nairns oat cakes . I used a recipe similar to this one. 


Really people, what is happening to me?

 

Etsy Wall Wednesday #10: Space

you are here now  $35  11.20"x16"

{ giclee print by farouche }

Comet Tin Toy Rocket Box  $40  7.78"x18"

{ art print by John W. Golden }

Space Portrait No.4  $65  3.5" x 4.5"

{ original gouache painting by Andrice Arp / hihorse }

Owl in Rocketship  $15  6"x 6"

{ art print by Lee Arthaus }

Like Peter Pan $20 8.5" x 11" 

{ art print by Naoko Stoop }

It has been a while since the last Wall Wednesday - so let's get to it!

I was talking to a friend of mine today who mentioned that she was going be doing a 'space themed' room for her little boy. As I sat down to do Wall Wednesday today I thought I'd take a peek on Etsy to see what they have in the way of space themed art.

Here are a few of my favorites, with links to their respective shops. I'm pretty sure all of these are kid friendly - Space Portrait No.4 might scare some kids but I think it is adorable and hilarious. Just be happy I didn't include the painting of Jabba the Hut ralphing into a toilet. See, I wasn't kidding. You can really find about anything on Etsy these days. Yikes. 

Happy Wall Wednesday!

What Up With That?

 

Today has me asking "What Up With That?" a lot. I just spent an hour writing a "Wall Wednesday" post for today, because I thought it was Wednesday, and I have mixed up two important dates this week causing me to miss both. Ugh. And it is only Tuesday, people.

What Up With That?

This skit from SNL always gets me. What Up With That stars Kenan Thompson (who I love) as DeAndre Cole. There is so much about this skit that I love - Kenan's body language, the rhyming, the dancing (especially the guy in the red track suit) the Kenny G look alike, and the chairs in skit that are identical to the ones I had growing up. But this one takes the cake - it features a bearded Zach Galifianakis as the world's only ambidextrous disco flute player. As a flutist, this was especially hilarious to me. If only I could be that cool - or look that awesome in a polyester jump suit.

 

Thrifty Treasures Party #2:

Happy Monday all. I thought I'd share a little thrifty goodness with you today. A new table and chairs has been on our wish-list for years now. We'd been getting by with some chairs that came from my step- dad's bachelor days, and a table my hubby found at Goodwill in our college years for $15. A totally serviceable set - but we'd outgrown it.

We just couldn't justify spending oodles of money on a table that also needed to withstand the daily spills and food smearings of a preschooler and her friends. Finding something that looked better than what we had,  was in line with our love of all things mid-century modern, fit within our budget, and could stand up to a slew of tiny diners was a tough bill to fill. I thought it would never happen.

Lucky for me I wandered into The Living Room in Kenmore, and found this awesome table with 6 chairs for $425. A wonderful bargain in my book - after years of searching. It does need a little facelift and we plan on reupholstering the seats, and redoing the table top. I'll post before and afters someday soon.

If you are ever in Kenmore, Washington and are in need of furniture I urge you to check out The Living Room. They also have a blog.  The stuff they carry changes out rapidly, so you never know what you will find there. Kinda fun.

I'm also linking this post to Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Treasures Party, where every Monday thrifty shoppers post their recent finds online. Like visiting thrift stores from all over the globe without buying a thing. 

Be back tomorrow with some more design related news! Until then...

A Year of Handmade: handmade tortillas

As the year of handmade plods along, I am finding the idea of making stuff I'd usually buy creeping into unexpected places - like my dinner table.

My kiddo is a picky, picky eater. One thing she will eat with gusto are quesadillas (which she calls tacatillos - one of my new favorite words). As I reached for yet another package of store bought tortillas I saw how many strange ingredients and preservatives were listed on the package. I remembered hearing how easy tortillas were to make so I put the package back, and vowed to give it a try. 

Guess what? They were easy, delicious, and so satisfying to make - only 5 ingredients, all of which I had on hand.  Mine (above) were not perfectly round, but they tasted delicious. I used this recipe - I used vegetable shortening instead of lard, and they were still tasty. 

Yay for handmade food!

tick tock

Modern Baby Clock by Decoylab on Etsy - $58

As I mentioned yesterday, this summer has been mostly about doing work for clients. Yesterday as I sat in my studio (still undecorated, still a plain white box - thanks for asking) I had that post project moment where I was all "Duhhh, what am I supposed to be doing?"

I have some bigger goals for my work. The work that I want to make (so many ideas), how I want to sell it, where I want to sell it, etc. etc. And, doing all of that can feel really overwhelming - not knowing where to start,  feeling like you need to start it all right now.  Pair that with already 'challenged' time management skillz, and you've got one hot mess.

As a subscriber to the blog Handmadeology I recently read this post that was full of tips on time management with the creative brain in mind. Please read it here. It's a good one.

After reading some of the tips I decided to make a story board for my goal of having a show of my new work in a local cafe. I broke down the steps into doable chunks, and placed each goal on a sticky note, then re-stacked the notes into their neat little cube. Instead of seeing a list as long as the one Santa Claus totes around (what I usually do) all I can see is the goal on the top. And when that one is done, I peel it off, recycle it and focus on the next one. This is such a visual reminder of doing one thing / one step at a time.

I'll let you know how it goes! What are your favorite time management tools / tips?