Becoming a Professional

This card was made for my mom's 66th birthday!  One of my favorite cards I've made recently, I think because of how the paint looks, how inspired it was (I realized she was turning 66 and the wheels in my head began to turn), and how personal to her it is.  Along with this card, a donation was made in my mom's name to the Route 66 Preservation Foundation, and the guy who runs the organization, Jim, called her up that day and sang "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66," which was originally sung by Nat King Cole (you can here Cole singing it here). 

The card measures about 4"x7" and is made of construction paper, gesso, paint, craft sticks, a straight pin, permanent pen, and distressing ink.  Now, my mom isn't necessarily a Route 66 fanatic, but she does love to travel (driving is her main means of transport), and there are some other connections I was able to make. Plus, I love what Route 66 represents: travel and road trips (and everything that is good and bad about them!), nostalgia, a piece of American history, supporting local businesses, and an appreciation of the big expanses of nature and countryside that make up the United States, especially the West.

Small accolades story: When my mom received the card (which she loved, btw), she was with some in-laws. She reported that one of them (who I've only met once) said, "This is the best card I've ever seen!"  Yay!

This weekend, I've been working on creating my very first art resume, for submission to an organization that is hosting a professional development workshop for artists that I'd very much like to attend this spring.  The concept of writing this resume was intimidating at first, but I have to say that now I'm doing it, it is fun and validating!  I have really come a long way since August 2008, when I started this blog and first started thinking of myself as a professional.  This process makes my dream seem one step closer to reality.  I'll keep you up to date on the process.

B-day Card

Thought you might like to see a fun b-day card I made for my friend Phuong.  The button has a hook underneath it, which, when the card is folded up, slips into the tiny circle to clasp the card together.

I love being able to see the sewing lines on the backside of the front.

Here's a close-up of that hook.

Holiday Time Creations

Happy 2012!  January is usually a big month for regrouping and getting back into my routine, and seeing as how this is my first post of the new year, this January has been no exception.  I think since our birthdays are in mid-January, that the holiday season feels like it extends a little longer.  There's still celebrating to do, after all! 

Below are some photos of this year's Christmas card!  They were inspired by the pop-up card I made for last year's card swap, but these were a whole lot simpler.  The third photo is a variation I made with some scraps, which I thought turned out just as cute if not as cool as the original idea.

At the Fine & Funky Art Show, my new friend Jennifer sold pendants that she made out of fabric, lightweight wooden discs or squares, and epoxy. I was inspired to try to make them myself, just as a fun project to do with friends.  So my friends Katie and Haley and I made these one afternoon in December, along with some Christmas cookies (not pictured!). Mine are the two in the 2nd photo.  The rectangles are about 1.5 inches high.

You know how much I love aprons, and I've made many an apron similar to this one but with white instead of black.  Haley said, "I wouldn't wear a white one because I'd be too afraid to get it dirty!"  This comment inspired me to make this black one this week.  I like it a lot!  (Secret: there's a pocket behind that orange square!) The black poses a different problem, almost as annoying as dirt or stains on the white one: lint, fluff, and pet hair.  Thank goodness for lint rollers!  Check out my Etsy shop if you'd like to buy this (or any) apron!

And so, I'm back for 2012 and I plan to post at least once a week starting today.  In 2011 I had 37 posts, and I aim to beat that in 2012!  I also plan to host more giveaways this year, and offer up a few video tutorials.  Please save my blog address as a favorite so you can be sure to come back each week to see what is new.  I'm looking forward to having you around.

Pinwheel Bag

Merry Christmas to you today!  I just wanted to post photos of the most recent creation I made, a bag for a colleague of mine, who was assigned to me as who I should give a gift to (we all drew one name) at our office party.  I was inspired by a trip to the quilt store (that is often all it takes).  I saw a Christmas quilt with this pinwheel design.  They actually pop up  and out of the seams, and you have to iron them flat.  Kelly (my colleague) noted on her slip that she liked purple, pink, and blue, and so here is what resulted from the direction I had.

It is never interesting enough to line a bag with black, and it is easier to find your things when it isn't so dark in there, so here is the inside fabric!  Both the purple and the pink plaid were garage sale finds, and the pinwheels were made of 16 of my most favorite fabrics.

I wish you a lovely Christmas today.  I'll be traveling for the next two weeks, but when I'm back in January, I'll post my Christmas cards and anything else that "pops" up  (that was a hint) between now and then.

Thank you for a most excellent 2011,

HLM

xo

Toiletries/Wine Bag

10 years ago, I loved Pottery Barn stuff so much that I received their catalog regularly in the mail.  Of course, I could only afford about three things in their whole inventory, so one day I bought one of those three things.  Ladies and Gents, meet my toiletries bag!  As you can tell, I've taken it on every single trip since then.

It actually is meant to be a wine bag.  How it became a toiletries bag is a mystery to me.  Maybe I loved it so much (velveteen outside, silk lining) that I couldn't bring myself to gift it, so I thought of other uses?  Who knows.  Anyway, it is threadbare now and needs to become a fabric scrap.  So today, I made a new one!  Since it is meant to be a wine bag, I couldn't help but show the new one with a bottle of wine in it, but it will absolutely serve (hopefully for the next 10 years) as a toiletries bag.

The fabrics are both heavy duty IKEA fabrics.  I got the blue stuff on sale at $4 a yard, which seemed like a steal.  What's interesting about this is that I chose to make a bag exactly that size and shape again.  At some points over the last 10 years, I've thought that it is too narrow and deep for toiletries, and it is sometimes annoying for that reason (there is a limit to how much can fit in there).  However, I opted to go for the same design because the narrow-ness is actually helpful in keeping my toiletries from taking up too much space in my suitcase!  It is also without a zipper that could break, and it is easy to carry around when I'm in a space-not-my-own.  Plus, those annoying TSA regulations have made it so actually, all my stuff does actually fit in there.

My day today started off with a custom Etsy order for some bike bands with this new ribbon I got last weekend.  They will be a Christmas gift for a woman in Virginia who just got a new bike.  Her daughter says she has been frustrated that she hasn't been able to find these invaluable accessories anywhere, and of course, nothing as cute as this anyway.  (Ok, I threw that last bit in---the daughter didn't say that, or the word invaluable either.)

Today, my biggest task was finishing up making my Christmas cards.  You know I won't spoil the surprise here, but here is a little teaser of some of the parts.  I will of course post the final product after Christmas day.