The Big One-O-O & One Last Giveaway!

That's right, friends!  Today marks not only the day that Art By HLM celebrates its 100th post, but also its 3rd year anniversary, and on the same day!  Wohoo!  Yeehaw!  Yippee!  (Imagine fireworks, if you don't mind.)

Three short years ago, I started this blog with some hesitation.  I had no idea what kind of a commitment it would be, or how much I might like it.  The fact that I've been posting regularly for three years is a testament to how valuable this tool and experience are to me.  Not only does the blog help me to be accountable and create more stuff more often (no excuses!), but I just love sharing my work each and every time with you.  If you're at all interested in a moment of nostalgia, you can read my first month's posts, from August '08, here. 

A friend asked me this week how I was going to celebrate.  I wondered, should I do something different? In the end, I don't think I will, with exception of a few ANNOUNCEMENTS (see below)!  But before that, let me show you one of my recent projects: a pillow.  This is not just any pillow, I tell you.  This little thing taught me two big lessons regarding piping (that yellow line around the edge) and buttons--specifically made just for this project!

My friend Haley & I made this excellent set of flags to hang in her little one's room.  She conceptualized and designed the whole thing--I just helped with the sewing.  You may recognize the fabric from the quilt project we did together here.  So as a gift, I wanted to make an accessory to the flags, and in doing so I tried out the new techniques on this pillow.  This side of the pillow reflects a similar design to the flags (in between the letters).

The piping is something I've never done before, and thank goodness my aunt (whose birthday is coincidentally today--HB Annie!) was visiting just during that week, who had done piping before.  She had some great tips, and reminded me that pins can be your best friend.  I really love how it turned out, and will do piping again for sure.

I made the buttons using two wooden buttons I already had, then put a fluff of batting over them before wrapping them in the yellow fabric and sewing them closed.

The pillow matches the flags (and the baby's room) brilliantly!  Hooray for a fun and unique baby gift!

Alright, onto the ANNOUNCEMENTS!

1. Announcing the winner of the 99th post giveaway!  Tara, you are the one! Please email me indicating the one you like best in the photo, and the bike band is yours.  
2. Announcing the OPENING OF MY ETSY SHOP!!!  I have actually had it for awhile, but in honor of this occasion, my 100th post, I have packed it with fun things for you to peruse.  Please come by soon and often for more that you can choose from.
3. Announcing a feature article about me and my work on another blog!  Please pay a visit to Brittany's Best to read it and see what another great Fort Collins artist is doing in art and online.
4. Finally, announcing my last giveaway for awhile!  There is only one way to win this one, and everyone who participates wins something!!  Please visit my Etsy Shop, then come back here and post a comment with what your favorite thing in the shop is.  If you do this, I will send you a hand-made surprise goodie, made specifically for this particular giveaway.  I won't show you what it is--I hope you're ok with being surprised.  But I'm sure that you will like it.  :)

Before signing off, I want to say thank you to everyone out there who follows my blog and appreciates my work.  It means so much to me that you are out there and that you care.  Here's to another fruitful and productive and meaningful next three years!

Thanks for everything,

Heather Matthews, aka HLM

99th post: Professional Development & GIVEAWAY!

This week, I met Kelly Kilmer, a mixed-media journal artist who I've known about for years.  She led a class at the Artist's Nook called "Pen Work" and I attended and had a lot of fun.  Here are the three collages I made in just under 2 hours.

If you click on them for a closer view, you'll see the details better.  Starting with the first collage, Kelly challenged us to "be different" with our writing.  Use different kinds of styles, including script, capitals, tiny, big, thin, thick.  She had about one million pens that we could try out.  She provided instructions all throughout, which I liked, about writing, techniques, just new ways of using pens.  I didn't have to think about design, which for me takes a lot of time.  She had designed a layout, and we interpreted her design in our own ways.

The third one was certainly the most different for all of us.  Kelly said, "For this one, you'll need a face.  One that takes up most of the page!"  I've had an Anthropologie catalog in my stash for years that had the two ladies on the cover, so it was fun to use it in this new way.  Kelly instructed us to journal on the faces (!) in small writing, and doodle.  The best part:  that it didn't have to be perfect, or that it was ok to write "I don't know what to write" if we couldn't think of what to write.  At one point, Kelly mentioned that she hates how art journaling has developed a reputation in the magazine world that it has to be perfect, and it's not any good if it isn't.  That isn't what journaling or being expressive is about at all.  It is just about creating.  Making mistakes, or doing things to experiment, help us learn.  Kelly's instructions and encouragement really made me feel free.  It helped me open up and not worry about the details so much.  It was a lot of fun.

The winner of last week's giveaway: Steve-o!  Steve-o won by liking me on Facebook.  :)

This week's giveaway is a famous HLM bike band!  You can buy 'em for sale on my etsy or in a couple of Fort Collins shops, or you can win one right here.  They are great for protecting that pant leg when you're riding around town to your next destination.  Here are some examples of what I've got in stock:

To enter this week's giveaway drawing, you can do one or more of these things:

1.) I re-opened my "Up-cycled Envelopes" poll to the right because I need more input!  Fill it out and leave a comment below saying you participated (you can just type "I voted!"--otherwise I don't know who fills out the poll).

2.) Like Parsley Art Studio on Facebook!  (Anyone new since August 3 will be entered.)

3.) Tell your friends!  For anyone who either leaves a comment (and tells me you sent them) and/or becomes a follower, you get another entry.

4.) Leave a comment saying where you might next take a bike ride to.

Anyone can enter--I'll send a bike band anywhere in the world.  This drawing will close at midnight (mountain time) on Tuesday, August 9, and I'll announce the winner in my next post. 

Next week will be my 100th post, and you will NOT want to miss out on that one!  Come back again to see what I mean!

98th Post: New/Old Projects & GIVEAWAY!

Sorry for the week-long delay this time around!  (I've had company.)  Here are some more cards I made for some favorite peeps, once again out of the collage I made here. (Remember to click on the image for a better view.)

Today, I am making a few more cards, but more than anything I am hoping to get to this project.  I started this painting about 2 years ago, and once I got it to this stage, I put it away, uninspired.  My style has developed since then, and when I was forced to bring it out into the light a couple weeks ago, I hung it up and was able to see it with fresh eyes.  I can't wait to get going on it again.  I think it will look much different later on.  Of course, you will get to see the final product when it happens!

Finally, the winner of the last blog giveaway was Kyran!  Thanks for liking me on Facebook, Kyran!

This week, I am giving away 10 handmade envelopes.  Many of you know that I have made envelopes out of old calendars for years.  I blogged about it awhile ago, here.  I am planning to share a booth at a craft fair in August in Aurora, and am considering selling these.  

To enter this week's giveaway drawing, you can do one or more of these things:

1.) Fill out my "Up-cycled Envelopes" poll to the right and leave a comment below saying you participated (along with anything else you'd like to say).

2.) Like Parsley Art Studio on Facebook!  (Anyone new since July 19 will be entered.)

3.) Tell your friends!  For anyone who either leaves a comment (and tells me you sent them) and/or becomes a follower, you get another entry.

Anyone can enter--I'll send this set of cards anywhere in the world and include envelopes for each card.  This drawing will close at midnight (mountain time) on Tuesday, August 2, and I'll announce the winner in my next post.  Remember to come back next week for another giveaway (one each week through my 100th post), and good luck!

97th Post: Pretty Ice Pack Holder & GIVEAWAY

What is it, you ask?  Well, holding ice to your body is never very fun.  Aside from the dripping bag (have you noticed even brand new ziplocs leak?), I find that it is simply uncomfortable to hold the ice pack--your hand gets cold and you're sometimes having to perform body contortions.  Plus, every time you move, the ice pack falls out of place.  Having a need to ice my lower back fairly regularly in the last few weeks led me to design this beaut.  Here's how it looks tied on (notice my hands are nowhere near the ice pack!):

I've experimented and determined that it can be tied to almost any part of your body.  The ice pack simply slides into the pocket at the back:

Close up of the tie--just a simple knot.

I think I might try to sell these on Etsy.  They are quick to make, and I think some people might like the idea that they are certainly nicer to look at than some other products out there (including the wet ziploc).  

Thank you to all of you who became followers or left a comment after last week's post!  I made a list of each person's entry based on when you commented or became a follower (or emailed me when there was one day that blogger seemed to be having issues).  I used on online random number generator and it picked Phuong as the winner!  Congratulations, Phuong!

For this week's giveaway, I've made a set of mini cards from the paper I wrote about in post #95.  The photo makes them look larger than they are;  the tallest card (middle) is about 4" tall.  Click on the photo if you want a closer view.

To win this week, you can once again do multiple things (though some are different from last week):

1.) Leave a comment on this post!  Any feedback you can give on the ice pack holder would be particularly appreciated.

2.) Like Parsley Art Studio on Facebook!

3.) Tell your friends!  For anyone who either leaves a comment (and tells me you sent them) and/or becomes a follower, you get another entry.

Anyone can enter--I'll send this set of cards anywhere in the world and include envelopes for each card.  This drawing will close at midnight (mountain time) on Tuesday, July 19, and I'll announce the winner in my next post.  Remember to come back next week for another giveaway (one each week through my 100th post), and good luck!

96th Post: Pop-up Card Story & GIVEAWAY!

As promised, here is the story of the pop-up card I made for the 2011 Six Degrees of HLM International Card Swap!  The idea came to me a few years ago--I wanted a challenge, and to learn about pop-ups.  I borrowed some lackluster books on the subject from the library and scrutinized another couple of pop-up cards I'd received and kept from over the years.  Then this February, I attended a friend's art night one wintery Thursday evening and developed this prototype (remember to click once on each photo for a closer view):

It didn't close properly, and the measurements were far from exact, but it worked, and it helped me to develop my design for the final card.  So I began cutting out or creating the various components.  Roads, buildings, trees, suns, lakes, sailboats, the grassy forefront, the blue sky, and fluffy clouds.  Not to mention the base of the card, made of black cardstock.

Then I began to assemble.

I knew that I wanted it to be not only a pop-up scene but also an actual card, where a message could be written without obstructing the view (haha!).  So I designed this tri-fold cover for the card.  You'd unwind the string from the button, unfold the top flap to reveal the message first, then carry on unfolding to reveal the surprise that is the cityscape.

To hold the card open for display, you can fold the top flap back and re-tie it to the button.

Here is some detail:

And so, in honor of my approaching 100th post, I am offering you a chance to win one of these most excellent cards.  If I were to try to sell this card, I'd have to charge some exuberant amount of money for the time it took to make it. So I'd rather not bother, and instead I'd like to make your day!

To enter your name for the giveaway, there are many things you can do. The more you do, the more times your name will be entered into the drawing:

1.) Simply leave a comment on this post. (For instructions, see right.)

2.) For an additional entry, become a follower of my blog!  (Click on the Follow button to the right, right below my contact email.)

3.) Tell your friends!  For anyone who either leaves a comment (and tells me you sent them) and/or becomes a follower, you get another entry. 

4.) If you live nearby, signing up for one of my classes (click here to learn more) gets your name entered into the drawing two more times.

Anyone can enter--I'll send this card anywhere in the world and include an envelope.  This drawing will close at midnight (mountain time) on Tuesday, July 12, and I'll announce the winner in my next post.  Remember to come back next week for another giveaway (one each week through my 100th post), and good luck!

(Special thanks goes to my photographer sister Ashley for taking these fabulous photos! To see more of her work, click here.)