Tabboul...eh?

I tried my hand at making tabbouleh this weekend and paired it with some experimental flax seed and garlic flatbread. The flatbread is super easy and has endless possibilities. The base is just flour, a little salt, a splash of olive oil, and enough water to make it into a manageable dough. Roll it out into 1/4" thick pieces and bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or so until they are lightly browned. You can make a ton of variations-- I added garlic and flax seeds. You could try herbs, cheese, nuts and chopped dates, whatever! Pair it with quacamole, hummus, curry, soup, chili, etc, etc. So easy!

I'm working on several freelance jobs at the moment a well as a couple things to add to the shop. So check back soon!

Granny and Papa's: Prints and Patterns

We just got back from our trip home--great time with family, a beautiful wedding, reconnecting with friends---all very very good. Part of the time was spent at my grandparents' house. They're in their upper 80's and have lived in the same house for almost 40 years. They built it themselves using a lot of materials (rocks, wood) they gathered from the area around them.

It seems like it's hardly changed during my lifetime--same wallpaper, same carpet, same pictures on the wall, books on the shelves, magnets on the fridge, etc, etc. So this time there I tried to capture some of the prints and patterns in their house that are sooo familiar to me. Here are a few....


Tools in Papa's shop. He remembers where he got each one and many are older than me.


a button from the old, broken organ in their guest room


The living room carpet. My guess is that it was made with threads left over from every carpet ever made.


The wall and door of the basement bathroom.


A collection of tins and jars that have lined the top of the bathroom cabinets as long as I can remember.

There are more photos here if you'd like to see!

Temp...eh??

We're not vegetarians. But I get into vegetarian cookbooks, blogs, etc because I think the recipes tend to be a lot more creative and varied than the "take meat, add cheese" recipes that fill most carnivore cookbooks. So while working on one of my current cd design projects yesterday I listened to a podcast at CompassionateCooks.com. I tried one of the recipes the podcaster described for dinner last night. Finally, a chance to use that mysterious substance some call "tempeh" in a great dish!

So here's how to make it--
stir fry broccoli, tempeh, and walnuts along with soy sauce, garlic, maple syrup, and ginger (if you like ginger) and that's it! Serve with rice. So easy! And it's really good! Don't ask me about measurements cause I just guessed. Measuring is for people who want to make sure stuff tastes good. Not me, I like to live life on the edge. One cup? TWO cups?! Who knows?!! Craaazy.

Also, one of my prints was featured on Cuteable.com today so that's cool.

And we're (the little boys and I) are headed to Cincinnati tomorrow "(not yet) bright and early". We'll be back Tuesday! Have a good week!

A Tea Party with "The Sketch Family"

"The Sketch Family" Tea Towel
30"x30"
coffee, acrylic, and ink on cotton

I heard about this Tea Towel exhibit at a gallery in Cincinnati and thought it'd be fun to submit something. As of yesterday (the deadline) I had nothing but decided, what the hay, I'll give it a shot. So I picked up a pack of organic cotton tea towels from Target and spent the day going back and forth between mommy duties, a cd design project I'm working on, and this towel. I stained it with coffee and did the design with fabric paint and a sharpie. I finally submitted it at around 10:30 last night and an acceptance email was in my inbox this morning. Cool! So it you're in the Cincy area you should check out the show!

The Battle of Good vs. Evil

We've been working on Hudson's Fathers Day gift to Daniel this afternoon--a book he's making, "writing" and illustrating. The story involves a lot of death and destruction which I hope is sign that he's a normal boy, not something that will be used as evidence later on down the road when he tries to hold his preschool class hostage with a light saber. I can see myself on Dateline now, holding the little book and sobbing "The part where the tree kills the buiding should have given us a clue!"



Anyways...Hudson signed the book himself. He's getting pretty good at the shape of the letters but doesn't always get them in the right order. : )

Hot Off The Press

In the shop, I just added postcard versions of two prints-- "My Favorite Thing" and "Melodious Sonnet". They are good for sending to a friend and/or putting in a little frame. Hop on over and check them out if you'd like!

PS-- the "Melodious Sonnet" print is still only available through Relevant Magazine's online store...just in case you were wondering : )

Linocut Love

I did my first linocut print (since high school art class, that is). I'll have them available in the shop soon. As always, it's been fun trying my hand at a new medium. And I'm already scheming up other ways to use this technique....tshirts, tea towels, notebooks, pillowcases... who knows!

Meanwhile, all 4 Pretty Little Faith shirts are now available if you're interested.