If I Was Buying Art...

In a lot of ways I think recession is good. With fewer hours at work, people are forced to spend more time at home. With less money we're forced to actually think seriously about what we buy, cook more at home instead of eating out, get creative about entertainment, MAKE gifts instead of buy them.....ultimately all good things.
Us, for example...to be honest we're making very little money right now. We're living in someone else's house and when they finally come back in a couple weeks, we'll be living in their basement (which we're painting, fixing, furnishing right now--so fun!). Our little red car is not awesome, it's got its fair share of rust and rattles and when someone accidentally bumped it a couple days ago we just shrugged our shoulders and said "Eh, that's ok". On paper we look poor but LIFE. IS. AWESOME. Seriously. We have more time with friends, more time with family, more time for art and gardening and other good things. We're learning to trust God and be joyful. It's great.
That said, I DO wish I could justify some art purchases (who knows, I could be easily convinced).

First up is this Joel Blazer painting. I wish there was a better picture. I've seen this piece in person and it's beautiful. His work is weird and beautiful and he's a really nice guy so I'd love to support him. My excuses for NOT buying this piece are becoming weaker and weaker : )

And you know I am a Jen Corace fan. I love this piece of hers. The original is sold but if she makes prints available I'll have to put that on my (6 months early) birthday wish list.



And I've been following The Black Apple since I first joined Etsy (As Etsy's most popular seller, it's hard to miss her).


I think this print would look so cute in a little girl's room (or a grown-up girl's studio). My love for this print stems from my love of blankets, cute fabric, and general coziness.

In these times I want to be extra aware of who I support with my money-- artist, musicians, and poor people (is there really a difference?) are at the top of my list : ) So I'm off to itunes to purchase some tunes from this great band I found yesterday. Happy creating!

Workin On...

I've been working on a few projects for Artists&Authors in preparation for their cd release party later this month--the cd art, t-shirts, stickers, etc. If you're local to the Cincinnati area you should definitely come by. It'll be a good show!
Projects are starting to pile up now. It's a good problem to have-- more art than I have time to complete! And it looks like there could a BIG project on the horizon for me soon. Busy! Fun, but busy!

A Seabird Poster

I just finished this poster for Seabird. If you STILL haven't checked out their music--please do! We're off to enjoy the sunshine and 70 degree weather. I hope you get a chance to be barefoot in the grass today!

Left on Williamstown Rd., Right into the year 1970.

Me: "Granny, we live close by now. We can come see you often!"
Granny: "Is that a promise or a threat?" ---- 89 and still sassy

My grandma just moved into a nursing home, maybe temporarily, maybe for good. She's 89 but it still seems too soon. I'm just glad we live close to her now so we can be a bigger part of the rest of her life.

After the nursing home, we stopped for lunch at Papa's favorite hang out -- the Red Carpet Restaurant. He can walk in and ask for "the usual".
To get there take I-75 to the Williamstown exit, and then turn right into the year 1970. The place is a gem. I must have one of those hanging light fixtures.

So if you find yourself in bustling metropolis that is Williamstown, KY swing on by the Red Carpet. May I recommend the "Hubert Lusby Special".

Treasure Hunting

The owners of our borrowed home will be coming back at the end of this month which means we'll be moving into the now unfinished (hopefully soon finished) basement. I'm excited about it, actually. I love the design challenges that small living spaces present. I've always wanted to live in a tree house or a converted train car or something like that. And our years in Japan taught us that small, if done right, can be so much cooler than big.

We gave away pretty much all of our furniture when we moved here from Boston two and a half months ago so we're kinda starting from scratch. But I'm determined to be a beggar AND a chooser when it comes to furnishing our space. I want cheap/free AND cool. So I've been scouring craigslist, thriftstores, and my grandparents' house (thanks for never throwing anything away Granny!)

This old pie safe from circa a long time ago that now sits in my grandparents' garage will soon be our new dresser or pantry, not sure yet. But I love it!

I've got my eye on that old refrigerator drawer. Papa, you might have to find a new container for your rolling office chair parts.

He probably still uses this old fan when he works in his shop in the summer. So I won't steal it. But it IS pretty sweet.
Same with these old tools--I don't want them, just thought they made a cool picture.
Several of our furniture-building plans call for some re-claimed lumber. Thankfully Papa has been reclaiming lumber since the 40's.
Granny keeps EVERYTHING--she's got shelves and shelves of little glass jars just waiting to be re-purposed...hmmmm...
And I think this braided rug my great-grandmother made will also find its way into our new living space. Nothing says vintage chic like 75-year-old dust.

So HOPEFULLY over the next several weeks I'll have fun remodeling/refinishing/repurposing photos to show you. But who knows, life seems to be anything but predictable these days : )

Tea Bag

I made another bag from one of Lotta Jansdotter's books. I picked out a fabric for the lining of the bag but when I got it home and laid the two fabrics together, it wasn't quite right. I wanted something a little more muted. So out came the big pot and the 5-6 tea bags. I boiled the water, added the teabags, and then let the fabrics soak in the tea with the bags for 20 minutes or so (it's not an exact science...just like my cooking). Then I rinsed them out and threw them in the dryer.

There, that's better.

Some more tea-stained fabric--


When I want to go a few steps further to age fabric I pull out the big dogs-- coffee grounds, bleach, and soy sauce.

I have hopes of sewing all kinds of skirts this spring/summer (is anyone else dying for warmer weather!?) and no doubt I'll be going through several boxes of tea.

The Mr's Website

Daniel got his new company's website up this weekend, the company we moved from Boston here to Cincinnati to start. So take a few minutes to hop on over and check it out. Forward it on to anyone who might be interested!