Laugh Till You Cry

I'm a listener. And because I grew up with National Public Radio, I also talk at it while listening. But last week's episode of This American Life nearly required me to pull over and laugh till I cried, well, the first segment anyway. If you don't know this radio show, go here and acquaint yourself with Ira Glass & Co. And if you've got 59 minutes of airtime, download #293 "A Little Bit of Knowledge." You will laugh. You will cry. And you'll be hooked.

Rocket Ships & Speed Trains {heat transfer}

The first half of July was full of birthdays around here. I am now addicted to heat transfer for a environmentally friendlier gifting & favoring at said parties. Here's the scoop: I made the images from paper collage, scanned them in, added some text digitally, printed on inkjet tranfer paper, then ironed on the bag and t-shirts. It came out beautifully on the organic cotton tote bag because of the denser weave. The t-shirts aren't too bad either, but jersey isn't the most compatible surface...(note to self: next time, screen print! and find source for organic cotton children's t's) But what was so fun was the trajectory of the collage, and how different it looks on fabric. I have BIG ideas for a wedding favor line...

Speaking of weddings, I've been creating the rehearsal dinner invite set for a good friend. And while I'm still learning the process of designing for a client, I'm thrilled with the results.

And lastly, a complete non-sequitur: This morning, while soothing a toddler, James Blunt sang to us from Sesame Street. The tune "You're Beautiful" was altered to "My Triangle." Charmed. Made my morning.

a little mixed-media inspiration

If you've read Real Simple magazine, you've seen Kat MacLeod's work. She's an Australian illustrator who's work I adore. Check her out here. I'm still searching for her website/blog...

Studio in a Drawer

Space is the problem. Children present challenges. And the day just flies by! You see, my creative spaces are in the lower levels of our house, and for most of the day, the kiddos and I are upstairs. Eating, cooking, cleaning, playing. Therefore, no crafty stuff happens till dark; till I'm nearly asleep on my feet. The solution....studio in a drawer: Now I can work a little bit on the book from her class. I can make a few tags or a birthday card. I keep the basic tools in here, and a couple ziplock bags with scraps. I have a paint deck and some vintage coasters and roladex cards. My favorite pens and some adhesive. It's keeping me sane.

Inchies; a process

Inchies--they're everywhere! I've seen them surface on the trading boards, they grace this summer's Somerset cover, and so I thought I'd share one of my processes for creating them. But first, a definition: inchies are 1X1 squares of collaged, stamped, drawn art, usually signed on the back. Some people swap theirs around. Some use a set to adorn a journal, card series or scrapbook page. The latest set I made landed a premiere spot on an ATC {artist trading card}.

1. I flipped through a couple magazines {Real Simple & Domino for this set} and glued snippets of color & wonder down to pink cardstock.

2. Then I went over the whole page with tiny scrap of paper, small rubber stamps, hole punches, and bits of ribbon & filled in the gaps.

3. I trimmed the edges, then cut 1 inch strips with a paper cutter. It's not precious; just go for it!

4. Then, crosswise, chop into 1 inch squares. Voila. Inchies.