Love Makes You Real

It isn't like me to reference television, but I've been in a creative rut...{I promise there's a point to this ramble}...One of my favorite episodes of Friends was when Rachel was waiting for Ross to go see a movie, and he's just been told his fiancee that he must choose between her or Rachel. Rachel busts in with: "Come on, Stella gets her groove back in, like, twenty minutes!" So whenever I go a stretch without making something, I get cranky, and a little nervous that I just don't have my groove. The actual inspiration for this little hanging is The Velveteen Rabbit, but I'm also glad for Friends & reminding me about my groove. And if it's been awhile since you read The Velveteen Rabbit, find a copy with rich illustrations and settle in.

Put down the broom & Make Something!

Stop folding laundry & Make Something.

Drag yourself away from email & Make Something.

Order in & Make Something.

It's nearly crisis-mode. After a huge project, I need a little recovery time, a clearing of the decks, if you will. Well, the decks are cleared. The kiddos are quiet. The dishes are done. And dinner is set. I just ordered a box of creative jump-start: Kerry Lynn's premiere collection from Kenner Rd. I'm thrilled for my friend & wish her buckets of success. Now, if only my USPS people were sprinters...

k2tog, and other messes

For you non-knitters, that's code for--I'm up to my ears in a pile of yarn! Pictures to come...I am recovered from the wedding papery of my dear friends Karen & Scott, and now turning to another wedding project once I get my sweater off its needles (grrr). When I have something to show for it, you'll see it here. Speaking of stitches, the 2 yr old got his first one the other night right along his vermillion line. A character mark at two. {And a few MORE grey hairs for me; thanks kid}.

Big Thoughts about Pineapple

After reading "Animal Vegetable Miracle," I found myself *really* paying attention to where in the world my family's food is coming from. It should have been simple for produce since so much is grown within 200 miles of us. But I was surprised how far my strawberries were traveling, my mangoes, my boys bananas. Granted, California isn't the perfect climate for mangoes & bananas, but do we need bananas every week when our local produce is grown, picked & skipped in from a central valley farm? As opposed to grown, harvested, packaged, handled, shoved into a container, left in the dark of a container vessel for the trip from Hawaii to Oakland (best case), handled some more, treated to grocery store flourescent lights and fickle produce shoppers until it lands in my cart & is toted home? Yup, I'm thinking big thoughts about pineapple these days.

Rubber Stamps, anyone?

I got a little envelope from Steph (or LivingRoomFloor, as she's also known...) and it had a great image stamped on the front. I thought I'd point you toward both Steph and these folks. I made the house for one of their rubber competitions; didn't win, but I love what I made.

PS: hey acrylic stamp folks! I think you're great too.

Dear Manufacturers,

Dear Manufacturers, (Martha Stewart, Fiskars, Paper Punch, Paper Source, etc.) I have a request. I need a punch that'll make the above opening. They call it a "euro slot punch" in, well, Europe. I think we can come up with something better. A girl can hope! Warm Regards, Cortney

Lalalala, Lucky Numbers, and a little Foreigner

It's been a regular confetti party around here! I'm finishing up the papery for a good friend's wedding, and am making silhouetted/negative table numbers. Although the picture is NOT as charming as these little babies are in real life, I *love* how they look! The white card is mounted (with pop dots) on a silver tent card, so there is a lovely shadow, and the silver will catch the candlight nicely.

My Lalalalala is a scrapbook page that I started back in June, and took a w-h-i-l-e to finish up. I miss those Gigi-inspired "Today I Will..." posts!

Remember Foreigner? "Juke Box Hero" Well, the 4 yr old is crazy-mad for juice boxes, and I was recently asked what advice I'd give to the new families who are entering our nursery school this fall...steer clear of the almighty juice box! This is a page for his nursery school graduation book (which doesn't happen till summer '09, I've just got a jump-start on the whole thing since I love all things paper. Love). More grad book pages to come, I'm sure...