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...

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...