labels and lists

my personalized woven labels came in the mail a few days ago and i feel so professional now - watch out people!

seriously though, this is such a major step for me, but one that i really wanted to do. the labels are really very expensive for what they are and for the money i bring in, but they are definitely going to add something special to my sewn pieces.

the process was pretty easy, but i must say i am really glad that i am a graphic designer and can edit my logo any way i choose. due to size limitations, i had to edit my "hand-made home goods" tag by taking out the word "home". it took a few rounds to get it right with the manufacturer since i am so very picky, but in the end they are now perfect and i don't even mind the revise tag :)

now i have to run to the fabric store and buy some aqua thread. i only ever sew with white thread no matter the fabric color, but somehow i don't think that will pass for these beauties!

ps: my birthday is thursday so i might be missing for a few days while i am out celebrating. cheers!

wishes and books

i cannot believe i did it - i actually wrote on the first page of a journal! back in this post, i explained that i have a thing about never writing on the first page because i feel like it is such an important page and i don't want to mess it up. crazy, i know!

anyway, i've recently finished the book "the wishing year" and it really spoke to me. it ended up being a book heavy on references and light on actual story line which wasn't great, but i did end up learning a lot about the art/history of wishing. i learned that in order to truly wish for something, you need to be very specific in your desires and very discerning. no wishy washyness allowed. no generalizations. wishing is heavily grounded in the laws of positive and negative energy. if you direct a lot of your attention towards your wish, you will attract positive energy into your life which will then usher in the manifestation of your wish.

when i finished reading, i decided i needed to do something about my own wishes - that's where my new journal comes in. the cover is really a bunch of doodles that came from my rapidiograph and colored pencils and i have already created a few pages of wishes the same way. so there you have it, a photo of "my very own wish book". but i will only ever show you the cover because after all, we all know that a wish told never comes true ;)

beginnings and mantras

have i told you all my life mantra? it is simply "begin anywhere". yep, those two words are what moves me to push forward. the fact that it is never to late to start something new. you are never too old to change your course in life.

what phrase motivates you to do your personal best and to not let anything stand in your way?

buttons and batches

so you all know my love of buttons, right? I LOVE THEM! what i don't love is cleaning them :)

my mom recently sent me a ton of buttons she found really cheap. and by really cheap, i mean under $7. more and more, i see old mason jars filled with buttons being sold for $20 +. crazy right? as beautiful as they are, i would never pay that much. if they are in an old mason jar at a flea market, chances are they were plucked off an old granny's sewing table after she passed and there is no reason for that price tag.

so i received this package of goodies in the mail and opened the bag and wow, did these things stink. i believe the most stinky buttons are old bakelite ones (correct me if i'm wrong). it is almost a burnt plastic smell. i don't have any formal recipe for cleaning, but i soak them first in a baking soda/water mixture, then i soak them in a bleach/water mixture for good measure. typically i will fill up a colander with the buttons and lower it into a bowl of my water mixtures. just make sure your colander has very small holes because some of these buttons can be teeny tiny.

after they soak in each mixture for a few hours, i lay them out on a white towel to dry. this is the best part because i can uncover all the beauties.

this batch contains a few of the beaded green shanks which are so spring like. i also love the molded flower found just above the green one. and hidden way in the background is a royal blue one that is spectacular as well.

what do you guys think, are you a button freak like me? any other tips for cleaning the stinky ones?

paper and clay

after hearing a bunch of artists talk about the coolness of paperclay, i knew i would not be able to resist buying a block. as if i need any other art material, geez! it sat lying in my metal office basket catch all for a few months and recently i decided to give it a try. and i have to say that this stuff really is pretty cool.

i am still experimenting with it and since the package does not come with much in the way of instructions :( there are a few things i need to fix with my technique. the above is my first attempt at making a flower wall hanging. it is roughly 4 inches in diameter and when i assembled it, i stuck a large metal safety pin in the back for hanging. this is definitely a work in progress as you can see how a few of my mini beads have fallen off during the drying process. all the missing beads are safe and sound so i will glue them back on which won't be a huge deal. i have been advised that the best part of paperclay is that you can use a super fine grit sand paper to soften up the dried piece. thinking about taking an embroidery file and going to town sanding off all the rough edges. my favorite part is the "love" notation stamped into the center. not original by any means, but sweet none-the-less.

this piece is a free form flower that has been molded onto a piece of cotton wrapped thick wire which was lying around my studio. i think i have had my pack of 50 of these for about 5 years now and never had a use for them. i am dreaming about a whole vase filled with paper clay flowers. my only mistake on this piece is that i didn't put a hook on the end of the wire to really secure it into place. since the wire is straight, it might eventually come free of the bloom. but again, glue will fix it right up, so no biggie.

my next step is painting... i did some research and practically any paint will work on material. i am thinking about acrylic since it is what i have the most of, but i want to thin it out by half so it is more of a wash and not a solid color.

all in all, it was really fun to work with something new. i find that when i am in a rut, i need to go in another direction completely to get the spark back!