diy idea: suspended jars

i just absolutely fell in love with this idea. those suspended jars are clever, no?
i want to run to ikea and get a shelf and some jars and make one for my studio right away! i see those jars full of paper clips, thumb tacks, beads......

according to abby (dharma lemon flickr photostream), all she did was screw the lids to the underside of the shelf, and voila! suspended jars.

genius, in my opinion. this one's going straight to the files for house inspiration. ryan and i are hopefully going to be buying a house this summer, so this will come in handy for sure.

i also liked this image from abby's photostream-- an inspiration mobile! clever again! my my, lady, i am impressed. great ideas!!

[mobile originally seen on we heart it]

diy: make a lightbox

ryan and i did a fun little project this weekend-- we made a light box, which was prompted by my annoyance at standing on top of my drawing table to get to the window to trace something in the sunlight. i though "there's got to be a better way!" thus, a lightbox was born.

i bought a new saw last weekend ( i am now the proud owner of two, count 'em two, saws), so we had no problemo cutting everything exactly as we needed. much easier than trying to find a competent helper at home depot! (oh, how i wish we had a more local alternative to home depot around here....)

so, voila! a new lightbox! i tested it saturday night (yes, ryan and i lead an exciting life together! saturday night playing with the lightbox...), and it gets the job done quite nicely.

if anyone is interested in how we made it, leave a comment or shoot me an email and i'll send you the info. it was super simple and took about an hour.

a valentine for my honey!

the fiance is getting a ring from me! the fiance is getting a ring from me! the valentine i made him is the super secret hiding spot for the ring i had made by etsy seller jasonsjewelry and then had engraved on the inside. i can't wait until tomorrow to give it to him.... good thing he never reads my blog!!

christmas gifts galore

well, i've been busy busy busy making gifts for my family as usual this year-- here are some photos of what i've been working on:

i think my work might be moving in a new direction! i have discovered the joys of india ink in the past few weeks, and i'm loving it! this time of year always seems to be play time for me, and then after a refreshing break, january proves to be full of inspiration once again.

i'm going home to colorado on friday (yipee!) for a week, and then to california for 4 days to visit with ryan's wonderful family. i'll be back on the 1st (i may do some blogging in between... photos of christmas snow in colorado perhaps??), and then hopefully that january inspiration and excitement towards making things will kick in, and lots of new things will burst out of me!

christmas presents in the works...

above: some christmas gifts i am working on for my family and friends...

below: my ornaments for the swap! i sent them out this morning, so they are on their way to their new homes. :)

christmas time is here.... (sung in the charlie brown way)

i cannot believe another holiday season is upon us. is thanksgiving really next week??? wow. time is seriously flying.

anyway, i was at neiman marcus yesterday (not of my own accord), and i saw these fabulous christmas trees. i'm toying with the idea of making a tree this year rather than buying a real one-- ryan and i are going to be gone visiting family for a couple of weeks, so it seems silly to have a tree sitting here with no one to love and water it. plus, save a tree, right?
i used to make christmas trees in college for my roommates and i, and i'm loving the idea of doign it again. these trees at neiman marcus were made out of feathers and metallic paper and these cool gold poofball things. i may go for something along those lines.

so, in the spirit of the holidays, here are some fun decorative ideas from everyone's favorite, martha stewart herself (whose site loads incredible slowly, i might add. beware.)



and here is a recipe for a vegan pumpkin pie... yum!

and this i just thought was funny:


that's an unhappy pooch!
(from macky's hat flickr photos)

also, check out rutu modan. (found via wishjar journal.)

ornament time!

can you believe it's almost holiday time already?? man, time flies.

i did this swap last year, and it was super fun. get all the details right here or here. the sign up ends this friday, november 9th, so hurry and get your name on that list!

just a little something silly

here is a silly card i made for my sister's birthday! i'm in a silly mood and wanted to post something silly. :)

(i've had cupcakes on the brain, because apparently there is a killer new cupcake shop that just opened in atlanta. i don't tend to go for the sweet stuff, but i'm intrigued by the sound of this shop.... i'll keep you posted!)

new pillow covers!

i made some pillow covers the other night from the fabric i printed, and i'm quite pleased with how they turned out! now i'm ready to make a whole slew of them...

keep your eye out... they just might make it into my etsy shop soon!

fabric and coasters and block printing, oh my!

here is some new fabric i block printed this morning!!

and some better photos of the coasters...
(on the fabric)

and some more....

some slug-inspired coasters...

and a few more.
--------
more to come soon!!

oh martha, you did it again

this image just makes me want to have a party! i would love to fill my house and backyard with these great big martha stewart pom pom flowers made of tissue paper and run around dancing to loud summery music in the dress from my last post and really cute sandals. and drinking margaritas. and picking green beans from the garden. and laughing a lot.

sounds like i better get planning! perhaps i'll throw myself a birthday shindig......

light up your life

i'm sure many of you saw this this morning over at poppytalk, but i couldn't resist posting about it as well. these patio lanterns are simply gorgeous. and inventive! it makes me want to host a backyard party just so i can make some lanterns like this! you can see more images and ideas for lanterns at sunset magazine.

rainy day gladness

{holly}

{piano bench designs}

in honor of a very gray and rainy day here in boulder, i thought i'd search out some rain inspired goodness around etsy. here are some top picks and the links to their shops. enjoy!

{ps: you can check out my etsy shop, too! no rain inspired stuff, but other lovely things to see...}

{pamela michelle}

{threefiveeightyfive}

clay project: continued

ok, so admittedly these are not the greatest photos (certainly not to be used for any high-class product shots!), but here are the first 2 glazed and fired pieces from caroline's and my day o' fun with clay a couple of weeks ago. i feel myself turning into a clay artist..........

they are quite lovely in person, and i'm so jazzed about continuing the project. i'm thinking: juice cups, flower pots, tea pots, trays...

i'll post better photos when we have them. i was just so excited about how these turned at that i couldn't wait to share them! perhaps you will see some in my etsy shop at some point...???

fun with sewing

i made this little turquoise clutch this afternoon to go with a dress i'm wearing to a wedding next saturday! the wedding is in fact ryan's younger brother's wedding, which means i'm off to california on tuesday morning! sunny beach, here i come...

anyway, i'm in love with the little clutch i made. every time i start sewing i wonder why i don't do it more often. perhaps this is the beginning...

etsy shop: updated!

"silver camel gocco print on yellow"

"glow of porch lights"

i wanted to let you all know that my etsy shop has been updated! i decided ot list some of my monotypes (which are not on my website), as they are perfect for creating limited edition prints of. i would love love love to hear what you all think of them! i also added some gocco prints, and i will be adding more over the next few weeks! i am absolutely obsessed with gocco printing lately. anyway, make sure to check out my shop for some fun, affordable artwork! and as always, i would appreciate your comments on any and all of it. :)

"la seine"

"beehive garden"

"canale"

playing with clay

my incredible artist friend caroline and i had some fun in her studio yesterday making clay bowls and trays from plaster molds that she made years ago and has had sitting in her basement untouched. i can see that clay could become very addictive for me. i just want to drop everything else when i'm working with clay.

it was so fun and inspiring!! and now i can't wait to see our creations when they're finished. {first we have to fire them, then glaze them, then fire them again...} i'll post photos of the finished pieces once we have them!

prayer-esque flags

i wanted to post this little project that i did a couple nights ago for my sister. she is finishing grad school today (congratuations jill!), and i made her some little tibetan prayer-esque flags that say "you did it" that can hang in her house to remind her how awesome she is.

now i want to make these little flags for everyone i know! it was so much fun.

fancy tiger

fancy tiger is a hip diy/crafting store in denver, on south broadway, which seems to be the up and coming area for funkiness. lots fo cool-looking shops-- i need to make a trip downt here to check it out. fancy tiger holds classes on all sorts of things (knitting, sewing, felting, zine making...), and they have open crafting nights where you go with your project and have a ball with other crafters! sounds like fun, eh?

inspiration from wish jar!

endless inspiration over at wish jar journal this past month-- keri smith aspired to create a thing a day, and she posted her results and projects. i'm seriously considering the possibility of doing a roject like this myself. what a great way to grow your creativity in ways you can't even imagine. checj out the full month right here, and if you're interested more, check out this website, too.