She's Three!

note: there are two cameras being used here, which is why the colors are different in the photos. THIS photo accurately reflects how. darn. pink. this sweater really is.

My favorite niece turned the big THREE recently, and to celebrate, her mom made her a Minnie Mouse cake. (Pink.) This was the big request.

She's into pink right now, which is also why the sweater I made her is...wait for it...pink. SO pink, might I add.

The news is this: I haven't seen this favorite niece since she turned one (one! remember?) and that just stinks. SO. In about a month Joe and I are flying to our homeland to attend numerous baby showers/festivities/proclivities with our families, and in attendance will be my awesome sister and her super awesome (two years older) daughter. Huzzah! Family fun time win.

pink sweater

But back to the sweater. This sweater is called the "Baby + Toddler Tiered Coat and Jacket" and is a pattern of the lovely lady Frogginette, who apparently speaks a lot more French than I do. You can buy this pattern online for $5, but the way to get to it is through ravelry, which you need an account to access, but it's free, and trust me, if you are a yarn person you should already be a member. But I digress.  (In totally unrelated news, I just realized that the lovely Frogginette also designed the sweater pattern (the Baltic Baby Sweater) with which I will be knitting my two unborn children their first sweaters. Apparently this woman has great style and taste. As do I.) Okay. Enough with the obscure linking.

The sweater is fun and simple to make. I mean, simple in the sense that if you are me you will still have to frog large sections of it more than once, but that is just par for the (perfectionist's) course. Finish the thing off with butterfly buttons, and you're golden.

back of said pink sweater

Note to the reader (who probably doesn't even care): I actually blocked this sweater. This is new for me. I am usually too busy/lazy to bother. But the collar is supposed to fold over, and it just wasn't going to do that without some assistance. So there. I can block. I can be patient. (sort of. the truth is that the blocking set me back two days in drying time, even with the big fan pointed at it--why does it take so long to dry?!?!--and now the present is late for the birthday. bah.)

wet sweater blocking

Hopefully it will arrive in Alaska soon, and hopefully it will fit, and hopefully the pink will not be too pink but will be the right amount of pink.

And hopefully miss Anika, now three, will make the sweater that much more adorable, and hopefully she will forgive me for making her clothes every year. (I promise that I bought her toys for Christmas.)

Happy birthday, sweet Anika! I hope your Minnie cake was everything you dreamed of, and I hope this year treats you well.

xoxoxo

Number one from two years ago

Better late than never.

Unable to commit to a series of four-hour night classes, (who wants to go to school for four hours after working a full day?), Pratt finally offered something more my speed. That is, a one-night only four-hour class as part of their mini-class series--Spring into Art!--that runs one week in April. (Check that out, Seattle, they have glass-blowing and metal bending and screen printing, and all kinds of coolness for such reasonable prices.)

We spent four hours drawing gourds and driftwood with charcoal on big, porous paper taped to paint-splattered easels while KEXP played in the background, and the teacher flipped through a series of sketches and drawings by the masters for reference.

Gesture drawing, contour, cross-contour--over and over and over--wiping each rendition away with a heavily-soiled chamois, clearing the canvas for more. Charcoal is a mess. But it's so forgiving, and so palpable. Don't like what you drew? Draw over it with more pressure. Or, smudge it into submission with your hand. Or, failing all of that, erase it with the chamois. 

There was wine and leftover cheese from a lecture that had taken place down the hall. My hands were black with charcoal dust; my face sported a few smudges as well. (I was not alone in the wearing of charcoal like so much hasty rouge.)

It was still a loong day. But it was worth it.

It's a wrap

This year I went with wrapping paper in non-traditional reds and greens.

For each package, I crocheted a gorgeous snowflake (using the best step-by-step pattern on the internet; thanks Lucy!) using white yarn from my stash. (They're supposed to be blocked to get their full lacy goodness, but I went with a softer, lazier version.)

The packages are tied with 99-cent twine from IKEA, which comes in black and white.  I told Joe we were going to use the black twine on the Christmas presents and he was incredulous.  I convinced him that it would be okay.  And look--it is. Trust me.

For the tags, we used artist's shrink plastic. (Remember Shrinky Dinks? Go to your local art supply store and get your own adult version!)  (OR, a quick googling will teach you to make your own shrink film out of #6 plastics!)

Take out your decorative scissors (they make lovely edges), your hole punches (we used a circle and a star), and your permanent markers.  Draw trees and snowmen and snowflakes and swirls.

Bake. Let cool. Thread your twine through the hole, and have some more egg nog.

The party starts here.

Take out your old magazines (or the catalogs you got in the mail today. Pick a color or two (or don't). Cut out triangles of said color(s).  Attach to string (or the yarn your foster dog unraveled and dragged all over the house).  Hang on mantle, over doorway, or across bookcases.  Instant party.

P.S. This is from the non-book by Keri Smith, who, by the way, has a new book out too, beautifully titled Mess.

Number 7: Take one

Big ups to my mother who bought the book for me.  And big ups to Keri Smith, who created the book and gave me some fun things to do with my time.

Thing number one. Cut the page out, affix it to some cardboard, and mail to a friend.  I'm out of double-sided tape, so I used embroidery floss. *swoon*

Composite Construction Cards

because I like alliteration. And I also like using double-sided tape.  

And sometimes, when you're making a Father's Day card, you need a sailboat for your father and some great waves for the inside.

And when you're making a card for your three-year-old nephew who loves construction equipment (and trucks, and cars, and planes), you need a digger.

And because I'm here to put in a plug for envelope templates. They're the best.  Just trace, cut, and glue.  Reuse old wrapping paper. Use new wrapping paper. Adorable. Every time.

Also. I think that these count as collages (number 8). The best kind of collages: the kind you give away. :)

Surprise ball: or how to amuse me in the future

So, after seeing this post over at hula's, I realized that I too could make a surprise ball, and it might just be the best present ever. (Okay, so mine's no where NEAR as pretty as the real kind. But I tried.)

I mean, if you're me presents are all about the anticipation.

The unwrapping.

The wondering what's inside while you're untying the ribbon, ripping through the paper (no careful unfolding for me), and prying open the box.

(Which is why I'll consider you a cheater if you hand me a present in a gift bag.)

The surprise ball makes the anticipation even greater.

And anticipation is what this girl is about.  (Even the yellow dawg got in on the fun.)

So. To celebrate my friend Sayra's completion of grad school and her proper naming of Dr. Sayra, Joe and I took a trip to the best store ever to buy her presents.  And then a trip to the dollar store to get some crepe (guess how much it costs?).

And so, I promptly wrapped the trinkets one by one in the folds and creases of three rolls of crepe.  Dr. Sayra simply had to unwind the crepe (and untie some ribbons along the way) to find a posse of tiny trinkets (e.g. tiny plastic nuns), fun items (e.g. cupcake lipgloss), and useful and practical items (e.g. emergency underwear).

Plus, it was instant party for the tall dawg, who was laying beneath the ball.

More stencils, more tshirt love

And then it was Maeve's 12th birthday.  Maeve, who entertains us frequently at backyard fires by taking drink orders in a fluffy bathrobe, a pink wig, and skinny glasses pushed to the end of her nose, all while making us call her "Grandma."

I love this gal.  And to commemorate my love for both Maeve and the gregarious, cranky Grandma, I made her a tank top festooned with a stencil culled from a recent photo of Grandma.

And, a birthday wouldn't be complete without the requisite M in a fabulous typeface.

And then, so as not to stop on a theme, the swallows.

I'm telling you, blog-o-sphere-o-mine, stencils are simple. They're the green circle of customized wearables. All you need is some chipboard, an Xacto knife, and a little hand strength.  I mean, Photoshop and a cupboard full of screenprint ink helps too, but you could make it lower tech than that if you wanted.

Also, once you have the M stencil cut, it's not hard to fashion a card from that same M.  If you're so inclined.

Stencils and tshirts and turning six

My favorite blond gal turns six this month. (SIX! That's old.  We met right before her third birthday, so we go way back.)

And because I made a commitment to myself awhile back that gifts would always be handmade (by myself or another artist), unless of course, they're art supplies or books(!), Joe and I decided to stencil some t-shirts for her.  Stenciling is easier than screenprinting, which is good, because I'm OVER things that are hard and stress me out.

I designed a number six made of squares, stars, and hearts, Joe posterized a photo of Lily's dawg Wryly's sweet face, and then we used a (cheating!) stencil we had around the house of the best swallow ever.

I do believe they were a hit. It wasn't too long ago that Lily was all pink and purple and tiaras and sparkles.  Today, I learned, she's very much more into ripped jeans with wild embroidery and animal prints.

(Also, please note the yellow dawg in the top photo, my constant crafty companion.)

Packed and ready

,

Today I packaged up my knitted hearts. Each was outffitted with a sturdy chair (complete with seatbelt) for the flight across the country to wish my loved ones a Happy Heart Day. 

I then gussied up envelopes with a jolly house that puffs heart-shaped clouds from its chimney.  They are now stamped and ready to go. I wish them safe travels and all of you a Happy Heart Day.

See the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from thing-a-day 2010

Number 4: Prep

Since I've committed to making four Toy Society drops, I have gone ahead and created four drop packages for said drops.  Each package contains: one Take Me Home: I'm Yours tag, one city-scape hand-stamped envelope proclaiming Open Me, one Hello! card contianing the requisite Toy Society letter (explaining the gig and where the finder of said Toy should email to say that the toy has been found and adopted), and a whole lotta love.

I've got my first toy all wrapped up (in his Ziplock bag) and ready for dropping.  I've even go the location picked out--the Children's Hospital by the best dog park in Seattle.  However, the weather hasn't been cooperating, and we haven't taken a trip up there in a few days.  Cross your fingers for a dry* day this weekend. 

*No, we don't have to wait until it's not raining to head north, but we will. It's a long drive for a cold dreary walk. We can take cold, dreary walks at home--no drive required.

Cheer

The Christmas cards have been packaged and mailed (yes, it's true, I made all the envelopes this year. It's just so easy and free (!) when you have a roll of butcher paper and some other Christmas wrapping paper around and some nifty envelope templates in your stash of useful things); boxes of cheery Moroccan gifts and handmade ornaments (more on that tomorrow!) were mailed and have all arrived at their intended destinations; small bundles of homemade marshmallows were packaged and dropped about; and it's finally here.

Merry Christmas. And since my parents visited for Thanksgiving and Joe's parents visited after that, we're all alone this holiday, except, of course (!) for each other.  And one very-hairy yellow dog, who will be wearing a harness and paniers today. 

And that's because we're off to go alpine skiing near Mount Rainier. Hope your day is happy and holly-filled (but not too holly-filled, because that stuff is pricky!). And warm and hopeful. And Merry. And Bright. And stuff.

I think you need to send a note

New to tiny footprint...

Eco-friendly note cards!

If you've been playing along at home, you'll know that I fancy myself a graphic designer* by day. This means lots of things, including a) I get to play for a living (sometimes**), b) I have a keen eye for color (??), and c) I get books and books full of paper samples.

I LOVE paper. LOVE it. I like to touch it and smell it and rub it between my forefinger and thumb so I can feel the texture. And cutting and gluing are some of my favorite activities. Add a stack of the most beautiful colorway magazines Joe found in the back of a drawer at his office, and you have luxurious note card sets--hand cut and glued envelopes paired with paper sample flat note cards each adorned with hand cut and glued accessories.

It's time to clean out the paper sample books. And that means...upcycled note cards in themed packs. Oh yes. Check them out here.

*okay, if you want me to be really honest, I'm in communications. This involves, YES, some graphic design work. But it also involves PR, marketing, newsletter writing, and long walks on the beach.

**cuz just between me and you, PR work is NOT what I'd call "play"

thoughts on stuff and debt and gifts

I have a new goal and it involves spending money only when I have it.  Unfortunately, this isn't always possible, as...hey, a girl's gotta eat, right?  

J and I had dinner with a few people last weekend (Caribbean food, yum...) and they had both a) unplugged their TV* and b) stopped using credit cards. Revolutionary, right?  (a bit.)

Two weekends back, we were at All City Coffee (our new caffeinated haunt) and the woman behind the counter had a very awesome flower-shaped necklace on that she had made with her credit card (cut up once it was paid off).  

I used to live debt-free (remember that? wow.) and now we have a bit of debt that's working for us (think mortgage!) and a bit that's not working for us (car payment anyone? credit card debt full of vet bills and repaired engines?)

Also, I've been thinking a lot lately about STUFF and how much we have.  We have too much. I have too much. You probably do too.  More to dust, more to move around with you, more to step around when navigating through the world.  J and I went to a design conference this week called 101 things designers can do to save the earth, put on--for free!--by svc and aiga.  The keynote speaker was Eric from design can change and he admitted to being a consummate consumer.  He loves stuff as much as the rest of us, but he's lately been thinking about how having a lot of stuff is really inconvenient.  Just think about America--we love to store our stuff.   Do we really need this much stuff? So much stuff that we can pay to have someone else warehouse it for us? What does that stuff DO for us?  Anything good?

all this to say that when Mother's Day came up a couple weeks ago, we decided that handmade cards mean more (and make a lot more sense) than spending money on things our mothers may or may not want, and could probably afford to buy on their own should they want to.  (none of us is living in poverty here ya'll.)  

and with that, i'm off to goodwill to donate more stuff we don't use or need.

*we recently did this too...in a way. first the tv went to live in a room we never spend time in. then we got rid of the cable. now we're down to 12 channels and...gasp...nothing to watch!  it's fantastic.  we still get netflix, but then we're only watching what we want when we want to. no vegging for us!  do you know how much more time there is in an evening without any television? it's actually amazing.

Unbirthday party

So this weekend, post-Turkey Day festivities, I made a meal for a friend who is bed ridden trying to keep her little one, Piper, in her cozy womb for another two weeks. I treated them to good old fashion Midwest comfort food--wild rice soup made with leftover Turkey Day turkey and challah. (Okay, no one in the Midwest eats challah except Jewish people, but whatever. It's SO YUMMY.) Plus I dug out the silly (so bad for you) chocolate cake recipe with the frosting that's 98.9% butter. Damn that cake is good, but it is SO not attractive. Whatever. Beauty, in this case, isn't only frosting deep.

I even pulled out my fancy decoration kit and frosted my way to this message:

In honor of Piper's up-and-coming arrival to the air-breathing world, I also knit her a hello present. She is not, however, allowed to come out and wear the hello present until she is fully baked. (see above cake message).

This year has been the year of the BOY (everyone is having boys) that I was thrilled to finally use up a bit more of my leftover colon yarn (from the knitted digestive system I made oh so many months ago). I'm all for gender ambiguity, but there's just no excuse for putting a baby boy in colon pink.
At long last, the hat and booties can be shown (hidden until now to remain a surprise to Piper's parents, the lovely Aaron & Elise.)

And because I'm a big show off, here's the front of the card. PGC are the baby's initials, ya'll. And you can't tell, but there is the CUTEST little bee charm dangling on pretty thread between the G & the C.


There are also a number of other really exciting things in the works, which I can't show you because it will ruin Santa's surprises. Alas, wait until December 26th. You can make it. In the mean time, go test your vocabulary AND feed some people here.