white picket fence

layers and layers

As I wrote in one of the pages below, I had recently started feeling like I'd broken my "drawing machine" (aka the part of my brain that needs to put pen to paper). I just didn't feel like drawing, or painting, or cutting up paper. Luckily that's changed in the past week, but before that I started to make a few journal pages, really just to force myself to make something. These pages are pretty basic, lots of layers of nice paper in a simple color palette, which I've realized is my number one go-to technique. Not revolutionary, but that's okay. Because:

I think it helped. I may have mentioned here before that, as I get older, I don't really believe in "inspiration" as much as I used to. You can be inspired all day long but if it doesn't get something made, who cares? You just have to work through a dry spell and into the creativity. 

These pages were made on the same 1970s yearbook I've used for a ton of projects. I think between my etsy shop and my journal pages, I've almost used up the whole book and I'm starting to feel a little panicky about it. I'm IN LOVE with the quality of this paper. And with that... I'm off to ebay to find a replacement.  

6 lessons: march 2013

You probably know I'm big on life lessons and this past month felt full of them. Okay, some of them might have just been mistakes that I'm attempting to gain something positive from. But some were pretty sweet things to learn, too. 

1. Sometimes your kids just cry and whine a lot. It's probably better to stop trying to analyze it and just move on. (See above. Norah has been fussy lately. Lesson 1a: at least when you hold your 27 pound toddler half the day, your arms get a pretty good workout.)

2. Roller skating is fun. Parades are fun. Roller skating in a parade is really, really fun. (Watch a video here and look for me at 0:59 and 1:53.)

3. Don't leave expensive and fragile items laying around if you're going to accidentally take a nap and the kids are playing nearby. Like say, the $500 glasses you just bought 4 months ago. D'oh.

4. But then also: Never underestimate the importance of threatening to take your business elsewhere. When Lenscrafters tells you there's nothing they can do about your broken glasses and you're just going to have to buy a new pair, tell them you'll probably buy something cheaper online. Then the glasses lady will be all "Well... maybe we can sell you an insurance plan and then say your glasses were covered previously." Still a ripoff, but not as big of a ripoff. Or maybe the lesson here is that I should have just bought cheap glasses online in the first place? 

5. If you're in a weird March cold snap but it's above 35 degrees, make your kids play outside anyway. Because you never know when it's going to get even colder, and on those 0 degree windchill days you'll be pretty happy you haven't already been stuck inside all week. 

6. And last but not least, when you take jumping photos, make sure to bend your knees. It makes your vertical look a lot more impressive. This is totally not photoshopped, and yes, I'm about as shocked as you are that I can jump this high. 

garfield park conservatory

Going to the conservatory in Chicago has long been on my list of things to do in wintertime. It's such a relief to enter into the hot greenhouse on a cold day. It smells like LIVING things and gives you some hope when it's freezing. Since I'd been down in the dumps last week, I decided this week would be a good time to visit. It gave me something to look forward to and was a great kid-friendly outting for the morning. 

The kids had a great time, it was almost empty so we had the run of the place, and best of all? It's free! We did make a small donation, but still... cheap thrills. 

David never stays still long enough for me to get a decent photo anymore.

I loved the shape of these ferns.

Nature is weird. I have no idea what this thing is but the colors are pretty terrific. Next time I want to go back by myself with a sketchbook and about four hours of free time.

february

Hi. 

So it's February, and cold, and I gave up drinking for Lent. And we put our dog to sleep yesterday. (it's really okay, she was so old and it was time.) There are piles of laundry, always, no matter how much I seem to do. Am I repeating myself? I think I always talk about laundry here. If it's not laundry, it's sweeping the floors. Every day is like a little circle: coffee breakfast school gym cleaning cooking playing dinner stories drawing bedtime. Aaand repeat. 

I know all that stuff sounds like a downer, but I'm actually doing pretty good. Having a rhythm is a fine thing. Eating huge salads and quitting Twitter have been 2 healthy changes in my life lately. Keeping it all balanced. The story of my life. 

december minibook, part one

I am super glad I won this little book from Jamaica. I doubt I would have made any kind of memory book this past month if I hadn't been so inspired to use it. And I'm really happy with how this is turning out. The kids love it too! Anytime I take it out to work on it, they want to flip through the pages and talk about the photos. That's truly gratifying. 

The materials I used are pretty basic: minibook from Jamaica, screenprinted papers from Tina at Life Love Paper (side note: my first order from her shop appeared to go missing at the Anchorage post office, so she kindly sent me a whole new set for free... and then the original package showed up the same day. Silly post office!), a few gold glittery sheets of scrapbook paper I picked up at Paper Source, random other papers I had on hand, and those ubiquitous washi tapes from Target. Oh, plus sheets of gold vinyl letters I buy from a local art shop (I think they're meant for labeling mailboxes and stuff but I love them on art projects) and text typed out on my old typewriter. 

Here are a ton of photos:

The recurring themes for the month seem to be: cookies, church, wine, and cute little kids. And that sums up my life for the past few weeks pretty accurately. 

handmade holiday show

My little craft show set up.

So, it went well. I think even if I hadn't sold anything, I would have considered it a success. It was a success for me to get out there and sell some things in real life. It was a success for me to actually MAKE some works to sell instead of just keeping everything in my sketchbook and hard drive and instagram photos, you know? 

I left my display to the last minute but it came together really well I think. One trip to Ace Hardware yieled this $15 pegboard and some wooden clothespins, and the ribbon was left over from my brother's wedding. I printed out my signage on some Paper Source cardstock I'd found at Salvation Army for like 45 cents. Altogether I don't think I spent more than $20, which I'm pretty proud of. It makes me wonder how people make set ups for bigger fairs; it gets expensive to create all the work AND figure out a way to display it properly. 

Overall people were really kind about my work. There were a few little kids there that just kept looking and looking, and THAT made my heart sing. 

I had a few different postcard packs, an 8x10 print, some alphabet originals, and some mixed paper packs. All of these things will be in my etsy shop.... eventually. Let's say this weekend? The photography/styling part of etsy is my own personal challenge, and that's the only thing I have left to do, but it's a big task for me and doesn't happen without some toil. 

Thanks for reading this far. I knew a few of you were curious so I wanted to post a little update. And another thanks for all your support. I honestly don't know if I'd feel as confident about my work as I do with the kind words and comments I've received from online friends. Thank you. 

oh, hey.

what have I been up to?

Well, this week I've spent every extra minute working on this new project: an alphabet drawn entirely in my little weirdo creatures. I love these. LOOOOVE. this started as an idea for a Christmas present for my nieces, but once I started working I realized I wanted to make a whole alphabet. I think I'll finish by the end of the year, and then make some prints for my Etsy shop. 

I've had a fire lit under me ever since a friend asked me to be a part of a holiday craft show/open house. i'll be selling my drawings and vintage papers tonight, and I'm both super excited and also totally anxious about it. (If you're in the area, email me if you're interested in coming! It's at 7 pm in Naperville and there will be friendship, crafts, and drinks: something for everyone!) So a huge thank you to Abby for giving me this opportunity and pushing me out of my comfort zone a bit. 

Other things: Thanksgiving! I know I've said it before, but I'm so thankful for my family. We just have so much fun together. Did any other family you know have a Feats of Strength-style contest to see who could climb an 8 foot pole on a playground? With everyone laughing hysterically for an hour? Oh, no? Well, I guess that's just us. (For the record, I could not climb the pole and totally shamed myself. My husband, both brothers, sister in law, and 8 year old niece all completely schooled me. I will seek revenge... by going to the gym more often.) Anyway, the kids just all have so much fun together, and the adults have fun together, and we all just feel so lucky to have each other. It's great. 

SO. It's almost December. There are a lot of good things going on. Advent starts Sunday. I'm putting the finishing touches on my festive wintertime mix. I hope you're feeling happy and festive too. 

remembrances of elections past

2000. I was 20 years old and a junior at Iowa State University in Ames. I skipped marching band practice in the afternoon to drive the hour home to Grinnell and vote. My polling place was Bailey Park, the elementary school my younger brother went to. It smelled the same as I remembered, in the way that schools always evoke scent memory for me. I was really excited to vote in my first presidential election, but I was also really excited to have a home cooked meal with my family for dinner. I drove back to Ames and settled in on a huge design project I'd procrastinated, par for the course. I stayed up all night working and listening to election results on public radio. By the time I went to sleep around 4 or 5 am, my project was done but the election was decidedly not. 

2004. I was 24 years old and living in Chicago. I'd recently moved from Wicker Park to the Ukranian Village, but my polling place was still in my old neighborhood. In the morning before work I walked up Leavitt past the Holy Trinity Cathedral, a landmark I still dearly miss from my days in the city. It was snowing very lightly and I was listening to the new Kings of Convenience on my very first iPod. I remember that happy walk so clearly as if it were only a few months ago, but for the life of me I can't remember anything about what I did that evening as the results came in. 

2008. I was 28 years old, living in Wheaton, and six months pregnant with my first baby. I woke up "early" at 7 am (oh, the olden days) and ate a big bowl of oatmeal and berries while watching TV news in bed. I remember still feeling that warm-oatmeal-belly feeling as I walked in the chilly morning into the polling place, the basement of a swanky retirement community a few blocks from our house. The baby was due January 17, and that night as Mike and I watched election coverage on MSNBC we wondered what it might be like if I went over my due date and our first baby was born into a world with the first black President of the United States. (And as it turns out, I did. On the day of the inauguration I had my very last prenatal appointment, the non-stress test where you sit in a room and listen to your baby's heartbeat for half an hour. I dawdled afterwards, playing hooky for a few hours so I could go home and watch the inauguration coverage before I went back to work. David was born 2 days later.)

2012. I am 32 years old and still living in Wheaton. The kids woke up early today, Norah at 5:30 and David not long afterward (damned daylight savings time), so we ate our cereal and bananas early and read a library book about animals. Mike and I took turns getting ready and by 7:30 we loaded up and headed to the polling place, still that same swanky retirement community. We were happy and excited to take the kids to vote. On the way in, David asked, "are they going to be here? do we get to see them?" and I realized he was asking about Romney and Obama. I guess we had built up voting a little too much. Sorry to disappoint kid, but this is actually going to be pretty boring for you. The lady who looked up our voter information said, "well, what beautiful children you have," and of course we agreed. David squirmed around at my feet in the election booth, and Mike filled out his ballot with one hand while holding Norah with the other. Afterwards we parted ways, MIke to work, and the rest of us home to watch Super Why and clean the house before a playdate this morning.

I'm a pretty non-political person. This election cycle has been tiresome for me and I'm discouraged by the media hysteria and the deep divides and the blatant disregards of truth and common sense. And the campaigning, oh the campaigning. It puts a twist in my stomach to think of all those millions of dollars spent that could have fed hungry people or cured sick people. But. This is the system we have, and it's better than a lot of the alternatives. So I'm happy to stand up, take part, and be counted. 

Two more things. This post was inspired by my friend Jake, who wrote this thoughtful piece yesterday. Also, if you'd like to take a break from punditry and general all-caps style election day internet ranting, maybe you'd like to read this wonderful Miller Williams poem.

how can it be?

I don't know how it's November. October was weird. I was sick and I skipped roller derby two weeks in a row and then we were out of town and then it was Halloween somehow? And I WAS in a good house cleaning routine and then the drawing took over my life last week. So things feel a little messy and unsettled.

And then there's the daylight savings time change. When the sun sets at 4 pm, these dark late afternoons start to fill me with an almost physical sense of gnawing dread. I know that sounds dramatic but that's honestly how it feels. It was never a big deal back when I was working, but now that I'm home I'm much more sensitive to it. 

So I'm going to crowdsource some help here. What do you do when it gets dark so early? And more specifically, a question for the stay at home parents: what do you do with your kids in the late afternoons? It's such a hard time of the day to begin with, and in wintertime it feels even worse. Any suggestions are appreciated, especially anything that doesn't involve TV, which seems to be my current (very poor) solution. 

check it!

Do you let things pile up on your to-do list? Especially things like.... dentists appointments? (sad trombone.) And cleaning up all the pool toys that are STILL sitting in a bucket getting really gross in the backyard?

Yeah. Obviously, I do. I'm a horrible procrastinator and need a jump start/kick in the pants to accomplish tasks sometime. SO I decided that this is the week I check all those things off my list. 

LETS DO THIS.

I invite you to join me in my quest for a conscience free of all your own little to-dos! Report back with your successes, and (hopefully) I'll report back with mine.