a word?

A word about craftsmanship, if you will?

First, I feel very strongly about it.

Secondly, I will pay for it.

Finally, true craftsmen will always find a place in my heart.






Also this:

A word about the revival of facial hair in indie artists.

What gives?

Oh and this:

The Sugar Daddy has grown a beard and claims that it won't be cut until after he runs the Moab Half next weekend.

The only thing he is crafting at the moment are briefs*. And I don't mean quality underpants.

He looks sexy but his face feels like a badger's butt.  (Not that I go around feeling up badgers. It's just an expression.)

*Boring legal documents.

Janie Jackaroo

I've started the work.

I'm going home to my roots.

I'm studying my turquoise stones wondering how to use them.  I pulled out my leather and laid it in my lap.  I ran my hands across the grain.  I smelled it's sharp rugged smell.

It's going to take some time.  Some careful thought and meticulous craftsmanship.

I'm trying to tap into my Great-great-grandmother's moxie. Surely she passed some down the line?

I'm giving myself all Summer.

I sat at my bench and held my ball hammer in my palm.  I arranged my blades and mallets.

I thought about what I want this collection to mean to me.  What I want it to express.

I decided it was beauty in strength.

I want to honor my grandmother and other woman who settled the west.  I want to honor their strength and to see if I can emulate that strength in my own life.

I'm calling this jewelry collection Janie Jackaroo.

It will be ready to debut this Fall. Stay tuned.

most images from here.

hanky panky

Spring is birthday season in my life.  It's my birthday on April first so maybe it just seems like the birthday time of year, but I also have many friends and family members that were born in the Spring.

Here's a little craft idea for a quick and cute gift to take to a friend's birthday lunch.

Vintage Handkerchief   $5.00

Vintage Brooch  $20.00

Small Tulip Bunch  $5.00  

You can find old brooches for a lot less if you are lucky. Garage sales are the best place to get a good deal on costume jewelry.  Old hankies can be found in almost any antique store. There are also many online shops that have really fun selections.  I have found vintage hankies for as low as a dollar.  If you use flowers from your garden or wildflowers this gift could end up costing very little. 

Wrap the stems in a little plastic wrap to avoid staining the hanky.  You could also use water tubes if your hanky is on the large size. 

You can also skip the brooch altogether.  Use chocolate cover strawberries on skewers instead of flowers. Hand embroider the hanky yourself or fill the hanky with sweets in a cellophane bag.  The possibilities are endless.

Happy crafting!

Please check back later today to see if you are the lucky winner of the dala horse stamp.

fatty

In case you didn't already know, fat baby bodies are God's gift to the world.

And you thought it was George Clooney.

Well, he is delectable, but friends, have you kissed any baby fat lately?

Let me tell you what I have on my hands here.

When I go to get Frankie out of his crib in the morning he greets me with a huge body smile and shakes the bars of his crib like a little gorilla.  His pajamas stretch tight across his belly. And when I pick him up, he kicks his legs like mad and then clamps onto me and buries his chubby face into my neck.

I don't mind the slobber. It's Frankie's way of claiming me as his own.

Next it's down the hall to retrieve the Bird.  She pops up when the door opens and instantly starts an indiscernible dialogue about who knows what. Usually something about books and babies and jammies. I lift her up and stand for just one moment alone with her in the sunlight that streams in through her windows.  She allows me to stroke her hair as long as she is sure that I'm paying complete attention to what she is saying.

I love to tickle her cheek along her jawline. It's just a circle the disappears into her neck.  Particularly kissable.

The Boy hasn't an ounce of fat on his entire body.  It's sad.  He's all elbows and scabby knees.  When I try to hold him in my lap his bum bones dig into my leg.  He feels like a robotic octopus.

I reminds me that the fat is fleeting and I better get my fill.

Wish my own fat was fleeting.

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments over the past few days.  I read them all. More than once. And I carry them around in my head during the day.  They make laundry bearable.

tales from the bionic woman

So I went to the doctor and you're not gunna believe what he said is wrong with me.

I'm really quite stunned and disappointed truth be told.

He said there is absolutely nothing wrong with me. I am super healthy.  No mono. No thyroid problems. No anemia.  No pneumonia. Not even high blood pressure.  I'm like, the epitome of good health. I'm the freakin' bionic woman.

He was talking. I could see his mouth moving. But I was thinking, Then why the hell do I feel like I'm dragging day in and day out?  Surely there must be something wrong. Why have I been sick ALL winter?  Why do my limbs feel like Jell-O at three-o-clock everyday?

And then I tuned back in to hear him say that dreaded of all diagnoses- stress.

How very obtuse and non-commital of him.

But deep down in the scratchy dark corners of my being I thought he might be right.  Just maybe.

So I have a little stress. I do. I know. What?

Then the good doctor went on to prescribe exercise.  Four days a week. Reaching my anaerobic threshold for at least fifteen minutes. It has something to do with adrenaline levels and a bunch of other scientific stuff.

In my brian I'm all, Are you kiddin' me? For the love of Pete man! You are sitting here telling me I suffer from too much stress, and, oh yeah, you need to add more things to your schedule?

Seriously?

Here's the deal-

Nothing is wrong with me and that means everything is wrong with me. I can't be the person I want to be without losing it.  I can't do all that I want to do without feeling like the living dead.  I can't.  I'm not cut out for it.  

I'm not the person I always thought I was.  That hurts to realize. It's a little like when you are a kid and you realize your not as cool as your mom told you are.

So I have a choice.  I can start cutting things out of my life. I can simplify.  I can give up blogging and Secondsister. I could walk away from my studio. Shut the door for a few years.  

Except I can't.  

So I'm left with the doctor's solution.  To have enough energy to keep up with my crazy life I'm gunna have to run faster, harder.

I'm going to have to get up early and go to the gym. Ew.

It's going to be hard.  

But I owe it to the littles.  They deserve to have a mom that can keep up. How can I justify running a business if I don't have the energy to make them dinner?

This is it. No excuses.  I'm putting this bionic body to the test.

*Que Eye of the Tiger*

Damn it all anyway. I was sure it was mono.

Hallå

My Uggleboos came in the post.  All the way from Sweden.  Custom made to my specifications.  I was inclined to go red, but I already own two pairs of red clogs. I do love me a pair red shoes.  But this time the robin's egg blue was calling to me.

Alas, they are perfect.

They put a skip in my step and a twinkle in my eye.  

So I was skipping and twinkling yesterday when I noticed that I had lost a blog reader.

For reals.

At first I was like, what's one little reader?  Who cares? Good riddance!

But then as I sat and peeled my cutie (have you noticed how good the cuties are this year? I mean I'm eating like ten a day which kind of gives me the toots but I like them too much to stop, and the babies don't ever care if I toot) I felt bugged and a little worried. What if I'm slipping? Have I gotten boring? Why would this person reject me this way?  

Feeling peckish, and a little gassy, I slinked into my studio to do a little painting.  Turns out I was also feeling a little Swedish.  

buy this painting here

I was trying to not think about this person out in the world who had decided to cut me out of their life, and I was thinking how ridiculous it was to take it personally. I mean, lots of people make bad decisions every day. It's not the end of the world.

And then something occurred to me.

Maybe they were in it for the giveaways.  I used to do a lot more giveaways.  Maybe that is why they subscribed in the first place.  Shallow fool!

So out of spite I am doing a giveaway today.  Yes, that's right. Out. Of. Spite.

Who wants a hand carved dala horse stamp?

Just leave a comment. That's all you have to do. I hate when I am sent on a wild goose chase just to enter a giveaway. I mean who wants to be responsible for marketing another persons stuff on all the social media sites?  Poohey I say.

So just leave a comment.  I'll pick a winner on Friday and pop this little guy in the mail to the lucky reader. Who is still a reader.

Just like that. Because I'm spiteful.

monday monday

Did I mention that I'm designing for The Twinery?  Well I am.

They make lux bakers twine in eleven colors.  I am currently working on my March project and it's coming together quite nicely.  

What is it about twine that we all love so much?

The doll is Birdie's treat we brought home from Chinatown.  It was strange to find a faux kokeshi in Chinatown.  The Asian lines are a little blurred there.  But isn't she cute?

I have several projects I'm working on that will debut in the Fall.  It seems like everything is happening this Fall.  Should be exciting.

In other news, I've been sick so much this Winter that I'm convinced I have mono. I'm going to the doctor, again, to try to get to the bottom of it.

I don't have time in my life for phlegm and headaches and sore throats. 

Sugar Daddy took the kiddos and the dog to the park yesterday while I tried to get some rest.  This is the text he sent me:

"I'm having a hell of a time with this crew. Scrapping and mixing it up."

Clearly, you can see why I love this man.

  

midnight rooster

Well I've got more stamp stuff to share.

Midnight Rooster is a paper craft kit club that commissioned me to draw a set of illustrations that they would offer as exclusive add ons for their kits.

I asked what they wanted me to draw. The response was, "Just draw anything. We don't have a theme. We know we will love what you do."

Wow. If only each job could be so free and easy!

I wonder if it will ever get old seeing my work made into a tangible product.  I get so excited with each project.

You can purchase the stamps and other really great paper crafting goodies from Midnight Rooster.

bag lady

photo source

My car broke down yesterday.

So there is that to talk about.  

It started with the radio cutting out. Suze Rotolo was being interviewed by Margot Adler.  Margot read this passage written about Suze by Bob Dylan in his autobiography.  It was pretty vivd and strong worded and totally enchanting, and right when Margot asked for Suze's response to these words the radio went dead.

That pissed me off pretty good.  

Then the car jerked and sputtered and came to a stop right in the middle of traffic.  And my hazards didn't even work.  

And I had a sweaty bandana on my head because I was coming home from the gym and running errands.

But the most amazing thing happened.

It was a pretty dangerous situation because cars couldn't see that I was stopped and they kept coming up really fast and then swerving to miss me.  This went on for a good five minutes or so and then my knight in shinning armor showed up. Sugar Daddy? No. He was at work.  

This knight was about seventy years old with a derby cap and a Members Only jacket.  He parked behind me and turned on his hazards.  

Sweet Mr. Derby man. I'll love you forever.

The story ends with me walking home in my bandana, with my shopping bags in my black greasy hands and only one shoe.  

Frankly I'm surprised I wasn't arrested for vagrancy.

But this is the stuff of life though eh?  

It's the day to day occurrences that build our life.  There are crappy times and really super good times and all the squishy matter in between.

Sometimes you eat crow, sometimes you eat macaroons. That's what I always say.  Well, not really. That just came to me just now.

So here's my point. I do have one. I think.

What I want to say today is when next I find myself nibbling a macaroon or a baby cheek I'm going to remember to cache that happiness so next time I am walking down a road with only one shoe and grease smudges, like a bag lady, I can draw on those specks of sweetness and laugh heartily out loud at life.

But not in front of any cops.

Don't think twice, It's alright by Bob Dylan

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

march on

download this wallpaper here

I've always thought of March as a bridge into Spring.  God's way of saying carry on, there are good times ahead.

I made a wallpaper. Hope you like it. I decided to use one of my illustrations this month.  It's simple, but I am happy with it.

I want to tell you about a gem of a shop I found.  It's called Two Art Directors and a Photographer.  They carry vintage and antique items. Not only do they find the coolest old things to sell, the pictures are enchanting.

Those globe pin cushions- they are sold. And that fact just simply breaks my heart.