Another Toy

I got two packages yesterday that made me jump up and down with excitement--- my Diana+ camera and some 120 film to go with it!

For those of you who don't know about the Diana, it was originally marketed as a toy camera in the 1950s and 60s and shoots amazing lo-fi, vintage style images. I think it will be great fun to travel around my new state and try to capture the magical light and landscapes here.

My first stop will be the hot air balloon fiesta this weekend, and I can't wait to come back and share my results here. I'd love it if any photographers reading this would like to share some tips below!

More Flair Reports

I'm getting more photos from the free flair giveaway. Robin had the cute idea of pinning hers onto a wrist band! Love it.

Fern and Fiddleheads

These are my favorites from the batch of new buttons listed in the shop today.

It was a lovely Sunday.

Yes, it was.

More Free Flair Models

The photos are pouring in from the free flair giveaway, and they are really making my day!

Joy from Constant Galore sported hers on a scarf.Wendi and her toddler, both big foodies, pinned it on to an apron during playtime.And this last one really made me squeal with delight. Madilyn pinned a piece of doggy flair on to Loca's collar. So cute!

Shop Update: Pomegranate Notes

Printed up yesterday and now available in sets of eight. You can get them in the shop.

Perspective

This is what I saw on the way back from the farmer's market this morning. It seems a good metaphor right now--- that sometimes up close and in the thick of things, problems seem gigantic. Then you get some space and some air, and---poof--- they float away and seem smaller.

It's a corny metaphor, sure, but I like it and I'm stickin' to it.

Vintage Holiday Images

I am still behind on my holiday card line, and I can feel the clock ticking. I've even tried listening to my favorite Christmas albums (The Christmas Songby Nat King Cole and A Charlie Brown Christmas) while nibbling on cookies and drinking tea. But it is still 80-plus degrees here, and the Gocco fires have yet to warm after my last disaster.
While waiting for the mood to strike I stumbled upon a lovely collection of vintage clippings on Flickr, and Page was generous enough to let me share them. I love, love, love the departure from traditional red and green in some of these. I've already purchase my supplies, so these won't be a direct inspiration for my cards this year, but they do remind me a bit of these.

What do you think? Are you a red-white-and-green person, or do you like the mod touches of pink and turquoise in some of these?

More Llama Llove

For all you llama fans who seem to find me . . . these are in the shop now.

Friday Finds: "In the City" and "Biding My Time" Prints

I adore these prints by shelbyhealey. The first reminds me of a well-loved children's book, The Snowy Dayby Ezra Jack Keats.

More Flair

Here are more lovely models from my free flair giveaway! Can I just say how adorable Amy is with her coordinated ensemble? I love it!


Joanie was also kind enough to send me a photo and wore hers on a tank:

Thank you, ladies, for being such wonderful models!

Joseph's Parrot

One of my favorite artists is Joseph Cornell, a collage and assemblage artist from the 1940s who worked with found papers and constructed amazing little boxes. Some of my favorite works of his are boxes featuring birds:
Not that I am comparing myself to Cornell by any means, but I was so tickled to discover my own little found parrot the other day. I made him into a sweet button, paired with a swirly blue sky that reminds me of some of Cornell's other works.The buttons are available in the shop.

Apple Chard Quiche

I made this yesterday with produce from the farmer's market and served it with some butternut squash. It might just be my new favorite fall dish.

I think the recipe is from an old clipping out of Vegetarian Times, but I am not positive.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 cup (about 4 oz) shredded ruby Swiss chard
1 cup (about 2 oz) thinly sliced mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped apple
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup shredded Jarlsberg cheese
1/2 cup skim milk
1 9-inch deep-dish pie crust, unbaked (I made mine crustless)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium low, and saute onions until caramelized, about 15 minutes.

Add Swiss chard, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium, stirring often, until mushrooms and chard are soft, about seven minutes.

Combine apples, flour, and nutmeg in mixing bowl, and toss to coat apples. Combine eggs, cheese, and milk in separate bowl, and beat until ingredients are well blended. Fold in apple mixture.

Spoon chard mixture into pie crust. Pour egg-cheese-apple mixture over top.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes, or until cheese mixture is set and top is browned. Cool slightly before slicing, and serve.

Flair in Action #1

I am already getting responses from the free flair giveaway! Inkihandmade wore her little horse pin on a lovely scarf, and they coordinate beautifully.

Keep coming back for more pictures.

Bust

Well, there is just no graceful way to follow up the last post, so I am just going to plow straight ahead. We've been trying to get out of the house a lot, so we went to the bookstore for silly overpriced coffees and to pick up the new issue of Bust.
Do you recognize the little deer cards right under the Etsy logo? Yeah, that pretty much made my day.

Empty

We lost the baby. It's hard, on a public space where I've made many personal connections, to have to come back and post such profoundly sad and personal news. I debated deleting the earlier posts about our pregnancy, but I don't want to erase what I won't forget anyway. It's also hard to guard myself at this time, but I need to--- many people, in an effort to understand and reach out, seem to want information or explanations I simply can't talk about or don't have.

Thank you all for your excitement and good wishes at our earlier news, and thank you for understanding that I need to withdraw a little bit now.

Diner Magnets

For the domestic diva or waitress named Marge. These make me long for breakfast at a greasy spoon.

Available in the shop.

Vintage Transfer Finds

I am completely in love with this blog, Vintage Transfer Finds (found via How About Orange).

My grandmother used to have a whole dresser full of tea towels, pillowcases, and doilies in this '50s embroidery style, but being a farm girl she was too pragmatic to ever use them. She gave them away to my aunts, and I have been longing for a few ever since.

I think the sweetly ridiculous terrier patterns may be just the project I am looking for. There are also some great birds and kitchen herbs that are calling my name.

Friday Finds: Everything is Going to Be Ok

Print (and a timely reminder) from pleasebestill.

Must Love Dogs

Sometimes my husband rolls his eyes when the couch is full of dogs, or when I describe Chesney and Bear as the "loves of my life." I don't care; I love dogs fully and completely and unabashedly.

I was excited to discover a little vintage page full of different dog breeds . . . and made them into buttons. All three sets pictured above are available in the shop.

One of Those Days Part 2

Yesterday was such a rough day that I pretty much whined to anyone who would listen, including Bear. Her mournful eyes make her a good listener. I don't know if it is hormones on top of life's usual stresses or what, but the Gocco failures really had me down.

I woke up feeling better, because I realized two positive things came out of my crafting disaster yesterday. One, I decided I wasn't as happy with my holiday designs as I thought. Why not take the needed break to tweak them a bit more? The second positive thing that happened is after all my crying about ruining my supply of Gocco screens (thankfully I had a last big order on the way), someone in the Etsy fora mentioned a bulbless alternative that is still in production. I haven't tried them yet, but I like the idea of getting away from the toxic bulbs, especially now that I'm pregnant (latex gloves are my friend). You can check them out here.

See? To use that old cliche, lemonade from lemons.

One of Those Days

I awoke bright eyed and bushy tailed, eager to get back to Goccoing in what is slowly becoming my new studio (it looks bare right now, I know)! I am really excited about my holiday card designs, especially since the Gocco factory is now closed and this will likely be the last run of Gocco cards I do for a long time, if not ever.

And then I started burning screens. And proceeded to ruin four of them. Four. Bulbs were not flashing, images were printed looking faded and messy. Never have I had such a run of Gocco bad luck, and it feels like such pressure with a lack of forthcoming supplies!

I suppose tomorrow is a new day.

Free Flair Giveaway Now Closed

Wow! Good thing I like cutting out these little vintage images . . . I got a lot of responses to the Free Flair Giveaway really quickly.

If you were one of the first 15, I will be sending out your buttons this week. Remember, I would really love a picture of how you used your flair!

Shop Update: Breakfast and Knitting Buttons

I cooked up a proper Sunday breakfast this morning . . . eggs and toast and tea. And I'm flipping through old pattern books and my knitting stash for a first project for the wee one. And then, in honor of that, I listed these cute little buttons in the shop.

There is still room for a few more people in the giveaway below. I would love your participation!

More Gyo Fujikawa

Another lovely image, this one from the board book Dreamland:

A Free Flair Giveaway

9/15/08 update: I now have 15 people, so the "Free Flair" giveaway is now closed. Please check back for other fun giveaways and swaps! Thanks.


I haven't done a giveaway in quite awhile, and since I am in love with making little buttons lately, I thought I'd spread the love around. This giveaway works a bit differently than the ones I've done in the past, but I think it will be fun!

The details:
1) In order to receive a button, you can email me with your name, email address, and snail mail address. Also, include two or three "favorite things" so I can try to match a button to you.

2) I will mail you a sweet little 1" button.

3) Once you receive the button, take a picture of yourself wearing your "flair" or showing how you used it--- on a jacket, pinned to a bag, fastened to a scarf or hat, et cetera.

4) Email the picture to me and I will feature it here with a link to your blog or Etsy shop. It would be lovely if you'd do the same!

The fine print:
1) Giveaway is limited to the first 15 respondents.

2) Adults only, please. Buttons are not safe for small children.

3) Only US and Canadian participants, please. Big apologies to my international friends.

4) You will not receive any button currently listed in the shop.

5) I really value your participation in this! Thank you!

Illustrator: Gyo Fujikawa

Awhile back I shared an illustrator who was a childhood favorite of mine: Gyo Fujikawa. Shortly after that post, I bought a slew of her books on eBay, despite the fact that we were moving from Boston to New Mexico in a few short months!

I finally got around to scanning some of my favorite illustrations, so get ready for a series of posts featuring her work (you can click on each to see them larger) . . .

From My Animal Friend:
I love how these seem folkloric and dreamlike at the same time. I'll share more from another book this week!

Friday Finds: Snuggle Herd's Lyle the Lion

Not only does this cute little guy remind me of Alexander Calder drawings, he is made from recycled T-shirts! I love him. From SnuggleHerd.

Sweet Pumpkin Cookies

First off, I just have to thank everyone who emailed me kind, congratulatory words or posted them on here. I am really overwhelmed by how excited other people are when it comes to babies! It just makes our own excitement that much more fun to share. I've had an outpouring of people offer to send books, lists of things they couldn't live with out, and outgrown baby clothes. Thank you, everybody, truly!

Another thing I am grateful for is a husband that makes late-night cookies for me (9:30 seems incredibly late as of recent weeks). I had been craving pumpkin for days and really wanted to try these cookies, but I was too tired to make them. Billy is an excellent baker (much better than I), so he picked up the spoon and mixing bowl and whipped these up. They are amazing--- the perfect combination of a classic chocolate chip cookie and autumn flavors. I am even eating one for breakfast with my decaf Earl Grey. The recipe is below.

From one of my consistent favorites, the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook.

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped toasted peanuts
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla and mix until well blended. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt, and add to the mixing bowl. Stir well to form a soft batter. Stir in chopped nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a large, unoiled baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack.

Makes 42 cookies.

A Belly Full of Joy

I have been debating sharing this news for awhile--- in fact, I already posted this once and deleted it. But I'm too excited not too share. We are expecting a baby! I cannot wait to see what this journey brings. And yes, I already have a list of baby-related craft projects!

In other exciting news, I spent today and yesterday being interviewed and photographed for The Albuquerque Journal. They are doing a segment on local artisans and Etsy sellers, and I was very excited that they contacted me, especially since I am so new to the area! I'll share more when the article comes out.

Good, good things here. I am counting my blessings.

Shop Update: Birdie Buttons

New bird-themed buttons now available in the shop.