Holiday Flights of Fancy

The Holidays! Weeee! Haven't been home this week, so still haven't taken my-fake-tree-in-a-box out of its box. But I'm still feeling a bit giddy . . . what's been exciting and delighting me this holiday decorating season?

My new wreath from Bodywreath . . . lovely holiday linens that I got on after-holiday sale last year and am just now getting to use . . . a marvelous tea towel that I found at a grocery store yesterday with bright green dingle-balls on it . . . and collecting and making birdie ornaments for my tree.

The tree may not actually go up until the 23rd, but hey, I've been gathering some of the coolest bird ornaments ever . . . and been keeping my eyes open for more. I won't be able to get any of these - Aux petits oiseaux made these for holiday trades that I was too late to participate in - but you have to check them out for their shear cuteness . . . is it too late for me to buy some felt? UPDATE: Here's the link to the family fun site where Aux Petits Oiseaux found the inspiration for her ornaments . . . warning: they may want you to download flash to see it!

And I did get a few of these from Tanya Harvey at the Audubon Society's annual Wild Arts Festival - dear me, the roundness and the attention to detail! She knows her bird species . . . searching the site is like a lesson in ornithology . . .

Studio Day

Ah, the glory of (almost) an entire day spent in the studio . . . I really need that kind of concentrated art time . . . Today, I experimented with printing plates made from pieces of foam rug gripper and friendly foam and even foam weather stripping. In other words, if it's even vaguely foamy, I'm experimenting with making a stamp/printing plate from it and printing it on fabric.

The Artmaking as Playful Prayer class finished on Monday, and I've got a Memory Jewelry class that starts tomorrow. And I've been cleaning up from the Secret Society Sale last Sunday, and prepping for the Dinnergrrls Holiday Bazaar this coming Sunday . . . It's a miracle I got in the studio for any personal work! But I need that time . . . especially after a Playful Prayer class ends. I need time to digest what's happened. Time to incubate. I got some really wonderful and thoughtful feedback about the class, about creating more meaningful transition times. And I've been digesting that, considering different ways that I might meet that need without sacrificing the structural looseness. All while I print little houses and little birds with nests on fabric. So soothing.

And yesterday's teaser? Old appliqued quilt blocks (from yet another quilt that is not to be) that I'm turning into pillows to sell at the Dinnergrrl's Holiday Bazaar this weekend . . .

Pillow Teaser

Back in Craft Show Land

I only do a few "craft shows" a year now, but 15 years ago, they were how I made my living. Loading my van up with bins full of stuff, hauling it up and down the west coast, setting up the booth, freezing or sweating, and hoping I sold some stuff . . . fortunately for all aspiring crafters and artists, we now have the internet and Etsy shops.

Of course, craft shows still happen - but, thank heavens, now, I'm only doing a few a year - and small ones at that. It gets the word out about my classes, I get to meet people, and I reduce my ever-growing inventory of class samples and experiments. (After all, how many of these things can my friends actually absorb?) As a result, I end up with a bizarre mish-mash of stuff at my table - almost like a crafter's rummage sale - and I am beginning to think that an Etsy shop might be a more efficient way for me to offer these things up to the wider world . . .

Oh boy. Another project. Let's finish NaBloPoMo first, shall we? And then there's that book I'm working on . . .

Bottom line, though, I had a great time at the Secret Society Sale (and hauling my stuff up the stairs meant some much needed exercise!) and have a few folks to recommend . . .

Erin MacLeod, of the Crafty MacLeods*, makes these wonderful one-size-fits-many snap around skirts. I wear about a size 10, and they work great for me! I got one this summer, and picked up a few more today since her booth was right next to mine . . . And I saw the gal from Woolie Originals again . . . she makes lovely hats, etc., from reclaimed sweater pieces-parts, but what I'm most crazy about are her collages from old sweaters. I'm getting on her mailing list, and hoping to pick one up sometime in the next year . . . rumor is, she may be doing a piece that features an Octopus! I'm getting excited just thinking about it . . .

(* Do not be disturbed if you didn't catch the obscure Highlander reference. I did it to amuse myself.)

Holiday Hipness

The Dinnergrrls Holiday Bazaar is coming up at CubeSpace here in Portland on Sunday, December 2nd, 12-4. Yes, I'll be there, selling some fiber art, some encaustic work, some jewelry, some collages . . . and Kristin Gross of Konfections will be there selling delicate and tasteful jewelry . . . but really, the reason you have to go is this: Bodywreaths. Let's just say it's been time to retire my old I-bought-some-things-at-Michael's-in-the-early-90's-and-used-a-glue-gun holiday wreath for several years now - I've just never had an excuse before. Now, I have an excuse. No, more than that - I have A Call to Action. Really. You have to go look at these. Now. And buy one. For yourself. For someone you love. For the good of the whole freakin' nation. 'Cause if you don't, I may buy one for you.

Heck, I may buy you two.