neonfoxtongue

Waffling

I shared a recipe for waffles with an old friend last week and as it was a recipe I had from my father-in-law, I didn't have the name of the book or author.  I got that information over the weekend though so this evening I sent my friend short note to fill her in.  While typing, it suddenly occurred to me that 'waffle' is the perfect way to describe me these days. And I don't mean that I've got a grid-like look to me or am covered in maple syrup (and let's not give The Leopard any ideas please).  I just feel like I'm waffling on a lot of aspects of my life right now, particularly this blog.

I'm having such a hard time making decisions on pretty much every creative project I've started or have been thinking of for the past several weeks and months.  I'm having difficulty figuring out the focus of this blog, probably because I'm having trouble moving forward on those creative projects.  I even have a fairly long list of Etsy 'favourites' that I've been thinking about buying for ages, but I keep changing my mind about whether I really want/need them or want to give them as gifts.  Imagine - not being able to make decisions about shopping!

It's not that I'm lacking inspiration; it's more that I'm lacking direction.  And probably a bit of confidence.  But they say the first step to improving is to admit you have a problem, so I'm hoping that by acknowledging the waffling, I'll be able to shake it and move forward.  I'm going to set a couple of easy creative goals for the coming week and make them my priority.  Hopefully I'll have something positive to share next week. That way, Tara, who never seems to lack direction or confidence in her cooking, can keep the waffles*.

* NB: This post isn't about the waffle recipe I have, but they sure do look and sound amazing, don't they?

Friday I'm in Love: My Etsy "Treasury"

As I mentioned last week, I visit Etsy fairly regularly.  I particularly enjoy looking at the Treasuries that others have put together.  I started thinking about creating my own; I even came up with a theme and picked some favourite handmade and vintage pieces for it.  But I quickly realised that I have neither the time, nor the patience (mostly the patience) to wait for a free spot in the Treasuries list. As I write this, there are 620 Treasuries and spaces only open up when it drops to below 333. So I figured I'd just post my Treasury in my blog.  I know it'll get a lot less traffic, but it'll also be up much longer than 48 hours. 

So here it is. I call it "I'm starting a garden..." (Catchy, isn't it?)

Vintage Garden Tools ($35)              Bamboo Windchimes ($40)          Three Tiered Planter ($75)

Cool Vintage Finds                          Strawberry Dove                          O'Conner Pottery

Blackberry Lily Photo Print ($20)       Garden Expert (German) T-shirt* ($14)     Ceramic Birdhouse ($48)

Prairie Garden Studio                       isotope                                                  My mother's garden

Gardener's Soap ($5)                    Modern Vine Trellis ($90)              Concrete Bowls ($15)

southernvtsoap                             Andrew's Reclaimed                    benjrs

Slate Plant Markers ($5 for 3)        The Green Man ($35)                     Wooden Seed Trays ($30 for 4)

J Burlette                                     Custom Metal Art                         Andrew's Reclaimed

Hope you enjoyed this 'Treasury'.  Maybe one day I'll have the patience to actually put up a real one. :)

Have a great weekend - especially if it's a long one in your part of the world!

*Translation is actually "Your Garden & Landscaping Expert" (My German classes have paid off!)

(All prices in US dollars)

(Friday Love font is Little Lord Fontleroy)

Friday I'm in Love: Knitted Summer Wrap

Another long week.  Progress on our apartment feels really slow and the list of things to-do seems never ending.  I'm trying not to get down about it and I really hope to get more done this weekend, but I have to accept the fact that this is a long process.  A long process that will involve installing a lot of shelving.

To keep my spirits up, I'm seeking inspiration wherever I can find it.  Yesterday, I found it in moocowhandknit's Etsy shop.

 

This Summer Wrap actually makes me want to pick up some knitting needles.  Haven't felt that way in a while.  If I could figure out how to make one of these (it looks pretty easy, even for a beginner - though I have no idea how she got both ends on the ring), I think I'd do it in black. Or maybe yellow. Or teal.  The one great thing about this is that I wouldn't have to do any unpacking or organizing to get started on it.  That probably partially explains why I like it so much! :)

Creative space - ideas and inspiration

So yeah, this week's Creative Goals Monday post just didn't happen.  I don't really have an excuse either, I just couldn't get my act together blog-wise.  I apologise, but I have also decided not to feel guilty about it.  As Karyn aptly tweeted,"sometimes, you just have to not blog".

But I've still got some creative goals for this week, namely making a card and working on setting up my creative space.  I admit that I haven't made much any progress in the latter.  I've been more focused on getting the kitchen and bedroom unpacked and organised. And while there is still a bit of work to do in those rooms, they are much more functional now, so I'm ready to move onto getting my art and craft supplies unpacked and organised.

To that end, I've been looking back at some of the posts I've saved from other blogs, which had tips and photos of creative spaces that I liked.  I got some really great ideas from cheeky magpie in her post about organising supplies, particularly stamps.

Trading card holders - genius!

I also love the hanging cans that Rachel Simonsen uses in her studio.  I hoping to make something similar with upcycled cans or jars.

And lastly, I'm a big fan of the wire crate shelving in this Design*Sponge sneak peak:

 

I'm not sure I'll be able to readily find old wire shelving, but I'm going to file this idea away in case I do.

So now it's time to get started on creating my own space. I'll let you know how it goes and I promise to take a 'before' shot so we can compare it to the end product. That way, they'll be proof that whatever I do will be a marked improvement! :)

Tilt-shift Photography and Video

I'm feeling a bit short on words today, but have a lot of stuff filling my head.  So while I clear it out, here's a really cool tilt-shift video by Keith Loutit, accompanied by a lovely song by Megan Washington.
(Not exactly craft related, but I really like it.)

For some reason, I'm having trouble embedding the video, so I invite you to go see it here.

If you want to try tilt-shifting your own photos, go here. Here's an example with one of my photos:

(View of Ljubljana, Sloveni, 2009)

Thanks to How About Orange for the cool links!  More crafty stuff soon, I promise!

National Stationary Show - Another Fave: Bird Pie Press

What a difference a year makes!  Last year, reading blog posts about the National Stationary Show had me oooh-ing and aaah-ing over virtually every photo.  After a year of seeing A LOT of new card and stationary designs via blogs, Etsy and magazines, however, I'm noticing that I'm not falling in love with *everything* I'm seeing in the blog re-caps of the show this year.  Don't me wrong, I do like a lot (probably most) of what I'm seeing - there is still a ton of really creative stuff out there when it comes to stationary and paper goods.  I think I'm just focussing my design and style preferences more, which I see as a good thing, because it will help me with my own creative projects.

That said, I have found at least one more favourite - Pie Bird Press.  This is the card that first caught my eye:

(photo by Design*Sponge)

I love that you could just stick this card (sans envelope) on top of a gift and there's your bow!

Then I saw this post by Oh, Mishka and was really struck by the vibrant colours, so I went to their site to see more.  Here are some more faves:

{Ginko}

{Yarn}

{Peacock Feather}

Lovely, aren't they?  What I really like is that I could easily find dozens of reasons to send these cards to all sorts of people. 

So that's my latest fave.  If any more catch my eye, I'll post about them tomorrow, along with my regular Friday I'm In Love feature.  See ya then!

National Stationary Show - My Fave (So Far)

I found out about the National Stationary Show last year via the various design and craft blogs I had recently begun reading.  I think it would be *the* design show for me, given that I'm an uber-fan of all things paper.  I've been following the great coverage that Design*Sponge is doing on this year's show and if you have any interest in stationary and/or great design, I suggest you do the same.  So far, this letterpress card by Sycamore Street Press is my favourite.  It was designed by Be A Decent Human Being (Not exactly their site, but it's only relevant link I could find).

 

    I love how how it's sincere and irreverent at the same time.  I'd love to give (or receive) this card.

   If I see any more faves, I'll post them.

Score, part II! Vintage Needlecraft Book and Magazine

I must be on a roll!  Just last week, I discovered (and recovered) some vintage children's books that my mother-in-law was going to donate to a charity book sale.  And when I was back home for Mother's Day, my mom showed me the great craft books and magazines that my Oma (that's Grandma in German) had brought over to the house.  My mom is looking to do some needlework/embroidery on some lovely fabric she picked up in Lebanon so she kept one of the books.  I perused the remaining collection and took with me the two that interested me most.  The rest can stay at my parents until The Leopard and I have a place of our own.

I picked a book and a magazine; both of which have a needlecraft focus.  The Good Housekeeping magazine was particularly neat because it was published a few months before I was born! (Yep, I'm that old.)

 

Of course, not everything in the magazine is my style exactly...

 

Um...no.

But I liked quite a few projects:

It's not a great pic, but I love the hippo and the giraffe - so cute!

 

This is almost like something you'd find at Anthropologie these days.  The magazine also has some decent knitted sweater patterns that I will hopefully be able to figure out one day.

The book is called McCall's Big Book of Country Needlecrafts (published in 1983) and it features 150 projects!

 

Again, I can't say I'm keen on all the projects, but there are some really lovely ones.

 

I admit that I can be a bit picky about quilt patterns, but this one is really stunning.

 

There are lots of great cross stitch and embroidery patterns, like this chair seat cover.

  

 And one great feature is that most of the patterns are on grids so you could use them in a variety of mediums.  This pattern is actually for crochet, but I think it could be easily adapted for cross stitch.

I absolutely love this apple series!  It doesn't seem 'country' to me at all!

And this box makes me want to learn crewel.  Isn't it gorgeous?

In addition to the books, I also took a couple of older cross stitch and embroider projects that my mom had been storing for me, as well as some extra cloth and floss.  I'm looking forward to getting back into cross stitch and learning some real embroidery stitches (I usually make them up as I go along). These new (to me) resources should help with that.

Here's hoping my luck with crafty finds and inspiration doesn't run out! :)

Score! Vintage books!

Sometimes the coolest stuff is right under your nose.  The Leopard and I have been staying with his parents since early April while we look for jobs and an apartment.  He and his family are avid readers (and his mom is a librarian) so their house is full of books.  Recently, his parents sorted through much of their collection and had about ten boxes ready to donate to a charity book sale.  These boxes were down in the basement for a few weeks and apart from grabbing this book from the top to add to my 'to read' pile, I hadn't paid much attention to the rest.  Well, the Leopard's mom had arranged to deliver the books this week so as he carried the boxes upstairs, I was able to take a closer look at the bottom ones.  And look what I found - vintage children's books!  Score!

 TWO copies of My First Golden Dictionary (circa 1979)!

Love the illustrations and the colours.  Buzz, buzz, busy bee!

There was also question and answer book about the human body from 1965!  I used to love these types of books when I was younger.  I had a few about animals too.

And my very favourite - An activity book from the Metropolitan Museum of Art! This one is from 1983.

So cool!  Great pictures and illustrations.  Added bonus - it's meant to be cut up!

Flipbooks!

Old fashioned board games!

I don't know what I'm going to do with these yet.  I'm definitely going to make colour copies of a lot of the images so that I can make different things with them.  I'm going to try to keep them intact for as long as possible.  Right now, I'm just enjoying looking through the images.  I know they're going to be a great source of inspiration.  I'm so glad I spotted them!

Have you scored any cool freebies lately?

Friday I'm in Love: mobiles!

Grrr! I was hoping to have a shiny new Friday I'm in Love banner for today's post, but some difficulties installing the font I want to use and my general Photoshop ineptitude has made it impossible for me to put it together without tearing my hair out.  So I'll work on it on the weekend and hopefully have something ready for next week's FIIL post.

Luckily, I do have some lovely things to show you today!  As you may or may not know, one of my creative goals for this year is to make a mobile.  I love mobiles - I think they're a great and easy way to add art, design, sculpture and movement to a space.  So this morning, I decided to get some mobile inspiration from Etsy and I found some real beauties that I want to share with you.  I'm planning on making my mobile with travel photos and ephemera, but as you can see below, mobiles can be made out of pretty much anything as long as it's not too heavy!

This first one is called Nebula by The Wonderland Studio.  It's the type of mobile I envision when I think about mobiles.  I love the idea of using foam - it allows for great shapes and colours, as The Wonderland Studio clearly demonstrates with the lovely mobiles in her shop.

I'm really liking this fabric and button Circle Mobile from PureInnovation. Perfect for the crafter in your life - or for a baby you want to introduce to crafting, sewing or even quilting at an early age!

Check out this pretty Mini Mobi from Leah Pellegrini!  So cute!  Perfect if you don't have a lot of space or want to jazz up a corner of your office at work (I'm sure your boss won't mind!)

This mobile blew my mind - I know it doesn't look very fancy from this angle, but check out how it looks from below:

Pinwheels!  I'm convinced this mobile by mamax2 would keep a baby occupied for hours.  Heck - it would keep me occupied for hours!  It's available in lots of other colours too.

Last but certainly not least, this fabulous mobile from Salty and Sweet.  Ninja Vs Pirate!  Mobile + Humour = Awesome!  They have some great other designs too - like Derby Grrrls and Six Feet Over (Mobile Brrraiiins...)

These mobiles will be a great source of inspiration for my mobile project.  And if we have enough space in our new place, I might even buy another one (or two).  Because really, is it possible to have too many mobiles?  I think not!

Wishing you a lovely weekend!  I think I'm going to hit up the Toronto Bead Society's Spring Bead Fair tomorrow.  I'll be sure to let you know all about it if I do!