Recycled Bird Print

Good evening. Today was a whirlwind day, and it kind of escaped me. Even though Dexter did not take a nap today I did find some time to create a little something. I wasn't in the mood to break out a ton of supplies, so I made something from older materials.

A few years ago I took a screen printing (stencil style) class at my local Museum of Contemporary Art. It was there that I illustrated a bird to put on a tote bag. I liked it so much that instead of trashing my used stencil, I kept it. I didn't know how well it would hold up, but I think it did okay:

I started off by taking some left over Paper Source patterned paper and laying it flat. Then, I took my recycled bird stencil and positioned it on top of the paper. I went through my cans of spray paint and decided that my neon chartreuse would look best. I sprayed my stencil and let it sit for about 30 minutes. After that, it was dry to the touch. I liked how it looked, but it needed some more definition. The spray paint left a 'halo' effect on the paper below. I used a regular Sharpie black marker to outline all of the bird's shapes. Finally, I cut it to the size of my frame and hung it right at eye level at my desk. It didn't take that long, and I am happy with the finished product.

I think tomorrow I may go back to fabric...

Cake - Out of the Box

Hello again. This morning I woke up and had the urge to make...er, bake. I knew that I had a boxed carrot cake mix and some frosting. Knowing that it would be rather bland as is, I added some leftover ingredients we had around the kitchen:

extras: golden raisins, some chopped walnuts, shredded carrots

(and the frosting - coconut pecan)

TIP! I want to add the extras to beef up the mixture and make it really hearty. Before just throwing them in the cake mix, I had a small bowl set aside with a couple tablespoons of flour. By lighting dusting the nuts, carrots and raisins, it insured that they would not sink to the bottom of the batter. (This works with chocolate chips too). This technique allows them to be evenly dispersed throughout your product.

To make matters a little easier, I had some company to talk to me while I was baking and cleaning up:

The hardest part...waiting for it to cool...

Luckily, I have Henrietta to help with the time management.

And finally, after cooling for an hour I got to frost it. This is what it looked like before I inhaled a

big, fat slice:

It was absolutely delicious. I also didn't feel awful for eating it, because it had carrots and nuts and such. To me, that means it is supremely healthy, and it can be eaten multiple slices at a time...am I right!?

Skirting the Issue

Well today was more of an errand day than anything else. I did find some new, clearance fabrics at JoAnn's! I always go to the remnants and red tags first. Luckily, today I found everything I needed/wanted and didn't have to pay full price. Here is the haul (a good mix of chiffon, flannel, cotton and corduroy):

Since I was so fabric inspired today, I thought I would share some of the skirts I have made in the past year. All three of these were made in class at the Singer Factory downtown. The nice thing about making your own clothes is that you know they will fit! Even after all of the cheesecakes and pork chops, I can still put any one of these on without hassle. ;) Here are the skirts in chronological order of which they were made:

Skirt #1 - Classic Pencil

Skirt #2 - Short and Gathered

Skirt #3 - Classic Pencil, elongated w/kick pleat (not shown here)

So there they are. I'd like to say a special thanks to my model, Heloise. She does such a good job of holding them all up. Time to brainstorm my new fabric projects...

Animal Attraction

Most often when I go to get a card for someone at the store two thoughts cross my mind - a). I shouldn't be buying a card when I can just make one. b). None of these are really good, so I'll go with the best of the worst. I rarely have that 'Hallmark' moment where I find a card that says just what I want it to, or rarely have it come close to saying something I would naturally say. I feel I've always had a quirkier way of communicating things anyway. 

I decided that for Valentine's Day I wasn't going to do something typical. My sentiments still come across but in a much different way. Hopefully the humor is seen there. I always like to find things that make me laugh or smile and share them with others. Thus, I give to you these two animal inspired and funny valentines:

This first one is my Cowboy Valentine. I used a nice metallic gold ink on high quality red paper. The brown card is textured and made from recycled materials. The phrase "I bucking love you" just seemed fitting for this one. :)

This second card features an angry grizzly bear. Let's face it, bears are pretty hot right now, and the angrier the better. One of my friends is bear-obsessed, and he was kind of the inspiration behind this card. It was a lot of fun to make and is more of a collage than anything else. The screen-printed bear silhouette was done on my Gocco and then illustrated by hand. The trees are decorative pieces of scrap paper, and the felted heart was found. Though the outside may appear sort of intimidating, the inside opens up to read 'Please don't get mauled by bears. I love you too much.' So you see, it really is quite sweet after all.

As always, thanks so much for looking and reading. I apologize for the change of layout, but I am just experimenting to see what works best. These cards and other products are available online in my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/dessertforbreakfast?view_type=gallery

I've Got a Secret...

...and today I bring you a few more valentines. These simple little cards were inspired by the art of sending a secret message. The kraft paper envelopes hold a special greeting for the recipient. Some have a message printed on the outside revealing only the envelopes content. Others have the message on the inside making it more of a mystery. I also tried to play on some words according to the images used.

This was a fun project, because it took me back to the grade school days of the valentine exchange (only this time I didn't have to make a milk carton or paper plate holder to keep them in). Each of these cards were lovingly stamped and assembled by hand. Some have added hand-colored detail. They are all available in my etsy shop as well:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dessertforbreakfast?view_type=gallery

Thanks again for stopping by! ...more to come soon...

Bag Lady

So I have been sewing for about two years solid now, and I have 4 skirts, 1 shirt and an assortment of bags and plush animals to show for it. However, I don't always feel like making something from a pattern. I have found that totes are simple enough to make and don't take much time at all. It's also a great use of scrap fabric. I even made a little fabric bag (minus the handles) and used it as a gift bag. It served it served its purpose of housing a present, and the lucky recipient got a keepsake for herself.

This first tote is composed of oilcloth (chickens were found on ebay, faux bois and brocade were from etsy). I wanted to use this fabric, because I was making a grocery tote. The outside is completely wipeable, and the linen lining provides sturdy support. I found the pattern online here:

http://www.purlbee.com/oilcloth-grocery-tote/

This specific tote has a circular bottom, and that proved to be a little challenging at first but still very doable. With the leftover material I was able to make a little purse for myself. (I couldn't let the cute chickens go to waste!) The best part was I just folded the fabric in half and then sewed the sides up. I didn't even have to make a bottom.

The second tote shown here was made of spare bits I had laying around. The outer fabric is a superfine brown corduroy, and the inside is a cotton print. First, I sandwiched the two fabrics together for each side and sewed them creating a durable duplex fabric of sorts. Then I pinned my two sides together and sewed everything but the top where the opening was. Next I did a few rows of stitches for added decoration. (For the gift bag, I just stopped here. It was so easy to make and meant a little more than the store bought alternative. Plus, you can tailor them to any size!) For the little handbag I added some handles, which were just two long strips of the corduroy fabric folded in half. I personally love the look of a stitch and again made rows of straights and zig-zags alternating for extra interest. Finally, I like to secure the handles for all of my bags with the "X" method. Again, I like the way it looks, and it adds more support.

Thanks for looking at my projects! Please feel free to share any of your own. I'd love to see them :)

A Fresh Start for Twenty-Ten

Hello friends. It's amazing to believe that it's already 2010. Last year I really neglected this blog and posted a bunch of random things. I want to try and do my best this year to keep my postings based on the things I create. I'll also try to commit more, thus keeping me on the ball with productivity and personal projects.

During the winter holiday I was busy creating valentines for my etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/dessertforbreakfast?view_type=gallery

I also made some Braille valentines earlier this week. I found an old Braille alphabet I had saved. I knew immediately that I was going to put it to use. It occurred to me that I have never personally seen any Braille valentines. I also liked the idea of having an interactive card. The materials I used for the 'dots' allowed me to achieve a raised texture, giving the cards a 3 dimensional effect. Even if they aren't used with their intended purpose, they make a nice keepsake design. The dots on a solid background are nice and modern and would look great framed.

Thank you so much for taking the time to look at my artwork. Please check back frequently, as I will be adding more and more handmades as the days go by.