Better Late Than Never

So, Red Hot was almost a month ago and I am finally just posting about it. I'm terrible.

The experience was wonderful and I had a great time. Very hot weather, but great company and lots of exciting opportunities.

Maria and I were lucky enough to get a booth next to our friend Tricia, who was displaying her amazing photographs.

Maria had a lot of interest in her burlesque-themed artwork and had tons of great merchandise.



I brought cards, garlands and wreaths and I was happy with the products I moved.


All in all it was a great experience and I am definitely planning on doing it again next year.

Sneak Peek!

I've been busy, busy, busy getting ready for the Red Hot Art Festival this weekend. Just thought I would pop in to give you a little preview of what I've been working on.

I'll definitely be posting more after the weekend is over. If you are in the area, stop by the festival this weekend and say howdy. Click here for details.

Wish List

Design*Sponge just had a piece featuring a new product from one of my favorite stationary lines, Rifle Paper Co.

I love creator Anna Bond's quirky illustrations and gorgeous lettering, and would be overjoyed to receive any of their products. They are definitely an inspiration to me and now they've outdone themselves with a drool-worthy recipe box collection to match their adorable recipe cards. The boxes are made over a three month process, using salvaged wood.

At $120 for the set, I can't justify the cost, so I will content myself with gazing at their loveliness online.

Update: Somehow my pictures got deleted. Sorry, folks. Check it out here.

Loco for Gocco

I applied for a booth at the Red Hot Art Festival this year. I'm not sure if I will get to participate, but I thought I'd try.

In preparation, I finally broke out my new Print Gocco machine. I'm excited to give you a little preview of the first design for greeting cards I made using the machine.


This card was made from a ink and White-out drawing of birch trees I did at my day job about 3 years ago. The original has been hanging at my desk since, and I've always liked it.

I'm really excited about all the possibilities and hope this is just the beginning of lots of great work.

New Garlands!

I've been lacking inspiration lately, but I decided to recreate the first project I posted in a new way. I loved the look of the coffee filter garland and decided to replicate it in miniature using cupcake liners.

Here's the first attempt, after tea-staining white liners. They turned out quite nicely, in my opinion.


Here is the cupcake garland versus the coffee filter garland.


As I was putting the garland together, an idea struck. What if I used the already colored cupcake liners? Twenty minutes and one trip to Kowalski's later, I was in business. Well, actually I was soaking the liners so that they would dry flat. After a day of drying, I really was ready to work.

I think it is really adorable and that it would be a great decoration for a baby shower or kid's party, or even a barbecue. What do you think?

Spring!

Spring is definitely my favorite season and I feel like it does not last very long in Minnesota, so I try to enjoy it as much as possible while it's here. I was happy to get out in the sunshine this past weekend and go to the Lyndale Farmers' Market with my friend, Jen. I picked up a few herbs, flowers and veggies I wanted to plant, along with lots of fresh fruits and veggies!


Today, I got the chance to pot and plant my goodies. A few weeks ago, I had purchased some terra cotta planters and spruced them up with chalkboard paint. I thought it was a fun, cheap way to personalize my little container garden.


I've never really planted anything before, so I'm hoping this goes well!

Seeing Spots

I had plenty of time this weekend to work on a project that I had been looking forward to doing for a few months. All of the directions can be found here.


The whole thing consists of 377 felt circles; all of which needed to be traced and cut. This took a loooong time. Chris and I popped in all three Lord of the Rings movies and I got to work.


I'm really happy with the finished product, but I'm definitely scrapping my original idea of making these for the entire sunroom. I think one in the living room looks perfect.