wise craft

featured sponsor cozy blue

 
A warm welcome to my newest sponsor, Cozy Blue. Liz, the owner of this etsy shop creates uniquely inspired handmade goods for home and family. She took some time to tell me a little about her life in North Carolina (where I am originally from, see? I knew I liked her!)

hi! i'm liz,  a self-taught crafter, DIY-er at heart, a musician's wife, and a busy mama of two amazing kiddos. We live, grow, play, and create in a cozy little blue house in the beautiful green mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. i'm always finding ways to learn new things and bring new ideas to life, trying to figure out how to make the things i want instead of buying them pre-made, and generally just approaching life in a crafty way. i love to make things, and i love to have projects to keep my hands busy.  i'm happiest when i have new ideas bubbling about, and free time to express them.

 

i'm lucky to be able to stay home with my kids all week long, working as a nurse on the weekends, and squeezing in crafting wherever i can. selling my creations helps keep this possible, and crafting keeps me (mostly) sane! recently, my husband joined my crafty team, and is now home with me many days, sewing pillows and shipping orders. it's been a little crazy, but so exciting and fun, and so perfect.

I especially love Liz's take on the traditional family tree. Its kind of perfect, don't you think?

Here's what she had to say about the inspiration for these pieces,

"The family tree was something I'd wanted to create for a while.  I wanted a different take on the idea, and from a business point of view, I wanted a design that could be easily customizable.  I'd been brainstorming about it for some time, and one day my gaze happened to fall on a tree stump image on my daughter's growth chart -- it just clicked!"

And here is a little back story on the tree print pillow pictured above (the heart is embroidered and customizable),

"The tree print idea came, like so many of my creations, when I needed a few gifts for some friends of ours. The actual design came from an embroidered patch that I had drawn and stitched several years ago for my family and I had been wanting to experiment with screenprinting for some time... it all finally clicked together one day, and came together pretty seamlessly.  (I love it when that happens!)"

These would be perfect for so many occasions, Mother's Day or Father's Day, for starters. And we are lucky, because Liz is generously offering free shipping on your order, just type in the word "wisecraft" in the message box at checkout.

Thanks so much Liz and Cozy Blue. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor on wisecraft, please email me and I will send you all the details. Sponsors help me support what I do here on the blog, help justify the time I spend here, and I am very grateful for that.

 

worth documenting

Today reminded me of the huge bonus we as a family get by having our office at home- days with lots of good, creative energy filling the house. Music playing, plenty of coffee going, creative people all around, making projects happen, doing great work. I am so grateful for the talented people that work with us.

The kids did some intense Spring Break creative work of their own today too, on Lego structures. Stayed in their rooms for most of the day, literally coming out just for meals. Seems they were right where they wanted to be.

The photo is a little peek of our family room. Peter gave me that wooden viking, one of my favorite things (although his sword mysteriously broke recently....hmmmm......) I'll show you the rest of the room soon!

Thank you all so much for your comments and emails. I never say thank you enough. I never get the chance to answer enough of your comments, with even quick things like "Thanks, what a great idea!" or "No way! I hadn't even thought of that!". Its probably corny to say I appreciate and read everyone, but its true. I have told Peter that I feel I have friends all over the world because of this space. To stop and think about that in that context can make it feel immense and huge. But somehow, through talking of craft, and family, and home, and life, we all bring it to a personal level that we all identify with. That's very comforting to me. Thank you for that.

visual cues

I am going to blog as often as possible this week, simply because I'm just not feeling like blogging. Can you tell? Does that reasoning make sense? (I know, me neither.)

When I redid the family room last week, Ian and I spent an afternoon tasking ourselves with checking every marker its usability, tossing the dead soldiers, and sharpening all the colored pencils (add it to your Christmas list moms...an electric pencil sharpener is the gift that keeps on giving, trust me). I sprayed a clean soup can with white spray paint to hold the colored pencils. And? What do you know? Suddenly everyone wants to draw. Imagine!

sewing 101 classes

One of my favorite fabric stores, Fabric Crush, has recently relocated into historic Wallingford Center (Megan did a nice write up of the new store recently). This is a brilliant move for them. The space is much bigger than their previous one, full of tall, light-filled windows. I really can't help but smile when I walk in.

 

They still have all the favorite quilting and home dec fabrics from our favorite designers, and now have even more room to offer lots of sewing classes as well. I am very excited and honored to begin teaching a brand new series of Sewing 101 classes there! The first one will be Pillows 101, happening on Thursday, April 15, at the store, from 10am until noon. 

I know many who would love to sew much more if they felt comfortable enough with the basics of sewing, so this series of classes is designed to teach (or help you relearn) the fundamentals through a project that most sewers make again and again. For this first class, we'll be making pillowcases for bed pillows, and throw pillows for the couch. Both projects are easy ways to get reacquainted (or acquainted) with your sewing machine and bring some gorgeous new fabric and color into your house for Spring. Come and learn in a very casual and fun atmosphere, take home a finished project you made yourself! Space is limited, so if you are interested, please call the shop for details (206) 432-9929 and they will get you signed up.

And I fell right off that blog wagon last week. Painting and things breaking around the house got the better of my already slippery time management skills. I'm back on track, but our Spring Break officially started last Friday, so I feel some real "hanging out with the kids" time in my future. For starters, they want to see this (and so do I).

Oh! And I finished painting the family room! I can't wait to show you the finished product.

its time to jump in

In the midst of plenty going on around here as usual, I've decided that now, right now, is the time to paint the family room. Peter is convinced that I can't paint a room as well as he can, but I think he's busy enough to let me have a go at it. (He, of course, is wrong, we know that.)

 

Spring means more thrift shopping and garage sale-seeking around here, yay! We went second hand scouting this weekend and found a wonderful 1950's walnut finish coffee table and that's probably why I've got this painting bee in my bonnet. Its a wonderful color, and although I've always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the numerous walnut wood finishes throughout our house (the previous owners really loved that color of wood finish), I'm actually starting to warm up to it again. (Wow, that only took seven years.)

 

I love the cane bottom shelf on the table, and the curved edges on the sides of the tabletop. We all pinky promised each other that we would not fill it up with magazines (ok, full disclosure, that's my problem primarily, not theirs). There's some scratches on the top. I love buying things that have had a former life.

I have looked through enough house inspiration online lately that I think I have a pretty good idea of where this room is going. If you've never looked through Holly's interior styling Flickr pool, take a look for some nice inspiration (great source if you struggle like me with how to place things on tables). As well, I think I've gone through each one of Grace's sneak peeks at Design*Sponge, and the inspiration section on LivingEtc.'s site. So, I think I'm going to get busy. I've got the new Broken Bells queued up on the Ipod to keep me company. I just love this collaboration more every time I hear it.

the cranes released

 

 

Our school auction was this past weekend. Rooms full of flowering branches and origami cranes. I must say, it looked really beautiful in its simplicity. (Many of those cranes have been hanging in my studio for a few weeks and I was kind of sad to see them go.) The multi-colored ones pictured above were the 1000 cranes folded by Ian's 2nd grade class, and were hung from branches on either side of the stage. (We're planning to give a strand of cranes to each of the kids, the rest for the teacher.) The 3 silent auction rooms were designated by color, the 1st one was white, 2nd was pink, and the 3rd was blue. We folded monochromatic cranes and made simple arrangements in single colors to coordinate and designate which area was which.

Being involved in school events like this every year remind me of how much energy it takes from a school's community to pull it off. Of course its the kids we are really doing all this for, but I love the parents I am surrounded by, and really enjoy getting to know new ones every year, so much positive energy. It makes all the hard work so much more fun.

This week I am in that predictable post-auction mode...the one where I just feel like napping every day, but instead am trying to catch up on things like laundry and unanswered emails. Just a little wiped. But really enjoying things like cooking dinner and hanging out with my family. My sewing machine is currently away, being re-calibrated and tuned up, so its not here to distract me (but am missing it!). The "Hills n' Hollers" quilt top is done (I haven't had a moment to even shown you yet) and at the long arm quilter's. I'm now picking out fabrics for "Stacking the Odds". The box has been slept in by all littles here (some liked it, some not so much), and it has now been moved out (but not gone!) and I have reclaimed the family room. I'm ready to paint and make good things happen in there.

I have a lot to show you, but first, a little slow knitting is calling me. In the meantime, thank you all for your stops by here, I am always so happy to hear from you.

Hugs to all, Blair

imagine delightful freshness

 

This is not quite the family room redo I had in mind. And frankly, I have Todd Oldham to blame. I bring home this book for the kids last week, thinking that over our 3 day weekend (Monday was no school) we could make some thing(s). Maybe weave a cool belt? Maybe make a duct tape bag? A Calder-esque mobile? You know...something small...maybe even usable...something cool.

 

I soon realized they had an entirely different project in mind. The kids wanted to build a "case place", known to us laymen as a cardboard box house- the biggest project in the book actually.  Well, I said okay and stopped by our local Sears store, where they were more then willing to give me an empty refrigerator box.   I barely managed to stuff it (flattened) into our car and had to go straight home (why risk errands when I can't see out of the left side of the car?) 

I don't have a camera lens to proper capture the size of this box. Big. Huge. You could easily fit 4 kids sitting side by side across it, and if they scooch in on their knees, their head will not be touching the top. Good lord, refrigerators are very big. As you can probably tell from the photos above, Emma's side has built-in shelves (all her idea), a battery operated candle, and all that sensational tweener "ambiance" that I just adore about kids her age. Ian's side is most definitely straight up agent headquarters/hideout/secret compartment, all strategically designed to confuse and fool the enemy. Inside, its divided by fabric thrown over a wooden dowel threaded through the center. I cut in folding windows (trimmed by the kids in green tape), hatch doors with handles on the top, and flap doors on the side.

"Imagine delightful freshness" it says on the side of the box facing us. Yes...yes...I am trying to imagine the delightful freshness I will feel when the kids tire of the box and this room gets new paint. Perhaps in spring.

Till then, they are having an absolute ball with this box. We now have a schedule of who will sleep in there on what night this weekend. They run to it after school.

About the book, Kid Made Modern. I *love* this book. Its not all that new, but after having it on my wishlist for probably a year, I had to have it. I love that it appeals to both my 11 year old crafty girl (she made the idea for a laptop case into a small stuffy), and my 8 year old non-crafty boy (I've been given a supply list from him, so exciting!). There's something in it for both of them. The projects are wonderful. And there's even a little mini-lesson in each project about some modern design icon. You know, so they can throw around names at bithday parties like Isamu Noguchi or Verner Panton.

by the thousands

 

The origami cranes we are using for decoration at our school auction this Saturday are complete. I am now stringing the very last sets. Looking at all these cranes make me so happy, due in part to the fact that this little task, folding cranes, has been embraced by so many in our school's community. I may have already mentioned before that Ian's class folded 1000 cranes as part of their Asia study (those little fingers worked so hard!). We have strung those together and plan to feature them in one place. (The impact is so dramatic to see 1000 grouped together.) The other cranes folded by the school community for decoration, a small amount which is pictured here, will be hung from blossoming branch centerpieces at roughly half of the round dining tables (the other tables will have a different, but complimentary, arrangement). I will be sure to take lots of pictures!

Each child in Ian's class will get a strand to take home and keep. The rest I may have to steal because I love them so!

the september issue

I finally watched The September Issue this weekend (twice). It was not widely shown in Seattle when it was in theaters, and I missed my chance, so I could hardly wait for it to be released on DVD. For those who aren't familiar with this documentary, it profiles the development of Vogue Magazine's largest issue each year, September. The issue is referred to, half-jokingly, in the movie as "the size of a phone book" and it is pure pressure on the editors to get it right. The main character profiled is the editor-in-chief for 20 plus years, Anna Wintour. She is truly a style (and character) icon in the fashion industry. The movie The Devil Wears Prada is loosely(?) based on her. It is widely known that she can be icy, direct, ruthless, and demanding. It is amazing to watch her, and I'm very happy to do it from afar. I love that Anna comes to work each day in impeccable clothes, done up bright colorful prints, and usually wears sunglasses most of the time. I love that the staff around her usually wear all or mostly black, seem to wear no or very little makeup, and look slightly dowdy, as if they desire to be in the background. Its a really interesting contrast.

 

She has a few key characters by her side at Vogue. Andre Leon Talley, Vogue's Editor At Large (what a great title for him) comes to mind (pictured with her above). He is also quite a character, literally and physically filling a room...often wearing flowing capes, feathered and adorned hats, and fur. He brushed my arm with his cape in a hotel lobby in Milan years ago when I was employed in the fashion industry, walking with Elsa Klensch, the style director at CNN at the time. (There you have it, my small, literal brush with greatness.)

I was very intrigued by Anna, but the real hero and favorite of the film for me was Grace Coddington, Vogue's Creative Director (above left). She styles many of the features in Vogue and is considered a brilliant stylist and visionary. I absolutely fell in love with her while watching her work. She really seems to care deeply for what she does. She seems to be a likeable person, yet is able to communicate direct vision and instinct about what she cares about at Vogue without being nasty. Many around Anna Wintour seem to cower in her presence, but not Grace. She fights for what she feels is important, worthy, relevant, and she does it with, well, grace! Watch the movie and you will understand why that is not easy to do. I would really like to meet her and spend a day tagging along behind her.

Having worked in different aspects of the fashion industry in my 20's, and looking back in the years since, I slowly came to realize that many of the great visionaries in fashion are really quite literally unable to deal objectively with others around them. Let's face it, fashion is so incredibly esoteric and unimportant in the scope of the world's problems, we all know that, but there are those (like the Anna Wintours) who feel that world in an incredibly emotional level, and they are fascinating to watch. These people do not work at dealing with people, I believe, simply because they are very much focused on the internal pressure they put on themselves instead. Tremendous pressure. At a consumer level, I need these people to care about fashion, or I probably wouldn't give it a second thought...ever. Interestingly, working in a small part of the fashion industry while in my twenties, I didn't understand this. I thought these people were mean and nasty simply because they could be. I took it very hard at times, their words could be biting and hurtful. I was not yet thick-skinned enough to deal with it. I think that's why I admire Grace's role at Vogue so much.

But it is a fascinating world, I loved and value every minute I spent in it. I worked with some extremely talented, hard working, well-respected people who have become lifelong friends. When you're "in the trenches" of anything, I think you bond with those around you moreso that you would otherwise. I think its interesting to dissect my inability (for the most part) to sew clothing for myself. I am tough on myself in this area, and I think it inhibits me greatly. I have seen patterns tweaked endlessly over and over just a tiny bit here or there, in hopes that it will finally hang right. How can I possibly do that in my own home sewing? Its very interesting for me to think about.

Thanks for letting me ramble. I think this is truly a fascinating movie for anyone. I love close up studies of anyone who cares passionately and deeply for something, and fashion is no exception.

more plate painting

I am still having fun with plates. In fact, its become normal for me to ask the kids, on the way home from school, if we can "just stop by this thrift store so I can see if they have good plates?" Good plates. Very important to have good plates. There should be a separate section at all thrift stores, perhaps behind a curtain.

I haven't found one patterned as perfectly as that first one, but this is such a cheap and easy project to play with, I figure why not try the possibilities?? 

 

I also have no idea where or how I will hang these in our house. Sometimes I picture them sprayed across some wall in our house, all Lisa style (gee...I think she got all the good plates). Originally, I pictured them in the kitchen, where there are no walls. We'll see. Right now, I'm just having fun playing.

Emma thanks you so much for all the sweet comments. I thank you too! Reading those words of encouragement really motivated her to create more things. I think its a good outlet for her, making things. Seems like she'd temporarily forgotten about it.