Topographic Table

My studio is... well... it's practical. It's not lovely, airy, sun-soaked, or spartan like all good studios are supposed to be, but it gets the job done. My studio is the messy pony tail of the workspace universe -- It ain't pretty, but it helps me get my work done.

I work in the basement of our home. Sure, I have to supplement the lighting with lamps. And sure, I have workout equipment, an old t.v., dusty VHS tapes, and a stray sock from the laundry chute as my twisted feng-shui backdrop. Who cares? 75% of the year it's the perfect temp -- if on the cool side, I can crank the stereo without waking the kids, I can write off the "overhead" as a business expense, and most importantly, it's big enough that I can fit all my stuff here and I don't have to share with anyone.

So, it was a little fun when I actually made some changes to it recently. I occasionally take EVERYTHING off the 8-foot table and give the surface a good scrub. After staring at the wet marks evaporate from the faux-woodgrain tabletop, I was inspired to paint it white. I found some old white paint the former owners had left and laid on two, gooey coats of it in one day. From its age, my misuse, or something, the paint did not spread very nicely. Some parts were wonderfully white, while other parts hinted at a darker layer beneath. I'm an impatient re-decorator, so instead of applying yet another layer of paint on, I uncapped my Sharpie and went to town. Drawing (literally) from all my experience with contour maps over the last 4 years, I topo-fied my tabletop.


It still isn't spectacular, but it's brighter, more creative, much less faux-woodgrain, and totally Crafterall. After editing the "stuff" I need on the table and replacing the bare essentials, I can honestly say that it was worth it. Something about it says, "Yup. This is for real, y' know. This is your job. Now go, kick some butt."


I am o.k. (for now) with the fact that my studio will never look like Martha's or any of the dreamy spaces I've seen featured online. I do want to work a little more, though, on paring down even further, finding more out-of-the-way places for my less-frequently used tools and materials, and getting the whole place to jive a little more. If I'm going to spend 60 hours a week down here, I better darn well enjoy it! Maybe I'll get around to a complete "before and after" post when that "after" feels complete... say, in a couple years or so. *wink*

Twine Holder Tutorial

I jumped on the trendy and simply decorated cotton baker's twine bandwagon, and finally bought my own spool. I've started to include it in my packaging and really like the nice, little touch it adds. Since I use it so often, I keep it handy, but on its own, it gets knocked over, the twine come unraveled, and it isn't fitting in with the organized flow of everything else in my workspace. Etsy's blog recently ran an article on antique string dispensers and my first problem-solving thoughts jumped to buying some fun, vintage artifact that was made to do just what I needed it to do. I browsed and was quickly discouraged by the selections, the prices, and the fact that many of them were either best mounted on a wall or required the spool to be unwound first.
I stared intently at the spool and suddenly, creative inspiration high-fived thriftiness, and I had my solution. I grabbed the materials and headed to the work bench. No more than three minutes later, I had my twine holder. Sweet!

Obviously it's not very complicated, and I wouldn't have thought to post a tutorial, but I couldn't find anything like that in my quick Google search, and I thought of a neat little tip on the fly that I think is worth sharing. So here is how you can make one for yourself, you twine-loving crafty person you!


Start with these few simple elements: Your spool of twine (mine is a 240 yd spool of the popular Divine Twine), a jelly jar that the spool fits into (I found this tall, quilted jar fit perfectly, but many medium-sized jars would work too), a hammer and I relatively large gauge/ thick nail.


I imagine this would work with a single piece lid, but it worked very well with a 2-piece. Set the nail into the center of the inside of the flat part of the lid (on the workbench or some other surface that can handle a nail driven into it -- NOT on your dining room table!).

Once the nail fit through the opening, I took it out and flipped the lid over. Here's where the genius really kicked in. I put the nail back through the hole in the lid so that that head of the nail rested on the sharp edges of the hole opening. Then I positioned the lid on the workbench so that the nail hung over the edge. A quick rap or two with the hammer on the head of the nail, and I flattened those sharp edges.


So now, I had a smooth, snag-less opening on the inside of the lid:


And a relatively ouch-less opening on the outside of the lid. I patted myself on the back for that one.


Then, I just put the spool in the jar, threaded the twine through the opening and the lid ring, screwed on the lid and Presto! Twine Holder. It fits the spool like they were made together, it's weighty enough to stay in place when I pull on the twine from the top, it's pretty darn cute, it didn't cost me a cent, and it's crafty as all get out.


I suppose an uber-crafter could go to town decorating the jar and/or the jar's lid with all sorts of craftiness, but I'm happy with this simple, re-purposed gem, and my hubby is glad that I didn't buy anything else. :)

One down, one to go!

The St. Paul Craftstravaganza was a blast! It was my best show so far and everything went very well. There was a steady stream of shoppers all day, and for every sale I had, I received about 4 or 5 "Wow"s or "Beautiful"s or something sweet along those lines -- how cool!


See that little framed piece lying flat toward to the front of the table? This is a framed piece without the glass, and with a little note that says, "Touch Me!" My second favorite part of the day was watching the expression on people's faces when they read the note and followed the instructions. So many "Oh!"s and "Ooooo"s and smiles too! Too many people easily mistake my colorful work for two-dimensional prints, and it's important for me to show them that each piece is hand cut and layered. I think this small, framed piece does the trick pretty well.


I had other pieces framed (with glass) for sale and to show off how good they look when matted and framed nicely. The indoor show allowed me to hang these pieces without worrying about the wind blowing them around or other weather effects. My banner (hand stenciled and sewn from a window blind remnant) looked far less impressive and has since sparked all sorts of bigger and better ideas in my head for next year or perhaps later this summer. There were so many outstanding booths there this year -- many craft show veterans who really know what they're doing and how to put together a shopper-stopper display. They really put mine to shame, but I'm o.k. with that. I can only get better, right? I have to say that I love my little felt banner hung on the front of my table -- such a happy pop of color. It was made and given to me by the lovely Laura Brown who is an amazing artist here in Minneapolis. Thanks again, Laura!


My favorite part of the day is all about that little monkey standing next to my table in the photo above. My Leah Bear hung out with me for the entire day, keeping me company, entertaining me with stories from school or pointing out interesting photos from her animal encyclopedia she brought along. She refilled sold items before their spot got cold, and kept a steady supply of business cards displayed on the table. She never complained once and fared very well considering we hardly ate anything and it was a very long day. I think she was even more excited than me every time I had a sale. I couldn't imagine a better booth buddy. :)

Next Saturday, The HandmadeMN Spring Market! Yes!

Foot (well, half a foot) in the Door

Thanks to my local Twitter contacts and some artsy friends, I heard about "Foot in the Door 4" with enough time to create and submit a piece for the event. The exhibit is produced and managed by the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program as a subset of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. You can read all about it on their Web site, but basically the once-a-decade exhibit displays any and all submissions so long as each one fits within one square foot. It took me a while to get the play on words.

The whole family joined me on the day I submitted my work and we had to wait in line for about twenty minutes before passing my piece, a 5 x 7 topography in teal, to the capable hands of a curator. While we were waiting in line, a man was interviewing other artists about their work and why they thought this might be their big break. He didn't interview me, but I'm in the background a few times in this video!

We returned a few weeks later after the exhibit had opened and searched among the thousands of pieces for my work. I was bit disappointed that we weren't all entitled a full square or cubic foot, but rather that we were bunched to fit as efficiently on the wall as possible. It would have been nice to make use of that white space, but truthfully, had the curators arranged the pieces that way, the exhibit would have eaten up an entire wing of the institute.

Here are a few photos of our visit.

Entering the second floor of the new wing and being welcomed by the overflowing art!



Finding the wall with my piece on it -- no easy task.



A closer look finds my work just above a photo of "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale at the Grey Gardens estate.



I was quite impressed with the caliber of talent and the variety of media used throughout the exhibit. Perhaps I expected more paint-by-number pieces or attempts at "anti-art" with pages torn from a notebook with the word "art" written on it. Instead, there were loads of fascinating, poignant, and downright beautiful works. I really should go back and take more time to take it all in.

Before leaving, my daughter requested I snap a photo of the gorgeous Chihuly piece hanging in the main lobby. She has affectionately dubbed it, the "flaming mac & cheese ball." It works for me.

What's New? I'll Show Ya!

Coming up for air here, after completing more than a handful of fun wholesale orders, fulfilling some awesome custom requests, and working on some NEW things for the shop. Imagine me, resurfacing form my basement studio, gasping for a breath, and with a huge, cheeky smile on my face. Life is good! This is a meaty post with lost of photos, so grab a beverage, find a comfy spot to sit, and read on!

First, a look at some custom pieces from the past two weeks. This is a "reverse" layered piece I cut of the Bahamas:



I started by cutting the white of the islands, layered those tiny pieces over the lightest shade of aqua, cut again, layered again, and so forth. As with most of my custom orders, I consider the region quite a bit while I'm working on it, and with this one, I enjoyed convincing myself that I was warmed by the equatorial sun as I carved out these island oases. It was well worth the time!



Then, I had a cool request for the Great Lakes.



While I disliked having to simplify some of the outlines for the sake of space, I thoroughly enjoyed creating the familiar silhouette of these massive bodies of water as well as learning about the bathymetry that lies beneath the surfaces of each lake. Who knew Lake Erie was so relatively flat, and that Lake Superior was spooky deep? (Well, probably loads of science and geology folks know that, but I learned something!)



One of the things I like best about working on custom orders is that they push me to try new things. Case in point, a custom order for Kim, a lovely mom and apple orchard owner. (Plug: She also has her own Etsy shop too!) She wants to start a gallery of apple-related art in a store on the orchard property, and she asked me if I could make a layered papercut with an apple as the subject. I could, and I did!



It was fun to use a variety of bold colors and to layer the paper differently than I usually do. I think it turned out well and I'm tempted to make more like this. Thanks, Kim!




Lastly, I worked my fingers to the bone finishing fifty of these little beauties for a delightful shop owner in Chicago. They are blank cards featuring a layered papercut of Lake Michigan with a little star representing the Windy City. Aren't they cool?



After a while, the shape of Lake Michigan began to resemble a strange, large-abdomen-ed insect, but filling in the shape with the depth layers helped dispel that idea. ;) Silly me.

New in the shop this month, the "Layered Love" cards are back for Valentine's Day and they're better than ever. Brighter colors, bigger hearts, and your choice of Poppy Reds:



Or Pinky Pinks:



I also introduced the new Teal colorway into the Topography piece collection:



It's lighter and bluer than the aqua scheme, and I really like it. As you can see in the piece above, I'm working more islands into my pieces as well. It takes more time to do this, but I believe the result is totally worth it.



Finally, I worked through a sketch I've had in my head for a long time and came out with these fun, new card sets. I call them "Googie cards" after the mid-century Googie architecture movement with all its funky geometry and groovy color palettes. Mine come in sets of two cards with one card layered dark to light and the other card layered light to dark. Far out, huh?

They're available in Sea Foam (where did I put that leisure suit?):



Harvest Gold (just like Grandma's oven!):



and Avocado, baby (reminiscent of that delicious shag carpeting you tore out of your old house):



It was nice to take a little break from non-stop topography and it has always been fun experimenting with new ideas. Man, I love what I do!

Making Lemonade, or in this case, Coupons

A while back, I ordered a batch of business cards. To my dismay, they arrived with all sorts of errors making them essentially unusable. But the cardstock was a very nice thickness and I felt like there must be something I could do with them. Ta-da! Coupons!

By covering up all the misprints and making them look more interesting, I transformed them into snazzy little coupon cards to include in orders from my shop. Here's how I make them:

I start by punching a one-inch hole on one side of the card. This isn't necessary to making them coupons, but it's an easy way to make them stand out.



And to show my true pack-rat/craftiness, I've been saving those little punched circles and piecing together a garland by gluing two together over a length of string. I couldn't possibly throw away perfectly good little circles! ;)

Next, I cut pieces of cardstock to fit just inside the length and width of the business card. This cardstock comes from the edges of the bigger sheets I use to make my cards and art -- yet another thing I save for just such a occasion. Using my handy-dandy adhesive dispenser, I get the punched card good and sticky.



Then, I center the cardstock over the business cards, and most of the letters and images are covered up!



Then, again because I like to be crafty, I punch the colored hole I've created once with a regular-sized hole punch, and twice with a small punch, so it looks basically like this:



Sort of lunar, don't you think?

Then I print out my text onto return address labels. One sheet gives me thirty stickers. When I created the labels on the computer, I rotated the text on one end to allow me to fold the label over the top edge of the coupon, like so:



A few minutes later, I have thirty cute, unique, and hopefully useful little coupons, and I've turned the lemons of my bum business cards into lemonade... or coupons... with a lemony zing, if you will. ;)



What do you think? Do any of you include coupons? How about other tricks for using misprinted or outdated business cards?

Thanks for taking a look. Happy crafting!

A Tiny Stop-Motion Experiment

Along with about a ka-gillion other fun things, trying my hand at stop-motion animation has been on my list of crafty things to try for a long, long time. Recently, I've been nudged into giving it a go by the work of artist blu (check this out), and the intro credits to the awesome documentary Handmade Nation.

I knew I had to start small, so I just set up my little digital camera on a tiny tripod in my studio and made a few of my things "come alive." Following this tutorial, I used iPhoto to download the photos (all 56 of them) from the camera, then imported them into iMovie (the older and better version) where I strung them together and sped up the "slideshow" to create my first teeny tiny animated movie.

The quality is low, the sound is off, and it doesn't exactly tell a story, but it's a start, and it's got me eager to try something with more substance next time.



I'll sheepishly admit that that's me doing the lame "beat boxing" in the background. It's hard to find a decent little sound effect that covers a mere 5 seconds of video, so I recorded one myself.

I should also note that the three stylin' little mini moo business cards are from my dear friend, Kendra Zvonik. Do sneak a peek at more of her expressive art here.

So what do you think? Too short to tell? Have any of you tried this? Any ideas for the next one? Anyone think I have a chance to make a record deal out of my mad mouth skills? kidding.