With A Grateful Heart

I've just had quite the weekend. You see, I have a few of my books pinned on Pinterest - one of which got the attention of Jessica at Cre8it and she found my Handmade Artists shop where she purchased on of my art journals...and then another! Anyway, she made me her artist of the week on her blog and through that I've met some very nice folks not to mention made quite a few sales. I've also just ordered some Sheer Heaven transfer paper which she exclusively sells. I watched her video tutorial and decided I have to give it a try! I definitely will post my adventures with that soon. 

There is a very sweet story that goes along with the first book she purchased. Start here and then read when she gets her new book from me a day or so later! 

Messing around with some photo filters on my iPad! ♥

I am just amazed at how the internet connects people - many complain, but I never will. I've met new friends and have reconnected with old ones, truly a wonderful thing. Speaking of the internet, I have just registered bluehighwaysbooks.com - my very own website! It doesn't go anywhere yet but hopefully by the end of April my new online shop will be born....you know I'll keep you posted on that as well. 

I've been scrambling to get more books done for the shop......yes, I know, so what's new?....

How can you not just LOOOOVE fabric? The colors. The patterns. The...the...BEAUTY! ahaha

Thank you internet for connecting me to the universe.......

Sounds of laughter shades of life..........at the Shores

Into the Mystic

I'm super excited as to what I found in my mailbox Monday ..yep... a gift from an awesome friend/artist/potter. Pottery is kind of a new venture for Jamie but I think she's well on her way.

This funky set will be treasured always.

A quick side note. The weather has been outstanding. It's been in the 70's and 80's and it's still March! I mean normally at this time we could very well have snow on the ground for a couple weeks yet. I just don't know what to think but you bet I'm NOT complaining. The hotter the better for this girl. 

A new book was listed last night. It has both lined and drawing pages. I love the fabric. Yes, I know, I say that a lot and I guess it comes with my fabric addiction... but I DO love it hahahaa!  

Two more weeks and I'll be heading to the annual mother / daughter week on Hilton Head Island. I love this time spent, not to mention I probably need to be pulled away from the worktables for some forced decompression.

Lastly, I was featured in my 100th treasury on Etsy last night. What made it extra cool is if you know me I am a huge Van Morrison fan. Well, the title of this treasury is Into the Mystic by...yes, Van Morrison. I think that was a smile and nod from the universe :o)

Maybe I've used this song here on my blog before and if I have, it's my blog, I can.

and together we will float into the mystic..............at the Shores

March Greetings

I've been a less than stellar blogger so far this year which I have no excuse for...lord knows I always have plenty to yammer on about! Hope everyone has ushered the month of March in with gratitude for being one month closer to warmer weather : )

In the previous post I had some little gifts I had made for my friend - well, they have been safely delivered to California: 

She messaged me to ask if I'd be making more to sell and I immediately said "No, that is OOAK" shortly thereafter she wrote back "OOAK?" I told her it meant One Of A Kind - she thought I had already named it haha...anyway, it stuck. Meet Annie and Ooak : )

I cut another stencil for a book, this time it's Frida Kahlo. I really like how it came out. Also I've been getting some mini's for the shops made, nicely priced at $20 ea. I might add! And the photo on the right are the first 4 of 25 small notepads I am making and donating for a couples retreat - hope they aren't too "hippie-ish" for their purposes! I covered some gessoed canvas (I have 5ft by 18ft rolls of the stuff) with a batik for the front covers making them pliable and regular chipboard for the back.

A patient I've spent nearly every Friday afternoon with for the past 2 and a half years died a few days ago. This beautiful one's for you Mrs. McFarland. I'll miss you.

Shelter in a storm....................at the Shores

Got My Mitts Into Everything...

What a wonderfully productive week in spite of having a cold. I have been wanting to get a few small things made for a friend of mine who was sweet enough to sew and send me a super cute handmade hat back in December. I made a lip balm key chain cozy, a pin cushion, some photo transfer wall art of her furry children (2 chinchillas and a cute dog) and in honor of the Chinese New Year a crocheted dragon:

Yes, the dog IS wearing goggles. I made a curly wire hanger for the top of the wall art that still has to be attached. Hope she likes them.

On top of that I got 7 books made, all lined journals - all 6 are available in my shop/s:

A little 80's music to groove to....big hair (on all but Annie), big voice!

When tomorrow comes.............................at the Shores

Winding Down? NAHHH

2011 is on it's way out. I've bound my way through another crazy Christmas full of travel and custom orders and am finally home from Georgia for the second time in a month. So I can't for the life of me figure out why I am still in the weeds. I was pondering what has still yet to be done and the list is long, all of which are book orders that were not for Christmas so I was able to put them off until after the holidays. I also have a sewing project that I should have had done before I left but that too is unfinished (more on that in my next post when it finally IS done.)
I've decided that there will be no new years resolution but I DO want to start 2012 with clean work tables. I have one 8ft table, one 4ft table along with a drafting table and have a total of at best an 18"x24" clear space to work on - that's it. Rather pathetic really. No matter what, this will be done this week....at some point!

Some of my custom orders for Christmas. For the rocker   I cut a stencil of  The Who band logo  and spraypainted it over some Union Jack fabric - love the binding on it!

Then we have another stenciled cover. Yes, it's Davy Jones. I agreed to do this in spite of risking losing my rock n roller card ; )

 

The next is for an avid fisherman (also my pastor). This is the second year in a row his wife ordered one from me to give to him. She swiped one of his handmade fishing flys (sp?) and I put it under acetate window on the cover

The Dylan, Lennon and Waits stenciled books all sold so I think I'll replace them in my shops soon. I'll only make 3 per stencil before I retire each one, the background lyrics and bindings will all be different so technically they are/will be OOAK.

This one is for Tom, who 9 years ago on New Years Eve in Las Vegas became my husband.

Today and every day..................at the Shores

Stencil Fun

So, a while back a friend and I took an online 'stencilry' class and I have been revisiting what I learned for my new Artists and Musicians series of books. The first two I wrote about in my previous post. Tom Waits has since sold and now resides in Dallas. On Dec. 8th I listed my John Lennon, the reason I know it was the 8th? Because it was the anniversary of his assassination at age 40. I always wonder how his life would have played out, he would have been 71 this year I believe. The second is Dali, I happened across a photo (circa 1954) and knew it would be a fun stencil to cut not to mention it would look like he's peeking around the bookcover - and it was such a typical look for him.

I did get the 15 mini journals (4.5"x5.5") finished and shipped off to Pennsylvania. It was a lovely box of color.

I bound them all the same. I had to if I wanted them done any time soon!

The weather is still odd for this time of the year. Normally by now we have a couple foot of snow on the ground but up until the day before yesterday it was just rain. The past 2 days we've had snow but not enough to stick around....sort of creepy, either we are going to have less than normal snow or we are about to get pounded.

A little Lennon for ya........

She got to be herself..............at the Shores

Happy December!

Where have I been you ask? Well, anyone who has ever read this blog knows I often go MIA. I just got back from Georgia, my family lives there and normally drive the 12 hours for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. The weather was fantastic I must say, the first 2 days it was in the 80's then went down to the 70's - I miss the southern climate, I am so not a northern sort of gal...the hotter the better is my motto.

November was a fantastic month for business with 28 books sold. One of my customers (and dear friend) suggested that I add some books more guy friendly. I had to think hard just how I was going to do that and not lose "me" in the process. Fabric that is more masculine is somewhat boring I think so being the art and music fanatic that I am I decided to cut some stencils of some of my favorite artists and musicians and spraypaint them on the covers - I added song lyrics to the fabric background. I've finished two, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, I have a John Lennon waiting to be bound but has to be put on hold for some custom orders that have come in.

I am working on an order of 15 mini journals - I must say, they are just about as much work as the full size ones, they're really cute though. Quite a generous Santa I must say! I've got the covers done so far, my only stipulation was that I wasn't going to make 15 identical books, she was more than happy to let me have my way:

Another fun book I have done since my last post is for the cat lover, personally I am a dog lover but all the cool fabric seems to be geared toward the feline fan! It's a larger art journal:

"Meowsterpieces" can be found here

This is the tune I used as the background on the Tom Waits book

 And the early dawn cracks out a carpet of diamond.......at the Shores

Eyes, Books, Bags and Superheros

What a nice start to November! I not only feel tip top but I had my follow-up appointment for more glaucoma testing on my eyes. After re-testing my eye pressure and some peripheral vision tests it looks as though there is no need to begin treatment on my eyes yet, I go back in a year to do it all over again. What a wonderful feeling!

I, as I do every year, did Halloween costumes for two of my grandkids, and as always it was a blast!

Wolverine & The Incredible Hulk

Of course I have a couple new books made:

Land of Whispers (SOLD)

Wings of Scarlet (click to view listing)

Frozen Time (click to view listing)

I've also spent the past two days setting up my mother's shop "Knit So Ordinary, Handmade Bags" - she makes very cool market/tote bags (I don't say this just because she's my mom either). I have one that I love, they stretch to hold a lot! She does custom orders too if you have a favorite color or maybe the colors of your Alma Mater (is that supposed to be capitalized?). Have a visit : )

Love this song & lyrics...there are versions of it that can go over 20 minutes but I'll keep it short here! Pretty photos too

Sometimes the songs that we hear are just songs of our own.......at the Shores

Baby It's COLD Outside!

It seems as though fall has come and gone and winter wants in! I haven't wanted to turn on the house furnace yet so I've been dragging around space heaters to warm the rooms I'm in - anyone in the south have a room to rent for me, I'm no trouble....really!
I am down to 2 custom orders. YAY me! here are a couple I've finished lately:

LOVE this one

The person that got the chandelier in the previous post below is the owner of these two, they're Christmas gifts. I love finding out about the intended recipients then searching for the perfect fabric for each - great fun! Only 2 more before I'm caught up :o)

I think I'll take a small break this afternoon and do a little painting...need to warm up first, it's rather hard to paint while your hands are shaking from the cold!

No relevance to the post, just a song I like!

Look at me dancing for you.......at the Shores

Save the Eyes!

I'm finally back to posting and feeling a lot better, now if I stay out of the germ filled city I should be good to go for the rest of the year (knock on wood)!

I went to the eye doctor last week for just a regular exam and to get a new pair of glasses and after what I thought was pretty much the regular once-over I got the news that they believe I have the onset of glaucoma, yes, I was freaked - I've always said I could pretty much do without a lot but as an artist my eyesight was non-negotiable. So, of course I hit the internet once I got home...probably not the best idea I've ever had, now I think I know too much but I did read that glaucoma is very treatable. Grateful for that. They'll do further testing in a couple weeks. We'll see.
I have a few new books here:

A second and final PopTart custom order  - I've retired the design

Someone ordered  a chandelier themed book...a chandelier themed book is what I made, you can't tell  from the photo, but it sparkles!

New listing in my shops "One Man's Trash"

A sassy tune by Adele

Don't underestimate the things that I will do...........at the Shores

Custom Orders?

A few days ago someone inquired about a custom order and after a couple messages back and forth regarding what exactly they wanted  they decided to go ahead and have one made. I couldn't shake an uneasy feeling I kept having so in my last message I stated that I require half down - I've heard nothing since. Normally unless it is personalized I pretty much will do it with nothing down (or unless I just don't like what was chosen) because I'll just pop it in my shops for sale, while this hasn't happened yet that's my thought on the matter. Anyway, I was wondering just what your experiences with custom orders are. Do you require a deposit? Payment in full? Have you ever gotten burned? Leave me a comment!

I've gotten several new books bound using the ream of 90# watercolor paper I purchased

Unfamiliar Occasion (Click for more pictures)

A Visual Affair (Click for more pictures)

Charming Certainty (Click for more pictures)

Tuned Hope (Click for more pictures)

The clickable links go to my Etsy shop only because the photos are nicer there. I'd MUCH more prefer to sell out of my HAFshop as they don't take a commission unlike Etsy! ;o)

And the 3 below are custom orders

So, there will not be a On Fire For Handmade artisan to share here this week. Why? You ask (or maybe you're not, but humor me here!) Because I am that featured artist! If you have a shop you really should consider joining the group, my books have been in 5 Etsy treasuries over the past 2 days, not to mention my item view count has gone WAY up, we're on Facebook too. Plus, Anne who runs the group tirelessly promotes the group like crazy! Her shop by the way is here, lovely scarves, wraps and more!

Closing this long winded post with Bon Iver

I'll be holding all the tickets..............at the Shores

Bumpy Ride?

Busy week...well, I guess they are always busy if I want them to be. It just may be a bumpy ride in to the holidays. I just got 5 more book orders, 2 similar to the one below, 4 are for Christmas gifts. I had a go with making a slipcase that locks as the customer didn't want the lock on the book but did want to be able to lock it....never to be stumped, this is what I came up with. The slipcase was all black and looked a little bare so I cut out some of the skulls and a rose from the fabric I covered the book in and adhered them to the front. I love it! I posted this on my Facebook page and two more were ordered. I guess the skulls and roses is a popular theme. That will be it for this fabric since I only do a max of 3 (different bindings) from any one material.

I have 3 to get finished by tomorrow evening.

Have you ever stopped by Steamy Kitchen? Jaden Hair's blog is great, she's a funny gal to be sure, her recipes are awesome and the BEST giveaways can be found there..one of these days I'm going to win something I just know it! 

This week from On Fire For Handmade teammate is Flower and Bud:

This weeks Featured Artisan is Debbi La Rue - Flower & Bud Handcrafted Jewelry!

You can find Flower & Bud on:

Etsy

Facebook

Twitter

LOTS of cool pieces there - have a look won't you?

This song reminds me of my late mother-in-law. The two of us were going to dinner one night and this was playing on the car radio...I can still hear her humming in the passenger seat next to me. Makes me smile.

Thinking of you, Ma........at the Shores

Getting Better

I think today is the day my cold is taking a turn for the better, 11 days is a long time. I don't normally get sick living out in such a rural area but there are two places I will catch something if there's something to be caught, one, a visit to the city and two, on an airplane, both are swarming with cooties!

 I did get another book finished. It has lined pages and a very cool purple and orange batik - it has been ribbon bound. I like doing ribbon bound books, it gives the new owner the option of ordering refills. You can see it in either shop, I prefer selling through my HAFshop because it's a newer venue and I really love that they are so vigilant about their handmade only policy, you don't have to fight the resellers that go under the radar on other sites.

This Weeks Featured Artisan is Vaudeville Gypsy. Truly Unique Creations

to tickle your fancy! You can find Vaudeville Gypsy on:

Etsy

Artfire

Facebook

Blog

She's got some cool Vaudeville gypsy costume, accessories & jewelry!

I'm breaking out some Suzanne Vega...it's been a long time since I've played any of her music.

You will hear yourself in a song...........at the Shores

Off To Shores Of A Different Kind

This may be my last post for a week or so, Saturday I will be driving to Ocean Grove, NJ to meet up with my amazing friends from high school, we've got a house that sleeps 12 plus an apartment directly behind it that sleeps 6,  it's been more than 30 years since we wandered the streets of Mannheim, Germany. Some of us met up last year for a wedding reception, you can see my post about that here It was the first time many of us saw each other in 30 years! Ahhh...a week long party on the beach with amazing friends - does it get any better than that?

I am trying to get out a couple custom orders before I leave, my latest is a tennis themed journal for my fabulous friend Lisa (also from high school) to give to her mother, why the A, B, C on the spine? They are her mother's initials! Neat, huh? Her mother loves flowers so I used a pretty floral watercolor paper for the endpages.

One more to go! Of course I left the hardest for last, it is a 2 book set to include a slipcase.

Oh, and as for that show last weekend? Not great, I sold 2 books, but the venue was not really the best for shopping traffic.

Also, I believe my PopTart has lost the race for an online shop for life contest - I think I am too far behind to catch up, the voting ends on Sunday. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all those that took the time to vote. XOX

In honor of the ties that have bound the friendships all these years and since we will be directly next to Asbury Park where Springsteen got his start (the song itself it not exactly referring to friendships but the title does at any rate!)

You can't forsake the ties that bind.....at the Shores

Spontaneity? Procrastination?

Ribbon bound abstract fabric action

I must say, I am not really a person that needs to plan things. Our yearly 4th of July bash menu wasn't even thought about until a couple days before everyone began arriving. Packing for trips normally happens just a couple hours before leaving the house. I have no qualms with a girlfriend phoning with the suggestion of hitting the road for an overnight trip somewhere fun. And my latest folly...a small show to have a table for my books in. Someone locally found me on Facebook yesterday (Friday) and asked if I would be interested in showing on.......SUNDAY! Hahaha. Really? Two days? Guess who is going? Yep, why not. If I hadn't just done one in June and already had a table set-up I definitely would have had to pass. We'll see how it goes, even getting my business cards out would make the 3 hours worth it I suppose : )
I guess being if I'm honest with myself, I have a crazy mix of a little spontaneity and a lot of procrastination!

Still looking for votes on my PopTart journal, still running in second place. Every time I get to within one vote (like last night) that brownie shoots ahead by 12. Share the link with your friends & family, I need all the help I can get!! And thank you if you already have.

Here's a little upbeat "Sound of Sunshine" for you (it's VERY hot here) PS Did you know Michael Franti has not worn shoes in 10 years, with the exception of occasional flip flops when heading to the airport - he says it's for all the children in the world that have never owned a pair of shoes...I must say, I'm barefoot EVERY chance I get. 

Listening to the sounds of sunshine.....at the Shores

Let the Games Begin!

Sunset last summer - not retouched I promise!

Every year we have a family July 4th blowout here at the lake, food, drink, bocce, horse shoes, swimming, boating, tubing, more food. There will be about 30-35 people...maybe more, we have surprise drop ins all the time! The first group is set to descend around midnight tonight, my sister is driving thru the night from South Carolina (yeah, I'll be worrying all night to be sure) and the other travelers should reach party central by tomorrow night...locals will pop in Sunday. (I can be found in the hammock)

I've made a book to enter in the Iron Chef Challenge on the Handmade Artists Forum, the prize is a free shop for life...that "f" word will get me every time! The rule is it must look like food..I do books...I like food...how hard can can it be?? So I set to bind my food themed book. What is rectangular and  recognizable? Why, a pop tart of course! I covered it in felt and then got desperate for pink fabric for the icing (if you know my books, sweet pink is not really a theme in the fabrics I choose), I had none I was not to be defeated, I headed to my closet HAH! An old pink t-shirt will do it, and it did. I sewed on some sparkly bugle beads for sprinkles and voila'! One full sized 6" x 9" 200 page yummy goodness!

Now I need to get all my friends to vote on it once they are closed for entries. Oh yeah, I'll be here shamelessly begging for votes you'd better believe! Hey, it's tough out there, a free shop would be (in the words of my fantastically crazy friend, Annie) FABOOSH!

I do have another book I just bound that I really love and want to share: (see left). I love the fabric, I love the binding, the perfectly matched cotton thread and the paper I bound into it is a beautifully heavy weight watercolor paper - perfect for the water color artist, altered artist or those that erase so much in their journals that they are thankful for heavy weight pages. Every once in awhile everything works. This is not to say I don't love my others but anyone that makes anything really does have favorites...go ahead...admit it, it's ok, we're among friends :)

Stir it up my friends! Enjoy your weekend! XOX

Come on, come on and stir it up..............at the Shores

Getting "It" Out There

Well, I've gone and opened a second book shop. Yep. I did. I've been a member of Handmade Artist's Forum for a little while now and just recently they have revamped their Handmade Artist's Shop. I have been toying with the idea to open one up there, I mean really, for $5 a month, unlimited listings, they never expire, and you fork over ZERO commission to them when you sell something. I started really thinking seriously when every month my Etsy bill keeps getting higher and higher, I'll be keeping my Etsy shop but listing the same books in my HAFshop simultaneously. It's still new as I said, and not real well known but this husband wife team of artisans that run it really have their hearts in the right place - HANDMADE ONLY and they don't have their hands in the pockets of the artists trying to make a go of it, every time you list a new item it automatically gets tweeted to potentially over 100,000 of their followers on twitter. I'm waging a personal war trying to get my photos to look decent on there but I'm slowly figuring it out....and I've sold two books since I've opened a couple days ago which is promising!

On to one of my newest books I finished, I had a custom order request from a good friend that had a nephew graduating college, we decided on a guitar themed fabric. I coptic bound it and added a leather tie...but how to actually keep it shut was my challenge, I tried to order a metal guitar pick charm but my vendor didn't come through for me (that's another story probably best left untold)so I thought a wooden peg of some sort would be neat. A stick? Dowel? Something made of polymer clay? I decided to rummage through the garage to see what I could come up with...I spotted a paint stir stick, hmmm....perfect thickness, easy enough to whittle to the shape I want so I took it to my work table with Xacto knife in hand and proceeded to whittle and sand away, got it nice and smooth, stained it with a nice yellow alcohol ink and coated it with a polycrylic. It worked out nicely I think!

The above photo on another of my newer books I tied the exposed threads a little differently. I really prefer straight stitched bindings, they really allow for the book to lie nicely open and you don't have the "gutter" to fight when writing or drawing inside.

You ever see the movie Benny and Joon? It's one of my all time favorites - this song was in that movie.

You see time, time is our friend..........at the Shores

Playing Hooky

Here is a kite for sale hanging at City Buddha, it was enormous!

My friend Beth from Raven's Sight and I went to Coventry yesterday, it was so nice to get away from the work table and just not think about it. In the 60's this area was Cleveland's version of Haight Ashbury, now it's a very eclectic mix of souls gathering there. We really had a ball browsing the shops, I bought a couple pair of wooden earrings and some cool beaded multi-strand bracelets then I had a yummy spinach pie at Tommy's - oh, and cannot forget the dozen fabulous "mish-mosh" bagels I scooped up at Bialy's bagels, they're the best outside of NYC!

A beautiful wood Sarasvati carving at City Buddha   

This store was full from floor to ceiling of retro camp and kitsch!

When was the last time you saw an old photo booth?!?

The third and fourth photos were taken at a store only to discover a sign saying "No Photos" after I'd already taken a few - Oooopsie!

On to shop news, I had a very good week at Blue Highways, 10 books were sold! The bad part is that it put my shop with less than a stellar inventory so the books leftover from the show that I was going to slowly list had to get listed on the fly. This is truly the worst part of selling online, the photos, the description writing...blah...my friend Jamie suggested that that would be a good side job for someone and I have to agree! 

Effervesce (click to go to listing)

Scrolling Mosaic (click to go to listing)

I hope everyone is enjoying a good weekend, the weather has been super nice here (finally).

Every day is such a perfect day to spend.....at the Shores