a.m. design

Yeti Lives!

2011-12-27T13:22:00.002-07:00

After our Thanksgiving Portland trip I passed along a few pictures of my Dad to him and he captioned them Yeti lives! I think this response was partly fueled by my sister's boyfriend's somewhat sincere belief in Bigfoot, and how we all like to give him a hard time about it. So I got an idea for their Christmas presents.

I made several digital designs combining Yeti & Mt. Hood silhouettes and adding a few design/composition elements. I would have loved to hand pull these prints on t-shirts but had time constraints so went for iron-on transfers. They turned out so much better than I anticipated.

Needless to say I will be making more apparel with t-shirt transfer material.

2011 Holiday Cards

2011-12-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

About this time of year I am unable to do anything but think about holiday projects and what I would like to do as gifts for my lucky friends and family. The last several years despite high ambitions of wanting to make calendars, ornaments, cards, tags, etc I seem to fixate on cards and tags. The first three cards are ones that I made last year for my digital art class.

The rest of the these cards were created this year with a mix of paper collage, print, and digital collage. I made a whole slew of them for a craft fair and now have them listed on my Etsy shop to see how they do out there in the DIY/craft world. I am selling the cards for $3 each and hope to list smaller tags of the same designs for $1-$2 each. I hope this is a good kick off for me to start actually using Etsy again.

Hero! Martin O'Neill

2011-12-04T16:34:00.001-07:00

Flipping through my Google Reader today and came upon some interesting prints by graphic designer Martin O'Neill. It is a style that I would love to achieve myself so I had to investigate further and I think it is safe to say I have a new hero. This guy's prints are just lovely and incorporate all that I appreciate about art. Taken from his page about his process:

Martin’s work evolves from a subtle alchemy of collage, silkscreen, photography, paint, and digital techniques. Fifteen years of experimental image making has resulted in his unique and instantly recognisable brand of illustration. Martin works from a vast archive of found and self generated material and also works with stock and supplied imagery.

Catalog: Rollotexture

Signed and numbered Giclée print
in a limited edition of 50.
Paper size A1
594 × 841mm / 23.39 x 33.1 inches
308g Hannemulle paper
Printed by Andrew Turnbull at Professional Fine Art Printing Solutions in central London using archive quality inks.

And this one caught my eye because it provides inspiration for a project once I am done making holiday fun. I have a plethora of handcut images that I hoped to use for some collage at some point but it just didn't make the cut at the time. I want to pull together all of these pieces into an explosion. It will help me clear out my stashes and start new without feeling like I have wasted anything, a purging of sorts.

Dogs and Dice Poster

Litho print in edition of 100
Signed and numbered
613 x 490mm
170gsm Recycled paper

Fall Love

2011-10-22T09:32:00.004-06:00

I learned two cool things today, I think I bore my little bun in the oven with my day to day routines and copy machine art rocks. Somehow I learned both of these by taking a walk at lunch in a park with some beautiful trees turning for fall.

I keep meaning to make it to the mountains (now foothills) to collect some leaves or just collect some pictures of leaves but one thing after another and it just hasn't happened within the season as it is late fall if not early winter in the higher elevations and there are just a whole lot of brown crusty leaves to be found.

On my way to work yesterday I was trying to plan my ideal weekend in my head which included going on a hike to take pics and I looked over to my left to see a whole park with a plethora of leaves of every color. So I made a lunch time plan... walk 10 feet inspect the lower branches of a tree pick the best leaves, move on.

My first discovery, about boring the baby. I am a little more than 20 weeks pregnant with a baby girl (I know it has been awhile, I haven't even said anything over here!) and according to the literature I should be feeling the baby move and while I have, here and there, nothing significant. About 20 minutes into walking she started moving all over non-stop for the rest of the walk for about another 25 minutes. It was strong and bizarre and cool and almost left me off balance a couple of times. As soon as I got back to the office, nothing, not even a hint of movement, I started to think it was just digestion or my imagination.

At about five o'clock when the office vacated (god forbid my office peeps see my eccentric side) I pulled out my stash of leaves and spread them all over my desk and started rearranging. Then with the best array of colors and shapes in hand I visited our awesome copier. I achieved these variations through playing with the color settings (color inversion & erasing settings), I was really on the verge of going crazy with different scans. Lo and behold about 15 minutes into playing the same attention catching baby flips returned and stayed with me throughout until I got a call from the other half wondering what in the world would motivate me to still be at work so late on a Friday.

Whew... that's a lot of talking. Now the results. (By the way, M still thought I was maybe a little too enthusiastic about it when I came home and showed him what I was up to. So I may be on my own in believing I discovered something awesome with the copier)

What I started out with more or less.

Really love the ghostly nearly translucent effect of the cooler colors.
...and the pops of pink. Does this tree exist somewhere because I wanna see it!Now off to wall paper the nursery with these ;-)

As usual, more variations to be found on my flickr page.

Western

2011-04-29T08:30:00.005-06:00

Eeps! I am supposed to be working, bad me! This one will be quick....

On an awesome fun trip to Pagosa Springs, CO this past weekend I got me a little of every thing I love... family, friends, antiques, art, and nature. Oh yeah, and booze!

We found an antique store with gobs of old books and magazines and I really had to limit myself. Here's a collage I made from the ones I came home with.

Screen Print Workshop- Who Gives A Hoot!

2011-04-29T08:12:00.005-06:00

I am posting my first attempt at printing from the screen I made this past Tuesday in my screen printing workshop at Art Students League of Denver. I couldn't wait until next Tuesday to print so I attempted at home with the gear I have. Heck I could hardly wait until last night but life gets in the way ;)

I didn't really take the time to register the prints quite right so in the next run I will take more care in that respect. I was just too impatient to see the end product, that is probably always my downfall in these types of projects. Also, I went backwards in the order of color this would have worked better if I printed black last.

I will revisit with properly registered prints and probably some other colors. While it may seem I was meant to live in the 60's and 70's with all the throwback design I think this project will benefit from some softer more modern colors.

Denver Art Museum

2011-03-05T19:24:00.004-07:00

Today was Library Book Due Date for us so we took a trip downtown and found ourselves there before opening time. Not feet away it was Free Day at Denver Art Museum so we decided to partake... good stuff! Some highlights offered to you via a crappy ipod lens.

Went on to find lots of good, inspiring art books at the library. And to round it out we visited Il Vicino on S. Broadway. First beer or pizza in 30+ days, glad I had Il Vicino for the re-introductory.

La La Love You

2011-03-05T18:49:00.002-07:00

La La Love You
Originally uploaded by a.m. design

More valentine's love. For some reason this holiday provides me with the most inspiration to create. I think it is the fact a valentine can be sweet, silly, sassy, or bitter. Really all you have to do is slap a heart on it.
Check out more on my flickr page.

Sweet Love

2011-03-05T18:45:00.001-07:00

sweet love
Originally uploaded by a.m. design

Nothing like little sweet window treatments. Valentine's is the only time I feel like it is acceptable to indulge in the super cute... and I take that job seriously; hearts, glitter, lace and all.

Show Poster

2010-12-30T08:56:00.003-07:00

As a follow up or cap to the Digital Art class I was given the opportunity to make a show poster for The Bellmont. I haven't done any show stuff in awhile and was happy to get back to it. I only wish we could attend the show. I have heard the CD several times and really like it, very tight and clean recording with some great tunes and lyrics.

This one is a tiny bit different from the final printed one but I prefer it with the ommited detail.

One a different note we had a great Christmas with family and friends and got to some crafting in between starting off with the messiest cookie making session ever, i.e. more dough on my clothes and walls of kitchen then actually got baked. There was a step we took beforehand that we will have to omit next time ;)

Other crafting that I am excited about that I will post about soon are garlands and Suminagashi.

Digital Art Class

2010-12-30T08:12:00.006-07:00

It's been awhile but I have actually been blogging in between just over here for the semester. I am posting some highlights from the class here but hop on over there for more... because I know you are dying for it.

Home is Where you Park It

14 Images 14 Days- Mid-Century Modern Adorned

Final Project- Holiday Cards

To be honest I went into this class having little idea of what we were going to be doing. Certainly not art, that's not school. School=boring, right. Well obviously I need to wrap my mind around what art classes are because I had a blast. In part due to the professor, Phillip Faulkner (check out his art) and some of the classmates.
I also had a bias in my head about digital art, one that that I think that most people have, that it is missing an aura. I am still coming to terms with the fact that it can have an aura and trying to figure out how any digital art I create is special or unique to me but I think I am hooked on this medium.

Risque?

2010-09-21T13:44:00.003-06:00

I completed these collages about a month ago and immediately put them in my archives without documenting them. I was a little concerned about the content and message, how people may react... specifically to Head in the Sand. I am not interested in making this my platform for issues I may or may not have with my country and the world in general but I am interested in creating things that provoke thinking, even if it is just my own thoughts that are provoked. Aside from that, I like the elements of the collage, I like that it is a little edgy... so there it is.

This next one, not so much message-bearing as it is just a little risque, more skin than usual and a straight up appropriation of someone else's full work of art. I got this out of an awesome book about the history of mass art that is full of beauties like this and a whole bunch of huge-eyed children and creatures. Pretty amusing and very disturbing.

Also, M helped me make a lot of the executive desicions in the content of this collage. Co-creating is fun!

Montreal

2010-09-18T11:03:00.003-06:00

Ok, I went to Montreal this week... it was awesome. I will go so far as to say it was fucking awesome.
I am not sure why I went all the way to Montreal and these are the images I came back with that in my mind summarizes the city. I know, it makes no sense.
More pics on my flickr page... some that more appropriately represent the city.

Spiro Collage

2010-07-28T21:15:00.002-06:00

I got myself a Spirograph set and made this.

Upcycled: Altered T

2010-07-28T20:58:00.004-06:00

I love shopping for t-shirts at the thrift store but never found them girly enough to wear outside the gym... and usually the neck is too tight, the arms are too wide, etc. *sigh*
Solution: I borrowed this book from the library (thumbs up to Denver Public Libraries... a breath of fresh air!) and unpacked the old sewing machine.
I actually remembered how to thread it... yeah it's been that long.

Excuse the cut off head, the hubs took the picture!

The shirt turned out well but I realize I can really only wear it to the beach or Vegas! So... time to go book my flight.

Thrift Store Love- From House to Home

2010-07-19T14:31:00.003-06:00

We purchased our first house in November of last year and then promptly dove into the holiday season with plenty of travelling and entertaining. There was little time to make the transformation of a new house to our home. As soon as the holiday rush slowed down we ended up with some room-mates. The in-laws needed some help. Well seven months later they have moved out.

For reasons having to do with respecting each other's space and lack of vision we did not do much with our house since moving. Now that we have an "empty nest" suddenly the desire to pimp it out has surfaced.

The majority of the elements in this collage are found from thrift stores over the months (I bet you're suprised). The flowers grew on their own in our backyard and are absolutely beautiful. I feel lucky that that they decided to return this year.

The bedroom is turning into a real girlie-girl room with nail polish and bangels on display but the other half doesn't seem to mind so let the gold leaf prevail.

Upcoming plans for the abode? Paint our super long & tall wall in the living room/kitchen. I am thinking of a dirty turquoise, the kind that goes well with lots of wood. Hopefully more news on that soon!

Thrift Store Love- Old School

2010-07-16T15:13:00.002-06:00

I more addicted than ever to thrift store hunting. I realize that I can't take everything home with me so I snap a photo and then pine after crazy bobble head tigers for days... Hey, if nothing else at least they provide inspiration!

Swap-Bot Zine

2010-07-13T11:33:00.003-06:00

Here is the full page layout of the Zine I made for a swap on www.swap-bot.com. It is very much nature inspired with mostly flora and fauna in the pictures. It is just as significant to me though that it is made from about 95% recycled materials with nearly everything acquired from thrift store purchases. I found several old Highlights magazines from the 1970's, at first pass through them I didn't think much was there for creating but once I started pulling things apart I realized I love the colors & texture of the paper and the illustrations are pretty cool on their own.

Details of each page here.

2-D Design Class Chronicle- Final Project

2010-05-22T11:13:00.002-06:00

The theme for the final project was faces/heads. My source is a picture of mannequins with wigs for sale that I took at an antique shop here in Denver. I used Prismacolor pencils and Turpenoid with some collage as the medium.
I can't say I am totally happy with the way it turned out, perspective and proportions mainly. With that said that are parts that I do like quite a bit so I am displaying some of those snippets.

and the full piece... the funky face of the lady in the middle and the one on the right that looks dead have a mannequin-ish feeling that I think it worked for the project but I am still a little embarrassed by them.

Our latest Portland visit

2010-04-19T10:16:00.005-06:00

We had good fun just exploring the city, the coast, and the town's parks. Lots of rain, lots of walking, lots of booze, lots of food, and lots of silliness. The way any good vacation should be!

I realize that I didn't post anything about our last trip to Portland over Thanksgiving '09 so I am going to include a collage of that on too. This trip was a little more green than grey. We visited a lot of waterfalls and once again ate lots of really good food and boozed it up.

2-D Design Class Chronicle- Project 4

2010-04-19T09:56:00.004-06:00

The assignment was to re-create the alphabet through photos of objects resembling the letter forms. It was fun looking for the letters and enlisting anyone who was interested in helping me find them.
The finished project was a little 22 page book with an A to Z collage I made awhile ago on the front.

2-D Design Class Chronicle- Project 2

2010-04-19T09:42:00.004-06:00

It took me much longer than I intended to get this up here. This was project two, we had to come up with a shape, repeat it 8+ times and paste it down on an 18"x24". Then repeat it with opposite colors, black on white, white on black. I liked the way it turned out and a couple of weeks ago my teacher asked me to bring it back to submit it to a juried show. This last week when I was going to my class I saw it hanging! Unfortunately I didn't get the best picture of it before handing it over.

The second assignment in the project is a paper cut out with one accent color. This is a succulent modeled off of a picture I took. Once again not the best picture taken of it, but documented nonetheless.

I should be getting graded projects 4 and 5 back tonight. I am excited about the concept of project 4 which is a 6 panel painting intended to hang in a public space with a different color scheme on each panel. I chose to replicate the line study below. The execution was a little poor due to some masking issues but it gave me a good idea of what it could look like with better masking so I may revisit it. I will post the painting soon.

2-D Design Class Chronicle- Project 3

2010-03-15T16:07:00.003-06:00

I made these cards for my 2-D design class for a project that we had to make a linocut block for printing. The negative space is created by inking the block and then laying a silouhette cut-out and then printing the card.

This next block is pretty simple and the first one I tried just to get my feet wet. It is a polaroid film frame with the same negative space created from a silohuette. I have some ideas using this including using photographs I have or using pictures from an old year book. I am tempted to leave these last two blocks behind for now and create a whole new one. It is so addicting! More on my flickr page as usual.

2-D Design Class Chronicle- A Study

2010-03-15T16:03:00.003-06:00

One of the first studies we did and I really like the way it turned out. There is something about the clean lines and sense of space I get from it. I have done smaller variations and have a feeling this could turn into more (because I am obsessed!)... like thoughts of making a linocut block in this manner.

2-D Design Class Chronicle- Spring 2010 Semester

2010-03-15T15:50:00.002-06:00

I hope this blog will start seeing some more action, I have been lax.

I plan to chronicle my projects from the 2-dimensional design class I am taking at Metro State this semester and subsequent classes hereafter. We have done four projects so far and the last three will be up shortly (the first one should and will be burned! That bad...)

I am really enjoying this class and have pondered why I did not attempt an art degree earlier. A lot of that probably has to do with the murmuring of society about creating art and creating a living and how they do not go hand and hand… bullocks! Art and creativity can and should be incorporated into nearly any job so needless to say I regret taking those naysayers seriously. I am here now and that is what counts even if in the end I still decide to keep my skills a hobby.

2009 Christmas Cards

2009-12-17T11:15:00.003-07:00

I haven't been able to get to much crafting let alone blogging but I HAD to do some Christmas cards this year. I started right after Thanksgiving when we were in Portland after a visit the storefront of SCRAP!. I am so excited about this store and am a little sad it is so far away. We found some awesome materials that have been recycled for the purpose of creating. Some of my favorite finds were fabric samples, wood samples, and tiny ceramic tiles. All things I would not have thought to even look for in my local thrift store if they even existed there.

Since Christmas time seems like it an excuse for excess consumption I was more than happy to re-purpose some materials to make my cards.

All of the cards are posted at Flickr and I am going to try my darndest to add more to the collection soon.

Great Sand Dunes

2009-09-25T22:46:00.003-06:00

I thought once the cooler weather rolled in things would start to slow down enough to sit for awhile and create but, as of yet, no luck. In place of crafts I give you road trips.

We camped at the Great Sand Dunes last week and took in the amazing sights. I'd go back there in a heartbeat.

M is sporting his Roughin' It t-shirt from the thrift store.

Revisiting ATC's

2009-07-20T08:04:00.004-06:00

It has been ages since I have made an ATC let alone many. I think I got side tracked towards bigger projects for awhile and then sadly away from crafts all together over the last couple of months.

I have been drawn to papers with simple repeating patterns lately and searching for those types of paper has prompted me to start working small again. Little pieces of such papers seem to have a bigger impact in smaller portions.

My husband helped me with this one. I asked him to pick out a picture from one of the little Golden books on the Solar System and he came up with this illustration of two planets orbiting each other. It represents a couple of key concepts I like to operate with, first that both of us are constantly orbiting around each other and there is a sweet simple effect as a result which is represented through the on-land portion of this card. A second concept is the idea that planets orbiting, rain falling, and trees growing will go on endlessly. I know there is a lot of fear that it isn't true but taking into account the whole timeline of our solar system, earth, and the human race I think it is silly to think that it will all go down any time soon.

There are several other ATC's here for your veiwing pleasure.

A Colorado Polar Bear

2009-05-31T21:07:00.003-06:00

We visited the Denver Zoo today before it got too hot for the season.

These water shots made the heat that existed a little more bearable. There are a few more shots at on my flickr page.

Cozumel, Quintana Roo

2009-05-04T19:34:00.003-06:00

We enjoyed our honeymoon in Cozumel this past week. It was great and due to the Swine flu outbreak the island was nearly deserted, nice for us but bad for the people who depend on the business tourists bring. The sky and ocean were every shade of blue possible, the weather wasn't too hot yet, and we got to meet some cool people.

I only wish that we spent more time in and got more pictures of the towns San Miguel and El Cedral. Next time...

More pictures of our trip are posted on Flickr.

Thrift Store Love- Red, Aqua, & Gold

2009-04-12T17:26:00.003-06:00

Got to enjoy some of Denver's thrift and antique stores this weekend and came up with some of my old fall backs (trays, birds, & fabric) in three of my favorite shades; red, aqua, and gold.

...I also got to meet these nice ladies and try on their wigs.

Ranunculus- Red and Aqua

2009-04-12T17:18:00.003-06:00

Not only is it a beautiful flower it also rhymes with ridonkulous.

Thrift Store Love-Handbags and Glad Rags

2009-03-21T19:35:00.004-06:00

There was a lot of good fabric to choose from today. I only wish that I sewed more...

...and to satisfy the container obsession I got a Gucci portfolio and the Portable Pub by Londonaire... it totes your booze!!

In some ways it feels like this a little too personal but I couldn't help getting this composition book with a lovely poem about Ian oh Ian...

The shelf from my last thrift store visit is now occupied with various kitsch. For a temporary addition I cut up some of the leftover programs M and I had from our wedding to fill a couple of spaces but they are no longer there. As M says "we don't want to go around tootin' our own horn."

Thrift Store Love- Nature

2009-03-09T11:04:00.002-06:00

These are some of the things I couldn't pass up at the ARC yesterday. I have been getting the urge to plant some herb seeds and I want to use this tiny little bird to start a plant. I didn't realize it at the time but most of the stuff I got is nature themed. Spring is in the air! The Colorado snow globe is for an upcoming swap and as usual I cannot resist a tray.

Thrift Store Love- Deer

2009-03-05T14:36:00.003-07:00

Unintentionally I have started a collection of kitschy deer. Here are the latest I found. It is one big deer with two little ones chained to it... hard to tell from the pictures. I really like the worn parts of the deer, it gives them the old/loved look that I can't get enough of.

I edited these photos with picnik through flickr. I love all of the editing enhancements and the collage option is so aswesome and easy to use. Check out more photos and another collage I made here.

DIY Digest- Upcycled Boxes

2009-03-05T11:35:00.005-07:00

I created these boxes to use for the swap-bot swaps I send and the idea behind them is they are 99% recycled and they are completely reuseable.

I've used previously shipped boxes and covered them with old magazine pages. The old Life, Ladies Home Journal, and Holiday magazines have nice big pages so you only need to use two-three. I like to use boxes that have a front and side flaps for the top so the picture doesn't have to be cut, you just tape around the sides.

For this box I used some vintage contact paper that I found in a thrift store and lined the inside.

To finish them off and make them durable enough to reuse I used laminating paper and clear packing tape to cover the whole box. The laminating materials are the only that are new.

I have used adhesive paper for the to and from lables because they are easy to remove and I have also used a grease pencil to address the package and taped over it so it can easily be removed when ready for re-shipment.

Share your Stash- Valentine's Themed Swap

2009-01-19T10:32:00.003-07:00

I am hosting my second swap on Swap-bot.com. Check it out.

Making Valentine cards has become a tradition for me each year. Throughout the last five years I have rounded up a great stash of supplies that are perfect for sharing.

For this swap you will send one (1) partner part of your stash (7-10 items) and a Valentine’s themed sweet treat. This will be an international swap so it doesn’t have to be a huge package as long as it has 7-10 items minimally + 1 treat. Anything goes that you feel will be a great addition to any Valentine’s project including but not limited to decorative paper, ribbon, lace, stickers, rub-ons, vintage ephemera, modern images, embellishments, beads, tissue, confetti, stamps, etc. This doesn’t have to be specific to your partner’s profile since you are sharing your stash so you can start rounding up supplies right away.

Please put time into creating a great Valentine’s package. Not required but possible ways to get a heart for this swap; include more than 10 items, or a love themed CD you like to craft to, wrap it in a decorated box, include a Valentine card you made, etc.

The requirements to participate in this swap are:
-A minimum rate of 4.8 – or newbies allowed with completed profile and link to at least one other site (personal blog, flickr, another swap account, etc)
-No no-sends in the past 6 months
-1 package to 1 partner of 7-10 Valentine’s themed crafting supplies
-1 edible Valentine Treat (i.e.- candy hearts, heart shaped cookies, Passion tea, chocolate, etc.) If you have specific issues concerning food please indicate in your profile.

Since this swap is time sensitive to the Holiday please make sure you don’t send late. You want to make sure your partner can enjoy and use the supplies in time for Valentine’s Day.

Valentine's - Round II

2009-01-19T09:28:00.002-07:00

There is nothing that keeps love alive like travelling. This round of Valentine's cards are inspired by travel and love.
I can't say Arkansas is on my list of destinations but you can put me on a boat like that on an empty lake anywhere and I'd be happy.

You can see more cards here.

Valentine's 2009

2009-01-06T11:59:00.004-07:00

Good bye Christmas... I am on to Valentine's Day.

To see more check out my flickr page.

Simple Christmas Greetings

2008-12-15T16:55:00.003-07:00

I made a few Christmas postcards using mainly images from old children's Golden books.

Most are simple...

Some are sweet...

Check out the rest here.

Collage Machine

2008-11-25T11:44:00.004-07:00

Addicted!!

Cool Site- Collage Machine

2008-11-25T11:11:00.005-07:00

I found a link to this cool site and haven't been able to pull myself away since. I'm impressed by all the tools and options on it and the ability to order the layer of images and draw. Here is my first attempt.

A little silly but I look forward to losing more hours to mashing images together in cyber space.

View from Gold Hill, CO

2008-11-19T09:30:00.003-07:00

We set out with intentions to explore Boulder but we just kept on going once we hit the town. We drove up through a canyon and past Gold Hill and stepped out to hike with this view in our sights.

Thrift Store Love - Satin Ornaments

2008-11-11T13:55:00.005-07:00

I found some awesome DIY/Knitting magazines from the 1960's and saw some cool round satin ornaments. I guess it was all the rage decorate the styrofoam balls with beads, sequins, ribbon... basically anything shiney. I decided I was going to try and recreate one of my own so I kept my eye out for those satin wrapped styrofoam balls of the past on my last thrift store trip.

I think I stumbled on something much cooler than what would have been my self-designed sequined ornaments. I'm not going to alter these one bit just use them to decorate our house a little for the holidays.

Found- Scary Eyebrow Epidemic

2008-11-10T13:26:00.003-07:00

I found this in the bar parking lot yesterday. I don't typically pick up trash from the ground but I was slightly buzzed and I was thinking I was going to find some kid's homework on the college-ruled loose leaf. I was so psyched that I picked it up after reading just the first line. I submitted it to Found Magazine, maybe I will get lucky.

If only the slides were with it too.

Halloween Decor?

2008-10-26T00:02:00.003-06:00

We got these cool photo coasters for our wedding so I found this skeleton image today to use in them. All four of them together looks good so I might just hang them on the wall like little frames.

Hiking at Echo Lake

2008-10-25T23:39:00.005-06:00

I drove up to the mountains with some friends last weekend and we hiked around the Echo Lake area. It was definitely late fall up there but it was perfect for getting one last hike in for the season. Now it's time to start thinking about skiing...

2008-10-25T23:32:00.001-06:00

I had a good time collecting leaves and photographing them today. The fall colors are really intense here but they are about to end. Check out more fall photos on my flickr page.

Hitched - Nine Years in the Making

2008-10-10T14:07:00.002-06:00

Thanks to all who helped us pull this together and was a part of it with us. It made the day memorable and unique to share it with all of our close friends and family.

and a big thank you to M.Gold for taking tons of photos as well as to all the others who have contributed to the flickr pool.

1. Bridal Bouquet, 2. Rings from Shade Jewelry + mini cake, 3.Sydnee the flower girl, 4. Cake , 5.Bride and Groom, 6. a family, 7. Groom and Best Man, 8. Handmade Veil by Jess, 9.The Crew (with Owsley)

Thrift Store Love- Vintage goodness

2008-09-14T16:59:00.006-06:00

We had some good friends visit from New Mexico this weekend. On Saturday the girls left the guys in the record store and went hunting. We stepped into some really great thrift stores on Colfax that had some unbeatable deals. Here's a little snippet of my finds.

1. White Bird, 2. A Flock, 3. Thrift Store Love- Saturday Finds, 4. Bird

The colors and and objects just all go together so well that I feel like the best word for it is Yummy (even if that word makes me twitch a little bit).

In the bottom left picture there is a picture in the background of a huge crowd of people fleeing something, I got that picture out of a Horizon book that I found while scavenging. The fuzzy white background is a cool sweater I found at an ARC store and the vintage Douglas coffee decanter in the side of the top right picture is my favorite find of the day.

Now I need a project that I can incorporate a million little birds, especially before my little kitty starts sneaking away with them.

Broadway in Denver

2008-08-30T16:51:00.005-06:00

I stumbled across a really awesome art supply store, Meininger's, here in Denver on the net a couple days ago and decided to make it a Labor Day weekend mission to check it out. I was really impressed and pleased with what I found. I came across it online when I was searching for some screen printing supplies that are hard to find in most art supply stores. In the printing section I found all but one thing I needed and on top of that the employees were so helpful and knowledgeable that I almost felt spoiled. I highly recommend this store to any person with the slightest bit of creativity.

Then just right down the road there is another great store called Fancy Tiger. I read about it in this Denver Design Guide on Design Sponge (one of my favorite blogs to stoke the creative thoughts during the slower times at work) before we moved but never popped in until today. It was geared more towards knitters and sewers so my sister would love it but all the fabrics they had in there were so unique and inspiring that I was tempted to pull out my sewing machine.

Ultimately though, I got super-excited by these awesome needle felting kits they had. But that will have to be a project for another day. One thing at a time...

You can read about them on the Fancy Tiger blog

In addition to all the cool craftiness on Broadway there are a whole lotta bars (sporting neat screen printed posters for shows), bookstores, and head shops with exception of my d.i.y. abilities I almost didn't feel hip enough to be there.

Tableware

2008-08-30T16:39:00.004-06:00

I found these awesome avocado-green napkins during one of my thrift store trips and decided to "upcycle" them and embellish them with this screen printed image. They turned out fairly well for my first time printing on fabric. I'm hooked!
I went in search of more napkins to print on today and found a huge selection. I had to hold back from getting them all, but I figured there will always be more napkins. I also found a couple tea towels that I look forward to designing a print for. Any suggestions?

Announcements, Thank you notes, or what not

2008-08-25T19:13:00.003-06:00

Our good friends got married this past weekend and M and I decided to make them some screen printed cards to commemorate the date. We were thinking they'd serve as announcements for the people who couldn't make it or thank you notes.

This was my first real screen printing project and I really like the result. It helped give lots of ideas for our upcoming wedding.
I particularly like the cards printed in two colors giving a 3-D effect. Printing with two colors was M's idea. The font used and the composition in general was inspired by letterpress and wood type.

screen print trials

2008-08-20T22:38:00.003-06:00

I have finally broken into the world of screen printing. I had the supplies and ideas for more than a year now but just never got on it... 'til now.

It took a few tries to get a good screen but luckily I had screens and chemicals that allowed me to wash out a couple bad screens.

Here is a picture of one of the okay screens and a print from it.

This can be a card or postcard created to accompany any etsy sale, swap, or general correspondence. The font I chose is a little hard to read so it may be back to the drawing board.
I have another project that turned out pretty darn good but I will wait until after this weekend to post it.

Can I quit my day job now?

In my backyard

2008-08-16T18:03:00.004-06:00

Apparently we arrived in Denver just in time for some fickle weather. First a record was broken and far surpassed for the number of consecutive days above ninety degrees in the Denver area and then within days the temperature dropped to below sixty. What the hell... I can see my breath!!!

It has been raining for almost two days straight and our "backyard" is a river. Check it out.
In the middle of the new pond, where the No Swimming sign is located, is where the actual pond exists and is just beyond where the sidewalk is supposed to be. I'm glad our condo is on the third floor and at least the ducks are enjoying their new real estate.

Switching Up...

2008-08-12T12:50:00.003-06:00

It was high time that I aligned all of my online identities and to fully give my sister the Hot Cakes name so I have changed the name of this blog, opened a new Etsy shop, and changed my user name of Flickr.

The idea behind a.m. designs is that I do all of my best crafting and thinking in the morning when the day still has so much potential. The name also contains my initials, not so clever but it is cleaner. Aside from that I was getting lots of hits on my site for people looking up recipes for panqueques, I sure had a strong international showing. Here are some of the new graphics I created for the name change. I got the fonts for the first one off of dafont, a cool site I was referred to by spit and image.

And this logo for a separate shop on Etsy for Vintage Wares.

Chapter Collages

2008-08-04T14:30:00.003-06:00

I found a really awesome teachers workbook called America! America! from the seventies at the thrift store. For some reason the worksheets are printed with wax for carbon copies or something on the back so it makes the pages look totally cool.

Here are the Chapter collages I put together from it. I am thinking about posting them on my new Etsy shop.

A New Lifestyle

Struggling for the Dream

A Time of Isolation

These are inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise combined with another thrift store find, a Time-Life Book called This Fabulous Century 1920-1930.

Snack Attack

2008-08-04T14:27:00.004-06:00

Yikes!! Went camping and woke up to a five a.m. nightmare of a bear chomping down on my breakfast outside the tent. We put away all our dry foods but totally forgot to put away the cooler before bed. Lesson learned...

No TV. Just Sound

2008-07-26T14:50:00.002-06:00

Original handmade collage postcards

Wedding Invitations

2008-07-23T12:17:00.003-06:00

Finally, last night M & I completed the majority of our invitations with one last step left, to send them out. Here's a little sneak peak.All the components of the invitation were done by me through Photoshop. The zine images were collaged on paper and then scanned in with text added and the image on the invitation was from a greeting card that I had made for valentine's day this year. I am pretty happy with the finished product even though it has taken a while with lots of questions as to how the wedding planning is going.

Cooler Climes

2008-07-21T20:37:00.003-06:00

Today Owsley, M, & I went up to the mountains, a much needed escape from the ninety-plus degree weather. When we got out at Guanella Pass we were almost too cold, thank goodness for the old Isotopes hoodie. There is nothing I could wish for more than sweater weather and mind-blowing scenery. Here are some shots of the loveliness only a short and scenic hour away from our home. I love NM's juxtaposition of the mountains and the redness of the mesas but I am discovering the Rockies here in Colorado offer a whole different experience. Above the tree-line expansiveness feels so inviting and I feel nothing short of in love every time we visit them.

Finished Product

2008-07-21T20:34:00.002-06:00

I decided to give my ATC's a sweet little sleeve, with magnetic closures and all, before I sent them out for the Birds ATC Swap. Here is the finished product.

Bird ATC Swap

2008-07-17T09:57:00.003-06:00

I just finished uploading onto Flickr the ATC's for this Birds ATC Swap on Swap-bot. It's the first swap I have participated in since April and these are also the first ATC's I've made in even longer than that.

"They seem to thrive in places where other birds find it hard to hold their own."

"There is nothing outstanding about pert, gray woodland bird except its crest."

The cold hard facts about these birds make me laugh. The paper that these were created on are left over from our wedding invitations we printed, I'm glad to be getting multiple uses out of them.

You can see the rest over at my flickr page.

Slideshows

2008-07-15T18:24:00.008-06:00

About a week ago I came by this sweet slide viewer/t.v.-looking thing only to find out that it doesn't view my kind of slides.
I have a pretty good collection of thirty-five millimeters from my grandparents, I thought I could view pictures of my family on t.v. ! ... no luck. Coincidentally there are slides of M's dental work that I framed right above the "tasco" that maybe it will display. There's nothing like studying dental work.

In it's place I used the available resources (window, metal clips, wire, and suction cups) and fashioned a smaller slideshow. With hundreds of slides it will be easy to make this a revolving trip down memory lane.I like the hue differences between the slides, one magenta, one cyan, I think I need to find some yellow ones now.

"Brave Steve Swimming"

This one is a picture of my dad in July of 'sixty-six.

Sunday Morning Exploring

2008-07-14T11:07:00.007-06:00

This Sunday morning I was in serious need of a good breakfast burrito and thanks to google we found an awesome place for all of our breakfast needs, Sams No. 3. It was important to establish a reliable breakfast place in our new surroundings so now we can mark that off our To Do list. After polishing off breakfast and a good portion of Saturday night's hangover we decided to go exploring. We found two amazing places in the same shopping area both seeming like they did not belong there. Really it seemed like nothing had flourished there in a while.

First we spotted Hampden Street Antique Market. The second we stepped into the store it was almost overwhelming but such a welcome surprise since we've been developing the taste for hunting for vintage awesomeness. These for example found at the arc thrift store on Mississippi and Sable-It's hard to resist the somewhat hideous, yet rich, colors of the 50's, 60's and 70's... add rust and classic type to it and Hot Damn!! ... even if it is a vacuum cleaner....and back to the original topic, here is one of the gems at the antique store but we just couldn't justify hanging it in our closet even at the reasonable price of fifteen big ones so we left it for some other lucky hunter, maybe someone a little more in need of a gas mask?
And then a few doors down, as well as centuries into the modern era, we found the largest store I have ever been inside of... no not super wal-mart... it was a showroom for Scandinavian Designs. There was so much awesome furniture under one roof that it made me pine for riches, but surprisingly their prices were reasonable so maybe just moderate success will suffice. Here's M test driving one of the living room sets. There's nothing like a shiny cherry-red living room ensemble.

In Other News

when we got home we found that the kitty has finally found the best perching spot for her favorite position, the Beached Whale.

and poor Owsley still has Floppy Ear Syndrome more commonly referred to as an aural hematoma. We've been told if left alone it will go away eventually but leaving "cauliflower ear" in it's wake. Poor pup... but in the interim there is the added bonus of him being even more cute than before, if possible.

Denver Colorado USA

2008-06-24T21:43:00.004-06:00

It's been a while since I have blogged and that is mostly because M & I decided to pick up house and move in the last couple of months. There is nothing like going through every single one of your possessions and deciding it's level of importance in your life... and then hauling it four-hundred miles and three flights of stairs. I really hate stairs. It's been one week about and I am still getting over the stairs. Soon though.

Although we have planted ourselves willingly in the middle of six other households I feel a surprising amount of privacy and space. Privacy in anonymity maybe? Anyhow, each of the neighbors have their "things" but oddly none of them are invasive, thanks to a good architect.

Anyhow, as proved in the last post, I don't have many images of my experience yet but here's at least one from the 3rd floor area of Coors Feild from last Saturday's game. Thank goodness for King Super's $10 tickets.

Thrift Store Love- Couldn't Help Myself...

2008-06-24T21:27:00.003-06:00

Could you?It's been more than three months and this is all I have... Weak? Yes

There is a story behind them sweet deeries (one having to do with real life deeries) but they are now in my living room mostly because they're cute.

...and that painting?

That's a lot of man hours.

Legs

2008-03-30T20:57:00.003-06:00

I created this latest series of postcards for a handmade postcard swap on swap-bot. I have to turn around and send it tomorrow and wish I could hang on to it a little longer. I think I will try to work in the punch pattern into some future postcards.
The next swap on the list is called I Love to Read Books. I look forward to trying to capture some of the wisdom that is found in Siddartha by Herman Hesse. I picked it up the book this morning and am nearly through it this evening, it is really ringing true.

My 1st Inchie

2008-03-30T20:49:00.003-06:00

I made my first inchie today inspired by a cool postcard I got in a swap recently. The idea of making a one x one piece always seemed interesting because I love how just a little can go a long way. I drew a similar spaceman for Mig's valentine but that will remain out of the blog world.

New Mexico Postcards

2008-03-19T20:15:00.004-06:00

I started a series of New Mexico postards for a handmade postcard swap. I am quite fond of this one and may have to make another one so I can keep this in my collection.

Check out the rest here.

Succulents

2008-03-15T19:50:00.003-06:00

I didn't get enough of the thrift store love on Friday so I went to a different one on Saturday. I found some glass containers and sweet old bowls with cool patterns on them. Conveniently a great green house is located around the corner so I picked up some charmingly petite succulents. I combined the two purchases to form a loose prototype for M & I's wedding decore in Oct. I hope to collect enough plants in between now and then and find glass globes of every size to plant them in.

I love the mellowgreen softness of the leaves.

Thirft Store Love - Alphabet Bits

2008-03-15T19:37:00.003-06:00

I stopped by Open Hands yesterday evening to unwind after a looong workday. I didn't find too many things that struck my fancy but these gems were in a full pack of alphabet letters of every variety.

Handmade Envelopes

2008-02-23T23:16:00.004-07:00

I started making envelopes to send to my partners in this swap. I've been able to use lots of cool good quality printed papers for the envelopes combined with some nice solid colored flaps and inner lining to make these.my first five out of eight I need to make for the swap.

music

I decided to mix up the orientation a bit on the middle one.

You can see more here.

A break from crafting for some traveling

2008-02-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

Something clicked in me last week that I found it absolutely necessary to get out of town for the weekend, I believe the term is stir-crazy. Anyhow Saturday morning we found ourselves cruising above the clouds covering New Mexico towards an even cloudier destination. In the distance are the Sandias in New Mexico. As soon as we got above the clouds it was a really nice sunny day.
First of all, What the Hell!! that's a lake?!? Secondly, sadly, I think Chicago is the biggest city I've seen in the U.S. I was impressed. I feel like such a small-town girl.
Yaay! It's taller than two stories and it's not made of mud. Seriously I haven't left the southwest in ages, I forget that not every building is adobe.
and once again, what the hell, that's a lake?! There was no end to Lake Michigan, there was also no end to the winter in Milwaukee so I am really appreciating the 50 degree plus weather in New Mexico.

All in all getting out of town for the weekend (even if it was Milwaukee in February) helped provide some much needed fresh perspectives.

Vintage Family Photos

2008-02-10T09:05:00.001-07:00

My Grandma Smith sent me these amazing photos of our family. I had a real hard time not including all of them. Each has so much information in them when studied closely. I'm fascinated by them... This is my great grandmother Minerva May Tutt. I have searched these photos over and over for resemblances to me and my family now. I can't say I've found many but there are several photos that resemble my Aunt Julie and cousins Erica and Christina.

I have no idea who this is but the series is so awesome. The look on the boy's face in each frame seems to be so telling of his character.

and another one I don't know who it is but I can see some similarities between my dad and this guy. Also, the reflection of the boat is lovely.

The rest of the photos and some of a very young "Smith Family" (circa 1983-1985) can be seen on my flickr page.

Sad Day...

2008-02-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

1993-2008. Bully, we already miss you and your sweetness.

Almost Finished...

2008-02-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I was complaining about in the last post. I got a serious bout of motivation and made 12 of the 13 cards on Sunday and Monday. Here are a few and as always check out my flickr page for more. Swap-bot Serial Collage 3 of 5

Swap-bot Serial Collage 4 of 5

Valentines Postcards

2008-02-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more cards. Frustratingly I have slowed down quite a bit when it comes to making collages. I am feeling a little distracted by other things. Not a good thing being that I have to produce and send out 13 more cards in short order. I don't want to jeapordize quality for quantity... Luckily I have been leaning towards making less cluttered/more design oriented collages with more cohesive compositions lately which generally equates to less time.

I am pretty fond of these two valentines...Head over heels

Lookin' Good

Looking back on my last valentines post, I am not liking the ATC's I made... oh well that is a byproduct of the creative process is it not? I feel like they are a little too informed by what I think other people will like. When I make stuff with those parameters in mind I usually find it to be cheesier (for lack of a better description) than I prefer.

Accounting Cards

2008-01-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

Mig has been sick and asleep most of the weekend (only the Packer's have roused him) and so I have used some of the quiet time to make more cards.You can see the others over on my flickr page.

Valentines- Just the Beginning

2008-01-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

I've begun making valentines, I believe these ones are just warm-ups... we'll see in the days to come.

Looking back, it was this time three years ago, while making valentines, that my collaging ventures got seriously started. The pictorial chronology can be found on my flickr site.

Gratuitous Pet Shot

2008-01-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

aerogarden update....

2008-01-10T21:36:00.001-07:00

Day 12all but cilantro has sprouted...

Valentines Crafting

2008-01-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

As one season segues into the next in stores and ads you'll find me equally propelled by the calendar in my craft-making. This week during one of my once-every-three-or-four day trips to (insert your favorite crafts supplier here) I found lots of christmas makin' supplies that work perfectly for valentines cards, for a fraction of the price. Hot Damn! Here is my spread for this weekend's upcoming card-making binge:

And a close-upThe little black and white bag in the background is the "embelishment poncho" I found during my last thrift store visit, it's supposed to be for makeup but it holds pinking shears all the same...

Yay Christmas: aerogarden

2008-01-05T23:38:00.000-07:00

So this christmas my mom got each my sister and I an aerogarden. I "planted" mine last sunday and I am already getting some pretty impressive results.

Day 3

Day 6

Day 7

These are the chives... the basil (both purple and straight-up green) have sprouted too and are about an inch tall. The mint has barely started and it's little leaves are really efin' cute. I hope to harvest the fields in less than a month, if so... this thing kicks ass!!

2008 ATC Calendar

2008-01-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

Due to a flaky swapper I have made a couple more ATC Calendar's to send to one of the participants in my swap who didn't receive one. Though I wasn't planing to, I am pretty happy that I had to re-visit the project because I came up with a couple of new designs.

This one has collage images from a Sears and Roebuck catalog dated 1900. It's a little crazy to think about how consumerism has evolved since that time.

Heres the full length of the calendar.

This design is a tryptic that's connected on the back by the months of the year. You may have noted in this photo a lovely new (old) tray. I went to the thrift store under the pretext of donating clothes and books... and you know, since I'm here.... 1 tray, an "embelishment poncho", a 999 piece + 1 missing puzzle later I have fulfilled my shopping desires for the weekend. Here is the collage before I took the exacto to it. A tray samwiched in... and the backside of the calendar.

Happy New Year

Trays

2008-01-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

I am finding that I have an obsession for trays, I find myself collecting and making them. They are extremely handy so the obsession is easy to justify. I have been experimenting with making trays out of the little bill/credit card holders one usually sees in restaurants. I collage an image on the bottom and then cover it with resin. The resin part has been the hardest process, how to get smooth unbubbly results and not ruin the sometimes thin and penatrable paper it's protecting? Trial and error, just like any craft... the last series of three turned out not so bad, here is one of them:There are two slots for credit cards on either end of these trays which make them perfect for inserting and displaying ATC's. I found an order of twelve trays through an online bar supplier and the resin at Michael's. I will post more soon...

Ideas for Serial Collage swap

2008-01-01T18:34:00.001-07:00

This is the first in a series of postcards I will be sending for the Serial Collages swap
As most creators and swappers know, this project could morph into something else entirely so I don't feel like I am giving away any suprises yet. Luckily there is enoughtime to experiment and come up with lots of good material in between now and swap date.

Planet Earth

2008-01-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

I got the BBC series Planet Earth as a birthday/Christmas gift too. We have spent many hours since then watching all it has to offer.
The technology used, combined with the dedication of the film crew, and the budget available puts this series at the top. The shots are pure eye-candy and the commentary can be eye-opening.

One of the first ones we watched about caves featured a part of New Mexico that I never knew existed and I wasn't alone in my ignorance until recently. I was blown away when I saw the footage of La Lechugilla Cave that is part of the cave system in Carlsbad, NM. The cave was completely unexplored until 1986.
You can read more about it and see more amazing pictures at wikipedia.org

Thrift Store Love 2

2008-01-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome back, to me... I haven't blogged for about half a month now. I am not sure why I chose today to begin again considering my brain is barely limping along after many days of celebrating, appropriately capped off with a booze-filled night ringing in the new year... *groan*

I am going to try and attempt to catch you up to speed because while taking a hiatus from the computer I haven't been from my craft and design world.

For my birthday earlier in December I received some $$ with strict instructions from my Grandma S. to spend it on something fun and for me... I took the instructions very seriously and here is what I found:

This tray is silver and highly reflective, almost like a mirror. Perfect for my table with all my girly-girl things for my hair, skin, nails, etc. The tea cup has the best color combination with a sweet soft minty green lined with gold. The detail inside is such a lovely touch, I'm a sucker for cute designs. I was told at the thrift store that the cup was an antique that belonged to a famous Santa Fe woman Concha Ortiz y Pino whose family has been in Santa Fe since about the late 1600's. I'm psyhed, especially since I have begun to read Blood and Thunder which is mainly the story of Kit Carson but inevitably includes New Mexico and Santa Fe history. I'm feeling like a nerd by being so excited about New Mexico history...

2008 ATC Calendar Swap- Sent and Received

2007-12-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

Here are two of the four 2008 Calendar ATC 's that I made for my partner. I will be sticking them in the mail tomorrow. Winter 2008

Spring 2008

you can see the rest in this Flickr collection (m.gold of Spit and Image hooked me up with the Pro subscription on Flickr!!)

and finally here is the ATC set that I received for the swap. It's a great, usable design. You can find more at Liregudesign's etsy shop.

Rachel VonGarnier Fine Art

2007-12-14T14:10:00.001-07:00

My good friend, Rachel, recently sent me over some of her latest paintings. They are incredible!I really get a sense of her appreciation for nature and can truly feel the dream-like spaces, invoking the feeling of being or having been there, in this one.

This is dream-like too in the sense that the bird seems to be dissipating into a storm. Unfortunately I don’t have the ability to write so eloquently about art to give these the justice they deserve.

Here are two more of my favorite paintings of hers. I love how diverse her portfolio is.

You can explore her gallery of paintings here. Enjoy!!

Weekend Getaway

2007-12-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

Mig and I headed to the mountains over the weekend so we could take the Durango Silverton Train ride. This is something I have been wanting to do for at least two years now so I finally bit the bullet and bought the tix (not so cheap).
We left on Friday and it rained pretty much the whole drive up to Pagosa Springs, CO. When we got there all of the power was out, every single traffic light was out! Yet still, the local grocer managed to have their holiday music playing through the dimly lit aisles.
When we got to my mom's cabin the power was out there too. Have you any idea how hard it is to entertain yourself when there is no light to read, craft, or otherwise by and especially no music to fill our heads? Mig and I were blurting out one liners of horrible music, you know, the kind of crap that only gets recognition because it so easily sticks in your head... here's a sample, "Turn around, every now and then I fall apart, and I" .... anyway you get the idea and I have to say that was a low point, low enough that we just went to bed at 7:30. Can't say I would have minded the extra sleep but I some how convinced myself we were getting Carbon Monoxide poisening and therefore even had trouble breathing in my dreams.
The next morning we spent half an hour traveling the 20 feet it takes to get out of the driveway, rain and then snow equals LOTS of mud and a huge slick mess. We barely made it to the train on time. Anyhow, we made it and had quite the enjoyable time. Here are some pics from it.
And lastly, a picture of the Abiquiu area, which also got some snow. All in all the trip turned out to be visually gratifying only making my appreciation grow larger for the southwest.

Holiday Is Here...

2007-12-02T19:41:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to pull myself away from making hoiday cards, even though I have other things I *should* really be working on. Anyhow, this holiday card is a bit different than some of the other ones I have made recently. Enjoy!

A Windfall of Ephemera and Collage Material...

2007-12-02T13:12:00.001-07:00

Lately great collage material has been in abundance in my little crafing cabinet. This week I got a huge package from the Share Your Stash swap from susiqz on swap-bot. One of my favorite things I got from her was the little red Chinese envelopes, perfect size for ATC's
I was also given some awesome books, one of them being Nouveau Petit Larousse Illustre published in 1926 (French Illustrated encyclopedia). In it there are tons of pages of pictures, just like the picture above. It is an old book and may be valuable (I don't even want to know) but having worked in several book stores, one of them being my family's used bookshop, I happen to know that just because someone somewhere might pay $$$ for it, it doesn't really mean it is worth that. Without that experience I would have a much harder time cutting up this fine book.

My second score was from my Dad via my grandparents. These are from his youth and prior to my receiving the WHOLE SET!!!! from him I had sought out the little Golden Guides in thrift stores and such. There is a wealth of great pictures and information in them. There is nothing like learning a bit about nature and history while collaging.

At this point I have soooo many books and papers that I am putting together ephemera packs. I scanned one in but it scanned poorly, I will try again soon. I am putting some together for gifts but will also be interested in trading (anything!) for an ephemera pack. More info on that later.

Currently listening to: Dusty Springfield-"Son of A Preacher Man"

First Snow...

2007-12-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

Although the snow is no longer on the ground I was happy to be able to catch and share pics from Northern New Mexico's first snow.

Currently listening to: Death in Vegas- Scorpio Rising

My First Swap...

2007-11-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

I feel like I am going through some sort of rite of passage... I am finally hosting a swap of my very own! I've been scared to try 'til now but after participating in about 15 swaps I felt it was time to make the leap from participant to host.
Check it out: http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/9496

It is based on the ATC calendars in my last post.

Here are the details:

2008 Calendar ATC Swap- International

It’s time to start thinking about 2008! For this swap each person will make a 2008 calendar set with ATC’s.

Your ATC’s can be composed of any elements as long as it has the calendar worked in. The idea of this swap is to provide a nice quality, portable calendar set for your partner. Please put your best foot forward when it comes to quality and content. These are meant to be used for a whole year after all!

The actual number of ATC’s will vary depending on how you design your calendar. For example the calendar in the picture (a folded prototype, without the dates) is a quarterly calendar therefore I made 4 ATC’s with 3 months on each of them. You can see the version with the unfolded calendar on www.flickr.com/annalissas. Other possibilities would be 3 ATC’s with 4 months each, 6 ATC’s with 2 months each, or 12 ATC’s with 1 month each. Please do not make any less than 3 ATC’s for your partner.

Red Tape: No swappers with ratings under 4.8 and only 1 no send acceptable. New swappers are welcome with completed profile. I will check every participant’s profile to determine if they will be able to join in the swap. Please do not sign up if you cannot dedicate the time to make them… I know it is a busy time of year.

Recap:
What?: Minimum of 3 ATC’s containing the 2008 calendar year to 1 partner- Any Medium.
When?: Signup-Dec. 10. Send-Dec. 17
Where?: International swap
Who?: Newbies with completed profile and swappers with ratings over 4.8 and only 1 no send.

ATC Quarterly Calendars (Prototypes)

2007-11-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

I have officially begun working on the calendars for 2008. I figure I have about a month to come up with some different designs and try to make about ten to share.

This is one ATC calendar (front and back) with the first two quarters of the year. I still need to add/fill-in the actual calendar dates. I am looking for the right collage element for that. They won't all be as frilly as this one.

with calendar folded in...

and with the calendar open.

Gravy Days

2007-11-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

I've been a little overwhelmed by the Thanksgiving hulabloo, but now I am back and I have some great matieral to write about in the next couple of days. This swell Photo Album of my Ma's being my favorite.

Here are some photos from "back in the day". Funny to look at considering I've been a little existentially anxious lately. Nostalgia doesn't help much. Nonetheless they are entertaining and have some interesting details in them.

This is my mom (far left) and aunts. This photo cracks me up because on the back my grandma labeled it "Belly Button Brigate!". Not quite the uniforms they were used to wearing during their catholic school careers.

My Pops at NAU presumably. Interestingly, dorm rooms still look the same.

I have that mirror hanging above my vanity now, I love that mirror.

Postcard Swap...

2007-11-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

This is the postcard I received from danakustika I was lucky enough that she found me on Flickr and wanted to do a trade.

The image is screenprinted and some of the ink got smudged off in the mail but it really adds to it. It inspires me to get serious about screenprinting. I have all the supplies but I don't really have the ability to make a screen yet.

I also really love her photography so check it out if you get a chance.

Warming up...

2007-11-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

From a warm-up session to get ready for this collage swap