I am 100 Posts Old Today

I started this blog during February 2008, at the tail end of “Thing-a-Day 2,” in order to ensure that I continued to include creative activities in my everyday life.

I incorporated this new habit of daily creative activity at a time in my life when everything was in a state of constant upheaval. This new millennium has bestowed onto me (or perhaps me onto it) one stressful event after another. Everything came to a head in June 2006 with the passing of my grandmother - a true force in my family. She was a strong matriarch and a third parent to me.

With her passing, our family felt too small, so my husband and I decided to fill the gap by pushing up the baby-date and we welcomed our beautiful, clever, and strong daughter into our family. Needless to say, that threw our already questionable routine, further off course.

I kept wondering when I would hit my stride and find the new normal. I spent endless hours on the couch watching lousy tv, planning all sorts of amazing adventures that would never come to pass, and dreaming of creative projects that I could not muster up the motivation to do - besides who would care.

I needed a “reason” (outside of just because) to do what I wanted because I had forgotten how to play. So I answered the “Thing-a-Day” challenge and successfully spent each day making something. I became a scissors and glue monster and “making stuff” became an unstoppable force. Everything else fell to the wayside (except for childcare of course) but it felt good. Until I burnt out.

It was finally at that moment that I began the much anticipated “new normal.” I take care of myself and my loved ones. Part of taking care of myself is making things “just because” when I have the time. And I make the time - but not at the expense of my family, my bank account, and my sanity. I then write about it, because as I work with scissors, glue, toys, cardboard, shrink plastic, fabric, photographs, and whatever else I have stashed away, I think about art, craft, and life in general. I think about my daughter, my husband, my grandmother, my readers, and myself, and I want to share my thoughts that would otherwise disappear into the ether.

I would like to thank you all of you for stopping by and sometimes even responding to my thoughts and projects. Through this process I have made a number of arty and crafty friends.

Don’t forget about my giveaway. Just comment on my next post to be entered into the drawing for my toy box.

As you can see, I have given my blog a quick and simple makeover - and I plan to redesign it (instead of using a template) in the weeks to come.

Challenge: Take a Walk on the Other Side

I often find myself in SoHo. I am usually running an errand when I am there. I take the subway to Spring Street and Sixth Avenue and then I walk east on the north side of the street. But today was hot and I had over two hours to kill. I walked east, but I walked on the shady side of the street, the south side of the street.

My route takes me past Metropolitan Lumber - a large lumber supplier and hardware store. It is on the north side of the street and all I ever noticed about it is the crowded sidewalk in front of the store. Well from the south side of the street, I noticed the awesome mural that covers the facade of the building. Needless to say, I snapped a picture to share it with you.

If you routinely take a walk - the same exact walk - I challenge you to change it ever so slightly, like I did today. Without fail, when I do that, I spy something new.

In other news, after a couple hours of tedious work, the toy box finally looks like something I would make for you.

The words are selections cut from a copy of Alice in Wonderland. I knew I wanted to add text from a classic children’s story along the edges of my toy box, and Alice’s fantastic story seemed like a perfect choice for my box about toys and play.

I spiced up the dull base of the box with some of my favorite instructions from childhood, “cut along the dotted line.” Unsurprisingly, I loved to cut stuff up as a kid. I also did some coloring in on the bingo card (I still doodle by coloring in words and numbers on anything). I added some stars glitter glue too.

Toy box still needs cleaning and touch-ups and probably some more work on the outside. After that, it will be ready for you. Remember to comment on my 101st post to have your name put in my hat for the toy box giveaway.

Psst… This is post number 99.

No. 98 - More work on my toy box

Sorry for my long weekends lately - but it is summer time which means playtime away from the computer!   I have been visiting with friends and family, coming up with outdoor fun for me and wee-one, and going out for ice cream as much as possible. I have always loved summer!

But today is muggy and grey, so I have spent time this morning adding elements to the toy box…

I have been really struggling with filling the space where the Duncan Yo-Yo now resides… I can now rest a tad easier. The next step is adding text which means raiding my library later today.

As soon as I made this project a giveaway, I started to freak out about it.  It is a different style from my usual bolder boxes and I have been having a harder time envisioning the space filled.  That said, the progress I made today, plus the fact I have some idea of how I am going to use text, makes me confident in this item once again.

Don’t forget to check-in and comment on my 101st post (so you can win this toy box which will be finished by then).

In the meantime - check out iHanna’s new Summer Playtime Quilts - I love the red one!

Not Much to Show for Myself

I am posting from my balcony tonight. There is nothing quite like relaxing with a glass of wine outside on a beautiful summer night (if you can call blogging with baby monitor and telephone nearby relaxing).

I am struggling a bit with some of the space in my box and with my bum knee so all I have to show for myself is the top/bottom (depending on if it’s open or closed) of my box. I do love these paper dolls - 21st Century Alice.

Playtime Plus a Post no. 101 Giveaway

When I was a kid I did not watch much television. I had my few programs, but I never had to be encouraged to “go play outside” or “turn off the tv.” This is sort of amazing. As a thirty year old, I constantly have to be reminded to “go play outside” or “turn off the tv.” I watch sooooo much television - not all crappy television, but lots of it is pure candy. So what better way to break the tv cycle then work on a tribute to some of my favorite childhood toys.

I got the idea a few weeks ago, when I unearthed from my grandmother’s beach house dresser, my jacks.  I loved to play jacks, something you cannot play growing up in an apartment that is not on the first floor.  I could play them at the beach house though.  And play jacks, I did.

But the idea, like drilling sea shells, and making books for wee-one, fell to the wayside as I handled summer plan logistics and watched Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

Yesterday, I resolved to spend a good chunk of today working on my toy tribute, and I followed through.  I am stepping away from it for the afternoon - it is still very much a work in progress. I have many more toys to fill the box AND unlike past cigar box projects, leaving any cigar box details seems wholly inappropriate, so I will be doing a lot of work to the outside of the box.

That said, I thought that this project should find it’s way in the world, so I am going to give it away.  This is my 96th post. Comment on my 101st post and I will enter your name in a drawing and I will send this little box your way if I pull your name from my hat.

I think this box will be charming for an adult or kid’s room, don’t you?

Fourth of July Flea Market Find

I love flea and antique markets. They are always filled with trash/treasure - one of my favorite categories of thing. But I live in NYC which means I almost never make a big score - a treasure for cheap. But this weekend, my flea market dream came true.

I was in upstate New York hanging out with the alpacas, near Woodstock, and I attended a small flea market. I bought:

• A copy of the October 1944 The Home Garden (For chopping and pasting)
• A poodle scrap (More glue fun)






• A Japanese metal bird toy (A colorful addition to my mantel)



• Dominoes (For toppling)
• This amazing and complete hand stamping kit used for sign making.

I got the kit for $20, which although not a total score in the price department for a true flea market shopper, not bad for a girl who rarely gets a deal.

When I brought it home my husband said, “It’s a beautiful object used to make beautiful things.” He is right, and that is why I fell in love with it. I plan to use the tools, but also keep them on display in my living room (until little fingers can reach it). What sort of flea market finds have you found?

A Weekend at the Farm

We are headed to “The Farm” this weekend. By “The Farm,” I mean my quasi-stepmother’s country house/camp in the Catskills. Last time we were there is was all chilly and the height of autumn. This time, we will get to take a dip in the lake.

I am hoping some clean air and limited distractions will give me the swift kick in the pants I need to get back to work. Happy Holiday Weekend to my American readers. Happy Weekend to the rest of you!

All the Promise of a New Box of Crayons

My mother surprised me with 120 Crayola Crayons this week. I thought this was an awesome gift! Every time I open a new box of crayons and that waxy scent fills my nose and the bold colors in that distinct cone shape comes into sight, I feel a sense of promise, but of what, I am not sure.

New school supplies always invoked a promise to help me do better this year, be more organized, and get good grades. New shoes tend to promise to help me make an entrance. But I am not sure what promise new crayons give me - but the feeling is huge.

The feeling is a giddy excitement and the sense that dreams will be realized. As a child, I used crayons to draw new worlds, and create unique things - like unicorn fashion magazines (that would be a magazine dedicated to the life and style of unicorns).

This gift came at a perfect time. I am feeling completely unmotivated to “create.” I think I will put any big and thought provoking work to the side for now and focus more on projects like Sake and nautical jewelry. If a new box of crayons does anything for you, it should remind you to simply have some fun.

Just Like Camp…

It should come as no surprise that I really liked the arts and crafts aspect of camp. I liked spending summer afternoons sitting around a table with my peers working on a project with a beginning and an end but all sorts of freedom in between. (It was also nice to be good at something in front of said peers who just kicked my butt in softball/frisbee/soccer/weird races of various types… you get the picture.)

Today, I still enjoy sitting with a group and working on a craft project, so needless to say I was so pleased when my dear friend Katherine, who had joined us at the beach this weekend, pulled from her tote bag:

Katherine provided me with all of my materials and let me pick which pattern we would follow.  I thought this was a generous and wonderful surprise.

I am a notoriously bad seamstress, but that is okay, I had loads of fun making Sake. Also, wee-one seems to have no interest in my odd friend, which is good because my lack of sewing skills makes Sake definitely unsafe for babies.

I forgot to snap a shot of Katherine’s creature, Seymour Actually, but he is quite a snazzy colleague of Sake.  In this case, my fellow camper’s execution of the project (which did have it’s own hysteric inducing problems) lead to a more polished finished project - but that is okay because I am no longer 12 years old and getting beaten in every sport imaginable.

I *heart* arts and crafts in the summertime.

Love.

Today I simply played and rested. May I suggest the same for you?