Paper Flowers

working on samples for the upcoming paper flower class at Press! Come take a class with me!

Eye Candy

a recent find... I am entirely seduced by things arranged by color.

Drop In Painting at Autobody

tombeés du camion

My friend Sarah sent me a link to this amazing website!

Baking & a Sketch in 3 Parts

started a watercolor yesterday morning... still in progress...

 ...also made some rosemary pound cake with a lemon rosemary simple syrup soak...

Altered Books Workshop at S&G

Only 2 spots left! Reserve your spot!

Sailor Valentines at Saffron & Genevieve

The Sailor Seashell Valentine Workshop at Saffron & Genevieve was amazing! Check out all the work on the facebook album!

So I was inspired last night and started this one at 2am. Just put the finishing touches on...

Today

a walk through the flatlands....

 

Steve Powers, a love letter for you

Liddy Scheffknecht and Armin B. Wagner  via Illusion 360

I love the possibility of this... if only I could have a pop up life :)

found photo

I was thinking that Fridays are a good day to post found photos.. so here is the first from my collection.
It seemed appropriate. Merry Christmas!

grandpa's birthday balloons

I am very close with my grandparents. When I was little I spent many afternoons at their house playing dominoes with my grandma, coloring in coloring books and hunting for slugs in the rose garden.  On weekends we would go on surprise adventures which always included a long drive and many, many treats.
Sometimes we would run errands on which I always demanded stories from my grandma to pass the time as we sat in the car waiting for my grandpa...
Tonight my grandpa turned 89 and my grandparents celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary. This past May they moved from the house where so many of my childhood memories live, to a tiny apartment in an assisted living facility. My grandma still tells stories, although she tends to forget the details, mixes up anecdotes and loses her train of thought. After a few minutes, she starts over, retelling a story she just recalled only moments ago.  Tonight though, she told me a story I hadn't heard before...

 They drove his new car to LA. It was sometime during the war...

"Charlotte said she knew how to drive, so I scooted over from the drivers seat and I told her to get up here. Charlotte climbed behind the wheel and sat staring out the window. 'Ok, she said, now what do I do?' She didn't know how to drive." My grandma, a fiery redhead, her friend, Charlotte, and a regular at the bar Otto's, where my grandparents spent most evenings dancing and drinking, left Emeryville one night and drove to LA. The man was drunk and getting drunker and meaner as they sped down the highway in the black night, the miles ticking away on the virgin odometer. By the time the trio reached Newport, the man, who's name my grandma can't recall, was unbearable and hollering about going to the to the racetrack.  My grandma drove the car to the track and the man demanded that he be let out. "Go ahead, Charlotte. Let him out!" my grandma said. Charlotte did. And they left him there, on the side of the road, alone.


The two young women spent three glorious days driving around LA in a brand new car that didn't belong to them. "We had ourselves a new car," my grandma said with that childlike excitement, a kid not wanting to share a precious new toy. When their trip had ended, the two women headed back to Oakland.  Just around the corner from where they lived, they pulled the new car in front of the man's house, left the keys in the ignition, and walked away. They never saw the car or the man again...

Surreal Photography of Lissy Elle and Maia Flore

So I discovered the site Illusion 360 today and was inspired and awestruck by nearly every post. The site is dedicated to the "world's most amazing..." (fill in the blank), and it delivers. From fashion to architecture to photography and more, each piece featured is an amazing work of art. I was especially struck by the images of surrealist photographers, Lissy Elle and Maia Flore. Here are a few pics that captured my imagination and heart...

lissy elle

maia flore

Paper Fashion of Bea Szenfeld

Found the work of Swedish fashion designer, Bea Szenfeld on illusion 360.  I am obsessed with these images! These incredible garments are all made from paper. Check out Szenfeld's blog for other great images of her work and her inspiration.