Page for Do Not Leave Unattended

Finally created a page for the Do Not Leave Unattended project, which I have had sitting unattended and unfinished in my studio for the past two months.  The text is in answer to my boyfriend's questioning me on why I like to make put my paper shoes on top of mushrooms. He'll do a page and then I'll send if off (finally). 

Winter

Rose hips, brightly colored, crimson red in a cobalt blue mexican cup for spicy hot chocolate... two perfect wintertime treats.

Christmas Giving

Photos of girls who had a wonderful Christmas!

I made Aaron a paper magnolia. Inside the pod little curls of paper with written sentiments are tucked into each well. A few red berries unfolded from their hiding spot revealing little pictures or writings. I also painted this miniature for him...us as two rabbits.

Aaron did a beautiful job wrapping my gifts!  My favorite present from him is this bowl made of red and yellow winter leaves.

a room of one's own...

One great thing about my new house is my studio. It houses all my paper, my art supplies, my mac and is a place where I spend most of my time.  Here are some quick and cursory pictures of a few elements that make up a this magical space. Above, paper slippers hang from picture rail moulding. 

Thin red shelves display etchings from artist Carlos Pileggi, as well as magic lantern slides, photos of my boyfriend when he was little, and other tiny offerings.

One of my best finds, an antique thread cabinet. The tiny wells in each drawer now contain my button collection, all arranged by color. Its silly, but any time I open a drawer in this cabinet and see rows of ruby reds and pinks, or greys, silvers and blacks all lined up, I am instantly happy.  I don't think I'll ever shed the amazement of seeing things arranged by color, a fascination started when I was a kid, by arranging my colored pencils in "rainbow order."

Check out the pic below ...

This is a follow up picture of MJ's handmade caddy she made for her beautiful prismacolor pencil set. She has the same obsession I do. haha! 

Christmas at the Napa House

Napa house is adorned in festive greenery, lights, and all things Christmas...

Our advent calendar, full of little goodies to enjoy the whole month long.

Beautiful bough of bay leaves and oranges atop our tea cabinet.

Our mantle, with stockings made from vintage blankets.

Our little Christmas tree in jewel tones!

Holiday Craftacular

PCM's Holiday Craftacular was this Saturday and I made all kinds of winter inspired miniatures to sell. I make paper shoes of all kinds, and love the few I made for the show. I also crafted my miniature scenes atop vintage teacups instead of inside domes.  This one of the woodland squirrel was loved by many and found a home.

I love these queen bee shoes. They stand quite a ways off their pedestal and seem to be teetering on these delicate dried blossoms.

My business cards presented on a bed of moss.

Woodland fairy slippers on a real dried mushroom.  I love these!

The Chair: Revisited

So this was posted on Apartment Therapy and received 27 comments so far. Wow! People really hate this chair! Some had really harsh things to say and others had some really good and funny comments. I must say its weird to be fully critiqued  on design aesthetic when this was a 24 hr job. I find the whole thing hilarious! In the end, I am happy with the chair and hated the other fabric, although there were many on apt therapy that loved the before! And for the person who thought I should use velvet on the back of the chair... I did! Thanks for all the feedback!

2 days until the Holiday Craftacular

Two days and counting to Craftacular!  The Don (Cheryl) of Petaluma's craftiest family interviewed me for their blog. Check out the interview here.  There were some pretty interesting questions including one on who I'd invite to the ultimate dinner party. Among the guests would have to be MJ of course. Will post pics sooner to show!

Voila!

*** Just got an email from Apartment Therapy and they are going to post a before and after pic of my chair on their blog in the next week or so!  So exciting!!! I will post a link directly when its up...*****

I finished! Except for the patches on the arm rest, I completed the project last night. I chose a gray green velvet for the back of the chair and made a cover for the cushion. I have to say I'm pretty proud of the job all in all! It's definitely an improvement on the original look. It a very comfortable chair and I'm happy to have it in my bedroom. I hope Aaron will actually use it as his reading chair, although I have a sneaking suspicion he'll wind up on the bed (asleep).

New Project

My mom bought me this chair for a reading chair in my bedroom. I love the style but despise the fabric. Last night, as it sat in my living room, and as I sat staring at I decided I would try to recover it myself. I didn't decide this all at once. At first I just ripped off the trim to see what was underneath, then all of a sudden I was searching for fabric then draping and hammering. Within a hour or so I had recovered the top of the chair. The fabric is a natural linen with diamonds silk screened on top. Now I just have to finish the bottom and I might fabric paint the sides instead of recovering them. I think I did a pretty good job to start, I just have to carry it through to finish the chair!

My First Holiday Show

A week from tomorrow is the Holiday Craftacular show hosted by the PCM. My first craft show coincided with their first ever Craftaluma last spring. I am excited to be participating in a holiday show and have lots of new work to sell. Come by handmade gift for the holidays and support crafters!!! My friend MJ will be selling her adorable paper chair mobiles as well as the cutest paper chair ornaments. I will be selling my miniature worlds in vintage teacups, gocco tea towels and beautiful hand-painted paste paper as giftwrap as well as many other paper treats! Come by and say hello!

I love it! I'm keeping it just how it is!

What do you think? A design dilemma...

Painted my living room wall a persimmon color and am adding the brown stencil motif. I had originally wanted to create an all over pattern but am really liking the asymmetrical stripe. I especially like it because the fireplace is off center to the wall so it helps to fill the space. Should I leave it as is?                                

Another trip to one of my favorite shops, Filthy Gorgeous in Walnut Creek to check out their holiday goodies. As always, the store was beautifully merchandised with unique and wonderful items, both antique and antique inspired. The staff is friendly and I always find something inspiring and reasonably priced. These pics were hurriedly taken with my iPhone and don't do them justice, bit I highly recommend Filthy Gorgeous for unique finds all year 'round!

Thanksgiving Feast

Yesterday was spent preparing an Indian Feast. My boyfriend, Aaron, and I elected to spend the holiday together...just the two of us...and it was perfect!  We made samosas with several chutneys (including a cranberry chutney), chana daal patties, curried pumpkin soup and plantain curry with basmati rice. We drank homemade Chai throughout the day and finished our evening with ginger creme brulee. I think we'll do this every year. Its nice to have a day to ourselves before the rush of the Holiday Season. 

New Pieces for Craftacular

New version of my miniature worlds...this time created atop a vintage teacup!  I am making these for the Craftacular show coming up in December hosted by the Petaluma Craft Mafia. The price point is lower so they will be the perfect holiday gift for any budget. I will also be teaching a class on these in March at the^workshop in Berekeley!

We made party crackers today for our house warming tomorrow night. The girls were occupied for an hour and did a great job making them! We used toilet paper rolls, filled them with candy then rolled them in crepe paper. The girls used a sticker to seal the paper, then they tied the ends with baker's twine. It was a fun and easy project and they turned out so well! The rest of the afternoon was spent doing other arts and crafts projects and cooking, but I think this was the success of the day!

les macarons

Les macarons de LaDuree! Aaron's boss brought these back for me from Paris. I haven't had one since I was last there almost 5 years ago. These are my favorite cookies and this is actually how Aaron and I first met... over a conversation about les macarons. It was such a treat to have these with tea. Now I just need to plan a trip back to Paris!

Napa House

Haven't blogged during the move which has stressed me out so badly!!!! I did, however, decorate the girls room in time for their first night. I stayed up until 2am making the bunting. The fabrics are the ones I'm using for their quilts, which will come in a week or two when I get my studio room set up. The Napa House (as we've dubbed it) is beautiful, and I am happy to start this space from scratch with Aaron. Mila woke up this morning and the first thing she said after she opened her eyes was... "This new house is great! Let's never move!" The girls have sung its praises all day, which is a good thing. Another bit of good news is my computer came and I can;t wait to set it up...oh, girls just came down the stairs wearing about 10 of my shirts each and I think its time to go upstairs and survey the damage! Wow! I have an upstairs!!!!

Color Pencil Roll Up For Nadia

Nadia just turned 6 on Sunday. I made her this colored pencil roll for her birthday, although she won't have her party with us until we move into the new house. I saw this on Pink Chalk Studio's blog and thought it was too cute. I hope she likes it!

A Perfect Autumn Day (in the midst of chaos)

Went to Monterey Market to pick out produce for a winter vegetable soup. When I drove up, I spied a mass of giant pumpkins. It was no surprise that the front entrance is surrounded by crates of squash, a variety gourds and pumpkins in all sizes. I immediately wanted to abandon my veggie soup for something more festive (and orange), but instead I also purchased some apples an came home to make spiced apple butter...

The recipe is from epicurious, which never fails to impress. Of all the online recipe sites, I find epicurious to be consistently good. Making preserves was a nice respite to the mess and stress of endless packing. Having a very precise set of steps to follow helped clear my mind this morning. I was tired after a drive to Pt Reyes Station at 6am, but am ready for an afternoon of packing and vegetable soup!