interlude

Monday was the perfect day to go to the beach for the afternoon. Miss. A is now at that point where the wonders and exploration of the sandy beach are all encompassing.

She could have spent the whole day wondering around digging in the sand and playing with the water.


We are looking forward to a few more trips like this in the coming spring/summer months.

large shop update

I am excited to announce that the shop has been filled with a new run of items I have been working on recently.

I had aimed to have the shop loaded on Friday but decided to not push myself and instead enjoy distractions that came up. The weather has been wonderful around here and so it was hard to stay inside. In the evenings I was continually being drawn to a book I was only pages from finishing. Finally on Friday evening I finished the book only to pick up the next one on the shelf. Instantly I was drawn into it and found myself steeling away time to pack in a hundred pages an evening over the weekend. So despite marking my calendar with a prospective load date for the shop I enjoyed the wonderful distractions of family, friends, gardening, and books. It feels good to have done all of these things and to get the shop in order. Tomorrow Miss. A and I are off to the coast of the day. It should be quite an adventure.

small shop update

These items have been ready to go into the shop since November but things got in the way. The Coffee Sleeves are currently in the shop and I will also be adding a new addition of baby items on Friday morning. I am quite excited for the new items I have been working on, thank you for your continued support and encouragement.

A first time for everything

Miss. A has been asking for months when she was going to get a haircut like mom and dad. She has never had her hair cut at a barber shop and really the only time it was cut was when she was about six months old.


At that time we had to get rid of the mullet that was getting out of control. It's funny Miss. A has always had quite a bit of hair. I distinctly remember the ultra sound tech making a comment about the amount of hair she had and I was shocked, what did that mean.

So in the past two years we have not done anything to her golden locks except try to keep it brushed. Even that is a challenge at times and we often resort to putting it up. Well this weekend we were driving by our barber shop and decided to just see if Vinnie was in and had a quick opening. As luck would have it he was just finishing with a client and had some time.


Miss. A was all for the idea in the car but was a bit unsure once she crossed the threshold. We watched another person getting their hair cut for a few minutes just to see what it was all about. Once it was time to sit down I think it started to sink in for her and she needed me to stay close. The whole process took less then ten minutes and Vinnie only took a bit off the back.


By the end Miss. A was excited about the whole event and walked away wanting to go back for more. Who knows when that will be.

brotherly love

For weeks and maybe months Daniel deliberated over what to give his brother for a birthday gift. It had to be just the right gift and of course ironic.


So after finding the perfect gift [with the help of Miss. A], he set to designing the packaging. Now if you know Daniel the you understand that the packaging of a gift is almost as important as the gift itself.


Oh, I am sure you are wondering what the gift actually was. Well take a look. I am certain he will love it...

they all do it...right?

So as many of you know Miss. A has quite the opinion when it comes to getting dressed. I know that this is a true of most children and the costumes they come up with are quite ingenious and entertaining. Well after posting this image of Miss. A last week my good friend Jessica suggested that we start a flickr group. We are quite excited to announce that there is now a group called "They Dressed Themselves". Feel free to join in, we are looking forward to all of the creative outfits that we know are being worn every day by our young ones. So don't hesitate get out there, document, and post.

Ikea 24/7

So in a random tangent of links today I ran into this funny site. I was searching for different railing ideas for the den at Apartment Therapy and I came across a post about Mark Malkoff [comedian and writer] going to live at Ikea for a week. This is the same guy who attempted to make a purchase from 171 Starbucks in Manhattan in one day. So for this week he will be living, eating and sleeping there and we have the chance to watch his footage. Just a bit of entertainment for the week, enjoy.

Incentive

So I may be going out on a limb to say that 08 will be the year for house projects but that is my hope. We seemed to wane on our enthusiasm for projects last year. Not that we did not want to be working on them but there were just so many other things on the list as well. It is always hard to motivate myself to just start in on painting or pulling wallpaper once Miss A has gone to bed. Not that any of this has changed but at least right now we have some incentive to get at least the den finished sometime soon.



For Christmas we received a wonderful lamp which will be the finishing touch in that room. We knew asking for it that we would not be able to install it until everything else was finished. I guess it was the right thing to do because all we want to do is get the room finished. It was hard enough opening the box knowing that we could just quickly look at it and then return it to its holding place. But that glance was enough incentive to get us moving on things again. Friday night we painted one of the walls gray, we still need to do the second coat of paint and then finish painting the rest of the room white. Then this weekend we found ourselves at a great store looking at flooring ideas. You see when we moved in the whole room was brown. Brown real wood paneling, brown shag rug, and a yellow glass covered light that casts the worst mood in that room. So out with the brown and in with the light. Everyone things we are crazy for making the room white and we vary well may be but at least it is a big step away from brown. We had thought we were going to put in a floating floor but now we are milling over the idea of carpeting again. Who knows all I know is that the decisions need to be made or we may never get to put that Christmas present to good use. I will say that even in its half finished state the room already looks much better then the images we took when contemplating buying the place. Just look at that den and the rest of the house for that matter. I guess looking at those images is a nice reminder of what we have accomplished so far.

to the new year

family portrait
Originally uploaded by devinemom

It is amazing how the prospect of a new year effects me these days. In years past I don't think I really gave the coming year much thought but it seems as if that has now changed. In the weeks leading up to the new year I found myself becoming introspective about goals and desires for the coming months and I was pleased with what I came up with. The goals are broad but I like that. I feel that this year needs to start off slow. I need to be intentional and not take on more than I feel comfortable with. Last year was amazing but in looking back on it I realize that it came in like a lion and and went out like a lamb. I enjoyed the momentum that I had at the start of the year but I am looking forward to having a more balanced approach to things.

In the coming year I hope to focus on these four things.
family
self
health
home
I am eager to see how this plays out. The idea of starting fresh with new goals is exciting and I look forward to an amazing year.

Best wishes to all of you in 2008.

from our family to yours

poppin in to say hi

you and I alone on a train [4:30am]
Originally uploaded by devinemom

just wanted to say "hi" and get that last post down the page a bit. life is wonderful right now but i have made little time for the blog. for a glimpse into a bit of what has been going on take a peek over here. i will add more images there in a day or two.

shop for a cure

for all of you local holiday shoppers here is an event for you....

This great craft bazaar is being held this weekend in Portland. I was going to have my own booth at this sale but had to back out due to getting slammed with the flu right before our trip to San Francisco. I was reluctant to back out but knew that I would not be ready due to my health.

Proceeds from the sale go to helping find a cure for Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis. The day was organized by Laurel from Bella Stella - her daughter is afflicted with histiocytosis, and she and her family are working tirelessly to raise money and awareness. Many local crafters are coming together to support this cause. There will be a great selection of gifts for both young and old. So if you are free and local drop on by Milagros. They do have some of my items in the store so feel free to pick up a scarf or two knowing that a portion of the sale will go to a great cause.

a small tangent

This past month plus has put me into major production mode around here. It seems as if all of my wholesale orders came one right after the other without much room to breath. On Halloween I delivered the last batch of goods to a local store and then set my eyes on filling the Etsy shop for the holiday season. It feels good to keep the momentum up and at the same time try to be intentional about making the time for family and friends.

On Monday Miss. A was with her Pa all day and I had a list of things I wanted to work on for the shop. Well of course as is always the case I got a bit distracted by a new idea and had to play around with it for a bit. The end result was so much to my liking that I spent the better part of the afternoon sewing and getting Daniel to both photograph and then model for some shots. It was a beautiful day and so we were able to actually get some outdoor shots. The results of my distraction are what I call the Loop Scarf. They are a short scarflette that wraps around the neck and is fastened through a loop sewn on the back.

I was having so much fun playing around with different wools and fabrics that I ended up staying up late that evening just to get some of the other things on my list done. I currently have a few scarves in the shop and will be adding some coffee cozies soon along with a few other items.

For now I need to get a few more loads of laundry done before Daniel and I head off to a long weekend on San Francisco.

crib notes or lack thereof

The humor of a child never ceases. I am constantly amazed by how funny Miss A can be at times, she is even at the point now where she will laugh at her own antics. Today was no exception.

So back in August we transitioned Miss. A into her 'big girl bed'. We had thought that we would start with her taking the nap in the big bed and sleep at night in her crib. Well she was quite excited for the transition and so after about a week the crib was taken down due to her lack of interest in it. Of course once it was down she missed it and wanted it back but we were able to get through that. During about the first two months we had no problems with keeping her on the bed. Sure she would tumble off sometimes onto the pile of pillows below but she soon learned to stay on the bed. We were surprised when she would not get off the bed during naps and in the morning. Maybe the thought of getting down was a bit daunting. Well that is all in the past. She now has the hardest time staying in her bed during nap time and in the morning we typically wake to her running down the hall to our room. It seems as if every other day she will spend the better part of nap time playing in her room. I have come to accept this as how it will be and I am fine with it as long as she is in her room for 'rest time'. It is quite amazing how much damage she can do to the room in such a short amount of time. Books, puzzles and toys will be strewn across the room and then the better part of the afternoon is spent cleaning up the mess.


Today she was all set on playing and having a good time. That is until she started yelling for me to come get her. So after sometime I went in and told her that it was time to go to bed. I picked her up and started singing rock-a-by baby and this is what unfolded...

Me: rock-a-by baby in the...
Miss A: I not a baby mama.
Me: [trying to compose myself] rock-a-by Miss. A in the tree top. When the...
Miss A: I not in a tree mama.
Me: [laughing so hard I have to lay her down on the bed] rock-a-by Miss. A in her bed. when the wind blows...[and by that time she was almost asleep. lucky for me because I don't think I could have make it through the whole song without laughing myself ill.

I am constantly amazed by the humor and insight kids have at this age. They truly like to call it how it is. For now she is sleeping and the room looks like a tornado hit it.



Oh the joys of the big kid bed.

distracted

So the kid is sleeping and I should be working but... of course I got a bit sidetracked by an email. A friend of mine just sent me a link to this site [look up this MLS 7095450]. No we are not in the market for a house but one can always dream of the next place. I mean what is wrong with going to an open house now and then just to see what is out there. This is not beyond us. I signed up to get open house listings from this place and it is hard to resist taking a look around. It is even harder not to be tempted by the looks of these places and if we start saving our pennies [or 100's] we may be able to move by the time schools are a question for Miss. A.

For now we will dream. It is always nice to have a goal [or distraction] right.

hello::goodbye

Spending a lot of time working here. But wanted to say Hi.

Today I am...
Cutting a lot of this
Drinking one more cup
Listening to this currently
Avoiding thinking of something better then this and this for Halloween
Working through this big project.
Finishing this order and then some.

Some day soon I will be back in the swing of both reading and posting blogs. For now I am enjoying quickly glancing at posts and Flikr images and thinking up comments that I would post if the time permitted. Have a wonderful day.

Oh its time...

::beautiful image courteous of Jessica Poundstone::

for me to start thinking about the idea of making a list of Christmas gifts to make this year. You know the idea of planning ahead always sounds good to me and then it never happens. The list of items to make far out weighs the number of days to make them in. So this year it is all about planing ahead a little [something I don't do often]. I read somewhere recently that there are 80 days till Christmas, since reading that days have passed so there are even fewer days left. So now onto the gift ideas. Last year we decided to take the money alloted to gifts and donate it in peoples names to different organizations both locally and world wide. Along with this we gave people a small handmade gift [patchwork dishtowels + tissue holders etc.]. This year we are going to be doing the same, giving something small to everyone. I was so excited when the list came together this weekend almost by chance.

List
::Shrink Plastic Flower Pin [using this tutorial by a wonderful friend of mine]
::homemade soap, lotion, and lip balm. [using this book]
::Coffee cup sleeve [using my own pattern]

The tutorial for the flower pin looks amazing and quite easy to do. Jessica is a very talented local jewelry maker and artist who I have come to know over the past few months. She decided a few weeks ago to go ahead and make a video tutorial on how to construct these great pins. I just think it sounds like a wonderful way to make a few gifts for people. Just think of the fun you could have one evening sitting around with some friends making these beautiful pins.

You might think that making homemade soaps etc. sounds like a big task but it something I have wanted to try for some time and I am taking the task on with a friend. We figured that if we divided the cost it would be cheep and fun to get together for an evening or two. All of the recipes come from the book Better Basics for the Home, a book I have had for almost a year and have yet to make something out of. So finally today the two of us sat down and made a list of items to buy. The goal is to start making by the first of Nov.

So now that the list is made it is only a matter of making the items. Lets hope that by starting this early I will accomplish these goals. That said if there is anyone in town interested in having a gift making party just let me know because I know that I am always more productive when working with others.

plastic::roundup

I have been meaning to post about this topic for some time but now is as good a time as any. In the greater Portland [Oregon] area there is a team of Master Recyclers who biannually have a plastic roundup. It is wonderful considering the amount of plastic that our curbside recycling accepts is laughable. This roundup takes in items at four locations twice a year. I mention all of this because this Saturday the 29th from 9am-2pm they are accepting any plastic that has accumulated around your house. At the last event we had a nominal amount to bring because I was reminded of the event by a friend but kept forgetting and so by the date of the roundup I had maybe a small bag to recycle. Even just being there the first time helped me realize not only how much they take but also how much plastic we really do use every day.



It is hard to challenge oneself to use less but it can also be turned into a fun game. Back in March I discovered a horrifying stat counter at the bottom of jumilla bugs blog. The tally was for the number of plastic bags consumed year to date [the link for the stats is quite informative as well]. I was blown away by the visual of the situation. I was only looking at the tally for maybe a minute and the number went up by 100,000 if not more within that time. At that point I vowed to make a conscious effort to reduce the amount of bags we used. It was a challenge and at times we got some funny looks like when we would go to home depot and say that we did not want a bag but would instead carry out our loot. Hauling our curtain hangers and hardware out of the home store also got us some looks but it was a great way to push our limits. We do have two amazing two cargo totes that truly come in handy. I know there are thousands of bags out there for just this type of thing but I love ours because I can always fit at least 3-4bags of groceries in each. During the month of April we were able to consume only 7 plastic bags and from the challenge we have both become more aware.

The even taking place this weekend is great and I encourage anyone in Portland to attempt to at least take this weeks plastic in. If you are not living on the eastside of town there is another event happening on October 6th on the westside of town. I encourage those outside of Portland to look into something like this in your area.

process::streaming

There are many aspects in the creative process all of which when used together contribute to the finished product. I have grown to love every aspect of working in my studio and especially relish in the moments when I get fully engrossed in a project. One thing that I find helps me with this is audio stimulation. I tend to pick things according to my moods and more often then not it consists of Podcasts. My actual music selection that has been downloaded to my computer is small and so I tend to just listen to what is already streaming to my iTunes on a daily basis. It is my way of getting caught up on the news, books, and radio shows that I tend to miss during the week. I have found that when I am listening to a specific show and working on a project I will remember that show the next time I work on that same item. Listed below are is my Top Ten list for this month. They are listed in alphabetical order. If any of you have other shows that you love to listen to I would love to hear about them.

Top Ten::
NPR: Books
NPR: Movies
NPR: Talk of the Nation
SFMOMA Artcast
Spoonful of Russian
This American Life
Travel with Rick Steves
Type Radio
Wiretap (on a podcast but you can find posts of it)
WNYC's Radio Lab

[all of these with the exception of Wiretap can be found on the iTunes store for free]

helping hand

It is amazing how quickly the summer months passed and with it milestones. During this time Miss. A has changed from a toddler to a little girl right before our eyes. These past few weeks it seems as if every other pair of pants I put on her is an inch or two short and the shoes are all small. With her growth surt has come a desire to help with everything. I have my sister to thank for Miss. A's new found love for cooking. It seems that while she is being watched by my sister her favorite thing to do is help bake cookies or other wonderful things my sister seems to always find time for.



These days when I am in the kitchen I can almost always count on Miss. A being right by my side. If I think I am alone it will only be a matter of seconds before I hear the sound of her dragging a chair from the table over to the counter. 'Help mommy' has now shifted to 'watch mommy' when she knows that I am cooking at the stove. It is amazing the little things that can be taught while cooking a dinner. Measuring, pouring, basting, stirring are all jobs that she loves to participate in.



The day that I introduced her to the sink was a whole new adventure. We will spend many an afternoon standing at the sink, her with the plastic and I with the glass. On the sunny days before fall descended on us with a vengeance we would wash for a bit and then transition the tub of water outside for a nice afternoon of washing the rocks in the yard.

::Speaking of fall I am currently working on some more scarves that have been showing up in my shop this week.