what a view

from left going clockwise: estate sale find reads: when a rogue kisses you, count your teeth, lab partners gocco print, letterpress print from photo by our friend Robb Costello, lab partners lab partners print, photo of us at our friends wedding by Robb Costello, letterpress print by my friend Amanda Jones, photography by Abby Powell, embroidery by Erin at atlantic treefox, letterpress card by pistachio press (collaboration with Shanna Murray), lab partners print.

For the new year we resolved to get pictures hung on our walls. We ordered glass cut to fit, backed them with scraps of mats cut by our local art store, and hung them by binder clips, and a pants hanger. We used special velcro tape stuff to secure the clips to the glass so they wouldn't slip out. We love the way these all go together, it looks great on our wall. Most of our artwork has been made by friends, new and old. Working on the rest of the walls!

in progress:

I have started making a quilt for myself, and I decided to use up all my scraps and cut them into 2-1/2 inch squares. All my scraps are vintage fabric, found at estate sales and thrift stores. I really like that look where there are dozens of different patterns and colors that don't necessarily match. I love not buying any fabric for a quilt. I'm just slowly working on it a little every day, I'm going to make 9 patch blocks and just go from there! I'll keep you updated as I go.

I wish I could work on it today, but I got sick yesterday. I appear to have the flu, again. After being sick for so long in the fall, I just thought I was immune to any other sickness. Such a bummer. Maybe I'll just knit as I'm catching up on my dvr.

vintage clocks.

top picture: big ben (baby ben) clock from early 1960s, one of two that we got at a garage sale in Bellefonte PA for $1 each.
rest: starburst clock found in Lancaster PA, labeled United.

We did not move across the country with clocks. Once we finally moved into a house we realized we badly needed some timepieces, but not just any of course. We found the baby bens a couple months ago, and they are on the small side, they really are bedside alarm clocks. The design is amazing, it's hard to see but the clock face is brown and black halftone dots. But they wind. Which isn't really a con, but that means we have to remember to wind them, and it only lasts about 2 days. So 90% of the time they tell the wrong time, but they look great (isn't that all that matters?)

We got the starburst clock this weekend, and we love it. It actually works, and I love the hands on the clock and that the second hand slowly glides along. It is in a perfect spot in our living room, where you can see the time everywhere. But that last picture makes me laugh, it's like a terrible scroll down on a celebrity red carpet photo, where the top looks good and then they're wearing ripped tights with ugly shoes. That cord. bleh. A necessary evil, and we got lucky that there is a plug right underneath. Do you even cover that up? What do you do? Any advice?

day trip

This last weekend we went on a day trip to Lancaster PA. Our main goal was to pick up my computer from the apple store, but we also wanted to explore. I didn't realize how great that city is, full of history and great local shops. The sun was super bright, and it was a great break from the gray winter.

Off the road, we saw the historic star barn and had to stop and explore. It was really beautiful. I drove Tyler crazy because I am really fascinated with the Amish culture, and we kept driving by their houses and I would try and sneak pictures from inside the car. I kept pointing out horse and buggies everywhere, and would beg Tyler to drive by them.

I love taking these little day trips around PA, I think the farms are so picturesque, and it's so different than taking trips in Idaho, where the state bush is sagebrush. I've seen many a tumbleweed.

check out the rest of my pictures on my flickr page (may include tons of gingie photos).

valentines

Here are some postcards that designed and screen printed with my gocco printer. I saw this motif on a dress that Ginger Rogers wore in the movie Carefree, she had a huge heart on her shoulder, and arrows on the front and back. I loved it.

These are two color, two-sided prints. It's fun to send a postcard, these are printed on sturdy chipboard. I posted some sets in my shop, just in time for Valentine's day. Do you send out valentines?

out came my inner paula dean

First of all, I got a new camera! I have been waiting a long time to upgrade from my point and shoot, and after some good advice and using my brother's camera over Christmas, I found a body on ebay and got the lens I wanted. Hopefully this makes my blog much more pleasing to look at.

For Christmas, my husband Tyler gave me the gift of him learning to cook this year, by choosing a recipe to cook each week (so sweet). For now I am supervising him and helping him out, and hopefully one day he will be able to cook all on his own. This week he really wanted to make fried chicken. I was pretty intimidated, but we decided to make it an adventure. He picked out the rosemary chicken recipe and a potato and green bean salad. The chicken was really easy, and was beyond delicious. We ate in silence. Super crispy and flavorful. The rosemary made it the best chicken I have ever eaten. The warm green bean and potato salad was also delicious, something we will definitely put into our rotation of side dishes (only change was I just used one piece of bacon and supplemented with olive oil in the recipe). The chicken while great, will be an occasional luxury :)

Also last night we made caramel corn. After I read the post on orangette I knew I had to try it. I had to keep swatting Tyler to keep out of it every time I stirred it in the oven, but it was worth the wait. Best caramel corn of my life.

So come on over and Tyler (with maybe a little help) will make you the best meal ever!

Also pictured is one of the set of 4 glasses we got in Lancaster in a vintage store. They are our first glasses, we are happy to start our collection.

valentines + catching up

It has been quite the week. We had done so much more on our home (pictures to come soon), we played host to our dearest friends over the weekend, and my computer broke. We took a road trip to the nearest apple store in Lancaster PA today, because I am addicted to going to the genius bar. I would do anything to not have to pay to have someone look at my computer, and to talk with them face to face while they are looking at it. What a novel idea? And I've never had to pay for any repairs when I've gone there, and this time was no different (going on +$1000).

Coming back to somewhat normal life this week, I still have lots of projects on my to-do list, a new camera coming in the mail, a road trip back to get my beloved computer, and the anticipation of seeing Shanna's new project revealed to the world. Her valentines are a collaboration with Betsy Dunlap, and they are amazing. I want to get a ton of them, and send one to myself. If you are looking for the ultimate special valentine, this is perfect.

I'm actually quite thrilled to go back to Lancaster this weekend, it is not what I expected. It's an amazing city with beautiful old homes and a great downtown. We went to some great vintage stores, and next time we will take the time to eat at one of their local spots. We have had to take tons of 3-4 hour road trips since we moved here, that's what happens when you live in the middle of nowhere (we've gone 6000 miles so far on our car we bought in September). It's been really fun to see different parts of the state. The drives are always beautiful.

studio before 2:

bookshelf found on the street and painted light gray, added a vintage handle.

trust me I know that yellow is hideous. Was a counter top on clearance at IKEA ($9) cut to fit. Plan for now is to cover with contact paper. Love to get glass top + vintage fabric. Homasote board covered with duckcloth is going up tonight to cover light cords.

Chair found in a thrift store while in buffalo a few weeks ago. LOVE! Will recover seat

Corner of criagslist finds: my lovely card catalog, from Niagara Falls, NY. Fiberclass child's chairs Harrisburg PA, Wooden loveseat, Ann Arbor MI. + upside down lampshade

homasote board ready to be covered.

This room has been a labor of love, and I have loved every second. It's really starting to come together, it's come a long way from where I was before , it took so long to organize my huge collection of vintage craft supplies, papers, fabric, yarn, shoelaces, lace, buttons, thread, glitter bottles... well you get the idea.

So I'm at the next stage, I need to put up my bulletin board, put things up on the wall, hang my dozens of clipboards, cover that eye blinding yellow table, recover the chair, reupholster cushions... I'm happy to give this room a personality. Hopefully it's radically changed the next time you see it!

messy is best

While I was home, I made an icebox cake, which was delicious, as all ice box cakes are. Good thing I had a little helper. More cookie please?

gingerbread ice box cake

2 1/2 packages of Anna's ginger thins

Whip Together:
3 cups whipping cream
4 tablespoons powdered sugar (or sweeten to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Stack, starting with a layer of whipped cream, then using the cookies in a flower shape (7 per layer), alternating so the cookies aren't stacked right on top of each other. I put one in the center every other layer so it wouldn't get taller than the sides. Let set in the fridge for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, until the cookies are soft.

favorite places

peek-a-boo beard

The last day we were Boise we went to two amazing places. The flying pie, which is a hippie chic pizza place, and my favorite place, the brick oven bistro. They make the best sandwiches, and the cheddar veggie soup is to die for. They always put a scoop of mashed potatoes in their soups, which is the greatest thing ever. Super nice hipsters (they do exist) serve you cafeteria style.

After hearing about Shanna's dog Ollie having a scarf, I couldn't resist making one for gingie. I knit one up while watching football games, and fastened it with a big pom pom (which has been my theme for this winter, pom poms on everything). She was fine wearing it, and it didn't even bug her. But after one day, I left her alone, and when we leave her (we put her in a bathroom), she gets really anxious and has a tendency to shred things. We've never seen it when we are around her but she's a nervous nellie. So needless to say she ripped the pom pom out and ripped a hole in it. But version 2.0 has been almost completed, and with some improvements and I'll remember to take it off her when we're not around.

vintage quilt

My mom is an amazing quilter. She is very artistic and has very good taste which she channels into the quilts she makes. She has dozens all over the house. She also has a few vintage quilts that she has from family. This quilt has been on the wall for as long as I remember. It was a quilt top that was probably made by my great great grandmother, and my mom hand quilted it and finished it. I love the fabrics so much. Gingham, stripes, polka dots, I wish I had all these fabrics.

More gifts

This year, we didn't give 100% handmade gifts by us, we also found gifts by other artists and people that we could directly support. One of my favorites was that I wanted to get stamps made for my brother and sister. I found that there was a rubber stamp place in state college. I called them, and found out it was a 82 year old man who does it as a hobby. I went to the "store" which actually turned out to be the basement of his house. He had signs all over saying how he had 24 hour service and was open from 6 am to 10 pm. I went down to his basement, and it was covered with tools and pictures of his family and lots of crazy stuff.

He had inherited the stamp making tools from his brother 30 years old, and computers have now almost run him out of business. He had amazing old type that he used, it was amazing to look at. He showed me the process and helped me pick out what I was going to do. He was such a sweet old man, and it felt really good to help him out by getting some stamps from him. He told me tons of stories, and his voice sounded just like Jimmy Stewart. Really!

This is what I loved about this Christmas, to find gifts for my family, but also be able to buy directly from the maker. It means so much to me when people buy from me for gifts, or for themselves. Buy handmade, even though the holiday season is over.

a granddog is all we got.

We brought gingie over with us for our break. She has been loving being around 8 people who just love to pet her all day and sneak her food from the kitchen. I feel bad bringing her back to a semi-lonely life with just 2 people to give her attention, who don't let her on any chair she chooses.

present to myself

For a long time now, I have been wanting to get some post earrings from Betsy of foundling. Aside from her amazing jewelry, Betsy is a great person and friend. She makes all her jewelry using vintage and recycled materials, I am amazed at the things she finds, old kimonos, dictionary pages, calligraphy, etc. I first met her at second storie 08, and it was so fun to catch up with her again at this year's market. I have so much vintage fabric that I thought would be perfect as something from Betsy, so I gave her some of my favorite fabric and right before Christmas I received them in the mail. They are so perfect. I love vintage mini floral prints. Thanks Betsy!