shoes and ships...

i should save this post for international women's day

...  but i can never remember when it is! 

oh well.  live for the moment.

 

collage collage

after goofing around with the birthday card (see post below), i find myself a smidge obsessed with all things collage-y and i'm LOVING all of the wonderful things people are doing in the world of collage.  the possibilities are endless! 

y'all have been over to check out claudine's wonderful work, right?  her books look great - on the top of my list for a treat for myself when i get to the states next!  the DVD looks neat too - seeing how people do things is even better than reading about it.  too bad there is no HGTV in sweden or i would be tuning in to see her 1 march...

then there is always the wonderful, mind-boggling world of ephemera at artchix (which i know i have blogged about before, but it's worth repeating!  believe me!). 

brown paper packages?

one of the best parts of giving a gift is in the wrapping of it, don't you think?

i personalised a sort of card for a friend's birthday.  this mini-project was so much fun - and so full of possibilities - i'm now combing the house for more pictures of family and friends.  although...  you could really use any random person, couldn't you?  sort of like this but taking the idea to a different place...

happy valentine's day

i love making cards, but this valentine's day i decided to depart from the expected and made little valentine's "Surprise Holders" (you may call them boxes!) in lieu of cards.  they were a little fiddly to make - some of the papers i used were on the thick side which made drawing out the little drawer a little tricky - but they were fun to make since fiddling is fine with me! 

 

what do you think?

rooted in hope

my uncle's wife is ill.  she has been through the wringer for a long time and her poor body and amazing spirit have been subjected to much much more than any one person should ever have to bear.  claire is an extremely talented textile artist, and when her daughter asked friends and family to contribute squares to what will be a "quilt of hope" for her mother, i was quick to get started, but as usual intimidated by the blank sheet of paper (ok, in this case piece of fabric) in front of me.  is it me, or is the hardest part of any project getting an idea you can fully get behind?  once i decide what i want to do, actually getting down to it has challenges of its own, but they pale in comparasion with the inspiration part of the project for me.  i know i would do myself a favor if i just got out of my own way and got started with something - anything.  claudine has a fun idea of giving yourself 20 mins to create something based on an idea you get from her podcast.  i think it may be just what i need.

anyway, i was happy with the square i ended up with in the end.  it feels extra good to contrubute something like this for claire in particular, because i know that she knows that there is great affection and all the good vibes in the world embedded with every single stitch. 

4 things

Thanks Hope for giving me a handy way of climbing back in the blogging saddle again! 

My 4 things:

Four Jobs I’ve Had

1. Bartender & waitress at too many cheesy chain restaurants
2. Fundraiser for the Leukemia Society
3. Features researcher and intern at CNN (TravelGuide)
4. English as Second Language teacher

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over

1. You've Got Mail
2. The Usual Suspects
3. Amelie
4. Roxanne

Four Places I've Lived

1. Oswego, NY - when i was a wee lassie
2. Washington, DC - a very fun place to go to college. i loved it.
3. Los Angeles, CA - not my bag. i was a fish out of water when i moved there at 15 from the east coast. talk about culture shock...
4. Stockholm, Sweden - strangely, the culture shock of living in LA felt harder to deal with!  maybe it was the age?

Four TV Shows I Love

1. The West Wing - I can't say I always get exactly what's going on in terms of the political game playing, but most of the time it doesn't seem to matter that much!
2. Mary Tyler Moore - She reminds me of my mother which amuses - and surely flatters - my mother to no end.  Maybe it was the wardrobe.
3. Project Runway
4. Seinfeld

Four Places I’ve Vacationed

1. Bali
2. Thailand
3. France
4. Jersey Shore

Four of My Favorite Dishes

1. Meatballs
2. Pizza
3. Grilled tuna
4. My mother's macaroni and cheese

Four Sites I Visit Almost Daily

1. www.aftonbladet.se  (swedish newspaper of questionable character)
2. www.gofugyourself (makes me laugh out loud regularly)
3. loobylu (don't we all?)
4. My links - A constant source of inspiration.  You all wow me every single day.

Four Places I Would Rather Be Now

1. At my mother's house with my family
2. At the beach with same. 
3. Skiing with good friends
4. Joining Hope and Kathleen in China Town!

Four people I'm passing this to
Hope had a great idea - I too will tag the first four people to stop by and wish to be tagged.  Go on!