The.Paper.Chimera

Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

2012-01-11T14:00:00.000-05:00

The Night Circus is purely magical. Opening its covers is like stepping into a dream from which you will never want to wake; every element of the story is almost painfully beautiful. If I were dropped on a desert island with only a single box of books, this book would be in that box.

The Night Circus is the story of Celia and Marco, a girl and a boy chosen and trained by two different magicians to compete in a game of illusion and strength. The game commences when they are adults, and it is played in a dream-like circus that travels the world. One illusionist travels with the circus while the other plays from afar. They fall in love, neither of them realizing that the game will only end when one of them dies. The circus impacts more and more lives the longer it goes on, and not always in a good way. Alongside the interplay of Celia and Marco is the story of Bailey, a boy fascinated by the circus who will play an integral role in the story as the two story lines merge.

Erin Morgenstern's book is wonderful. The setting is enchanting, story is interesting, and the prose is beautiful. The characters could have been developed further, since I feel like the defining characteristics of the main characters were quite similar (one of their major features is that they are all obsessed with books), but that is really the only criticism I have of this book. I can't wait to see what she writes next!

Book Review: Girl Genius by Kaja and Phil Foglio

2010-10-18T14:06:00.005-04:00

I have to confess an addiction to Pat Rothfuss's blog. He is a spectacular writer, and his blog is well written and funny. At any rate, after reading his recent post about Girl Genius, I proceeded to the Girl Genious website and spent the next week immersed in the comic every spare minute I had. Literally. There were times when I opened up my laptop to read just half of a page. :) I am desperately sad that I've read everything there is for now, and I'm going a little crazy in a corner of my mind that the story is not yet finished.

I cannot say anything about Girl Genious that Pat didn't say, except that, when I have $22 that's not immediately due to pay some bill or another, I'll be buying that first book, and I won't be sending it to Pat to take him up on his guarantee!

Chicks with Sticks Continued...

2010-09-28T10:16:00.003-04:00

I'm still working from The Chicks with Sticks, but I skipped the knit clutch pattern because (I'm sorry, chicks) it's one of the very few projects in the book I wasn't enthusiastic about, and I don't even use all the handbags I have.

I moved on to the Dirty Girl Washcloths, which I was excited about because they use purl stitch as well as knit, and the patterns are simple but cool (as well as useful!). I finished the first washcloth and knitted about 15 rows of the second when I realized that my stitches were twisted because I had been wrapping the yarn clockwise instead of counter clockwise. So I tore it all out and started over. Last night, I got to the point where I was when I started over, and it looks so good!

I can't wait to try out the basket weave stitch and then use these stitches on other, bigger projects. I'm sad because the book is due back to the library on Thursday, and someone else has already reserved it. I guess I'll just have to make a purchase this week. :)

Stitched by Hand Embroidery Competition

2010-09-20T16:27:00.003-04:00

I always find competitions and contests late in the game. The latest one is the Stitched by Hand embroidery competition being hosted by Andrea Zuill of Badbird's. The competition ends on September 30, however, and my partner's parents are staying with us until the 25th, leaving me very little time for myself. Ah, well. The competition did bring Badbird's to my attention, and Andrea's embroidery patterns are fantastic and uber-tempting. I'll have to stitch up her caterpillar as soon as I get a few minutes!

The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting, and My Camera Woes

2010-09-14T13:28:00.005-04:00

My lack of a camera is getting more annoying than a shirt that keeps riding up to your waist. I want to take my broken camera to Best Buy tonight, but I don't know if I'll have time. We're trying to get the house clean and put together for my partner's parents to come over (they're arriving tomorrow and staying with us for 10 days), and that so far has meant a whole lot of work and not much time for anything else. If my warranty doesn't cover it, I want to get a new camera, but new camaras cost money, an item which I am lacking in any quantity.

I recently borrowed The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting from the library, and I'm so excited about it! I already crochet, but knitting is just so much more versatile, and all my favorite patterns are knit. I have to admit to having been intimidated by knitting, but The Chicks with Sticks goes through everything in a fun lesson-like format. Each lesson has a project or two at the end, and most of the projects are super-cute things that I'd love to make. So far, I love the book, although their instructions for casting on seem to be missing a step, and I had to look for an online tutorial to show me how to do it. I might actually buy my own copy, since you can only keep a library book for so long.

The first project in the book is a simple fringed scarf; it's supposed to be knit using a worsted-weight wool yarn and a sparkly lace-weight yarn, but after discovering how lacking JoAnn is in the yarn variety department (next time, I'm going to the little yarn store downtown), I decided to knit mine with only one chunky Lion Brand yarn. It's called Charlotte Blue:

See, this is where the camera trouble comes in; I want to show you how far I've gotten in just a few episodes of Top Chef and Gossip Girl, but all I can do is provide stock photos of my yarn. :( I knit while my partner watches TV, and I'm pretty happy with how quickly it's going. (In a side note, I should admit that there's a deeply-hidden part of me that loves shows like Gossip Girl, even though the rest of me knows I should be ashamed of said love. This last month is the first time I've had TV (other than DVDs) in three years, which makes it even more addictive. :))

Featured Etsy Artisans: HoopMamas

2010-09-10T09:49:00.001-04:00

In late July, I made my second Etsy purchase. I bought a hula hoop. Now, some people may think this is funny, that a grown woman is hula hooping in her back yard every other morning, but anyone who's seen hoopdancing probably understands my excitement about this. It's so much fun! I did a lot of shopping around to find a hoop I liked at a price I could manage, and eventually fell in love with a hoop named The Temptress, made by an Etsy seller called HoopMamas. It's not the simplest or the cheapest one she sells, but I love it, and that's that. :)

The Temptress is irridescent silver and sparkly purple tape with black and teal grippy tape, and she's 41" tall. Did I say that I love this hoop? It's absurdly easy to use, practically staying up on its own. It's gotten a few dings and scratches since I got it, and it left a black-and-teal streak on the ceiling (we were painting it anyway), but it's still a very pretty hoop. And she's helped me lose a few last pounds and stay below 125.

If you have been thinking about learning to hoop (or re-learn now that you're an adult and haven't done it in over 15 years), you should check out HoopMamas' Etsy shop. Her hoops are beautiful, and she has beginner hoops, even customizable ones, for less than $20. She was really nice in all our interactions, and when I got the hoop (less than a week after I ordered it), it was wrapped in bubble wrap (no wasted packaging here!) and looked just like the picture. I found out later, through a couple of convos with HoopMamas, that the bubble wrap is biodegradable, so if you're making an effort to find eco-friendly sellers, that's yet another plus. I know I couldn't resist. :)

Book Review: The Magician's Elephant, by Kate DiCamillo

2010-09-07T16:37:00.001-04:00

I hope that your holiday weekend was wonderful and relaxing, or at least busy with things you wanted to be doing!

I was busy, but happily. One of the things I did over the weekend was read The Magician's Elephant, by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Yoko Tanaka.

I loved this book. It is the story of an orphaned boy who lives with a soldier who fought beside his father. The boy is told by a fortuneteller that his sister lives, and in order to find her, he must follow the elephant. That same night, a magician conjurs an elephant, which falls right through the ceiling of the theater he is performing in.

The Magician's Elephant is a story about magic, and what is possible when you believe. Kate DiCamillo does not need flowery language; her writing is beautiful without pretension. The voice she uses throughout the book is simple, funny, and touching, and she does it all deftly. Yoko Tanaka's illustrations are perfect for the story. All of the illustrations are in black and white, and they capture the magical tone of the story. This story has had me asking, What if? Why not? Could it be? ever since I put it down.

Life, and a Lot of Sewing

2010-08-23T16:22:00.000-04:00

I know it has been a while since I have posted here, but this is not an excuse post or an "I am still alive" post. :) I'm just going to jump right in to regular content.

Much has been happening. My partner proposed to me at the end of May (I said yes, of course!). The ring is a gorgeous piece of art made by ValerieKStudio on Etsy. I'll even show you a picture of it:

We bought a house and have been intensely busy with moving, painting, unpacking, etc. The house is great, but homeownership is not for the lazy. :) I also now have my own workroom, which makes me incredibly happy!

I got a promotion, which will take effect sometime next month, after I've received my annual raise. (Yay!)

I've been working on sewing a Renaissance-style shirt for Amy. It's Simplicity 3519, and I only have to stitch the inside of one sleeve cuff, stitch button holes, and sew on the buttons, and then it'll be finished. I wanted to have it done for the Renaissance Festival this year, but we went yesterday instead of going later, so it'll have to wait for Halloween. She tried it on last night, and I wish I had a camera. It's huge. She's swimming in it, it's so big. I made the extra-small, and there was a woman pictured on the front of the pattern wearing it, but man, is this shirt gynormous. I'm disappointed, because I put so much work into it, but I have learned a lot. I discovered just how easy eyelets are to put in and how easy it is to sew things together backwards if you don't double-check (and how hard it is to pull apart and fix). I learned a little bit about my sewing machine and what it can do, although I do need to practice button holes a few times before I put them in this shirt.

I want to finish this project and move on to the next. I'd put some photos up, by my camera got crushed in the move, and I haven't gotten it fixed or replaced yet. Hopefully soon, along with pictures of my new crafting space! For now, here's the picture of the front of the envelope (I made the one pictured in green, although I used white):

First Custom Piece: The Deer Skin Journal

2010-06-09T10:12:00.005-04:00

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine asked me if I could make a journal out of deer skin. “Why not?” I said, thinking it would be similar to leather, but thinner and maybe more supple. When I looked inside the bag she gave me several weeks later, I found myself to be holding a bag full of the scraps of home-cured, fur-still-on deer skin that were left after the hunter had made a vest out of the skin.

I’ve spent the time since then looking at other books, journals, etc., trying to get an idea of what to do with the mismatched scraps. On Sunday, I finally bucked down, pulled out the scraps and some bits of matching leather I already had, measured it, turned it upside-down, wrapped it around a text block, photographed it, and generally brainstormed. What came out of it was a rather attractive and original journal that perfectly fit one of the ~5”x7” text blocks I had already put together.

I used two pieces of the skin that matched fairly well, one for the front and one for the back, and then used a piece of supple light brown leather for the spine.

I sewed the headbands by hand, which I’ve decided is one of my favorite things about binding, and it’s especially cool because it’ll keep this journal strongly together.

The paper I used for the end pages and flyleaves is the same map paper I used to make my friend’s journal for Christmas. I do love it, but it’s a little too weak for the job of end pages, really. It folds and buckles, but that's actually kind of cool too because it makes the paper look even older.

I’m really pleased with the way the journal turned out in the end. Just a couple of final touch-ups to make sure that fur is going to stay where I put it, and it’ll be ready for its role as wedding gift to the hunter groom. :)

Dogs Behind Electric Fences

2010-04-30T08:40:00.005-04:00

Just around the corner from my apartment, there's a woman who keeps her two dogs (a beagle and some sort of black and white terrier) behind an electric fence. Whenever I walk by with Onyx and those dogs are outside, they come flying through the gap between the garage and the house and sprint up to the edge of the electric fence, barking like crazy and generally being a nuisance. The first time it happened, Onyx was tiny, and it scared him into cowering. He doesn't cower anymore, but he watches, and the second he sees them, he starts barking and pulling, wanting to play with them. He clearly can't distinguish "let's play!" barking from "get your paws the **** off my territory!" barking.

While I was at Stagecoach, my partner took Onyx on all his walks, and on one of them, those two dogs came sprinting out as usual. But this time, the small terrier didn't stop at the fence. It came straight through and bit Onyx in the face. He's fine; the dog scratched him up a little and took a small chunk of skin, but he didn't need any stitches, and he's not wary of other dogs--just as playful (sometimes annoyingly so) as usual. The owner of the little dog told my partner she'd pay for it, so the $130 vet bill will be going straight to her.

You'd think this dog owner would learn her lesson and put in the three feet of real fence it would take to seal up the gap between house and garage and keep her dogs in the back yard, but you'd be thinking wrong. I spoke to one of the other dog owners in my apartment building, and he told me that his dog has been attacked and bitten by that little dog twice now (that makes three attacks just in our six-apartment, two-dog building...who knows how many other dogs this terrier has attacked), and the owner of the little dog apologized to him and told him her dog had killed other animals in her house. I'm not clear about exactly what that means: a wild squirrel? a pet gerbil? another dog? She clearly loves her terrier, so she shouldn't be skimping on real fencing to protect her dog. Anything could happen to a dog who's motivated enough to run through an electric fence. It could be hit by a car, or it could attack a dog whose owner forces this woman to put down her terrier. One of my aunt's dogs runs through their electric fence, so she clips him to a long lead when she lets all the dogs out.

What do you think? What would you do? Is there a reason I've missed that she might not put the dog on a lead or put up a real fence or a gate between house and garage?

Stagecoach: California, Country Music, and Camping - The Aftermath

2010-04-29T08:52:00.002-04:00

I'm back in town, with quite a bit to blog about. I'll try to split it up into several posts to make it all easier to read. This post is about Stagecoach itself. It was amazing.

The headliners were technically Keith Urban and Toby Keith, but to be honest, there were so many big names, no one was significantly bigger than anyone else. Also, I felt like the second-to-last act each night was actually better than Keith or Toby. Sugarland was just before Keith Urban on Saturday night, and Brooks & Dunn were right before Toby Keith on Sunday, and Sugarland and Brooks & Dunn put on such great, energetic, involving shows that they outshone everyone else who got on the stage. But everyone I saw was fantastic, and the crowd was so excited and enthusiastic that no matter where you were in the crowd, you felt like you were really involved, and you couldn't help getting excited and jumping around yourself.

Camping was definitely the way to go at Stagecoach; I would never stay in a hotel or with friends or just go for one day. The party is in the campgrounds. However, I have to admit that I can't party like I did when I was a college undergrad. More than a couple of drinks, and I'm down and out the whole next day. So I only had two or three drinks each day, got a little tipsy, and sobered up by bedtime. I still had fun, and I've put to rest the idea that you can't have fun sober. :)

The heat was insane, and the people-watching was more so. I can't even begin to describe it, but I'll try. In one of the camps, there was a giant slip-and-slide, and all kinds of people went down it, from a drunk guy on his bike to groups of people still fully clothed (although I'm not sure that skirt + slip-and-slide = fully clothed). There was even a girl in an American flag bikini and cowboy boots who lassooed a couple of the guys who were on the slip-and-slide. Everyone wore a cowboy hat, although I'm pretty sure I only saw about three people who might actually have been cowboys, and that girl in the bikini and boots was far from being the only one. In spite of the heat, there was actually someone wandering around in a giant chicken suit, and it was hot enough that we stood under the spray of a hose to cool off and were dry after half an hour.

Next year, I hope they put the stage back where it's been in past years, and I hope they get more organized about wristbands and tickets. But with only a couple tiny drawbacks, I can't complain about a fantastic vacation.

Stagecoach: California, Country Music, and Camping

2010-04-21T08:39:00.003-04:00

What could be better? I go out to California every year to visit my sister, and this year's trip will include a couple of days at Stagecoach, a huge annual country music festival in southern California.

Now, I know that when a lot of people are asked what kind of music they like, they frequently answer "everything except country," and I freely admit that I used to be one of those people too. But several years ago, my sister convinced me to shell out $5 for a lawn seat at Pine Knob (now known as the Detroit Energy Music Theater :P) to see a country singer I'd never heard of, and I fell in love. The music is just so much fun, and it's gritty and honest. I went to a Kenny Chesney concert a couple years ago, for the Flip Flop Summer Tour, and instead of throwing panties on the stage like girls at punk, emo, rock, hip-hop, and who knows how many other kinds of shows, the girls at that concert threw flip flops and roses on the stage. At any rate, I'm a country music convert. :)

I'm leaving early tomorrow morning, and I won't be back until Tuesday, but I promise to bring back pictures of me in a cowboy hat and a couple of book reviews in mind to post next week.

Featured Etsy Artisans: redpumpkinstudio

2010-04-16T09:41:00.003-04:00

I haven't yet featured another bookbinder, but the originality of the books made by redpumpkinstudio makes it a neccessity. She's the kind of artist who makes me think, I wish I had thought of that! Especially this Sunburst journal (which, by the way, I'm really sad has already been sold...); it would be the perfect way to use all those small bits and pieces from the science magazines I got from work.)

As you know if you've read many of my previous posts, I'm into embroidery, and embroidered books are even better. This one is silk thread embroidered on a white journal. I don't know how I'd ever keep it clean (I actually managed to drop an egg and then crush it between my clean skirt and the cupboard this morning), but I love it without reservation:

This last journal I'm putting in this post is just plain cool. Redpumpkinstudio never makes a typical book, and this is just one of the many different shapes and cuts she's used for the leather bookcloth.

Finding Time to Craft/Work at Home

2010-04-14T13:08:00.002-04:00

It's increasingly difficult for me to find the time to work on my books and boxes. There are always more dishes to wash, the dog needs to go out, it's my night to cook, the floors need to be swept and mopped, the bathroom cleaned, the bed made, the laundry done, the seedlings watered... At the end of the day, it's all I can do to find time to relax with my partner. I am thoroughly impressed by every single person who manages to find time to juggle a clean house, a good relationship, a full-time job (or children, pets, or some combination of two or all three), and still find time for their craft.

How do you do it?!

Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman

2010-04-13T16:43:00.003-04:00

I read Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman yesterday. It was another quick read, but far more enjoyable than the last one. Neil Gaiman is a master of writing, and I say that because it is rare that one person can successfully write in so many different genres.

Odd and the Frost Giants is about a Viking's son who just doesn't fit in (which is fun, because I just watched How to Train Your Dragon - if you haven't seen it yet, you should, regardless of how old you happen to be). After his father dies, his mother marries another man in the village, and during one particular winter that was just lasting far too long and after putting up with more than enough taunting, Odd decides to leave. He takes some supplies and goes back to the hut they lived in when his father was alive. From there, he learns exactly what's causing the extra-long winter and decides to go on an adventure to fix things.

I'd forgotten what a pleasure it could be to read a well-written children's book. Odd and the Frost Giants is simply written, and while it is at all elaborate, Gaiman wrote everything that needed to be in those pages. I could practically see Odd and his mother, the bear, fox, and eagle, and the frost giant. I can't imagine that there will be much criticism of this book. I hope everyone finds the time to pick it up.

The Child Thief, by Brom (and Green Angel, by Alice Hoffman)

2010-04-12T09:00:00.003-04:00

I sat outside in the sun and finished The Child Thief on Saturday. It fits into the "fairy tale" part of the Once Upon a Time Challenge, but mostly I read it because it's Brom. As should be expected when you open a book by Brom (or look at any of his art), The Child Thief is filled with magic and darkness. It's not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach, as Brom has no qualms about describing graphic details or including horrific scenes. There are many of those, as the story is about a boy who steals children, takes them to his fort on Avalon where they become the Devils (the Lost Boys of Peter Pan) and where they train so that they can fight his war against the monsterous captain and his crew in a centuries-long attempt to save Avalon. Brom finds the sinister in Peter Pan and brings it to the forefront of the story, weaving it so skillfully with the magic of the tale that you finish the book feeling like you just read the true story of Peter Pan. The Child Thief is like the gritty truth Brom revealed by pulling back all the years of candy coating.

Green Angel was a library book sale purchase, and I expected much from it when I sat down to read it this weekend. It's a short book that can be read in one sitting, but I can only recommend it for the beauty of the prose. The way Hoffman put words together was beautiful, but it was almost as though she focused so much on the words that she forgot what the words were saying. The story was choppy, and I felt that most of the time the narrator told me what happened rather than showing me. I also found it difficult to identify with the main character, in spite of the fact that ten years ago I was an angsty, shy, withdrawn teenage girl myself. This book may be one of the few books that goes back to the library in a donation box.

Featured Etsy Artisans: Oladesign

2010-04-09T10:03:00.004-04:00

Oladesign was featured in one of the many treasuries I looked at yesterday, and the colors she uses drew me in. Her art is all about line and color. Her lines are smooth, clean curves that move you through the picture, and the bright colors bring it to life. Here are a few of my favorites:

Gypsy

You are So...

Moment of Silence

Winter's Heart, by Robert Jordan

2010-04-07T11:05:00.004-04:00

I flew through Winter's Heart; audio books make it easy to read anywhere hands-free, regardless of the weather. I know a lot of people are dissatisfied with this book, as they are with most of the books in the Wheel of Time series after the first three to five, but I liked it. Robert Jordan is a master story-teller; he may not tell a clean, tight story, but he tells a fascinating one. Things are heating up in the Wheel of Time series, and I called my partner a few times with exclamations about what happened in this book. Mat finally returns to the story with a lot of space in the book, some mysterious characters are revealed for who they really are, and things I've been waiting for for books finally happened. The slowness that bogged down the last few books doesn't touch this one, and it ends with a bang.

I'm excited to read the rest of the series, but I want to take a short break to read Brom's The Child Thief. I love Brom, and I've been excited about reading this book since it came out. Also, this Peter Pan-inspired story will fit nicely into the fairy tale requirement for the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Tips for Selling Your Craft

2010-04-06T09:22:00.002-04:00

I subscribe to the BEST (Bookbinding Etsy Street Team) blog, and while I always find what's there either inspiring, interesting, and/or worthwhile, the post today was one of the few posts that I convert to a pdf and keep.

I want to start an Etsy shop, and almost all of the information in that post was pertinent to that, especially the tips for keeping track of information about the books I make and the link to Etsy's Seller Worksheet. That's one thing I fall behind on: paperwork. I keep all my receipts, but I don't keep track of hours or the cost to make something. It's time to start!

I also want to point out that even though the post is titled, "Selling your handmade books," the advice is applicable to anyone starting out selling anything handmade. If you have any other tips for me, I'd appreciate the advice!

Featured Etsy Artisans: Skirts! (eviegreenpixie, Hipwear, & ChloeAndBoo)

2010-04-02T11:42:00.004-04:00

I am officially in Spring mode after yesterday and today (it's been in the upper 70s!), and I'm looking for a new skirt or three. Here are a few of the ones I found on Etsy in my search:

By eviegreenpixie, this skirt made of a vintage tablecloth is just great. I envy the girl who gets to own it if she's not me:

I've been looking at these two skirts from Hipwear and debating about which one I want more.

And this skirt, by ChloeAndBoo, is another one that just might make it into my closet if someone else doesn't snatch it up before I get paid next. :)

The Path of Daggers, by Robert Jordan

2010-04-01T09:03:00.005-04:00

I finished listening to this book as I walked in the door to work this morning. I love a good audio book, and Robert Jordan read by Kate Reading and Michael Kremer is a great audio book. The Path of Daggers fits into the fantasy niche for the Once Upon a Time Challenge, and of course it counts as one of my hundred, so that's two birds with one very happy stone.

The Path of Daggers is the eighth book in the Wheel of Time Series, and I would say you have to read the rest of the series before reading this one. I don't want to spoil the book for those who haven't read it yet, but I do want to say a few things about it. (If, by the way, you'd like to talk about the book in more spoiling detail, you can email me, and I'd be thrilled to chat!)

The first three or four books in the series were fairly fast-paced. A lot happened, and a lot of mysteries and prophesies were brought into the mix. The characters were interesting, well-rounded characters and the plot was well-developed (although the road to Cairhien took waaaaaaay too long).

Books four through six were well-written and full of character development, but they moved more slowly; there was a lot of political maneuvering and very little action. I think this is where the series loses a lot of readers, but if you're tempted to stop, don't.

Book seven picks up a little bit more, and things start to get into motion again, but while things begin to happen quickly, they also happen with little or no reasoning at all. I love the idea of Travelling, but while Jordan's characters fly all over the map, so does a bit of the plot. Mat's headed in one direction, then suddenly, Rand changes his mind, and Mat steps through one of the Travelling windows with his Band of the Red Hand and does something completely different. (Speaking of Mat, I adore his character, but I haven't read much about him at all in The Path of Daggers.

In spite of the fact that all that Travelling scatters the plot, things get really interesting in book eight, and the last chapter, with Jordan's description of what the people and rumors are saying, leaves you fairly certain about what didn't happen but completely in the dark about exactly what did happen. I was happy to see Egwene (my favorite character) start to pick up a bit more of the oomph that I've heard she really comes into in The Gathering Storm. She's tougher, smarter, more confident, and more capable of pushing things in the direction she wants them to go. This is a woman who might seem young, but she's more in control than anyone expects.

Speaking of Egwene, Robert Jordan has some interesting takes on women in his books. But that's another topic for another time.

Embroidered Bookcloth: The North Wind

2010-03-31T09:25:00.003-04:00

I posted earlier about a sketch for some embroidered bookcloth and the new fabric I'd bought. The sketch was inspired by the fairy tale "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," and it's of the North Wind blowing the golden apple across the covers of the book. Here are some photos of the embroidered realization of that sketch. :)

Still in the hoop:

The full view. Needs some ironing, doesn't it? This will span from the back cover, over the spine, and across the front cover, blowing that golden apple away.

Here's a close-up. You can only see two kinds of stitching here: stem stitch and split stitch, but I also did a couple lines of chain stitch too.

Making MtG (or any other card game!) Deck Boxes

2010-03-30T11:10:00.004-04:00

I spent the weekend working on deck boxes. They're made to hold Magic: the Gathering decks, but they could really hold any cards you happen to have, including those Pinochle cards you have wrapped in a disintegrating rubber band in your junk drawer.

These are my two test boxes, since I wasn't positive that the measurements were perfect. Good thing, too, because they're definitely not perfect. The first box was made out of my yellow-green and gold vine paper.

There were problems with the hinge, so the lid of the box is a little too high at the hinge and juts out over the front. See?

Not to worry, though. I fixed that problem with my second box, so the hinge is the perfect size.

You can see that the lid isn't raised at the hinge, everything is flush (although the box is open a bit in the picture). The only problem with this one is that in the back, the spine is about 1/16" short. You can see that in the bottom left-hand corner of the picture. Hardly noticeable, but still there. The next one will be perfect.

Even when they're not perfect, I get so much satisfaction out of making something with my hands and seeing the finished product. And just the four boxes I've made show so much improvement.

Featured Etsy Artisans: VanessaBoynton

2010-03-26T15:15:00.005-04:00

I think that this is something I'll end up doing every Friday. There are just so many talented artists and artisans and designers on Etsy.

VanessaBoynton is one of them, and I found her with Pounce shortly after she opened up shop. There are only four items in her shop, but her profile is so friendly that I'm positive she'd welcome any inquiries about pieces she doesn't have listed.

These are two of her pieces. "The Clown in Gold and Green" is a tiny thing, the clown herself only about 1" x 1". Her size only makes the intricacy of the work all the more impressive.

If you look at her from the side, you can see that this is not just a drawing or painting; it's a multi-layer sculpture.

This piece just struck me. It's called "Love Story," and I can do nothing but let it speak for itself.

Once Upon a Time Challenge, and Melissa Nucera

2010-03-25T09:17:00.006-04:00

I just joined the Once Upon a Time Challenge (just click on the picture above for the link), reading four books between now (the challenge started on the first day of Spring, March 21) and the last day of spring, June 20. The challenge includes several different levels, or quests. I am doing Quest the Second, to read at least one book from each of the four categories: fantasy, folklore, fairy tale, and mythology. It shouldn't be too difficult for me, because that's what I love the most, but I've also added the Short Story Weekends Quest, where I will read a short story each weekend. I will post about it on Mondays. This weekend will be the first.

The challenge is sponsored by a fabulous artist, Melissa Nucera. I looked at her Etsy page, ThisYearsGirl, and I found myself writing stories in my head to go along with her work. In May, when I've got a little extra money, I'm going to purchase one of her prints. I think the piece called Unwritten Tale is hauntingly beautiful. It's the kind of art that you think about for the rest of the day.

Warbreaker: How audio book readers can ruin a good story

2010-03-23T15:06:00.005-04:00

I'm currently reading three different books at once. When you're me, this happens. I started Path of Daggers, by Robert Jordan first, but we only have the pristine first printing of the first edition copy, which, needless to say, can't exactly be stuffed in my purse to read on the bus or during lunch. So I started reading Anna Karenina, which I am surprisingly enjoying and am quite far into by now. On vacation, we started listening to Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson (he's finishing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series with Jordan's notes).

I like Brandon Sanderson. His writing is a little overly explanatory and his language often strays into overly formal or absurdly casual, but he tells a good, creative, interesting story and he writes strong, well-developed characters whose good/evil factor is always somewhere in the gray zone. His Mistborn trilogy was phenomenal, and if you even think you might like fantasy, you should read those books. I was excited when Warbreaker came out, but like many bibliophiles, I was already reading four other books and haven't gotten to it until now.

And let me say, the audio book sucks. I'm so disappointed in it. The reader is supposed to be this uber-talented actor-type, so I was looking forward to it, but the reader pauses in the wrong (and distracting) places, reads some characters with a stereotypical dumb surfer voice (no, they're not surfers), puts question marks into sentences where there is only a comma, and drones when he reads Sanderson's frequent explanations of what's going on and how things work. When I picked up the actual book yesterday, I got sucked right in; it's just as good as his other writing.

Brandon, please find another reader to do your audio books!

*As an aside, the readers who did the entire Wheel of Time series, Kate Reading and Michael Kremer, are spectacular, and their interpretation of the inflections, tones, and accents only benefited the story.

Featured Etsy Artisans: chopoli

2010-03-19T12:30:00.004-04:00

I know that I already posted a featured artisan, but I can't help myself this time.

If you haven't seen Etsy's most recent finds, you should see this sculpture by chopoli. It's my favorite thing from the latest collection:

The joy in this sculpture draws me in, and the precision of detail just makes it so real!

Anna Karenina: Halfway-through Review

2010-03-18T09:05:00.005-04:00

I intended to read Anna Karenina for a book club I really want to join, but I started the book far too late, and although the meeting has passed, I am finishing the book. My partner says it's a terrible book, but I'm actually finding a lot to like. I'll tell you what I think about it, but have you read it? Did you like it/hate it/spend a lot of time thinking but never come to a conclusion?

I read Tolstoy's War and Peace in college, and I really hated it. At the end of the semester, I still had 50 pages left to go, and you know what? The slip of paper I used as a bookmark is still sitting in the book, 50 pages from the end.

In Anna Karenina, Tolstoy does still meander off-course and from topic to topic, some of the dialogue is nonsensical (a character will say one thing, and the character responding will say something on a completely different topic), and there are several storylines. However, since that college course, I've discovered a fondness for plots that involve multiple storylines and characters connected by a single character or a few characters, or even connected only by a single event; stories that show the threads of commonality between people everywhere. There are fewer characters and fewer storylines in Anna Karenina than in War and Peace, so it's easier to keep track of them, and they are also more interesting. I've also developed a respect for Tolstoy's way of diverging from the plot to tell the reader what he thinks about humanity or what other people think about life. It's a truly fascinating read, and I don't regret all the time it will take to read this giant of a book.

I hope I have time after finishing Anna Karenina to read the next book that book club is reading!

Spring! Seedlings! Puppy noses!

2010-03-18T09:04:00.001-04:00

My little seedlings are growing so quickly! Look at everything that's already up and inches tall!

Onyx is pretty intrigued by these little guys too. :)

Sketches for Embroidered Book Cloth

2010-03-17T09:01:00.001-04:00

I'm so happy with my productivity yesterday evening! I went to JoAnn for some new colors of fabric to embroider on (it was on sale, so I bought 1/2 yard each of four colors for $4.12 (woohoo!): gray, dark purple, green, and sky blue).

Then I came home and designed a new pattern to stitch on my next bookcloth. Those two vertical lines are where the spine will be, so this design will span the entire cover.

Then I tore apart the last of those magazines I found and salvaged the last of those sweet pictures on the covers and inside. Can't wait to turn those into books and boxes!

Favorite Etsy Artisans: Yalipaz

2010-03-16T09:00:00.005-04:00

Looking through Flickr embroidery photos this morning, I found the most adorable brooch.

Yalipaz's work is so attractive that I had to follow her link to her Etsy shop. There, I discovered that not only are her brooches fabulous, they are also affordable. I could own this sassy brooch for $15 (and shipping is cheap)!

But the piece I really love and want to own more than anything is this mini painting by Yalipaz:

Bookbinding update

2010-03-15T08:50:00.005-04:00

In the middle of stitching on Friday evening, my last needle threader broke (it's lasted me for months, so I wasn't that surprised), which put a huge damper on the stitching process. However, I got a ton of other stuff done on Friday evening and got new threaders on Sunday. The weekend was soooo productive! I cut papers and book boards, folded signatures, and stitched and glued textblocks for five books!

I also finished the compass rose, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I want to get some more colors of fabric to stitch on. Sky blue, leaf green, stormy gray, butter yellow...

Onyx: My Growing Puppy

2010-03-13T09:24:00.003-05:00

We adopted Onyx from a rescue when he was about six weeks old. (If you are thinking about adopting a pet, please, please, please get one from a rescue! They're the sweetest dogs, and they need the loving home you can provide. That's all I'll say about it.) They told us at first that the pups were spaniel/German shepherd mixes, and after we'd been approved and the day came for us to go pick out a puppy, they called that morning and told us they thought they'd been wrong: the dad must have been a black lab. The medium-sized dog in our heads suddenly grew into an 80-pound full-sized dog. Still, the pup we picked up was tiny, the runt, his growth stunted by a bout of pneumonia when he was only a couple of weeks old. When he was four months (dogs are supposed to weigh approximately half of their adult weight at four months), he weighed in at 35 pounds, so we began to expect a 70-pound dog. Still very large, still difficult to manage, but manageable all the same.

(You have to understand that labs are a misunderstood breed. Apparently, you need to be a dog person to really appreciate them. Not only that, but you have to be a big dog person. Labs are playful, they're exciteable, and they stay puppies for years, no matter how big and heavy they get. They also have dominant genes, so if you get a lab mixed with a bigger dog, say a German shepherd, you'll get a big dog that looks a lot like a lab and still has all those personality characteristics.)

Onyx is almost nine months old, not even close to done growing, and guess what? He already weighs 70 pounds! Your guess is as good as mine as to the final size of this animal.

Here's a picture of me with the beast pulled halfway into my lap:

Embroidered Bookcloth: Compass Rose Progress

2010-03-12T08:57:00.001-05:00

Just a short progress update on my compass rose bookcloth. This photo was taken on Wednesday, and this weekend, I'm hoping to get the stitching done then cut pages and get the signatures ready for casing in. I'm currently pretty broke, so we'll see if I can afford to purchase some paper to adhere the cloth to.

Planting from Seed

2010-03-11T08:54:00.000-05:00

Last year, we had a garden with two friends in a community plot, and we planted a lot of our plants from seed. There were problems, among which were the fact that we didn't pay attention to planning at all, I planted all the seeds at exactly the same time, we put the seedlings in the ground waaay too late (they were starting to get leggy), and we crammed space-hungry plants far too close together. At the end of it, we still got an amazing harvest out of that little plot, but I was left feeling like I could do better.

This year, we're doing our own garden plot, and I'm doing things right. I've calculated when all the seeds should be planted in order to go into the ground at the right time, I know when the right time is for each kind of plant, and I've designed the layout of the garden so that I know how many of each plant can go into the ground. I planted my first batch on Sunday, and I found little seedlings poking up yesterday. They're even quicker than they were expected to be!

The planters all the seeds I've planted so far are in:

My first seedlings!

Anthropologie: Guilty Pleasures

2010-03-10T08:42:00.006-05:00

I adore Anthropologie. One of my secret guilty pleasures is perusing their website and imagining myself purchasing about half of the articles of clothing they make every season. Then I come back down to reality (a little) and imagine myself at least making and wearing copies of some of their clothes. My favorites this season are this ruffled denim skirt:

this lacy skirt:

and this top (the details are just so cool! I love the rosettes and the smocking.):

I want to make all three items, but when in the world will I find the time for such an endeavor? My two favorite pairs of jeans now have too many holes to wear, leaving me with one not-so-favorite pair. I'm thinking about up-cycling what's left of my old jeans to make the ruffles in that denim skirt. Who needs jeans when it's just about spring anyway? :)

Embroidered Bookcloth: A Bibliophile's Craft

2010-03-09T09:14:00.001-05:00

Since I took my first bookbinding class, I've been fascinated by the idea of making my own bookcloth. I took up embroidering last year, and something I've been wanting to do is to make a series of embroidered books all centered around a single theme.

I adore fairy tales, folk tales, tall tales, myths, and all their incarnations and reincarnations. They're the inspiration for many of my ideas, and they're the inspiration for this latest one.

The first fairy tale I'm doing is "East of the Sun, West of the Moon." It would be too long to provide a synopsis here, but if you've never read it, I highly recommend taking ten minutes of your time and doing so.

I'm embroidering several pieces of cloth with images from the story. The first image is a compass rose, and I'm working on that one now. After that, some of my ideas are a golden apple, an aspen leaf, a candle dripping drops of tallow, the face of a white bear, and the face of a man combined with that of a bear.

Here's the progress on the compass rose so far:

And a close-up:

Arcata: Hiking, Redwoods, and General Gorgeousness

2010-03-08T16:20:00.006-05:00

I realize that by not mentioning my vacation before I left, I've probably committed a terrible blogger sin. I spent a week in northern California with friends of my partner. I have never needed a vacation so badly, and it was so worth every moment. Downtown Arcata is adorable, and there are more artisans up there than one region should have by any right. We fell in love with a teapot, but vacations are expensive, we're broke, and the pot ended up being out of our price range. Another day, perhaps. For now, a couple of pictures from the trip.

We did a lot of hiking, and I have to admit, standing in the midst of those trees, I can't imagine looking at them and seeing wood good only for chopping down.

This tree is growing so closely to the stump of a logged tree that its roots are growing over it. In my imagination, one day you won't even be able to see the stump; it will just be a small thing hidden inside this younger tree.

Coyote, Anansi, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox

2010-02-24T10:25:00.004-05:00

My life seems to be filled with tricksters this winter. After realizing that Bury Me Standing is overdue at the library, I decided to just return it and read something else. I chose Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman, because it's one of few stand-alone audiobooks I have on my iPod, and I can't exactly be taking good hardcovers outside in this snow.

I think, before I started listening, I wasn't really paying attention to the title. Anansi. The trickster of African stories. Winter is the season of the trickster, you know. It's the time of the year when you can tell and hear trickster stories without getting the often unwelcome attention of the trickster. And this winter, intentionally or not, I've been doing just that. It started with Coyote Road, which is a collection of original trickster stories prefaced by a long history of the trickster and the history of the trickster throughout the world. That was followed by going to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which, by the way, was absolutely fantastic. :) Charles de Lint's books feature Raven as well as Coyote (who's called Cody and is a background character). And now Anansi Boys, which I chose simply because I love Neil Gaiman, not remembering that Anansi is another trickster. I never even read the description of the story, but after listening to the first couple chapters, I'm pretty sure it's about the sons of Anansi.

Trickster's stories show up all around the world: Kitsune in Japanese tales, Raven and Coyote in Native American stories, Anansi in African and Carribean stories, Puck in Celtic tales, Hermes in Greek, etc., etc. One thing I've always been fascinated by is fairy and folk tales, and the ways in which they are adapted and used in cultures as time goes by. If I went back to school, I'm pretty sure that's what I'd study.

Widdershins, Bury Me Standing, and a dog in the snow

2010-02-23T10:10:00.002-05:00

I finished Widdershins yesterday. It was a good book, but I find myself disenchanted with the ending. I know that the stories are kind of fairy-tale-esque, but it's such a clean ending: all the bad guys die, all the good guys live and get together; even the two who were killed end up coming back to life. I'm starting a non-fiction book called Bury Me Standing: the gypsies and their journey. I don't read much non-fiction, but I was curious about this one.

The snow we've gotten is incredible, and I've decided that I can't decide if Onyx is part snow ostrich or part dolphin. I couldn't get a picture of him diving through the snow, but here's him burying his head in it:

Hand-sewn Headbands

2010-02-19T09:18:00.003-05:00

This is a book I showed in a post in my old blog, but it's worth showing here. If you click on the photo, you can see the headband more clearly in the large version.

I bound this journal for an old friend of mine, and it was the second hollowback hardcover I made. The first was in my first bookbinding class, and that class taught me a lot but inspired more questions than it answered. One of the big questions was, If you're binding books by hand, why not take the extra time to sew in a functional headband instead of just gluing on a non-functional decorative one? And how do you do that, anyway?

After looking through tutorial after tutorial online, I found one on a blog called Pied Crow Press. The photos are great and show each step clearly, the instructions are detailed and understandable, and my first headbands turned out beautifully. The beads on the headband on the bottom are a little rougher, but not by much, and the top one was wonderful. Definitely gift-worthy. Anyway, if you're curious about hand-sewn headbands, here's a link to the tutorial. Happy binding!

Charles de Lint

2010-02-18T09:09:00.000-05:00

Why, oh why have I never read Charles de Lint before now? I'm already in my mid-twenties, which means that a decade and a half of pure literary enjoyment has been lost! I guess I'll have to make up for lost time.

A couple days ago, I finished the first book I've read by de Lint: The Onion Girl (by the way, I want the dress Jilly's wearing on the cover). He's a spectacular writer, getting into the gritty of things, bringing his readers the magic that lives in the places that are too dark to see into. I got the feeling, reading Jilly's story, that she is the center of an entire web of stories. Sometimes, she might be on the sidelines when you're looking at someone else's story, but everything connects to her and through her. I could be wrong. I suppose I'll find out as I read more of de Lint. I've started Widdershins, which is a continuation of Jilly's story, and then I'll go back and read other stuff by de Lint.

Making a Box with a Tray: Green with Gold

2010-02-17T09:11:00.000-05:00

My first box was fairly simple in comarison to the box I'm working on now. There were certainly fewer parts to cut out. This box will be basically the same, but it will be about 2 1/2" longer and the sides will be taller to accomodate a second tray. Most boxes made with a removable tray are jewelry boxes and don't have the dividers in the bottom, but mine will not be for jewelry, and there will be dividers in the bottom as well as the top tray.

The two most important things about box making and bookbinding that I would not have expected: math/formulas and labeling the pieces. But the paper and the process are the most fun parts. :)

Exposed-spine Sewings

2010-02-16T08:48:00.004-05:00

I've been spending some time on Flickr, looking at other people's work, finding inspiration and just admiring it. One of the things I really want to learn to do is different types of stitching, like Coptic. One of the great things about living in Ann Arbor is that Hollander's is right downtown, so I can go there any time for decorative paper, bookboard, or pretty much anything else I want. I can also take the workshops they offer. Next month, they're offering a workshop on two exposed-spine sewings: one is coptic, and the other is button-hole stitch.

I've really loved the other classes I've taken, but I'm not sure if I should spend $110 on a class or if I should just teach myself. I think I'll see how easy it is to learn from tutorials (that's now I learned to do hand-sewn headbands), and then take the workshop if I need more. If they ever offer a class that teaches several different kinds of stitching, I'll be signed up in a heartbeat!

My Awesome Find: Up-cycling Old Magazines

2010-02-12T09:31:00.006-05:00

Yesterday on my way out of the office, I discovered an entire cart overflowing with old science magazines and journals. Now, if you've never seen a copy of Kidney International, you're missing out, but if you have, you know why I took as many as I could carry home with me. The microscopic photos on the covers vacillate between uber-cool and awe-inspiringly beautiful. I took a photo of a small sample last night, and even though the lighting's not that great, you can still see just how sweet these covers are. They're going to become the new covers of books and boxes, and I'm so excited to tear them apart and make them into something new and beautiful!

My favorite two:

Snow! (and dogs)

2010-02-11T10:21:00.004-05:00

The snow started on Wednesday and didn't stop until sometime yesterday. I say sometime because I'm cloistered behind cubicle walls and don't see the outside until lunch. It's so beautiful, and soooo deep! Onyx was in snow almost up to his belly, and he's no midget of a dog. I can't imagine how funny it must be to take a little terrier outside to pee. :) It would be buried in this snow! My little beast had fun on his tiny walk yesterday morning, though. He actually managed to find a stick (read: "tree branch." My dog doesn't think it's worth his time unless it's at least twice as long as him and so heavy he has to turn his head to drag it with him.) buried in the snow and carried it most of the way back to the apartment. That was one of the smaller branches he's found. This is a photo from yesterday's afternoon walk that more accurately depicts his usual stick choices, although this one was a little too big for him to take with us. Just give him a few more months. *grins*

100+ Reading Challenge

2010-02-10T11:18:00.001-05:00

I haven't been reading as much lately as I usually do. Maybe because I spend so much time thinking about creating. I found the 2010 Reading Challenge, and even though we're already well into February, I figured I might as well see if I can do this. I usually read about 60 books a year. Another 40 is a lot, especially since much of what I read is quite hefty reading, like Robert Jordan and Alexandre Dumas. But we'll see how I do. :) I also joined a book club that reads two books a month, and while I probably won't be able to make both meetings, why not read both books?

The next book is Atonement, by Ian McEwan, which means that I have to pay off my exhorbitant library fines so I can borrow it from the AADL. It's gotten to the point where I honestly wonder if it wouldn't be cheaper to buy a book than pay the old fines and borrow it from the library. Does anyone else rack up the library fines, or is it just me?

Finds at The Dawn Treader (Incarceron)

2010-02-09T09:25:00.003-05:00

In Ann Arbor, there is a used bookstore called The Dawn Treader, and while I love used bookstores, I love Dawn Treader the most because of their absolutely ginormous collection of fantasy and sci-fi. Also, they obviously accept trade-ins, and one of my friends who's leaving the country gave me her little trade-in certificate, so she essentially handed me $7.50 to spend on books.

Over the weekend, I got an Advance Reading Copy of Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher. The book was $5.50, so I should have gotten a new trade-in certificate for $2, but the woman at the register wrote $2.50 instead. I know it's only 50 cents, but I feel like I should tell them next time I go in.

Anyway, I'm going to finish the book today. It's delicious. This is one of those books that keeps you up at night and makes you forget to feed the dog. The characters are compelling and well-developed, and the story is fast-paced and set in a world where darkness has seeped into the light of idealism. I think I've read too many books in my life, because the general story line so far has been predictable, but reviews say the ending has quite the twist, so I'm looking forward to it.

Boxes, paper, and USB drives

2010-02-08T09:13:00.003-05:00

I never seem to do everything I intend to do over the weekend. Time just doesn't move the way I think it's going to. :) I did finish the first box I started, and it turned out beautifully. I'll post pictures later. I don't have them with me right now because of what happened yesterday. Yesterday, I thought my entire creative life was ending; my little USB flash drive stopped working, and silly woman that I am, I haven't backed it up in a loooonng time. My partner saved me by jiggling it around a little in the USB port of my laptop and bending it so it tipped up long enough for me to drag everything from it and drop it onto my desktop. So... Everything is still there, it's just no longer portable. Guess I need a new flash drive. :(

The formulas for the second box are finished, so I'll be able to start cutting boards and papers tonight. I'm excited, because this box is the one I'm making for me, and I'll be thrilled to get my cards into a proper box. I'm making it with a gorgeous green paper with gold vines, and the inside will be a gold Lakta paper. Again, pictures to follow.

Edit: Here are a couple pictures of the box (the ribbons are to pull out the contents without dumping everything out):

And here's a picture of the paper I'm going to use for my box. :)

Blogger

2010-02-07T10:12:00.000-05:00

I was looking at my blog layout, and you know, I'm a little lost. What exactly is 565 anyway? I wish I could make it go away, but that's not really an option, and I don't know enough about HTML to make it. Maybe it'll disappear when I finally have a banner of my own? Really ought to work on that.

In Defense of Magic

2010-02-06T09:46:00.002-05:00

I brought up the topic of Magic in another post, and it's been on my mind lately. I have to admit; one purchase I never thought I would consider was Magic: The Gathering cards. Trading cards never appealed to me, and while I embraced my inner nerd a very long time ago, I had some misgivings about Magic.

Now, however, I feel the need to write one short post about Magic and the misconceptions many people have about it. Well, maybe not so much the misconceptions, but definitely the things the game has going for it.

Yes, Magic is the perfect game for nerds, but it's also a great game for people who keep their nerd flags tucked away in a dark corner of their closets (I know it's there, though, so you might as well take it out and fly it once in a while). Who doesn't enjoy a good game with good friends once in a while, whether you're playing Risk, Euchre, or Charades (or about a million others)? And Magic is like all of the best elements of a game rolled into one. It's a game of strategy and chance; it combines mathematics, fantasy, and art in a rather fascinating way; and to be honest, it's a lot of fun. Because of the variety of cards, you will never play the same game twice. Shuffle the cards a few times and you have a new game. Exchange a few cards in your deck for others and you might be playing a different game altogether, based on the instructions of those new cards.

I've heard that some parents don't want their kids to play, and here's the thing. As long as they're also doing other things like sports and band and aren't slacking off at school, what's the problem? Underneath the fun of the game, Magic teaches practical math and logic, exercises your memory, and improves analytical and quantitative thinking, and I know I could use some of that. :)

My Craft Space

2010-02-05T13:19:00.000-05:00

I know that a lot of people are curious about other peoples' craft spaces. I know I am. I'm usually drooling and jealous of all that organization. These are a couple of pictures of my workspace, complete with IKEA table and rolling bins and Target shelf filled with all manner of clutter. Yes, that is a veerrryy nice paper cutter (Christmas present from my partner, who knows me all too well) taking up all that table space, and yes, that is some very high-quality decorative and text-weight paper lying on the floor under the table. Probably covered in dog hair. :/

This is that Target shelf, complete with craft and writing books, yarn, quilting fabric, notions, sketchbooks, my mom's sewing machine (on long-term loan), an iron, and a garbage bag of who-knows-what projects sitting in front of it.

And these, these, are my love. All those papers. All I need now is a better way of storing them, so if anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them! I've been thinking about rolling them up according to type (decorative, text-weight, bookcloth, etc.), and just leaving them down there, labeled and rolled until I need them.

Box Making

2010-02-04T08:17:00.002-05:00

I took a couple of basic bookbinding classes last year, and from what I learned there, I’m teaching myself how to make boxes. I’m pretty excited about all the ideas I have banging around in my skull.

The inspiration for box-making is actually uber nerdy, but I’m okay with that. I recently picked up some Magic: the Gathering cards and started to play. Now, if you play, you already know, but if you don’t, then one of the things you should know about these cards is that, unlike regular old playing cards, Magic cards come in packaging that really isn't meant to hold them for any longer than it takes for someone to buy them and take them out. No neat little box to slip them back into. They come with all kinds of packaging (I know, it makes my eco-self cringe too) that’s not meant to hold your cards after you take them out. So…What to do with those cards?

Option 1: Keep some in the flimsy, open plastic packaging they come in and figure out what to do with the ones that won't fit.
Option 2: Purchase a rather tacky deck box for each set of 60 cards.
Option 3: Keep them in a used Amazon.com box.
Option 4: Rubber-band them all together.
Option 5: Forget about it altogether and just leave them spread across the coffee table where they’re free game for the dog.
Option 6: Make my own box, customized with my own design, details, size, number of cards it holds, etc.

Needless to say, my crafty self immediately started fantasizing about glue and decorative papers, and I was sold. This is the tray just after it was glued together (this particular box is going to hold 1200 cards):

Welcome!

2010-02-03T15:52:00.003-05:00

Hello, and welcome to my blog! This is my second attempt at blogging, but it will be far more successful than the first (as in, I will keep writing in it :) ), so keep checking back and enjoy!

I think mostly about crafting and books, so that’s what this blog will be about, but I’ll also toss in blog entries about my dog (so cute!), my apartment complex (ugh…), and the inspiration I find on my walks around Ann Arbor.