GIVEAWAY!

One little teapot, short and stout.

I am going to be working at updating this space and I have a lot of interesting things going on so to thank the people who are interested in seeing this space grow, and perhaps as an incentive to stick around a little, I am going to do a giveaway for one of my new teapots!  Just leave a comment before the end of October and I will announce the winner on November 1, 2011.

 

Artist Trading Card Swap

 Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs) are miniature works of art about the same size as modern baseball (hockey?) cards, or 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches. Cards are produced in various media and are usually traded or exchanged rather than sold.




I had recently signed on to take part in this ATC swap.  I had to make 35 cards, which have since been lovingly packaged and posted away, and now I get to eagerly anticipate receiving a wonderful package filled with miniature works of art by just as many different artists.  I am particularly excited about a certain few.

These are how mine turned out.  They were made by initially painting a full sheet of watercolour paper then ripped carefully by hand to size.  That got really boring.  Then I chose an image that I wanted to work with and carved out a lino stamp and stamped each card with a metallic, pewter coloured ink, then I added the last details with a gold marker, and then of course, each one got my initial stamp on the back.  I was pretty happy with them overall.

Also included was an invite to come and check out this space and maybe also win one of my teapots so if you're here because of that, it's nice to meet you!

My 30th Birthday!

I had started thinking about my birthday - my 30th birthday! - a few weeks ago. I think around that time I had been looking at some really great dresses on ETSY and before long all I could think about was that I wanted to make myself a really great dress to wear out on my birthday. An attempt at being 30 and fabulous, if you will...very Sex and the City, I know.

Anyway, since I had a closet full of old fabric, I decided I would try and recycle as much of it as I could. I had been hanging on to this floral fabric for awhile, without really knowing why, and decided to follow the voice in my head that kept telling me to use it for this dress. I also found some scrap leather in my stash which resulted in the obi-style tie belt that I think pulls it all together. The skirt was a free pattern I found online and I drafted the bodice and wider waistband myself. I love love love this dress and will definately try and find an excuse to wear it again (but perhaps in warmer weather so I can leave the sweater and boots at home!).

And, it's my first project added to my BurdaStyle studio! Check it out.

Greenwood Pottery on ETSY!!

I am super happy to announce that, with lots of help from my wonderful husband, Greenwood Pottery has opened up shop and my pottery can now be purchased online at ETSY. This is a fabulous website where you can purchase handmade goods from all over the globe. And really, you can find anything and everything here (you can even opt to shop locally!). This is only a beginning for us - new things will continue to be added regularly and it will only get better and better with time. Check it out, buy something if you like, and tell all your family and friends.

www.greenwoodpottery.etsy.com

Handmade Pay-It-Forward!

This is a fabulous idea and I'm so happy to have randomly stumbled across in time to be one of the first 5 to comment on the blog post this morning (serendipity!). Read on...

I am entering into the following agreement with the first 5 people who comment on this post and then commit to doing the same on their blog. Just read below and if you feel up to the task, copy the following into your blog and leave me a comment.

I am willing to post overseas (I am in Canada), but remember you must commit on your blog to do the same for others.

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I send you. But you may be pleasantly surprised. It will definitely be craft related.
2. What I send will be made just for you, with love, by my own hands. See, I can go to your blog and read your posts and a really great idea will pop into my pretty little head.
3. I promise I will complete all 5 gifts this year - 2009.
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world, that you can touch and feel, and not something cyber. Perhaps you'll send it forward to someone who will absolutely love it.
5. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to your blog post. Send your mailing address - after I contact you to confirm. Everyone is welcome. I guarantee that you will receive something from me providing you do the same for 5 other people in your blog post. Are you game? Let's do this and I can't wait to send you what I hope you'll consider a nice surprise!!!!!!!!!

(If you have stumbled across this post, and you need a pick-me-up, and you are number 6, go stalk the blogs of the first 5 who respond until they post their pay-it-forward and get on their list. Seriously. That, to me, is exactly what this is about.)

My Messy Studio.

I spent the afternoon preparing and packing up an order headed for PEI, then a couple of hours making teabowls. The teabowl is such a simple form but I really feel like these are evolving so much every time I make them. They are one of my favorite things to throw at the moment.

I also attempted to photograph some of my pieces with a (very) simple makeshift set-up. I'm not happy with them - it was too difficult to get the right lighting in my studio which had bright sunlight coming in from both sides. Everything looked bleached. I'm sure it would help if I knew more about my camera but unfortunately that is something I don't have time for and am not interested enough to make the time. I'm thinking about hiring someone who knows what they're doing.

From Men's shirt to Toddler Dress.

I found another fantastic and easy sewing tutorial online that I just had to try. It involves repurposing an old men's shirt (I bought a few at a thrift store on a 50% off day) and turning it into a super cute toddler dress. I've finished one so far and really love how it turned out - I can't wait to start on the second. I've got so many ideas of how I could modify these. You can find the tutorial here.