Tales from Studio Mailbox

Screw Black Friday, Buy Handmade!

The title says it all people.  *For my European friends, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, which is the biggest shopping day in the United States.

Let me say it like it is; if I wanted to go fight crowds or push in lines, I'd move back to Germany and shop on a Saturday!  In fact, I'd like to start the FBF Movement! (I'm such a weenie though I titled it a little softer).

So if you're with me, I'm here to share some alternative deals and steals. These are TJ's top picks for your holiday gift shopping.  All this is available to you by plopping your ass in front of your computer. So join me in supporting the handmade movement this season, and don't feel one bit bad about staying home!

BARGAIN BUYS

• Fingerless Gloves from Well of Creations (I saved these leopard-print ones for you, 'cuz I snatched up the "Rock-Star" set.  You snooze you lose peeps).
• "Amore" Handmade Mini Quilt from Hanna of Sweden (I sort of want you guys to order something else from her shop and see if my husband gets me this)
• Zipper Flower Pattern - (want to make your own groovy accessories? BUY A PATTERN from the Sewing Loft -duh! Imagine these atop your gifts)
• Sweet Mary (for those keeping Christ in Christmas) OR a Set of 10 Postcards - (if stationery is more your thing)
• Customizable Charm Necklace - (pets, nicknames, kiddos - the possibilities are endless.  I've got my eyes on these fancy)
• Printable Journal Kit - (what a cool project if you're snowed in this year)
• Quirky Hairpins (I own one that shows a portion of a map --where you might ask? BERLIN of course!)
• Camera Cozy (Jacqueline will even stitch your monogrammed initials in it.  Unbelievably cool!)
• Underwater Book of Adventure for Children (illustrated by an artist here in MN!)

TWISTED GIFTS 

• Girl Selling Pretzels - oil on canvas (I am a HUGE fan of Julie Galante's work.  She did an entire study of girls in Dirndls, and I would hang any of them proudly in my home)
• Pretzel Glam (5-inches is a long earring, but I can't help myself, I LOVE THESE.  The etsy seller's profile says "I like my people crazy."  I think I'm in love).
• Museum Quality Wood Turned Items (the bottle stoppers, S&P shakers and napkin holders would make very classy gifts.  Personally, I'm loving the wooden pins and I'm thinking of a million decorating ideas for those faux flakes)

EXPERIENCES

• Drawing Courses (Brigitte holds classes in Germany as well as workshops abroad, she speaks great English)
• Brave Girl Camp (I met Melody and Kathy at the Creative Connection in St. Paul.  They are as kind and cool as they seem on-line.  I would die to go to BGC)
• Writing or Creative Coaching (I was treated to coaching for my birthday this year, and haven't been the same since)
• Intuitive Healing with Spirit (learn about the fascinating concept of energy cords and how Nanci can heal yours)

Perhaps you have your own strong sense of taste?  Check out ARTSCRUM and search artwork yourself by style, medium or type - it's brilliant!

Of course it's impossible to buy everything handmade, but how about becoming a Locallectual? Use their site to enter your zip code to find retailers nearest you, or wherever you are traveling to. This is an awesome resource to find cool gifts in your vicinity. 

*Image credit & Fingerless Glove Warning: the fantastic image above is being used with permission from Robin at Well of Creations. Robin gets animal prints just right; a little goes a long way and makes a BIG impact.  But here's the deal with fingerless gloves: you may find yourself wearing them all the time, not because you're actually chilly but because you want to be cool.  Every time I put a pair on, I pretend I'm Muhammad Ali.  Play Lighters by Eminem and Bruno Mars, and suddenly I think I actually can fight.   So watch yourselves with those gloves.  Love xxx tj

Marker Shame

 I used to have a small business painting pottery and there were times I was so stressed to get my orders completed that I used a Sharpie permanent marker for detailing my painted designs instead of black paint.  It was simply cleaner and faster for me. 

The markers were always used in secret and with a sense of shame, as if I really wasn't much of an artist if I would use such methods.  I have no idea how I developed this idea, but it was there. 

It is only recently that I have accepted my own personal truth.  I LOVE MARKERS.  I always have.  I think the first time I even hinted about this publicly was when I played with a partial pretzel print. Yet in hindsight I realize I had presented the information as if the marker step was a desperate last resort to save an otherwise ruined creation.  Sad but true.

Since I have shifted my own beliefs, I am here to say that there is no shame in using markers!

Above is a picture of my current stash; Staedtler Lumocolor Permanent markers in fine, medium and bold as well as Edding 751s.  (I don't like the other sizes or tips).  Both German companies, both permanent and water fast.  The Staedtler pens bleed if you hesitate at all when you're making your lines.  You need to use them in a fearless and fluid manner if you don't want any blobs.  But once you get the "feel" for a Staedtler pen, you won't want any other.  I love these pens, and I think they should sponsor me.  Herr Staedtler, please do call. 

The Edding markers cover just about anything although I am disappointed in the last two white markers I've bought.  I don't know if I have cruddy whites or have just been trying to use them out of the scope of their functionality.  The last two pens are the only Copics I own although I will be slowly and steadily changing that.  Expensive yet worth the investment.

 Speaking of Copics, there are new gel pens out here called "atyou Spica" that are a bit like Twinkling H2Os.  Their strange name that had me thinking back to Chokella. Great pens though, very very nice and sparkly.  There was not a huge selection of colors at my art store, but I grabbed a green and an orange to try them out.  I'm not disappointed!

Affordable German Precision

I've totally forgotten to post on my latest tool purchase! 

I was lucky enough to recently stop by a Heiko Wild booth.  Wild (pronounced "Vihld") is a medical instrument company that for whatever reason occasionally has tools for sale during festivals. 

I suppose there is enough of a market for non-medical customers like model-builders, artists, shrine makers (yours truly) as well as the freak who likes to perform surgery in the comfort of their home.  Who am I to judge?  I'm grateful.

They have flat nosed tweezers, pointy tweezers, off-set tweezers, tweezers that are always open and need to be squeezed for their points to meet as well as the opposite tweezers which are always closed and need to be squeezed in order for them to open.  The tweezing possibilities are endless and at times, overwhelming.

Made in Germany, affordable, non-rusting, nice.  

Guilty confession: this year I bought a tweezer with an intersected groove at the tips.  The little hole in the middle of the intersection enables the user to get a thread around whatever it is they've got in the grips of their little tweezing hands... wwwwhhhaaa hah hah hah (evil laugh here)

Stamping Rose Petals

Just in case you don't feel like sewing your rose petals, you could glue them down and just stamp over them instead. 

I was suprised how well the petals took the ink and how the stamped image somehow brought out the veins inside the petals. 

The longevity of this one REALLY interests me... I wonder what this will look like over time.  Wouldn't it be cool to have a time-lapse video of this changing and disintegrating over the course of a year?  I'd contact National Geographic but somehow I doubt they'll find this riveting.  I actually almost bore myself with my wierd thoughts.  Have you fallen asleep yet?  If not, go glue down some flower petals and let's compare notes in a year OK?

Sewing Rose Petals

Maybe it's because my uncle who was a gardner just died.  Maybe it's because I have a bathtub full of rose petals.  Maybe it's my strange new obsession to sew through stuff.

In any case, I've discovered that if you want to sew rose petals to paper it's better to wait a day after glueing them down before you start sewing. 

I used a standard glue stick to hold the petals in place but when I tried to immediately sew on them (like I would paper-to-paper), the velvety petals just disintigrated beneath my machine's presser foot.  I tried different presser foots (or is it presser feet?) as well as different rose petals in assorted sizes and thicknesses.

Some strange part of me actually likes the mushed out smashy abstract petals.  But when you look at the ones on the turquoise card there is no comparison. If you want your petals to remain intact, it's best to wait for the glue (and petal) to dry at least a day before sewing.

What I'm wondering now is how these cards will look in a year.  Crumbly, brittle and faded I'm guessing.  I'm also wondering if they will stay pink if I mount the card in an album away from light.  Or will they mold and destroy other artwork in the album?  Let's investigate...somebody remind me to revisit this in a year!

Frinchies

Having ordered various punches, all claiming to be "approximately" one inch square, I have discovered a fun way to frame your inchies, thus creating a new phenomenon: the Frinchie!!

 In order to create these you need two different square-hole punches.  One needs to be exactly one-inch square and the other needs to be a few millimeters smaller.

Begin by taking a strip of scrap card stock and punching a couple of holes with the smaller punch.  (Make sure these are at least an inch-and-a-half- apart.  You need extra room around the small hole to punch the exact one-inch square).

  Next take your one-inch punch and eyeball it over your already-punched smaller square.  I do this by flipping the punch tool over so I am working with it upside down.  It takes a couple tries before you start getting "frames" that are even on all four sides.  Don't give up!

 Now that you've got some frames, you can start adhering them to your inchies.  In reality, since there is so little space to work with in a one-inch square, you need to create an inchie with framing in mind - placing your words and images more centrally in the square to avoid losing the artwork under the "frame."

Here, I have used two different "smaller" punches to make these frames.  If you look close, you see the ones on the left are thicker frames than the ones on the right.

Please leave me some comments and links if you decide to make Frinchies of your own.  I would love to see what you come up with, framing your one-inch masterpieces!

Inchie Pinwheel Pattern

 Here is a downloadable .pdf for you to try out your very own Inchie Pinwheel block.  You'll need to create 38 total inchies, broken down between three color schemes.Download PinwheelInchiePattern_neu

Here are some tips for you when designing your inchies:

First: I would stick quite rigidly to the color-scheme in order to not cause any confusion at the end when the bigger pattern comes together.  What I mean by this is that in this pattern there are light, dark and bright (green) squares.  The light squares should be made with light or neutral images onto a light or neutral background.  The dark squares were made with darker images on dark blue or black backgrounds and the green squares were made with greenish images onto green backgrounds.  Don't put a green image on a light square because at the end your eye will go to the color and the end pattern will look like it's flawed. 

Second: any of the inchies that will need to be cut down to represent "half-squares" should be made relatively symmetrical or simple.  VW buses were perfect images as were olives or plants and flowers.  Images like these are still readily recognizable once sliced in half. Cut these inchies in half by flipping your square over, penciling in a diagonal line and cutting by hand.  I tried using a slicer to cut them but they're so small they want to slip.

Third: use a one-inch punch to cut all your inchies backgrounds for the project.  I had a few that I had cut by hand and at the end this was noticable when it came time to piece them together.  You need all your lines to come together perfectly if you want to see your overall design.

Have fun, good luck and please link back to me if you give it a try... I want to see your results too!

ROAR - a stenciling tutorial

I stencil for two reasons.  One, because I don't particularly like the imperfections in my handwriting and two, because I could "color-in" letters all day. 

Using a recent altered book spread as an example, I'll show you the steps I take when I stencil.

First I decide on my word.  Words have power, so choose carefully!  Then I double-check my spelling.  Then I choose the set of stencils I want to use based on size and font style.  Typography is it's own art form and there are lots of tastes out there.  People not only mix up font size, but style as well.  That only works when the rules of kerning have been followed.

Kerning is simply the amount of space between letters in a word.  Sounds simple, but because each letter has it's unique shape, you can run into hassles if you don't look and play a little bit before committing to your font style.  The basic rule is: consistent, very little space between the letters within a word and then more space between the words themselves.  Thatshow you dontendup confusingyour audience.  It's how we know when to stop reading one word and start reading the next.  Of course there is a lot of fun stuff you can do with overlapping, but it takes a lot of play and practice.  Study graffitti artists for the coolest ideas!

Depending on what I'm creating, I either trace inside the stencil with a pencil or I use a permanent marker and let the lines show.  The problem with permanent markers being used intitally is that they're hard on your stencils themselves and if you own the vintage "cardboard" style they can start deteriorating.  I treat the ones I can't replace with care, and don't stress about the rest.

In this example I flipped the stencil upside down and traced a shadow.  It's a shadow here because I painted it black.  Fill in your "shadow" with scrapbook paper that looks like water and then you'd have a reflection.  Paint it silver and you've got a mirror reflection. Whatever.  You can do this many different ways or even with unusual angles.  You could even get really wierd and pick a different 4-letter word that "fits" the feet and bellies of the letters and make it's shadow have a different message.  (wooahhh hahhh hahhh - evil laugh).

Here is what it would have looked like if I had chosen to flip or tip the upside-down word:

 Any way you've decided to do it, you've now got the basic composition of your piece layed out.  The place where the letters meet make a natural horizon line.  I decided to "mask off" the page at the top with a large piece of paper and  stamped a pattern all over beneath it.  This made a new horizon line higher up on the page.  I don't know if a person is allowed a couple horizons, I just thought it made an additional interesting layer.

The last trick I have for stenciling text is to simply pick one side of the letters or the other to emphasize.  You can choose either a contrasting color OR you can choose a coordinating color and "shade" the letters. The trick here is to remember that you don't just shade the "right side" of every letter.  You need to shade the "right outside" of every letter as well as the "right inside" of every letter. (If that makes any sense)!!

I'm sure like anything, there are lots of ways to do this.  This is simply the way I enjoy playing with words.  The most important part is to have fun.  I used to think it was also important to be able to read the message.  Now I'm wondering if that actually is so important.  Maybe it's also cool to sometimes be mysterious and make things illegible or confusing.

 

Reorganize Your Little Things

I am very proud to report that I've made another huge leap towards reorganization here at Studio Mailbox!  A cupboard has been emptied of paper and filled with fabric.  More and more "like things" are finding one another and becoming reunited as I discover tiny tidbits that have been stuffed every which way except together over the years.  What I'm finding is that dealing with the little things is just as important as tackling the big ones.

I had two shoe boxes full of ribbons.  Why not suspend them from dowels hanging off the front of your shelves with hooks?

It's a huge luxury to have a cutting table, yet if it's constantly cluttered with an assortment of tools, it's pretty hard to use.  Ikea has the greatest magnetic strips available, which once installed hold your scissors, rotary cutters, case cutters, X-acto knives, etc!  I'm going to get more of these genius magnet strips to install by the art table. Then I can have my hole punches, round nose pliers, paper scissors, and  tweezer collection available right at my fingertips. 

Once you start condensing your "like" things you can't stop.  Who knew I had so many safety pins and hinge rings?  Before, I wasn't able to find one to save my life.

You know how women "nest" near the end of a pregnancy in order to make things ready for the birth of their child?  I feel like I'm creatively nesting.  I'm preparing for a huge burst of energy in 2009.  I'm going to give birth to the biggest body of work I've ever done yet.  I can't wait!