Lettergirl

Fabric + starch = instant wall decor.

Recently I revisited a technique I used in college to decorate my dorm room walls:  letters cut out of fabric and adhered to the wall with liquid fabric starch.  Want to freshen up your wall?  You can peel these letters off, wash the wall, and start over with a new quotation:  no need to repaint...easy peasy!

First you cut out your letters.  I like to use batik fabrics because the weave is nice and tight.  I also cut my letters freehand; I don't mind the imperfections.  If you're not up to that, you could stencil letters to the shiny side of freezer paper using a nice dark pen (like a Sharpie). Iron the shiny side onto the back of your fabric, cut out the letters (the pen should show through enough for cutting), then peel off the freezer paper.  The freezer paper also keeps the fabric stiff for cutting, but watch when you're peeling so you don't get too many frayed ends.

Dip your letters in a shallow bowl of liquid starch.  I did this entire quotation with less than a half cup of starch.

You don't want too much extra starch on your fabric or it will drip onto the wall.

Press your letter against your (clean) wall.  I like to do one word at a time, stand back & make sure it looks straight/even, and peel the letters off if necessary.  You can reapply them without adding more starch if you do it quickly. 

Once I'm sure I like the placement, I blot the letters with a paper towel to catch any extra starch that could drip on the wall.

Ta da!  Now why did it take me 25 years to remember this idea?

Lettergirl Pillows at Spoonflower.

I finally have a few photos of the pillows I stitched up from my custom fabric at Spoonflower. 

The fabric is called Four Love Pillows and when you buy a yard (starting at $17.50) you'll get four different pillow fronts, with four of my favorite quotes.  You can also buy just a fat quarter and get only the green pillow shown here.

Before I stitched the pillows together, I added some embroidery:  this one has a simple running stitch inside the border.  And the one below has little seed beeds stitched into the scallops:

I'd love to see what you can do with the Four Love Pillows fabric!

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Now for sale at Spoonflower.

A new hobby.

First I wanted to.  Then I didn't want to.  But I never forgot about it either.  A trip to Lila & Claudine's was all the inspiration I needed to make up my mind: it's time to learn to knit.

The yarn that tipped the scales is this alpaca-mohair blend in shades of green, blue and grey.  It's super uneven, to hide any beginner flaws, and I really wanted something that would feel amazing every time I touched it.

I'm on the six-month plan for this scarf.  No rush, lots of other irons in the fire.  I'm appreciating a project that is completely unrelated to my creative "work" and a change of pace from the other ways I use my hands.  (Although with the way it's snowing today, I may just have to hurry a bit.)

Obi.

When I dressed Purnah for my open house last fall, she looked like she wanted a little something more.  So I started pinning scraps of red fabric on her, vaguely inspired by a Japanese obi (literally, sash). 

All the fabric pieces are leftovers from my mentor-protege experience in 2011-2012.  Many are hand-dyed, one is painted with dye, and another is screenprinted. 

This weekend I finally took the scraps and ironed them onto some reasonably stiff interfacing.  Then I machine-sewed the edges, adding scraps of knit for the ties. 

Now the sash is sitting in my sewing basket, which I keep near the couch for family movies (about the only time I sit still).  Two episodes of Downton = detail quilting on my obi.  Can't wait till it's washed and all roughed up.

Getting organized with Circa notebooks.

Yes, I know it's already ten days into the new year.  I'm deep in production mode for post-holiday stamp orders and the first Quote of the Month is already in the mail, but my left brain has really been clamoring for attention:  plan, organize, get my mental house in order so I have the freedom to be creative.  Welcome to my new organizing obsession:  the Circa notebook.

Circa notebooks have these sturdy little disks that allow you to customize the guts of each notebook.  And how I love to customize.

For about a year and a half now, I've been doing a brain purge at the start of each month (or, ideally, near the end of the previous month).  I write down every little thing I can think of that I need or want to accomplish during the month.  I'd been using random spiral notebooks for this task until I discovered the Circa.  Now I have my very own blank sheet of paper alongside a page that lets me sort out everything into manageable tasks.

This way I also have a sense of the big picture.  When I start categorizing all those to-dos, I can shift what's needed to another month (because I have another blank sheet of paper for the next month all ready to go...yay!).  

Between the monthly summaries I've made a two-page spread for each week:

I've actually only made the first three months of the year so far, as I know I'll want to make a few adjustments.  I'm also trying to encourage myself to record my business mileage as it happens, not days (or weeks, or months) later.  If it makes me happy, I'll use it, right?

I've also got sections in the back of this notebook for big picture planning (the whole dang year) and miscellaneous notes.

And, because I had so much fun putting this notebook together, I made a couple more.  One for the notes I'm always gathering at Magic Wand Collective events, and one for new product ideas (trust me, I need a whole notebook for that).  

If you like this notebook and you haven't subscribed to my newsletter yet, better get on it.  There'll be a related free treat in the next issue!  

Holiday wrap-up, part two: messenger bag.

We have a lovely habit in our family of making gifts for each other at Christmas.  With the move to high school, I'd been wanting to make a messenger bag for Juliet.  I handlettered some of her favorite quotes, added doodles, and had the fabric printed at Spoonflower.  I was a little nervous about sewing it up (it was pretty much a one-shot deal), but it flew together in one afternoon (and, yes, that one afternoon was December 23rd). 

I tucked some fabric markers in one of the inside pockets, and she got right to it on the heart.

On my list for February:  figure out how to get these kits in the shop!

Meanwhile, giveaway entries will close tonight.  I am loving your comments!

New wall decals from Spoonflower.

As if printing my own fabric did not make me giddy enough, Spoonflower now prints custom wall decals.  I read their email announcement on a Wednesday and by Friday was placing my first order.  I made two decals, 15" square.  One is near my desk so that I can focus on it when I arrive, and the other is on the inside of the door so that I see it before I leave for the day.

They are inexpensive enough -- and repositionable -- and I didn't waste a lot of time choosing "the perfect quote."  Instead I chose four things I want to focus on at each end of my workday.  With all the digital work I've been doing over the last four years, that part of my home office has become the most prominent, and definitely where I spend the most time.  I wanted my new studio to have more hands-on creativity at its heart. 

So my Good Morning sign reminds me to Show up (be present), Say no (mainly to online activity, such a distraction), Get some fresh air (and try to interact with other people), and Shine (be my best creative self).

And my Good Night sign prompts me to shut the door on my work before I go home to my family.  Now of course, I love my work and sometimes it's an all-day-all-night endeavor, but I'm making a choice to be more consciously present with my family.  I'll take a moment each day before I leave to Be still, to Think small (all those little things that really matter), Say yes (be open), and really Listen (so easy to be distracted by what didn't get done).

I can't wait to start making wall decals with all my favorite quotes!

Peek-a-boo.

After making some stamps for her over the past couple of years, Nikki asked me to write a special message for her on this Secret Decoder Card from wit & whistle on etsy.  The message is written in pencil and can only be revealed with the high tech secret decoder wand.   I can't wait to get some for myself!

Recent work.

I love when a customer comes to me with both parameters (needs to be bold colors on white paper, 5" x 8") and freedom (make it look sweet!).  Thanks, Jennifer, for sharing this photo of the finished project!

Sewing class x 2.

This fall I'm excited to be teaching two hand-stitched hat classes:

The first is at ArtiCulture and starts next Tuesday, October 9th.  ArtiCulture is a great resource in my old neighborhood in Minneapolis; my kids take classes there in the summer and love it every time.  I'm thrilled to finally get around to teaching there!  For details, see the class schedule here and scroll down near the bottom of the page.  For this class, you would need to provide a t-shirt or two from which to construct the hat.

My second class will be at Sewtropolis, in the wonderful neighborhood of 48th and Chicago.  This class will include the hat stitching and construction, as well as a bit more focus on the embellishments.  For this class, I am providing kits in a variety of colors and stenciled patterns.  Class starts later this month.  (I don't think it's on Nikol's online schedule yet, but if you're interested, just call or email the shop & they'll get you set up.)