An Accidental Butterfly Garden

I spent about 15 minutes this afternoon making good use of my zoom lens at the shop. I hesitate to even make this post, because it so obviously shows that my weeding duties have been neglected lately. But, on the bright side of things, letting the weeds run a bit wild this year in our tree line has attracted hoards of little butterflies. So, if anyone asks, I'll just say that I was intentionally creating habitat for natural wildlife. Yeah, that sounds legitimate.

Side note: it never seems like butterflies are moving very quickly until you attempt to photograph them. After snapping over 100 pictures, these are my best shots. After this little project, I have renewed appreciation for the patience that wildlife photographers must have.

Abstract Ocean Log Slice

I've already painted the mountains and the trees. I had fun reducing them to simple shapes and jumping on this 'minimalism' trend (which, by the way, this is one fad that I'm really enjoying - love those clean lines and geometric shapes!) I wanted to add one of my favorite landscapes to the collection, the ocean. However, for the last several months, I've been annoyed by the fact that I just couldn't make it simple. Today, though, I'm ready to unveil my (mostly) minimalist and (kind of) geometric ocean design.

Currently this design is available in my Etsy shop on cedar slices (CLICK HERE to see it!)

I love using cedar. It has such a rich and wonderful natural scent, and its colors can't be beat!

Let's Eat! The story of an unexpected buyer.

I wanted to share this kitchen sign with you all today, because I'm just bursting at the seams to tell the story of my first sale of this particular model.

Firstly, here is a picture of the exact sign in question:

When I first designed this wall hanger, I expected to sell it to some young, hip, kitchen-loving cook. And it's first buyer was young, and hip, but I'm not sure that his mom lets him cook on his own yet.

Our 5 year old nephew, Tristan, visited my art studio and looked through a bunch of my latest creations. He picked out some signs that I knew someone of his age would like - you know, signs with awesome animals. He decided on the following sign as a present for his birthday:

I wasn't too surprise, because it includes lots of cute whales in some of his favorite colors.

A couple of days later, Tristan finds 62 cents on top of the washing machine. He's a rich man now, and that money is burning a hole in his pocket. So, he convinces Grandma to bring him back to the studio to 'shop'. Apparently, he remembered the fork, knife, and spoon sign from his previous visit, and he has to have it! Of course he has enough cash (he has a way of making 62 cents turn into 20+ dollars when Grandma is around), and so he is now the proud owner of my first ever "Let's Eat!" sign.

The moral of the story is: you can aim at a particular customer base all you want, but you're never quite sure who will buy your latest creation.

I'm so happy to have family and friends who appreciate and support my work, and this particular little fan is one of my favorites!

My First Crochet Project

I never feel like I have enough craft projects in my life, so this March I decided to learn how to crochet. I've tried crocheting in the past using books, Google searches, and advice from friends and family members, but I just couldn't get the hang of it. I think that I was probably just in too much of a hurry to really learn what I was doing.

This spring, though, I found this awesome blog (through Pinterest, of course) with a free online crochet class. It includes video tutorials for different stitches, color changes, and a 'how to read patterns' lesson that I desperately needed. If you're looking to learn how to crochet, you must check out the crafty minx blog, and try out "crochet school". Here is a link to a list of the lessons: http://www.craftyminx.com/crochet-school/ The lady who put these videos together put a lot of time and effort into creating this, and I really enjoyed going through all of the lessons.

When I finished crochet school, I decided to use my new found knowledge to make a twin-size afghan for Jason. Let me just say, holey smokes. A blanket is not the best choice for your first crochet project. Nearly four months later, I've finally completed this iceberg colored afghan, and I'm very happy with it! Unfortunately, I'm also pretty burnt out on the colors blue and gray.

Ahoy!

Ahoy all! I just wanted to use up a blog post to show you all some more of my latest door/wall hangers. Each sign is an original painting on a piece of salvaged plywood. I've really been enjoying painting all of these ocean critters, especially the baby whales. Seriously, what's cuter than a baby ocean critter?

Coastal Jewelry

I've been listing lots of new seashell necklaces in my etsy shop. Most of them are made from small shells 1 inch or less at their widest. All of the shells were hand picked in Florida and brought back for me by my cousin, Barbie (how nice of her!) I'm particularly fond of this red and yellow sea urchin necklace.

Summer Arts Bazaar Recap

Thanks to all of you that stopped by Handmade Omaha's Summer Arts Bazaar this past weekend. I had a blast meeting everyone who visited my booth! Now it's back to the drawing board for me. It's only July, but I've already got some fall projects in the works!