Alice in Wonderland ...It's What I Feel Like Most of the Time

Finished making another book this morning with the theme of Alice In Wonderland. Alice has been on my mind lately. I ran across these words and it spurred me...

"Who are YOU?" said the Caterpillar.
"I . . . I hardly know, Sir, just at present," Alice replied, rather shyly.
"At least I know who I was I when I got up this morning, but I think I must
have changed several times since then."


I know just what you mean Alice.

Baby Book and Altered Art Bird Book

Cover of Baby Book

Some inside pages - used a lot of vintage wallpaper in this book

I love this image of the girl and boy

These are my favorite pages

This red mesh stuff comes around wine bottles - I think?

Old popcorn bag container

And that's it. I have been using my new redone studio all day today. My words are short, because I am visually worn out. Too dark a day to take studio pictures. Will try tomorrow, because it is really something.

Hope you have a beautiful, restful day.

My Sister Designer for Michael Kors

If you did not read my post last week about my incredibly artistic family, you might have missed out on one important part of the story. When I started my business in 2008, the one thing people kept saying to me over and over again was...

"This sounds so perfect for you, because you are so creative."

And I would kinda laugh in my head. Me? Creative? You must be confusing me with my family. But, after thinking about what some of my relatives do, I know why I like my job. Because I was raised in a household of highly creative folk.



So, my oldest sister, Karen, is the designer for a line called Michael Kors. Maybe you have heard of it? She designs the Michael line. Having worked for the likes of Liz Claiborne, Tahari, Tommy Hilfiger, Jones New York and a slew of others, she has paid her dues and worked extremely hard to get to this point.

I remember her selling clay animals on the driveway of our house in Stamford, Connecticut. Her paintings and watercolors were framed and used as art in our house.

She can draw.
She can paint.
She has an eye.

Kinda hard to think you can beat this. She is the oldest child. And she forged the way for all of us to sort of find our creative spirit.

She does not like to tell people what she does or talk about her job. She would probably be mad that I wrote about her - typical New Yorker. The one thing I have on my side is that she is so busy that she will never see this AND I am not lying here . . . she does not know how to get to my blog. I send her the link, and I get voice mails saying she is trying to get onto it, but can't figure it out.

Karen...you set the bar.

Handmade Books That Will Make You Quiver With Delight

Now tell me....do you get as excited about seeing Cherry Blossoms as I do?

Do handmade books make you squeal with delight?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But maybe if you look at this very talented bookbinder you might change your mind.

I was glancing through Facebook one day when one of the artists I love the most, Charlotte Lyons, whose website you can visit here, happened to have a picture of this artist's work on her page.

I opened it. And low and behold....the world of Katie Gonzalez and her company, Linen Laid Felt opened up before my already teary eyes (yes, teary - I did mention I love the Cherry Blossoms, no?).

I did SOMETHING I never do. I ordered something right then and there, I contacted the artist, told her I wanted a custom book, and we talked and I was elated. How often does this happen?




I ordered a book for Lucy with a special inscription on it that says, "The words of Lucy Hughes" or something like that. I want to be able to write down all the funny things she says and what better place to put them in than a book of this quality? And how much did this cost me? A mere $40.00. That's right. Now why in the world would you not invest in this type of craftsmanship?


So here is how you can contact Katie Gonzalez:

BLOG: http://linenlaidfelt.blogspot.com/
ETSY SHOP: http://www.etsy.com/shop/linenlaidfelt
or become her friend on Facebook: www.facebook.com/LinenLaidFelt
and lastly, email her, which is what I did....linenlaidfelt@gmail.com


Hope you enjoy checking out her blog and reading about her as much as I have. Truly, I love handmade things.

There is Nothing Like Her Spike Earrings

I am excited to introduce others to the artisan work of Houston local, Vandi Hodges.


I will be at TOOTSIES this Saturday, April 3rd doing a Trunk Show with Vandi and her collection known as Via Vandi.


Here is what is unique about Vandi's work . . . almost everything is available in both Sterling Silver and 24 Karat Gold Vermeil. What is Gold Vermeil? It is a process where you start with a silver base and put at least 2.5 microns of Gold over the Sterling base. And most people use 14 Karat Gold or 18 Karat Gold. Not Vandi. She uses a 24 KARAT Vermeil that is 3 microns thick and this makes the gold more durable and also a much richer color.


Her SPIKE earrings are the first two pictures. Want to see how they work? Well, put on your imagination cap. The front of the earring is the small piece, and it has a post behind it . . . this post goes thru the ear. The spike fits into the back of the post (sort of magically I might add). It's an earring in reverse.


This design is the PRIMARY reason I wanted to represent Vandi. I love good design and incredibly unique, in addition, is getting very difficult to find in the jewelry industry. Better to see these on an ear. Hopefully, you're own.






You can see more of Vandi's collections at the following retailers:

• The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
• The Houston Museum of Natural Science
• Kuhl-Linscomb
• www.viavandi.com

Now Finishing Book Number 8......and Loving it!

I was so busy this weekend. Who isn't busy on the weekend...this is not a unique statement, I am aware.


Here are some bookmarks that I whipped out this weekend on my....
SINGER
SEWING
MACHINE








And I worked on this book -
Known now as Book Number 8 - A Travel Journal for Paris. . . . I am a bit discouraged by my photography. I just cannot seem to get the idea for how to photograph books and the pages.
I love the Hermes ribbon on the bottom of the book.

I also got surprised with 5 bags of stuff from friends. My friend Katie gave me tons of the things below - 3 LARGE bags full. My mom gave me a whole bag of old cards, and my sister, Tara, gave me a ton of old millinery items.





One of the things I did was cover some egg cartons with paper, so they could hold a lot of "the bit and pieces," as my organizer Denise would say.


When you are on a tight budget and really need to organize, you try to use anything you can to make ends meet .


I did not even buy my new sewing machine, I traded it by putting a couch on CraigsList for a client.


Feeling positively thrifty these days, and that makes me feel good.


I am also saving like a mad person to
be in my expanded studio by April 1st.


Cross fingers, say the sign of the cross, and whatever else you can do!
See you soon!

100 Books....I've Got You Covered

I have been working on books....

thinking about books...

& buying paper.


Here is a picture of a page in a new book I have started.





People often ask me...where do you get all this stuff for your books?

Here is a list:

1. Katie & Co. - a stationery store on Washington - unique cards and where I get all my printed thing.


2. Chapparal - a needlepoint store on W. Alabama - the best vintage ribbons you will ever find in Houston.


3. www.lollishops.com/twigs and feathers - saw them at Silver Bella - you need to check them out.


4. www.speckled-egg.com - another Silver Bella find - look at their vintage liquor labels...the text and graphics are simply a project away for me.
   


5. The Guild Shop - on Dunlavy - sometimes I can score a whole jar of buttons or whatever for next to nothing.


6. Uncommon Objects - South Congress in Austin - Words escape me on this venue.


7. Stamps - I cut every stamp off of every letter - don't get many anymore.


8. And my best source is family and friends...people don't know what to do with old junk and are happy to part with it knowing it is being reused and repurposed and not just THROWN AWAY!