sweet inspiration

Wordless Wednesday: art wall

2012-01-18T11:44:00.001-05:00

Reorganizing in the new year

2012-01-09T13:48:00.004-05:00

Hello all and happy new year! I had a fantastic year in 2011 with milkshake. Thank you to everyone who supported me and my little biz this past year. And by supported, I mean - kind comments, help with shows, purchasing artwork, asking me how business is going. I am thankful that I get to do what I love every day.

During the week between Christmas and the New Year, Jimmy and I reorganized a few rooms in our house. We live in a 100+-year-old house, and storage space is practically non-existent. Also, our house isn't small, but it's broken into small rooms. On our first floor we have a living room, dining room, a kitchen, a (tiny) mudroom and an extra little room between the dining room and kitchen. When we bought the house the realtor called it a breakfast nook. We originally put a table and chairs in there, but we never used it since we have a dining room right next to it. Then about 10 years ago we turned it into an office. At the time, we were both working from home a lot and needed somewhere to put our computers. Jimmy built a big L-shaped desk in the room which had lots of storage underneath. Since we only have laptops now, the room hasn't been used much in the past few years.

BEFORE:

{Our dining room during the transformation. Yikes!
This just made me want to keep working and get it finished.
By the way, anyone watch Hoarders?}

{Jimmy taking the desk apart.}

Malayna's toys had been stored in the dining room - pretty much because that's the only place we could put them. Her bedroom isn't very big, and she doesn't really play in there. Since the office space wasn't being used, we decided to convert that room into a small playroom. My intention was just to create a place to store Malayna's toys, but since we converted it she's been playing in there. This is a big deal - up until now she's been loading up our dining room table with all her toys and stuff. We eat there every night, so we'd have to clear the table every day. Big pain in the neck.

{The armoire before.}

{After! The chalkboard will go on the wall
to the left of the armoire.}

{And inside. Lots and lots of Polly Pockets!}

The difference in the organization of her toys is huge! Everything has a home, and it's all accessible. Before this, her games were all piled haphazardly on top of her toy storage bins, and if you weren't careful when taking one out they'd all fall. I bought an inexpensive armoire from Craigslist last year, and we now use that (after I painted it) for all her Polly Pocket toys (there are many!).

{Art supplies. I did have paper and pencils inside here, but I found
Malayna wasn't using them as much as before. So I took them out and
put them in plain sight. They're being used more now.}

{View from the dining room. I may eventually
change the color of the bins.}

There are still a few things I'd like to change about the room. I'm not crazy about the contact paper on the doors of the craft storage, but I just wanted it done and that's what I could find locally. A few spots on the walls have to be touched up with paint. This past weekend I painted a 2x4 with black chalkboard paint, but I'd still like to build a frame for it.

{Desk in the dining room.}

Our desk is now in the dining room, and is less than half the size of the previous desk. That means less space for me to fill with papers, which is good. We reused the wood from the original desk. I have gray fabric tacked up around the edge of it, which eventually has to be sewn into "curtains" to hide all the stuff under the desk. The bulletin board above the desk is a piece of fiberboard covered with Ikea fabric. Easy and inexpensive - we already had the fiberboard and the fabric cost $16 (and I have a lot left over). You can put thumbtacks into fiberboard easily. This area still needs some work…

By the way, we donated or threw away lots and lots of stuff. Board books, baby toys (yes, we still had those lying around), things Malayna didn't play with. Facebook was a great way to get rid of things that were in good condition.

Did you tackle any home improvement projects lately? Or is there something you're planning to do?

Obsessed with Hipstamatic

2011-11-29T10:44:00.001-05:00

Anyone else?

Small Business Saturday sale!

2011-11-25T19:50:00.003-05:00

{The Lola Show desk calendar!}

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday and everything in the milkshake crafts shop is 15% off! (Just enter code CYBER11 during checkout.) The sale continues until the end of the month, Wednesday November 30th, at midnight.

{5"x7" owl print.}

{5"x7" seahorses print.}

Lots and lots of new items have been added the past few days. There are new prints, desk clocks, pendants, wall clocks and art blocks.

{Red clematis pendant.}

{Blue seahorse wall clock.}

Happy shopping!

Small Business Saturday sale!

2011-11-25T19:04:00.003-05:00

{The Lola Show desk calendar!}

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday and everything in the milkshake crafts shop is 15% off! (Just enter code CYBER11 during checkout.) The sale continues until the end of the month, Wednesday November 30th, at midnight.

{Seahorse print.}

Lots and lots of new items have been added the past few days. There are new prints, desk clocks, pendants, wall clocks and art blocks.

{Red clematis pendant.}

{New seahorse wall clock.}

Happy holidays!
Lisa

milkshake {shop}

sweet inspiration {blog}

milkshake crafts on FB {facebook fan page}

Updating the website

2011-11-23T12:21:00.000-05:00

I just finished taking the last of the photos I need for my website update. Finally! This has been on the back-burner for months now. Good thing I finished when I did - it started pouring after I finished. Paper and water don't mix very well.

{The most popular desk clock - blue chickadee.}

I take my photos on my ~~falling down, in need of repair~~ shabby chic picket fence in front of my house. I have to bring Lola outside with me when I do it or else listen to her bark and cry inside the house the whole time I'm out there. (And be prepared for whatever toy of Malayna's she's chewed up during that time.) So she's in the backyard and I'm in the front yard taking photos, and she still cries and barks at me even though I'm less than a foot away from her. Or she's jumping on my plants and ripping them apart. Fun! I'm glad I at least have a well-behaved child.

I'll be updating my site for the next day or so and then having a Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday sale! I've decided to leave "Black Friday" out of the mix because I really despise everything about that day. What would I need so badly that I would have to camp out overnight for it?!

Support locally-owned shops and artists!

Waldorf Holiday Fair recap

2011-11-21T10:29:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite shows - The Waldorf Holiday Fair - was this past weekend (Friday night and Saturday). It's held in a beautiful space in the Waldorf School of Philadelphia (all the classrooms are painted different colors and don't have distracting posters on the walls like lots of schools do), the food is delicious (seriously, my roommates and I decided that one of the reasons we do the show is for the yummy food!) and the people who come to the show are very supportive and positive about our handcrafted art.

I shared a room with Cara of Cob Studio (we've been in this room together for at least the past four years), Renee of Tadpole Creations (our second year together) and Sarah of Gritty City Beauty Co. (who made the room smell good with her candles and body butters). We had a good time as usual, catching up with each other and chatting during the (little bit of) down time. The only drawback to a good show is that you don't have time to go around and see the other vendors and all the good stuff for sale. I'm sorry I didn't get to take home a scarf from Untold Imprint - her work is beautiful!

The new seahorse image I created was a big hit! Sold a few clocks, prints and magnets featuring that image. I'll be adding those products to the Etsy shop this week!

Next up: The Abington Friends School Craft Fair on December 3rd from 10-3 and then the MamaCita Holiday Party & Show on December 11th from 1-5.

Skippyjon Jones reading and book signing

2011-11-15T14:56:00.000-05:00

{Halloween, 2011.}

My daughter, Malayna, loves Skippyjon Jones. She discovered the books about a year ago and reads them over and over. We have also listened to some books on CD while driving to the shore over the summer. She dressed as Skippyjon for Halloween (in a costume that I made), and gave me very specific instructions on what she wanted it to look like. I made many pairs of paper ears and paper masks before she gave me the "okay" to make them in felt. She knows what she wants.

We had the opportunity to meet Judy Schachner - the author and illustrator of Skippyjon Jones - over the weekend. She held a reading of her latest book, Class Action at a bookstore in downtown Philadelphia. When I told Malayna about it, she was thrilled - way more excited than I thought she'd be. She wore her Halloween costume and took a book with her for Judy to sign. It was a great reading - Judy was funny, animated and told some jokes that only the grown-ups got. She had Malayna stand up and show everyone her costume. (Afterwards Malayna told us she was a little embarrassed at that part, so I think if it were just one year later she wouldn't have worn the costume.)

{Showing everyone her costume.}

When it was time for the signing, Malayna was the first one in line. It was like she was meeting a movie star. She gave Judy a drawing she had made and a picture of Lola dressed up in Malayna's Skippyjon Jones costume. Malayna smiled the entire time Judy was talking to her. When we were on our way home, she said, "I wish the reading didn't happen yet so I could do it all over again."

{The drawing and the picture Malayna gave to Judy.}

{Thrilled!}
The two photos above were taken by the husband
of one of the women who designs the Skippyjon Jones apparel.
http://www.skippyjonjonesstuff.com/

Thank you Judy Schachner! You inspire Malayna every day.

New designs!

2011-11-10T10:59:00.000-05:00

Appearing on clocks and art blocks at my next event! Stop by the Waldorf School of Philadelphia's Holiday Fair on November 18th from 6-10 and November 19th from 10-5. This show is always fun, with arts and crafts for the kids and yummy homemade food. Oh! And of course there are fabulous artists selling their wares! Hope to see you there.

Perfection

2011-11-02T14:33:00.000-04:00

Perfectionism, anyone? I'm feeling it today - I've been trying to work on my new seahorse clocks, but I cannot get the design the way I want it. It's one of those days. I'm putting it aside to go teach the after-school art club at my daughter's school, and hopefully be inspired by a bunch of young artists!

Seahorses!

2011-10-27T10:36:00.000-04:00

I love this new image I finished yesterday and can't wait to use it on clocks! Maybe it can go on some art blocks, too… What do you think? What else would you like to see this on?

Sneak peek of new images!

2011-10-25T16:38:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while I create new images to use on my clocks, art blocks, notecards and pendants. It usually happens around the start of the school year, since that's when Malayna is in school all day and I can spend most of my time working on milkshake crafts.

Here's a sneak peek of some new images I'm working on. This is the first phase - I draw the images on paper with a black marker, then scan them. I then use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to clean up the lines and play around with color and pattern inside the images.

The Lola Show

2011-10-14T14:18:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know that my banner up there still says "summer 2011." That's because I'm in denial about it being fall and summer being over. I'll change it soon.

In the meantime, here are some photos of Lola to make you laugh. This little photo project started out at Malayna's bedtime a while back. She would make me wait outside her door, and then dress Lola in something silly. Being the control freak that I am, it turned into me bringing costumes from her dress-up bin up to her room and us dressing her together. We would sometimes come up with a theme that day, and think of all the things we could put on her. Some of these crack me up.

I've had some requests from friends on Facebook to make these into a calendar. If I do, I'll donate a portion of the proceeds to the rescue that we got Lola from - Puppies and More in New Jersey.

{Back-to-school}

{Happy Labor Day!}

{Sexy beast.}

{Facebooking.}

{You've got a friend in me!}

{Borrowing her sister's stuff.}

{And my personal favorite: Prepared for the hurricane.}

Back to school and back to making!

2011-09-05T17:29:00.000-04:00

School starts here for Malayna on Wednesday - just two days from now! I'm always torn when September rolls around. On the one hand, I'm sad that she's going to be gone all day and we won't be free to do what we please (trips to the shore, playing outside all day, swimming in our pool…), but on the other hand I'm happy to be getting back to a routine.

As far as milkshake crafts is concerned, I don't do any shows past early June, and the amount of making I do in the summer is slim. I do teach art classes in July & August, but that's different than sitting at a desk all day making clocks!

I'm looking forward to getting a list together for all that needs to be done by September 18th - my first show since June! Milkshake will be making an appearance at The Clover Market in Ardmore that day. It's a great show, with antiques, vintage and handmade. But I have a lot to do before that…

This is my studio. It needs to be cleaned up.

By the way, I'm having a back-to-school sale on my website right now. Enter code SCHOOL for 15% off!

Summer art class: Georgia O'Keeffe-inspired flowers

2011-07-29T09:00:00.078-04:00

{Artwork by Malayna}

One of my all-time favorite artists is Georgia O'Keeffe. I've loved her since I first saw her work back in high school. It seems like her work is on everything - calendars, notecards, t-shirts, coasters, umbrellas, etc., etc. Despite the over-saturation, I still love her style. She was one of the most important artists in the 1920s (and one of the only famous females). Because all of my art class students are girls, a Georgia O'Keeffe-inspired lesson is inevitable!

{Lola is wondering if the flowers are edible…}

Before class started, I went out to my yard and cut some fresh flowers. I looked for simple shapes, and wound up using black-eyed susan and rose of sharon (both white and purple). I put a few of each in little vases and placed them on each work table. (Unfortunately, we were experiencing a heatwave in this area, so we weren't outside for class.) I had several books about O'Keeffe's work that the girls could look through for inspiration. We read Georgia O'Keeffe (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists). Some of the girls couldn't understand why she was only one of a few famous female artists, so we talked a bit about what girls and women were doing in the 20s. They thought it was very "unfair" (Malayna) that most of the famous artists we've heard about are men. I agreed!

{Busy at work!}

Before they sat down to work we talked about how O'Keeffe basically zoomed in on flowers and didn't necessarily include the entire flower on the page. I told them they should fill their page with the drawing and could even have the petals going off the edges. I first gave each girl a small piece of paper to do a trial drawing. I wanted to be sure they knew what I meant by filling the page with the flower. This was an important step, because some of them made their flowers teeny tiny, and it gave them the chance to practice drawing big. When the drawings were finished they used watercolors to fill them in.

Summer art class: little huts

2011-07-22T09:00:00.000-04:00

I'm so glad I have creative friends! It helps when those creative friends are artists who have also taught kid's classes. My friend (and fellow MamaCita member) Diana Trout gave me the idea for this little hut project. It was perfect. Just the right amount of time, easily done with markers or paints or crayons or colored pencils…anything, really! We used markers and wallpaper scraps from sample books (for the roof). I got the books last year by calling a wallpaper store and asking if they had any books they were throwing away. They were happy to give me a bunch.

Before the class started, I cut two pieces of white paper for each child. One measured 5.5" x 17" and the other was 8" x 8". I used cardstock so the huts would be sturdy. I had the wallpaper books out so the girls could choose a sheet for their hut's roof.

We read the book My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me, by Maya Angelou. I pointed out the patterns on the houses and we also looked around my house for patterns. There were lots! They even pointed some out that I hadn't noticed. There were patterns on the pillows, in the artwork on the walls, in the rug, and the curtains. They noticed subtle patterns, like the wood grain on the coffee table.

The first thing they did after reading was to take their long piece of paper and draw patterns on it with pencil. I find that sometimes drawing with pencil makes them slow down and really think about what they're doing. They each had a piece of scrap paper to practice patterns before drawing on their good paper. After the patterns were drawn they colored them in with markers. There were very detailed patterns and some very simple patterns. After the patterns were drawn and colored, the sheets were stapled together to make a circle.

When they finished their patterns, they worked on the 8" x 8" paper, which would be the ground for their hut. They could decorate these any way they wished. The third step was to choose a wallpaper sheet that would be used for the hut's roof, which they traced a large circle onto and then cut out. A long cut was made in the circle so that it could be stapled into a sort of cone shape.

We put them all together with tape - taped the hut to the ground, and the roof to the hut. Some girls chose to leave the roof loose so they could make furniture for the inside and play with the hut.

Summer art class: drawing dogs

2011-07-15T09:00:00.064-04:00

This week's class was very small. Lots of people on vacation or at camp. It was kind of nice to only have four kids to teach! Definitely a very different dynamic. This was a good project to do with a small group - it was very organized and the girls had to pay attention to each step.

The book we read for this class was Doggone Dogs by Karen Beaumont & David Catrow. I love the illustrations in this book. They're silly and exaggerated and had the girls laughing.

After the book, I gave each girl an 11x17 piece of paper with two lightly drawn lines - one in the middle going vertically and the other in the middle horizontally. I also had a piece so I could show them (along with explaining) the steps of drawing a dog. They each got a template for the head to get the size correct. I wasn't sure how well they'd do with the proportion of the entire dog without the template. I think that they would have been fine without it.

We went very slowly - drawing first the head, then the nose, the eyes, etc. I did it along with them so they had an idea of what it could look like. Fortunately, no one copied mine! That's always something I'm afraid of when showing a sample.

After the entire dog was drawn, they could paint. The only direction I gave for that was that no one could paint their dog all black. I was afraid that if they did paint all black, it would cover their pencil lines, and they'd lose their drawing. They did a great job! (The first one says, "I'm insane!" It's my dog, Lola.)

(Thank you to Kathy Barbro from Art Projects for Kids for the idea and instructions! Check out her website - lots of great ideas for art projects.)

Summer art class: cooperation drawing

2011-07-08T09:14:00.070-04:00

First art class of the summer! It was a hot one, but the girls were troopers. In hindsight, I should have had it inside (considering it was about 90 degrees at 9:30 am). I love the idea of having class outside, but sometimes the reality of it isn't so great. Heat, sun glare, bugs… I'm glad I have enough space inside to move it if necessary (we work in the dining room). My long-term plan is to expand my third-floor studio to include an art class space. There's room up there, but some of it is used for storage and we'd have to find space for all that stuff. Yard sale!

{Ready for the first art class of the summer!}

At the beginning of every art class, we start off with "free draw." I put out crayons and white paper (a ream of copy paper from an office supply store) on the tables and let them draw whatever they want while we wait for everyone to come to class. This gives the girls a chance to chat (not that they don't do it during class! There's always plenty of chatting.).

When all the girls are here, we read a book that has to do with the theme of that day's class. This week the book was "Friends" by E. Lewis (which I can't find online - weird). The book talked about cooperation between friends, which went perfectly with today's theme of cooperation drawing. After reading the book, the girls each got a 9x12 paper and a black crayon. They were to draw something on the paper, keeping in mind the design of the piece. They had 20 seconds to draw, then I would say, "switch" and they'd pass the paper to the girl next to them. This went on until all the girls had a chance to draw on each paper.

{Drawing. It's hot!}

If I did it again, I would put more rules on the drawing. Maybe something like telling them what kind of drawing to do at each "switch" - rules, circles, squares, etc. As it was, the drawings were pretty much all over the place with no real design to them. But sometimes it's more about the process rather than the finished product!

{Painting. We used tempera paints.}

When the girls got their original drawing back, they could then paint it. I gave them each three colors - red, blue and yellow. They could mix the colors if they wanted to, and most of them did.

{Completed paintings.}

We had some time after the paintings were finished, so I gave each girl a large piece of paper and some markers. I told them to write their name in cursive (if they coudn't, I did it for them). They either had to fill their page with one name, or with several versions of their name. Then they filled in the names with drawings, patterns and color. They really seemed to like this project, maybe more than the cooperation drawings! In their defense, it's hard to give your drawing over to someone else. Could you do it? I'm not sure I'd want to!

{Isabella's cursive name drawing.}

{Malayna's cursive name drawing.}

Butterfly wreath

2011-05-18T12:22:00.001-04:00

Malayna and I created a pretty butterfly wreath for the front door yesterday. What a fun, easy project (and perfect for a rainy day)! This was a good one for us to work on together, since it's painting and collage - I love to collage and Malayna loves to paint. I was inspired by Alisa Burke's butterfly wreath tutorial, but we did ours a little differently. I've had her tutorial bookmarked for months - it's gorgeous!

Here are the steps we took: First, I drew a butterfly on cardstock. Alisa's wreath has lots of different sizes and shapes, but to make this go faster (I'm an impatient crafter) I chose one butterfly shape to work with. If you don't want to draw your own butterfly, just do a search for "butterfly silhouette clip art." You can print one out from your computer and use that as a template.

Second, I tore pages from an old book. I have two copies of Alice Walker's The Temple of My Familiar. (I think Jimmy and I each had one in college.) I had to be careful which pages I tore out since Malayna can read and this book has some racy sections! After I had a bunch of pages ready, I traced a few butterflies onto the pages. Then I gave a few to Malayna to paint with watercolors.

While she was painting, I was wrapping a styrofoam wreath frame with strips of book pages. I painted Modge Podge onto the strips and then wrapped them around the form. I wasn't too careful about it (there are lots of wrinkles) since it would mostly be covered with butterflies. After it was completely wrapped, I covered the entire thing with a layer Modge Podge.

After watching Malayna paint a few butterflies, I realized that it would go faster if I didn't put a butterfly shape on the page first. So I just gave her a few pages without the shapes on them and told her to paint some color on them. After the paint dryed, I then traced the butterfly template on the painted pages with a black Sharpie. Much easier and much faster!

When she finished painting a bunch of pages, the rain had stopped and she was itching to go play outside! So I got busy tracing, cutting and doodling. I also used some watercolor pens to draw the circles. When they were all finished, I glued them to the wreath form. Done!

A pretty spring wreath for the front door!

Yummy, easy-to-make snack

2011-04-23T12:21:00.000-04:00

These yummy chews are so easy to make and are only 100 calories each! I bought most of the ingredients at Trader Joe's. The only thing they did not have was organic brown rice syrup, but your location may have it.

I got the recipe from Julie, owner of the Bryn Athyn Workout Studio. She hosted a Food Rules Challenge class at the Studio, and gave us lots of good-for-you recipes. She also has a blog called Work It!, where she writes about healthy eating and fitness. Check it out!

5 Minute, 5 Ingredient, No-Bake Almond Butter Chews

• 1/4 cup chunky all natural almond butter (or any nut butter)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup rice crisp cereal
• 3 tbsp organic brown rice syrup (honey may work)
• 1 tbsp cocoa nibs (or chopped real dark chocolate 70% or more)

1. Line plate with parchment paper (I used wax paper).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the almond butter, brown rice syrup and vanilla.
3. Microwave on high 35-45 seconds.
4. Stir well and immediately add in rice cereal and cocoa nibs.
5. Stir well until mixed.
6. Wet hands and shape into golf balls (I made them rectangles instead).
7. Store in freezer for five minutes to set.

Makes about 7-8 chews.

These were a big hit with Malayna and her friend today! They each ate one and were begging for more. Enjoy!

Inspiration in nature

2011-04-22T15:26:00.000-04:00

It's such a cliche: I'm inspired by nature. But cliche or not, it's true. I can go outside and take a walk, or visit a garden center or arboretum, and I come home with visions of new designs dancing in my head.

Yesterday Malayna and I visited The Morris Arboretum with friends. We used to do this kind of thing often, but since she's in school all day it's really hard to plan fun day trips. I've only ever been there with Malayna, and I realized yesterday that I really need to have a day there alone. There is so much to see and not enough time to see it if you're with an energy-filled seven-year-old.

I took these photos in the fern house:

Look at those patterns! I could have spent hours in there. Ferns, moss and water everywhere - it was beautiful. I especially love the middle fern's colors.

This view makes the graphic designer in me happy with those super-straight vertical lines of trees.

I can't resist words on things. This was written on an adirondack chair.

Oh my. And this! These sticks were part of a giant bird's nest that you could sit in. Thousands of sticks must have been used. I wanted to pull up a chair and draw these.

Here's a far-away view of the bird house:

It was the perfect way to spend a sunny day off from school.

Spring!

2011-04-15T13:11:00.000-04:00

I am so happy that spring is finally here. I don't always realize how depressing it is to be inside all winter with little sunshine until spring comes and the weather warms up. You would think that since I was born in February I'd like the winter. Not so. It's my least favorite season. Spring and summer are my favorites - being outside, digging in the dirt, taking long walks, seeing plants come to life… Winter is so blah and gray. No color outside - no bright blue sky against green, green grass. No little buds on trees, no smell of the earth warming up. Ah, spring!

I've been walking Lola every day that I can. We go to a local park with lots of hills that sits beside a farm. I try and get in three miles each time we go. We move quickly, but not fast enough for Lola. She would run the entire time if I gave her the chance. These walks are great for both of us - it gets Lola's energy out (mostly - this pup is like the Energizer Bunny), provides exercise for me and, best of all, I get to be outside and enjoy the unfurling of spring.

I also take lots of pictures while we're out walking. I recently bought an iPhone and I LOVE it! I have a few favorite apps - Run Keeper, My Fitness Pal, Instagram, Square, Facebook, Text Free. I love that I can change the way a photo looks with Instagram. Instant gratification. What are your favorites?

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Remember to check the right sidebar for my upcoming shows. Also, check out my fan page on Facebook. I post on there a lot more than I do on here these days!

Spring shows!

2011-03-30T11:50:00.000-04:00

Take a look at the sidebar to the right for the newly-updated show schedule! Leave a message in the comments if you know of any other spring shows I might want to try out. Thanks!

Artwork - wholesale vs. retail

2011-02-21T11:32:00.000-05:00

{My booth (and Malayna) at the Waldorf Holiday Fair.}

I've recently acquired two new wholesale accounts with area shops. I've had wholesale accounts in the past, when I first started out with milkshake in 2006, but these two shops are it for me right now. I've thought about doing wholesale shows, like the Buyer's Market of American Craft - it's in nearby Philadelphia, so I wouldn't have to worry about shipping all my work somewhere. But to have a booth in the show costs a couple thousand dollars! That's a huge expense, and add to that all the exhibit materials I'd have to get together…it just doesn't seem do-able at this time.

When you wholesale your work, a shop owner places an order for a large quantity of your goods at a discounted price. The artist has a minimum amount that the shop owner has to meet - it can be in dollar amount or amount of goods. For example, I may set a minimum at $200 or 20 desk clocks. I prefer to set a dollar amount minimum.

Up until now I've concentrated on doing retail shows, which I really enjoy, but they are exhausting. There's all the making before the shows, then the packing, loading the truck, unpacking at the show (not to mention carrying all the boxes, walls, etc. into the show space), then having to be happy and friendly after all that work (sometimes I just want to go home and take a nap!). Shows are on the weekends, so that takes time away from my family. Most of the shows I do are during the holiday season, and I always feel torn between my work and my family. Plus, I don't really know which items are going to sell, so I pretty much have to make a bunch of everything.

I've had my work on Wholesalecrafts.com in the past, too, but it didn't really amount to much. Granted, I didn't push it enough. That site is almost $500 a year, so if I worked it the right way, it would be worth it, money-wise. Does anyone have experience with wholesalecrafts.com? I'd love to hear your feedback!

The good thing about wholesaling is that I can be home and making for most of the time instead of getting ready for shows and wondering which pieces to make that will sell. With wholesale, I only make what the shop owner orders. However, there's no replacing the feedback I get when I do retail shows! I'm putting my work out in front of the public, and I get to see and hear what people think about it.

Does anyone have any tips for getting more wholesale accounts? Any shops you've seen that you can picture my work in?

New clock designs!

2011-02-15T10:48:00.000-05:00

Be on the lookout here for more new clock designs! First up: two new hummingbird clocks, one yellow and one blue. Which do you like better? Is there another color you'd like to see on the background?

Mama cardinals & a quick survey

2011-02-02T11:55:00.000-05:00

I've been busy working on new images for clocks, art blocks, notecards and more. If the following image were a print, which would you prefer? I would greatly appreciate it if you could take this quick, anonymous survey. You can also leave a note as to why you chose the one you did.

Click here to take the survey!

Thank you!

Photo Friday

2011-01-28T10:13:00.000-05:00

The original photo:

And a closer view:

MamaCita Sunday Salon Series & artist of the month

2011-01-19T09:01:00.002-05:00

From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, visionary women met to discuss art and literature, listen to topical lectures and learn the latest artistic techniques. In this spirit, we are pleased to announce a series of workshops led by the progressive female artists of MamaCita.

The first of our Salons will be conducted by MamaCita resident tech guru, Karen Hunter-McLaughlin entitled Digital Image Preparation for Artists on Sunday, January 30, 2011, from 11:00am - 3:00pm.

This workshop is designed for the artist who wishes to learn how to visually promote themselves using digital techniques. All are welcome.

Topics include:
• Best art photography practices
• Image sizes for print vs. digital mediums
• Basic color correction
• Color theory basics- additive vs. subtractive color
• Color modes and color spaces

Class size is limited to 10
Workshop Fee is $45.00 per person and includes lunch

Workshop to be held at:
Andrew J Gress Graphic Arts School-
1310 E Sedgley Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19134
Secure onsite parking lot is available
To register contact Karen- kamcl@kmdigitaldesign.com

{"Milky Way When We Were Young" by Karen, from the (W)holon show
currently on view at the Abington Art Center through Jan. 30th, 2011}

Karen Hunter-McLaughlin has been a MamaCita member since 2007. Karen wears many hats! She is a mother of two children ages 14 and 19 and has been known to point out that although her children are older, they don't need her less, they just need her differently. While juggling the skills needed to parent her older kids with finding time to dedicate to her art, she also holds a long time position as a pre-press specialist at a commercial printing company, Independence Press. An admitted computer geek, Karen also has a digital design business, teaches classes in Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign and is currently writing a color curriculum for the Philadelphia School System. Although she has dabbled in digital art as a medium, Karen mostly works in oil and acrylic paint, colored pencil and also has a fondness for 3-D wire sculptural work.

Join Karen and MamaCita at the Fairmount Park Landscape exhibition (details on the sidebar to the right) which she was instrumental in organizing. Visit Karen's website.

Photo Friday and a little inspiration

2011-01-14T13:14:00.000-05:00

Here's the inspiration (a photo and a thought about the photo) for a new personal piece I'm working on. It's taking a little while to get out of my head and onto the paper, but I'm hoping that posting about it and putting it out in the public will get me moving! I'm not quite sure what exactly I'm going to do with these two things. But what I do know is that I have to use them and they'll probably be used with some of my illustrations and maybe some paint. I'll post when I finish!

"This is the same look that you will give me when you are thirteen. I hope that I think back to this day and remember your sweet little six-year-old face."

DIY tissue box cover & dress up storage center

2011-01-10T12:34:00.000-05:00

I'm very aware of how things look in my house (like whether or not they're aesthetically pleasing) and a little thing like an ugly tissue box sitting on a table bothers me. (I know I'm not the only one. Right?!) Last week I bought an ugly tissue box cover from the thrift shop for $1. I intended to cover it and make it pretty. Here's the before:

I decided to use my own papers to cover this. I started by measuring the tissue box: each panel is 5" wide by 5 3/4" high. Since there are four panels, the total measurement is 20 x 5 3/4. Then I created a Photoshop file that measured 21"x 6" (left room for margins and error) and filled it with my patterns. I couldn't choose just one, so I did a sort of collaged or quilted effect. Here's what my Photoshop file looks like:

The next step was to print the file on two sheets of paper (one 11x17 piece was not big enough since the finished size was 20x 5 3/4).Then I got out the Modge Podge, sandpaper and x-acto knife. I cut the pages down to size and sanded the tissue box since it was shiny and I was concerned that the paper wouldn't adhere to it. Then I brushed the Modge Podge onto the box. Here's an in-progress photo:

After I was finished and it dried I put a coat of the Modge Podge over the paper to create a protective seal. Easy, quick craft! Here's the finished product:

____________________________________________________

The other DIY project that I and my dad completed this weekend was a dress-up storage center for Malayna. Okay, so all I actually did was paint it - my dad did the rest! I found the plans for it on Ana White's website, which has given me so many more ideas.

We had been keeping her dress-up clothes in a big basket, but the stuff on the bottom never got played with. This is a great solution.

Here's what Malayna did with the storage center most of the weekend:

She liked sitting in it and pretending it was a little car. (I added wheels to the bottom to make it easier to move around.) Here it is with her dress-up clothes in it:

I'm going to add some hooks to the side so she can hang necklaces, ties, hats, etc. Thanks Dad! Keep your tools ready for the next project.

Over-the-break artwork

2011-01-05T19:51:00.002-05:00

Happy new year! How were your holidays? Ours were busy and fun. Lots of time was spent together, which is why I was so surprised that I managed to create a new piece of art. Usually I cannot work when I'm not alone. Not sure why that is… Maybe it's because I get distracted by someone else being around? Or I'm feeling insecure when I'm making something new? Who knows.

The quote I used for the piece is from the song "The One Who Knows" by Dar Williams. We played this song at Malayna's blessing when she was a baby. It had just about everyone in the place in tears. I've written about it before - in fact, when I searched the blog for "blessing" it looks like I wrote about this song at least three times! Have I mentioned how much I love it?! It was about time I used those words in my art.

The feet in this are Malayna's feet from when she was about five. She had these great, glittery blue shoes and cute multi-colored polka dot socks. She loved those shoes! The background was created with pages from a parenting book. This one was "My Baby My Child," which was a baby shower gift from my high school BFF. It was sitting around (not being used, of course) and I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. This was the perfect solution!

Is there a song that gets you every time you hear it? Is it the words to the song or is it because it makes you think of a certain time in your life? It's both for me with this song.

How to make it work

2010-12-03T11:56:00.000-05:00

We're all busy. How do you get everything on your to-do list accomplished? Which things are more important than others?

This is my busiest season, which is probably true for a lot of us. I have shows just about every weekend in November and December, Malayna's birthday on the 22nd of December, and of course, Christmas. There are also orders coming in, both wholesale and retail. I do have more business than I had last year, and one of the reasons that is true is because I've welcomed it this year. Last year was Malayna's first year in school (full day kindergarten) and I volunteered at school a LOT. I didn't leave myself much time for other things, like making art. I did lots of shows, but I was always working up until the last minute. Don't get me wrong - I still do that. Sometimes I feel that I can't work any other way. The rush that gives me pushes me to do more and more.

Some of the things I'm doing differently this year are:

* I make a daily list of what I want to accomplish. Even if it's the tiniest thing (like sending an email) I write it down so that I have something to cross off the list.

* I cut back on the amount of time I'm volunteering in Malayna's school. This one wasn't intentional. There were a lot more opportunities to be in her classroom last year than there are this year. I'm still at school at least one day a week, but don't feel the need to be there much more than that.

* I'm pursuing more wholesale accounts. That means that I get an order, make it and then deliver. I don't have to worry about my work sitting around in a shop waiting to be sold on consignment.

* I'm doing are less first-time shows and more repeat ones. (And no shows that were a bust last time around.) Sometimes the first-time shows are no good. Then you're stuck at a show with no one attending and wishing you were home spending time with your family or working in the studio.

* There's no way I'll ever be the kind of person who plans out her meals weekly. I tried it a few times, but it just does not work for me. Instead, I have a few meals that are easy and require few ingredients, so I make sure I always have those on hand. Also, last year I was annoyed that I had to be the one making dinner most of the time. I don't enjoy cooking but Jimmy does. But you know what? I'm home more than he is. Even if I'm working, that usually stops when Malayna gets home and she's old enough now that I don't have to worry about keeping her occupied when I'm cooking.

* Don't worry about dust. Seriously. Who cares? My house is not a pigsty, but it's also not a show home. We live here. It looks like it. Would I like to be more organized and have more space? Yes, of course. But I'm not fretting about it right now.

So that's my list. What's yours? How do you get things accomplished? Any tips?

How I create my images

2010-11-16T12:39:00.000-05:00

Hello, hello! No, I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth! I find that when I start a blog post lately it sits and sits and never gets finished. It's so much easier to post little snippets on my fan page on Facebook. Are you a fan of milkshake crafts? Do you have a fan page I can join in return?

Since this is the craft show season, I get lots of questions about how I create my images. I never really know how much to reveal, or how much someone really understands about what I'm telling them. I have a running storyboard in my head as I'm talking, but it doesn't always come out the way I see it! Will you let me know if the following makes any sense??

First, I start off with a pencil sketch in my sketchbook (or on a random piece of paper). The sketches are usually created when Malayna is drawing and I'm keeping her company. Sometimes an idea sits in my head for a looooong time before I finally put pencil to paper. Other times I'll do a sketch and that will sit around for a while until I flip through my sketchbook and decide it's time to bring it to life.

{This is a marker sketch after I've scanned it.}

Next, I'll trace the drawing with a black Sharpie marker and then scan it into my computer. I used to scan the pencil drawing, but found that I wasn't getting the crisp lines I wanted. After the image is scanned I open it up in Adobe Illustrator and clean it up there. This gives the drawing a more polished look, and I can then adjust the lines of the image.

After cleaning up the image in Illustrator, I open it in Photoshop. That's where I apply the patterns and colors. For example, the clematis image is made up of three different patterns (the red one in the middle, the orange one in the petals and the yellow in the petals):

{This is the same image after it's been cleaned up in Illustrator
and filled in with patterns in Photoshop.}

I have many, many patterns to choose from (all of which are created by me in the same way I've described above), but I find myself using the same ones again and again. I change the colors sometimes to match the other patterns used in the image.

For example, here is the same pattern but in different colors. The same pattern was used above, in the petals in yet another set of colors.

{The same pattern with different color treatments.}

Someone once suggested that I have all this information with me at shows in a small binder to show people when they ask about my artwork. It's a great idea and I would love to be able to have a visual instead of trying to explain and hoping it makes sense!

Was this helpful? Did it make sense? Is there anything I'm missing?

______________________________________________________

I'm going to be participating in the Waldorf Holiday Fair and Craft Bazaar this weekend. The show starts on Friday night from 6-10 and then continues on Saturday from 10-5. Come by and visit! It's a great show - lots of yummy homemade food, crafts for the kids and, of course, great art. There's even a secret shopping room for children where they can buy gifts for the family.

New collection of wall squares

2010-11-02T09:04:00.000-04:00

Introducing a new collection of wall squares! In the past I've designed them so that 3 of them work together, but this time you can mix and match all twelve. Start your collection with just two or three and eventually work up to all twelve! Wouldn't these look great filling a wall in your house?

Photo Friday: love

2010-10-08T12:41:00.000-04:00

{Love.}
Click the picture to enlarge it.

26 days until Halloween!

2010-10-05T14:03:00.000-04:00

Do you know those little cards your kids hand out to their friends for Halloween? You buy them and then your child has to write her name on 20-30 of those little things. It gets old real fast. Why not get some with her name already printed on them? Great idea, you say? Well, it just so happens that I have some for you to download! Just place your order through my Etsy shop, tell me your child's name and then I'll send you a pdf or jpeg and you print and cut! Or, if you'd like it to be even easier (and who doesn't?), I'll do the printing and cutting for you and mail it right to your house. Easy peasy. Now you can get to work on making that costume…

New clock images

2010-09-29T11:08:00.000-04:00

How was your weekend? Mine was a blur, but good - I was busy creating and refining some new images for clocks. I'll be uploading them to Etsy this week, but if you see one that you like and must have before that, just send me a message (lisa at milkshaksecrafts dot com)! I'm so glad that I finally got these down on paper. A lot of them have been in my head for a while. Remember that survey that some of you took waaaaay back in February? I got lots of great ideas from that, and some of these new ideas came from the survey. Thank you!

Fall art classes starting SOON!

2010-09-27T11:55:00.002-04:00

Are you in the Elkins Park/Abington/Philadelphia/Cheltenham area? If so, I'm teaching art classes for kids, ages 2 and up! There will be two sessions, one for 2-5 year-olds (with parent) and one for ages 5 and up. Click on the flier below for more information!

FREE shopping list printable!

2010-09-21T15:00:00.000-04:00

Are you like me? Just about every time I go to the market I forget 75% of what I need unless I have a list. No list and I wind up right back at the market the next day. Also, I make the same list over and over and over… making me feel like I'm wasting paper and brain power trying to remember what we usually purchase. So last year around this time I created a shopping list for myself and printed out a handful of them. They were so, so helpful to me and I hope they are for you, too! Feel free to download the list and use it as many times as you like.

PS: I'd love feedback on the items on the list. I did this kind of quickly and may not have included your favorites. Let me know if there are things that you absolutely must have on the list and I can easily update it!

Introducing: coloring books!

2010-09-15T13:34:00.000-04:00

The first coloring book in the series is ready! This one features 10 different patterns, measures 8.5 x 11" (or 11 x 17" when flat), is printed on white paper and saddle-stitched. You can have your very own milkshake crafts coloring book for just $4! And if you buy one today, you will also get a free *surprise* gift! Click here to go to my Etsy shop and get your very own not-your-ordinary coloring book!

Coloring books!

2010-09-08T09:55:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it on here or not, but I've been thinking about making some milkshake crafts coloring books. I know I've posted about it on my Facebook fan page back in May. Yes, I said May. I don't do much work during the summer :)

I've got quite a few pages already finished, so I thought I'd give you a sneek peek. What do you think?

Right now I've used my patterns as the base for the pages. I've also been thinking about birds, butterflies, etc.

What would you like to see in a coloring book? Would you use it or give it to your kids?

FREE back to school printable!

2010-09-06T09:42:00.000-04:00

Malayna goes back to school tomorrow, and we're planning on doing something fun and crafty today to celebrate, in addition to having her favorite dinner (spaghetti and homemade meatballs). Last year we made crowns. This year we're going to make back-to-school time capsules. I got the idea here. Looks like (easy) fun!

{Click on the image to enlarge it. Print, cut and enjoy!}

Lunchtime in the cafeteria was really tough for Malayna last year, so I was thinking of ways to make it easier on her this year. One way is to leave little notes for her in her lunchbox. This year she can read, but last year when she couldn't I drew her little pictures. To make things really simple, I created a free printable of lunch box notes - you can download, print on letter-sized paper, cut and write a message or draw a picture for your little one. (Click on the image above to make it larger, then print. Send me an email - milkshakecrafts at yahoo dot com - if you have any problems.) Enjoy!

What do you do to celebrate the first day of school?

Fall art classes!

2010-09-05T10:13:00.000-04:00

If you live near Elkins Park, PA and would like to sign your child up for art classes, check out my new Facebook page for Creative Kids! Creative Kids is my new art class-teaching business. I'll be offering two classes in the fall - one mommy & me class for ages 2-5 and an after school class for ages 5 and up. Days/times are listed on the Creative Kids page. Click on over to Facebook and be my fan!

Art class: wild things

2010-08-27T09:48:00.001-04:00

I'm really behind with these art class postings - I have three that I still haven't written about! Yesterday was the last summer art class and pool party. A good time was had by all!

Last week we worked on creating our own wild things. (The week before the girls did self-portraits, but I didn't get any good photos that day so I won't be posting about it.)

After reading Where the Wild Things Are, the girls got to work drawing their own wild thing in pencil. I gave step-by-step instructions - first draw the head, then the body, then the arms, legs, etc. Sometimes when I give them free-reign they rush through and finish too early. Going slowly gives them time to think about what they're drawing. I also gave out blank scrap paper in case they wanted to sketch some ideas before starting. I was surprised at how excited they were to do this part. I'll definitely include this step in other classes. When the drawings were finished I brought out the oil pastels for drawing patterns and outlining. Then the girls painted with watercolors and the spots where they used oil pastel resisted the paint. Most of them remembered this from the other time we did it.

Some of the names they came up with for their wild things were funny.

{Eagle wild thing.}

{Puppy pal wild thing.}

{I don't remember the name of this one, but she

told me it was a drawing of her mom!}

{Penguin wild thing.}

{Guinea fish wild thing.}

{Cop wild thing.}

{Puppy fish wild thing.}

After the wild things were finished we had some time left. I was expecting these to take up most of the class time, so I didn't have anything else planned. I spotted a tub of Crayola air dry clay that I had purchased a while back for Malayna. Each girl got a bit of clay and instructions to knead it in their hands before making something. They LOVED the clay and were so helpful to each other. I brought out some cookie cutters and one of the girls showed the others how to make little bowls. This could've been an entire art class on its own, divided into two sessions since the clay has to dry for a few days before it can be painted. This time they were sent home and told to wait 2-3 days for the clay to dry before painting it with tempera, watercolors or acrylics. You could probably even draw on it with markers.

Happy first birthday Lola!

2010-08-18T13:59:00.001-04:00

Happy birthday Lola! It must be a special day, because you chose today to start drinking from the toilet.

Art class: collage with painted paper

2010-08-16T15:07:00.001-04:00

Wow! This art class had so much energy! It was so lively and busy that we didn't even have time for snack until the very last minute. That's huge, people.

We read a fantastic book called The Lion and the Little Red Bird. The watercolor and mixed media illustrations in this book are colorful and inspiring. The story is great, too - about the friendship that develops between the two creatures, even though they don't speak the same language. The lion's tail is a different color each morning, and the girls enjoyed trying to figure out why.

Part of the reason this class was so energetic was because they were moving the whole time. Instead of having them sit at the same table for the entire class (like they usually do), I set up four painting stations. Each station/table had a different colors of paint and the girls would move to the next table after painting a sheet of paper (or two or three…). Table one had brown, black and white, table two had orange, red, yellow, table three had blue, purple, green and the last had yellow, white and pink.

They were so into it that I had to keep an eye on the time and move them along after a little while. I think they would've easily filled four or five sheets of paper at each table. My intention was to have them paint one sheet per table, but that didn't really work out. They tended to do two sheets on average and some were constantly asking for more paper. How could I say no when they were so inspired?!

In addition to painting the papers, they could use things to make impressions in the paint, like plastic forks, bubble wrap (the favorite), sponges and brushes. I need to get more bubble wrap - it's art class gold.

While they worked on painting their papers, my assistant Tessa had to start drying them with a blow dryer. I realized halfway through that they wouldn't be dry enough to complete the project. Once again I was so glad that I had an assistant.

After the papers were dry and we found the owners of them, I handed out bird body templates. The girls traced the bird body onto their painted papers, then wings, tail feathers, and head. Some girls went further and created nests, the sun, leaves and branches. I gave each girl a googly eye for their bird. I also let them use the oil pastels to draw on them. They cut out their drawings and glued everything onto blue construction paper.

I love the way these turned out! This, to me, was the perfect art class: there was tons of energy, the process was fun and the product looks great. Most of the projects we do are more about process than product, as it should be at this age. But it's a plus when pieces like this happen!

This project was adapted from one I found on the Deep Space Sparkle blog. She has lots of great art class ideas with excellent instructions.

Photo Friday: puppy + water squirter

2010-08-06T11:03:00.000-04:00

Inspiration

2010-08-05T08:13:00.001-04:00

A few inspiring things:

• This blog

• knack studios (love seeing the before and after shots)

• Anna Marie Horner's gorgeous patterns

• Pretty stationery

• Seeing this. It never gets old.

What inspires you?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-04T10:06:00.001-04:00

{Painting created by Malayna at the Abington Art Center's art camp…}

{…inspired by The Great Wave by Katsushika Hokusai.}

Art class: hats

2010-08-03T22:27:00.001-04:00

We did something a little different in last week's art class. Up until then we'd been working on 2D artwork, but this time we played around with some three-dimensional stuff. We read two books about hats (the girls voted for a second book): Twelve Hats for Lena (which may have been a little young for this group) and Millie's Marvellous Hat (a cute book about imagination).

Since the weather was uncooperative (very hot and humid with a threat of thunderstorms) I decided to play it safe and hold class indoors. My assistant had camp this week, so my mom helped out. We talked a little about what could go on the hats, but they were very anxious to get started. I put out a variety of materials for them to work with: feathers, oil pastels (they love these), paints, buttons, ribbon, yarn, pipe cleaners and pom-poms.

While the hats were drying (those pom-poms need a lot of glue!), they drew people with crazy hats on black paper with chalk pastels. Those were also a big hit. Some of the drawings were just a big mess of pastels that they had smooshed around the paper with their hands. A few of the girls (mine included) just wanted to put their hand in the pastels - never mind a drawing. I managed to reel them in and remind them to create a crazy hat drawing!

One of the girls had the idea to make bracelets with the pipe cleaners, and hats were even created for a special stuffed animal.

Monday: made by me

2010-08-02T15:30:00.001-04:00

I dropped Malayna off at art camp this afternoon and saw an artist friend of mine there. She and I were talking about art and I said that I'm not comfortable painting. While I was driving home I thought, "that's ridiculous. I can paint! I just need to DO it." It's this thing I've been telling myself for so long that I don't even think about it: "I'm a designer and I can't paint." It made me think of that book The Secret. "The Secret teaches us that we create our lives, with every thought every minute of every day." If I keep telling myself that I can't paint, then I can't.

I got home, pulled out my tiny moleskin sketchbook, a Sharpie and some of Malayna's watercolors. I quicky drew a few shapes on the page and then filled them in with watercolor. It's not a masterpiece, but I was determined to put paint to paper today.

Do you not do things because you think you can't? Have you told yourself something so long that you've come to believe it?

Photo Friday

2010-07-30T10:05:00.000-04:00

Fun times at Beachcomber Campground in Cape May, NJ.

{Going underwater for the first time!}

{Jumping off the dock for the first time.}

{Too many giant smores.}

What did you do this week? We went to the campground, came back for art class and went to a concert.

Have a great weekend!

Art class: printmaking

2010-07-29T16:19:00.000-04:00

It sure seems that every Thursday (art class day) is 95 degrees or above with at least 90% humidity! It's been a hot, dry summer. The dry part is good (for art class anyway), but it's a little tricky to stay cool outside while making art. Maybe I should invent some kind of art-making class we could do in the pool…

Last week we did some printmaking. The kids enjoyed making their own printing plates from foam plates after I read "Swimmy," a book that features illustrations created by printing different materials. First, the girls created a background on their paper with watercolors. They really like using watercolors (or paint of any kind). I did have to remind them not to mix too many colors together or else they would end up with "mud." I don't usually tell them which colors to mix or not to mix colors, but when they've created a beautiful color by mixing two paints, I hate to see it covered up with a muddy brown.

While the backgrounds were drying, the girls created their printing plates by drawing images of fish on foam plates (cut into squares). Some tried their hand at creating their own, but other wanted me to draw the outline for them, after which they filled them in with patterns, eyes, scales and fins.

We put those aside and went back to the backgrounds, printing with doilies, bubble wrap, rolling pencils, the lips of cups, pencil erasers and even fingers! The bubble wrap was probably the favorite material, and it was really tempting to pop it while painting on it!

Ideally, the printing plates would have paint applied to it with a brayer, but in this case we used tempera paint with a somewhat dry paintbrush. I had them test their plates on a separate piece of paper first to make sure the lines they drew were deep enough to resist the paint. (A few needed to be re-drawn.) This was Malayna's favorite art class so far.

After the underwater scenes were finished, we worked on artist trading cards. I gave each girl 8 small cards that I had cut from heavy paper and told them that they could "print" each card and then at the end of class everyone would trade cards, so we would have a card from each person in class. They loved this part! I was really impressed with the ideas they had for printing. One girl even did her own version of monoprinting - she painted on one card and then made several prints from that one image. They were so creative!

Art class: collage

2010-07-21T09:56:00.000-04:00

Last week's art class was filled with cutting, pasting, drawing and lots of talking. I read the book "Baby Rattlesnake" and we talked about patterns, especially the ones we saw on the borders inside the book. Each girl created a snake collage with desert backgrounds and patterned borders.

The night before class, I cut strips of wallpaper for the girls to use as borders around their paper. I used wallpaper sample books for all the patterned paper in this project. It was free and the kids loved sorting through the papers and finding different patterns. Instead of using glue sticks (I wasn't sure they were going to stick), each girl had a small paper cup filled with glue and a paintbrush for applying. This definitely took up a lot of time, but that was a good thing. They enjoyed "painting" with the glue and getting messy.

After the borders were glued on, we put the papers aside to dry and traced and cut snakes from templates. Some needed help since the snakes were curvy. (I'm very thankful for my assistant Tessa, who helps me fill water cups, clean brushes, wash hands, help with cutting, etc, etc.) After the snakes were ready, they cut and glued small pieces of paper to the snake.

We let the snakes dry, and in the meantime did some work on the backgrounds with oil pastels (which are wildly popular!). We talked about the kinds of things that are found in the desert, like cactus plants, mountains, rocks, sand. After the backgrounds were finished, the girls worked on gluing their snakes on and adding pattern to the borders.

It was a long and fun project that kept them busy for almost the entire class (which is 2 hours long). Can't wait to see what they create this week!

Collaboration drawing

2010-07-20T13:07:00.001-04:00

This collaboration drawing was made by me and Malayna during a long car ride yesterday. (We were in my parents' car, coming back from visiting our family down the shore.) I started out by drawing a large shape on the page, then handed the paper and box of crayons to Malayna for her to add something. It was a fun way to spend a two-hour car ride!

Monday: made by me

2010-07-19T07:55:00.000-04:00

These weren't technically made by me this past week. The things I've been working on this week aren't quite ready to be seen yet. These are 4x4" squares that I sell in my Etsy shop. They're fairly new to the shop - I just made them in June.

What did you make this week?

Controlling clutter, collections and stuff

2010-07-16T08:50:00.001-04:00

Ever since I can remember I've been a collector of stuff. Books, stones, seashells, candles, art supplies, frames, furniture, etc, etc… I've tried a few times to whittle down the amount of stuff I have, but it just builds right back up again. I have a talent for squeezing lots of stuff into small spaces - my childhood room was the size of some people's closets, but that didn't stop me. I managed to have stuffed animals, knick-knacks, special notes from friends, clothes, magazines, books, and junk all packed into that tiny room.

My excuse has been that I'm an artist and being surrounded by stuff inspires me. It's true, but I don't necessarily want to SEE all that stuff everyday. There have been many times that we'll need something around the house (an extra chair, shelf, bookcase) and I'll remember something I bought and stored in the basement. We don't buy many new things - lots of my purchases are from thrift shops or Craigslist. It's my version of recycling.

The collecting gene has been passed along to Malayna. She collects a variety of things - shells, rocks (everywhere we go she finds rocks to bring home), picked flowers (and weeds), papers, papers, papers (an unending supply), trinkets, toys, etc. Sometimes the things go right in the trash the next day, but the majority of the time she remembers and asks where her prized find is.

We have too much stuff. I'm ready to get rid of most of it, but I don't know where to start. Should I start on the first floor and go room-by-room? Then what? I do donate things to thrift shops, but sometimes I'll start a bag for donating and then put the bag on the third floor or down the basement or in our mudroom where it'll sit and sit and sit. I lose interest. The job becomes too big and overwhelming. I'd rather do something else.

Part of the problem is that we have a total of 6 closets in our 100+-year-old house. And four of them are in our two bedrooms. I've had to get creative with our storage options, but then it starts to look cobbled-together and messy.

Is anyone else feeling this way? I'd like to start some kind of group, maybe on Facebook, where we share tips for purging and organizing, and even post before and after photos. If I don't do it with someone else, I'll just keep putting it off.

I'm ready to throw things away and have less stuff! Who's joining me?

edited to add: Here's link for the Facebook group, called simplify. I think you have to request to be a member and then I'll add you. Join us!

Art class: circles

2010-07-14T07:53:00.000-04:00

Last week's art class theme was circles. I read the book "The Dot", which tells the story of a little girl who thinks she can't draw but ends up creating a series of dots in different sizes and colors. We also looked at Wassily Kandinsky's "Squares with Concentric Circles" and noticed how he used circles and mixed colors to create the artwork.

{Squares with Concentric Circles}

I gave the children three colors of tempera paint to work with: red, yellow and blue. We folded the paper so that it ended up with eight equal spaces and the girls traced the fold marks with pencil so they would be easier to see. I started out with specific instructions: paint one small yellow circle, then on a different square paint a medium yellow circle and finally a large yellow circle. Repeat with red then blue. After they finished that part I told them to keep making circles around the original circles until the space was filled. They loved when the paint mixed together and created a new color - in fact, it was a surprise to them when it happened. After that, they were on a mission to create new colors.

It has worked out so far that we work on two projects in class - one before snack and one after. The first one is the main project and the second carries through the theme, but with a little more freedom. This time I had cut circles in letter-sized paper (inspired by this), and put out oil pastels, scissors, glue and construction paper. They were free to do what they wanted, and most of them decided to cover up the hole. I had two older girls in class this week (11-year-olds) and I sat them at a different table with their own supplies (some of which the younger girls didn't get). Their project made use of the circle hole by making little books about circles and attaching them to the hole in the paper. So creative!

Monday: made by me

2010-07-12T10:26:00.001-04:00

Each Monday I'm going to post something that I made (or that Malayna and I made together). It may be a little sketch, or a bigger project. As much as I love summer and the freedom from schedules, I do feel the need to have some kind of planned activity, in real life and on the blog. Maybe this will help me post more during the summer months.

I don't know about you, but we have an endless supply of seashells and beach stones from our summer getaways. Both Malayna and I love to collect things, and sitting on the beach digging in the sand with my feet in the ocean is one of my favorite summer activities. (Calling it an activity is being generous - how "active" is it?)

Some years we don't even unpack our finds. I have a container in the yard with last year's shells and stones. This year, I put the treasure-filled bucket next to our outdoor dining table. When we have barbecues or are just hanging out after swimming, we pull out some stones and doodle (with Sharpie markers). I need some kind of container to hold the finished ones - right now some of them are clay dishes for pots (like the photo above), and some are used as weights to hold our placemats on the table. Others are lined up on our outdoor windowsills. The largest ones are used around the edges of the gardens.

What kinds of containers would you use for these? They have to be pretty and portable. Sometimes I have to move the rocks around since Lola likes to try and eat them. I find them scattered throughout the yard!

What did you (or your kids) make this weekend?

Art class update

2010-07-06T22:19:00.000-04:00

Our yearly vacation to Cape May was absolutely wonderful. We had perfect weather and got to hang out with friends and family. We did not want to come home. I'm 98% sure that if we could sell our house and buy one within walking distance to the beach in Cape May, we'd do it. It would be nice if our friends and family could come too, though. Oh, and if Malayna's school could move there that would also be great.

{The first summer art class in the backyard.}

My first summer art class was a success! The girls in the class were so receptive to the project, and even ignored the swingset in the yard while we made art. I read "The Mixed Up Chameleon" by Eric Carle (thanks, Jill for letting me borrow your copy!) and showed them another chameleon book with lots of different patterns and colors. Then we talked about chameleons for a bit - how they blend in to their surroundings, their patterns, etc. Before class I made several templates for a body (I wasn't sure if each child would be able to draw the entire lizard). They shared the templates and worked really well together. After tracing the body, they added legs, eyes, and tongues (all done in pencil). Some even added a fly at the end of the tongue!

I talked about how we would decorate our chameleons. I handed out oil pastels and crayons and told them to draw patterns on the chameleons. They also added background stuff, like clouds, sun, and grass. When they finished with the drawing, they got to paint over them with watercolors. I explained (before they started with the drawing) how the oil pastels and crayons would resist the watercolors. They were really excited to actually see this happen in their work! They really had a great time and it was so fun to watch.

After their chameleons were finished, we took a snack break. They were even excited about that. (Seriously, this age rocks.) Our next mini-project was to draw the flowers I cut from the garden for each of them. We looked closely at the flowers, noticing the shapes - circle in the middle, little fuzzy things around the edge of the circle, long petals and a green stem.

One little girl was having trouble with her flower drawing and was erasing what she had done. She said, "I messed up!" (To which Malayna replied, "There is no messing up in art!") So I sat with her and helped her to look at the flower and see the shapes. After she drew it she got this big smile on her face and said, "Now THAT looks like a flower!" Watching her "get it" and knowing that she felt good about something she created was priceless.

Growing

2010-06-18T13:05:00.000-04:00

A little veggie garden:

{From this…}

{…to this.}

A little girl:

{From the first day of kindergarten…}

{…to the last.}

Guess which one is growing too fast?

Sand, ocean, fresh air, family time…

2010-06-17T11:00:00.000-04:00

{Malayna in Cape May, 2009}

We are taking our yearly Cape May vacation soon. I cannot wait to hear, smell and see the ocean. There's nothing like being at the beach to inspire me. It must be something about the openness of the space, breathing that air everyday and having no schedule other than sitting in the sand with the sun shining overhead. We park the car and leave it there for most of the vacation since everything in Cape May is accessible by foot or bike. We've been vacationing here for the last 10 years and it's at the top of my list of favorite places.

{Philadelphia Beach in Cape May.}

I plan on taking a new sketchbook and some pencils and markers with me. Malayna makes friends easily and always finds someone to play with on the beach, which leaves us with the time to draw, read or do absolutely nothing!

{Buried!}

{2009}

Do you feel freshly inspired after going away?

Sending love to another mama

2010-06-16T11:32:00.000-04:00

I've been following Katie Allison Granju's story of her son's drug addiction and his subsequent death. She tells her story as a kind of warning to other parents: don't take your child's drug use lightly, no matter what kind of drug they are experimenting with. Her story is a reminder that it can happen to any one of us with children. Read her story, watch the video and hug your kids.

You can donate to the Henry Louis Granju Memorial Scholarship Fund, which will provide funds for families who are struggling to pay the costs of drug and alcohol treatment for their children.

New work & summer art classes

2010-06-11T14:40:00.000-04:00

Hello all! Seems like during the warmer months I take an unintentional break from blogging. I'm still here, but it looks as though my website is down at the moment. You can still view everything (which is good, I guess), but you can't add anything to the shopping cart and I can't add any more new products (which I just took pictures of on Wednesday). I've started adding things to my Etsy shop, but I'm nowhere near finished. I'm pretty sure that the problem will be solved if I could update my shopping cart, but I have no idea how to go about doing that (even after reading the tutorial). I'm looking for someone to help me, so if you know of anyone drop me a line at milkshakecrafts at yahoo dot com. Thanks :)

{New clematis desk clock}

If you are local to the Philly area (Elkins Park to be exact), I will be teaching art classes in my home (backyard) this summer on Thursday mornings from 9:30-11:30. The age is 6-8, and I already have a few children signed up. If you're interested or just want to hear more, email me at milkshakecrafts at yahoo dot com.

Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-02T13:04:00.001-04:00

{Springtime 6 years ago.}

Summer!

2010-06-01T10:38:00.000-04:00

{Look, no arm floaties!}

It's not officially summer yet, but it sure does feel like it. Malayna has been counting down to the end of school for a few weeks now. But she's not counting the days because she wants school to end - she's sad that she won't be in kindergarten anymore.

{Giant inflatable water slide.}

{Let me in!}

We have a few things planned for the summer, but I mostly want to enjoy not having a schedule for a few months. I'll be teaching an art class here on Thursday mornings for 6-8-year-olds in July and August that I'm really excited about. I love watching kids create and seeing how each one interprets a theme differently. We leave for our yearly Cape May vacation in June, and I cannot wait to dip my toes in the ocean and park my beach chair at the water's edge.

{Lola swims!}

{This is what happens when a five-year-old applies his own sunscreen.}

Meanwhile, we'll enjoy swimming in our pool and playing with the ever-growing group of kids on our block. I love that Malayna can go outside and play with her friends - no need to get in the car and drive anywhere, no sitting inside watching TV, no complaining about being bored (okay, maybe a little of that). It reminds me of the neighborhood where I grew up and I'm so happy that Malayna gets to experience this. Our yard has the swingset and pool, the neighbors across the street have a trampoline and inflatable water slide. There are trees to climb, grass to run in and friends to play with. Isn't that what childhood is all about?

{Not so sure about this swimming thing.}

Creating and parenting

2010-05-17T10:18:00.000-04:00

I've been a member of the group MamaCita for about a year now. (From our website: MamaCita is a Mothers' Cooperative in the Arts. Its purpose is to bring together female artists in Philadelphia and its suburbs to discuss and share their art, to offer constructive critique and encouragement, to find venues for the exhibition and sale of the group's work and ultimately, to inspire and motivate.) I had heard of the group a few times over the years, and last year around Mother's Day I attended a screening of the movie Who Does She Think She Is? hosted by MamaCita. It was at that time that I inquired about joining the group. Although I have artist friends, I wanted and needed a group to meet with regularly.

We are currently working on a group show titled (W)Holons (a holon is something that is simultaneously a whole and a part). Each of us is responsible for creating at least three 4" squares and one 20x20 piece of artwork to fit the theme. We met last week to put all our work together and see how it's all coming along. What an inspiring meeting! Since we have artists working in all different media, I thought the work might not work together. Not so - the fact that the squares are all the same size really ties them together. One of the places we'll be exhibiting this show is at the Abington Art Center, some time in December (details coming soon).

My three squares were inspired by Malayna starting kindergarten this year. After I would drop her off in the morning, I would take a walk in the park where we used to go to play. Each time I would find something (leaf, seed pod, flower, etc.) to bring home and would put it on the table for her to see when she got home from school. Each of my squares features a drawing of something I found in the park for her. The words relate to how I was feeling at the time. Also included are the words to a song by Dar Williams, "But sometimes I will ask the moon where it shined upon you last, And shake my head and laugh and say, It all went by so fast."

I'm so glad I found this group. It's given me the push I needed to create work like this again - work inspired by my experiences as a mother. It's a struggle to do work that is just for me as opposed to the work I do for milkshake. Each is satisfying, but in different ways.

New necklaces!

2010-05-04T17:45:00.003-04:00

Spring is upon us here in the Philadelphia area and it's wonderful! Flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing, and there are even some butterflies fluttering.

Do you know that this Sunday is Mother's Day? That snuck up, didn't it? You can still order something for mom (or sister, or aunt, or even for you!) and have it delivered in time. If you live close to me, I can even deliver it in person :)

I just added lots of pretty new necklaces, which would be a perfect gift for someone special. There are chickadees, butterflies, and even clematis flowers.

{orange clematis}

Thanks to everyone who came to the Chesnut Hill Home & Garden Festival on Sunday. It was great to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.

For those of you in the Philadelphia area, I will be participating in Glenside's First Friday event this coming Friday the 7th. Join the members of MamaCita at Sweet Magnolia and Leather Case (both on Easton Road) from 6-8:30 pm. We'll have artwork for sale, wine to drink and snacks to munch on. Hope to see you there!

Have a great day!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-28T09:30:00.000-04:00

Telling your story

2010-04-27T10:53:00.000-04:00

This phrase has been on my mind for months. Everyone has a story - be it sad, inspiring, heartbreaking, troubling, or exciting. Your story is what makes you YOU. Have you shared yours with someone lately? Has someone else shared theirs with you? Has it changed the way you think about them? I love reading or hearing about people's stories and I have a soft spot for the sad ones.

This is part of mine.

What's your story?

Experiments with type

2010-04-26T08:25:00.000-04:00

We had a lazy, rainy Sunday here yesterday. It was nice to have nothing to do and just hang around the house - no pressure to work on the garden, either.

I've been thinking of having art classes here in my backyard (or inside if the weather doesn't cooperate) over the summer. I posted about it on Facebook last week and got a pretty good response. I think I'd do two sessions (if there's enough interest) - one for 5-7 year-olds and one for 3-4 year-olds with a grown-up.

I've been compiling a list of potential projects for the older group. Yesterday Malayna and I played around with the lightbox and some big type. I printed the alphabet on paper from the computer and we traced words over the lightbox. Then we colored in the letters with different colors and designs. Malayna loved it - kept asking to trace over and over again. The project would have to be more involved if it were part of the summer art class, but it's a good starting point.

Camera strap slipcover tutorial

2010-04-22T09:15:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I posted on Facebook about wanting a funky camera strap made by a local artist. No luck. I found lots of handmade camera straps, but none of the makers were local. Instead of spending more time searching, I decided to make one myself.

At first I figured I could head out to a fabric store and find a cool fabric to use. Then I realized I have all these patterns that I've created that would look fabulous on fabric. And, being the collector that I am, I just happened to have this photo fabric lying around. (It's fabric that you can put through your printer.) I don't even remember when I bought it or if I ever used it. See - there's a reason why I save everything!

I chose some of my favorite patterns and reworked them with different colors. After I measured the strap, I created a 26.25" x 4" Photoshop file and played around with how I wanted the patterns to look on the strap. When I had something I liked, I printed it out on paper, pieced it together and used it as a test on the strap. I wrapped the paper around the strap to make sure it would fit.

After tweaking the Photoshop file a bit, I printed it on the photo fabric. Since I couldn't fit the whole thing on one piece of fabric (they're 8.5 x 11" sheets), I had to stitch some of them together, which is one of the reasons I designed it in blocks - like patchwork. I hand-stitched instead of using the machine simply because I would be able to do it anywhere.

Some of the block were printed together and didn't need to be stitched, but I stitched anyway to keep the look consistent. The whole piece was then stitched into a tube shape.

The hardest part of the whole project was fitting the strap into the slipcover. I had made it to fit pretty snugly, so lots of wiggling had to be done to put the cover on.

I love it! Since it's my first one, I'm not sure how long it will last. Not a problem, though - that just means I'll have to make another one!

My little girl (still)

2010-04-20T10:33:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I forget just how little Malayna still is. She's six, which means she can brush her own teeth, (almost) take a shower all by herself, help set the table for dinner, go on playdates without me with no tears (never thought that would happen!)… The list goes on.

But then again, she's only six.

Her new favorite show is America's Funniest Home Videos. She loves the host, Tom Bergeron, and thinks he's the second funniest guy around (after her daddy, of course). Last night was the show where the winner of the funniest video gets $100,000. We asked her what she would do with all that money, and she said, "I would buy a pick-up truck." Jimmy asked her if she would buy him a Jeep, and she said that of course she would. I asked her what else she would buy, and she responded, "Would I still have money left over?! I would buy a husband. He will be Jewish, have brown hair, and be named Yair." (Our neighbor and her very good buddy just so happens to be named Yair.) She said they would live in California.

She then got very quiet. Her bottom lip started quivering and she said, "When I think about moving away from you I get sad." We told her we'd come to California with her (we'll follow her anywhere!) but she was already crying. She said, "Just thinking about it makes me cry." She cried for about 10 minutes.

Six is a funny age. She is so self-sufficient, wants to do things without our help, barely bats an eye when she leaves us, and for the most part would rather be playing with her friends than us. The cuddling she used to want 24/7 has whittled down to mostly once a day, maybe a little more if we're lucky. But then there are moments like last night when we're reminded that she's still our little girl.

All this talk about her growing up makes me think of the song The One Who Knows by Dar Williams. Have you ever heard it? (Get your tissues ready. We played this song at Malayna's blessing when she was about 3 months old and there was not a dry eye in the place.) This line gets me every time: "But sometimes I will ask the moon, Where it shined upon you last, And shake my head and laugh and say, It all went by so fast."

Work-in-progress

2010-04-19T14:27:00.000-04:00

I'm almost finished with this clock, which was a special request from my brother and sister-in-law. They let me stay in their trailer near the beach (a whole lot) last summer, and to repay them (a little) I offered them a clock of their choice. None of the colors I usually use really worked in their living room, so my sister-in-law Maria suggested using a black background. What a great idea - I really like the way it looks so far! I just have to attach the clock mechanism and hands and it'll be on its way to Havertown, PA.

Child of my heart

2010-04-12T14:37:00.001-04:00

When I write posts like this I struggle with wondering if I'm sharing too much. But then I remember that this is my blog, about my life and it's not always rosy. I don't want to be one of those bloggers whose life looks so perfect online because they never write about anything crappy that's happening. Fortunately, for me, the happy outweighs the crappy most of the time.

If you don't know the story of Artie, you can read here, here, here (scroll down a little), here, and here. In short, he's a kid who holds a piece of my heart. (I was going to write that's he's special to me, but that doesn't even begin to describe the relationship we've had or how I feel about him.) I've known him since he was born and have loved him and hoped for him since the first time I saw him. My heart's been broken because of him (not by him, necessarily) many, many times, but he's the one who taught me about loving a child. He's a wonderful, creative, funny, charming kid. I guess I should call him a man now, since he turned 20 in March. I can't quite do that, though, since I still think of him as the little 2-year-old boy with the beautiful brown eyes and independent spirit. The little boy who had a whole life ahead of him to do great things: to prove to the world that even though he had an awful childhood, he can rise above it; to be the first in his family to finish high school; to show that even one person rooting for him matters.

I could say that I loved him like he was my own child. But it was different. He wasn't mine and yet I still loved him and gave him all I could. It wasn't enough. It couldn't be enough - he deserved his mom's love and support and everything else a good (even average!) mom gives. He never got that and I can tell you that it eats away at a child when they don't have it. His mom always put her own selfish needs above her children's and wonders to this day why they are such screw-ups.

I've always been there for Artie, his brother and sister and their mom (whom I grew up with). There were many times when I (and Jimmy) rescued them. We filled their refrigerator when the only thing in there were roaches. We took Artie to the hospital when she hurt him. We bought clothes for the kids when they had nothing to wear to school. I volunteered at his schools. I did his homework with him. I called CPS when she abused them. (All before they came to live with us.) We raised for her kids for five years so she could get clean. It never happened. What did happen was that two of them hate us. All three are lost and struggling. What did we accomplish?

I'm not writing this to get pats on the back. I have enough of them. I know that we did a great thing and that not everyone would do what we did. I don't care! We did it thinking that we could make a difference. When I say that to some people they remind me how bad it could be - that he could be a murderer or something equally awful without our influence. That does not make me feel better. You know those after-school specials/commercials/movies that tell you that just one person can make a difference in a kid's life? They make me angry.

We saw the horrible, disgusting things Artie's mom did to him and his siblings. We tried to make it better. We tried to help. All three kids were in therapy. All three had healthcare, clothes on their backs, food in their bellies and a clean, safe house to come home to everyday. We loved them. Instead of thanks, we were threatened by their family (who, by the way, never stepped up and offered to take care of the kids).

As Artie's therapist once said to me, "You and Jimmy tried to fill the Grand Canyon. You can't."

I never wanted Artie to grow up and be a doctor or a lawyer or anything like that. I didn't even care if he went to college. I just wanted him to grow up. To be happy. To rise above. To be proud of himself.

I feel like I have to end this on a positive note. What that whole situation did do for me was to make me so incredibly grateful for Malayna. She's loved. She's ours. She has a normal, perfectly happy life.

Photo Friday

2010-04-02T08:46:00.001-04:00

I finished my spring project! I'm excited about this because usually things that aren't related to my business get started and then tossed aside halfway done. It was a good bit of work and now that it's done I wish I'd taken pictures throughout the process so I could write a tutorial. I might just do that anyway - I could easily recreate parts of the project.

Anyway, here's the big reveal! A "bloom" banner made from vintage and new fabrics. I didn't purchase anything - all the fabrics I used were from my studio. I'm glad I finally got to use some of them. I have lots more…

What do you think?

Who Does She Think She Is?

2010-03-30T14:47:00.000-04:00

Have you heard of the documentary Who Does She Think She Is? If you are an artist who is also a mother, you MUST see this film. It follows five creative women who refuse to choose between mothering or working. We learn about the triumphs and the hardships of these women, meet their families and see them in their studios and homes. I've seen this film twice with groups of people (and I own a copy). Each time I watch it I am left feeling so incredibly inspired. These are women like me (my "tribe!") - creative, expressive women who are struggling to figure out how to stay true to their artistic selves and care for their children at the same time. It's a constant struggle and one that is not without guilt.

It's playing tonight (for free!) at Arcadia University in the Stiteler Auditorium from 7:30 - 10:30. Go see it! You won't be sorry.

Crafty spring project

2010-03-29T14:55:00.000-04:00

Malayna had the wonderful idea to celebrate the start of the spring season with some decorations. After lots of brainstorming together, we came up with a really cute idea for the porch. I'm almost finished putting it together, so I thought I'd show you some preview pics. Can you guess what it is?

Photo Friday

2010-03-26T11:40:00.000-04:00

My daughter's school has a big, fantastic garden. The kids learn about planting, growing and taking care of plants. They plant seeds, mulch the beds, and clean up in the spring, and some classes are responsible for taking care of the birdfeeders for the school year. The children are able to come to the garden during recess to help out, do garden-related crafts or just to enjoy the space. Kindergarteners have their own little area where they plant sunflowers and corn. They harvest the previous year's corn in the fall and make little packets of seeds to take home. There's a tepee in the garden where gourds are grown, and then used to make birdhouses.

The garden is a really great space and an awesome way to learn about nature while getting their hands dirty. The garden is run by (very dedicated) volunteer parents.

I went there yesterday for a spring prep meeting and took some photos. I can't wait to get my hands dirty here!

Women's History Month with kindergarteners

2010-03-24T08:00:00.007-04:00

I visited Malayna's school yesterday to do a project with her class for Women's History Month. We talked a little about celebrating the accomplishments of women in March and when I asked if anyone knew what "accomplishment" meant, one little girl said, "something that you accomplish." Ha!

I told them about Frida Kahlo, and then read this book:

I purposely didn't read a line in the book that said she almost died, but forgot that Malayna can read… She raised her hand and said, "mommy, you left out the line about how she almost died!" Oops.

After the book, I showed them a few prints of Frida's self-portraits (courtesy of my friend Diana). We talked about how she used lots of colors and sometimes liked to include animals in her paintings. I told them that they were going to do a self-portrait with their favorite animal (thanks for the idea, Carole!), and to think about what shape their face is, what color hair they have, what color eyes, etc. We felt our noses to see what shape they are (and while they were working on their portraits the teacher noticed one little boy feeling his nose). I hung a few prints on the wall for reference while they were drawing.

Their excitement was so awesome to see. Every child in the class was anxious to draw.

{Click on the photo to see it larger.}

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-17T13:18:00.000-04:00

Rollerskating at the Palace Rollerskating Rink in Philadelphia.

To paint!

2010-03-15T10:14:00.000-04:00

Remember when I asked if I should paint the buffet in my dining room? The results were interesting. I also posted the question on my personal Facebook page, and all the artists who answered said "paint", while everyone else said "absolutely do not paint it!! Leave it alone!" Or something along those lines. Interesting, huh? I've decided that I'm going to paint it, probably some kind of wash, or antiquing method, but definitely not a solid paint color. Now I just have to wait until this rain stops! I did sand a bit off of the side of the buffet, and it seems as though it'll be easy to do. I'll be sure to post pictures when I'm finished!

Photo Friday

2010-03-12T08:54:00.001-05:00

Let's say you're getting ready for an important meeting. You're printing some things in your office (just one room away from the living room) and you realize that your 7-month-old puppy is awfully quiet. In fact, she's usually so close to you that you've thought of renaming her "velcro" but now she's actually off on her own somewhere. Hmmm. What could she be doing?

Here's a tip: quiet puppy = bad stuff.

Don't leave tissue boxes on the table, and don't trust the quiet.

______________________________________________________________________________

In better news, I'm happy to announce that milkshake clocks, wall squares and magnets can be purchased at This Little Gallery in Jenkintown as of mid-April. I've loved this shop since we moved here 11 years ago. Go visit - the place is filled with handmade goods! I had a really nice meeting with the owner, Trish, yesterday (after the tissue incident, above). I'm excited to see my work in her fabulous gallery!

Speaking of clocks, I added a few new ones to the website yesterday. Go take a look!

{almost} Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-10T09:52:00.000-05:00

Yeeeee-haw! My girl loves her hats.

To paint or not to paint

2010-03-03T10:33:00.000-05:00

We have a large antique/vintage buffet in my dining room that we bought years ago for a steal. It's always had scratches and imperfections on it, but that doesn't really bother me. It has lots of storage, with two huge drawers, two small ones and two side "cabinets". I've been thinking lately that I want to get rid of it and buy a smaller one, but maybe I can satisfy that need for change with a paint job. However, painting vintage items always scares me. What if I hate it and then it's ruined?! But it's not like I'm going to try and sell it - I wouldn't get a great price anyway because of all the scratches.

Here are some (bad) photos of the piece. I feel like it's too dark and painting it a lighter color would brighten up the room. We only have one window in the dining room and it can get a little dark.

What do you think? Should I paint it (what color?) or leave it as is?

Blanche pendant

2010-03-02T10:10:00.000-05:00

{The Blanche pendant.}

Blanche Ames was an artist and outspoken feminist. She created botanical drawings for her husband's research on orchids, and thanks to them the Orchidicae is now the best researched and classified of all the large plant families.

Ames published an article in The Birth Control Review that stated, "The long arm of the Catholic Church is reaching into our legislative halls and is directing our legislators to act according to its will...We have all been troubled by the fear that this Catholic threat to our free institutions would materialize if Catholics were given positions of power in our government, but never before in so short a time have events developed in such irrefutable sequence as in this case of opposition to the Doctors' Birth Control Bill." Because of the ban on distributing birth control information, Ames encouraged women to teach their daughters how to protect themselves, and provided instructions on how to make their own spermicidal jellies and diaphragms.

Blanche Ames died in 1969 at the age of 92.

Betty pendant

2010-03-01T10:51:00.002-05:00

Did you know that March is Women's History Month? It started back in 1987; before that there was just a day to celebrate the contribution women made to history, then a week. You can read a little history (or HERstory if you want to get technical) on the National Women's History Project website.

I was in an all-girls high school in 1987 when Women's History Month started. I don't remember hearing anything about it. Then again, I went to a private Catholic school - they're not exactly known for celebrating women. After high school I went to an art college just for women, and what a difference! Every day was about women. I learned about female artists, saw working female artists and lived among incredibly talented female artists every single day. What a wonderful way to spend four years.

Last year I started writing about the bird pendants I make. I named each one after a woman who made a significant contribution to feminism in the US. In honor of Women's History Month, I'm starting that up again! (You can read the previous posts about Abigail Adams, Alice Paul, Amelia Bloomer and Bella Abzug.)

Betty Friedan is best known for being the author of The Feminine Mystique (credited with starting the second wave of feminism) and co-founder of the National Organization for Women. Some of her other contributions include: organized the national Women's Strike for Equality, founded The National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, founded (along with many other women) The National Women's Political Caucus.

"She is credited for starting the contemporary feminist movement and writing one of the most powerful works in America (from Wikipedia)."

{The Betty pendant can be found here for $15.}

What are you doing to celebrate Women's History Month? Does your child's school do anything special?

Photo Friday

2010-02-19T09:48:00.002-05:00

{Love.}

The yummiest homemade salad dressing ever

2010-02-18T13:06:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine gave me the recipe for this yummy salad dressing over the summer and I've been hooked ever since. It's delicious and so easy to make. I love it on spring mix with sliced almonds, feta cheese and cranberries. Enjoy!

Salad Dressing with Agave
3 tbsp walnut oil (I got mine from Whole Foods)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar or lemon juice (I use balsamic vinegar)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp Agave (got mine from Trader Joe's)
2 crushed garlic cloves
salt & pepper to taste

Be sure to whisk well before serving.

Shrinky dinks

2010-02-15T09:44:00.000-05:00

Do you remember shrinky dinks? They were so much fun! When I was a kid (in the 70s), we bought kits with pre-drawn images which we would color. Now you can buy plain shrinky-dink "paper" and draw your own images on it, or use the inkjet paper and print things from your computer. I even found instructions for making your own shrinky dinks with the styrofoam that comes in meat packages. Ew.

When Malayna started preschool last year, she had a very hard time being away from home. Sometimes she would be okay, but mostly she would get upset when I had to leave her at school. I wanted to give her something to make her feel better when she was at school, so I made her a necklace from shrinky dink paper that said, "mommy loves you." She wore it every day that she went to school, up until last week. It broke in half, so she hasn't worn it for a few days. She would come home from school and say, "I don't even care! I felt my neck when I was in school and I didn't feel it there and I didn't even care!" Hmmm. She mentioned it so much that I think she actually did care.

{Playing with shrinky dinks and sharpies last year.}

Yesterday I printed a few designs on the inkjet shrinky dink paper. It took a few trials and errors before I got them to the correct size. It's not as easy as it would seem - sometimes the paper curls in on itself while it's baking and it won't unstick, or the images get printed on the wrong side of the paper (duh), or the colors don't look quite right. Here's what I ended up with:

{Loved.}

Photo Friday

2010-02-12T09:38:00.002-05:00

We had about two feet of snow fall over the past few days, on top of the other two feet of snow we got last week. That's a lot of snow!

Lola's favorite spot is up on the windowsill, overlooking the porch at the front of the house. This morning she was up there, looking out the window and growling and barking with her fur standing on end. I thought maybe a cat was on the porch, so I went over to see what she was so interested in. Um, it was the birdbath. There's so much snow on top of it that it fell over. Apparently, this is extremely threatening to Lola. She's been barking for the past 25 minutes and counting. Good watchdog.

Snow, snow and more snow

2010-02-11T09:54:00.000-05:00

WIP*

2010-02-08T12:25:00.000-05:00

Some new 12" clocks are in the works. These will be pretty much like the 10" clocks with a couple of differences: they're 2" bigger (duh), and they're 1/2" thick as opposed to 3/4". Look at that pretty leafy paper! I found that paper before Christmas, but I'm just getting around to trying it out. It's great - looks almost leathery.

We got about two feet of snow this past weekend and we're expecting another foot on Tuesday night. Would someone please stop this madness? Thanks.

{*WIP stands for works-in-progress.}

Top 10 reasons why you should not get a puppy

2010-02-05T11:05:00.003-05:00

10. They trash-pick.

9. They eat the plastic things that plants come in.

8. They eat rocks.

7. They dig.

6. They steal magnets off the fridge.

5. They eat more rocks.

4. They rip apart your landscape fabric.

3. They dig some more.

2. They steal plastic bags.

And the #1 reason: This doesn't last long enough.

I nominated milkshake crafts to win a $35k #smallbiz grant on LoveALocalBusiness.com. Help them win!

2010-02-04T14:11:00.001-05:00

I nominated milkshake crafts to win a $35k #smallbiz grant on LoveALocalBusiness.com. Help them win!

Posted using ShareThis

I see spring!

2010-02-04T13:43:00.000-05:00

Well, maybe not exactly. But when I was in the yard yesterday trying to make sure Lola didn't dig any more holes (I was unsuccessful, by the way), I was noticing buds on lots of the plants out there. I also found some Easter flowers my mom & dad gave me last year. I always intend on planting them, but they never seem to get into the ground. No worries, though - they're growing in the plastic pot they came in!

Spring can't get here soon enough in my opinion. Here in the Philadelphia area, we're expecting a snowstorm this weekend. Forecasters are calling for about 12" of snow. But you know how that goes - they're often wrong!

{Lilac from my aunt's garden.}

{Dogwood tree.}

{Not sure what this bush is. Maybe some type of crabapple.}

{Another lilac.}

{Chives.}

{Hydrangea.}

{Butterfly bush.}

Birds, butterflies, flowers and…?

2010-02-03T13:39:00.003-05:00

I love the chickadee image I created back in September to use on my clocks. The butterfly's not too shabby either. The flowers have been very popular, even if someone once told me that they looked like cells. (Cells are cool, right?!) I'd like to create another image, but I'm drawing a blank.

Would you help me out a little? What other images would you like to see on my clocks? I'd really appreciate it if you would fill out the poll below (click on "view survey"). Pretty please?

Can't wait to see what you come up with! Thank you! {Click the link below to take the survey. You don't need to sign in or give your email address. It's totally anonymous, though I wouldn't mind if you signed your name!)

Don't forget!

2010-02-01T09:36:00.001-05:00

{Chickadee wall clock in yellow.}

It's February! Can you believe it? My four-year anniversary sale is still going on until the end of this month. Visit milkshake, place your order for good stuff, and when you're checking out enter code four years to receive free Priority Mail shipping and a little thank you gift from me :)

In other news, I'm still working on my fun project. I've painted, printed, collaged, transferred and painted some more. But now I'm stuck. Or just waiting for the final bit of inspiration. The piece still needs something, but I'm not sure what that something is. I've placed the piece in a spot that I pass several times a day, thinking that if I keep seeing it, the answer will come to me. Of course I'll post it here when it's finally finished.

Have a good Monday!

Makeshift studio

2010-01-29T13:04:00.000-05:00

This is my temporary studio (aka the dining room), until magical elves come over and puppy-proof my real studio.

Sneek peek

2010-01-28T11:39:00.002-05:00

I've been having fun working on a new project the past few days (in between taking Lola for what seems like 5 walks a day, letting her out 20 times a day, and distracting her from biting my knees while I sit). It's not something I'm going to sell on my site, just a piece I had in my head that needed to get out! Here's a sneak peek: