Our son Davis is featured in Proximity Magazine. Check out his amazing talent in this photo essay. Thank you Aunt Towles for all of your encouragement and love!
DIY clay ring dishes
Every Christmas I get the crafting bug. And if you read the “about” page you know that I am a very reluctant crafter. I like fast crafts that look like they took a long time. I am all about eye-balling. So this year, I combined this pin and this pin to come up with the rustic-lux dotted ring dish.
Materials needed:
air dry clay
rolling pin
small ceramic bowl
acrylic paint + gloss
S T E P 1:
Using a tennis ball size hunk, roll out your clay until it is an even, 1/4 inch thick.
S T E P 2:
invert your bowl and twist a few times into the clay until you are all the way through. Lift bowl away.
S T E P 3:
Peel away excess clay and set aside for your next bowl.
S T E P 4:
Press the disk of clay down into your bowl. Do not push it in the center too hard. It does not need to touch the bottom. At this point you can smooth the edges with your finger.
S T E P 5:
Let dry for 24 hours. Do not try and take the clay out of the bowl until at least 12 hours later. You may need more drying time for the unexposed edges.
S T E P 6:
Paint the bottom. Let dry.
S T E P 7:
Paint the inside and top edges. Let dry.
S T E P 8:
Paint your dots. Less is more here. people!
S T E P 9:
Paint a clear gloss coat. Let dry.
Besides waiting on the clay to dry, this is a FAST, fun craft. I made many bowls all at once and then painted them the next day. We gave them as teachers gifts, with a quote saying “this gift is to hold your precious things since you hold our’s all day long”.
a story of slavery
I am floored at how often I get to work on projects in which I believe wholeheartedly. The Whitney Plantation project came from a local Denver woman who saw some of my Vela designs. She is from Louisiana. Her father bought the plantation years ago with the dream of making it an homage to slave children. The site has commissioned, life-size bronze statues standing hauntingly across the grounds. The Field of Angels lists the names of all known children who died, frequently using only first name. My client sent me pictures for inspiration and I had chills as I looked through them. I love that I can be a part of such an important place.
The last design is what they liked best.
happy holidays!
I just entered five new holiday card designs on Minted! Voting starts later this week. Please vote if you have a chance!
And yes … I did enter a card with the words “nut balls”. Thanks TCG.
prenatal vitamin ads
I recently had the opportunity to work with some fantastic people in Chicago on ads for prenatal vitamins. In the first briefing, I told them that the job was custom fit for me. They wanted to see vintage, modern and storybook style layouts. The art director was so organized, with mood boards and color choices. It was so much fun!
Above is the final ad that the client chose. You can see the other vintage and modern layouts below.
wonderful rejection
I just came across these logos for a potential client who never became an actual client. They were to go on foods containing Maya Nuts, an relatively undiscovered super food. I think the logos are fine. But what I had forgotten were T’s tag lines. SO funny. My favorite is “Maya What??? Maya Nut!!!”
Party Party Party
I just finished up two jobs for parties on the East Coast. I am always so behind when planning my own children’s birthdays, it was fun to see what could be done if there is organization involved. One birthday has a Frozen theme and the other a Science theme. Without a doubt, both parties will be replicated in this house!
All printables are for sale on my Etsy site. I also am available for more custom projects!
the wine goddess
While in Chicago, T and I worked with Rick. Within the first few weeks of our job, he announced that I needed to be friends with his wife. And he was right. The first time I met Diana Hamann she compared our wine to Dolly Parton. She is hysterical, real and a great mom. She is also an incredible expert on wine. After working in for wine.com she ventured out on her own, working as a sommelier and teacher in Chicago. She opened The WIne Goddess in Evanston, IL in late 2012. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to revamp her logo.
I loved the image of Venus as the goddess, but did not love that it begged to always be in the upper left hand corner. Below was my original presentation to Diana.
The new round “seal” can be placed anywhere. And the type works well with so many of their materials.
We miss seeing the Hamanns, but are so thankful for that fateful introduction. And if you are ever in Chicago, you MUST stop by the store. If you are worried about your kids being bored, there is a train table to keep them occupied while you imbibe.
custom commission
I love doing invitations. It is such an easy way to make an event extra special. Recently I was asked to convert my Astronaut invitation into a Galactic Ball invite for five year old twins. I got fantastic direction from a NYC party planner. I love how they turned out!
wire spool dining table
T loves circular tables. There is something about the equality of it all … that conversation flows among everyone, not just between those who share sides. In Chicago, we purchased this 3/4 inch piece of circular glass (the diameter is 5′). I wish that I could say it was cheap, but I remember it being around $400. It is burly, though. Many kids have stood on it (without permission, of course). It has scratches of character. And I HAVE to wash the underside … something I would otherwise ignore! We have had many bases – galvanized sawhorses, painted sawhorses, a twig table. Most recently we made the base out of an old wire spool that I got for free from a local utility company. We painted it grey (Benjamin Moore dark primer, actually). Then added quilting to the top and staple gunned leftover suzani fabric. And I can easily switch it up on a whim!
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