Dylanbug at Siren Nation, Nov 7th, 11am to 5pm

I'm at the Kennedy School today at the Siren Nation Art and Craft Sale.  Lots of traffic, great vendors, food, beer and fun!

 

It's Been Awhile...

Yes, the blog has been on hiatus for a couple of months.  Many reasons for that...

My boys (big and small) were in a bicycle accident involving a car.  Although their injuries were surprisingly minor, they are still recovering.  The biggest outcome from the whole thing has been my renewed appreciation for both of them and the time we all spend together.  What could have been a life-rending tragedy was somehow turned into even more love and a reminder of what is truly important in life.

My "real" job - owner of Compass Human Resources - has been amazingly busy lately.  That is a wonderful thing.  New clients, new projects, and new adventures.

And, we've been traveling and enjoying our larger family too.

All that said, where did the art go?  Well, I've been making art here and there, and had a weekend card-making extravaganza with my mom last month.  All in preparation for the Siren Nation Art Sale this Sunday at Kennedy School.  Sorry I haven't posted any pictures - haven't had time to set things up, pose it, touch up the pics...

I hope to have some things up soon.  Just wanted to say hello and that I'm still out here :)

A Special Gift

It's been awhile since I've posted.  That's largely due to my "real" job getting very busy.  New clients and new projects - yay!

But, I have been working on some art projects too, just a little more slowly than usual.

One of the things I've been doing is making a gift for a keynote speaker that will be appearing at a conference I'm involved with.  The idea is to give him a handmade box filled with Bittersweet truffles.


This box is going to a gentleman who is a motivational speaker and professional magician.  I had a blast designing and creating this box.  Cobalt blue is one of my favorite colors to work with because it makes everything else pop.

I have a smaller prototype of this box that will be going up in my store soon.  Speaking of which, thanks for being patient while I move things over from Etsy to this site.  I have to take new pictures of some things and decide which inventory I want to put up in the new store. 

I'll be back with another project soon.  Meanwhile, enjoy what's left of summer!

Gardens and Such

I've been working on an art project this week, but it's not quite ready for showing off yet.  Funny how the day job can slow the creative process.  So, I thought I'd show you a few pictures I took on a recent trip to Washington state. 

I hope these intrigue, inspire, soothe, or provide you some simple pleasure.  Thanks for stopping by...

What's Happening?

Dylanbug had a blast at Hip Happening on Saturday.  Where were you all?  I got to hang with my pal Aimee all day.  A little slow for sales, but had a great group of vendors and the neighborhood looked great.  I got to take a break and sneak off to the antique mall for some treasures - thanks Minda!

Here are a couple of shots from the day.  The light was horrible, sorry.

Dylanbug Display - crafty goodness!

Bittersweet was on hand with hand-rolled truffles and deelicious cookies

Hope to see you all next time around!

Something Just for Me

Do you ever get so busy doing things for other people that you forget to be nice to yourself?  I noticed it happening with my art.  I'm always making things for friends and family, and for sale, but I rarely make anything that I intend to keep just for me.

Then along came a particular cigar box.  Unvarnished, unrouted, unpretentious.  A perfect rectangle with a slide top - no hinges or hardware to mar its lines.  I have been collecting vintage wooden cigar boxes to store supplies in, but they are almost exclusively beveled or routed, and mostly varnished and debossed with the maker's logo.  So this beauty was unusual. 

I stared at it every day for a couple of months before an idea hit me out of the blue.  The entire design came into my head fully finished.  All I had to do was put it together.

The best part?  It came together exactly like I imagined!  That almost never happens.  Things tend to evolve during the assembly process.

Now I can sit and look at this sweet little box every day and know it's just for my enjoyment.  Now I just have to decide what to put in it!

 

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #70

Hey everyone!  It's another Sunday, and another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge.  Perfect timing too.

Tinkerbell cuppies!  And...a birthday for our neighbors' daughter who is turning 8 on Friday.

So, since Kate loves all things girlie - including fairies, mermaids and butterflies, this was serendipitous.

I decorated this cute little wooden gift "bag" with sprites on all sides.  And made a card to match.  Kate's pretty sophisticated for her age, so I didn't want to do the whole Disney thing for her. 

Besides, I like to believe that there are little sprites and magical creatures in the plants and trees.  Lord knows none of mine are staying alive due to my ministrations.  The nature fairy images appealed to me and just seemed to work so well.

I'll let you know how these go over with the birthday girl.

Thanks for visiting!

Celebrations

Summer time around our house is generally chaotic.  Full of trips, family get-togethers, and social outings.  There are so many family and friend birthdays that I can barely keep up with the card-making!

Making cards and gifts for the people I care about is one of my very favorite things.  Because I know them, and can challenge myself to craft something that will make them smile. 

When I'm making things to sell, I have to balance my imagination with whether or not the ingredients and labor will be regained in the price.   But, when I'm creating for family and friends, none of that matters.  I can indulge and break out all of my fun supplies.

The mad dash to finish things is slowing down, but I still have a couple of projects to show you over the next few days. 

Thanks for stopping by, now go out and enjoy the sun!

Hip Happening, August 7th!

Dylanbug will have some awesome new treats, come check them out!

Baby Shower

Wedding

Birthday

Friendship

Just Because

Gifts, Gifts, Gifts!

Flights of Fancy

Have I said before how difficult I find it to make things for guys?  We'll I decided to make a true effort.  I picked up some papers with compass designs ages ago, and just hadn't found the right elements to really grab me.

Then I found some hot air balloon images, and it all clicked.  What really did it was finding canvas that you can print on with an inkjet printer.  Office Depot, who knew?  Although it says to print on the bright white side, I opted to ignore that and try printing on the more natural uncoated side.  Guess what?  It worked just great and had more of the vintagy look that I was hoping for.

I'm really proud of how these came together.  Gives me a little more confidence in approaching the less frilly side of what I do :)

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll try not to be so far between posts in the coming days.

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #69

Hello after a month.  A MONTH!  How time flies when I'm madly making inventory for craft shows, gifts, etc.

I skated in by the skin of my teeth for this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge.

This was so simple and perfect that I really didn't deviate from the cake at all.  Just put some of my favorite materials to good use.

Don't you just love the flower?  I am having a great time with the new Tim Holtz Tattered Florals dies, and with grunge board.  The board is soft enough to emboss, but sturdy enough to take paint without wrinkling.

The Tim Holtz Shabby Vintage paper stack is also so cool that you don't need to do anything to it.  I just stamped the stem and sentiment from my The Simple Things set and I was done.

Hope you're loving the sunshine as much as I am.  Enjoy!

Lullaby and Goodnight

Lately it seems like I'm seeing brand new bundles of joy everywhere.  Maybe it's just that my son had his first "big boy" haircut this week.  It was his own decision to get a buzz cut - a definite style choice for him.  It made me realize that the days of cuddling are slipping away.  Yes, they'll be replaced by new and fascinating reasons to be proud and love that boy even more.  But, as a mom, that dependence on me is  hard to let go.

On the other hand, there are new babies in our family, and friends who will have new additions later this year.  Which means I can cuddle and coddle without losing sleep, changing diapers, and worrying about every new irregularity in their lives.

If you have growing ones of your own, enjoy them to the fullest.  If you don't, borrow one!  Let a baby fall asleep on your lap and all the stress of the world just melts away.  It's better than Valium, I tell you!

Have a wonderful weekend.  Thanks for stopping by.

She Sells Sea Shells...

What do you think of when you think of the beach?  Sunshine?  Sandcastles?  Sunscreen?  Laughter, long walks, sand between your toes?

I'm not much of a sunbathing person, so I love the beach here in the Pacific Northwest.  It's wild and windy, and rugged.  I even love it when it rains - you get wide stretches without other people.  Free to roam and let your thoughts stretch where they will. 

It's the kind of landscape that means many things to many people...

Most of all, it's a place for us to be free, and close to Mother Nature in one of her most powerful forms.  Ah, nothing says "summer" quite like sand and surf.

Wherever you wander, be safe and be happy.  Thanks for stopping by.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

Wynken, Blynken and Nod one night sailed off in a wooden shoe. 
Sailed on a river of misty light into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going and what do you wish?"
the old moon asked the three.
We have come to fish for the herring fish
that live in this beautiful sea.
Nets of silver and gold have we
Said Wynken, Blynken and Nod.

Here's to daydreams, flights of fancy, and sweet imaginings of every kind...

Growing Things

I have a wonderful friend with a passion for growing things.  Her yard is a bounty of edible beauty.  Every time I see it, I'm envious of the space and the sunshine.  Something in short supply at my house!  Big trees in old neighborhoods come at a cost. 

My friend has been having some sad times the last week or so, and I wanted to make something special for her.

I hope that when my friend looks at this, she will always know that I'm thinking of her.

Enjoy the sunshine when it stops by, and remember the rain makes things grow!

Inspiration Avenue Challenge

Each week, Inspiration Avenue challenges artists of all flavors to create something around a particular theme.  This week's challenge was "wish".  I finally had a chance to play along.

What came to my mind was something from my childhood - the Disney family special that aired every Sunday evening at 7pm.  That lovely little song about wishing on a star.

Go out tonight and look at the sky,

and wish for what your heart desires,

You never know, it might come true.

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

Once again I found myself stumped on cards for boys. This seems to be a common problem for my card-making colleagues everywhere.


Well, yet again the craft store bargain bin comes to the rescue. How cute is this little guy?


I've also been hoarding these cool little mosaic tiles.  They're rubber and shimmery.

All I had to add was some Rock Star paper and chip board.  And a little pastel gel pen.  Bam!  There you go.

I might even try the same theme for a rocker girrl card too.

Well, it's a long weekend, and as the lizard says "let's party!"  Have a great time with friends and family, or just chillin' with your own self :)

Simple Things

Every once in awhile, I feel inclined to try and make art that is simpler and cleaner.  Most times  I can't resist adding a bit more.  I envy people who can be minimalist in their designs.  Guess it's just the collage in me trying to get out!

These new stamps from Michelle's store made me want to try again to dial things back.

Aren't these stems great?  The flowers and leaves are different stamps so you can combine them however you like. 

The giant rick rack is hand-dyed.  I picked it up at a craft show last month and really love how the color is very subtly varied.

 I used the same colors on the next card.  The turquoise and brown look so nice.  It's one of my favorite combinations.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set, the image is StampinUp! dry embossing, and the trim I got from SCRAP.

This is about as minimalist as I'm comfortable with :)  I tried not putting the trim on, really I did!

Oh well, what girl can resist a little sparkle, right?

Hope you all have a "simply" wonderful evening.

Treasures from SCRAP

I'm so excited to have finally discovered a local treasure trove just a few blocks from our house.  I've long been meaning to check out a place called Scrap where people and business donate all sorts of odds and ends.  You and I can buy them for pennies!  And the inventory changes all the time, so you get to discover things every time you visit.  If you're an artist this place is heaven!

Check out what I got for $10:
Drapery fabric sample books for a buck each;
An entire Coke promo movie reel for 75 cents;
Beaded trim, photo slide frames; seed packets and a pair of pinking sheers for $5!

 If you live in Portland, you should definitely stop by Scrap if you get a chance.  You can find some really inspiring items and support a non-profit at the same time.

I'll be back with some things created with my new treasures.
Have a great Sunday!

Guys are Tough

And not necessarily in the macho sense of the word.  May and June bring an overabundance of occasions for guys in our family:  father's day, birthdays, etc.

It's so easy to make things for girls, you know?  All that ribbon, and those flowers.  Glittery things and pretty paper.

When it's time to make something for a guy, it eliminates about 90% of my supply stock, and severely tests my creativity.


But, Tim Holtz has become my hero once again.  Not only is he inspiring on a daily basis, but he's a guy - duh!  And he designs the most perfect things!  Currently, his Lost and Found paper pad and Salvage Stickers have come to my rescue.

 All three of these cards use some of his great materials.  And I just couldn't resist the Pop card - it was too obvious, wasn't it?

I'll be back tomorrow with a couple more things for the males in our midst.

Take care and enjoy the sunshine!