My Little Orange Kitchen

Last week was a blur. I tried to take Selkie camping (she wasn't having it), I finished and didn't finish various work projects, I harvested my own cherry tomatoes, basil and cucumber and picked up tons more at farmer's market, I wrote lots and yesterday I decided to get to the woods (sans Selkie) and finished a good book by the campfire. I wonder how this week will go?

Selkie melting down in the tent:

Treasure boxes for everyone:

Harvest:

The second site:

 

Experimenting with one inch circle collages!

What's New

It's been awhile since I checked in. I've been busy working and trying to rustle up two things that I want to come to me for free. A balalaika and a vintage mahjong game. I posted on freecycle today...we shall see. Someone has to have these things just sitting around and I'm thinking that if you don't ask...you don't receive. I'm open to receiving.

I'm taking this free mini-course in receiving and I hope you do too. Since I started, the following material things have landed in my lap as well as numerous less tangible, but equally important gifts: a Starbucks double shot espresso, a surprise check for thirty-six dollars, a handmade hanger frame with custom stamped metal, 2 zucchini, a giant box of magazines for my work, 3 green peppers from someone Mark knows and cherry tomatoes and green peppers from someone I know.  WOW!

I took our little puppy Selkie camping last night...well, I attempted to take her...she wasn't having it. The tent? No. The two of us under the stars? No. Poor thing, she hated the tent...many of my friends don't blame her! I'll try again when she's a bit older. I brought her home without staying the night. We shall see. However, I did set up my table and while she dug a hole to China under it, I managed to get some thoughts down on paper. I love writing in the woods.

I'm so inspired lately. This blog really knocks me out:

Kerin Rose

I'd love to own all of her jewelry...it's at once solid and delicate.

The pendant above was a gift from Carolyn Brady (aren't her tangled journal pages great?) who I was fortunate enough to host in our tiny apartment for a local art retreat. She also gave me a gorgeous stitched house ornament, but I'm saving that to illustrate another post. I put the pendant on the table next to me while I was mapping out some future plans. I love planning...it's the doing I have a hard time with!

That's really all that is happening, except I recently did a 5k WALK/RUN and feel good about that.

How about you?

Everything I Need

Once in awhile I have one of "those" dreams. The kind of dreams you just know mean more than you noticed the tie on the man who was pumping gas next to you or that you've been watching too much of this.

Last night I had a dream that I made a little treasure box out of a matchbox and some beads and vintage crystals. In my dream I was so happy because I love little things and also happen to love the work "treasure".  Cherish is another favorite word and I love how when used in the same context they can mean the exact same thing.

Anyway, in my dream I was bubbling over with excitement and kept saying, "I can't believe I have all the things I need to do this!"  There was a woman kind of on the sidelines who laughed each time I said it and I finally asked her what was so funny. She smiled very kindly and said, "You say it as if you've never known that you have everything you need! You could go for the rest of your long life and never need more than what you bring to your own table right now."

Wow. I wonder what it means? Agahaahahahahaha!!! Just kidding. I don't think this one needs a lot of analyzing! Thank God, because I'm not up for it!

I love that the dream happened during a week I'm finding especially challenging.

Today I decided to make a little matchbox filled with treasures to serve as a reminder of the dream...which I don't believe was a dream, but more of a sending or visitation...which I love! 

In other news...you never notice how much broken glass is on the sidewalk until you get a puppy and spend most of your time taking things out of her mouth that don't belong.

And, speaking of dreams...I love that Anthony Kiedis hears what I hear. He says, "There have been times when I've been very down and out in my life, and the sound of her voice has sort of given me a reason to want to carry on."  I don't relate exactly, but I do love her and it pisses me off that people still make fun of her for her weight and that the absolutely unfounded rumor that she died while eating persists. God, people are fuckers.  YES, I said it. I meant it and I'm here to represent it. What? Anyway, dream a little dream...

<"

Meanwhile The Gypsies Travelled On

I've been sorting and have filled my car twice with vintage books and craft supplies headed to St. Vincent's, but I couldn't part with this book. I mean, a mouse who wants to play the Balalaika? It's too good to be true. Plus, it has great vintage illustrations and a certain type of essence that creates in me deep longing for change.

Lately my thoughts have been at Mt. Shasta in Northern California...a place where I drank from the headwaters (a hole in a rock under some roots that I had to rock hop to get to) of the Sacramento River. The memory of that water and how it made me feel has never left me. In fact, we cancelled some plans we had the next morning just so we could go back and fill our bottles with more. It was truly a magical elixir and I came home with some questions answered. It was shortly after that trip that I decided to sell my gift shop and healing center.

I realize that a trip to Mt. Shasta for another dose isn't feasible right now, but I cannot help but wish for a similar elixir. One that helps me gain some clarity in my work, life and mood. I suppose it's true enough that in the short term I have plenty of clarity...I know I need to continue CrossFit, focus on improving my work, handle customer service issues and better manange my moods, but if you have a restless spirit then you understand how the line "meanwhile the gypsies travelled on" combined with this music creates an almost unbearable pressure on ones skin from the deep inside to the explosive without.

On a lighter note, I don't think I ever told you that one of my all time favorite words is:

Troubadour.

Say it aloud.

Troubadour.

I love it.

P.S. If you haven't "liked" the studio facebook page, you simply don't know what you've been missing. :)

Vintage Sweetness

I've been finding a lot of mod pattern vintage gift wrap lately, but today while putting it away, it was the old fashioned sweet wraps that caught my eye.

I went to farmer's market this morning and scored pea shoots for only $1.00 a bunch. If you've never had pea shoots, you must try them at once! If you have a local Hmong community as we do, you will usually find bunches of pea shoots tucked away on the side of their vendor tables because they are not in high demand and usually sold to one another...get in on this...really...ask for them. The internet is loaded with recipes and nutritional information, but you'll have to rely on me to tell you how delicious they.

Selkie and I are on our own today....heading out to garden in a minute or two and then it's back inside to shell peas, wash new veggies and hull strawberries. I hope you have a peaceful Saturday.

Are You Up To It, Mr. Keane?

I watched this movie on her suggestion and wow. It's wonderful. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. It's a movie filled with sweet surprises. Please watch it. Please?

It's streaming on Netflix now.

Here is a my favorite line:

Dance is a very powerful drug Mr. Keane. If embraced judiciously, it can exorcise demons, access deep seated emotions and color your life in joyous shades of brilliant magenta that you never knew existed. But, one must shoulder its challenges with intrepid countenance if one is ever to reap its rewards.

Are you up to it, Mr. Keane?

 

Self-Study Sunday

I thought I'd share a few of the books that are inspiring me these days. I'm stoked (Mark thinks stoked is a hopelessly outdated and nerdy word, but it works for me!) over the self-study course I've embarked on and the fact that I've designed it for myself is probably why I'm not losing interest.

Each picture is linked to more information and reviews on Amazon. However, if you are inspired and can wait for your local book store to order copies for you, please do. Indie stores need our support more than ever now. Speaking of which, and this is for the Manitowoc locals, I do hope you stop in at The Turned Page, let's do what we can to keep this used bookstore going, we need one in our area.

  Things are a little crazy with Selkie (our new puppy) and life in general. Since coming home from New York it's been a little hard to get in the groove, however, I have some projects planned for tomorrow and I'm just thinking of how to complete them without a wiggle worm extra hyper boxer puppy under toe!

I'm also behind on getting my NY photos together for sharing!

Little Lady

I almost never open up my sketchbooks to sharing, but when this little watercolor lady suddenly appeared I could hardly hardly hide her away. I am not sure why, but I think she's simply adorable. Do you ever fall in love with the littlest of things? I love her little face!

Charley Harper

I love Charley Harper and one of my finds of all finds was this book at the famous Strand Books.  I'll let the images speak for themselves. It was such great price that I picked up one for my friend Kelly who sent me a Charley Harper holiday card last year.  I love how he told Todd Oldham that when drawing birds he didn't count feathers, he counted wings when asked about his minimalist style.

I also found two juice glasses with his designs on them at Fishes Eddy  which was a fun store to browse around in. 

Textiles & The Little Orange Bus Shop

Well, I'm back from Manhattan and in spite of being knocked out with a terrible cold, I did manage to see some great things. The sad part is that my luggage is still missing (along with my laptop) and I cannot share photos with you today. Let me just say that I love Central Park. Love. Love. Love.

I had a few epiphanies on the trip and one of them was after visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art and waiting fifty minutes in line to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit. It was life changing. I can't do myself justice when I try to explain why, but let me just say that it sealed the deal on what I've known for a long time. I missed my calling and should have gotten into textile design years and years ago...but, in fairness to myself, I didn't realize it was an option for me. Why? Who knows? I just didn't.

So, after seeing the exhibit and confirming my love of patterns and colors and well, the history of fabrics and paper, I decided to set about a little self-study and learn more. I have ordered books from the library and have added a couple to my collection. That is another goal...to have one of the most extensive collections of books on fabrics and pattern design in the world. Yes, I know I just wrote...in the world. I want to know all and have all at easy access. 

I am not sure where I will take my knowledge and my own designs, but I do know that I am changed. I have little interest in fashion design, but lots of interest in fabric and paper pattern design.

One of my stops in NYC was at the famous ABC Carpet store...which is 2 buildings of housewares, gifts, imports, jewelry, vintage, and new gorgeousness...everything thing from throw pillows and bedding to jewelry and imported essential oil blends. Well, I got lucky in the vintage area. I was able to choose two vintage fabric stamps from India...the very day after deciding that I'd like to stamp my own paper for wallets. The very day. Let me tell you this...the Little Orange Bus Shop is going to be loaded with equal parts bath and body and paper goods. Throw in locally made jewelry and you have the kind of shop I'd like to walk into right now!

The book at the top of the post is now in my collection, but let me share some others...really, pouring through these pages is heaven for me. I have always joked about being someone who reads cookbooks like novels and now that I have food under control in my life, I've found another passion...reading textile books like novels! I cannot get enough and the best part is that you can't gain weight from fabric inspiration!

Note: These types of books can be pricey, so if you have any that you are thinking of getting rid of because they just sit around, please let me know and I'll pay your postage if you ship them to me!

 

Ephemera Journal

I'm always on the look-out for ways to help organize the thousands (not kidding) of small pieces of paper and ephemera I have around the studio. I saw this project in my At Home With Handmade Books and decided to give it a whirl.

Of course, I soon abandoned all of Erin Zamrzla's careful instructions, but I managed to get the job done and plan to make 20-30 and sort wallet images by color and subject.

I didn't have chipboard so I used an old puzzle board I'd been saving. 

I covered it with graph paper and cut a small top-spine from cardboard I'd also been saving (My name is Laura and I have a problem!). I left the numbers on the puzzle bare because I liked how they seemed to fit with the graph paper.

Then I decided to bind it, but was very unhappy with my awl and stitching job, so I set about hiding the mess with more graph paper and pretty pink chrysanthemums.

Erin's book is beautiful and hopefully she won't mind that readers like me go off in our own direction! I plan to make many more of these with added tabs and titles. A nice way to reuse cleaned zip-locks. You could do the same with paper bags and that would be fantastic, but I like being able to see what's inside since I need these for my work.

Have a good day all! In one week I'll be in New York! Woo-hoo!

Planting Seeds

Today has been a good work day so far. I have an order overdue, but almost on its way out the door and I've been spending some time doing mini-journal demos. I think it will be helpful to give people some ideas about what they can do with their little journals. Mini scrap-books, photo albums, stamp albums and even write your own message greeting cards:

 

It's been fun and to be honest...these examples aren't even the 10th of it! Wait until you see the cutest volume of ee cummings poetry ever! 

OK. So, without getting into all of the details...I had a big dream the other night. A big important deep sleep dream. I may be learning a little more about what makes me happy and what I'm good at. I love my art journey...don't misunderstand...but I loved my bath and body journey too. Maybe next summer, I will combine both.

I'm thinking, "Tiny Bubbles" a bath and body bus boutique.  A salvaged bus converted to an "open in summer only" shop on an empty city lot.  My various art projects, bath and body and gifts. The Little Orange Kitchen Studio is the parent for so many ideas I have...and I've been hurting folks...really. Not sure of what I want to do or be or where I want to go or grow. You have witnessed my angst if you've been reading this blog...my uncertainty about so many things. I am still not 100% sure, but my dream revolved around what is doable and where I FELT most me.

I've decided to make the decision to move in a new direction...agahahaahaha!

Nothing changes immediately...it's very early and just a seed, but I'm excited to see it grow. You get the idea right---empty it out, paint it, shelves and vintage displays...it feels right. Maybe I'll find a vintage one---I'm going to love looking!

Roots and Water

One week ago I was in the deep woods and I live just blocks from the water. 

Today I needed to be near both. 

After a rather melancholy and unproductive day spent doing a little wallet work and some light gardening, I got into the car with a cup of coffee and started driving. I wasn't sure where I was headed until I found myself on the official Rustic Road that leads to and through Point Beach State Park.

I drove through the woods (envying the many campers setting up for the night) until I reached the empty beach.  I got out and did some walking, some thinking and some inner mind clearing. I felt calm and a little less melancholy.

If you have been reading for awhile you know I grew up on a sailboat, but for awhile we lived in a house in the woods off the coast of Maine. Our house had woods on three sides and the ocean on one.  I know Lake Michigan isn't the sea, but it's water and it heals me. In some circles water represents emotion and the woods would represent grounding. I think this combination is especially soothing to me because I need to be firmly rooted while I handle my emotions or else I tend to float away for days on end.

If you read this blog, you must wonder why I always seem to be "in something"; some sort of mood, reflective period etc. I think it goes back to that fragility that I wrote about several posts ago. I don't think I'm a walking piece of china, but I'm aware of how without proper balance in my environment (lack of clutter and clear space) I get a little crazy.

I love that Mark and I downsized and I love our tiny place, but for someone like me...this smallness takes getting used to...especially since my studio has somehow become a catch-all for things we don't have room for, but don't want to store. We'll adjust and get situated...we must. We have a little extra reason to get our space ready! Nope, not for that kind of baby, but for the kind that barks (hopefully not all night!).

Her name is Selkie. Mark came up with the name.  It's perfect. Plus, she has deep brown eyes and a black coat. So sweet and pics will come soon!

Anyway, I close this with the last few lines of one of my favorite poems about a bunch of little girls who go to the beach...

may came home with a smooth round stone

as small as a world and as large as alone

for whatever we lose (like a you or a me)

it's always ourselves we find in the sea

ee cummings 

From Maggie and Millie and Molly and May

 

Mary Mehan Awake

I think this could have been written about me...it's how I feel I navigate my days:

Diana Dorsett was a woman who loved texture, the touch of things, the nap and band of fabrics, the roughness of bark, the silk of feathers and fur. She trailed through the house running her hands over the backs of the chairs, rubbing the velvet drapes at the windows, clicking her fingernails across the wires of the finche's cage, pressing her cheek against the cool windowpanes, stroking her cat.

From: Mary Mehan Awake 

Jennifer Armstrong goes on to describe Diana as a woman who cares little for shining silver and sharp ironed creases on the napkins, but who writes letters and takes long walks and who had the curious habit of picking things up and setting them down in the wrong room or losing herself in contemplation while holding a shell.

Oh, I love this writer!

I would add that I also lose time "feeling" water. I love the feeling of running water on my hands or even just dipping my hands into cool water on a hot day. Everything has texture and as I learned when I was a child...not everyone sees the texture in the air, but if you do...you know what I mean. Water, energy, fabric even uncooked rice feels so good on my hands.

I read blogs for the feelings they inspire as well...and of course, you know I've shared this one recently, but I must share it again because of her perfect summer morning.

Love. Her. Blog.

 

Madeline Weinrib Textiles

I'm a pattern lover and always on the lookout for textile designers and new work. Madeline Weinrib's handmade textiles knock me out, send me over the moon and blow my mind. I love her colors and patterns.  I hope you have some time because once you visit Madeline's website, you could get lost for hours.  Please accept my apologies in advance.

Little Luxuries

I had a nice day yesterday and some time spent wandering Door County was part of it. Reading outside by a "grove" of lilacs also added to my bliss. 

This morning I'm thinking about little luxuries. The things that I could choose to focus on, but often get overlooked because I'm having a meltdown or tired or stressed or...you name it.  Life isn't about material things...I know this, but sometimes appreciation of them can give us a boost.

Today, the things making me happy are:

• my new abalone shell for smudging with herbs and white sage
• organic coffee
• my Miracle Manifestation journal
• Vance Kitara candles in hot pink
• high quality organic cocoa and organic berries for a cake I'm bringing to a potluck tonight
• Hem incense
• lilacs (see above)
• and...my onions are coming up already!

 

The Truth of My Day

Today is starting out like a day I've been dreaming of for awhile.

Balanced.

How is this a dream day?  It's a dream day because it feels normal. It feels so normal I can't believe it. I want normal. I prefer it to my crazy work crammed whirlwind days or even to exciting days where everything is high energy and perfect.

I've been tired these past few months and have read blogs where the writer offers details of an active, but no pressure day and I've been brought to tears because that's what I want and it so often eludes me.

It's happening. Slowly I'm finding a groove. I think if I read the following on another blog a few months ago I'd have been envious of what seems so simple and normal, but instead it is my own life and my own day:

The house is a little cluttered, but clean and I'm appreciating the creaky hardwood floors more than ever. Mark and I are finally over our disappointment over an issue with insurance that prevented us from adopting a shelter puppy and we're looking again. My coffee is so good and my morning journaling went well. I love insights.  I'm going to head outside to water the garden soon. I found a heap of nice veggie and herb plants at farmer's market and The Flying Pig. Chocolate mint....my favorite herb!  The temperature feels like mid-fall rather than late Spring and I'm loving it.

I'm nursing a painful wrist from yesterday's CrossFit success, but the pride of showing up and completing the month long On Ramp and my first official WOD is my own personal pain relieving balm. I like being active and feeling "sporty and strong". My weight loss is excruciatingly slow, but I can feel the new muscle and this offsets my impatience.

Mark is headed to Door County for a business meeting later and I'm tagging along.  I may read by the water when he's busy and I need to remember to pick up some peanut butter fudge for my grandmother. I've also got a work project to finish, but it's almost done. Thanks Tina...for your patience.

I'm still sleepy, but it's a nice kind of sleepy...not the shaking exhaustion I've grown used to.

Tomorrow is the Foodie potluck and I'm torn between bringing a vegan chocolate cake, brownie pudding or Thai peanut noodles. I know Grant (the coach at CrossFit) would have a conniption fit if he thought I had any of the ingredients for these things in my house. Grant, I don't!!!!  I will have to pick them up today. I got so lucky with Grant and Heather. They are my absolute exercise and body confidence soul-mates and an answer to my prayers for non-judgmental helpers.

My issue of Anthology arrived the other day and I feel inspired by all of the gorgeous pictures and art.

Ok, another cup of organic coffee and then it's out to the garden.

This is bliss. The truth of my day is bliss because more days like this are doable and they can include music and movies and naps and work with joy.

I know I posted the picture above on the studio facebook page, but I still want to share my red shelf with anyone who doesn't check in over there. This red shelf was free and salvaged from the cast-offs of previous renters in our building. Who would leave behind such a cute thing?

Love Nest

A 

My friend Kim and I are a strange duo. I can honestly say we are the most different exactly alike pair ever. So many aspects of our personalities contrast, yet it seems that we are often freakishly in-tune. Sometimes I think we wouldn't even have to have a conversation. . .words don't seem needed when you just get someone's vibe in a second or two. 

I was recently inspired by watching this and knew that Kim would be game for doing a little nature art installation of our own.

I asked her if she wanted to meet at the beach to create something like a nest and I had no idea what we'd end up with. Of course, she was all over it and she brought her daughter Molly along for the fun.

The base of the nest was made from gathered driftwood and I think it would have looked pretty all by itself, however, I was feeling so happy and dare I say, "Lovey!" that when Molly gave her final approval on the love nest idea and set about collecting red rocks for the heart in the middle...my own heart soared. I love that we took it to the next level.

Kim and I busied ourselves collecting white rocks to fill the nest and let me tell you...she's a saint because I made it very clear at a certain point that walking on sand and picking up shirt baskets filled with rocks was a workout. I may have made it clear more than once! :)

While we were working on the project, Kim and I chatted about everything from having babies and selkie stories to our struggles and positive personal realizations.

Molly eventually tired of red rock collecting, but gave me a gorgeous peice of sea pottery she found and you know this made my day! She also wandered a bit and made friends with a little girl playing nearby. The sun was shining, it was warm and we had such a nice afternoon. I just love how much Kim gives her the space she needs to explore and grow.

It was a nice time and I love that we made something impermanent, out of found materials and within a short period of time.  I hope people walking on the beach see it and get a smile.

Speaking of which...this little smiley bird in the nest was worth all the rock hauling in the world!!

Full Flower Dreamboard

Today is the full flower moon and I was inspired by Jamie Ridler to create a dreamboard. The theme is who are you when you are in full flower? My honest answer is, "I have no clue." I don't know that I've ever been in full flower, so in a way it is kind of exciting, but I don't need to rush it...I like blossoming just fine. :)

I used the book boards of a vintage atlas as my base which seemed appropriately symbolic for something that represents a part of me I haven't been to yet. I chose images that spoke to me (sprinkles, doors, keys, flowers) and phrases that seem right. Full flower me is totally comfortable being creative and goes for it...whatever it is. Full flower me has energy, lovely skin, learns by doing and is just the perfect size.

Another theme is that full flower me knows her style. I am trying to find my personal style and still so unsure.

I've been great with my exercise and in a big way...CrossFit is amazing and the improvement in just over two weeks is incredible.  Heather is doing so much for me too...my confidence is growing, though this morning I was a big crab and I actually swore at CrossFit yesterday--ALOUD-MORE THAN ONCE! Not that this is good, but I think I'm releasing some old emotions from muscle that has not been dug into in years!

I've broken down some big walls and am proud of myself. The next step is to work on the food. Exercise great...food-needs some work.

I encourage all of you to think about who you are when you are in full flower? And if you are a guy...you can be in the fullest most masculine looking flower ever...it's not just a "lady thing". :)

HOPE

'Hope' is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - And sings the tune without words And never stops - at all.

Emily Dickinson

Sunday

I got up this morning and went for a short walk to the lake. I feel lucky to be so close to water.  It was cold and windy, but the waves were beautiful.

I planned to get a coffee or some tea at Mojo, but forgot that on Sundays it is hit or miss. I love this place and the coffee is so good!

Today is a work day, no doubt. I have been very busy getting caught up...is that becoming my most often written phrase on the blog? :)

I saw these on my walk today and fell in love.

I wanted to share something that may make some of you cringe and yell, "TMI!!!" at the top of your lungs, but I think some of you local women may be privately happy.

I am self-conscious getting some spa services like bikini waxing for example or full body mud wraps. However, about a few  years ago I decided that I needed to get over this and wrote out a Universe Request card (I just make my own) asking to find my waxing soul mate. It went into a Spirit bowl a friend made for me (out of a gourd) and I waited for the Universe to show-off and of course...it did.

Her name is Lisha and I've been seeing her for a long time.  She makes me feel 100% comfortable being naked from the waist down and in all kinds of crazy contortions that no one but someone you are intimate with should ever see you in!!! Whether you just want a little touch-up or a full on Brazilian, she's your girl. She's kind, sensitive to body image issues, funny and basically -- she's me if I happened to be an esthetician.  I really think I'd be good at making people feel relaxed and safe and so if you know me...you know her. She's the best! :) She told me she does men as well, so if you there is a man in your life who wants some help...she's his girl too!

If you've always wanted to try, but have been too self-conscious to dare...she's the one.  Please mention I referred you because I'll get a deal on future services.  She used to be at Indira in Green Bay, but now she works out of both the Neenah and Appleton Salon Aura locations. Her name is pronounced lee-shah. If you have any questions or are nervous...just message me privately.

OK, another service and a completely different one...are you relieved? :) I mentioned in my most recent post that if I get stuck on some goals that I'd consider hiring a project coach to help me move past the issue. Yes, I KNOW this could be indulgent, but I think sometimes a little boost from a non-attached someone can help you go all out on a project that you've been dragging your feet on.

Jamie Ridler now offers such help for $125.00.  It may seem like a lot, but not for the relief of getting that business plan done or getting those tracks for your new cd laid down or finally getting the much thought about etsy shop opened.  It's your project, but a little help is nice. Full disclosure, I have not used Jamie yet, but I plan to.  It's an hour on the phone and she has many many many happy clients...many of whom you probably already know through their books and blogging. I found out about her one-time sessions through her newsletter, but I see they are not on her blog yet...so I'd just message her if you are interested at [email protected] 

Well, take care and enjoy your Sunday before it all too quickly disappears!

    

Completion and Goals With Dreams

 

Since the winter I've had some personal life issues that I haven't shared here, which could come as a surprise since I share everything, but these things have felt more private.  Anyway, these issues have gotten in the way of how I work and I've had some professional failures because of it.

Don't be to hard on me for using the word failure...honestly. Sometimes one must be accountable for one's actions plain and simple. I can say that I've learned so much because of it. I've learned that my work environment is everything, that I'm too old to pull-off all nighters and be OK for a week following, fantastic streamlining of some of my processes and that I have a big issue with completion. I don't let myself get the win...ever.

I won't launch into a big personal history, but let's just say it started with dropping out of high school and has carried on in many ways since. There are a couple of factors working here.  Actually, more than a couple. The main thing is fragility and deservability.

I've always had a hard time concentrating on the tasks at hand when my environment isn't right or when I have personal things happening. I've always marveled at parents of very sick children who somehow manage to hold down jobs and go about life because they have to. I don't know if I could. I can easily see myself holing up in the hospital and never leaving. 

I feel like my emotional shell isn't a shell at all, but a very thin web of fragility and the slightest thing can shut me down for weeks! It's odd because when I am strong, I'm a rock, but when I'm not I melt like a popsicle in the sun and even faster. I can work with it, but I know it will take some time. I could start by having less lofty goals. Goals I can actually finish. Does anyone out there have goals that have their own dreams? My goals need their own life coaches just to even think about being accomplished! :)

The second issue is one of deservability. I've written about this before, but maybe not enough because I KNOW I'm not alone. On some level I don't feel worthy of all the goodness heaped upon me. I have some real issues with this, so it means I deny myself the big moments of satisfaction or happiness (professionally and personally) because I don't think I've been good enough to deserve them. It isn't entirely unconscious behavior anymore which sucks in a big way! Please, denial is nice and yet it delays healing.

I decided that while I work on this wallet order and set about with some finishing that I'd create some smaller goals for the rest of the year. Goals that are reasonable. You know, like walk a mile before you announce your goal to hike the Appalachian Trail backwards and barefoot in one month. :)

May: Complete the Crossfit On-Ramp (bravo me! I'm halfway there!), buy organic plants for the garden and get them in the ground.

June: Have the studio clean and cleared out even if not officially "done" so that when I come home from Manhattan surging with the ambition to create I have a place to do so. Camp for a few days (camping charges me up).

July: Stick with personal training and CrossFit. I don't have to be perfect... I just need to stick with it. Take this class and attend this soul nurturing retreat.

August: Make one pinwheel to go with the great pinwheel project. If I haven't already, finish my embroidery sampler.  Make herbal sun tea.

September: Evaluate where I am with holiday stock for both my etsy shops and wallet customers.  If I feel behind, talk it out and hire a coach to help me with this one thing. I like the idea of someone who helps you tackle one project with intensity.

October: Make a gorgeous fall window display, watch movies and enjoy tea and Paleo Banana bread on at least one weekday off every week of the month. Fall is my favorite season...I don't want to miss feeling cozy. Take this class. Doesn't it sound wonderful? Yes, I know how, but I don't live it...so a class could be helpful.

November: Camp at least once. Host at least one studio open house-DO NOT worry about the condition of the studio. It will be beautiful.

December:  Meet my holiday order deadlines. Then close the shop between Christmas Eve and January 1st without guilt or regret if the season didn't go as well as I hope.

OK. These are doable things and even though they are not the only things on my list of what I hope to do...they are things I feel I deserve to do.

For now...for tonight while I work, I want to savor moments like this...hot latte delivered by Mark, good music and the comfort of knowing I have a blog and readers who won't judge me for my "failures" or for calling them "failures" because you know what I mean...

By the way...I have 2 blog crushes to share:

Jamie Ridler Studios

Persisting Stars

The Many Faces of Me

Today I worked out with Heather at the gym. It was hard, but I did it.  She thinks the cardio issues I have are due more to the fact that the weight around my organs and stomach compresses my lungs than my lungs just being out of shape. She thinks it’s why I struggle with breathing and today we gently discussed me allowing her to make my plan for me rather than simply direct her to help me with cardio. I can give up control on this and focus more on weights and “blasting weight off” my body. I know that it’s good for me to surrender.

However, today I saw myself as I really am in a couple of ways for the first time.  

I was wearing sweat pants and a long t-shirt and my hair was up.  She asked me to face another direction on the machine. I turned and saw this very obese older woman, red-faced, messy with a huge low hanging stomach, tired and obviously struggling and then I realized that it was me in the mirror.  I couldn’t believe that was me.  I’m not kidding…it wasn’t for a flash, I actually stood there doing wood choppers on the machine watching her and not realizing it was me.

The day we started, Heather high fived me after a round of 5 push-ups and I laughed and felt rather pathetic being high fived for such a paltry amount.  However, when I saw that reflection of myself in the mirror today, I realized that to the me I imagine am, that high five was laughable, but to the me that is showing up on the trail or at the gym and in the mirror, the high five is important because wow, she’s exhausted and feels old and yet is giving it everything she’s got.  I can’t believe that nice Laura, who supports everyone else’s journey winds up being someone who won’t support herself and has the nerve to even tell her trainer that a high five at this level is "pathetic". I AM SO MEAN.

Today I got it. How crappy I am to myself.  I finally get what people mean when they say I’m too hard on myself. Like, until I really face what I’ve let myself become, I won’t give myself credit for anything---because in my mind I am expecting to work-out at the level I think I am, yet in reality, I can’t. So I set myself up to never be pleased and to never honor the part of me who shows up at the gym.

To that woman who shows up at the gym, I’m a real nightmare and enough to make her not want to come back. I critique her; belittle her, laugh at how pathetic it is that she gets a high-five for “nothing” and yet, she’s me. I need to learn to take the damn high-five for her. I feel like she showed up in the mirror to stick up for herself and remind me that she didn’t get here independent of critical me-she is me and she’s sick of my crap. She broke through my wall of illusion that I’m a little heavy to give me a hard dose of reality because I’m killing her…not just with life choices, but with unkind words and thoughts and she wants better for both of us and wishes I'd stop being such a bitch.  

Maybe next month or next year I’ll feel and look healthier and if that’s the case, it won’t be because of the part of me that laughs off high-fives and talks about how I used to be this and I used to be that…it will be the part of me who is what she is, but shows up at the gym in spite of it.  So, I think if I want to go into fall feeling better and basically save my life, I’d better get on the side of Laura in The Mirror and stop the sabotage.

Have you ever witnessed your own inner saboteur in such clear and obvious action?

What a day. 

Clipping Along

I am working on summer stock for the Flying Pig in Algoma and moving along. I plan to post a slide show soon of all the wallets delivered. Friday is the next delivery day and I will feel so good about what they have going into the busy season.

When I need a little break, I turn my attention to paper hairpins for D.I.Y. Studio and Gifts in Green Bay.  The grand opening is on April 29th and 30th, so be there if you can!

I'm having fun with experimenting with the pins and plan to make some paper jewelry too, though I doubt I can have it ready for the grand opening.

The task of the day is journal covers for The Flying Pig! Wish me luck! I've already knocked out the passport cases!

Wouldn't the above picture make a nice banner? I plan to change my blog banner quite a bit. I've been hung up on the idea of branding and streamlining a look for my shop and eventual website, but guess what? No can do. I cannot be fenced in and since the work is changing all the time anyway and since I do not have a traditional store, I'm just going to wing it until "I get a message" about what to do.

Speaking of which...my all time favorite movie for laughs could be Best In Show. The scene about waiting for a message while she stuffs herself with popcorn is a little too close to home for me!

Oh, and this summer...it's all about the shoe clips BABY! (You must say it as if you are Dick Vitale). Go ahead...watch this and then say it!

When I worked at Schneider I was sick and my co-worker gave me some cold medicine and I got a little loopy. I was pulled off the phones (kindly, because my behavior was so out of character) for yelling "That's right BABY! The driver will be at your loading dock at 5 a.m. BABY!!! at my customers. Agahahahaha! Unlabeled cold medicine, an empty stomach, hot chocolate and Laura...not a winning telephone customer service combo!

Go ahead and say it, "It's all about the shoe clips BABY!" Aren't hers great?

You Cannot Sleepwalk Your Way Into Your Destiny

Today, let me share a brilliant man with you. David Whyte. Be still my overbeating heart. He does to poems what I long to do with fairytales...the interpretations are so profound.  You can't rush him, but who would want to. :)

I will be gone from this space for about a week, but you can always find snippets of my days here.  By the way....having a helper rocks my world. Thanks a bunch Heidi.

Marilyn: She Played Along Until She Didn't

I love Marilyn Monroe. I'm not obsessed or a collector of all things Norma Jean (though any pictures I have are of the Norma Jean side of her because I find her so much more beautiful). However, but I do find both sides of her very interesting.

When someone has unmet needs, they often, in an act of self-healing try to recreate childhood situations in an attempt to have a different outcome and I don't blame Marilyn for making some mistakes as she tried to have her childhood needs met as an adult. I've done it too (to less disasterous results).

Marilyn played the game of being who people expected her to be until she simply stopped. It wasn't easy to stop for there was very little reward for a truly empowered Marilyn as opposed to a sexually empowered by men icon. And we all know she paid a price.

The quote from her last interview shows her awareness of how she was perceived. She begged and pleaded in earnest with the reporter to end the interview with what is now a famous quote.  Note: she uses the term Negro, which at the time was not offensive and actually considered respectful compared to the alternative.

This was from her last interview.

"What I really want to say, what I believe, is that the world needs a feeling of kinship. Everybody, stars, laborers, Negroes, Jews, Arabs...we are all brothers. Please don't make me a joke...end this interview with what I believe. "

I think this is more true now than ever. I love the word kinship.

Another quote also illustrates her awareness of how she was or wasn't perceived and her self-deprating humor:

"My dramatic coach, Natasha, tells everybody that I have a great soul, but so far nobody's interested in it."[

OK People....

OK, we all know who needs to work on her handwriting and presentation, but trust me, when these mini journals arrive on the scene I will have several less hastily prepared examples.

I do need to give it another coat of sealer and use different ribbon, but can you imagine little pressed violets between the accordion style pages (16 if you count both sides and not the ends)?

I love the idea of this being a keeper kind of holiday card.  No more toss-away cards! They will make cute Secret Santa gifts and you know I'm all over the idea that kids make mini-art books for the grandparents. My favorite though, is simply the thought of writing a tiny poem with a few lines on each page for a friend.

The front and back cover are extra durable because I used vintage plastic Gin Rummy tiles.  I covered them with vintage map pages and will use vintage paper for most, but do have some digital downloads to try to work in as well because they can be printed on recycled paper and I can also include little messages on the cover, like "Happy Birthday" etc... I decided to make a little library of my favorite fairy tales.

I bragged to showed Mark and he said, "Very cute. How are the wallets coming along?" Ugh. Killjoy.

:)

A Little Less Conversation

Hello Kitchenettes! I am literally hopping and chirping over here with so much to share! I feel excited and like this may be one of my most important posts.

First: Heather's 30 Day Vegan class was fantastic. I just finished and lost 26 pounds eating wonderful food, connecting with women from all over, pouring over all of the delicious recipes, coloring (yes, coloring!) and all around being inspired. I cannot say enough about it. If you need a shift and some focus...this class is for you and is professionally and incredibly well done. Heather was so inspiring and I know the women in the course with me felt the same way.

I did better the first half of the course than the second...but I hung in there. I had some non-vegan meals mostly because of convenience. It's easy to be vegan, but usually you have to have some clean dishes with which to cook and last week our kitchen? Not so cool.

Second: Several months ago I began working with some inspirational cards I created about nine years ago. I had abandoned them a long time ago and what a mistake. I think I felt shame about creating such a health and body affirming card pack, but still being overweight. What I didn't realize then, that I totally get now, is that my issue is one of fear of vulnerability (more on this later) and that the cards were not meant to make me thin, but were meant to give me the clarity to make some decisions about what is best for me and the energy to take some action. I had been lost, but now I feel found. (How's that for drama!)

I signed up for Heather's class during a moment of clarity. I finally decided to tell my friend Sandi how in awe I am of her athleticism and state my need for some help in one of those guided moments we all have and often ignore.  Sandi lives in Seattle, but within one day of talking with her on facebook, I had a moment of clarity and  the next day I set up training with not one, but two personal trainers!

My neighbor Sule got me in touch with a local woman named Heather. Sandi and her pal Jake got me to look into the Crossfit box in Green Bay where I have connected with Grant.  I start in mid-April with Heather and in May with Grant. I'm so excited! 

This is a big investment for me. I am using money from my own wallet sales and couldn't be more proud. I am a little nervous, but happy.

Pop! Chirp! Hop!  Peep! That is happy and excited me!

I finally feel like I'm doing less contemplating and more taking action...and you all know me...I LOVE CONTEMPLATION!

Why two trainers? Well, one to help on the fitness side in a seriously intense way. I've got 100 pounds to lose and it's really affecting me physically now. I can't coast anymore.

The second one (Heather) is to help me develop some body confidence outside of the gym. We will be hiking and doing some boot-camp together outside. I love being outdoors, but realized that I don't trust my body on steep climbs the way I used to. Heather and I will start on the lake trail and then graduate to more rugged terrain.

OK. I'll share my cards later, but here is a mini-preview for those of you who have not seen it on Facebook.

OK...the next big step.

I have gone, for lack of a better term,"balls to the wall" on work lately. I am stressed, but finding a groove. I hired a temporary helper (wow!) and the ideas are not just pouring in...but I'm acting on them.  I made the hairpins above and they are part of a bigger project involving not only hairpins, but paper jewelry. They are water-resistant and I love them!

I also made some journals out of game pieces that will blow your mind (let me believe) because they are so little and cute (1.5 by 1 inch!).

I am starting a holiday recycling project (details later) and have some friends already on board to help me! Wait....did you read what I JUST WROTE? I wrote, "to help me". This is crazy insane because if you know me...help is something I rarely admit to needing or wanting. It's the vulnerability factor again.

I have someone helping me starting on May 2nd to get my studio painted and in order.  I also asked for and got an extension on a deadline and didn't feel like a failure. Instead I felt like I was being professionally responsible. Nice shift. Of course this puts me a little behind on some other important commitments, but I had to do it.

I will be attending a local art retreat in July and have put myself out there and offered to help if I can (usually I fear offering my help because I'm afraid I'll disappoint the person by not being helpful enough-crazy).  Here are the retreat details.  The classes are a la carte and very reasonable considering the caliber of the organizing hostess and teachers coming from all over. 

I also decided to apply for a show even though I had decided last year that shows are not for me since I get too nervous beforehand and overwhelmed. Wait...I take that back...I've applied for two shows! One is in Wisconsin and the other is in Manhattan!!!!! I said yes to an almost free trip and this show opportunity came out of nowhere. We shall see. It's a small one (about 2000 people expected), but really...this represents a huge shift for me.

Well, as is evident by this post, I can still carry on quite the conversation, but I am definitely taking some action and wow...I am loving my life now! It's not perfect...it's not easy...I'm not perfect, I'm not easy (hey!), but it's coming along. 

Before I leave you with a video, I encourage you to check out my studio facebook page and share it with your friends. I'll be doing a wallet give-away when I hit 100 likes! Like me, please, for the love of God, like me! Agahahahaha!

I dance like this at every party!

Casing The Joint

Hello Kitchenettes! I'm sorry to have been gone so long. Casing the joint is one of my favorite terms and I'm immature enough to get a kick out of the double meaning with my condom cases (I'm not proud of this, but I am giggly!). I do think it's appropriate to use it here considering that right now, around this joint, it's all about condom cases. I consider condom cases my least artsy, but most fun project. I don't collage much on the tops, so it's just a question of assembly and this means that I can whip them out fairly quickly.  Every artists/crafter needs at least one quick, easy and fun project.

This batch is headed to The Flying Pig Gallery in Algoma along with tons of collaged wallet gorgeousness on the 15th of April. I'm stocking them for the summer and truly excited about the work I'm doing.

I'm still doing the Heather's 30 Day Vegan plan. I've been doing well with a few "My body is screaming for animal protein" slips. Three to be exact. Fish once, cheese once and ground beef once. However, these slips are minor and overall I feel so much better. I plan to continue after the 30 days, but allow for some meat or cheese when I feel weak or out of balance.

I have some link love to share with you!

A new on-line magazine-foresty, fashion-ey and fairytale-ish: Motif Magazine

A blog that makes me happy: Jen Lee

A book that get me where my little inner girl lives:  Here

A song-love: Kiss of Life

My three favorite poets are ee cummings, Pablo Neruda and Hafiz:

Here is one of Pablo's, I love it because as I recently tried to explain to one of my dearest friends who has had her heart broken over and over and over, all it takes is just one person to see what others don't and it changes everything. You never think of heartbreak again and you don't curse him because he took so long to arrive on the scene and if it isn't a him (or a her), but instead a you...as in you become the one who you fills your own heart with bells and a hymn, well then all the better.  Hey J., this is for you:

La Reina (The Queen)

I have named you queen.
There are taller than you, taller.
There are purer than you, purer.
There are lovelier than you, lovelier.
But you are the queen.

When you go through the streets
No one recognizes you.
No one sees your crystal crown, no one looks
At the carpet of red gold
That you tread as you pass,
The nonexistent carpet.

And when you appear
All the rivers sound
In my body, bells
Shake the sky,
And a hymn fills the world.

Only you and I,
Only you and I, my love,
Listen to me.

One Week

I've been doing the 30 Day Vegan e-course for one week. I feel well and have only had a few cravings. Odd that none have been for meat.  The changes I've noticed have been more inside than outside, though I know that my body is letting go of lots. 

I'm realizing even more how much I'm an all or nothing person. This applies to things as simple as library books. I stay away from the library for weeks and then I'm compelled to go in and leave with more books in my arms than I could possibly read by the time they're due to be returned. I'm this way with work as well. I go into the studio and putter around doing this and that until suddenly I'm hit with the drive and I begin working on panels for hours and hours.

I have new patience and anyone who knows me will testify that never before has patience been a virtue I could lay claim to.  I realized in the library the other day that I could wait. I could read the books I had and then come back for more. They'd all be waiting for me later.  This applies to other things as well...cookies, shoes, natural creams and lotions...things I tend to avoid for awhile until suddenly...I'm all in.

When it comes to my work I've tried to accommodate my manic artist tendencies; accepting long periods of stillness and suddenly a paper scrap frenzy all around me. This week I saw more clearly how it doesn't work for me. It's not good for all of the art/writing and personal goals I have.   This includes several projects I've not only begun, but finished and have not had a chance to share.  I know (and have always known) that I have to create some structure in my working life, but then it seems life gets in the way of my time charts and lists, but more importantly, my motivation.  I often feel fragile in this way. I can be working steadily and then an interruption, a phone call, a disagreement, the lyrics of a song come along and that's it...I've lost my focus and unlike many of my friends, I can't seem to get it back right away. It's hard for me and I mean really hard. In fact, my inability to move through shifts in mood gracefully is a big obstacle to my productivity.  I know I need to look at this because when I worked for other people, this wasn't an issue. The show went on.

In the past (and if you've been reading this blog for years, you know this is true), I've stated my intentions and tried to seek balance, but always with a plan. I realized this week, that I don't have a plan and I'm OK with that. I can be patient until a new way develops naturally and that it's OK to make small changes.

For example, for the next four weeks I am up against a wall with a deadline, so there is no plan, I just have to do it. However, when this is over, I hope to develop some new routines and I realize that these routines do not have to involve rigid scheduling. 

I feel same way about small things around the house. In the past, if the laundry piled up I'd feel that it wasn't even worth doing if it couldn't be done all at once and Mark is the same way. It's a trait we share and I can't speak for him, but I'd say isn't good. We have whole days dedicated to cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, errands etc and this week I realized that I'm happier doing a little here and there.  So maybe I'll let Mark do the big cleaning once a week and I'll be in charge of maintaining, I'm not sure.

I think this new-found patience with myself and how I operate and the changes I can make is a good thing. 

I do know that I created some nice panels for wallets this week and these are two that I love especially so.

 

Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters

Yesterday I went to the library not having a list or a specific idea of what I wanted. I just knew I needed to be there. I felt a sharp pull to walk towards an aisle in the back and when I saw where I was I couldn't help but laugh.

I found myself standing in front of one of the largest collections of fairy tale volumes I've ever found in a small town library.  Impressive.  I smiled because I know one of my strong woman mother guides was giving me an order.

I'm a fairytale girl from way back. I even contemplated taking a couple of years off to do research for a book on how fairy tale symbolism applies to our lives today, but the wallets called louder and so that's path I took.  However, every now and then I get a pang in my heart for more stories. The interesting thing is until that moment in the library, I hadn't even recognized what I'd been feeling lately...the need to go to a place where I understand things.  I get fairy tales. I get the symbolism and I get the language. I see the surface story, but also the hidden meaning equally.

I remember explaining a Japanese fairy tale to my teacher Mrs. Gardner. I loved her and thought I was being very polite to not criticize as she interpreted the story she'd just read aloud to the class. I waited until after school and as the classroom was emptying I asked her if "maybe she really meant to say..." about the Asian princess. When I was done, she put her hand on my shoulder and smiled and said, "I'm not sure this third grade teacher was prepared for you Laura. I can see you'll keep me on my toes." I knew she meant it in a good way unlike how she meant it when I wouldn't stop chattering with my neighbor during class and she yelled something horrible at me about no one being interested in what I had to say!   

Anyway, yesterday I began looking through the volumes and Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters popped out at me.

Kathleen Ragan was inspired to begin the book when she was looking for stories with strong female characters to read to her daughter and was dismayed to come up short. As much as I love Grimm fairy tales, they are sanitized and often the female characters are dependant on others for rescue. I understand why a mother might seek out stories that depicts the girls or women as witty, clever and smart and not always rescued by men.

I love the line on the back of the book, "...she has scoured the world in search of extraordinary tales about heroines who are bright, adventurous, delightful and talented."  Honestly, these are four of my favorite words! If I had to make a wishlist of qualities to embody, these would be the ones! I strive to be my own heroine and while I often come up short, I will say that my sense of the story of my life has gotten me through some very difficult times.

One of my favorite fairy tales is Selkie related...Sealskin/Soulskin. I love the symbolism about how sometimes you must sacrifice things dear to you in order to be your truest self. 

Do you have any favorite fairy tales?

Soldering 101

I was lucky enough to take Kim's Soldering 101 class last Saturday and it was a blast. I suggest any class she offers and it just so happens she's teaching at The West Coast Retreat in Petaluma and at the Cloth Paper Scissors retreat in Chicago this summer. She's been published in Stampington magazines too many times to list, but let's just say I can see why. She's a fun teacher. She also has a local retreat in the works and teachers whose work you may have admired in blogs or magazines will be coming in for it...more on that soon. 

You can see my efforts above. I'm practicing with cheap solder so the pendants look a little dirty, but who cares? I also made a mini plaque to hang on a tiny patch of wall we have next to a closet. I have to say....I'm pretty impressed with myself. I plan to keep practicing even edges, trying to make them smooth and flat and then I'll graduate to a better grade of solder.

I found the doll pic in the latest Paper Source catelog. It's one of the few paper catalogs I won't give up because of all the beauty contained in the pages. Plus they offer handmade and recycled papers too.

I love this bag, but since I'm not in the market for a new grocery bag (aghahaha!), I decided to enjoy the colors in a pendant.

Well, it's day two of Heather's 30 Day Vegan e-course and I'm doing great. Today's bonus recipe was vegan chocolate cake. I decided (before taking the class) that I might not do much baking since I tend to overeat the goods, but that cake...that cake...well, if you see some pics on the blog tomorrow you know that I made it and that's that. 

In the meantime Mark and I split this vegan salad today (even the rye bread is vegan) and neither one of us was complaining.

I appreciate your comments on the Post-it window! Thank you!

A Desk With A View

When I moved into the studio at the end of the summer I was all gung-ho about getting it painted and in order. Well, we all know that didn't happen. The need to work has stood in the way of creating a great place to work. Though, now (as my friend Christine said would happen) I'm so relieved I didn't go with my original plan to do a retro black, white and pewter office theme. Now that I've been in the space for awhile I've decided to go another direction totally. Hopefully I'll get to it this summer, but in the meantime I'm glad to at least have a work table set up and a few pretty spaces. 

The picture on top is the view from the inside of my Post-It note window display...simple and pretty. The one below is how it looks at night from the outside.

And for all that my studio is or isn't yet, I am glad to have the goddesses clustered together on one of the smaller windows. My studio gets so much light it's crazy. In the summer I'm going to need to block some of it so I don't roast! Already I can work in there without turning on the heat.

My space may not be "Flickr-group" ready or soon to grace the pages of Where Women Create, but it's doing the job for now.

I just got a two week extension on a wallet order and am so relieved. I've been focused, but days like today remind me that I'm not a machine.

I'm excited to share that on March 7th I will be participating in Heather's e-course.

I like the fact that it is simply 30 days and not meant to be a lifelong program unless of course, that's what you want. I have until April 15th to finish my order and I suspect I'll need every minute of it. It's important for me to handle crunch time in a balanced way and not use peanut M & M's and coffee to get me to the finish.

I think the timing of this course couldn't be better. 

Blog-land is exploding with so much richness lately...I scarcely know where to begin, but here is my attempt at a good start:

Just Travelin' Through

and

Even though I'm not really a California girl, Mt. Shasta is one of my favorite places on earth, however, if get a chance to visit Big Sur, I'm sure I'd fall in love. 

Honestly.

Ties That Bind

 

Whew. I've been so busy falling behind on an important order I can't even think, let alone blog, but I had an "Aha!" moment this morning.

I looked at some work I've done lately and was knocked over. I had assumed that since I'm busy, not sleeping, hopping on buses to Madison to protest our Governor's proposed bill, working, crying, facebooking and collapsing in exhaustion every few hours that the work I've been doing would be crap.

No such thing.

I looked at the panels I made last week in the midst of chaos and could do nothing but approve. They are good. Really good. So, while they were born in the midst of high dysfunction, they survived to mature into lovely little pieces. Thank you to the muses who show up to guide my hand and who put the perfect paper scrap out of thousands in front of me at the right moment.  It's another important lesson...want to create and craft art?

Just show up. 

I can't post pictures because my new camera was defective and has been returned. We are waiting for another one to arrive on the scene.

I want to share an old post with you. One of my marriage posts. In it I write about how different Mark and I are and of how he supports my passions, but how I have  little opportunity to support his. Well, he is fighting so hard for the people he represents in our state and I couldn't be more proud. I have finally had the chance to support him in a passion and fortunately it is mine too.

Anyway, I just wanted to share the old post because I still think it applies to today. Plus, I still suggest heading down to the library to get the Alchemist on cd...a truly inspiring book to listen to when you work or relax.

A post on my marriage

Green & Gold

I imagine downtown looks a lot more lively right now (fireworks, partiers, people running in the closed off street, car alarms etc), but this is one of my favorite local art installations ever!

This is the caption on facebook:

Thanks to Jim Calaway for this awesome image and to Jeff Mirkes, Crystal Osman, Jeanette Newhouse, Mike Frey and Jason Klug for their dedication to make it happen! We will update as we complete but this was a great start!

Sunday Sunday

You can imagine it's kind of a nutty time to live in Wisconsin and be married to a Green Bay native. Even so, this Super Bowl Sunday finds us having a mellow day. No big plans, no need to run out. This is good.

We had oatmeal with organic maple sugar crystals for breakfast. I have some wild salmon thawing, butter is softening for brownie baking and I've already mixed the filling for a most non-traditional half-time treat combo...my famous won-ton, chopped radishes on ice and beer.

I am excited to share a couple of things:

Having fun making little journals from scrap paper (shown above)

I'm going to watch this on Netflix in about an hour...amazing.

I get such a kick out of well-done commercials...please click through if you want a laugh and pre-view of game day commercials and movie pre-views.

Maybe I'll be back with some brownie and journal love later.

Happy Day!

The Frozen Rose

Happy weekend all. I wanted to share a new mini venture with you. It's my de-stash shop. The Frozen Rose.

I haven't wanted to water down my wallet shop with lots of oddball listings, so I decided to create a new one entirely. If Kim over at Persimmons is going to keep clearing out her store, then I simply must get rid of some of my things to make room for the bounty she heaps upon me (Actually, I can't blame her, I'm the one who sat on the floor in her store for almost two hours looking through boxes!). I have big art plans for the things I've scored through Kim and will slowly begin sharing some of the ideas on my mind. Plus, I've also picked up many of her display pieces so the studio is looking super cute (under the mess).

I decided to keep it very simple, everything in the shop is and will stay $5.00. I have tons of odds and ends as well as some vintage I'll be adding next week. The Frozen Rose isn't my first priority, but I plan to list a few items each week as I sort and organize. Plus, if you check it out, you'll notice that I include old-fashioned household tips in every listing. I think this is a good outlet for my feminine side. :)

I finally have a working camera and am excited about posting again, plus...it has video capabilities so maybe a little vlogging is in order! 

This is a little video to help celebrate The Year of the Rabbit. Too cute.

<

Year of the Rabbit from Frater on Vimeo.

I Want This

Porcelain pendant and image by Panopoly on etsy.

Not having a working camera is interfering with my goal to post more regularly.

I think I'll share some random thoughts today. 

The picture of Anais Nin is a favorite and I just noticed how much she reminds me of Hillary Clinton in a certain way.

I love this Nin quote:

Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.

I'm stuck right now. I'm on the beach, running circles in the sand, holding my kite, but for some reason afraid to let it go and be lifted by the breeze and into the sky. 

Do you ever have that feeling? The time is right, but somehow you don't feel you are? You look up and see so much happening, you long to be a part of it all, you long to get off the ground, but fears (named and un-named) hold you back?

I'll get there. 

This next passage is beautiful to me. Of course, if you know me, I never believe there is only one chance, but maybe I feel urgency now because this life...this artist, crafter, dreamer, writer, bee charmer life?

I want this.

I am afraid of it, but I want it.

I look at you and you occur
in this winter kitchen, random as trees or sentences,
entering me, fading like them, in time you will disappear....

I can even say it,
though only once and it won't last:
I want this. I want this.

Margaret Atwood

I've been finding myself drawn to gentle things lately. I'm learning to embroider and this time it feels real. Usually I dive into a project and give up once it seems hard. Now, I'm taking my time and learning stitches. It's nice to sit with a thrifted embroidery hoop and a torn up pillow case practicing stitches. I find it meditative.

If you read regularly you may want to visit the studio page and become an official Kitchenette. I post there daily. There's always some fun randomness going around and I'd be glad to have you over.

 

Seventeen

I remember being seventeen. It's a fragile age and no explanations are needed. If you're looking back at 17, you know why.

The new Miss America is just seventeen years old. I don't judge her in the least, though I'm not a fan of the contest. I guess I feel a little touch of sadness over the "look" of seventeen, even taking into consideration the stage make-up and the fact that not all girls are so adult looking.  Believe me, my mother didn't think my friends and I looked like teenagers in the way she and her friends did either and her mother...and on and on. It's always this way.

It's odd that these young women are presented as the grown-up ideal and yet when they reach the age that most of them look, they'll no doubt feel the pressure to look younger. I think Susan Sarandon had the right idea when she said something to the effect of, "If you don't appreciate your beauty at twenty-five then you're in for a long hard road."  It's taken years for me to understand that idea and believe me, the road between seventeen and forty-one hasn't been easy in that sense. I'm becoming more gentle with myself, but I have some regrets for not appreciating my "girl-hood" more, always pushing to look older and experience adult things. However, now I must remember that when I turn sixty, I'll be the most happy if I spent my forties appreciating myself and being present in the moments.

Songwriters seem to recognize the fragility of seventeen. There are at least five songs I can think of off the top of my head that reference a girl being seventeen.

However, other than Stevie Nick's Edge of Seventeen, this one really popped out: 

Oh Janis, if only you could have seen yourself. So beautiful.

I'll never forget seeing a clip of Johnny Carson's reaction when she answered his question about why she wrote the song. He was so saddened to look at this young woman sitting next to him and know that at any minute she'd felt so ugly, but later she said this,"To me it's never been a depressing song. It says 'ugly duckling girls like me,' and to me the ugly duckling always turns into a swan. It offers hope that there is a world out there of people who understand."

I think it's interesting to read the comments below the the video on youtube...so many people related to this song. It was a squinch (scant inch) before my time, but the first time I heard it (on that Tonight Show clip) I was hooked on Janis.

In other news, this little set is on sale and with free Priority Shipping in the shop:

Oh well, this a little melancholy for a bright Sunday morning, but that will soon change and I am preparing to have a freshly baked orange roll and Netflix is calling my name! Happy Sunday!

Recycle

My camera is on the blink, so in the spirit of recycling and re-use I thought it might be fun to do a re-post. This is a post from a few years ago on my paper collecting/assembling process. Since then, I've streamlined my process, but ultimately it looks the same.

Click here for more good times:

 

Blog Share-Let's Connect

  

I thought it might be fun to have a weekly feature where I share a blog I love. I know, just what you need, another blog to love and another reason you'll never get anything done and lose morning after morning, but I can't help it...I'm a sadist!  (If you don't like the overuse of punctuation, my blog may not be for you.)

I was going to start by sharing one of the blogs I read daily, but in this here inaugural post, I'm already breaking from tradition.

I just discovered Vivienne McMaster and I know I'll be back. I found her on another blog (also a favorite) and want you to know about her.  She is a photographer who is offering an on-line workshop called Wading In .  If you do read blogs, maybe you've envied how so many of the bloggers out here take such charming, beautiful and quirky photos of themselves. Vivienne's e-course is designed to teach us how to be comfortable with self-portraiture (you can even use your camera phone).  I'd like to feel better about photos of myself or even simply photos of parts of myself the way some bloggers post. You know the ones, the perfect shoes, legs and peep of a skirt hem draped over a chair. Well, I've tried this and I'll bet you don't rememer seeing it. Why? Because they never make it to the blog. I feel that mine look more silly and contrived than they do artsy. Do you have the same issue?

Now, if you want to be moved to your core, I hope you watch this video in one of Vivienne's posts.  It is about a remarkable and totally undiscovered in her lifetime female mid-century photographer who just may be one of the best in the world. It is a phenomenal story. Please do go over at check it out.  The story is wonderful and the photographs (most were taken of people on the streets of Chicago) will knock you out.

Maybe we can do a link thing with photos, but I haven't set it up yet, so for now, if there is a blog you love and want others to love to0, please share a link in the comments. 

And, if you have nothing to do today, you can always go here...but I warn you...it's like falling into a rabbit hole of blog extravaganza!  I don't know about you, but I love finding new music, books, pieces of inspiration and motivation in the blogs I read from women all over the world.

Not At All Fashion-ey

 

When people learn that I upcycle magazines into wallets they often tell me they have tons of magazine they could give me, but assume I only want "fashion-ey" ones. 

They couldn't be more wrong.

While I love Italian Vogue, POP, Nylon and Muse, I have plenty of room in my heart for Mother Earth News and Ladybug. You never know where pretty patterns are going to emerge. 

I recently scored big on a stack of 1970's American Art magazines for twelve cents each (They were a quarter and it was 50% off day). Not only do I love them for the art, but I love the advertisements.

The photo above is an image from the cover of one. The colors are gorgeous and I'll probably use in it a large piece so I can keep it intact.

This page will be cut into smaller pieces to make the stripes and borders on  cardholders though that center piece may find a home:

I can promise you many of these little squares will look totally different when paired up with the right focal image.

For more of my work, you can take a look at the wallet gallery or check out the shop, though my inventory is a little low.

Today is a work day and it's going to be a long one...not making wallet, but on another project.  Good thing I made a pot of this yesterday. I've never been so enchanted with a vegetarian recipe in my whole life! It's food of the Gods. I let the onions carmelize until they were a deep dark golden and used brown rice. I cannot tell you how rich it is. I'll need it later. I'm counting on Mark to find some really good and crusty rolls.

By the way, I love etsy's Quit Your Day Job posts. They're so inspiring and even though I did quit my day job a long time ago, I still use them as motivation to do better and find new ways to make it all work.  

Thrift Share

This is my overdue contribution to Selena's Thrift Share Monday post. She does this every week and it's a great chance to check out other people's finds and sometimes fall over in a dead faint from envy. Like I did when I saw the Bounty Huntress and her set of steel drawers for a mere $5.00. :)

While I'm a big fan of the muted shades of vintage linens and the dusty pinks of dried roses, I have a soft place in my heart for the avocado greens, blue/teals and oranges of the late 60's and 70's. When I saw this ice bucket at our local St. Vincent's I was in a mad swoon of "must have, please be cheap" and got very lucky. Two dollars.

Our new kitchen is in a rehabbed warehouse apartment and only 66 square feet. The one appliance that stands out the most is the avocado green refrigerator. It's something to contend with in a small kitchen that has yellow walls (haven't received permission to paint yet), but I find myself going relaxing into it and now I can see the charm. 

The ice bucket will stay in the kitchen for now, but I've considered using it as a purse or a jewelry box. The real question is, will Mark go anywhere with me if I carry an ice bucket as a purse? :)

The blue glass refrigerator boxes were a gift from Mark a few Christmases ago.

I was just in the middle of a kitchen "re-org" and stepped out to run an errand. When I came home I fully expected to walk into the disaster I'd left behind, but as I did, my perspective changed. I didn't see the mess or clutter, I just saw a tiny kitchen filled with many of my favorite thrifted things.  I've been collecting the tins that I HAVE on the stove ever since my mother gave me my first one about 12 years ago. Sometimes it pays to make a bread run.

I've been collecting the tins that I HAVE on the stove ever since my mother gave me my first one about 12 years ago.

psst...you can find more of my thrift finds here .

A Sign Of Things To Come

I'm a little closer to finishing a project I plan to share with you soon and in preparation I was playing around with some fresh flowers and look what I came up with: 

A rose petal throne for Buddha. Peachy!

I've written on facebook of how I want to start a pledge process for a "No New Wrapping Paper In 2011" holiday season.  I plan to create another page on this blog  and post regularly with thrifted or handmade alternatives to store bought new gift wrap.

I love pretty paper more than most people, but the amount of wasted wrapping paper tossed into dumpsters on December 26th depresses me.

I don't use many gift boxes, but every now and then I have a gift that calls for a box or is too easily identified without one (books and DVDs in this household).  It's early in the year, but I can't resist sharing one of my favorite types of gift boxes:

Vintage puzzle boxes.

Vintage Peter Max Puzzle by Do Not Destroy On etsy

I'm not suggesting you race out and spend a fortune on old puzzles, but keep your eyes open when thrifting.  Puzzles seem to be the last item people get excited about so it isn't unusual to find cool puzzles for under a $1.00. Though, finding vintage puzzles in clean boxes with all of the pieces can be a challenge, but in this case we don't care about having all of the pieces. 

If a rare puzzle is missing pieces I have no qualms about using the box. If you do find a puzzle in good condition with all of the pieces, you may want to price it on ebay or etsy before using it...just to be safe.  Some do sell for hundreds of dollars.

You can use the puzzle pieces in other creative projects (or as gift tags). If you know for sure that the puzzle is totally complete, but you are falling all over yourself because you really want to use the box, take a picture of it, print it on recycled paper and put the pieces in an old, but clean zip-lock or tin and donate it to a senior or community center.

Here are some examples of boxes that would make especially nice gift boxes (in my humble opinion). I use puzzle boxes to store art supplies and paper scraps and love it when someone gives me a gift in one. 

Unless the box has a unique design element I usually wrap it with recycled paper. I can't tell you how many times my friends have gotten almost as big a kick* from the gift box as they did from the gift.

I love the squirrel graphics:

I Love You More on etsy

When I see circular puzzles (usually 60's Springboc) I flip out! Be sure to price check these first...they can be valuable.

Apricot Vintage on etsy

Interesting graphics on this one:

Betty And Dot on etsy

Nick and Nessies on etsy

Don't forget old board game boxes:

Windy Lou Vintage on etsy

You can always find puzzles or games with themes your friends will be interested in. I tend to choose vintage puzzles because I like the graphics and because I do use the pieces (they're thicker and make better jewelry than newer ones). However, don't limit yourself. I was at a garage sale few years ago and the host was selling newer puzzles for ten cents each!

If you have suggestions for ways to reuse other boxes please share. I want to collect as many ideas as possible so we can get others excited about not buying new too!

* I realize that using the word "kick" to describe my friend's reactions to neat boxes dates them terribly. :)

Margot Elena Wells

 
Margot Elena is an artist/designer/perfumer who inspires me daily.  I'm over my bath and body shop days, but if I ever decided to do something on a small scale (think Little Orange Kitchen soaps as an unexpected favor on a gallery night!), I could only hope to come up with packaging one tenth as gorgeous as Margot Elena's work for her many bath lines and Tokyo Milk is my new favorite. 

Not only is she the developer behind the product, she does all of the illustration for the bottles and wraps. Sigh.

 

Couldn't you just die?

Speaking of which, every now and then I collage a panel for a wallet that I can only describe as soft, but which appeals to me on deep level. This panel makes me feel peaceful and reflective. I love the roses and their particular shade of pink is a favorite.  It's available in my etsy shop.

Happy Sunday!

Bree Harrison

Thanks to Design Sponge I've discovered artist/designer Bree Harrison. Wow.

We don't have a couch right now, but I long for one in a neutral color and believe me, if it is at all possible, it will be adorned with Bree's pillows.

In other news, I love using the Pounce feature on etsy to discover new etsyians who are still waiting for their first sale.  I like this piece by Texan Darrah Dean Gooden over at Tiny Fawn.  I think prints would do better than originals because they'd still have the look of texture, yet seem more finished, but I also think it is is just a matter of time before Darrah makes her very first etsy sale from this shop. Too sweet and made from paper which you know gets my heart beating faster!

Purs-ue Your Dreams!

passport case "poppies" available in my etsy shop.

You know I'm a pretty pattern nut and I wanted to share this book with you fellow lovers of "pretty".

Manda at Tree Fall Design has created the post of all posts featuring lots of pictures of Angie Lewin's prints and fabrics. Please pay her a visit and take a look.

Speaking of pretty...yes, Mark did give me purse of my dreams for Christmas.  I truly love my vintage fabric purse (made from vintage hand embroidered Hmong baby carriers) by Dazzling Lanna on etsy. I love it.  The reclaimed leather handle is nice and long. I can wear it over my shoulder and across my body even with a coat! Look at Mark's feedback in her shop (it's clear) if you want to know more about the quality we're talking about. So well made and much bigger than her or my pictures depict. She has a nice mix of vintage and current fabrics.  The front and back are different and the needlework knocks me out. It holds my laptop, a scarf, books, pens, lipstick and even an orange....it's HUGE!

Fairy tales can come true...it can happen to you...

La Befana

Yesterday I posted my Epiphany intentions and I thought I'd follow up with a few pictures of how it looked around here late last night. As per usual, my photos won't win any awards, but I'm glad I'll have them as a reminder.

This is my little Befana and her broom...given to me by someone who once called me her most magical fairy friend thus sealing the deal on a lifetime of friendship. I caught Befana taking a breather on the ficus.

I don't blame her...she's tiny and this must have been a heavy load. By the way...I have no idea why my shoes look so small next to Mark's. I wear a grand size 8-8.5 wide which is large for my 5 foot one and three quarter inch height.  Mark wears an 11 or a 12 so mine shouldn't look so little, but I'll take the winter miracle!

psst...my red heels were thrifted and only $4.00

I did as I said...burned frankincense, prayed, meditated and this morning emptied my glass of water down the drain. I decided to take the Christmas tree down last night. but kept the ficus decorated with a few year-round baubles.

Mark is going to be the epiphany sweeper today, so that's nice. I think it's good to have both of us participate in clearing the house for the new year.

Oh...something I forgot to mention.  The Magi are never actually referred to as men.  Did you realized this? I think it makes sense if you read yesterday's post. I mean, who ever heard of three men stopping to ask an old woman for directions! Agahaahahahahaha! I kill myself! Sorry to stereotype, but if the shoe fits...

:)

 

Magical Traditions

Happy Epiphany Eve! Tomorrow is Epiphany and all over the world little children (and forty somethings!) will race to check their shoes or stockings to see what La Befana or The Three Kings have left for them in the tradition of St. Nick (which many people celebrate on December 6th).

In my effort to bring a little more celebration into my life, I've decided to celebrate Epiphany tomorrow which is also known as Three Kings Day (Tres Reyes) or Holy Epiphany in other parts of the world.

I am not a religious person and am not a member of any particular faith, but I consider myself to be a deeply spiritual person.  I do pray and I do believe in spirit/God, but in my very own way that I don't often share, even with my close friends. However, my close friends do know that rituals and celebrations are right up my alley and to start the new year I am so delighted to have a little celebration over here honoring the traditions of many cultures.

In most cultures Epiphany is tied to Christianity in some way, but of course we know that most Christian holidays are rooted in earth centered celebrations that came long before Christ (Saternalia) and were moved to coincide with the new Christian calender. It is considered the twelfth day of Christmas or sometimes called Twelfth Night.

The basic pared down blog-length story is that on January 6th the Magi (The wise men or the three kings) arrived with their three gifts for Jesus.  This is where many people stop the story.

However, if you move to Italy or Russia you will hear a story of a woman named La Befana (Italy) or Baboushka (Russia) who the Magi stopped for help finding the manger and of how she was such a diligent housekeeper that she wouldn't stop sweeping long enough to offer assistance or directions.  Later, she regretted her actions and set about the land searching for them with gifts of her own. She never found the manger nor the wise men and still whisks around the lands on her broomstick leaving gifts for children every Epiphany Eve.

In Italy La Befana is revered and the children look forward to her as much as children other places look forward to Santa or St. Nick. There are regattas, parades and feasts, special breads cakes and cookies.

Other cultures have water blessings on Epiphany and in Spain it is called Fiesta de los tres Reyes Mages (Festival of the The Three Magic Kings) and when children open gifts the way many do Christmas morning. Children in Spain write letters to the three kings the way kids here write letters to Santa.

Here is a parade in Italy...note the most Nordic looking Italians I've ever seen! :)

In Greece, in addition to the blessing of the water, the Epiphany Dove will be released. To me this is so beautiful and interesting because doves were once a goddess symbol and of course became associated with Mary and Christ. Doves were later replaced with the winged cherubs so common in paintings of Mary.

At the bottom of this post I have listed many links to help further explain the many traditions and beliefs about Epiphany.  You'll see that many sources go much deeper than I do. However, now I want to share what Epiphany means to me and how I plan to celebrate. 

To me Epiphany is about renewal, changes in attitude and about giving freely of yourself and spirit. I think of Epiphany as a chance to renew my childlike energy, enthusiasm and belief. To welcome myself back into the new year with as much joy as anyone would welcome a baby that we knew to be a "Christ-Child".

I think of it as a time to appreciate our unique gifts that are not material...our talents, family, friends, life blessings etc.  I love that La Befana regretted not stopping her sweeping to help the Magi (in that particular story) and set about to give all children gifts. I love that she is most certainly the Goddess of Good Housekeeping! Some stories tell of how La Befana lost a child of her own and while I don't go into it with many new friends, my old friends know that I lost a child of my own too. I love that there are children in my life and this most recent holiday visit with my nephews really brought this home. I've often wondered if I could have done it...been a good mother and a few days ago I had an "epiphany" and realized that yes...I could have done it.  I'm so peaceful knowing that even though I didn't get the chance to raise a child, I could have done it well. 

I love this quote from Louise Erdrich, but until a few days ago it didn't mean as much. I mean, I understood it, but now I really feel honored that for whatever reason Spirit wants me to be OK and happy with my role as a precious aunt: 

"Women without children are also the best of mothers; often with the patience, interest and saving grace that the constant relationship with children cannot always sustain. I come to crave our talk and our daughters gain precious aunts. Women who are not mothering their own children have the clarity and focus to see deeply into the character of children webbed by family. A child is fortunate  who feels witnessed as a peron, outside relationships with parents by another adult."

What a gracious quote from a woman with children of her own.

Tonight I will set out our shoes with the strong faith that La Befana will visit and leave oranges, nuts and little trinkets. Three gifts to represent the three kings. 

I will take a glass of water and pray over it while burning some incense and then meditate. During my meditation I plan to (I write plan because if you've ever meditated with a specific intention you know that sometimes Spirit has other ideas) focus on my blessings and compose a thank you note for my epiphany about motherhood.  I feel that because of it, I can now mother myself in a way I haven't been able to in a long time.  Then I'll call upon the dove to take my note to the Three Kings for delivery. I have a feeling it will land where it needs to. Then I will rinse the sink with my glass of water as a symbolic blessing and bidding farewell to the old year.

There is a certain little girl in our town who just went through a scary bout of illness and while she turned a corner this morning I think a visit from a La Befana devotee is in order.  I hope she'll wake up happy tomorrow as long as her mother remembers to check the mail box! Ahem.

Tomorrow, in addition to my work, I plan to sweep the entire apartment and put away my ornaments and tree. I figure this is such a nice tribute to La Befana because she clearly values housework.  This is a nice way of sweeping out the old year and bringing in the new. And traditionally this is when old trees were burned as a blessing and you might notice that many cities schedule tree-pickup and mulching on January 6th. I am also donating to a charity and have selected three gifts to donate to St. Vincent's.

As you can see, I've interpreted Epiphany in my own way and I invite you to think about how what you feel when you think of the day. You may not feel anything and this is totally cool, I mean the whole point for me this year is to think about what these things mean to me and to share.

If you have any family traditions for epiphany, please share here or on the studo facebook page...we can all learn from them.  I know that it was originally earth centered so I wonder if there are any Native American traditions associated with with the day?

And speaking of sharing, here are a number of links for information and ideas:

Love this one!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany_%28holiday%29

Winter Festivals

Epiphany Cake

Another Cake

Feast of Light

Befana

Tres Reyes Magos at Disney

Saturnalia

Lots of views here