Loft*Favorites

Photo By Wes/Edited by Elsie
Photo by Wes/Edited by Elsie

1. The Red Photo Shoot
2. Plush Octopus Dolls
3. Sushi
4. New Friends
5. Presents
6. Peter Pan
7. Painting
8. Thai Food
9. Polaroids
10. Big Hair

Brett, I miss you A LOT!

P.S. I Love You

Brett,
Thanks for looking forward to your FIVE days with Sebastian all to yourself. Thanks for shipping those GD kits today. Thanks for making sure the phone was charged. Thanks for knowing how important this weekend away can be to a Mama.

I miss you already.


Rachel

Monday's Favorites

1. clock watching, 2. Roman Holiday, 3. Pitstop, 4. Velocity. Como una moto., 5. Berlin Holiday, 6. Untitled, 7. and there will be no other, 8. Vespa Revised, 9. Rot-Gelb-Blau, 10. carolina2, 11. i love my yellow, i do., 12. Boating, 13. My Vespa, 14. The most elegant mode of transportation, 15. The Stream..., 16. love at first sight, 17. IMG_1721, 18. IMG_1832, 19. Red Leaf Vintage Textures, 20. Red Leaf Studios, 21. Soner Ozenc Mirrors, 22. It's Not Me It's YOU Print - NEW!, 23. F is for Fabulous!, 24. 73/366, 25. easter morning, 26. set, 27. clouds_1, 28. these flowers will never die, 29. Gold, 30. 2008_0115Jan150015, 31. nautical portrait, 32. TwoGirls_VWbus_sunny.jpg, 33. Ewan Wonderland mag, 34. Hemingway's Bathroom, 35. pola012_2, 36. simple kitchen, white & wood & metal

Handmade Journal Kits Are Up

I posted 10 new handmade journal kits in my personal Etsy shop. If you find that they are all gone by the time you get there, e-mail me and I'll try to whip another one up before Wednesday, March 26th when I head out to Springfield for an RVA art weekend!!!


p.s. Christen Krumm and Dinah...I will post yours as reserved if you still want them. E-mail me to let me know.

I hope everyone has had a lovely Easter!

Paint on my elbow

Finishing a big project has freed up the available 'make stuff' time that I had forgotten was so important to me. My lovely husband has been working part time at Starbucks this week since schools are out for Spring Break so we've had a lot of together time that has reminded us how much we enjoy each others company. Its also an extra set of hands to play ball with Sebastian outside or hit the 'Replay' button on the laptop when 'Melmo' goes 'ByeBye'.

An extra set of hands also meant I could take a toddler-free thrift store trip. I stopped at the Salvation Army before they closed for the evening and was thrilled to find a vintage, yellow flat sheet that plans on cozying up to the rest of my vintage sheet collection until I can sit down and figure out if I have the patience for a Dresden Plate quilt. I think they are the most beautiful quilt patterns but I know they aren't necessarily weekend projects. I also found a wooden chair for Sebastian's room. I'd had one of these on my 'Home-Style' list for our next home and seemed to snatch it up in time as it had only been set out the day before. I plan on painting it my favorite shade of green. You can find a picture of the rest of my finds HERE once Flickr decides to play nicely again.


I've also been painting this piece for the inspiring Elsie. We're doing an art trade. I asked for a commissioned piece for Sebastian's room knowing her style would fit nicely with the vision I have of how his room will turn out. We'll have white walls until we can buy our own place so we need lots of color in every other piece. I'm not against white and I think I might even love the calmness of it but I need color and things up on the walls. There is something subconsciously affirming about putting the nails in and hanging something on them. It says, 'I LIVE HERE!"

What are you doing for Easter this year?

Edited to: May 17th?

If I were to put together an art journal workshop in Fresno, CA on May 17th from 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the cost of the workshop at $85.00 would anyone be interested?

If you are, e-mail me at: Redvelvetkitclub (at) gmail (dot) com

EDITED: Changed from April 19th to May 17th as there was another class somewhere in CA on the first date.

Where Do You Rest Your Ideas?

Made this mini book for THIS BLOG. You can see the rest of it HERE.

If you're a fan of blogs that knock your socks off with eye candy and links, you may also enjoy Design Is Mine.

I recently saw this link on Michelle's blog and saved it.

I got to spend the whole afternoon with one of my favorite people today. Katy and I go way back to '95! We've got more stories from one week at camp in high school than I've had in the last three years of my life. We sat in lawn chairs in the backyard and let the sun do its part while we caught up on life. Did I mention that we got to drive the grey van with the pink flames?

I'm really excited to be much closer to her and a few other friends in a few months. I miss you Katy!

Saturday Naptime

I used the RVKC March kit for this one. The 'Wonder Years' paper is double-sided so its twice as much goodness. I've heard others say its hard for them to cut into because its so beautiful and I fully understand. Once I got going I was okay but it took me a while to work up the courage. The Jenni Bowlin Alpha are also fabulous. I love the way they call attention to themselves. I haven't scrapped in a LONG time due to other responsibilities but it was just what I needed on this sunny afternoon while Sebastian was asleep.

Wishing you big, puffy clouds and the smell of spring time.

~R

SXSW

Its my dream to take my family and meet up with the Red Velvet Girls at this fabulous event!

Check out the SXSW Music Player on the side bar of the official site to get a shuffle sample of new artists at the event.

A few years back when RVA was about making stuff and selling it at music festivals I submitted a form to be a vendor here but we were too small a business with too little vending history to make it. It would've probably overwhelmed us but still would've been so much fun to work.
Elsie, Emma and I have some great memories from Cornerstone Music Festival in Illinois, though. One year there was so much dust blowing through the grounds that all of our product was covered in a thin film so everything looked like it had been sitting out in someone's yard for years. Emma made jewelry out of guitar picks that sold like hot cakes. Elsie made wallets, pins and bags out of reused catalogs as well as fun broches and jewelry out of ribbon and beads. If you've never seen her painted shoes, you should ask her about them. They were genius. I reworked vintage skirts and dresses into one of a kind outfits and sold leather journals and bracelets. We dressed up every day and met some of our favorite Indie bands and got a ton of inspiration from little emo kids. Someday, we'll probably take Sebastian with us and celebrate his birthday there.

So, speaking of music...What is your new favorite band? Has anyone yet heard of Jose Gonzalez? What about Steve Earle? Or Loney, Dear? Their song 'Sinister in a State of Hope' is my favorite.

IF you need some help with that, I've added a few more links to perk your face up.
PoppyTalk
KimmieProut
Decor8
Cut+Paste
ModCloth

Peace Out.

Enter Title Here

Really excited about This inspo
This print
This necklace
This blog
This wee thing
And this company.

The weekend is coming. What is inspiring you?

Feeling Far Away

What do you do when your energy is gone and you have so much still to do?

I stop and take pictures of myself.
HA! No, I just happened to fit this in after S had gone down for his nap and Brett was finishing up addressing kits at the computer. We FINALLY got the last of the kits sent out today after some magical deliveries showed up on my doorstep. Things got sorted out with companies and everyone ended up happy and generous in the end. If you ordered a kit, you're getting a little KI Memories love.
I also managed to finish Emma's quilt. I had more trouble with the binding than any quilt I've ever made. I'm not sure if it was the high-loft batting or the fact that the top was more complicated, and therefore not straight, but it puckered like crazy. Its on its way to SoCal to live the glamorous life.

More to catch up on. More to plan. More to make. If you're still expecting a call or e-mail from me, I apologize for the wait.

In the midst of all the doing, I'm trying to focus on the living. Sebastian has a way of drawing my attention to the present. Mostly it involves going outside and playing catch and practicing our words but it is refreshing. I'm so thankful for the chance to stay at home with him and the older he gets the more creative things we'll be able to share. I've already pre-ordered this book by Soulemama so that I don't miss out on all the ways to fill our days.

We call ourselves team 'Stay At Home'.

Pretty Mama Day

I woke up without the sunniest of outlooks on the week but I knew if I didn't put some effort into my day, it would only get worse. SO, today became another 'Pretty Mama Day'. The hair went up with a scarf and then the lip gloss and shades. Every 'Pretty Mama Day' needs to be documented so Sebastian got in his new wagon and we went for a walk around the neighborhood with our camera. We both felt better by noon.

I know its been a LONG time since the stamp give away but I appreciate your patience. The two winners are:

Annie
My name is Annie and my favorite smell is fresh laundry. (Who can resist the smell of a newborn baby, though?)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Morgan
I love the smell of cinammon. So "home-y" and warm...like my parents' house!


So, send me your mailing address, ladies and I'll get them in the mail!

Working on the last bits of a huge job this week as well as a few new fun opportunities. One of which is THIS new challenge blog. Its all about reusing found bits and pieces and turning them into art. Its right up my alley so I was so glad Kara asked me to be a GD. Go check out the mini album she made from a vintage sewing pattern.

Watched 'Into The Wild' last night. I felt like it was an insight into human relationships and the courage it takes to do something so unknown and unpredictable. We also managed to fit in 'Beowolf', 'SuperBad' and another movie that I can't remember for the life of me! We were waiting to find 'Darjeeling Limited' at the redbox but were always a little too late.

Sebastian is starting to use two-word phrases. I never thought I'd be so excited over this but after a little worrying a few months ago that he wasn't using any spoken words at all, its a big deal. We were letting the water drain from his bath on Saturday and he just up and said, 'Bye, bubbles'. We've been adding 'Bye' to every other word he knows just to encourage his speech. It immediately changed my perception of him. Its like when you run into someone who speaks another language and then they say something you can understand. He's been feeling yucky for so long that now that his energy has returned, he seems older. We spent a lot of time outside.

Back to work! Even on 'Pretty Mama Day'.

Enjoy!
~R~

Check It

Interview with Stephanie DosReis over here.
The power went out for about an hour and a half tonight. It was fun but its hard to sleep without all the evening house noises. Without power or light to make things, I went to Target. As one does. But they closed after 10 minutes so I came home and started a journal page by flashlight. Then S woke up. So I got in bed. Then it all came back on and scared us to death. Since I was the last one up, it was my duty to go through the house and turn off all electronics that had been on and since I was downstairs, I decided I should go ahead and waste the lesson of 'turning things off' and tell you all about it.

Ha!

Happy Thursday. More to share soon.

Where is my Personal Assistant?

We're doing an experiment this week at our house. We're seeing if we can multiply our energy and minutes times three to call back, write back, sign up, pack up, send out, sew together, punch through, tack down, and dream up everything on our to do list. I'm sure its possible despite all previous failed attempts. But I think my sweet husband is now coming down with what S and I had.
The fabulous news is that I managed to snag this from Craigslists today. It was a KILLER purchase and its going in the 'studio'. And when I say 'studio', I am not assuming that I will have four walls surrounding it right away. It may be the pretty space in the living room corner with bits strewn everywhere. One thing I've learned with all the moving I've done in the last six years is how to rethink my space. I've got my dream studio in mind but I'm willing to make things work until then.
OK, less blogging and more working. Do not be alarmed if I'm MIA this week. Cara, Elsie, Martha H...I have been thinking about you a lot this weekend. Will be in touch when the kit storm has passed. Kit packing team (Lisa and Veronica), I don't want to share our germs this month. April, however, will be fun!
The winners of the stamps will be announced later.
Thanks for reading. I really love this place.