Inside my sketchbook

Trying new suggestions from the surface design class. Some are successful, some need extra work.
But that's what sketchbooks are for: learning from practice.

It's funny...

It's funny the things that remind you of people.

I am making a grilled cheese sandwich: jarlsburg cheese on artisan bread. It makes me think of my mom. She always had the best cheese & bread for grilled sandwiches.

She's at an art retreat for 2 weeks--no phone, no internet--and it's dificult because we are usually on the phone 3 times a week.

She'll be home on Sunday and I plan to talk her ear off on Monday. (Hope you got enough quiet, Ma! Love you!)

3 days of gifts!

A new take on witch bottles.
Originally meant to keep the evil eye away, witch bottles were full of broken glass, pins & needles and buried near the entrance to the house.
These witch bottles are full of things that sparkle and topped with witch hats. Made for some of my favorite witches.

Wheeeeeee!

I have signed up to take an online class by Alisa Burke on fabric surface design. It's a 5 week course, with one assignment per week.

I have been eyeballing her courses for a while. I love her use of layering, line, and color. I picked fabric design because the concepts that I will learn there will be easily adaptable to painting.

Once the kids are in bed tonight I will start the first class.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Hello, world!
On Friday I turned 31. I have been thinking a lot about what I want to accomplish in the next 9 years, and to start off this decade of "more, better" I have resolved to accomplish 2 things in this year: I will run a 5k (I already know I can WALK one) and I will learn Spanish. I have said for years that I wish I knew Spanish. Well the time for wishing is over! It is time for action! (cue superhero music)

Also, I have decided that I own too many things. So I am celebrating my 31st birthday hobbit-style. If you haven't read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, you need to do so. Immediately. I'll wait....

See?! Isn't that a great idea?! My dad used to read me The Hobbit as a bedtime story when I was really little (like 3 & 4), and I remember thinking even then 'what a great way to celebrate your birthday!'. I have decided that I will mail things out to 31 people over the next 4 weeks.
I have 5 spots open if you are interested in playing along you can email me karacrafts(at)gmail(dot)com.

And on Saturday Aaron & I went to ComicCon while Aunt B took the kids for the night. It was awesome dorktastic fun. The costumes and people watching are worth the price of admission. I got to talk with Lydia Burris, Kai Owen, and a whole mess of other really fun and interesting people.
After ComicCon we ate Indian food* and then came home watched Doctor Who and drank white russians. It was a great way to celebrate my birthday.

*While at the restaurant, we determined that Indian food is a universal panacea. We also came up with a plan to move to India and open a bar be que joint. I love that I can make a crazy plan and Aaron will play along.

A quick hello!

I returned safely from my trip to Birmingham. And HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE THOSE MOUNTAINS? They make you feel like you are being embraced by the earth all the time. It's delightful!

A quick run down of my trip:
Friday: I arrived, was picked up by Aunt Carmela & Uncle Steve at the airport. We went to lunch, went grocery shopping & went back to their house for a quiet evening at home. We ate gumbo, drank wine, laughed and debated, and stayed up late.
Saturday: We went to breakfast at the Homewood Diner, it was sublime. Seriously, if you live in the area EAT THERE. Then Carmela, Andrea (my cousin), and I went to Nana's house to go through boxes and share memories. That night we ate dinner at Joe's Italian, again YUM. (In case you couldn't tell a great deal of our family gatherings revolve around food).
Sunday: We ate muffins, drank coffee, and watched Nana's wedding video from 1946. And then I got into Nana's wedding dress. It involved the help of Andrea and a fair amount of sucking in. There are pictures. I haven't decided if I'll share them. That's the ONLY wedding dress I've ever been in. I got married in blue jeans. That afternoon my cousin Kelsey & I went to the Birmingham Museum of Art. We saw it all. In the process Kelsey & I decided I should work there*. As it happens, there are openings. I am applying! (The only failure is never to try) Then we went back to Steve & Carmela's where I made dinner: Maple-glazed pork chops, mashed sweet potatoes, corn, and a green salad. (Again with the food!)
Monday: Kelsey and I had lunch with our Grandma, then went shopping @ an art supply store and a second-hand store. We went to Aunt Jan's (Kelsey's mom) house for a bit--and picked figs fresh off the tree, then to Montevallo to see the campus--there is a family tie to that university on both my mom and dad's side. After that we went to dinner at Mizu, where we had our fill of sushi. Then it was back to Carmela's with our box of figs. Carmela & I sat in the kitchen eating figs and talking for quite a while.
Tuesday: Lunch at the Birmingham Museum of Art with Carmela & Steve. Afterwards we toured the museum, then drove over to Avondale to see Nana's mom's house, drove to see Nana's old house, made a stop at the Peanut Depot (boiled or salted--your choice), and drove me to the airport.

I got back home at 7:30. The kids got back Wednesday while I was at work. We have been getting back into the swing of things. Today we went to the Farmer's Market and stocked up on fruit and veg for the week. Tomorrow is Sunday Swim. And in 19 days the kids will start back to school....which is a mixed bag. 1 part joy for a routine, 1 part sad to see the end of the fluidity of summer.

*When I was in my early 20's I worked as an Americorps VISTA @ the Cherokee Heritage Center. When that was over, I volunteered at the Ft Sill Field Artillery Museum where I did inventory and catalogued incoming items. I enjoyed both of those experiences enough that I am ready to re-enter the museum world, if they'll have me.