Corn Husk Doll

Some of my most favorite Christmas ornaments are made out of corn husks.  I decided to search for more a couple of days ago and I found a bunch on Ebay.  So then I thought, "I want to make corn husk dolls!"

I bought corn husks at the grocery store for $2.50 and printed out instructions from here.  The first corn husk doll was for my boy.  He wanted a superman corn husk doll.  It was harder than I thought and came out super creepy and was broken and in the trash before I could get any pictures.  My next doll was much cuter and much easier to make!  check it out:

Maybe it's super nerdy.  In fact, it probably is, but I had so much fun making this doll.  Now I want to learn how to make brooms!!!

Summer Camp '88

Speaking of Summer Camp (see below).  yep.  that's me...second in from the right (with the hand that is not on board with the plan).  And guess what, we came up with this pose ourselves! Isn't it magically delicious?!

New favorites

I love, love this song: Ghost Train by Summer Camp.  A nice 80s sweet vibe to the video too.


Summer Camp - Ghost Train (viral) from Paddy Power on Vimeo.

New favorites

My favorite source for music is Gorilla vs. Bear.  And here is a new favorite song.  The video is really cool too.



TRAFFIQUE // NORA from Brandon Tauszik™ on Vimeo.

Embroidery Pillowcase Project

I started this pillowcase project when my cousin got married like 7 years ago and I finally finished them (well, almost finished...there's one more thing I want to do).  I used this Bucilla kit that I had been eyeing for awhile, thinking it would be a nice wedding gift.  I didn't like the blue-theme so I picked my own colors.

So I proceeded to go to town on it, only to totally run out of steam.  And believe it or not, I have picked it up through the years to work on it.  Last week, I completed all the embroidery and I now I want to add a little bit of a fabric border around the opening to make it look a little nicer. 

Here it is so far:

Cool Thread Bobbins

A few months back I came across these cute printable thread bobbins for embroidery thread created by Wild Olive blogger Mollie Johanson.  And then I saw them again at How About Orange, a blog I read at least once a week.  And it again filed away in the back of my brain, to be retrieved yesterday when I decided to tackle my office.

I discovered that I had a terrible setup for my embroidery thread and had some extra from that stocking project, so I got busy.  I printed the thread bobbin pdf on full sheet labels, stuck that to some leftover thin cardboard, and cut them out.  It's funny because I think I printed out 3 sheets thinking that would be plenty.  OH NO...that was not plenty.  6 sheets and a day later.  My embroidery thread looks like this:

 These thread bobbins are the greatest!  Seriously cute and it feels so good to look at my embroidery floss now.

Pom-Pom Garland

So the very next day after seeing that awesome pipecleaner chandelier, I purchased a pom-pom maker.

And it was super easy to use!  And I went nuts!  I made two garlands for my boy's room.

I hung them over his bed.  Talk about a satisfying project and super inexpensive.  I think the yarn (and I had a little left over) came to $6.  I'm thinking everyone's presents from now on will be topped with a pom-pom.

Pipecleaners vs. Chandeliers

So I just checked my mail and look at what I found in the Land of Nod catalogue.

I can't believe my eyes.  It's a chandelier made out of pipecleaners and yarn.  And wait, is that a yarn pom pom!??  Yahoo!!  I just rode off into the sunset on a unicorn!

I know just who I want to make this for!  I think I may take a crack at it tonight.  I'll keep you posted.

Christmas Early

I just finished this Christmas stocking.  It probably took me about 45 hours to do, but totally worth it!  Lots of fun!

The Sketchbook Project 2011

I signed up for the Sketchbook Project 2011 and received my black cover moleskin about two weeks ago. To be involved in a touring art show, well, it thrills me to no end.

The category I chose is "Happy Thoughts" which got my mind churning with ideas. I was even thinking of doing a "pre" sketchbook to warm up with, but I think that would sort of ruin the thing.

So this is page one. I'm excited to see where this goes!

A Beginning

Here we go again! I have had private blogs, blogs that were essentially online notebooks ( so I wouldn't forget things), and lame attempts at marketing/selling my talents. If at first you don't succeed try, and try again. Look at that I've already effed up my new clean slate of a blog with a sloppy quote. Oh well. It's better you know now, this will be a colloquial blog.

Let's get straight to the goods.

I make stuff, a lot, and that's what I'll be sharing here. Music, art, words, pictures. MAWP.

hugs,jp