BETWEEN THE *PINK* SHEETS

At the suggestion of Cynthia, I decided to dress my bed in pink sheets.

She helped me find some dreamy ones made of bamboo during one of our recent outings ... and I have to tell you ... bamboo sheets in pink ... there's nothing like it. I don't want to get out of bed these days.

Aside from all this luxurious comfort ... one of the benefits of treating yourself to new sheets now and then is getting a new supply of those heavy-duty zippered plastic bags that can be used keep your assorted projects organized.

But the thing is, when it comes to my knitting and crocheting projects, I need a lot more than these plastic bags to keep me organized ... it is with complete humility that I present to you the view right next to my bed ... the drawers of my night stand ...

From bottom drawer up are just some of my projects in progress: blue hemp for a crocheted necklace, a variegated fiber being knitted in a round (on one circular needle) into a wallaby for Gerardo, a super thick natural wool to knit and felt into "ballet" slippers, sock yarn to knit more socks, and cotton thread being crocheted into a necklace. The knit, the purl, the crocheted circle are (almost) all I have on my mind as I fall asleep and wake ... all between the *pink* sheets. Love it. ;)

BEYOND WHERE WE SHOULD HAVE GONE

"Trouble travels fast, when you're specially designed for crash testing, Or wearing wool sunglasses in the afternoon, Come on and tell us what you're trying to prove

'Cause it's a battle when you dabble in war

You store it up, unleash it, then you piece it together

Weather the storm drain running rampant

Just to stamp it and send it to somebody who's pretending to care

Just cash in your blanks for little toy tanks

Learn how to use them and abuse them

And choose them over conversations

Relationships are overrated, 'I hated everyone' said the sun

And so I will cook all your books

You're too good looking and mistooken

You could watch it instead from the comfort of your burning beds

Or you can sleep through the static

But who needs sleep when we've got love?

Who needs keys when we've got clubs?

Who needs 'please' when we've got guns?

Who needs peace when we've gone above?

But beyond where we should have gone

We went beyond where we should have gone ..."

— Jack Johnson • Sleep Through the Static

(PS: Rockin' artwork by Alisa Burke.)

Peace.

LUCKY CARDS ATOP A VINTAGE QUILT

I love to play poker ...

Cause even with the best of cards, it's a game about reading people. And I love reading people ...

And this day after Thanksgiving, here I am with some of my very best friends ... as we read one another and hope for the best of hands ... like the Ace and 2 in the pocket ... to lock in the low hand while playing Omaha ...

Such great times.

Good friends, good food and drinks, and good cards atop a vintage quilt.

SCENES OF SUNNY GRATITUDE

Scenes of gratitude from this Californian family ...

Says Gerardo: "In this down-turned economy, I'm thankful for my job and for our home. For my family and for Toby and Scout." Says Jenny: "I'm also thankful for my job, our family's health, and our two adorable rascals: Toby and Scout."

Says Andrew: "For my family and for having good food to eat every day. And for the cutest puppies in the world: Toby and Scout." Says Monica: "For my mom, dad, brother and all my friends ... and of course Toby and Scout."

Say Toby & Scout: "We're thankful that we aren't turkeys and that we are loved and that we have become the common denominators for Gerardo, Jenny, Monica and Andrew."

From our family to yours ... HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :)

COUNTING BLESSINGS

On this Thanksgiving eve, Kellene and I are counting our many blessings ...

For the awards bestowed upon our magazines as we break new records and set new industry standards, for our incredibly talented and dedicated staff, and for new friends like Jo Packham who has worked tirelessly with us to create the long-awaited Where Women Create magazine. 

 

Most importantly, we are thankful for the trust that you — our AMAZING artists — continue to have in us as you submit works that inspire us and push us to new heights of creativity. In 2009, 83 issues of our 32 titles (some you see here and some brand new ones) will be enjoyed across the globe. Whether you sew, quilt, journal, paint, rubber stamp, take photos, knit, crochet, construct dolls, artfully blog, wrap wire, bake clay, create handbags, construct garments, design digital work ... whatever your medium ... chances are, we have a place for you to express your creative voice.

And after Thanksgiving, Kellene and I will continue to be hard at work — with the support of our stellar team — to develop strategies for continued growth in 2010. 

We are humbled by your support. 

And from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for the honor and privilege of being allowed to show your works in the most imaginative and highest quality manner possible in our magazines. Warmest wishes for a happy, safe,  and blessed Thanksgiving. :)

TINSEL TRADING LOVELIES

Check out these lovelies I scored at the Tinsel Trading booth while visiting with Marcia Ceppos in Houston ... a flower pin made of vintage fabrics, hand-dyed silk ribbon, metallic thread, a bottle of pretty buttons, and a bag of ...

Well, let's open the bag and take a closer look ...

Oh my stars. I feel another crocheted necklace coming on.

Thankfully, I'll have plenty of time during this long weekend to knit and crochet myself to bliss ... in the middle of all the turkey (and a tofurky for all the vegetarians in our family)-related festivities.

THE GLOW OF GLANSA

Another thing I did this weekend was to spruce up part of my home studio.

I gathered vintage sheet music, chandelier crystals, a lovely piece of art by Rachel Emilie Jackson and put it all together with a very cool lighting unit (wreath with twinkle lights) I picked up from IKEA. (PS: Rachel Emilie Jackson has a blog! Yipee!)

The lighting unit is called GLANSA — which comes in either black or white, and either in a small or large size. It can be hung on the wall like I have it, or it can be hung from the ceiling like a chandelier.

It's just the thing to add a lovely glow to any part of a room. 

For the holidays. And every day. 

MY SECOND STYLIN' SUSAN

A few months ago, our annual publication titled Somerset Home was released. One of the projects that I made to support the pub was an altered lazy susan (titled Stylin' Susan) ... which actually ended up on the cover, which was a COMPLETE surprise and thrill! Here it is in my kitchen ... where we use it every day.

This weekend, I made a trek out to IKEA again and picked up another wooden lazy susan to alter. This time, I thought I'd take some process photos to show you my approach. I also decided that for this project, instead of vintage wallpaper, I would use Claudine Hellmuth's new Sticky Back Canvas sheets developed for Ranger. 

I started by penciling a circle onto the canvas ...

And then I free-sketched petals to the circle and then started painting the canvas with some fun colors.

 Simultaneously, I sanded the lazy susan with some sandpaper and then applied a spray of white primer and let it dry. (The spraying was done outside.)

Afterward, I applied a layer of Absorbent Ground from Golden. (This is a trick I learned from Lisa Kaus.) Once dry, the Absorbent Ground becomes nice and toothy, and ready to receive lots of different kinds of mediums, including graphite pencil work, which you'll see below.

Next, I used scissors to cut out the flower shape from the painted Stick Back Canvas sheet.

And then I used a roller rolling letter stamp and black acrylic paint to stamp my favorite saying about home onto the painted canvas.

Then I peeled the paper off the canvas back and adhered it onto the prepared lazy susan.

Next, I used my favorite graphite pencil (Cretacolor Monolith — 9B) to free-sketch scallops around the outer edge.

Then I took the end of a paintbrush and a bit of yellow acrylic paint and added dots to the middles of the scallop petals.

So far, this is how my second Stylin' Susan looks. I'm not sure if it's quite done but so far, I love it. If you want to see how it ULTIMATELY turns out, you'll want to tune into next year's Somerset Home. And if you want to join in on the fun, you'll need to get your artistic creations for the home submitted to us no later than March 15, 2009.

(PS: The complete Claudine Hellmuth Studio line can be purchased here.)

MY TEENAGER, MY DRAMA QUEEN

When Monica and I saw this necklace at Heather's holiday soiree, we knew it was meant for her.

As a teenager AND a student of performance art at OCHSA, it's JUST perfect.

Here Monica is with the creator of her new favorite necklace: The lovely Beth Quinn. 

THREE AMERICANS ... ONE LIVING IN FRANCE

I've never been to France but Amy Hanna has. And of course our friend Corey Amaro lives there with her beautiful family.

If you are in need of concentrated doses of authentic beauty imported from France by our very own Corey, you'll want to tune into every issue of Somerset Life to read her column titled An American Living in France. 

When Amy isn't visiting France, she's up to lots of fun ... including sitting in MY chair once in a while as she helps me photo edit images of her work that end up in our magazines. 

What a trooper.