Mary O'Malley

Great work by Mary O'Malley found via Design Sponge. I don't frequently read Design Sponge even though I always enjoy it, so today was particularly rewarding.

Today was the official start to my semester. I have some very excited students for my Bookmaking class. They were engaged and talkative at 8:30 in the morning, which I take to be a very good sign. I always dread the first day of school just a little bit, not from nervousness about teaching, but because I'm afraid of getting the class from hell. I don't want the students who can't keep their eyes open and who look at me like I'm crazy for suggesting that books don't necessarily need to be bound. But these students acted like they couldn't wait to start making books and even nodded when I talk about how important their craftsmanship and content would be for each assignment. Now I'm the excited one! I hope that I have some great projects to post about over the coming semester.

New Start

Every year I think of the beginning of school as a new start. A chance to finally go through the boxes of paperwork in the attic, clean out the closets, start exercising regularly, and most importantly, buy school supplies! I love going to office supply stores, and I especially love these pencils cases from Etsy sellers. I wish I had any one of these!

{From left to right, top to bottom: Cascade Lemonade, Mogo, Gifts Define, Punchanella, LouLouBell, cabin + cub}

Hipster wedding

I just got back from a very long day at the studio. Marni and I printed a set of four coasters for the favors for her sister's wedding. Even though it was tiring {over 500 coasters were printed} they look awesome! As an added benefit to printing for the whole day I was also able to organize some of the mess in my studio {thanks to a little prodding}.

Alicia Bock

I'm excited to report that I just bought a set of notecards from Alicia Bock. Didn't I say I missed the beach!

Wishing I was still at the beach!

Here are some of the beach photos I promised. Don't we look like we had a good time :) The day that Lindsay and Jake went swimming was also the rainy day, and they claim the water was much warmer than the air! I think Jake might still have sand in his ears, though.

To contrast the beautiful house we stayed at last week, here is a picture of the "campground" Jake and I stayed at a few years ago. We thought that camping on the beach would be fun and most state parks I've been to have been great. This is not the case in Delaware {picture a tiny tent blowing away while you sleep during a thunderstorm amidst the swarm of RVs}!

Rainy day

The upside of rainy days at the beach is that there isn't much guilt associated with shopping! I got this great bag from a little shop a few blocks from the boardwalk. It's a great size and I should be able to carry all of my necessities in it when I start teaching next week.

Back from the beach

Well, our trip to the beach was short and sweet. We really only had two days without driving {one was sunny and beautiful, the other was overcast but still fun}. I was able to have all of my favorite beach things...boardwalk fries with vinegar, hot caramel corn, salt water taffy, people watching and sand under my feet! This is the house where we stayed, which belongs to my grandmother's cousin. Five bedrooms located on a salt water inlet.

And here are the "cookies" we brought back for our pups {from a store called Yuppy Puppy!}. We sure missed our girls, but they were well taken care of by Nola.

Wearable art

I just got an original and hand painted Sara Dankert t-shirt! Sara {my studio mate} has been hand painting shirts for a few months and I finally have my very own. I'm trying to talk her into an Etsy shop, but for now she's just selling them locally.

one in ten

Although I'm leaving for Delaware tonight, I'm still going to try to bid at the One in Ten auction. If you haven't heard about it, this is an auction of handmade goods to help cover medical costs for a fellow blogger's mother. The dates for the auction are August 19-24, so I'll have to make sure I'm near a computer on Sunday. The owls above are going to be in the auction and were made by Moonstitches. For a tutorial on how to make these owls click here.

If you read this blog then you know how much I love my dogs. If you know me then you know that I abhor animal fighting. The Humane Society is tying to end animal fighting. Please check out this link and ask Amazon.com to stop selling animal fighting materials.

Coming together

Well, the prints for the exchange that Abbey and I organized have been collated! And the clamshell cases for the portfolios are coming along nicely, too. It was pretty exciting to see all of the prints come together {the theme for the exchange was Is this the way to Amarillo? Mapping a Personal Journey}. I am so beyond pleased with all of the beautiful prints that are part of the exchange and can't wait for all of the participants to see them!

Each set of prints is wrapped and my dining room is closer to being a place for eating instead of a place for boxes of prints!

For beautiful entertaining, try this spotty dish from Rare Device.

This little container is so cute. I'd love to have a dozen hanging in my kitchen window!

More camping

As promised, some more pictures of our very fun camping trip. We like to call it "Camping at the Hilton" since my aunt and uncle spoil us with amenities {like margaritas, the Gator, paddle boats, a pavilion, and blueberry shortcake for breakfast}.

Knitting in the sand

Although I won't be able to go on this awesome cruise {maybe when I learn a bit more}, I will be able to knit on the beach in a few weeks. The family is going to stay in a beautiful house {owned by my grandma's cousin} in Bethany Beach, Delaware. I'm looking forward to some relaxation and a tan before starting the new semester. And vinegar fries on the boardwalk. And maybe reading a new book. August must be our month for travel!

Ponies

New cards are in the shop...these are screen-printed using slightly metallic inks.

Tango

Last year I was able to meet the women of Tango, an artist's collective from Philadelphia, at the Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair. The fair was amazing and I can't wait for the next one! Below are two of the women from Tango.

Katie Baldwin's piece Salt II has a haunting quality that I love. Her books have a similar dreamlike feel.


These pieces by Katie Murken are quite lovely. I got one of her books for Christmas last year and was so excited! She also works in installation {as you can see by this knitted piece}.

second storie} indie market

I'm thrilled to be a part of Rochester's upcoming indie craft fair {like Renegade or Art Star}. second storie will be held at the Visual Studies Workshop on September 7 from 6-10 pm and September 8 from 10-6 pm. We're lucky to coincide with the Clothesline Festival {right across the street!}. Below are images from some other second storie participants.


Megan Auman uses floral patterns {a kindred spirit} and wire to create amazing sculptures.


Colette Watts Quaglia makes paintings and drawings based on nature and pattern. I'm lucky to have one of her small drawings hanging in my living room.

Dulcie Miller is a ceramic artist who also co-owns Crocus Clay Works {a ceramic studio in the Hugerford Building}.

Marlene Heuer, a Rochester illustrator, will also be there!

Great Weekend

We had an awesome time on the camping trip this weekend. We're all a little sun burned and sleepy {in a good way} and my hair still smells like the camp fire even though I washed it twice! This photo is from our last night right before our big bonfire. I'll post more soon, but until then check out Luke's blog.

Coming soon....

Pistachio Press is one step closer to opening!

Our dogs love to wear clothes! I found these matching t-shirts at Old Navy today in a super clearance rack. If only I could have found some for the whole family {we really would have been those crazy dog people}.


I also wanted to post the awesome veggies my mom just brought up from her garden. We grilled most of them last weekend and the rest we're taking camping tomorrow.