thirsty?

In keeping with my summer-ish themed cards (serenity and breeze) here is the latest. I'm not sure what to call it yet - "lemonde" for now I guess. It's available at my A Little Hut web site.

I feel like I have a dual personality with the colors I choose. If you look throughout this blog and my work I have my brown/neutral/white/silver moments vs my blue/orange/green/red moments. The contrast is great but they're both very me. My "color mood" gets brighter with the summer. That much I know.

These photos are unfortunately deceiving because the cards aren't as bright as they appear. I've tried to tone them down a bit but it's not working. Argh.

Summer 2007...so far

day trip

We went to Austin over the weekend on a day trip to see some friends that were there for a visit. As close as Austin is (3hr drive) we haven't been there as often as we should. We didn't get to do much since we only went for the day but we had a lot of fun.

Driving there isn't very exciting - specially when, half way there, you end up going down the wrong road for 16 miles! As soon as we got into the city we stopped for lunch. After eating, on our way back to the car, D says to me "Mom, are we going home now?". lol.



The state capitol. We'd never been there.



What else could be on the "lone start state" capitol dome other than a star that has Texas spelled out all around it?



The state capitol grounds. One by one, each of us lay flat on the grass and unceremoniously rolled down like logs. Too fun! :)



Thank you to those of you that are new to my blog and have been leaving comments. I read them all and I truly appreciate them all! Welcome. :)

Shop news - I'm out of balsa art pieces again. There will be more coming I promise! Stay tuned.

have a fun weekend!

What a crazy busy week! I think if I would've had anything else to do I would've gone just insane. Too many projects, so little time. What else is new!

Here is 'picking flowers' - my latest card. It's available at my Etsy shop. I'll post it on the web site later on this evening.



Ever notice how some of my work is really bright and some of it leans towards a more neutral palette? As is obvious, today I was on the bright side of things. Come to think of it our house is that way. Very neutral in general and bursts of colors in certain spots. Hmmm.

Today was the last day of school so we're on our way to celebrate with a nice dinner. I hope everyone has a lovely (and safe!) holiday weekend. I'll be back next week. Take care!

thank you craft!

I'm a busy bee this morning but I just wanted to thank Natalie Zee for mentioning my recycling art project on the Craft blog yesterday. Thank you so much! :)

more trees

These are new trees that are now available in the shop. The first is actually a request from someone for another two trees piece (Two Trees - No. 3). The second is called The Bench.





I sent this order out the other day (yes, I know - awful picture!) and as I wrapped it I wondered if people really care what kind of presentation a package has when it is received. I love wrapping them so from my end that's a non-issue but I'm just curious to know if you pay attention to those types of details. Anyone care to comment on that? I'm just curious. What people may not realize when they receive my packages is that not only do I try to make them as presentable and pretty as possible I also take the time to select recycled paper and whatnot. Great presentation and eco-friendly is my motto!! :)



I got some Lara Cameron fabric in the mail! I can't wait to use it. The possible projects are starting to work themselves out in my head. Nothing as beautiful as these I'm sure!



Thank you for the continued comments and emails I've received regarding my little recycling project. I never expected such a response! It's actually encouraging me to come up with something else in the recycling department. This also brought up an idea I've had for a while of publishing a book of projects. I have so many in my head that it would be really interesting to put them on paper and share them. But just the idea of pitching a book idea to anyone sounds like an adventure all its own. I hope that doesn't sound too presumptuous or big-headed of me. It's just one of those things I'd like to do someday.

pods

I've taken yesterday's project a little further. I've added a little more of my usual style and materials. I obviously kept the idea of the ovals/pods that I made yesterday. Somehow they remind me of my biology and histology classes in college - my subconscious at work.





I'm going to be posting this on etsy later tonight. I have to start selling everything I make because I'm running out of space for new projects! ;)
Those of you that found out about my project through Whip Up - thank you for visiting and for all your lovely comments. It was all truly unexpected. And thank you to MocoLoco for featuring the project today!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

recycling project no. 1

You know those newsprint ads that we all get in the mail? I really really really dislike it when I see those things in my mailbox. They're ugly and a waste of ink and paper. I toss them in the trash the first chance I get. For whatever reason I've been trying to come up with a way to make such an ugly thing something a little more than just garbage. I finally got an idea today after my brain started trying to solve the problem again. The trigger was that yet again I had a 'lovely' stack of those things in the mail. Here are the results.

I cut the newsprint into thin strips and randomly glued them onto the same recycled cardstock I use for my cards.



When I covered an area that I thought would be enough for the project I cut out a section to use for wall art. I also cut out a silhouette that started as a flower but became something a little more abstract and placed it over my newsprint composition.



Framed and pretty!



I left the fringed edge to use for a card and the last two pieces could be turned into anything else but I opted for bookmarks.



I'm sure the newsprint will age and the colors will change but that may make it look more interesting. And that's it. I finally have it out of my system - at least until a new stack comes in the mail!

Sorry for the picture quality. Most were taken in the kitchen where the lighting is poor. There are a couple more on my flickr page.

I think this project also may have been inspired by the 'green' blogging that's going on this week. Here's a list of others who are blogging along this theme.

Edit: Thank you to Whip Up for mentioning my project and welcome to those of you visiting via their post!

thank you!

Thank you to Scoutie Girl and Apartment Therapy for mentioning A Little Hut on their blogs. What an honor! Thank you! :)

I'm down to only one balsa wood piece. I have to get working on some more! For those that are interested in getting an update of the shop just send me an email at info at alittlehut dot com and I'll send you a message when I have new work ready to post.

feliz cumpleaños

Yes, today is the day! Happy birthday to me. It's nice that my birthday is close to Mother's Day...I get spoiled for several days! :)

No handy work to show as I had hoped. I can barely type all this. My right arm is suffering what I fear are the consequences of bad posture while sitting in front of the computer. Not fun. So no interesting graphic either. Just something I doodled with a couple of weeks ago. Interestingly enough it's blue which is supposed to be my color according to this quiz that I found via Jessica.

According to this site being blue means:
"You give your love and friendship unconditionally. You enjoy long, thoughtful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive."

I think I'll be in lurker mode for a few days. For now I'm waiting for the pain killer to kick in! TTFN!

happy mother's day!

Happy Mother's Day! This is what little C gave me on Friday at the school's Muffins for Mom breakfast. She's so proud of herself! :)



It's 1am. I can't sleep and this is what I'm working on...only a peek.



I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

PS: Just found these! What a great application of Lara Cameron's fabric. I just bought some Flowing Dots fabric in chocolate for myself. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. A funny purchase coming from someone that supposedly doesn't sew! We'll see what I come up with.

revisiting the four trees

I got a very nice email from Von Glitschka, aka Vonster, regarding the four trees he bought from me. He got them framed and they're hanging in his studio now. This is picture he sent me of the result!



To be perfectly honest I never had an intention of selling these trees until he emailed me. I "know" him from the HOW forum that I frequent, he saw this on my blog and emailed me asking how much I'd charge him for some trees. He was my first 'tree' customer and several followed after that. Funny how that worked out. Thanks Von! :)

Speaking of Von he produces one of my favorite podcasts called The Illustrative Designer. There are some great interviews there. I may have mentioned it before. He also offers a great resource with Illustration Class. I'm actually starting to work on the translation for the Spanish version of his notes on that site. I don't know how he does everything he does!!

living a day in the past

After a very hectic weekend we had a fun Monday. D and I went with his 1st grade class on a field trip to a little one-room schoolhouse to experience what it was like to be in school almost 100 yrs ago. The kids even had to dress the part and take their lunches in pails. The moms that tagged along played the part of 17 yr old "big sisters". We were in class too and had to work on lessons as well. It was a lot of fun and very eye-opening for the kids.



We were told outside the schoolhouse what the rules were and once she rang the bell that was it. No more talking AT ALL. From that point on we were in class and we were treated and spoken to according to how it was done way back when. We each had to introduce ourselves before being seated. Along with our introductions girls had to curtsy and boys had to bow. When we finally got to sit down we had to be facing forward the whole time with our feet flat on the ground. We all kept crossing our legs and the teacher kept saying "feet flat on the ground" over and over. Even one of the moms got in "trouble" at one point for that. Teacher: "Big sister, feet flat on the floor. You need to set a good example to your younger sisters". The rest of the class turns to the back to see what's going on. Teacher: "Face forward everyone". Absolute silence and everyone turns.



We got a small lesson in using quill pens. D kept trying to steal a glance back at me. His eyes said it all..."help!!". Poor thing he was getting messed up with the ink and just wasn't getting the hang of it. The teacher finally gave him a hand. It was weird just sitting there and not being able to help him.



After the quill pen lesson the kids got to wash their hands in the back of classroom one at a time. Even that took longer than usual because they simply didn't know what to do without having a faucet in front of them.



While some students read at the front of the class the rest of us had to work on spelling using a lap-slate. Here's my funny story for the day. I finished my spelling and was just sitting there when the mom sitting next to me nudges me and points to my slate board. She kept pointing and pointing and I didn't know why. Well take a look at how I spelled the first word of the lesson (3 times no less!!!) - trunck!! As soon as I realized what I'd done we had to do everything in our power not to burst out laughing . I'm the one that helps D with his homework! My poor child! lol.



I got to take pictures because the teacher would give us a cue when we could do it. She'd call on the "big sisters" and pretend she was taking a photo. She didn't want to interrupt the kids by even mentioning the word camera. So we'd discreetly get up and take photos while the kids kept working.

The class was only 40 minutes long but I think that was long enough for everyone. The kids were surprisingly very well behaved but as soon as we got out they were all breathing a sigh of relief. I don't think they'd ever been that quiet for so long! lol.

At recess the kids jumped rope, played with hoops & sticks and learned how to make a cup out of a sheet of paper to get a drink of water.



After a long weekend, a field trip on Monday, was just what the doctor order. Away from work. Away from home. Away from everything (cell phone off!). Time with D and friends. It was very nice indeed.

elsewares!

I have literally 5 minutes to post this (need to leave to pick up the kids from school!) so It'll be super short. A Little Hut cards are now being sold at Elsewares! I'm so excited and just as happy as the day they first approached me for a wholesale purchase. So there you have it!

I'll pop in later to 'talk' some more (swap, school field trip, new work). Gotta run!

breeze

I think I need to go to a beach or something really soon. After the adirondack chair this is the next image that came to my mind. I wonder if my subconscious is trying to tell me something? Something like "relax!"I think I'm thinking ahead in fear because once the kids are out of school my schedule will drastically change. I'll be working the night-owl shift again: day-time mom, night-time designer. I'm not really looking to forward to that...

If I didn't start looking too drab I would probably sell all of my cards in silver. I love the slight shimmer of the ink and just the way it looks in general. I almost made this card a darkish green but I didn't want to go the obvious route. The other color I thought of was a deep reddish orange. But in the end silver won. Should I offer both colors? Any thoughts?

My birthday is this month so in order to celebrate I will be sending a free card with every purchase over $10 and you will be included in a drawing for a set of 6 cards which will be held on May 31st. As a special thank you to all of you that read my little ramblings here I will also include you in the drawing. All you have to do is post a little 'hello' comment below. Simple, right? :)

while on vacation

I picture myself writing some "I wish you were here" messages with a card like this while I'm sitting at the beach. We're not going anywhere special this summer so I'll leave that to the rest of you! :) I finally got the blue that I wanted so here you have it. These cards are now available on in my etsy shop and on my web site. Speaking of my etsy shop I still haven't sold anything there. Interesting... My web site keeps chugging along but the etsy thing isn't working for me so far. I'll give it a little more time. If it doesn't work I'll just close it down.

moving along

I almost feel like just posting photos and leaving no comments. But that would be lame wouldn't it? I haven't posted much for a couple of reasons. The first, I'm just flat out too busy to post anything semi-interesting. It's mostly design work and my effort to concentrate on being a better mommy/wife. ;) The second reason is that I've had to reevaluate what I decide to post. I don't particularly like self-editing and even though I do that already (you'd be surprised how chatty I can really be!) I think I'll have to do it even more. How sad. It boils down to one word...plagiarism. I'll leave it a that.

I leave you with some links to explore if you have time:
- A Little Hut was featured on SheUnlimited today! Thank you! :)
- This blog is for those of you that may be interested in publishing a children's book someday.
- This link is for those of you that enjoy viewing other's ideas/sketches. I love seeing what everyone else "sees".



Things to come: new block prints (like the one above) and a couple of other things. Stay tuned.

I miss blogland!! I haven't been able to read as much and I get into lurker mode when I'm this busy. I hope you're all doing well!! :)