Sorry Everyone....

Since I'm a new blogger, I have yet to learn all the bells and whistles. I just realized that I had comments set so that only users of Blogger could comment. I've disabled that, so now EVERYONE can leave their thoughts!

Thanks for understanding my newby-ness.

At Polaroid Speed

Some polaroids from the week, Including some lovely peonies from an equally lovely lady. (Thanks Nath!)

Spoonflower Fabric

I placed my first order with Spoonflower last night! I'm so excited about this print and can't wait to see the final product. (Wow, can you tell I've been diggin black and yellow lately?) I've got so many ideas and things I want to try if this turns out well. I've been dreaming of custom fabric for the longest time but just haven't had the resources (or the space) to do any screenprinting on a larger scale. This really has opened up a ton of doors for me and many others I'm sure. I'll keep you updated on my fabrics' progress and of course post pictures when it arrives.

When Life Hands you Moldy Lemons...

There are good crafting days and there are bad crafting days. Today was one of the later. I was on vacation from my day job to get some things done around the house and have some much needed alone time. The Pika Package deadline is rapidly approaching and today was also to be for getting my submission ready to go. I knew I was in for it when my only Riso pen broke this morning and it was just all downhill from there. Granted I did get a few things accomplished, just not what I had hoped. However, there is a new digital print ready to go into the shop! This was one of the disasters today that turned out alright. It was a horrible Gocco experience that I turned into a great digital one. In fact, I love that it turned out this way, I'm thrilled with this print! This is a limited edition run of ten. A few will be heading to Pikaland and a few will go into the shop. Enjoy!

A Day in Polaroid

Summer reminds me of Polaroids. When I was a kid I spent a lot of summers at Grandma Ruby's and in the slow, sticky summer Missourri heat, there wasn't much to do besides loll around in the plastic kiddie pool drinking kool-aid. Somewhere in the background I can hear my aunt Retha humming to herself, flitting around Grandma's garden like a busy worker bee snapping Polaroids. That distinctive whirring of film being spit out is punctuated by the catydids and the stillness of the air. I wonder what's so fascinating about Grandma's garden that warrants so many pictures. "Kayanna, come look at my pretty pictures." I relunctantly leave the semi-cool water of the pool and trudge over to see the little mountain of polaroids. Retha grins and points, so proud of her little gallery. They're no materpieces and in fact far from perfect. A finger half obscures one, Grandma is hunched over weeding the lettuce in another, her head missing, another showcases blurry flowers, and there's me, lounging in my bright blue pool. As a kid I didn't appreciate what these pictures meant, what they stood for. But now, as an adult looking back I'm amazed at how my aunt was able to see such beauty in such mundane things, how she could slow time down and see the world for what it really is. I desperately wish I could go back and look through that stack of polaroids again through adult eyes, I wish I could appreciate her telling me to "Hold still and 'Say Cheese'" every summer with that camera so proudly draped around her neck. It makes me so sad to think that in a year no one will be able to have these memories of impulsive, imperfect pictures that have more soul and more life than any digital version. So, for the next year, or until it truly is gone, I'm going to take some time each week to slow down and take things in at Polaroid speed.

Happy June!

I'm so glad June is finally here and with it, blissfully warm weather. My birthday weekend was spent camping in southern Wisconsin... No TV, no cell phones, no videogames. There was however lots of swimming, boating, grilling, campfires and of course s'mores eating. It was one of the best birtdays I've had in a while. (Thanks to my wonderful husband for the trip) We were so lo-tech I didn't even take any pictures, but the memories will last forever.

To celebrate the month of June with me and my family I've gotten rid of shipping costs in the Etsy store for the entire month. Free shipping the whole month of June! I finally received some new Gocco supplies, so there will be new stuff in the store over the next few weeks.

The past few days my brain has had a hard time remaining fixed on one thought or idea at a time. There's all kinds of crazy stuff whirling around in there lately. I guess this is really no different than normal but maybe it's starting to get to me. I really want to try to be more organized with my thoughts but I'm not really sure where to start. I currently have about five notebooks / sketchbooks that I jot down ideas and drawings in, if I can find any one of my notebooks. Otherwise, it's just jotted on a scrap of paper.


t's really not condusive to productivity. I have a hard time finding anything, flipping through multiple notebooks, shuffling through endless bits of paper to find what I'm looking for. If you're a creative person, how do you organize yourself? I would love your thoughts on the subject. What are the steps for successful journal / notebook keeping, how do you keep your ideas organized? Leave me a comment with your ideas or examples of your organization process and at the end of the month I'll pick a random commentor to get a free print of their choice from the shop.

Have a lovely day!

I Feel Summer Creeping In...

Very, very slowly summer is arriving. We had an incredibly beautiful Monday, it was 80 degrees and windy. Perfect for kite flying and rock hunting on the beach. Since then, it's been in the 50s and dreary. This has made it very difficult to get motivated to do anything besides curling up in my favorite chair with a cup of tea and a good gothic romance novel. So, for the time being, the photo above with have to suffice and remind me that summer really will be here soon.

In other news, I received my Spoonflower beta invite today! Woo-Hoo! My toes are tingling with excitement and my brain is racing with ideas. This truly opens up so many avenues for me. I'm thinking of custom fabric for coins purses, dolls, pillow, the list goes on and on. What will be my first custom fabric? I've been holding onto this doggie illustration for something special, it could make a really cute summer jumper for Brodi. I may have to have a yard printed.