Celebrating with red, purple and gold

the font is Ambassador Script,

papers and brads from Paper Source and Paper Zone

I had the opportunity (and honor) to create prayer flags for a wedding happening this Saturday in Oregon. I made two sets of seven flags with words given to me by the groom's mother. She requested reds and purples (and I threw in some gold).

Gabriel, their baby will probably be the youngest wedding guest

wishing my best to the happy couple

set # 2

The last, but not the least

my stuff

It's Autumn for sure, cooler temperatures and rain have returned to the Emerald City. Back in the studio after a lovely (and sunny weekend) bookended by a movie date with my sweetheart on Friday evening (Moneyball - great) and the wedding on Sunday evening of our dear friends Ann & Bob (congratulations, again!). Here's my stuff in full and cubbys 21-25. Now I'm off to mail the prayer flags.

wooden eggs - shake 'em for the beat, little bird dish

eraser and fortune telling fish

dance programs from my mom's senior high school year

a listening dog

my dad, Merrill in WWII and my mom, Audrey (senior picture)

First day of Autumn, it's HOT

garage sale block, birdie and another photo of my sweet girl

Not a typical fall day here in Seattle - it's 79˚ and rather muggy. The weather's supposed to change rather drastically on Sunday, but right now the sky is clear and blue, the clouds are white and puffy and my concentration is faltering. Just finished the prayer flags, so I'm going home to enjoy a cool beverage. 16 - 21 will still be here when it's cooler!

matchbox full of letterpress type (an give away from Artfest)

velvet pumpkin, letterpress card from my studio promo kit

one more pumpkin, maj jong tiles from Cargo in Portland,

polaroid my Dad took of me

hand blown glass globe from Emerald City Gardens

porcelain M from Prize, felt pin cushion from T-Spot in Manzanita

another maj jong tile

Still looking at all my stuff

my sweet girl . . . frame was given to me by a co-worker

Gray day in Seattle, so staying on task is much easier. I'm working on two sets of prayer flags for a client son who's getting married in October. It's a honor to be a part of such a wonderful celebration. I'll post pix when I'm done. Here are cubbies 15 - 11.

have a 'thing' for little minis and love this stamp

sweet little needle felted piggy - made by my sister-in-law Robin

devil duck, another mini and sign language booklet

porcelain mushrooms from Ink & Peat

little Japanese trinket from Souvenir in Ballard

Supplies that I just might need . . .

one of my three baskets of rolled hand-made papers

Seth Apter's blog, The Altered Page asked readers to send in pix of the stacks of paper that accumulate in their studios. Needless-to-say, I have a lot of supplies ('cause a gal just never knows what little scrap of something might come in handy). Tomorrow I'll post cubbies 11-15.

old magazines and paper

fabric

more fabric

one of 20 towers of stacked card stock

I'm Keeping Calm and Carrying On

can never have too many bandaids in a studio full of x-acto knives

Here are the next 5 cubbies. The beautiful, sunny weather (and breath-taking sunsets) are making it difficult to focus and I'm gazing out the studio windows a lot more lately.

porcelain chick cup (gift from my niece, Hanna), Red Bird match box

letterpress card from Evolution Press, velvet eggplant pin cushion,

my sweet girl gave me the lead type - B(ob), H(attie), M(aude)

velvet pumpkin from Ink & Peat

letterpress booklet, part of a promo piece for my studio

Olympic Mountain sunset - 9.19.11, 7:28 PDT

through the screen

The interior's as fine as outside

2.5 x 2.5 inch blank canvases and bobble head bunny

My studio windows open to a fabulous exterior landscape. On a daily basis the activities (and noises) in industrial Ballard, the ship canal traffic and ever-changing cloudscapes (not to mention the Olympic Mountains) offer creative inspiration. Part of my day is spent sitting at the computer, so it's important to have interior vignettes to view that are equally as compelling. Each of the 25 compartments of this cubby organizer house favorite objects. Here are 1-5. I'll show 5 each day this week. What do you look at every day to spark your creativity?

O and X

encaustic art - I love birds & numbers

letterpress fortune folder, soap hands,

vintage sewing needle packs, fez monkey pencil topper

completed and empty Moleskine journals

Remembering a certain sunny September morning

if I had 100 wishes . . . I would give them all to you

Some people listen to music when they work, others embrace silence. My constant studio companion is KUOW. My mornings begin with NPR on the clock radio and move on to local and international programing (BBC and The World) when I enter the studio. Sometimes I pay close attention, but often as not it's background noise to keep me company throughout the day.

wish tickets

Commentators are focused on the upcoming 10th anniversary of 9/11. Stories from survivors, witnesses, first responders and many others fill the airwaves. "How has 9/11 changed you?," is a frequent question. It's not unlike the query "Where were you when Kennedy was shot?" (5th grade recess - playing kickball at Briarwood Elementary, Florham Park, NJ) Spending today creating Wish Tickets for the upcoming Solumination Sale has given me ample opportunity to ponder this question and remember that morning.

As per usual, NPR started my day. Sometimes I'm not totally awake and mis-hear stories – at first I thought that they were reporting about King Kong, a plane and the Empire State Building! Finally realizing that something was horribly wrong, I rushed to the TV just in time to see the catastrophic events unfold. I remember to saying to Hattie, a 6th grader at the time, "I'm so glad your papa's in Florida!" She then reminded me that no, Bob was in DC.

I figured he was at the NOAA offices in Silver Spring, but still freaked out that he was in a city where planes were crashing into buildings. He was finally able to phone and let me know that he was OK even though his meeting had been in a hotel across the street from the Pentagon! Well then I really lost my tiny mind and said "You have to come home, NOW!" That was easier said than done - took him 5 days to return to Seattle. Planes weren't flying and no rental cars were available. When he walked into the house, we hugged and cried and hugged some more . . . he kept repeating, "I just wanted to get home."

Today as I make my art full of wishes, I think about the people who didn't make it home and the families, friends and co-workers who were waiting for them. This is how 9/11 changed me. I'll carry them all in my heart and hold those that I know and love even closer.

Sunny September eases me towards fall

hydrangeas by my garden gate

September is such a glorious month in Seattle. The summer-like weather makes the days so fine and with bright blue skies, the mercury hitting 80˚+ and memories of vacations in mind and body, I'm having a tough time settling into the studio routine. Mornings spent reading in the garden are such a civilized way to ease myself towards the inevitable fall. So I surround myself with recent photos and slowly say "goodbye" to a lovely season . . .

we purchased Martha White cornmeal mix in Birmingham

and later feasted on Jeanette's home-growns

(which due to Seattle's cold July weather hadn't ripened)

for some awesome fried green tomatoes

the one that got away - so wanted to bring

this home with me from North Carolina,

too big for the overhead bin 'tho

Bucks in Cashiers, NC, home of delicious coffee, the deer head and more