Friday, August 31, 2012

Vintage Color Palettes - Reward of Merit


I was getting ready to post this on the Etsy shop and was overcome by the colors. So, a new Vintage Color Palette was born. I love the calm colors. They're soft and rich at the same time. 

The hex code color numbers are from top to bottom: 435d54, 96c5bf, 9d8863, d0cdb2


If you are interested in the Reward of Merit card you can purchase it here on The Cedar Chest shop.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

summer's bounty

Although it's still almost a full month before summer is officially over, I'm seeing a bit of fall peeking out and sneaking into view. The air feels and smells a bit different and the light is different. I know though that we will most likely still have hot weather for another month. In this area the hot weather goes through the end of September usually.

Still it definitely feels like the end of summer. Before the heat wave last week I found 2 huge zucchinis. I look everyday, but someone had missed these. It seems impossible. I decided to make some zucchini relish with them. Something I'd never made or had before.

I found an easy recipe in a zine I'd gotten just a couple of days earlier at The Portland Zine Symposium.  The zine is Keeper's Kanzine and I highly recommend it. Not only is it a beautiful zine (I love the cover) but it has some great recipes and some great advice.


I got it from Ms Valerie Park Distro and you can get it there, too. There is second edition as well.  It was in this zine that I learned that I can put jars in the oven to sterilize. I've always been really put off by the whole sterilization process, kind of intimidated by it, so I loved this idea.

The recipe was called Golden Relish and it turned out great.  I wasn't sure how I'd like it, so I made a half batch. It's really good. If you like sweet relish you'll like it. I've had it on a sandwich a lot in the last two weeks.


Here is a picture of it right after I canned it. Today I made another half batch and I used a yellow pepper instead of red and put in less sugar. I want to see how it will be with less. Since I used the naturally sweet Walla Walla Onions I think it could use less sugar. I'm excited to try it.

The heat wave kind of burnt up my plants. I don't know if I will get much more harvest from them. I didn't get many cucumbers this year because the zucchini took over. Which sucks. I kind of like the process of having too much of something and finding a way to use it, and zukes are the best for that. But I want more cucumbers, so next year I may not plant the zucchinis.

Anyway, I'll leave you with this pretty picture I took on my phone Friday while I sat on the porch swing with my mom. My step-dad was working in the garden and he had handed her some roses. It was a lovely perfect breezy summer day. The air felt so soft and friendly.




Sunday, August 19, 2012

Vintage Color Palettes - Greetings from Maine

Here is a lovely woodsy late summer palette. I love these colors together. Wouldn't you love to be at this spot in Stonington, Maine? 

The hex color codes are from left to right: d72221, b0c6c8, b4c94f, 64682f

Friday, August 17, 2012

Zines! People who Love Zines!

One of the best things about being at a zine symposium (and for me a postcard and photo sale is like this, too) is that you get to be around people who love and value zines. They've put a lot of work into their zines and they appreciate the work you've put into yours. They understand that desire for zines and they love to trade their zine for yours.

And if you've been going to zine events for 12 years like I have, then you also get to see all these awesome people that you usually only see once a year (even if you're in the same town). It's always so great to see everybody.

So, last weekend was the zine symposium here in Portland. It was HOT. The room was not air conditioned and people were sweating like crazy. But, we were all in the same boat and it was pretty easy to keep distracted.  Here are some images of my table. I didn't take many pictures around the sympoisum, unfortunately. I will update more later about the zines I've been reading. My new zines are listed in the Etsy shop now. Imaginary Life #8 is very limited.







Monday, August 6, 2012

Zine Symposium this Weekend - New Issue of Imaginary Life!

I am fairly house bound in the next few days trying to get all my stuff together for the Portland Zine Symposium this weekend. Luckily I have air conditioning to get me through during this current triple digit heat. Netflix Instant, fans & air conditioning - the zine assembler's best friends.

I made up a small amount of the new and limited special edition copies of Imaginary Life #8. There is a black and white version of this zine in the IPRC's Zine Machine that you can get for $1.00! For the zine symposium this year I made a special color version of the box and there are a couple little surprises inside. These took a ridiculous amount of time to put together, so I kind of doubt I will make them again. So, come by the Portland Zine Symposium this weekend and find me and my zines.

Here are some pics of the new issue of Imaginary Life.  I am still working on a new Paper Crush as well. 











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