waiting

print by porterness paper goods.

The spring so far has been so fickle. Rain and hail and sunshine often all within a couple of hours. I like the surprise of it. For some reason Spring always makes me think of Christopher Robin running around the 100 Acres Woods with rosy cheeks and dearest friends, making sure to stop in the cozy home of Pooh for some tea and honey.

Although today is grey and rainy, reports are that it will be in the 80's this weekend. It will be nice to see the sun, although most of my plans so far involve being indoors.

I am heading off the Annual Webfooters Vintage Postcard, Photo and Ephemera Sale this weekend. Looking through boxes of old papers and photos is something I enjoy doing. It is crazy all the stuff that you can find. I am always overwhelmed by how these little paper items, meant to be temporary, have lasted over 100 years.

Being at a postcard sale like this isn't much different from a zine sympoisum or a record swap - both things I have been to many times. It is the kind of event I love - one room filled with lots of people who all love the same things. They show what they found, they talk about their interests and people are happy to share info with each other.

Speaking of zines, also on the list this weekend is to work on my page for the Entry Point compilation zine that Nicole Introvert is putting togethre for International Zine Month - which is July in case you were wondering. The idea is to write about how you got into zines. I am having trouble getting mine to fit on one page. You can find out more here.

I also only got halfway through my list of zine things to do last weekend. I need to do some more work on that.

Something else you Portlanders can do is head out to the Stumptown Comicsfest this weekend. Lots of neat stuff to see there.

I will make sure to get in some time to enjoy the warm weather, too. I hope you all have a good weekend!

Easter Greetings

Here is a shot of some eggs the Mister and I dyed last week. I hope you all have a nice Easter. I usually don't really do anything for it. But, I like the eggs and candy and decorations. The Easter Bunny dropped off a basket last night filled with the best Easter candy ever - Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs and a pretty gold rabbit and even some lottery tickets! What a sweetheart.

Well, I have slept in late. I stayed up too late last night reading a pack of letters I got at a rummage sale and researching the people online. It was very interesting. More about that soon.

Today I need to work on zines, packages and laundry. But, right now, I think I will make some french toast with this Brioche bread I got and drink some Breakfast in Bombay tea with milk and sugar. Should be good. Have a great day!

april already

Although I have been aware of myself yearning for the arrival of warmer spring weather, the fact that it is April still has taken me by surprise. Really? April already?

I have not been engaged in many craft or zine projects, but have mostly been doing computer stuff, posting on The Cedar Chest and organizing around the house.

Last weekend my mother came over to Portland and we went to my favorite new place to eat Jade. After amazing food (french fries in truffle oil! Salad rolls with tofu!) and tea (breakfast in bombay), we made our way to the huge fabric store. I was looking for fabric to back the quilt she made for me.

Last fall I told her that I wanted her to make me a quilt for my birthday and Christmas. I gave her a lot of fabric and she added a lot. I saw the finish product on my bed on Saturday and I am so excited for it.
Here are some extra panels. As you may have guessed my room is yellow and green. It was really hard finding some fabric for the back. We have both been looking for a few months. I am really picky. I finally settled on a yellow gingham. I think it will be classic and not look as dated as some.

My mother is very talented, as I wrote in this post here. My quilt is going to look so good!

rich lovely eggs

I haven't dyed Easter eggs for years. This post from Stephanie Barnes makes me want to do it. Look at these beautiful eggs that she and her family makes with all natural dyes. They use things like beets and purple cabbage. The result is such deep rich colors. I love them. Read more about it here.

trip to the nursery

I finally got to the nursery today. Don't you think it is sweet how they call the place where you go to buy young plants and seeds a nursery? I also got to a place to get a few cut flowers, as well.

My living room is normally always dressed for autumn. We are alike this way. The walls are maroon and the furniture is all dark wood. The other colors are burnt orange, winter white, forest green and brown.

So, it is kind of a challenge to try and lighten it up when spring comes and I start craving brighter colors. Today I got to get it all taken care of with a few plants and by pulling out some pieces I had put away last fall.

Here are some images. There are more on my flickr.

little chest of drawers

I spent some time this weekend putting together this little chest of drawers from Ikea. It isn't hard, but it isn't easy either and it is't quiet. Lots of nailing, lots.

Anyway, I wanted it for my my work table in the craft den. Once it was together I set about painting it.

I just used acrylic paints that I already had, not the paint they sell at Ikea for this purpose.

I chose turquoise, which is an odd choice if you know me, but for some reason I like it in room decor and it would match my curtains. I wanted to do three colors for the drawers in different shades of green. I had to mix one to make it work, but it turned out how I imagined it, which is always nice.

I really like the combo of turquoise and avocado green. It was used a lot on the early 70's and I think it is due for a comeback.
















After the paint, I put on a light coat of Mod Podge. I chose glossy and should have chosen matte. After I did it I remembered that glossy always seems to stay a little sticky, whereas matte doesn't seem to. But, it seems okay.


Here you can see it a little with the curtains. This little chest of drawers will soon have stuff piled up on top of it, I am sure. But, for a little while I get to see it like this.

It's a Zine, Zine, Zine, Zine World

The new issue of Zine World is out and it is on it's way to me right now.

In it, there is an article on We Make Zines, that I and other wemakezinesters answered questions for.

I am excited to see it.

We Make Zines is constantly surprising me with it's amazingness. I love the interaction and projects and discussions going on there. We are now at 1,173 members. Will we make it to 2000 by August, which will be out first year anniversary? We just might.

the art we choose

I have been meaning to write this post for several months. I haven't becasue there have been so many things I have wanted to say and I was having trouble organizing the thoughts. This is my attempt. Forgive me if it is not perfectly worded.

We all like to see people like ourselves reflected in art. How many times have you purchased an art print or a vintage image for you or a friend not just because you liked it, but because the person in the image looks a bit like the recipient?

Sometimes, I think people collect images of what they wish to look like. But, if your room walls are covered with images of women or girls who are what you want to look like, but do not, how would that effect your self esteem in the long run?

I think about these things often when I am looking at some of the beautiful art on Etsy. I think about it because as much as I love some of the pieces I find, I do not want to surround myself with images of thin women and girls. And on top of that, a lot of the art you see of females is extreme in the proportions, with large heads and eyes and skinny bodies.

I am not thin. I am a fat woman. When I find an artist I like and I look at their work, there are images of women or girls with all different colors of hair and skin - and yet none of them are fat or even chunky. All of them have the same body, maybe some are shorter and some are taller, but all are thin.

Why would I want to invest in this? I know this may seem extreme, because people have seldom questioned it, but stay with me here. How is it going to effect me as a fat woman who is already being told everyday in many ways that I am not okay, that I am not normal and that I need to change in order to be loved and valued?

How empowering would it be to be able to have images by artists you love of beautiful and lovely women and girls who are also fat? I think it would be revolutionary. Imagine if there were so many to choose from that a young girl or an older woman could have many choices of images of fat beauty available to her.

There are some fat girl art pieces out there, but it is often new age in style and usually the artist only does fat people. I really appreciate them doing what they do, but why the divide? Why can't people include chubby bodies like they include redheads?

I encourage artists out there to seriously consider this. I am tempted to link here to the artists that I most want to see this message, but I think I will not. But, I do think I will send this link to some of them and I hope that you will consider encouraging your favorite artist to include diversity in body size.

Here is an image of one of the fat positive artists on Etsy, ladyatlarge. This is one of the best I have found on there. Here is hoping there will be more featured in the future.

birds nest cake

I just had to show you all the beautiful cake that Jenn and Jenny made. You may know these cake wizards from their many adorable ventures like Chet and Dot, Plants and Animals and Robot Candy.
This cake is like something you would see in Martha Stewart. God, I would never have the patience for that. I so appreciate people who do things so well. So very sweet.

You can see more on the blog.

fabrics for sale

I spent this afternoon cleaning out gthe fabric section of my craft closet and then I just spent way too long posting the fabrics on Etsy. I did already sell some, though, so that is good.

If you are looking for some fabrics. Here is a sample of what I just listed. It can all be found in my shop, The Cedar Chest