living on love

three blogs i currently {heart}.

i wanted to share three blogs that have recently caught my attention & i figured you might be looking for something to do while staying up late sneaking candy from the kiddos stash or whats left from the trick - or -treaters.

im in love with the style on this blog. if you like washi tape, books, book covers, tutorials, or all of the above you will like this post. 

i have become instantly obsessed with ania maria's scrapbooking & paper projects when i saw this fall mini book on pinterest. seriously you will not be disappointed with her work, but you be a little upset when you find that your afternoon has disappeared while looking through all her work.

this blog is pure vintage heaven. no joke. vintage fashion, decorating your home all cozy like, & adventures of selling vintage out of their mobile shop, a 1956 travel trailer. 

thriller.

because its a halloween tradition...

hope you a spooky & safe halloween!

low tide.

well it has been approximately 13 days since i last posted a picture of the beach / ocean & i think that is pretty good for an ocean junkie like myself. i just cant help it, i always find myself in awe at the beauty, power, mystery, & sheer magintude of it. if you are like me, then i have a good dose of ocean for you today...

recently it has been low tide around the same time we go on our walk which makes for lots of exploring... so many crazy look shells to be collect, rocks with holes in them, tidepools full of little crabs, fish, & anenomes. the pup loves all the room for fetching her tennis ball & playing with the other pups that whos humans are busy exploring as well.

the top 3 pictures were taken at boat ramp beach & this what it looks like in high tide. the bottom 3 pictures were taken at rock beach which is actually at the bottom of the boat ramp that boat ramp beach is named for. we had never gone to this one before until a couple of days ago. all the ground in the photos is normally covered by water.

happy sunday!

up-cycled coffee can.

a few weeks ago i was on a sewing spree, spending late nights stitching away. my studio table is on a shared bedroom wall & i dont want to keep my neighbors up with all crafting, so i set up station in the living room. really not ideal... sewing machine precariously balanced on a stool, kitten little swatting at the fabric as it ran through the machine, scissors slipping in between cushions on the couch, & thread buts all over the floor. after a few nights of this scene ran solved one of my problems when he brought me this & put all my scrap trash in it:

of course! a small table top & portable trash can. it just needed a little decorating:

now it sits on my desk to catch all my trash & i can take it with me where ever i am working... like the living room or the kitchen. it would also be perfect for crops... use it to carry things to & from & while at the crop it can be used as a trash.

how to: leaf prints.

supplies needed:

- an ink pad or two... or three

- paper

- a slightly damp cloth

- freshly gathered leaves... try to pick leaves that have visible veins & stems.

1. with a damp cloth or wet wipe gently wipe down your leaves. the leaves around my house are super dirty... i was actually shocked at how much dirt came off of them & you dont want all that dirt on your ink pad.

2. place your leaf underside down into the ink pad & press with your fingers to transfer ink onto it. if you get ink on your fingers wipe them off. your leaf should look something like this:

3. press your leaf onto your paper evenly pressing down to get a good imprint.

how easy is that?! & pretty cool looking too. 

turn your leaf prints into cards, tags, put in a frame for some fall home decor, punch holes & turn them into a garland... so many ideas. i am pretty addicted to this right now, loving to see how different leaves look when printed, plus it gives me an excuse to take lots of fall nature walks.

(after seeing all these close up photos of my counter i can see that i should really start using a cutting board. ha.)

how to: lino block prints... tips, tricks, & other useful information.

this is a little wrap up to the block printing how to posts. you can learn how to carve a block here & how to print here.

a few things to remember:

- while carving the block, when ever possible carve away from the image. this will help prevent gouging your image if you slip. 

- slow & steady is best... remember you cant un-carve a block.

- sometimes its hard to control where bits of lino are flying. i usually just let them fall on the floor. if you do this, make sure you clean up as much as possible before pulling out the vacuum... lino pieces have been known to clog vacuums (personal experience).

-supplies needed for printing: printing ink, a printing tray or piece of glass, whatever you are going to print on, & a spoon. 

- you can mix ink to creat cool custom colors!

- your brayer & printing tray are easily cleaned with soapy water.

- aside from seeing the first print & squeeling with delight from your accomplishment, it also serves as a "test print." something you for you to look at to make sure all areas that should be carved away are. if you look at the top picture you will see a couple areas that i missed when carving (the red arrows are pointing at them). the bottom picture shows after i fixed those problems.

-this is also good example of making sure you double check everything is backwards on the block before you start carving... a rule i obviously did not follow with this print... the "play" button is backwards & i actually wanted those hash marks on the speaker to be on the outside corner, not the inside. lesson learned (maybe).

- after you are finished printing you should clean your block off with a slightly damp sponge (i have a sponge & a towel devoted to printmaking). get the sponge wet, ring out as much water as you can & wipe the block. repeat until the block is clean... it will take a while because printing ink is thick. try as hard as you can not to get water on the wood itself... it could warp & make the image all wonky. then blot dry with a towel.

leaf . feather . flower petal . rain drop

this is my newest stamp design available in my shop. when i was designing it i had the fall season in mind so i was thinking leaf, but as i started making projects with it i kept discovering so many different uses for it... petals for a flower, a rain drop, or a feather.

 

if you are interested in getting one of your very own they can be found here.

Every single stamped is hand carved & therefore completely unique. I draw each image directly onto the stamp (backwards)... I do not transfer a previously designed image. Your stamp will vary slightly.

Your stamp will measure approximately 1 1/2" x 2 1/8" & is carved out of a high quality high density rubber. It will come to you unmounted, as shown, but can easily be mounted to a block with glue or apply a thin layer of Aleen's tack it over & over glue to the back, let dry, & it will work with a clear stamping block. You can also stamp it as is.

featured.

my shop was featured on the dress & nest blog... a super cute blog that focuses on local (san diego) handcrafted artists... everything from fashion to home decor & all the little things in between. 

 

somewhere over the rainbow.

i love love love the ukele in this song... it just makes me smile & i hope it does you too!

enjoy...

 

 

delight in the ordinary.

spending a crispy fall morning cuddled up on the couch with the pack while enjoying my coffee. perfect.

what made you absolutely happy today?