love forever

Tsumori Chisato Shoes

I'll take one of each please!

Jacob Whibley- Artist

  
Love these sculptures and collages by artist Jacob Whibley. You can see more work here and here.

found via I'm Revolting.

Book Review and Giveaway: Vintage Craft Workshop

We picked a winner and it's...Missy! Congrats! I'll be sending you an email shortly.

Can you tell it's Spring craft book season? Hope you guys are enjoying all these giveaways, there sure are some fantastic books out right now!

Cathy Callahan is one super-crafty lady and she wrote one super-retrolicious (yes, I think that's a word) book called Vintage Craft Workshop. Cathy specializes in all crafty things of the '60s and '70s and she knows her stuff: the premise of this book is a selection of crafts that were big in those decades "updated" by todays' crafters and makers. Full disclosure: I am one of those crafters.

I thought it would be fun to talk a little bit about the process of making a project for the book. It was really cool to take an amazing piece of work from the past and make it my own.

Cathy showed me this image of a bag first and told me that it could be updated in any way but that it should pay homage to the original and it needed to be made of burlap (a much loved material of the '60s and '70s.
I loved that the book looked like a fishing net but I wanted to make it a little bit "prettier" so I made some fish out of Liberty fabrics and wool felt and appliqued them to the bag instead of having them hang off the bag. So here's what I came up with!

Here's a favorite of mine for the book by artist Laura Normandin. First the inspiration, then her take on it.


Really, the best part of the book is getting some insight into the history of these crafts and seeing the inspiration behind each person's project.

Cathy's Mushroom Pincushions are nearly legendary at craft fairs and so it was very fitting for Susan Beal to remake one for her contribution and it was a trip to hear that the Flower Wastepaper Basket that Cathy made was a tribute to the same ones her mom made from old Baskin Robbins cartons!

Oh and if my endorsement is enough: Amy Sedaris loves this book!

Now for the best part: Chronicle Books gave me a copy of the book to give away! All you have to do is leave a comment below and tell me this: are you inspired by crafts of the past? How do you incorporate them into what you do? Just leave a comment by next Friday, May 27th at 5 pm EST.

Keep following Cathy's blog tour tomorrow with Mod Podge Rocks!

 

Book Review and Giveaway: World of Geekcraft

We picked a winner and it's....Anna! Congrats! I'll be sending you an email soon...

I am very excited to join Susan Beal's book tour for World of Geekcraft (Chronicle Books), not just because I have a project in it with my husband, but because it's just full of clever and witty projects and geek-tastic ideas.

hysterical star wars terrariums by susan beal

  needle felted solar system by rachel hobson

yes! lost-craft!! lost tin can telephones and swan station logbook by ryan and lucy berkely

A confession: I am sort of an undercover nerd. I like to pretend that I am way to cool for school but I usually blow my own cover. Case in point: a couple of weeks ago, I was in a comic book shop with my husband, bored out of my mind, until I caught a glimpse of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics. I ended up having a totally long-winded and incredibly nerdy converstation with the owner about the Buffy-verse and how well the comics followed or didn't follow the Buffy story. Total. Nerd. Alert.

buffy fuse bead portrait!! by shayne rioux

er-geek-onomic mouse pad by me and mr. love forever! 

My husband is a completely out and proud nerd. He's played many a heated game of Dungeons and Dragons, reads sci-fi and TK. I nearly lost him for a few years when World of Warcraft came out. He is also an accomplihed bread maker, screen printer, beer brewer, bike fixer and all around renaissance guy. That's why it was so amazing to work with him on a project for Susan Beal's book, World of Geekcraft. Not only does he really helps me let my geek flag fly but he comes up with ideas I never could have thought of. Like, a wooden mousepad with a painted sword and a leather wrist rest.

So here's the really fun part- the giveaway! Susan asked all her contributors what their best geeky memory was for the book (Mine? Meeting my husband!) and I would love to hear yours. Don't worry if you don't love computers or science fiction, you can geek out on pretty much anything right?

Leave a comment below by next Monday May 16th at 5 pm est and we'll pick a winner then send you the book!

And be sure to follow the blog tour to learn more about the book (and maybe get more chances to win the book!) Tomorrow, Friday, May 13  it's House on Hill Road & Public School!

 

 

Sandmade

File this under: coolest ring box ever. This "sandmade" packaging by design team Alien and Monkey holdsthe most precious of gifts, creates a sense of discovery in the packaging and answers the age old question of what to do with discarded boxes and wrap. This little box is made of entirely natural materials so it can be discarded right back into nature. In this activity, you are also creating a unique memory to accompany the gift.

To learn more about Alien and Monkey, head over to their website here.

Love it: Natural vs. Color

Raise your hand if you love Pinterest! There's something about the immediate gratification of pinning, pinning, pinning away at everything you love that's totally different from blogging. Plus, I've noticed that I get on pinning kicks, like everything I pin is striped or neon.This past few days, the theme is bright color vs. natural materials like wood, metal and wire.

Here are some faves:

Welcome to the Jungle by My Own Super Studio


Leather and Wood necklace by I Heart Norwegian Wood


lamps from Iacoli & McAllister


What a chair!


Maya Hayuk barn piece


gorgeous necklace from Lepidoptery


dipped spoons


I love these chairs!

Scrapwood Wallpaper by Piet Hein Eek


Tree ring art by Tracy Melton


Wooden magnets from Studio Fludd


Dotted Twigs!