Cut and Paste

I love mixed media art and collage. Seeing all the crafty things Jessie and Buddug have done with bits and pieces and odds and ends made me want to pull out the scissors and glue and get to placing and pasting. I went through a collage phase a while back and made this little one above, which shows my mom sometime in the mid-fifties in a photo booth with a friend of hers. Remember the Paper Quilt Project? Oh so many great collages! My little gal never made it to the site, which I think was supposed to be in the December section, but it was great to be a part of it. I would have liked to have that quilt myself. I have plenty of paper scraps in my craft box (the tie tie papers, what's left of them anyway, are my favorites), but I can't help but look around to see what other fun scraps are out there. I love looking for vintage paper, postcards, pictures, ads, paper bags and the like at flea markets and thrift stores, but sometimes it's just fun to buy a cute paper pack that's already sorted with a bunch of great bits. I love these paper packs, shown below, from Lovely Sweet William on etsy. Maybe collage Christmas cards are in order this year.

Fall at the Farmer's Market

You know summer has officially turned to fall when you see chestnuts at the farmer's market. Chestnuts, pumpkins, and lots and lots of apples. Today we headed across the bridge to go to the Marin Farmer's Market, which is one of our favorite farmer's markets. It would be nice if it were closer to our neighborhood, but then again it's fun to cross the bridge and see beautiful views in all directions. No blue skies or rainbows today, but the misty fog created its own beauty. The fog sweeps over the hills like smoke and looks really dramatic when it's especially thick. Being from the southeast, it's still so neat to see it. The weather was perfect for fall market shopping--just chilly enough to make you want some hot apple cider.

Chestnuts. The shells are soft and velvety on the inside, rough and prickly on the outside.

Piles and piles of apples today.

Straw flowers, just because they are so pretty. I love how they look slick, as if they've been dipped in olive oil.

Cabbage bouquets.

A very interesting pumpkin. The color was golden orange and the stem was the same as the skin. These pumpkins were so pretty and bright.

Pomegranates.

Brussels sprouts on the stalk. A dad next to us was explaining to his son how they grew on the stalk. The little boy was fascinated.

A misty morning through the golden gate.

One!

Today Lois turned one! We had a great birthday picnic party. Perfect weather, great friends, and lots of fun. I can't believe how big Lois is now. She's growing so fast and starting to look more like a little girl than a baby. She's also on the verge of walking and talking. She's saying momma, dada, hi, and baby but never really at the right times yet. These are just a few words we say all the time that she's starting to repeat. She's also starting to walk around furniture or with a little help from mom and dad or with help from a big toy that she can push around while holding on to it. She loves to play with other babies and kids and thinks our cat, Sophie, is one of them (or just a fun, furry toy to chase around). Lately she also holds the remote up in the air and aims it at the TV. We must be watching too much TV around her! And she loves music. Sometimes when we play music she puckers her lips and throws her head back and forth, just like a little rock star. She's so cute, especially when covered in cupcake. Here are a few pictures from her big day. Happy birthday Lolo!

Lil' Liberty

Tomorrow is Lois' first birthday! I'm so excited I feel like it's Christmas eve! Cupcakes, check. Candles, check. Bubbles, check (must have bubbles). Party hat and dress, check, check! I made her dress from lightweight denim with Liberty print accents for the pocket and tie. I think it turned out pretty cute.

For beginners, I wouldn't recommend denim, especially denim with stretch to it, which this one has. I really just liked the wash of this denim and wasn't looking for it with stretch, but the wash I liked had stretch to it. I messed up the hem 3 times. With the stretch in the fabric, I couldn't get the tension right and it kept pinching a bit, arrrgh! I really wanted to do an especially good job on this one since I plan to keep it for Lois. I didn't want her to look at it later and think, wow, mom was a sloppy seamstress! My mom used to make our clothes and gave away everything except one dress, a beautiful dress, and I've looked at it often and am always impressed by how perfect it is. That dress is much more elaborate (maybe I'll take a picture next time I go home), but I hoped Lois would feel the same way about some things I've made.

Ah well, this dress isn't perfect, but it's a good go at stretch denim, and it's her very first brithday dress, so I hope she'll think it's special one day despite its imperfections. I can't wait till tomorrow. Party girl pictures coming soon!

Ripe

During our last trip home to Atlanta, my brother-in-law, Brandon, had a little photo session with Andrew's side of the family at Andrew's mom's house. Brandon's a great photographer with his own photography business, Ripe. If you're in Atlanta and looking for a photographer for some family pictures, he's the best. He also shoots bellies, babies, and children. One of my favorite pictures on his site is my nephew, Cash, with ice cream on his mouth (that one is in the growing section of his site). Adorable. We're pretty cute too, at least we are when we have a good photographer taking our picture. Here we are, the little family of 3, back in May. I can't believe how much more grown up Lois looks now. You'll see her again soon. This weekend is her first birthday.


Ripe Photography.