identity seven - we're all mad here!

dreaming of sea creatures

saw this today and it struck a chord with me:

Wendy Cook has this thought stuck in her head: "Phrases like "child's play" and "cry like a baby" and "grow up!" expose an unspoken belief of our culture: children are expected to have fun and express their feelings openly, while grown-ups are expected to accept that life is mostly a grind with little room for authenticity." 

- Scott Noelle http://www.enjoyparenting.com/dailygroove

Sent off my final edit for Quilting the Odd & Unusual column in Somerset’s ArtQuiltingStudio

which comes out this June.  Photos were amazing and I can’t wait to be a regular columnist!  What a crazy dream come true {one I never in a million years would have thought I would ever have}!  Now I’m on to writing an article for Somerset Home {one of their publications I’ve yet to be published in} and I’m VERY excited about it.  I made two vintage style Tea Cake Pincusions and will be writing a How To in the August issue [huge grin!].  One of my goals this year was to branch out into some of their other publications and it feels wonderful to start meeting that goal [even if only slowly at first].  

I’ve been languishing over the end of my book proposal ... I decided I’m terrified of sending it off and the control being out of my hands.  Jenny Doh had a wonderful post over on her blog the other day about just such a topic ... I really think you should read it in her words:

THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION

I’ve think I’m afraid of the possibility of rejection.  How sad to admit, but true!  So, in the next two weeks I have set the goal of just getting it done and mailing it.  My new therapist {who I love} laughed and told me that I need to find an ACCOUNTABILABUDDY who will make me answer for not meeting the goals I set.  [ aka lots of mouth talk with no action to back it up! ]  By sharing it with you I’m asking you to be my buddies and harass me to finally suck it up, finish and send it off to Tonia already!!!

I’ve burned lots of music CDs for myself and artist friends today, and look forward to sharing them.  I just love being exposed to new music and have annax to thank for many of my now favorite bands! {mainly elbow}  Listening to music while I’m doing things around the house and making art is something I really LOVE!  Is there a song right now that’s burning a hole in your brain?  “Caught in the Crowd” by Kate Miller-Heidke is in mine right now and really makes me conscious of how I treat people.  I truly believe that what you put out there comes back to you one way or another!

NOW GO MAKE ART!

THINK SPRING contest

I thought it would be fun to start spring off with a contest with a chance to win this cute hotpad made out of a bunch of import novelty cottons:

It's made to go under a loaf pan in honor of my favorite recipe - Banana Bread - yummy!

All you have to do to be entered in this contest is comment here from April 1st to April 30th.

To get a little extra luck you can reply with your favorite recipe along with why it's your favorite, and I will enter you to win twice!  Here is my favorite recipe that I learned from my mom:

BANANA BREAD RECIPE

• PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 * F  
• GREASE & FLOUR A LOAF PAN WITH BUTTER & BIT OF FLOUR  

{YOU CAN REPLACE THIS STEP BY USING A CUPCAKE TIN & CUPCAKE PAPERS IF YOU LIKE INSTEAD} 

  INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 1 cup sugar 
• 2 eggs {beaten} 
• 3 ripe bananas {mashed with a fork} 
• 2 cups all purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 3 tablespoons milk 
• 1/2 cup walnuts {optional} 

1. beat oil and sugar together on medium speed 
2. add eggs & banana pulp and beat well on medium speed
3. add flour, dry ingredients, milk & vanilla and mix well on low to medium speed 
4. stir in nuts by hand 
5. pour into loaf pan 
6. cook for about 1 hour 15 minutes or until middle of loaf looks dry 
7. cool well and store overnight 
8. wrap after cutting to avoid drying out 

{ when I make in cupcake tins I think I only cook for 20 to 30 minutes, 

  but you will know from look when they are done }

It's become a family favorite and even my 14 year old daughter now makes it all by herself to impress her friends {and to get a tasty treat ... she's the one that likes to make it in the muffin tins}.  It makes the whole house smell amazing and it's all we can do to wait until it's cool before we swarm on it like a flock of vultures!  It makes a wonderful breakfast, though I'm pretty sure it's murder on the waistline :)

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In art news, I received notice from Somerset Home yesterday that they would like a How To article on some Tea Cake Pincushions I sent off a couple months ago.  This is REALLY exciting for me because I haven't been in this publication yet and have really been trying to get articles in more of their magazines!

The second bit of amazing news is that I'm FINALLY done with my book proposal and will send it off to Tonia Davenport at North Light books on Monday!  She does some amazing things with plexiglass so go check out her blog. Everyone octopus their fingers and toes for me ... I'm a  complete ball of nerves and could very well have a nervous breakdown before I even hear back!

I also did a short post over on the Glitter and Grunge blog Tuesday about uses for your art journal. 

---------------------------------------------------------------

Other than that, I'm getting ready for my teenagers to have the next extended week of for Spring Break.  Pray I make it out alive!  If you don't see another blog post from me for over a week you can assume they ate me and call the police.

NOW GO MAKE ART!

just a quick snippet for today

just wanted to let you know that I did a review of Somerset's new publication ART journaling over on the Glitter and Grunge blog:

^just click on the image above to be whisked away ^

I've been putting more and more fabric goodies

up for sale in my Etsy shop :

another craft / art supply carrier that folds up made from many

Japanese import fabrics :

- Apple a Day -

it unfold to show a polka dot pocket, button covered needle case, and pen holder at the bottom

another item that will be going up later today is something new for me ... hotpads for your kitchen:

- LIVE LIFE -

it's also made from bits of different Japanese import fabrics and is quilted with a unprimed canvas back

you can see more of both of them in my shop :)

In other news ... I will be hosting another blog Give-Away here with full details tomorrow!  I will be making another hotpad similar to this one and drawing a name on Tuesday, April 14th.  Maybe it will help make up for everything the Tax Man took away!

NOW GO MAKE ART!

bluebird on my shoulder

What a wonderful week this has turned out to be!  I won the Launch Prize Contest over at Everyday Artist Studio and not only get a big box of goodies, but this week was named "Jen Osborn Week" over there to boot!  I got to be the Guest Blogger yesterday so go check out what I had to say about CREATIVITY and today Jenn is going to feature my etsy shop !  I just want to give a big shout out to Jenn Mason ... I'm so honored and excited ... THANK YOU!

NEW IN MY SHOP - OTHER MOTHER'S STITCH KIT - I scoured the antique stores nearby for old buttons, a skeleton key, vintage thimble and thread and all the things I new Other Mother would need to make her special dolls and creatures.  The end result was this amazing sewing kit!

{inspired by Neil Gaiman's book Coraline}

To celebrate I'm offering 10% off your entire order in my etsy shop until the end of the day on Monday the 23rd of March.  I will also be updating my shop continuously from now until then.  I'm in love with making roll-ups and journal fold-ups this month.  I have some wonderful new fabrics in the studio and have been an ironing and sewing maniac trying to make wonderful things for you out of them!

{craft / journal supply holder for on the go}

One of the new things I've been making are these fantastic handmade craft/journal supply holders out of my new fabrics.  As I told you last time, I've looked and looked locally and just couldn't find anything artsy or chic enough that also would hold things like my moleskine and needles.  Sounds like an odd combination, but completely necessary when I'm making goodies!

I also have some vintage cabinet cards and other antique photographs that will be going up for sale over the next month.  If there is something you are looking for you can let me know and I'll dig through the pile early for you!

I'm also going to be making up more of my Dream Seed Packets.  These were a huge hit at Art Fest and Art Unraveled last year.  The include everything you need to get started making art quilts including transparency images, thread, felt, fabric and goodies like rub-ons, buttons, bead and sequins.

This was just a little taste ... more tomorrow!

NOW GO MAKE ART!

swimming against the tide

Why is it I always seem to be swimming against the outgoing tide when it comes to blogging?

{this is rhetorical really ... but needs to be pondered just the same!}  

Do you find yourself in the same boat as me {or out of it ... bobbing along with the current which is more of what it feels like to me than swimming} or is it a snap for you to blog?

{this is a real question and I'd love to read your posts in response}

In my effort to get ashore, I have been making some FANTASTIC art lately!  Here's a little taste of all the art goodies I've been making lately:

This is a happy hippo roll-up for all your favorite art supplies.

Each fabric pocket is a different color of the rainbow and the last one is a little story about Mary Jane.  It rolls up and ties so you can take it with you everywhere.  It's for sale right now in my Etsy shop with a couple more new items.

Another REALLY fun project I've been working on are these lovely Mended Hearts!  I've been using up scraps of my felts and fabric to hand stitch these little stuffed  bits of love that fit in the palm of your hand!

My little stuffed Tin Man has also finally made it into my Etsy shop and is waiting  for someone to take him home and give him all the love he is looking for!  Maybe it's you or someone you know?

 

I've also been blogging every Tuesday over on Glitter and Grunge about art journaling and my adventures into moleskine territory.  Every week I talk about things I've discovered about molys and different ways to journal in them.

more tomorrow - spring give-away on Friday

NOW GO MAKE ART!

the WAY overdue GiveAway drawing!

I folded up everyone's name and put them in a bowl that Jules made in Pottery class:

Jules drew the name so you won't be mad at me if you lost {sorry Jules!}:

and the winner is - drumroll please - JOANIE HOFFMAN !!!

JOANIE - could you please email me your contact info so I can get your parcel out to you before Valentine's Day?  I'll send you an email via your blog too, in case you don't catch that you won here!

I will be hosting another great GiveAway later this week over on my new blog so stay tuned!

Today, I am trying to catch-up on everything and get a post blogger over on the Glitter & Grunge blog about my moleskine journaling journey.  I will also be slowly switching my blog over to my website:

http://web.me.com/jennyseven/Identity_Seven/blog/blog.html

An easier way you can get there is by typing in my website:  http://www.identityseven.com and clicking "blog" under my name!  It links up with my web storage on my iMac account and it just way easier to update since I can use iWeb to publish it instead of this interface.  It's all drag and drop and I love it to death!

I just finished up a post on how to link your polaroid POGO printer via bluetooth to your Mac so go take a peek and leave me a comment if you love your POGO as much as Catherine and I do!  Stacie Rife let me know that she got one and loves her's too!  They are little sticky back 2 x 3 inch photos you can print from your bluetooth phone, Mac or by plugging in your digital camera.  VERY ADDICTING!

More on my other blog later this week about a fun GiveAway to get ready for spring!

NOW GO MAKE ART!

easter egg hunt

birthday give-away drawing today!

Sorry for the delay ... I've been trapped on the couch recovering from surgery and Jules hasn't been here to draw names for me.  When she gets home from school today we will draw a name and post here.  In the meantime here is what I've been working on while couchbound - Robot Love

It's a vinyl softie I've been handstitching.  He is made of 2 different color vinyl fabrics with button eyes and little red heart safe and sound in his chest panel.  This week he will get snap-on arms and legs and them be up for sale in my Etsy store.  He's almost 1 foot tall and a little bigger around than a Campbell's soup can.  I love him to death and it will be terrible to part with him.  Someone will need to give him a great home!

Larry has been putting Christmas lights around the family room to help brighten things up for me while I recover and Ginger decided to help him find all the burnt out lightbulbs.  She found 100 and it took her forever to replace them {no opposable thumbs remember!}

I've been wrapping presents too and it's driving the kids crazy :) Gotta love torturing them at Christmas!

I'll post later this afternoon with the winner of the Birthday Giveaway!

NOW GO MAKE ART!

Somebody Loved

Rain turns the sand into mud
Wind turns the trees into bone
Stars turning high up above
You turn me into somebody loved

Nights when the heat had gone out
We danced together alone
Cold turned our breath into clouds
We never said what we were dreaming of
But you turned me into somebody loved
http://www.free-lyrics.org

Someday when we're old and worn
Like two softened shoes
I will wonder on how I was born
The night I first ran away from you

Now my feet turn the corner back home
Sun turns the evening to rose
Stars turning high up above
You turn me into somebody loved

{Somebody Loved - The Weepies}

I was watching Dirty Sexy Money a couple of weeks ago, and they had this wonderful musical group called The Weepies on.  I'm now completely hooked and listen to them over and over.  I have two favorite songs, one being above.  I've been fiddling with my purse construction and it inspired this great heart purse.

I made this one bigger and more of a bucket style so you could fit more things inside.  It's made of thick red felt with tiny blue polka dot fabric as a liner {a new feature on my purses}.  I stitched "heart" on the back and dangled a blue glass bead from the bottom front.

I used two shades of blue, one white, and one bark brown pieces of yarn for the strap.  The whole purse is hand stitched using the blanket stitch and 6 strands of embroidery floss so it is very sturdy. I just love the polka dots on the front and inside.  Reminds me of how your blood flows through your body and heart gaining and losing oxygen!

I will be putting it up for sale on my Etsy account today and it would love a good home for Christmas!  

MY ETSY STOREFRONT

Over the next few month I will be changing the look of my website and 

blog so stay tuned!

Don't forget to comment on any post between now and Monday to be

entered in a drawing to win a Birthday Goodies Parcel from me! I've

just added a little bonus to the mix ... a piece of handmade art by me!

NOW GO MAKE ART!

DECEMBER GIVEAWAY!

I've noticed that many of you have been hosting prize drawings on your blogs and I think this is a fabulous idea ... so I'm going to snark it :)  My birthday is this weekend and in honor of my favorite day of the year I'm going to give away a little package of goodies: 

+ one of my red mushroom charms

+ a small antique masterlock key

+ a tintype of bestfriends

+ old pharmacy labels

+ three civil war buttons

+ two paper flowers

+ a red star button

+ and two fabric cupcake stickers

+ something handmade by me {added Friday}

THE RULES:

• leave a comment from now until Monday - December 8th on any post
• I will put your names in a drawing for my Birthday Givaway Goodies parcel on Tuesday
• Jules {my 14 year old} will draw the winning name to be posted Tuesday afternoon @ 3:30 pm EST
• make sure you have an email address attached so I can contact you about winning 
• goodies parcel will be mailed out as soon as I get your address  

STAY TUNED ON DECEMBER 10TH WHEN I ANNOUNCE A NEW YEARS GIVEAWAY! 

now go make art :)

fell off the blog wagon again

hrmm ... so, I've fallen off the blog wagon again.  I know ... shame on me!  I'm so sorry to keep you coming back week after week only to find the same ole same ole here :)  The good news is I've picked myself back up, dusted off and got my fingers tapping out words again!  I partially blame some VERY awesome art goals I set for myself that have been all consuming these last few months.  

First, I'm in the process of proposing a regular column for Somerset's new magazine Art Quilting Studio titled Quilting the Odd and Unusual.  If this is something you'd really like to happen you can shoot Jenny Doh an email via her blog Crescendo and tell her it's something you would like to read.  I have the artwork and outline done for the first  issue:  Burnt and Bound which is all about quilting manipulated transparencies in new ways and the artwork almost complete for the second issue: Quilting the Past which is all about quilting family photos into a Seven Deadly Sins style book!  All of this has been very time consuming but VERY exciting for me :)  After all this time freelancing it would be such a boon to be a regular columnist on a Somerset publication!

Second, I'm almost done drafting up my own book proposal to send off to Northlight books!  Those of you who have been pushing me can now breath a sigh of relief that I'm FINALLY getting around to it :)  Thank you for your prodding, pushing and firm insistence that I GET TO IT.  I cannot tell you how exciting it is to work on your own book.  Cross all your fingers and toes for me on this one please :)

I've been working on handmade pincushions lately with colored shrinky dink pins.  What art therapy this is!  It's just as fun as when we were kids, but my color sense has greatly improved :) The three you see here have gone off to a local antique mall where my mom and I have a craft booth.  If they don't sell well there they will be whisked off to my Etsy shop in January.  Times are hard here in mid-Michigan ... lots of people have lot there jobs and it's hard to justify buying artsy things when you can't put food on the table or pay your house payment!

I've also sent three Tea Cake pin cushions off to Somerset for their Marie Antoinette issue.  I'm not going to give you a sneak peek today, because I think it's important to save some things for those who buy the issues!

NOW GO MAKE ART!

phew ... out of the trenches again

new post tomorrow ... throwing my irons back in the fire :)

more art over on Etsy

http://identityseven.etsy.com

a longer post with more to say tomorrow :)
sick child home today and too much to do!

please check out my With One Palette article in the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of Somerset Studio ... you can find it on pages 8 & 9!

I'm in the process of finishing up my sketchbook which has a VERY colorful proposal to send off to Tonia Davenport over at North Light Books ... cross all your fingers and toes for me!

NOW GO MAKE ART!

fantastic quote I found over on Rice's blog:

Live your life in such a way
that when your feet hit the
floor in the morning, Satan
shudders and says.....
"Oh Shit .... she's awake!"

NOW GO MAKE ART!

a bit of this and a pinch of that

new Halloween art available in my Etsy shop

this weeks post will be tomorrow :)

super video by ALBERTO CERRITEÑO

Austin TV / Shiva from Alberto Cerriteño on Vimeo.

off to list new goodies on Etsy!

pokin' my head out of my hidey hole

hmmm ... anyone still here?

{smirk}

so, sorry for the looooong absence again, but life has been a bit nutsy here and my family garden has needed some tending! On the upside, I been making all kinds of new and magical art and writing like crazy :) I never would have guessed that inventing Transparency Manipulation 6 years ago would have led me to where I am now! What a happy girl it's made me to burn and melt transparencies ... sew them to felt, fabric and paper ... and now incorporate them into art quilts.

I heard an American proverb recently that really struck a chord:

HOPE IS THE NURSE OF MISERY

Isn't that so true ... made me think of the old saying "get back up on the horse after she kicks you off!".

I've been making a lot of lovely Halloween art in the past few weeks ... this here is Frankenpurse. I thought it would be really funny {and loads of fun} to make a Frankenstein themed purse stitches and all. Today I'm off to find plastic nuts and bolts for the sides to finish him off. He'll be up for sale in my Etsy shop tomorrow along with some other Halloween themes artwork. It's wonderful that Halloween is right around the corner ... it's bar none my favorite holiday and I can't wait to start spookifying the house up in the next week or two.

Speaking of Halloween and the next couple of weeks ... I'm completely geeked up because Lori Brofsky is coming to visit us on Thursday!!! It's hard to believe that my family is as excited as me since we talk non-stop and MUST drive them all crazy with our art jabber :) I'm going to try and take her to some of the local thrift and antique stores and go treasure hunting!

One of the new and exciting things I've been working on is aprons for Somerset's upcoming publication APRON•OLOGY which comes out in February 2009. Now, I know I've told most of you that I cannot sew clothing to save my life, but all these new art quilts must have buffed up my sewing skills. I'm completely hooked! I have made 6 so far {3 for Somerset and the rest for family/friends) ... look for them to make an appearance in my Etsy store next week after Lori leaves! You can read more about aprons and the new publication on Jenny Doh's blog. I'm really excited to see what everyone else has done!

Speaking of Jenny, I've been working with her on a super-secret project for another new upcoming Somerset publication Art Quilting Studio that will debut summer 2009. I can't show you any photos {cause I don't want to spoil the super surprise} but let me tell you it is as Jenny likes to say "HOT!" It's something I've been wanting to do for awhile now, and all my extra time is going into this fabulous project!

With that little tease I'll leave you as I run off to the Post Office to mail my aprons away ... look for at least one new Blog post from me every week between Monday and Wednesday. I've climbed out of my hidey hole and there's no pushing me back in :)

NOW GO MAKE ART!

trying out Twitter

have noticed some of my "peeps" {as my 13 year old if fond of calling her friends} are using Twitter so I'm giving it a try.  If you'd like to follow me you can find me here:

http://twitter.com/jenosborn

off to work and then home for a bigger blog post ... finally made some art yesterday on my day off and it was terrific!  For those of you who have received postcards ... I will be adding artwork to my Etsy site tonight and then for the next couple of weeks until it is all up!

NOW GO MAKE ART!

glitter and grunge

my work is now for sale via Glitter & Grunge!  starting tomorrow I will have 4 exclusive pieces every month and all my art ships for free as an bonus just for Glitter & Grunge customers.  tomorrow I have 1 purse, 1 art quilt, 1 5 inch fat canvas, and 1 handstitched paper piece.

enjoy!

gearing up for eyecandy in your mailbox

are you enjoying all this beautiful spring weather?  here the birds are singing, the trees are sprouting leaves and my ferns are starting to unfurl their little fingers toward the sun and sky!

I'm in the process of finally creating a real mailing list and would love to send some eyecandy to your mailbox.  If you would like to be included please email me here:

identity7@sbcglobal.net

I would love your email address and your mailbox address so I can send you both email and snail mail updates.  If you would only like one or the other just let me know in your email and I'll make note of it on my spreadsheet :)

I started an Artist Breakthrough Program through Alyson Stanfield of www.artbizcoach.com and will be posting all my goals tomorrow!  One of them was to finally get a working mailing list to keep my clients updated on what I have going on.  This means printing postcards with new art on the front and details of what articles, teaching and art for sale on the backside.  I'm hunkered down getting it all together, but will be back in a bit today with more eyecandy for your here!

NOW GO MAKE ART!

the peapod - wip

I'm off today to finish healing up before heading back to work tomorrow, but while I've been resting I've been working on the most wonderful project!  "the peapod" is something that has been brewing in the back of my mind since I finished my "nest" ... I just always felt that I didn't have that right thing to put inside.  Well, since buying the magical Ari doll from Judy at ArtFest, the wheels have been turning extra fast and I've already finished most of it since coming home!  The minute I saw the little doll body all wrapped up in mossy green tissue I knew it was the crucial piece for my peapod project!
Names have always held a special spot in my noggin ... for play as a child and in my artwork as an adult, well yesterday, I received an email from Judy  telling me more about these special little dolls and the journey they took to get to her.  I learned that the stamp on the back is the name Ari [ lion in Hebrew ] ... now I had already stitched on a fortune from a cookie I opened a couple weeks ago [ You are about to embark on a most delightful journey! ] into my strand of peas and this concerned me.  It just so happens that on the other side is the Chinese character / word for GIRL.  So, this morning I took a spin on a website listing the origins and meanings of names, and came up with a few variations on Ari for females:

ARIA - German - melody
ARIAL - Hebrew - sprite (lion of God)

ARIDATHA - Hebrew - flowering field
ARISSA - Greek - sowing the fields 
Obviously, there were many more, but these 4 seemed to fit the best with the fact that they are from a Doll Factory in Germany, and the nature of this project.
I stitched the pod itself from 2 different  colors of green Meltie Felties and then used some brown wool that had a very light and spring feel to it to add visual texture.  I stitched the whole thing by hand and then threaded a piece of 20 guage silver wire through the front to give the pod shape and allow me to create curls. I took the same silver wire and threaded it through the doll body holes stringing on glass beads and a silver heart {the heart is battered and worn, but strong}, wrapping it around the body and curling the ends like peadpod runners.  For the rest of the peas in the pod I made one from different colors of green felt cut into circles, a glass leaf, a fantastic blown glass bead with green bubbles inside that I've been saving for a LOOONG time and a few other glass beads in green. 
(The fortune is stitched in here too.)
The peapod ended up slightly bigger and swallows up the contents, but my husband had a wonderful idea of stuffing the inside of the pod with the filling from the container it came in as well as some fantastic greenish silk ribbons from my collection :)  I'll post more pictures when the peapod is complete!

Tonight the Artist Breakthrough Program begins with Alyson Stanfield of ArtBizCoach.com and I'm really excited!  Come to find out Deb Trotter of Cowboy Sweetheart is in my group too, so it will be wonderful to go through this with someone who I already know :)  I'll let you know how it went on Wednesday.

NOW GO MAKE ART!