gift wrapping

is my favorite. it is an extension of creativity. birthdays, Christmas, or gifts just because. each has its own feel. a few years ago i started to theme my wrapping so that all of the gifts i give look alike (could be some sort of compulsive disorder). this also meant for me, no traditional wrapping paper, curling ribbon and sticker-tags. i must be creative. i must spend time on not only choosing the gifts i give, but also the way in which i present them. this year, my theme was to possess economy, being simplistic and beautiful at the same time. i think i achieved it. i bought a few yards of white paper at united art and education, then headed over to joann fabric for some burlap and white ribbon. although cost effective, there was quite a bit of time put into the wrapping of these gifts. i couldn't think of a better way to adhere the burlap than to use a needle and thread. so that's what i did and each wrapping was tailored specifically to each gift. obsessive, compulsive, yes. simplistically beautiful gifts as a result, yes. my work this Christmas is done. :)

i hope you are able to spend time with your family this Christmas season and enjoy the most beautiful gift of all, Christ, our salvation.

Merry Christmas!

mrs. karen mcardle

you will be missed.

my metalcraft professor and her husband passed away this weekend in a car accident. i am in shock and full of mixed emotions. she was the epitome of metalcraft and ceramics. a beautiful jeweler and sculptor. many a talk had we of creative ideas, of ways to improve a process we were working with, of life. i will miss her greatly. passing her office, watching her drink green tea from a mug she had thrown on the wheel, talking to her husband in her office on speaker-phone, washing her dishes in the printmaking sink. thinking about you karen and the portion of my life you have affected.

relief

ah.

deep breath in through the nose, hold for a few seconds, then release out through the mouth. repeat.

i just finished everything school related for this semester. whew! i must say that today was overwhelming. i woke up at 6 o'clock in the morning to start my studying (which lasted 5 hrs) then off to my first final of three for the day. after arriving home, i finished revising an art history paper and am calling it a night.

thank you Lord for your grace this week...as well as your peace (my eye didn't start it's annoying, uncontrollable twitching dance, very grateful).

you all might not care too much about all of that, but you should because it means regular posting for a whole month (hopefully)!!!

after a brash cleaning of my room...and the whole house for that matter...and a few other clarifying matters to attain to, i will be back in full force.

thanks for still being my friend.
michelle

dear best proverbial friends,

i write you while sitting at my desk in my still-unfinished room (which i feel is impossible to be productive in), when i should be writing a well thought out, expertly crafted art history paper. thus far i have a rough thesis. that's it. no intro paragraph, no body, no conclusion, just a rough thesis that i will eventually tweak, and yet i write...

to you.

i miss you. i miss sharing my creativity with you.

after the holiday of turkey and cranberry sauce i will have one more week of classes, then finals...and then i will return in full creative force with imagery from this past semester. get excited. i am.

with that said, i should probably regreso (that's Spanish for return) to my oh so lengthy paper and stop procrastinating. yes. good idea.

thanks for waiting.

your bpf,
michelle

recycling in the way of handmade books

hello my lovelies! so sorry for the lack of posting as of late. school is making me its captive.

i thought this would be a perfect time to introduce my little handmade recycled envelope books to you. i have been making them for a few years now. i started making them just for fun and as gifts, but am now starting to sell them. i entered one (shown below with the blue-green button) into the "green" show at Artlink over the summer and it sold before the show even opened...how encouraging! i have also had a few friends buy them as gifts to give others. and now comes the excitement...i will be selling a selection at Artlink during the Christmas shopping season! you should go check them out...even if you do not plan on buying anything. (also, i have three pieces in a small works show going on at Artlink right now that is worth checking out...a little self-promo on one's own blog never hurt anyone, right?)

anyway, i have been wanting to make more of these little books and once this opportunity arose, i thought, "how perfect!?!" so now, in the midst of a very large research paper for my high renaissance art history class, another paper for my 400 level philosophy of religion class (still do not know what i'm doing in there), and other projects, i'm trying to justify making time to work on my books...they do take quite a bit of time, believe it or not.

here's to a productive week in the form of recycled envelopes and handmade books!

michelle

goodbye clutter, hello organizational system

two weeks ago i took down the beloved loft in my room. so many wonderful memories i will cherish from the 10 or so years i spent with it. memories of...night-time girl talk with my favorite sister...of repeatedly bumping my head...of fort building...of falling off before the railings were installed...of jumping off onto a pile of blankets and pillows (peter-pan, i think i can fly style)...of trials with sheet-changing...of multiple times of forgetting to turn off the light or set the alarm, causing the down-the-ladder, back-up-the-ladder again frustration...of many good times...and of terrible sleep.

"and of terrible sleep" being one of the reasons i took the plunge and coerced my father into helping me take the loft he built down. i'm 24. it's time for a "real" bed.

organizational space is the other main reason for taking down the beloved loft. I need space. i need a well organized space. i need a well organized space that inspires me to create and simplify at the same time. (lots of i need statements, i know...can't i be a little bit selfish about the room i call my own???) over the years i've come up with some ideas for organizing, but none of them have quite done the trick. non-practical maybe. but, i think i'm onto something now. the loft was just the first step in my "master plan."

step two...i thought it was to pick out a paint color, but when i approached jill, a friend and interior designer, she informed me that the paint color is the last thing to choose when re-doing a room. she explained, stating that if you pick out bed linens, fabrics and accents to the room, you want to be able to match the paint color to them, not try and match your paint color to your accessories, which has proven in the past to be most impossible. good call jill. after this week, she is going to come over and check out my space so we can brainstorm together. i love it!

so excited about my new, organized space to be.
a favorite website to check out: www.thecontainerstore.com
their inspirational spaces are amazing. a little pricey, but i'm just gathering ideas, and will eventually con my father into helping me build some custom shelving. oh so amazing.

(one of my favorite spaces from their website)

i hope this inspires you to go and organize/simplify your own space.
michelle

leah rose

as i entered my folder of photographs on my computer to work on some images for my alternative photography class, i stumbled upon these photos of my niece which i took last january and could not help but share them with you. i clearly remember her being quite mischievous that day :) which is not really much different than any other day. enjoy!

michelle