Liquid Paper

inspiration

How often do you see something on flickr or someone's blog and wonder how in the world they came up with the idea for that doll, character, photograph, peep, wall art, desk drawer, or closet door? I do it all of the time. Sometimes I get panicky because I love the thing they made so much. Sometimes I feel silly: "Why didn't I think of that!" And many, many times I'm in awe: "I could never in a million years have thought of that." Yep, I mostly go through my day bemoaning all of the ideas I'm not having. But, once in a while, the images that usually taunt me inspire me to action. For example, here is the inspiration behind my blog's new look. I wanted to create a look that was simple but, slightly more sophisticated than my old design. I also wanted to keep the abundance of white space but, make it colorful and fun, too.

I was inspired by...

1. My ongoing obsession with Blueprint magazine, specifically, the page on the right:

2. Purl Soho's shop: www.purlsoho.com + blog www.purlbee.com

3. Gladiolus from the farmer's market:
(another picture here)

2. Stones I found in my dad's yard:

Is anyone else game to share? What inspires you? I'd love to know!

laziness

Q: Which is more lazy, Clive still being in bed at three o'clock this afternoon or me not making the bed?

A: Please explain this thing of "make bed"? Does. Not. Compute.

FABRIC SWAP UPDATE
I still have a little bit of this fabric leftover if anyone is still interested in swapping. Just send me an email to laurie at moddots dot com. (Read previous post for details.)

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(Photo taken by my husband, Mark.)

fabric for swap?

Here is the fabric that I found at the thrift store last week. It washed up great. I love the design, colors and the adorable folksy theme. It's a very light weight cotton material and would work great for a kid's room, tote bag, quilt, pillows or even in a kitchen. So, so cute. In its former life it was curtains (four panels + orange pompoms!). There are about eight yards total so I was thinking of keeping a yard for myself and offering up the rest for swap. I can cut them into 1, 1/2 or 1/4 yard-sized pieces. Any takers? If you're interested please send me an email to laurie at moddots dot com.

Also, if you think you're interested, I should let you know that I'm looking for some raw materials this time around - fabric, buttons, trim, etc. My stash is starved for some vintage and unique materials. Thanks!

it's my party

Today I'm celebrating the new look I gave to the old blog this weekend. My blog will be three years old this January and I've never remembered it's birthday/anniversary or any other milestone like my first 100 posts, 200 posts... nothing. Therefore, because I'm pretty sure this is as close as I'm going to get to an official blog celebration, I officially declare today:

Happy New Blog Design Day-iversary to me + Liquid Paper!

(the party hat is borrowed from this little bird + the yarn was a gift from a very talented friend)

i have some ideas

Idea #1
How about I don't do another dumb post, which I will immediately delete because of its innate dumbness. Now that is a good idea.

Idea No. 2
How about I tell you that I found some AMAZING fabric at the thrift store and don't show you a photo? Okay, I'll admit that that is not a good idea. But, how about if I tell you that on Monday I will have a picture for you and that I am thinking about offering several pieces of it up for swapping? Over the weekend I'll wash it and give it a good looking over. Then, on Monday I'll let you know how many sections (probably about 1/2 yard each) are on offer and we can get to swappin'.

Idea No. 3
How about some pictures of my current wip?

Have a great weekend!

the mind goes first, then the sense of smell

I deleted my post. It was dumb. I'll try again tomorrow.

not a deep thoughts kind of day

Does this mug make my hips look big? Nothing much to show you today. I started a new project, two new projects to be completely truthful (started being the operative word), and I still haven't finished the one I started last week. Maybe I'll show you some wip photos tomorrow -- so I can procrastinate some more. Whee! See you then.

picture perfect day

We spent Friday afternoon at my favorite park.

Before Mark and I moved to Sioux Falls I explained to him that, although there are many neighborhoods in and around the city, for me there is only one: the McKennan Park area. He seems to have taken to the idea quite well and in a year or two (or three), when we're ready to leave our downtown apartment, we'll be moving into a little house near this park.

For nearly 100 years, McKennan Park has served the city as a place of beauty and open space. The land has never felt the touch of the plow, and the prairie remains the same as it was. It has now been surrounded by the city, but the park land remains open to whoever wishes to stroll beneath the historic trees in the park, or smell the blooms of the rose garden. Helen McKennan wanted her land to be a place where "children, young people, and mothers with their little babies could come and rest in the cool shade, drinking in the fresh air."

T is for

Train.

Whoops! So sorry that I didn't let you know yesterday where I got that cute train fabric. Thanks justJENN for asking about it! I shall give you one guess where I got it from -- and it starts with a super and ends with a buzzy.) I love that shop! And thanks for noticing the regular posting around here melissa -- its almost as if I were a blogger. Who knew?

How about more train stuff? I had no idea that there were so many trains lurking around my studio.

Like this: also from superbuzzy.)

And this: a thrift store find

And this: an antique store find

And a little bit more progress on the project today. Thanks for your support yesterday when I was all grumble, grumble, whine. I get like that sometimes. Anyone else know what I'm talking about? Yeah, I thought so. I like choosing the fabrics, but for some reason after I cut them out I stop liking them until they're all sewn up. I'm the same way with other sewing projects. I have to push myself through the, "Gosh, this just looks flat and I have so much work ahead of me," phase. So, back to the project... all of the sewing is done by hand on these so they take forever to complete. The one thing that I do like about the long process is that it gives me time to imagine and re-imagine each piece.

Don't they look so completely different once the little body is assembled?

new project doubt

I've wanted to make something like this for oh-I-don't-know-how-long-lets-just-say-forever. Even before I made the elf, I wanted to make little tiny peoples. Girls + boys. So now I'm going for it. Wish me luck. I've already run into a few obstacles... i.e. perfectionism kicking in and me not liking anything that I'm doing. Honest. It was hard for me to take a photo and try to talk about this project. I really want these to work out. Grumble. Sigh. Back to the trenches.