GPP Crusade #10

So I killed two birds with one stone with the GPP Street Team Crusade No. 10 and the Create a Connection Hometown Swap for the month of July.

I will post pics of my hometown swap stuff SOON (although you can see what I made here). When I sent out my swap item to Nina I stenciled and spray painted the box for the GPP Street Team Crusade No. 10. Here are pictures of my box. I just love mail art and wish I did more of it so this was a great crusade for me! Thanks Michelle for your crusades! They are awesome!

Coming Soon to Etsy!

I have set up my etsy store and as I get this next batch of shirts ready for the Artisan Gallery I am getting a batch ready for Etsy. I am very excited about the success I have had in the Artisan Gallery and so I am launching into the online sales world. It will be very exciting. So here is a sneak preview of some new, some older designs that are coming soon! Stay tuned for the launch.

Our newest stencil from a picture taken at the New York Botanical Gardens.

Branch and Birds Front

Same, Back

Birds and Flourish Front

Same, Back


Side Note: We closed on our house today. Very exciting. More on that later.

We Have Lift Off!

We have a mortgage! Yes! I am so very excited to be buying a house. So much work to be done but at least all the work to get the house is almost over. Thank goodness. Buying a house is like trying to disarm a bomb...if you don't cut the wires in the right order you're screwed.

So since it is actually happening here are some of the photos you all have been waiting for:
The house.

The view from the yard.

The trail up Mt. Tom.

I'm in the FRONT WINDOW!

I am so thrilled! Not only are my shirts selling well, but one is in the front window at The Artisan Gallery. I love this store and used to spend time just hanging out and being inspired by all the beautiful items collected together. This makes it even more exciting to have my stuff there!


The display of my shirts.


Another one on the dressing room door!

How could I forget Innisfree?

I have been longing to return here since my first trip about 10 years ago. My mom and I went last weekend and it was wonderful.

This is my favorite part. Hard to capture, but there are winding small staircases and secret nooks and crannies to explore. I love hidden passageways and stone walls. I love not being able to see the next part of the garden until you find a way in and suddenly emerge into the new space. I'm getting tingly just thinking about how wonderful it is!


Ooo and these gave me lots to think about. I've been doing a lot of thinking about my furniture but not a lot of doing. I got to get on that...


Oh, yes, and I did cut 5" off my hair! (you can kind of see it in the first pic)

A Sea of Choppy Blues

Kari over at Artsy Mama is doing a series of challenge. The last one was about what colors you are...this is what she got me thinking about:

Colors...right now my life feels like a choppy sea of blues and turquoise. More grey sometimes, brighter other times. I always want my summers to be sunny yellow with my vibrant red hammock and berries and green green grass and life. But it always seems to be more tumultuous and hectic than I want it to be. The lack of a school schedule throws me off...the extra time becomes filled with errands instead of art. Hence the choppy blues. The positive voice in my head reminds me that a sea of grey blue, blues, and turquoise can be very pretty.

One Crazy Month

Well, I have been out of school for 2+ weeks and still have not blogged...ridiculous!
Highlights of the last month:
caving with outdoor club
end of the year fun in class
last day of school
finishing cleaning my classroom
lifeguarding again
deMeng class in Topsfield and Todd Farm Flea Market
3rd wedding anniversary
offer accepted on house
14 more shirts to the artisan gallery in noho (all the rest sold)
cleaning bedroom closet
lots and lots of ice cream
starting camp again (but only part time)
rarely working mornings
first bike ride of the summer

I'm not quite sure where the last two weeks went. I worked some and definitely slept too. But the art has taken a back burner as I obsess in my imagination about the house...sigh, the house. So much work but so pretty and very exciting. Due to the house on the horizon I am trying to organize and purge the apartment of needless crap. But I really should be doing art because thinking about the house too much makes me crazy. I have so many projects started that need love and attention. I will post more as I move along.