It's My New Thing

If every thing on Earth had a fan following, I would be voted President of Super Fans for the "lists" Fan Club. I like lists. I like them in poetry and lyrics, grocery lists, to do lists, packing lists, etc.


My friend Lillian, who is mentioned on this blog so often she needs her own category, tipped me off to this site with the cutest ever daily journal pages. And you'd think with how excited it made me that I was also the President of Super Fans of Daily Journal Pages with Parts to Color and Silly Doodles. And I printed two copies so I could go ahead and do them all in one afternoon, but I also could do one per day, like one is supposed to do. And then THAT site lead me over to THIS site that just happens to be doing a list thing every Tuesday that convinced me that I needed to start making this blog more awesome by adding lists and doodles and parts to color every Tuesday as well.


So, here we are. Run on sentences later. And sentence fragments later. Lists and Doodles and Parts to Color... it's my new thing. I'd like to do one per week. We'll see. I don't normally participate in things other blogs are doing every week, but I think you know how I feel about lists. On the list of members of the Super Excited About This Fan Club, I'm like junior vice president or something.


Here's the first page.

8 Days a Week

Ok, actually only 7. But, for some reason a title for this blog post escaped me and that's all I could think of. You've heard over and over from me that I get ideas in my head that will.not.leave. until I make them. For about 3 weeks I've been desperately needing a trip to the craft store to get balsa wood. Well, I made the trip, and immediately got to work on this nagging idea.

A calendar! I saw some birch desk calendars online here and thought they were the cutest things. Then I was introduced to Lisa Rupp a couple days later and fell in love with her art. Her designs have a very similar feel to my designs, and I thought, if she can do it... I should at least give it a shot! So I did. This one is for my own personal use... so I created some designs that are very similar to hers. If I were ever to sell a balsa wood calendar, I'd obviously create new designs. I was just desperate to complete this project and get it out of my head!

I love it. I can't wait until January when I can start using these little pretties!

With Much Rejoicing and Fanfare

You may recall the disaster zone that was my craft room. I posted it last week. You probably threw up.

Well, my friends, I'd like to present to you: the current state of my craft room.

TA DAAA!

I think my mom summed up the way I clean nicely yesterday when she said, "I know HOW you clean. You clean for 10 - 15 minutes and then you discover a picture that needs scanned and put on facebook. Or you discover a piece of wood that would make a WONDERUL wall decoration.....or a little piece of ribbon that you have been looking for.....I say poohoo with cleaning! Create! Love! Laugh! Paint! And this philosophy is why we Herzogs laugh a lot, make music, color each other's hair...and live in incredibly messy houses! Paint that on your piece of wood and hang it in the craft room!"

I actually DO want to put that on the wall. "Laugh a lot, make music, color each other's hair and live in incredibly messy houses." I love it. And that's precisely why it took me three days to clean that mess. I found 156 pictures that needed to go in a new album. I found a box of all my old "Dave" stuff and sorted through that for an hour and a half. Movie ticket stubs from 2002, playdough rockets, dried leaves, barnacle covered clam shells, receipts from hotel stays... mostly junk, but all meaningful junk. Which, you may have guessed, is my very favorite type of junk.

And speaking of that husband of mine.... this is the light box he made for me. In action, nonetheless!

I had a miniature breakdown yesterday about the chaos of my life. How I feel like I'm never home doing nothing, that I've packed too much into my life, that I can't breathe, etc. (This weekend was an exception - I had loads of wonderful free time this weekend.) So I played hooky from the pottery class that I love so much. I sat in my craft room and organized my junk. Physically and emotionally.

I Totally Made This

I've not been shy about the fact that sewing is NOT my thing. I like nearly every form of art and crafting that I've been able to try, but sewing is my Achilles heel. Just ask the 4 pair of unfinished Christmas pajama pants under my craft table.

But last week, I made not one, but two completely functional, completely cute, completely... complete projects.

This cheery little tote...
For which I got the compliment, "that bag makes you look like you're in a good mood." I'll take it.

And yesterday I made a CD holder for my car visor. Because I'm a really fancy person who owns a car with a CD player now (no big deal) I needed one. This was a great project to use up scraps. Pardon my picture taking skills. It's really difficult to get a picture of your car visor with a phone. Surprising, right?
Also, let it be noted that the gold striped tape around the outside of the CD holder is a temporary experiment. I have some teal bias tape that will probably take the place of the tape very soon. Thanks to my neighbors Amanda and Lillian for being my moral support while I work through my sewing fears and inabilities. I think maybe one day I could call myself a sewer. One day...

Have you done anything crafty lately?

A New Hobby

I admit that I have a problem.

I am thoroughly aware that beginning new projects when there are piles of old projects making a maze through your living room is not a great idea. I understand that I'm easily influenced by trends with other bloggers and artists. I'm also aware that the time I spend on the computer and/or in front of the TV is probably rotting my brain. And I have enough brain left to realize that combining a new hobby to attempt another trend with even more time in front of the computer screen is not the best idea.

But here we are anyway, stuck in the middle of a new hobby. Digital scrapbooking. I am ridiculously picky about scrapbooks. I think a lot of them are tacky, honestly, and my tastes and trends change so often that scrapbooks are almost always outdated before they're great to look at. Now obviously not all of them fit in that outdated and tacky category. My mother in law, for example, made a beautiful scrapbook after my wedding and it's classic and pretty and timeless. Our bridesmaid's dresses were not so timeless, but that's a different story.

Digital scrapbooks fix that issue though. If you don't like it, delete the file and go on with your life. You're not committed to the layouts or the paper or the font. And if there's one thing I am, it's noncommittal. Mixing colors and patterns and textures is one of my favorite things, and this is a fun way to do that. Here's one I did recently of one of my favorite pictures of Dave and I ever.
I'm just learning here. So it's not perfect, but I like to just jump in. And it surprisingly doesn't take me very long to do one of these. It satisfies that crazy impulsive urge I have to only work on projects that can get done quickly.

I Can Do This, I Can Do This...

It is TWO DAYS until the NashVegas Craft Fair and my living room is a disaster. I have piles of unfinished journals, finished journals, paintings, unfinished paintings, windows, shadow boxes, messes, paper scraps, ribbon, and the list goes on. I am very thankful that I have a mom and a sister coming into town this weekend and they are both people that will love me just the same if my house is filled with piles. Don't believe me when I say piles?

Girl means piles.

It looks like Hobby Lobby was taking a walk into the woods and decided to leave a trail of art supplies through my living room so she could find her way back to Franklin without getting lost in Antioch with no cell phone reception or flashlight after dark.

I have too many checklists running right now. Things I want to bring, things I still need to make, artwork I want to display, etc. My booth has not been built, but Mr. Hagen is working on that so I don't have to think about it. Mr. Hagen is also trying to switch shifts at work so he can help me set up my booth and drive me to the craft fair because I am still without car. And he needs to switch because, think about it, he is SCHEDULED TO WORK on Saturday. When I need his arm muscles and math skills (counting change is not really "my thing") and moral support.

So let's recap. Messes, lots of "unfinished" things, no car, no booth, no certainty on whether or not I have Dave's assistance on Saturday, no idea what I'm going to wear yet (which is normally what I obsess over before this kind of stuff), and the blatant fact that it's really my own doing and really my own habitual procrastination at fault. I actually wasn't even stressed until I started writing this blog post. Please excuse me while I find a paper bag.

Campy

I'm doing my best to get ready for the NashVegas Craft Fair on the 26th. And by doing my best, I mean twice a week I decide to get some work done and end up doing one or two projects. I've finished a few new journals and a few paintings and I've talked over the booth ideas with Dave, who just happens to be a very handy carpenter. And one of those times where I decided to get some work done, I accomplished three very sweet and summery paintings, of which I am quite pleased. They're not quite finished... finishing involves power tools, and quite frankly, I'm a bit too lazy to do that part just yet.

This color combination is everywhere right now and I want to use it on everything. These phone pictures dont' really portray the colors right (at least not on this computer) but they're what I would call gray, mint, salmon, and neon yellow. Those colors remind me of sorbet, and anything that reminds me of sorbet is a good thing. Plus, these little wood squares feel very homey to me. They're very "Missouri summer vacation" or something. I'm tempted to title them, "The Herzogs take a trip to the swingin' bridges and eat doritos and shoot fireworks but end up not camping because it was too humid outside."

Mural, Mural On the Wall

When I was in middle school, I remember staying up very late one night listening to music in bed for no good reason apart from wanting to stay up late for bragging purposes. And while sitting on the bed, bored to death, fighting sleep, I started drawing pictures on the wall. For some reason, it didn't even cross my mind that I would get in trouble (a weird break from my normal "someone will be getting in trouble for this" mindset.) Luckily, I was right in that assumption, and did not get in trouble. I like to think that it's just because I did such a good job, but it's probably because my parents are really cool people. So all along the windowsill next to my bed, there were colored pencil flowers. I was really proud of that.

A few years ago, after my youngest sister moved into the room, we took it from sunny yellow walls with flowers along the window, to a vivid teal room with more upscale decor. At the time she was a firm believer in the, stick things everywhere there is a hole and never ever throw anything away, school of interior design. But she also was a believer in me as an artist. She and my mom decided that they'd like me to paint something on the wall. They trusted me, and I was proud of that too. So, I painted this.
And when I was finished I thought, "well I could get used to this whole painting on the walls thing."

Skip ahead a few years, and here I am again - painting on someone's wall. On Sunday, my very hip friend Lillian trusted me to paint a tree on her wall. My biggest mural to date! I kind of loved it.
And seriously, I could get used to this whole painting on the walls thing.

Preparing and Such

My very tired and worn out self feels hodgepodgey this week, so this post is also hodgepodgey. Even on my worst days I'm still bound by these people pleasing chains - so, I do apologize for the random post. But there sure is a lot happening around here.

First of all - I am planning a very indepth trip to the flea market this weekend. The biggest flea market trip I've ever planned, and I am almost to the point of crying in my sleep with excitement. Is that even a real thing? People don't actually cry in their sleep with excitement - BUT I MIGHT. I have about 50 ideas of what I want to look for and purchase or use as inspiration. Whomever I recruit to help me this weekend has a big day ahead of them.

Secondly - in a week, I'm heading back home to Missouri to celebrate my Grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary.

They are the cutest. I mean, come on. Seriously.

Third - I am PUMPED about June. One: it is my birthday month. I kind of go nuts around my birthday every year. This year has no reason to be any different. Two: All this flea marketing is pointing to one very exciting thing... drumroll please... THIS!

I'm going to have a booth set up at the first ever Nashvegas Craft Fair! Which means I'll be building a booth, stocking up on paintings, journals, a few new goodies, and passing out business cards until my arms fall asleep.

Also in June is something called Pin It Forward, which should be great fun. It's a blog chain of sorts that features some REALLY talented and inspiring writers and designers... and so you don't think I'm getting a big head about it all, I just found out about it early enough to sign up. Basically for me this means that some people I really admire in the design industry will see my blog. No big deal for some people. Big deal to me. So to prepare myself for that in the way I prepare the best, I am getting a makeover. Not new clothes for me this time though; I'm getting a new blog look. I bit the bullet and asked a graphic designer to make this thing look legitimate. (Anyone under the age of 20, take note, the word "legit" is ACTUALLY short for the word legitimate... try using the real word sometimes.) So be expecting that soon.

So I'm focusing on these happy fun things and preparations. And guess what... I just decided this. If you stop by my booth at the Nashvegas Craft Fair and tell me you're a blog reader, I'll give you a special little thank you gift. WOOT WOOT. I do love to give gifts.

Dear Journal

Brand new springy products in the Etsy shop, friends! These sweet little books are totally blank, so they can be used for all sorts of things. I made one for my friend Jackson's 4th birthday, so he could practice writing stories and working on his letters (which he is so good at, I may add.) It was a hit, thankfully. I have one that I'm using as a journal, but they can also be used for scrapbooks, freestyle coloring books, sketchbooks... pretty much whatever you want. Check out my shop if you're interested in purchasing one. They're just super cute, if you ask me, and even if you don't journal or sketch or scrapbook (why is that a verb?), they're cute just sitting on a shelf! That's what they're doing in my house, at least, and I think it's cute. I may be a tad partial.

Pink and Spring and Other Things

This weekend was kind of a strange one. As in, I threw multiple temper tantrums, we skipped several "dates" that we had planned, and instead watched copious amounts of TV and had chips and salsa for lunch.

This weekend did have a couple of redeeming qualities, though. For example, new clothes. Some of you may know this about me: I am addicted to buying things. I don't spend a lot of money normally. Almost all of my clothing was less than $10 at the time of purchase. And only then if it's on sale. I have many, many items that were $5 or less. Thank heavens for Old Navy's clearance rack where one can buy such things as purple velvet pleated skirts for NINETY-SEVEN CENTS! And let's just pause to say, "Isn't that impressive?" Because that really deserves an "isn't that impressive," in my opinion. Ignore the fact that I have no occasion to wear a purple velvet pleated skirt and have never worn it, not even once for pretend.

About three years ago I bought a black and white paisleyish batik looking dress. It fit like a dream. Which is saying a lot. It was $7, so I bought it. Three years later, I decided that I should probably wear that dress since it fit so well, but I still was not a fan of the black and white paisleyish batik print. So, I bleached it. Three times. And it turned kind of orange and white. Which still wasn't great. So I got some pink and purple RIT dye, mixed it together, and dyed the dress. That still wasn't quite right, so I washed it in a load with a bright red rug that bleeds everytime it's washed. The dress now works. It's pinkish/coraly colored with tiny purpley/pink paisley, and I love it!

Plus, I made a fun "circus skirt," as I'm calling it (because it's very colorful and striped, and tent-shaped) out of a 1970's Sears and Reobuck fitted sheet. And since I have a reputation to uphold of being terrible at sewing, I messed it up just for you! But, thankfully, Lillian did some quick thinking and we turned said mess-up into a ruffle at the bottom, and what do you know, I like it better with a ruffle!

My new spring wardrobe is the ruffle on the mess-up that was this weekend.

The Itch

I have to get some artwork done as soon as possible. I'm having one of those, "I can't breathe in normal society" weeks and I just need to create something. The "norm" gets old and not quite exciting enough for me, and I have to start something new.

There's something about being an artist, for me, that means I get a little crazy at the start of something new. New opportunities, new seasons, new clothes - whatever it is that is new - I'm inspired and excited by it and itching to make progress. One newish thing in my life is THIS little surprise that I mentioned a few weeks ago. I LOVE IT. I so hope you do too.

Accomplishment Feels Good

Craftacular was a smashing success! I didn't take many pictures at all. Two of the women there are professional photographers and while I love them dearly, they intimidate the heck out of me when it comes to my completely lacking photo skills. I met some really great people, had some really great food, and finished so many projects. Not quite the 15 - 20 I had in mind, but still... lots of things. Although I have to bug Mr. Hagen to take some more pictures of the other things I completed, I did snap a few pictures while I was there.

I finished: 8 paintings, 1 headband, 2 sewing projects, and 2 journals. As I said the other day, "take that old, never-finish-a-darn-thing Steph."

These paintings will go up on the wall someday. As in... the day I finish the 9 pillow covers I want to sew, clean my house, and make the felt chandelier I've been dreaming up for a few months.

I have a disease in which every sewing project I attempt causes me to think terrible, terrible things about fabric and thread and needles, and everything I touch turns into a puddle of disaster and sadness. That being said, this apron I made turned out pretty well. I made a dishrag that matches and hooks on two little loops by that ruffly pocket you see, which I admit, did make me think some pretty awful things about jersey knit.

Craftacular Craftacular

Friday I'm leaving town for, what will most likely be, the most fun any group of people has ever had ever. I mean... I don't want to exaggerate or get my hopes up or anything, but seriously. Most fun ever.

Two good friends and I are heading out East somewhere (I don't know where exactly... good thing I'm not driving) to meet up with another three girls and we're going to craft ALL WEEKEND. I currently have a list of 15 - 20 items that I want to make. And most of them are sewing... since, you know, sewing is my arch nemesis I thought, 'oh this will be fun. 13 sewing projects in three days.' But I've been told that the moral support will help me complete these sewing projects.

Fingers tightly crossed.

Hosting Squatters

Little ideas creep into my head sometimes. They make their beds and hang artwork and plant shrubs around their yards, and they decide to never ever leave because it's just such a warm and cozy place to live. I've become accustomed to these ideas. I'd even go as far as saying that I enjoy their company. They're always there when I need just one more thing to distract me, just one more project to start. If none of you get that same feeling - it's kind of like craving a certain food. You just can't enjoy any other meal until you get a big plate of that one thing you've been craving.

One such idea decided to take up residence with me last week while leaving an Arby's drive-thru. It started as a joke idea between my friend Angie and me because we LOVE the Arby's ladies. Cheery, sweet, funny, quick service, they call us darlin'!, etc... perfect drive-thru experiences every time. Let me just interject here and say that we get seriously giddy on our lunch breaks. It's like, our weight-lifting and exercise time in the prison yard wherein we get to smell the fresh air and pretend we're just like everyone else for just 30 minutes a day. So sometimes we act totally crazy and end up yelling things out the window, or screaming bad Kelly Clarkson songs at the top of our lungs. Anyway, the giddiness of that joke morphed into a serious idea. A small, nesting, squatter idea that wouldn't consider just passing through. So... here I am.... 4 days later, getting started on the logistics of manufacturing, selling, and the way the world will change because of this lovely idea. I've made a prototype on the computer, and I'm considering getting the idea printed and putting it through a trial run. It's not really a money making scheme and may not be appreciated by the masses the way I imagine it would.

But for now, I'm sitting here chatting with the sweet little guest while we have a cup of tea and talk strategy with one another.

I'm So Productive, I Could Spit!

I'm not sure where that phrase originated; it's pretty strange. But for this week's purposes, it fits.

I am down to five days and I've only got 3 gifts left that must be done before we leave on Wednesday. I've got another 7 that need to be done sometime before New Years and I'm not even stressed about it. Granted, those 7 will be the hardest gifts (why, why do I insist on sewing projects every year?) So, if you're keeping track - that means I've finished TWELVE gifts in the past FOUR days. Considering I didn't do any yesterday, that's stinking impressive. Am I allowed to say that about myself? Well, even if I'm not, I'm sure you're thinking the same thing.

Ok - side note. I'm listening to Pandora's holiday mix right now, and B.E. Taylor's "Angels We Have Heard on High" is playing right now... you know, the part where it just repeats, "glo-o-oria, in excelsis deo" and he actually just sang the words, "talkin' 'bout gloria." Isn't that hilarious?

So anyway, things are getting accomplished left and right. Tonight is the Christmas party for my tiniest friends. We're making cookies, watching a Christmas movie, opening a few little gifts, and listening to fun Christmas music. If I can figure out my new camera, I'll be sure to get some pictures. Dave has been practicing the camera very much in the past week or so, and has got some great pictures. I'll try to post some in the next few days.

I hope you all are having as much of a fun, productive, festive, magical? December as I am having.

Watercolors

So, in high school I really found my love for art. I always enjoyed doing arts and crafts, doodling and such - but I never really felt like an artist until high school. I didn't even take my first real art class until my junior year. At that time, I started learning the basics. Different types of paints, how to sketch an accurate point of view, shading techniques, etc. and I was in love. I started thinking of ways I could incorporate art into every class. Which made the coolest Algebra notes of all time, but not the coolest Algebra grades... ahem.

One thing I dabbled with a tiny bit in high school but never really fully understood was watercolor. If you've ever painted with watercolors you know that the setup takes much, much longer than say, that of acrylic painting. Acrylic - canvas, jar of water, tube of paint, you're ready to go. Watercolor - watercolor paper, jar of water, tube of paint, masking fluid, board for mounting paper, tape for mounting paper, paper towels, paint a little bit, wait for it to dry, paint a little more, wait for it to dry, etc. I am not that person. I don't sit and wait on projects. I sit down in front of the TV, or next to the iPod dock, and I do it. Start to finish. Or start to never ever going to finish sometimes (usually when I'm not happy with the start.) But, I don't often work in stages. So, when the mandatory watercolor projects were finished, I stopped.

Then came several years of hating doing art (because it was ALL mandatory) followed by the period that I'm in now where I'm falling hard in love with it again. So, I decided to try my hand at watercolor again. I bought some masking fluid and went to town. I ended up with this little (and QUICK!) project, and I couldn't be more pleased. I have a feeling someone will be getting some of these for Christmas.

The Infamous "craft room"

Once or twice, I have mentioned my craft room, my art room, or when I'm feeling fancy... my art studio. It is usually just a room where I can pile all my tiny scraps of paper, get paint on the furniture, and hang up whatever decorations I want without the husband getting annoyed. Me and my tiny bits of paper are like him and his cords. Millions of cords. All sizes and lengths. All different purposes. All over the house.

On a seemingly unrelated note - I've been sick for 5 days. A flu, perhaps, nothing of the swine variety, but annoying nonetheless. Because I've been sick for what seems like months and have hardly left the house (with the exception of a double feature at the drive-in, and a trip to buy some new fall clothes - half off all clearance, folks. Even sickness can't keep me away from deals like that) here comes the relation to the craft room... I was inspired to organize. I moved furniture, which I don't recommend doing if you've been asleep for 14 hours earlier that day, hung artwork and inspiring things, and finished up TWO projects that really didn't need to be finished.

It felt good. It feels good. I've been sitting in here as much as possible, when I'm not sleeping or moping in front of Dave so he'll feel sorry for me. The prettiest tree in the neighborhood just happens to be outside the window of my art studio, yes, it feels fancy today, and the yellow and orange leaves are creating some serious fall motivation. I feel very much like I'm a bear going into hibernation. Getting my cave ready for the long haul. Also packing on a few pounds, but that's not really a good thing, it's just a can't-stop-making-hearty-soups-and-chili thing.

Because I've finally cleaned things up in here, I decided to take some pictures for the world to see. Documentation that I can, in fact, be an organized artist.

These little suitcases are just the cutest, right? I wish I knew what brand they were. They house embroidery floss, buttons, and ribbon scraps. Yes, I have a container for ribbon scraps.

This bulletin board is a work in progress. The funky pattern in the bottom left is a tile from my grandma's old bathroom. I want to frame it someday. The map (which I bought thinking it was about 4 feet wide, long story) has little push-pins in the places to which I've sold artwork. And pictures of my sisters - wonderful artsy girls.

I finally found a place to hang these paintings, which I've been wanting to hang since I made them. Here's the description of these pieces.

This is the beautiful tree out my window. Not really anything to do with my organizational skills. But, pretty.

A DIY project I'm pretty proud of. Mixed nuts tins wrapped in pretty papers and ribbons. See, Dave... I do have a use for ribbon scraps.

This easel is amazing! My dad hand made this for my wedding gift. It's huge and awesome. Be jealous that your dad isn't as cool as mine.

This wall is a work in progress also. The painting on the left is a copy of the first painting I sold. The swirly, colorful thing in the center is a ribbon holder. My good friend, Lillian is going to post a how-to of one of these on her blog soon, so I'll let you know when that happens. And the painting on the right is one I did in high school. It's a painting of Dave from when we took a trip to Seattle for my brother's graduation. It's one of the first paintings I did... and it's really more sentimental than impressive.

The Inaugural Craft Night

Last night was the first craft night in, I hope, an ongoing tradtion. Great fun (and homemade chex mix) was had. Crafts were started (few finished), friends were made, and coffee tables were dirtied. Couldn't have been more fun.

While we were busy giggling and making stuff, I quickly realized how lucky I was to have such sweet, creative friends.

I can see this lasting a very long time.

This Looks Like Real Art!

I've said it before, many times, but I have the greatest friends.  Really.  If there were a competition, I'd win.  

One of my awesome friends is Lillian B.  You can check out her website here.  She took these pictures of my artwork, and I don't know about you...  but I think these are a little better than my camera phone pictures.

Thanks Lillian!