summer

Lilac season is ending and now come the foxgloves and lupines in my upstate ny backyard. Ever since a trip to Martha's Vineyard where hydrangeas run riot in front of perfectly weathered silvery-gray front porches, I have coveted them. This year we have started our own little humble hydrangea border. I hope they like their new home and grow as prodigiously as I remember. I can almost smell the salty ocean air.

These are some flour sack towels that I hand printed with carved blocks. I like to hang them on the wall as art and I even use them as curtains.

My favorite succulent has bolted trying to reach the sun this past winter.






I knew I shouldn't have taken the mint out of it's pot where it was perfectly happy thank you very much, but I did. Now it is in our small back garden with leaves at least 3" long. They are just begging to be made into mojitos but I have a feeling that may not be enough to stem the tide. I came across this idea which may help us a bit and maybe you too.

here

Happy summer people!

xo

love notes for valentine's day

you're my shelter from the storm

under your skin feels like home

each love note painting comes gift wrapped in hand painted paper with a hand stamped tag

a moleskine, with a favorite lino cut print, for writing your love notes

did i find you or you find me?

i love making these little intimate paintings. the process of layering and texturing is very meditative. then comes the tricky part, for the black ones. while the paint is still wet, i scratch the words into the canvas in, to my eye,  a very imperfectly perfect way. it feels like a secret message to the one you love.

i was asked to make a custom one for a couple who just got engaged. i was so honored and thrilled to be asked. i'm so excited for them!

there's a few more in the shop.


xo

update

 just thought i'd give you all an update on my crochet project.

well, at least i've chosen the yarn and the pattern. that's gotta count for something, right?

anyone else working or thinking about working on a knitting or crochet project?



also just listed this personalized family recipe book in the shop.

with rose gold metallic polka dots!

mothers

messy bed studio has been lucky enough to be a part of some mother's day gift giving this year. and by lucky i don't mean it in the way you might think. for my customers who were ordering gifts and having them mailed directly to mom, i offered to enclose a little handmade card with their message written inside. these mother's day notes were the sweetest thing - little love notes to their moms and i can't help but feel privileged to have been allowed to be a part of it. thanks to you all for that.

and mixed in with all my thankfulness is this. how can things like this happen?

i wish you a mother's day filled with hugs from your babies and loved ones. and in very simple terms, i wish for a kinder world.

xo

a proper goodbye

this little mixed media painting was bought from my shop the other day.  i've had it for quite a while and it was always a favorite of mine. was i secretly hoping it would stay in my shop for good, dressing up my virtual shelves? i'll never tell.

actually i'm thrilled it will have a new life in a new home. i hope it makes it's new owner happy.

i thought i'd show you how i'm wrapping it up for its trip.

off you go little one!

chinese takeout night

a collection inspired by the fortune cookie wisdom calendar

vintage phone . takeout earrings . kimono . chopsticks
bioshock poster . ceramic fortune cookies . men's socks . drive poster
sorry candle . photograph . miso horny . hot sauce cat toy

make it last a little longer

an ode to summer.
hope it helps to keep summer alive and kicking in your house.  i know i'm gladly in it till the bitter end.

blueberry mojito  .  mineral eye shadow  .  cloud notepads
boho necklace  .  so it goes  .  roasted tomatoes
mango ginger yogurt popsicles  .  white roses  .  butterfly cupcake toppers


some new work in the shop

and please check out some new work from my youngest, who will soon be off for his first year in college

enjoy the rest of your summer!

new work

some new work in the shop

i think spring may finally be here.  i swear the buds on our forsythia appeared overnight!  i hope spring is showing it's greenery in your neighborhood!

getting serious

i recently read a thread started by robin from customportraitart on the etsy forums.  it is a little nugget of wisdom that has inspired me.  basically robin says: yeah, i know it's slow in etsyland but what i've learned is to take advantage of these slow times by getting ready for the busy times and that for newbies, the busy times come when you least expect it.  she gives some more specific advice so go read it, but for me this is what i got - wow, there are some successful artists on etsy who have to prepare for busy times.  hmm.  this made me think about the way that i think about my shop.  which led to this - if i want busy times then i have to treat my shop like a real professional business, that just happens to be run from my living room.  

here

that's not to say that i haven't been spending almost every waking minute thinking about my shop and how to make it successful, it's just that i think i need to use that time a little more effectively.  so how does a mixed media artist and sometime vintage seller market herself, her shop online?  i don't know yet but i feel like it has something to do with having an actual plan instead of the haphazard way i've been going about things.  you know, like a big scary business plan and a mission statement, (do people still use that term or am i hopelessly out of the loop?) things like etsy shop policies (nonexistent), current shipping prices (um...), an about page, beautiful item photos, effective tags, a facebook page!, identifying who my customer is, etc. etc. etc.

here

so, (this is turning into a novel isn't it?), i've begun to get serious.  i'm starting with baby steps because i know myself and i don't want to overwhelm and scare myself off.  one thing i've started doing is to retake photos that have been downright horrible.  i've gotten a sort of process down and i've been playing with photo editing, using creative kit in picassa.  what are you guys using?  my photos are far from where they need to be but at least most of them are now within the thumbnail space etsy gives us!  i've found that mid morning gives the best natural light so far.  i'm learning to actually look at whats in the view finder and to be thoughtful about item positioning instead of snapping off hundreds (thousands, millions!) of photos that need to be edited for hours.  i'm playing around with backgrounds, which i'm sure is giving my shop a chaotic look right now.  what do you guys think about backgrounds - all the same or can we mix it up?  i've been playing around with trying to get that sort of burnt out, bright photo that seems to be popular now.  do you guys love that look or hate it?  taking photos is an art form unto itself but it is oh so important for those of us that want to sell online.

here's what i mean about thinking before shooting so there's less editing later.

here's a new photo that i kind of like.  i like photos with a bit of shadow but does that help sell your item?

another baby step is going through all my listings trying to tag them better and tweak my descriptions.  for instance, one of my mixed media pieces uses old journal pages and i had something written about using them to make something uplifting and happy, implying that the pages are sad and depressing.  suddenly it dawned on me, would i want to own that piece thinking that sad and depressing journal pages were used in its making?  i don't think so.  so that's gone.

each day i plan to do a little something towards that goal of being a shop with busy times.  i promise to share what i learn as i "get serious."   undoubtedly there will be plenty of stuff you already know, but maybe there will be some things that will inspire you.  and i'd love it if you shared some of your tips in the comments.  a regular sharefest. :)

so here's a couple of links -

awesome ways to take better photos or have them done for you  viau

hashtags, for those of us who are dipping their toes into twitter  nashpop 

sell anything, from anywhere in minutes - that's what it says. selling on your blog?!  shoplocket

and i just thought i'd add some beautiful things from etsyland for a little inspiration.

here

here

here

here

here

here

thrifty finds

here

here

here

you can find these all in the shop

and for fun, a still life with radish