Season Change.

The first pallet of Michigan's signature summer brew, Bell's Oberon, came rolling off the truck this week. We have been using the same Oberon sign for the last few years, so I decided to put together a new one.

I painted the sun and sky on black foam board and added the mosaic look with black paint on the end. Then I used a very technical combination of miscellaneous cut foam board pieces and hot glue to give the sign a 3/D look.



So I've had summer on the brain lately-- and for that reason I was shopping around this week for a vacation spot, and I booked the perfect place. Wilderness State Park is at the very top of the mitten, just to the left of the Straits of Mackinac. The park has miles of trails, a traditional campground and a handful of secluded beach-front cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 30's.

The cabins were already booked through the summer-- with the exception of one, which still had a couple of nights open on the tail end of Labor Day Weekend. The cabins sleep anywhere from 4 people to bunkhouses for 20+ with hardwood floors, wood burning stoves, and lovely rustic furniture. Each one even has an outhouse and water supply-- considering we usually pop a tent in the middle of nowhere, this place is the Hilton in comparison.

image credit: wildernessstatepark.net

Perhaps the best part about this cabin is that its just a quarter mile east of this amazing stretch of archipelago leading out to Waugoshance Point and Lighthouse. The water is shallow enough to hike out to the Point, canoe or kayak.

image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/odalaigh/3524713435/

Plans make this rainy/windy spring Saturday much more bearable.

Tote it up!

I recently completed an artistic project that was neither a print or sign! Whenever I try something new I realize that I don't stretch my boundaries often enough and that when I do I have a total blast. This time around I dusted off my sewing supplies in honor of Sarie's first birthday. The project came right off Etsy-- its called a Discovery Tote. The gist here is that you have a flat space for imaginative play that folds up into itself for easy travel.


I used store-bought felt for the forest floor, trees, and little Sarie-- and an old shirt I have been holding on to for entirely way too long for the water. (A case of really cute but not flattering) The plush parts have batting in them-- I also stuffed some batting throughout the mat for that rolling hills look. When I sewed on the flannel back I added felt tabs. I finished it off with some chunky yarn strung through the tabs so you can....

fold

it

up!

I connected with this idea immediately because I loved Fisher Price Little People as a kid. LOVED. I have very fond and vivid memories of this Main Street set in particular.

I get a little weepy just looking at it.

One Fish, Two Fish

I forgot to bring my camera to any of my first classes-- and its a mistake I won't repeat again. The prints my students made were amazing and I had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people.


Melissa of Over the Luna made this screen print. She started by saturating the entire canvas in a dreamy swirl of orange and yellow. Then she went in with blue on top-- the fish were blocked out with the adhesive stencil so the oranges from underneath came through. The complimentary colors really make this print pop!

I'm teaching Screen Print Panels again on Sunday, May 2nd. Save the date!