Tag Archives: art

My Ideal Bookshelf

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“A man’s bookcase will tell you everything you’ll ever need to know about him.”
― Walter Mosley

Lately, I have become enamored by the ideal bookshelf artwork of Jane Mount.  I stumbled upon her website on a Pinterest binge and suddenly became obsessed with trying to decide what books would go on my ideal bookshelf!  I love the slightly whimsical quality of the paintings, and I could browse the site for hours admiring the “shelves” that have been created for others.

idealbookshelf2I’m thinking I would want to choose books that had important meaning in my life, but of course, I would try to avoid being a book snob and choosing books simply to impress others.  I mean, most folks would know that War and Peace wasn’t really one of my favorite books!

So, off the top of my  head here are a few of my picks:

1.  Where the Lilies Bloom (Cleaver):  I read this book numerous times in my childhood and was enthralled by the way a group of siblings took care of themselves after their parents died.

2.  The Master Butchers Singing Club (Erdrich):  I can’t remember many books that draw me in the way this one did.  When it ended, I felt sad that my time with the characters was over.

3.  Autobiography of a Face (Grealy):  This sad story was written with such honesty and some of the most beautifully crafted language I’ve read.

4.  A Thousand Splendid Suns (Hosseini):  One of the most moving friendship stories I can remember.  This book touched me deeply.

Oh, it’s so hard to pick, but I’m going to keep brainstorming.  I just worry that there will be too many books on my shelf!  I really look forward to having one created just for me, and I think I know exactly where it will go!  Happy reading!

Illustration Eye Candy

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“Who ever converses among old books will be hard to please among the new.”
-William Temple

Of course, I adore everything old.  I love the patina, the layers and the story seemingly contained within anything that had a life before it entered mine.  My love of vintage is especially strong for books.  I cannot stop collecting beautiful old books.  However, I am most enamored by vintage storybooks of a certain era.  I can’t get enough of the graphics from illustrated children’s books from the 60′s and 70′s.  There is just something about the artistic style of the time that reaches out and grabs me.  Here’s one I picked up last weekend.

Cover

This lovely book is about a number of things that float and fly in the wind.  Here are a couple of my favorite illustrations. Aren’t they beautiful?

Feathers

dandilion

Take a minute to search your attic and old boxes of books.  I’ll bet you have some treasures.  Of course new books are wonderful, but the style of illustrations just can’t compare with some of the gems I find hidden in the dusty corners!  Happy Reading!

The Art of Reading with April from Flourish Cafe

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“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” -Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll.

Okay, it’s no surprise that I am passionate about books and reading, but I am also a huge fan of art and great quotes.  I have a journal where I write down all of the best quotes I come across.  I love looking at it from time to time for a little inspiration.  That’s why I absolutely fell in love with the designs of April Starr from her Etsy shop, Flourish Cafe.  Take a look at her stunning artwork, photography and sweet quotes, and I dare you to choose just one that you can’t live without!  All it takes is one visit to her shop to tell that April is also a lover of books.  I’m sure you will enjoy her interview as much as I did!  Happy Reading!

Meet April….

Find April Here:  FlourishCafe: a place for those who love food, books and art

What creativity do you share with the world? I love to create illustrations and graphic design pieces based on things that inspire me – especially food, cooking, books, writing and reading. I sell these art prints in my shop, FlourishCafe.etsy.com, along with some recipes and select vintage items. On my blog, TheFlourishingAbode.com I share a wide variety of creative projects, from upcycling old records into side tables, to recipe ideas for serving tea, to my free illustrated planner printables. Basically, I like to explore a lot of different areas of creativity! Some day I hope to share my fiction writing with the world … but I’m not quite there yet.


  • Book OR e-reader? Book!
  • Buy OR lend from the library? Library, unless it is a book I or my family will read multiple times.
  • Hardcover OR paperback? Hardback all the way!
  • One book at a time OR several? One fiction at a time, but I may be reading one fiction, plus some non-fiction.
  • Skip ahead and read the last page OR be patient and wait? Wait!! As a writer myself, I know the work and skill it takes to craft a story leading up to the end and I want to enjoy the story as the author intended it. Don’t take a shortcut, the joy is in the journey!
  • Bookmark or fold over the page corner? Hm, does random scraps of napkins count as a bookmark? Anything but bending the pages!
  • Abandon a bad book OR stick with it no matter what? Abandon. There are too many other worthwhile things to accomplish and other great books to read to stick around in a book that I have no more desire to read.
  • Laugh OR cry? Laugh!
  • Cover Love:  I love the cover of antique books by just about anyone.

What is your favorite place to read? When I was a kid I came across an old poem that I simply fell in love with (and have since made into a print in my shop – it is my single most popular print, in fact) that I think answers this question pretty well:

“Oh for a book and a shady nook,
Either indoors or out,
with the green leaves whispering overhead,
or the street cries all about.
Where I may read at all my ease
both of the new and old,
For a jolly good book whereon to look
is better to me than gold”
-John Wilson 1785-1854

Do you have a book that you love so much that you re-read it periodically?  I don’t really re-read books very much, personally.  Much of the reason I like to read is the discovery of the journey of the characters. Once I read their journey, I rarely go back and read it again.  It’s not that I don’t love the book, it just feels rather like going to visit a friend and having the exact same conversation with them that you had the last time you visited.    This is probably why I am so drawn to books that are in a series, so that I can “visit” again with the characters, without repeating. So that being said, when I DO re-read a book, it has to be a very special book. One that I have read at least 2 or 3 times is Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.  Marianne and Col. Brandon remind me very much of my husband and me.

Do you have a childhood favorite? Oh, I had so many childhood favorites. Perhaps my very favorite was Anne of Green Gables. Anne (with an E) is probably the literary character I have identified with the most. I loved her vivid imagination and her ability to have great intentions but still be able to make a complete mess of things. I seemed to do that type of thing a lot, too. I also have a very special place in my heart for Dr. Seuss. I still remember that the first book I ever read completely on my own was Green Eggs and Ham.

Do you have a favorite genre or genres?    I tend to dance around through a few different genre phases.  Every few years I seem to go through a stage of reading a lot of mystery, especially Agatha Christie.  Then I might go through a while where I read a lot of young adult novels, especially fantasy or dystopian pieces.  Then I’ll have period of time where I prefer to read classics and historical fiction. But usually I’m in one of those three categories, and they don’t really overlap much while I am in each one.

Do you have a favorite author or authors? In terms of fiction, Jane Austen, C. S. Lewis, Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl, Agatha Christie, Edward Lear, Louisa May Alcott, O. Henry, Lewis Carroll.  What I love is how they can vividly take you into their imagination, simply and cleanly.

I’m stranded on an island, and I get to have five books.  They are:

- The Bible

- How-To-Survive-Being-Stranded-On-an-Island (or some such similar title)

- How-To-Build-a-Raft-and-1001-Other-Ways-to-Escape-an-Island (or similar)

- A blank book (so that I can write)

- Something lighthearted and humorous to keep up my spirits, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

I vividly remember being read aloud to… My Dad used to read aloud to our whole family in the evenings.  One of my favorites was when he read to us from the “Little Britches” series.  It’s very similar to the “Little House on the Prairie” series in that it is based on a true story of a child in the wild west, but this series is about a boy, and happened about 50 or 60 years after Laura Ingalls Wilder’s time. It’s a well written and fascinating series about hard work, adventure, family and history. Plus my dad is really good at doing great voices for the different characters!

One of my favorite quotes from a book is:   Ahh, this is so hard to choose. My shop is full of prints I have made from different book quotes!  But perhaps one of my favorites is: “Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” -Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll.

I love Lewis Carroll’s book Through the Looking Glass. For my senior project in high school, I adapted the book into a script, and directed and acted in our simple production of the book.  It may not have been ground breaking, but it was a lot of fun!

Thanks April for sharing your beautiful artwork and your love of words and books with us. Happy drawing, happy writing and of course, happy reading!


A Place to Hang Your Hat….or Coat….or Scarf…..

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The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out.  ~Thomas Babington Macaulay

Check out my handmade yardstick coat hanger!  I ran across this project idea in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine, and I instantly loved the look of it, so I set out to collect as many vintage yard-sticks as I could find.  Ultimately, I was hoping to find them all from our local hometown businesses, as well as the small towns where my husband and I grew up, as that would be more sentimental.  However, they were hard to find!  I did find several at some consignment shops from far-away places, but they still had some unique and interesting “patina,” so I picked them up from $5.00 – $10.00. With help from my in-laws, I was able to get one from the Coast-to-Coast store in my husband’s small hometown in Eastern Montana, and of course, I found one in Grandma’s Attic!  (I’m always giving thanks to my Grandma for her collecting spirit!)   I found some antique black coat-hooks on E-Bay that came from an old school.  I love the look of these, because you can see flecks of different colors of paint and a few chips here and there.  We took a board and cut it just slightly larger than the layout of the rulers and painted it with several coats of black spray-paint.  This way it peeks out just a little around the perimeter and “frames” it.  The black also highlights the lettering on the yardsticks and the hooks as well. We have enough yardsticks to make another one, and we’re going to hang them side by side on the long wall in the entry-way at Camp More (the cabin). I think it’s going to add a lot of character to the room, not to mention, it will give us a place to hang our coats after we come back from snowshoeing!

Perfectly Pumpkin

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“I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.”   -Henry David Thoreau 

I’ve had a lot of fun lately, enjoying some fruitful thrifting, some bountiful fall blooms in the garden, and some happy crafting for Halloween.  First of all, let me say that two years ago, when I toted home a small Chinese Lantern plant from my farmer’s market, I had no idea that it would spread so eagerly.  I has literally taken over my front flower garden.  So, what’s a crafty girl to do?  Find a way to use them for fun fall decorating, and to make cute decorations to give away! I found this cute idea in the Martha Stewart magazine for turning Chinese Lantern pods into small pumpkin favors.  I’ve also had some exceptional luck at the thrift store lately.  The orange pot in the background is McCoy (I’m kind of a pottery snob!) and the pumpkin is a vintage Haeger planter.  I found these things just hiding among all of the other Halloween “crappity-crap.” (thanks for the term, Dottie Angel, it’s perfect!)  Fall decorating is my favorite, and I only wish the season wasn’t so short.  Right now I’m pressing some leaves for another crafty idea I saw on Martha’s website… I’ll be sure to share the results.

Brilliantly Brilliant Dottie Angel!

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“Never doubt your instincts in a thrift store.”  -Dottie Angel

Yes, I’m still talking about the Creative Connection Event.  (It may never end, so hopefully you’re okay with it!) While I was there,  I had the amazing opportunity to meet with the publisher of Uppercase Magazine Janine Vangool for my Pitch Slam.  Her company published the book I want to tell you about….. Dottie Angel: the Peachy Crafty World of Tif Fussell.

I absolutely must borrow from Tif’s super-fun vocabulary to tell you that this book is, “peach, fabby, and brilliantly brilliant!”  I had been saving this treasure since I got home from TCC.  It was perched on top of a pile waiting for a really quiet, special moment when I could settle in for an extended amount of uninterrupted time.  When you hold this book in your hands, you will understand that trying to read it while commuting, or perhaps cramming in a few pages at the doctor’s office, just won’t do this sweet little volume justice.  This book has so many special touches, it feels as if it were handmade just for me.  It wasn’t just rolled off the presses and put in a box.  No,  I’m not going to give away the surprises.  You’ll just have to order one for yourself from Uppercase.  I could go on and on about why I love this book, but most of all, I love that when I read it, I feel like I’m sitting in the Airstream with “Dottie” (Tif)  on a lovingly weathered chair, covered with hand crocheted doilies, drinking a cup of tea,  in a beautifully chipped cup from the thrift store, and gazing at some of her handmade treasures.  When I read the description of the book, I must say, she had me at “thrift store.”  I confess — I’m a complete thrift store junkie!  Tif and I have exactly the same passions:  crocheted covered vintage hangers, ceramic animal figurines and granny squares!  We both have “crafting epiphanies” and an appreciation for anything with “granny chic!” She is “utmost kind” in sharing ideas for fun little treasures to make, and she tells you about her special little world where tools have names and bunnies wear capes.  “Thank you kindly,” Tif, for the crafty ideas, the walks down memory lane, and for letting me into the perfectly blissful world of my new best friend, Dottie Angel!

ReMake It…. from books, of course!

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“Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a songbird will come.” –Chinese proverb

At The Creative Connection Event in St. Paul, I took a class from Tiffany Threadgould who just published a unique and thoroughly inspirational book published by Sterling called ReMake It!  So, this post is part book-review, and part show-and-tell.  In her class, Tiffany taught us how to do several of the simple crafts from her book, and we had a blast whipping up paper beads, envelopes, gift bows and coasters.  All of the crafts were “green,” but they were much more than that…. they were cool!  They had a hip graphic vibe and could be tailored to fit into any person’s design style.  Personally, I am in love with words, letters, and anything that has to do with books. As a result, this book, and Tiffany’s ideas, really appeal to me, as many of them were made out of old magazines and book pages.  I also have plans to try making a button bracelet, a case for my cell phone from a men’s necktie, and a t-shirt skirt – SO CUTE!  Her book is full of great pictures and easy templates to follow, so many of these projects can be as sophisticated or a simple as you want them to be.  I would definitely recommend picking up this book to use with children for school art activities or craft time!

So, after I returned from the Event, I decided to turn my inspiration from her class into my own unique art.  I went to the local library’s book sale where they were selling thousands of used, donated books to raise money for the Friends of the Library group.  (I brought home a LOT of books, which I have just decided is a sickness I will have to live with.)  I took graphic images from these books, mostly used children’s stories, and cut them out to create note-cards.  Then I went out to my stash of old Saturday Evening Post magazines in the garage (once again, thanks Grandma) and used some of the pages to create envelopes for the note-cards. (Both of these ideas are outlined in Tiffany’s book.)  Together, the cards and envelopes are a visual delight of vintage images, type, words, and graphics.  I’m going to fill them out and get them in the mail.  I hope the recipients enjoy receiving them as much as I enjoyed making them!

The Creative Connection: Quotable Quotes

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“I just want to be on the adventure of my life.”                                                       Kelly Rae Roberts (at TCC 2011)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I attended the Creative Connection Event in St. Paul, Minnesota, last week, and had the most unbelievably rejuvenating time.  It was a love-fest of crafty, creative women supporting each other,

Look at all of the fun stuff I had to try to fit into my suitcase!

and of course, connecting!  I had so much fun touching base with many of the women that I had met last year such as….. Nicole McConville from Sterling Publishing.  Check out her re-cap and amazing photos here.

I made two new friends the first night, April from Catching Fireflies and Michelle from Allen Designs, who let me tag along on a quick tour of some of the fun shops in St. Paul. They were so sweet that they bought me dinner and didn’t make me feel like a total shmuck for forgetting my wallet at the hotel.

I took a few hands-on classes, but my favorite was with Megan from Princess Lasertron.  We made these super-cute felt ribbons.  In fact, her post about TCC here includes pictures of me and some of the super cool ladies I met there.  Just looking at it makes me wish next year were here already! I was so inspired by all of the keynotes, but especially by the wise words and insight of Holly Becker from Decor8 who was so down-to-earth, likeable, and funny.  She’s the kind of person you wish you could go to coffee with and become BFF’s!

One thing I found myself doing throughout the weekend is jotting down all of the profound, witty, memorable quotes coming from the attendees, speakers, panelists, etc.  Here are some of my favorites…. If they don’t make you want to attend TCC next year, I don’t know what will!

1.  A representative from Sterling Publishing, one of the few males at the conference, (sorry…. didn’t get your name) said in reference to books….. “They are like bright, shiny objects… The physical book is here to stay.”  (Amen, brother!!)

2.  Jo Packham said about TCC, “It’s a place where we go from strangers to BFF’s in three and a half minutes.”  (So true, Jo, so true!)

3.  Christina Ferrare said, “Listen to the voice in your head speaking to you.”  (Lump in the throat moment for me.)

4.  Holly Becker wisely said, “If you’re saying ‘yes’ to something you really love, it’s the right ‘yes’.”

5.  Jo Packham said, “If you haven’t made a friend, made a deal, gotten a new idea…. shame on you!”  (This made me laugh outloud, but I couldn’t agree more.  You have to take advantage of the environment of TCC, otherwise, what’s the point?)

6.  “There really is room for all of us.”  Kelly Rae Roberts (Hearing this gave me a little lift.  It made me feel not so much like a little fish in the ocean.)

7. Karen Walrond from chookoloonks said, “When you realize that your difference is your superpower– it really is magical.”

8.  “Sometimes you just need to get quiet and get simple.”  Leigh Standley from Curly Girl Design. (I’m working on it, Leigh!)

9.  The super-sweet Janine Vangool from a really cool magazine called Uppercase said, “Everyone here is really happy. It’s nice to come to an event where everybody is happy. Being creative makes us happy, but it’s difficult and hard work. But it’s also difficult and hard work to be happy.”

10.  Melody Ross from Brave Girls’ Club said, “Decide what kind of life you want to have, and build your business around that.”  (That rings true to me.  If we go about it the opposite way, we may find that suddenly we don’t have the life we want!)

Okay, here’s the funny stuff…..

11.  I think one of the event coordinators was overwhelmed and overworked when she jokingly said, “If anyone has any drugs…. I’ll take them.”

12.  Princess Lasertron (aka Megan Hunt) said, slightly tongue in cheek, “I’m trying really hard to make my daughter goth, but my mother just wants her to be preppy.” (This cracked me up! Have you seen Megan?  She’s a sweet as apple pie!)

13.  One of the panelists, a successful artist said, “I think people would be surprised at how little I shower.”  (The lack of time to shower became a joke of the day.  Perhaps Jo should solicit sponsorship from a soap or shampoo company next year!!!!!)

Well, I could go on and on.  I had such a great time at TCC, and I hope to bottle up some of the good vibes to get me through until next year.  Thanks Jo for your hard work and hospitality!

“Creative is a Verb” by Patti Digh: Book Review

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“Listen to tiny fishies….” Patty Digh

If you’re like me, and you’ve been obsessing lately about how you want to spend more time being “creative,” but you are stuck trying to figure out what that really means for you, this is your guide.  This book truly is a guide for unleashing the creativity you possess, but have repressed.  I’m sure that each person will focus on different chapters and messages in the book, and each person is going to take something different from it, but that is the beauty of it. Patti Digh has given us a gift in this book – permission to not have to follow any rules, or complete any set schedule, on the way to a more creatively fulfilling life.  The exercises are meant to inspire and motivate, but not to make people feel inadequate or frustrated. It encourages us to live our whole lives artistically, not just while were painting, singing or writing.  Without a doubt, this gorgeous little manual gives us power, choice, and some really fun stories to enjoy and think about.  Not to mention, the graphics are exquisite.  The photographs, drawings and quotes make this book a work of art in itself.

A story that particularly stands out to me is one where the author describes a dream that her young daughter had while she was away on business.  The daughter tells her mommy that she had a dream that she was a little fish in a big ocean, and couldn’t find her mommy.  This story was a wake-up call to Patti.  She realized that she need to listen to her heart and follow a new path, and it took her daughter’s dream to send her this message.  So, she tells us, “Listen to tiny fishies.”  It’s her way of encouraging us to listen to the messages life is trying to tell us – the messages that beg to be listened to.  The exercises that follow this story were particularly profound to me personally.  Maybe you will gain something from what they are trying to tell you, too.

My Sheldon Rose

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“All my life I’ve looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.”
Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961) American Writer.

I was poking around in one of my favorite consignment/antique shops…. The Barn in Bigfork, MT, when I saw……THIS.  My Sheldon Rose.  It’s huge, it’s amazing, it weighs a ton, and I had to have it.  This is a large piece of art made of typography letters arranged in this cool shape.  I chatted with the seller, and she said that she was selling it for her aunt, who was elderly, but had purchased it with her husband when they were young and living in Seattle.  Apparently it was a gallery purchase, and she was always particularly fond of it, but now had to downsize to move.  I have been trying very hard to find out more about the artist, Sheldon Rose.  It’s been difficult thus far, but I am determined.  I found some auctions sites who have a few of his other pieces for sale.  They’re quite pricy, so I’m thinking that I got a fair deal on my piece. I’ve also determined that he was likely a German artist, as the auction sites I saw were in Germany.  If anyone knows anything about this artist, please fill me in.  Whatever the case, I get happy every time I look at this above my couch.  It’s full of letters, my favorite thing, because letters make words, and words make stories, and what could be better than that?!