The Big First Day!

Yup, Leah's at school now. This morning, she started her first of potentially 20+ years of formal education. She was bubbly, happy, excited, and totally ready. She dashed onto the bus without looking back, and has her brain functions switched on to Maximum Absorption.



She wore what a call a "compromise" outfit: a traditional, pleated, uniform skirt I brought back from England and wanted her to wear, and a black t-shirt with jungle animals on it that she wanted to wear. Matthew thought it looked hip so that sealed the deal. She's also wearing a little info card for the first few days, identifying her as a newbie who might need a little help here and there.



A few weeks ago, Leah and I started looking for a cheetah backpack. We almost settled on a backpack with a plush tiger fur print, but it just didn't feel right. So, Leah picked out a purple pack from Tar-jay, then she selected a simple cheetah image online, and I stenciled/hand-painted the image on the back. It ended up being a little trickier than I thought it would be, but we're both happy with the end result and she now has a one-of-a-kind backpack.



We are lucky enough that on our little cul de sac lives another kindergartner, attending the same school, on the same schedule, and in the same class as Leah. The two have been having play dates all summer and get along really well. Knowing Leah will be doing almost everything with her friend from down the street eases a lot of nervousness for me.



As you see, they're thick as thieves. It usually takes under a minute from the time they first see each other before they're inventing new games to play or tricks to do. Separating them takes multiple and persistent attempts.



Three other buses passed our bus stop before the right one made the official stop. We had done a "dry run" the day before to see what it would be like and to chat with the fifth-grader who waits there too.



We all said goodbye to the girls, and they were oblivious. They marched up the stairs like pros, were greeted by name by the driver, and found a seat to share near the back of the bus.



Since the school is so close, Leah's pick up is one of the last in the route so it's at a reasonable time of the morning. Also since the school's so close, Matthew rode his bike after the bus and caught Leah making a successful exit from the bus and entrance to the school. There were lots of parents watching and volunteering, ensuring that the students made it to where they needed to go. Leah's dash from the bus to the sidewalk reminded me of the doctors on M.A.S.H. ducking and running from under the props of a helicopter. Go, Soldier! Go!



And here was Leah and her friend, marching into the school on the first day of the rest of their lives.



I wouldn't expect too many of you to notice this, but I can tell that Leah's a little nervous here. She's got her fingers touching her nose -- something she used to do in conjunction with sucking her thumb. The thumb sucking ended (on account of Leah's own new year's resolution) in January, but every once in a while she still lightly touches her nose with her fingertips if she's unsure of something.



I like this image. It lets me know that she hasn't completely forgotten about home. Wonder if she'll do this when she's entering the building on her first day of college...

In the meantime, it's just Natalie and me hanging out for the day (and Jack, and Matthew up in his office). It's definitely quieter here this morning, and Natalie's only asked "Where's Leah" about a dozen times so far.

Home, Sweet Home

Last weekend, the four of us with Jack-a-Roo, brought our bikes, the Trail-a-Bike, the Burley, and all our gear up to Bemidji for a fun-filled and eventful few days. Aside from a chance to see family, our mail goal was to ride the Tour De Pines at Lake Itasca State Park with my brother, his wife, and their two munchkins. Even though I haven't ridden far on my hybrid, I had ridden *some* this summer and felt like if I could go at my own pace that I would be able to handle 25 miles on bike trails with rest stops. Seems reasonable, right? Turns out, the lovely, winding bike trails are more rolling than I remembered them being and I pooped out a quarter of the way up most of the steeper hills, having to get off and walk. My patient biking companions probably biked an extra two miles circling back to me, and I was always glad they did. It was a lovely day, poor performance aside.



After the ride, we took the kids down to the Mississippi headwaters and let them scramble around on the rocks. The place was hoppin' so we made it a fairly short visit. On the way home, once we drove back into town, Matthew followed Lyan's truck into the parking lot of the local bike shop. I assume Lyan needs some small part for his bike and decide to come in for the heck of it. A few steps before the door, Lyan announces that he wants to buy me a new bike. "Yeah, right," I laugh it off. "Yep, we're buyin' you a new bike. Pick out the one you want." I suddenly felt like I was on one of those reality shows where they surprise someone with a newly remodeled kitchen. Disbelief, confusion, embarrassment, and then overwhelming giddiness. I drove a couple of upright, hybrid models before somewhat reluctantly trying out a shiny white road bike. Holy cow, this bike moved easily. Suddenly my effort was effective; I pedaled -- the bike glided forward. I came back from the test ride with a big smile on my face. "That was fun," I said, and the amazing thing was, it WAS fun! This was the bike. This was my new bike! Still can't believe it. Thanks, guys.



I had a chance the next day to take the new bike for a spin with an even larger family group and even with a sore butt, the ride was great. It was honestly the most fun I'd had on a bike in many, many years.

During our visit, the girls got a chance to sit in their grampa's studio office and record a couple of short sound bites for use on the radio. Leah's a veteran at this, but this was Nato's first time. She took to the protocol right away and delighted at hearing her own voice on playback.



Matthew and I took a canoe ride down a portion of the Mississippi into Wolf Lake. With a strong headwind, it wasn't the easy slip I had imagined, but for the first half, it was serene and picturesque. Cutting our way through whitecaps on the lake was another story -- one my shoulders are still telling from time to time. Dad pulled our tired souls from the canoe at the landing and we relished a little down time back at home.



Before we left, we took the girls to a local animal park with a bizarre variety of animals, many of which are quite hand tame. Our first introduction was to a lovely, young Red Kangaroo who popped her head up behind the counter and looked at us, as if to say, "How many tickets would you like?"



She was so sweet and didn't seem to mind all the attention. She nuzzled her caretaker and gave little arm hugs with her little hands. Next, the girls met their first white-tailed fawn and acted so casually around it, you'd think they had been raised in the woods.



Natalie terrorized some of the fallow deer and was a little leery about the goats, but otherwise seemed rather blase about it all. Leah took it all in and loved feeding the animals by hand. I have to say that I did too, especially the gentle camel who poked his long neck out the side window of the little barn shed in his enclosure. Leah also liked learning about Jasmine the leopard and her best buddy, Mikey the spaniel. The two animals grew up together and share an enclosure at the park.



Add in lots of good food, laughs, and being able to sleep in a bit, and we had ourselves a darn good weekend. Natalie couldn't leave it all behind so, just as we were packing up the van to head home (no easy feat with a third bike!), she grabbed a few handfuls of dirt and stuffed them in her mouth. Don't ask me why she does this. She is such a little stinker.



Thanks for the great weekend, family! See y'all real soon, I hope. Right now, I think there's a paved bike trail calling my name.

Uptown Market - August 16th

*cross-posted on the shop blog too*

Wooo Hooooo! We did it!

It feels incredibly good to have my first craft fair over and done. It was a great experience and, like most newbies, I learned a lot, thankfully with few regrets. The weather ignored all the prognostications for heavy rain, and gave us pocketed sunshine throughout most of the day with only about five minutes of a very light sprinkle mid-day. Every minute that it didn't rain, my smile got bigger and my shoulders relaxed more.

The event was well run and we found our little corner of the market easily. The boundaries of our booth were chalked on the road and we could pull our vehicle right up to it on the other side of the street - how sweet! This made unloading a breeze. We unpacked all the gear and got to work on the tent. I was shaky-nervous and excited. Here's me working on a corner of the tent -- you can see how conveniently close the van was to this.



Once the tent was up, we moved on to the tables, the hanging wall doo-dads, and generally getting things up and show-ready. In this pic, you can see some of my essentials: coffee, duct tape, plastic totes, snacks, band-aids, and everything else.



The overall turn-out was fairly slim and not nearly the hordes of people I had seen in flickr pages for other fairs, but it was steady and polite. I gave away quite a few business cards and had many people stop in, ask questions, get closer looks, and offer compliments.



I felt prepared for questions about how I make my things, if I could do custom work, and how long I'd been doing this, but a couple of questions caught me off guard. The very first visitor to my booth asked, "What are these?" Ummm... Isn't it obvious? :) I resisted saying that and realized more throughout the day that it wasn't crystal clear that I was selling art and cards made from layered, colored paper. One person thought the Topo pieces looked like Rorschach ink blots, while another thought on first glance that they were watercolors. Another passerby simply asked, "What's Crafterall?" To which I answered, "That's me! And all the work do here."



A woman on one side of me sold magnetic jewelry, and the woman on the other side of me sold quilted bags specifically made for four-legged walkers. Other vendors sold fresh, organic produce, screen prints, t-shirts, pottery, fresh-brewed coffee, bath and body products, photo prints, metal ornaments, and some of the tastiest looking pulled meat sandwiches that kept walking by in the hands of happy customers. There were also half a dozen street buskers including a guy on an apartment balcony throwin' out some def turntable spins. Along with a handful of non-profit organizations advertising their causes, the Uptown Market was an eclectic melange of things to see, touch, hear, and eat. Pretty darn cool.



There were so many highlights to my first craft fair. The weather, which became my biggest worry in the last few days before the show, was wonderfully mild. It was a little breezy, but everything in my booth stood its ground. My very first sale of the day could not have been better. The buyer was local, loved the "Chain o' Lakes" pieces I made, snapped one up for herself, and appreciated being able to pay with her credit card. She was enthusiastic and complimentary about everything in my booth -- such a redemptive and encouraging boost for me! I heard lots of other nice compliments throughout the day, and even had a patron say that she had seen my work on Etsy! Awesomeness! She picked up a "Retro Poppies" for herself too. A couple of folks talked with me about potential custom work, and I received confirmation this morning for one such request.



The biggest highlight of the entire process, hands down, was having the tireless and and cheerful assistance of my hubby with me through it all. His MacGyver-like knot-tying and problem-solving/preventing efforts were invaluable and helped to make me a much cooler cookie than I would have been without his help. We were able to chat about what seemed to be working this time, and what we could do differently next time. He also managed the booth while I perused the other booths, and he bought me a yummy lunch from a nearby African restaurant. Thanks, honey!



At the end of the day, my earnings were nothing to sing about, but I covered the cost of my booth fee and enough after that to make me eager to do this again in September. Yee-haw!

Basement Booth!

* I "cross-posted" this blog entry in my shop blog too.

O.K., so here it is!



Leah, my number one fan, is modeling it, and hanging off the chair she's in is the apron I made for the event. Of course, there will be a canopy over the top and we'll most likely have the sides up with the 70% chance of rain (and thunderstorms - shhhhhh) prediction. I'm also going to hang a big, framed "Retro Poppies" papercut as well as a smaller, framed Topo piece for a little more vertical interest. But basically, this is how I think it will look. The Crafterall banner will be on the front of the tent once I figure out how to do so, and I'm still not sure where that little plant stand table will go.

Here is the table with the topography and art card pieces. There's a basket of one-of-a-kind items, and tiered displays of various cards that I will re-load as necessary. On the little easel, there's a single open card for some tactile interaction. At the recommendation of the some wonderful Etsy folks, this guy is out for folks to touch, open, and drool over. ;)



This is the "flower" side of things. I found the white memo-station thing for a quarter at a garage sale and re-fitted a ribbon board in the flat space. Got lucky with the three front pockets as they are the perfect size for the cards!



As an Uptown Market Exclusive, I'll be selling papercut topographies of the popular Minneapolis Chain of Lakes (Twin Lakes, Brownie Lake, Cedar Lake, Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun, unnamed swampy area, and Lake Harriet). I hope these will be a hit with the local crowd.



Behind the scenes, I've got my credit card imprinter with slips, a hole-y box (50 cents in the IKEA as is section) for pens, and plastic bags for purchases. I've got a load of business cards, logo-rific postcards, and hard candy to hand out too.



I'm still undecided about using the kraft paper over the white tablecloth. I like that it sets off the white of the cards, but worry that it cheapens the look, and I'm not sure it will hold up in the forecasted precipitation. What do you think?

The reality is solidifying and I have my booth number assigned! I'll be representin' in booth #49, just west of Bryant Avenue. If you're in the neighborhood, please stop by for a hug!

Bicycle! Bicycle!

First things first, Matthew has NOT (yet) shaved his legs. He has been bitten by the biking bug pretty severely and is getting out on his trusty steed as often as he can lately. He's done plenty of biking before (the AIDS Rides and spinning with friends in the basement come to mind), but he's done gone and taken it up a notch.

After salivating over the streamed Web cast of the Giro d'Italia, he was thrilled to be able to take in a couple of stages of the Minnesota Bike Festival's Nature Valley Grand Prix right here in southern Minnesota. The race included such biking supserstars as Floyd Landis and Kristin Armstrong. Matthew and Leah attended the third race in Canon Falls and then we all went out to see the action in Uptown the next day.

They held a kid's race every day before the pro races. After watching the race in Canon Falls, Leah pumped her little leggies all the way to the finish line in Uptown to earn a medal. Woo Hoo, Leah!

Then, with plastic clappers at the ready, we watched and cheered the women's and men's groups compete on the six turn, pancake-flat course. Because of all the turns, there was a lot of dynamic speed and depending on where you watched, all the riders were either slowing down into a turn, or cranking on the the pedals coming out of one. I was duly impressed with the professionalism and by the sheer power of all these riders. It was a balmy, mostly overcast day, and the breeze produced by the passing peloton was fast and chilly!

If you've got a few mintes to spare, grab your water bottle, hike up your bike shorts, and enjoy our little, slap-dash video of the event.

Monkeys in the Arboretum

No, there are no real monkeys in the arboretum, just these "weaselly" ones.

In a candid shot, they're like little Renoir paintings.



When asked to smile, however, their true colors shine through.



Monkeys.

Oh, and by the way, the U of M Arb is stunning. We'll be baaaaack.

Early May Update

Hello? Are you still there? You are? Really? Alright! Let's get started.

One of the perks of living closer to family is being able to drive up for a weekend birthday party. Here's the recent birthday girl and her cousin Leah being pretty darn cute.



Natalie spent a litte (too) quiet time with a crayon and was very proud of the art she drew on two walls of the house. Hard to be upset with that face shining back at me. And thank gourd for Magic Erasers.



I found a rainbow in the sink after a load of dishes. How nice!



Leah, in her ongoing quest to care for all animals while simultaneously organizing the world, found a little niche for each of a bunch of her toys. I didn't ask but there was probably a logical and lengthy explanation as to why each animal was placed where it was.



This year, Mother Nature had an April Fool's Day trick of her own. We were greeted in the morning with over an inch of wet snow, most of which, thankfully, was gone by sundown. It was pretty, though. Maybe it was more of a treat, then.



One of the highlights of my extended blogging hiatus was a trip back to Madison to see some great flics and be uber-crafty. Mrs. Happy Stuff and I tried our hands at some screenprinting using professional screens and contact paper. Way cool.



Just a bit of the fun and lovely things we made:



I took the girls to the park on one of the glorious Spring days we've been having. Here, Natalie contemplates the park as a metaphor for something important.



Riding a pig - don't think she can catch H1-N1 this way.



Leah preferred the Toucan:



I completed a fun custom "Topo" piece that incorporated some islands and ended up being 26 layers thick and a solid half pound!


I'm beginning to tackle the wallpaper border in the girls' room. It's in fine shape, but I'm not fond of the pastel/Aztec design. I'm planning to paint some uneven stripes in different colors and add a little chair rail about a quarter of the way from the ceiling around the walls.



I purchased four classy, little, hand printed chair cards from Etsy seller LeiLiLaLoo. I inteded to find a pre-matted frame with four openings. IKEA had one with three and one with five. So, five it was, and I added a little hand cut table in the middle. I think it turned out pretty well!



I stumbled upon another of Leah's little organizational displays. Using two halves of a styrofoam cup holder, she has divided her small animals into soft (in the background) and hard (up close). She then divided them further by putting babies with females and males by themselves. I asked her why there was a rabbit with the mother and baby lion. She said that it couldn't be with a male because the males are mean and of all the mothers, the lion is the nicest.



For another custom request, I cut out the entire San Francisco Bay. I must admit I enjoyed marrying the two hemispheres of my brain as I learned a little about the bathymetry of this body of water and crafted it into paper as accurately as I could.



Leah colored this piece of paper she brought home from our fellowship. I get the feeling that the Earth in this picture is sort of giving up, hands raised in defeat, while still keeping a sense of humor. "Earth Day?" it asks. "Whatever."



Whew! That's it. If you only look at one picture a day, maybe it won't seem so long until my next post! Thanks for being here!

Up To My Eyeballs...

... and lovin' it!

The new year has brought in a wonderfully consistent flow of fine folks to my Etsy shop and business has been good! While I cannot yet supplement the family income and convince Matthew that this could indeed be my new job, it's a start and I welcome it with open arms.

The first of many big shop-related events came in the form of a wholesale inquiry. The lovely Suzy of the Soo Visual Arts Center in Uptown contacted me and purchased a whole bunch of Topo cards and Wall Topo pieces to sell in the SooVAC shop. Once again, I was excited and nervous, but the process was ultra smooth and the shop is a great fit for my work. Here is a look at the loot before I hand delivered it.



Later that week, I also received a request for a commissioned set of papercut houses like this piece. In the meantime, I was gearing up for a feature article on the Apartment Therapy blog by writing an artist statement, taking some work-in-progress photos, and stocking up on Wall Topo pieces. I was contacted about it and given about two weeks to prepare. I appreciated the time, but it ended up being a bit hard keeping the pieces in the shop - definitely a good problem.



The article was published on Wednesday, the 4th of this month and I had a banner day of sales, interest, and requests for custom work. It was so much fun to be a celebrity for a day and to feel at least a bit of what it must be like for some of Etsy's superstars who sell five times as much as I sold that day on any given day. I worked out a system of assembling orders, printing mailing labels, writing thank yous, and getting everything packaged and ready to ship the next day. This was my "mail bag" to bring to the post office on Thursday:



Since then, the daily sales have slowed a bit, but the custom and wholesale requests contine to come in. I found out today that a piece of my topo work has been added to Etsy's Gift Guides in the Travel category and that's been bringing in new hearts.



So, yeah, I've been a little busy. Not too busy to keep me from playing animals with Leah or from bustin' out some beats on the keyboards so the girls can boogy. I've been trying to consciously pace myself and so far, it feels great. Have you seen my shop lately? :)