Some Vintage Clipart to Distract You...

From the fact that I haven't been here for some time! Excuse me, I've been absent lately- I'm in the midst of getting together a logo, graphics, fonts and whatnot so I can move onto my own domain (It'll be lissybug.com once it's up and running.) Once I have that all together I have a bunch of vintage and second hand fabrics to list. I'm developing a little sustainable sewing shop focusing on vintage, second hand and upcycled sewing notions and fabric. Some organics may show up as well. Until then- if you like vintage images here are a few great sites I've come across with some wonderful, free vintage clip art and fonts.

Beautiful stuff at The Vintage Moth- this is my favorite recent find for vintage images:


Vintage Images and old photographs at Old Photo Album:













Clipart ETC is full of black and white line drawings such as the one below. A great source for botanical drawings as well a animals and insects.













Full Moon Graphics- Not only does she have oodles and oodles of free and wonderful graphic sets, she also has tons of resources to find even more graphics and fonts. Careful, you may not get off the computer for a long time ;)




Do you happen to need and authentic looking document from the 1920s/30s? Here ya go- The HPLHS Prop Document Project has you cevered. Also they have a list of 20s and 30s fonts for free.














And if you love Mid Century Modern (and more!), you must go to Tack-O-Rama. What a great resource for retro clipart and fonts. The background for this blog is from there.

Creative Doldrums

I was reading a book a few months ago that talked about the creative ebb and flow. The book, 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin, talks about the way our creativity cycles through high and low points. So right now I am in a lull which can feel rather uncomfortable. I don't have that wonderful feeling of moving along with exciting projects, brimming with excitement at the next wonderful idea. I've spent the last few weeks figuring out priorities, ridding myself of excessive commitments and extraneous STUFF. Yet facing what amounts to a blank slate, instead of feeling invigorated I feel murky and uncertain. McMeekin says, "Whenever and however we arrive at the void, the experience promises to give us a close encounter with fear and insecurity. As we release an old identity and move into a sense of being lost, purposeless, undefined or confused, we must encounter the darkness in ourselves."

So here I am, fears bubbling up and not a lot of inspiration coming with them. But instead of panicking and packing up my schedule again with things I don't actually want to be doing, I am looking at my goals. I am hanging out with these uncomfortable emotions and trusting that this is part of the cycle. I am continuing to clean out and clean up and make little steps forward. I am trusting I will reemerge from the creative void and thanks to the time spent creating space and order I will be prepared for the rush of creative energy and opportunity that is sure to come along.

Preschooler Cookin'

I'm loving the Preschool Cookbook we got James for Yule. The book is Pretend Soup, by Mollie Katzen. It's got pictures with each recipe so even my three year old can see what to do next. The recipes are just right for preschoolers too- not too complex, and tasty. James gets very into selecting what he'd like to make and we put the ingredients on the grocery list. You can see the book in the recipe stand below.

We've been making Chocolate banana shakes the past couple days and I love seeing him proudly pour his brother and I our drinks the he made (almost) all by himself.

Chocolate Banana Shake:
1 Cup Milk
1/2 Banana
2T Cocoa
3 Ice Cubes

Put all ingredients in Blender. Blend. Pour. Drink.

Yes it sounds simple, but the magic is that James is getting to flip through the book, decide from the pictures what he'd like and see how to make that very thing, and then find that he actually is able to do it.

For more recipes, you may enjoy The Kids Corner on Mollie's website as well.
http://www.molliekatzen.com/kids.php

Lists Keeping- On Wall and Online

I use lists all the time. Below you see a picture of my list wall in my craftroom. The cabinets are our old metal kitchen cabinets, so I can stick my lists to them with magnets. I used to write these types of lists in notebooks and on slips of paper, but then they'd disappear. Now I always know where to find my lists, they're visible and easy to get to. I do still keep a notebook in my purse for when I'm out and about. The napkin's just stuck up there because I kept needing reminders on how to miter a corner the other day. This is excellent for me in the craftroom because when I get going on anything creative, my brain wakes up and thinks of bunches of important little things that must be written down. Now I can just turn and write on the appropriate list and get back to work. This is particularly good for those great ideas that I just MUST stop and do now. No, no, no, stay on task and write the idea on the "Ideas To Make" list.

Also on my list wall:
-Goals For the Month
-Sewing Room Improvements
-To Look for at Bookmens (local used book shop)
-Gift Ideas
-Wish List
-Menu Plan
-Things to Ask Michael (my husband)
And on a white board not pictured-
-To Sew
-To Do Online
-To Do
-Thank You Notes

For online list keeping I've recently discovered Springpad. ♥ This is a free site dedicated to lists. They have loads of suggestions and pre-formatted lists for things like houshold management, menu planning and recipes, trip planning, and holidays. (There's a great holiday card planner on the site.) You can also make your own Springpad from scratch.

I'm loving the ability to write down my household routines, schedule them if I like (it links up with Google Calendar) and also be able to edit them easily. I can make whatever diddly little list I like and know where to find it again, search it, tag it, share it. Yay. I function much bettter when I write things down instead of trying to hold onto skittering bits of information in my often-sleep-deprived brain. Now that I can easily find my lists when I need them, I'm sure to accomplish great things. Or at least I might remember to send a card to Grandma Rose on time next year.

Wish Boats and Burning the Tree

Happy New Year! This has got to be one of my very favorite family traditions- burning the Christmas tree. What a send off to the previous year, and a bright hello to things to come.

This year we also made wish boats (if you'd like to make these there's a great tutorial HERE on youtube) out of folded paper. We stood around the familiar oak table and creased and folded and laughed as we followed my mom's lead to make boats for our candles. The room got quiet as we wrote our wishes for 2009, slipping into a reflective calm as we focused on the year ahead.

Wishes inscribed, we made our way down to the pond. One by one, we lit candles and sent the wishes sailing.

Wishing you a year of wonder and connection with those you love.

A Doll Sling for James

Just as with a real baby, a sling is a must for carrying around your doll.

I had to (really, I just had to!) make James the sling after we went to the library and he wanted to take his doll, but all he had for carrying was the Moses basket bed. So he lugged that thing around with his doll and two blankets draping out of it.

I have to say, either way, there are few things more satisfying in life than watching your child play with a (and love) toy you made them. So sweet.

Wishing You Yuletide Cheer

Here's the doll I made for my niece, all dressed now. She wishes you all a happy holiday, good company and much cheer. We celebrated the Solstice on Sunday with a feast- lots of family, tasty food and presents. Santa came that night and brought a few more goodies. I can't wait to show you all the dolls I made for James and Leland. These dolls are fun! We're taking it easy this week, visiting with friends and family- and watching it snow and snow and snow! Best wishes to you and yours!